To say a blown 3.0L isn't faster then a 4.0L is just a stupid statement. With enough boost a supercharged 4 banger will dust a 4.0L. Theres a guy near me with a turbo S10 4 banger running 8 sec 1/4 mile times.

To answer the original post that has gotten lost a long the way. Almost anything will give you some, cold air intake, throttle body, exhuast, tuner, ect. But I guess what you are asking is what will give you a lot. I don't know if there are aftermarket cams or not but FTW and for the money a torque cam can do wonders. My next choice would be a supercharger.

 

A throttle body spacer will do nothing. Suggesting it will is bad advice.

 

he said throttle body not spacer. meaning mostly the 60mm throttle body mod. and jimmeh my 3.0L wont be able to get some people but the 3.5 that's going in will

 

I never said spacer, I meant larger throttle body.

 

I have a 3.0L...with the power of the 4.0L :D

 

 

i got a 3.0 in mine and its not a bad engine, but yeah you wont ever get much power out of it without puttin too much money into, thats why im plannin on strokin a 302 and dropin it in soon as i get home

 

You have a completely different 3.0 you have cams and valves.... the Vulcan 3.0 is old fashion pushrod technology.... you can run some water through it and not have to worry about messing up much.

 

Re-programing Chip.
Rockers IF they are a higher ratio.
Pulleys free up HP higher up on the RPM range, not much for low end TQ.
Header help some.
Maybe a new Cam, along with the headers, rockers, a larger Throttle Body with in reason, and Oh ya Gears.

Even the highly modified engines require a gear change to make the engine work in a higher RPM Range which will bring in more TQ and HP.

Luck,

 

Nitrous is a great torque builder.

 

yes it is, and it's actually a) ridiculiously easy to install b) ridiculiously cheap to install and re-fill, if you know where to get supplies and do it yourself

 

If you use a lot of bottles it can get pretty expensive after a few refills at $4 a lb. It adds up quickly... but dont get me wrong its definitely quick and easy power

 

boost and methanol

 

if you know how to fill your own bottles, it's not expensive at all... when i was down at bonneville, we were running 4 tanks on our car, and re-filling them from 5 foot tanks we got from i think it was BOC. the tanks are expensive to buy, but to re-fill, aren't all that much...

we rented them, i think it was 2 tanks, they gave us free rental of the tanks, $250 deposit on each tank, we just paid for the gas in it (i think we paid for the full tank regardless if we used it or not though...

 

You would be surprised how long a 10 lb. bottle lasts with a 60 shot.Now if you run 1/4 mile pass after 1/4 mile pass sure it will get expensive.
But to just have it in your truck for the occasional stop light brawl you can't beat it.
I fill my bottle no more than twice a year.

I will tell you though I have about a $1000 in my N2O system.So to do it right you'll drop some coin.
And that's with me doing all the work.

But if you really think about it.
No matter how you go about it POWER=$$$$.

 

4.0 swaps arnt expensive keep an eye out on craigslist. you might just find a whole damn swap for $400 or $500 that being said if your dead set on modding your 3.0 here are some cheap ideas or at least possible ways to save money on an otherwise expensive endeavor, to mull over in your head.

1)find some old Vulcan heads for dirt cheap buy a Dremel bit kit for 30 bucks and teach yourself how to port heads you might get gains in the 5-10 hp 8-14 ft lbs tq range who knows maybe better maybe worse. but win win because you will have a valuable skill you can use on any internal combustion engine. then the usual things like synthetic fluids, K&N filter, heat wrapping intake and exhaust parts. ported lower intake runners headers exhaust(better or worse I've heard both from members of this and other ranger forums) cam regrind. nitrous injection. engine management altering equipment and software/custom tuning. msd or screamin demon spark plug coils(some say not much better than stock or not necessary till boosting over 8-15psi or ~0.70-1.0 bar) IAT sensor, maf sensor, and throttle body boar/hone and mod(make your own choices with these I'm not even going into it)

2) head to your local junk yard with this list(adjustments or fabrication often required) plastic intake manifold later rangers/explorers (i think escape too?) 4.0 throttle body and maf(you must remove torx key screws and swap your stock sensor into the new maf housing) 302 aka 5.0 H.O. rocker rollers(research intensively massive possibility's for failure, difficult retrofit and installation {1.6/1.7 aftermarket rocker rollers cost way more than they are worth. I'm sorry but rockers shouldn't cost more than aftermarket cams or shop regrinds. just my opinion} ) ford taurus e fan(you can buy whole fan kits or relay kits wire a toggle switch up in the cab or wire up your own relays) turbo/supercharger tons of cars have been manufactured with some kind of forced induction system Volvo's Saab's Mitsubishi 300gt eclipses Ford f-150 Toyota mr2 etc etc (CAUTION!!****ing pricey no matter what if done correctly. defiantly a Pandora's box full of Murphy's law{IF YOU DO THIS AND %$#@ UP I DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT IT ON THE FORUMS BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK})

3) our truck's weigh more than 4600 lbs and some of that must be turned by the engine slowing you down. every one pound of rotating mass roughly equates to 3 pounds of resistance on your engine. minimum weight for max performance. as always think about your ideas before you attempt them after all its a hefty truck that needs durable and tough support parts not a feather-lite race car under drive pulley lightened flywheels knife edged crank shaft aluminum pistons and rods aluminum drive shaft from a mustang lighter rims (you can find used lite weight car rims made from aluminum or even magnesium but they will be fragile and are not designed for trucks that are twice as heavy as the Miata they where mounted on before you bought them) shorter tires with less tread width not much in weight reduction mostly an easy way to change your gear ratio.

the things you can do to get better performance in theory are many. what actualy works for the 3.0 vulcan in your truck is a subject to constant debate. learn enough to make an educated disinfection as to what is feasible for you within your mechanical ability's this post is just a rambling of things that floated into my head when reading your post. Ive had my own experience with most of the ideas I've posted. based on that I've not given you nearly enough warning and insight on the concepts of vehicular performance and am formal telling you not to do any of this shenanigans to your or your friends car/truck/motorcycle or w/e you may have the urge to apply said concepts too. i hope I've helped answer your question as it pertains to the 3.0 Vulcan engine in your ranger. don't worry about commenting on my ****ty spelling/grammar/written mechanics because i know all about it

 

i can't say for sure on the sn95 mustang's 5L HO motor, but i know late 80's (mass air and newer for sure) do NOT have roller rockers, they are 1.6 non roller

 

well if i went into any more detail i would have had to just send a word document instead of a post but your right. the older 302's did not use rocker rollers.
ether way i was just trying to give a generalized all inclusive list of ideas and concepts to answer the guys question or at least for posterity's sake. i say f the bs and get a proper engine.
the Vulcan is an ancient piece of mechanical engineering forged from molten rock and a shatty budget to provide an engine that has enough usable hp and tq to power a full sized sedan or light truck with "acceptable" performance and capability in a package that will just keep ticking (literally and figuratively). That engine has been mated, half-a$$ed, (in my opinion) to a second rate engine management tech of a whole new era, not for the sake of making the engine work better as a whole, but primarily, to conform to EPA regulation's set by idealistic tree huggers who as intelligent and/or educated as they may be where completely ignorant of how Detroit runs their show. im sorry it sucks ford didn't have the guts to put the duratec 3.0 in the ranger when it came out and drop the 4.0 for the v8 sho engine or any other engine offered by ford with better performance. it sucks when your moms old a$$ Mazda MPV(or 4 cylinder taco) can smoke your v6 ranger (both the 3.0 and 4.0 ohv) so like everyone says your options are 1)stay stock enjoy your truck for what it is by driving it into the ground after 400k miles dumping the truck and being a show trucker or go climbing some rocks or spelunking off-road somewhere. 2) engine swap 3)turbo/supercharged goodness 4) nitrous 5)get your extra 15 hp, 18 tq, and 4 mpg(*random numbers* actual gains may vary) from things like under drive pulleys, lightened flywheels, headers/high flow catalytic converters/cat back exhaust, high flow intake, electric fan and/or water pump, aluminum drive shaft, and what have you of "proven" or at least common place, practical bolt on mods and call it a day 6) slip into insanity by tweaking out on how you can make your engine perform just a little better(maf cutting, iat mods, hydrogen injection, 4.0 injectors, egr or PVC delete, knife edging your crank, etc, etc, etc, etc)

 

I LOVE my 3.0 with 4.10 gears. I can drag a Chevy out of the mud then blow a stangs doors off on the way home

 

dont kid yourself bro.

 

haha i raced an auto v6 mustang today and i was ahead until about 50 then he was gone

everyone bashes the 3.0 and i will agree it would be nice to have some extra power of the 4.0. but in a 5 speed it's still not that bad. But i do have 4.10 gears lol. I can pull a trailer with 2 quads in it just fine so what more can you ask for? i mean the majority of us aren't using our trucks to race lol.

bone stock i wasn't too happy but even with an intake and opened up exhaust it was a noticable help. not huge but enough to bump it up a few horses

 

I'm tellin you man my 3.0 stepside edge has 4.10 a k&n, true duals, a chip and a re routed throttle cable and i can drag one of your beloved 4.0's off its axles

she's getting a cam soon

 

wowzers.

 

 

lmao! hahaha