I've read MANY posts about this, and many say complete kit way to go, others say 2000 Ranger 3.0 already has cold air intake setup, so just change the filter. So this one is for the old pro's.... I installed the complete cold air intake for my '06 Titan, and it REALLY made a difference in power and economy. But, $300+ for that compared to $55 for just the square filter and not cone style. Please educate me as this is my first Ranger, any advantage to the complete change out over just the high flow filter?
Thx!

 

Just buy a stock drop in filter.
I had a K@N drop in filter for about 6 months,threw it in the garbage.
It kept clogging up my MAF sencer.And it was new, oiled from the factory.
Waste of money !!!

 

You can remove the silencer from the front of the airbox to open it up a little more. It has a good draw from where the airbox is located so a CAI will not show much of an improvement.

The K&N is a different story. Many times people over oil them and have problems with the sensors loading up with oil. Then there are those that under oil and that allows crud to flow through the filter. The stock filter will flow more than enough air to give you all the horsepower the 3.0 engine is capable of - even with internal performance mods and headers.

 

Don't waste your money on K&N ANYTHING. I had a 2001 Ranger 4.0L years ago and put the drop-in filter in. No difference whatsoever. The Ranger is already equipped with a cold air intake. If you install the K&N unit, it becomes a WARM air intake, sucking air from the engine compartment (which isn't cold). The K&N drop-in filter isn't any better than a standard OEM filter. Just buy a new QUALITY brand name filter and save your money. The silencer mod that TSquare mentioned really only makes the truck louder and removes the smooth air flow path. Not sure how much this would affect it one way or the other. Just my 2 cents...

 

^I agree 100% .K@N is garbage.don't waste your money.

 

As others have said, you've already got a CAI on the 3.0 at least, i removed the resonance intake part from mine, for whatever that's worth, and added a little tube just to let it reach back into the colder bumper area again.

Everything about the K&N and oil is true, they're bad filters without oil as they let too much through, and they're bad filters with oil as they gum up the MAF too much.
Oh, and don't get my started on the fact you can find the 'fluff' or cotton the filter is made from, in used oil analysis reports (yeah work out how far that crap has to go to make it into the oil)

Anyway, yeah, quality/stock paper panel filter is all you need.