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Info to increase performance

wolfspirit

22
0
Austin, TX
I have a 2000 ranger Flareside V6 3.0L 2WD.

I am wondering what little things here and there I can do/buy to tweak it's performance a little. I don't want to "customize" it (yet!) Just wanting ideas of simple things to replace, etc.
I got some new spark plugs I'm going to put in.. FIgure I'll get some new plug wires as well. I dont know when/if they've been replaced before.

I have little knowledge about mechanics, but I can follow instructions if its fairly simple.

Any ideas/info is greatly apreciated!
 

Bob Ayers

North Carolina Chapter member
1,474
111
Durham, NC
First, welcome to FTF!!

How many miles on your Ranger? The original plugs are good till 80K - 100K miles. What brand of plug did you buy? ONLY use Motorcraft double platinums, or "fine wire" platinums. It's a good idea to replace the plug wires when the plugs are changed, because it's easy to damage them when you remove them from the plugs.

I have my own philosophy on performance mods! With the CAFE standards, ALL vehicle manufacturers design their engines to be as efficient as possible.
So, the OEM paper air filter, and intake IS NOT restrictive, and will flow all the air the engine can pull!! So, all the talk about CAI, K&N filters, etc. is nothing but HYPE! If you notice the snorkel from the OEM air box, the OEM
system is a CAI!!! And the only thing that the K&Ns will flow more than the OEM paper filters is DIRT and OIL!! Installing a larger intake will not flow any more air, but it will decrease the air velocity, causing the MAF sensor to improperly measure the amount of air flowing.

The only way to get a substantial performance increase is to increase the displacement of the engine, or go to forced induction. ALL of the other
performance mod "add ons" do little or nothing, DO NOT throw your money away.
 
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blacksnapon

blacksnapon

Moderator
Staff member
9,461
301
waynesville,mo.
The 3.0 litre was engineered to be an easy on gas, car engine. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it doesn't take well to performance modifications (unless you want to spend lots of money). My suggestion would be to make appearance upgrades only. That way you dont ruin the reliability of your truck.
 

wolfspirit

22
0
Austin, TX
Its got close to 124k miles. I imagine the previous owner replaced these parts already, as he was apparently a certified mechanic and took good care of the truck (I got the truck at 115k i think) but I dont know for sure. Figured I might as well replace them, as its not too expensive. I got CHampion Copper Plus plugs.. I dont know if they had motocraft.. with oil changes I've stuck with motocraft filters as I agree and would like to stick to Ford parts as much as possible.


As for the other stuff.. Im not looking to necisarily tweak my engine or anything, just little thigns here and there to keep it running good and possibly a little better, without paying hundreds of bucks for one change. As a fairly new vehicle owner I still don't know what all parts need regular changing and how often, etc.
 
john112deere

john112deere

caffeine junkie
Staff member
10,807
405
central Vermont
Tune up stuff is good- new (stock) air filter, fuel filter, plugs and wires, etc. will help your truck make all the power in can in it's current configuration.

I'm with the other guys- "cheap" mods to gain a little power aren't worth it.

Do you know what gears you've got in it? That would be the first thing I'd be thinking about if I wanted more power from a vehicle...
 

wolfspirit

22
0
Austin, TX
No idea on the gears. That aspect of vehicles is way out of my league currently.
Im not looking for more power necisarily.. just want to keep it running as efficient as possible.

I noticed the last owner replaced the spark plugs with some better ones (the ones with four "prongs" instead of one prong.. dont know how else to describe it) Should I replace them with motocraft stock parts again? or keep with the better ones?
 
john112deere

john112deere

caffeine junkie
Staff member
10,807
405
central Vermont
wolfspirit said:
No idea on the gears. That aspect of vehicles is way out of my league currently.
Im not looking for more power necisarily.. just want to keep it running as efficient as possible.
Click to expand...
There's a sticker on the back edge of your drivers door with a code that tells you what gears you've got; I've got a Ford repair CD that tells what the codes mean, but you can find it online, too.


wolfspirit said:
I noticed the last owner replaced the spark plugs with some better ones (the ones with four "prongs" instead of one prong.. dont know how else to describe it) Should I replace them with motocraft stock parts again? or keep with the better ones?
Click to expand...
Bob Ayers knows more about it than I do, but my understanding is that anything except Motorcraft dual platinum plugs (and maybe Autolite, which I think are the same thing) do not last or perform well in the Ranger ignition system.
 

Bob Ayers

North Carolina Chapter member
1,474
111
Durham, NC
wolfspirit said:
No idea on the gears. That aspect of vehicles is way out of my league currently.
Im not looking for more power necisarily.. just want to keep it running as efficient as possible.

I noticed the last owner replaced the spark plugs with some better ones (the ones with four "prongs" instead of one prong.. dont know how else to describe it) Should I replace them with motocraft stock parts again? or keep with the better ones?
Click to expand...

The plugs you described sound like Bosch plugs. These are not "better", matter of fact Bosch don't run well at all with Ford's EDIS ignition system.
Replace them with the Motorcraft double, or "fine wire" platinums.
 

wolfspirit

22
0
Austin, TX
I do believe theyre Bosch. He also had Bosch plug wires in it. Autozone only has DUralast or something.. and Bosch plug wires. I think they only had one type of Motocraft plugs which were the regular ones with one prong.
 

Bob Ayers

North Carolina Chapter member
1,474
111
Durham, NC
wolfspirit said:
I do believe theyre Bosch. He also had Bosch plug wires in it. Autozone only has DUralast or something.. and Bosch plug wires. I think they only had one type of Motocraft plugs which were the regular ones with one prong.
Click to expand...

All of the Motorcraft plugs (copper, double platinum, fine-wire platinum) only have one prong (electrode).
 

Greywolf

Guest
If you really want to increase performance, keep all else stock, go with 1 inch taller rims, and put fifty series tires on them. This will reduce your rolling resistance due to the reduced tire and rim weight.

And shop smart, look for swap meets, and people selling secondhand stuff. Excellent rims come from yard sales, for dirt cheap compared to new. If you price centerline rims brand new out of the box - it will take your breath away....
 
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