went to the detroit auto show and there was a 3.0Lvulcon that made 210hp@5500rpm !!!and i think 245tq(cant recall excatly) i want one for my ranger. they even had a 03 ranger with a whipple supercharger and jba headdes and borla exhaust....nice

 

Hey that sounds cool! Darn good power numbers for a 3.0L.

I never heard anything about a "Vulcon" before, is that something Ford has been secretly working on? What kind of design is it (OHV, DOHC, SOHC)? Was there any indication that it might be in the running as the next generation 3.0L option for the Ranger? I'd like to hear more about that motor...

As a basis of comparison, my Taurus SHO's 3.0L DOHC makes 220hp @ 6K (redlines @ 7200) with about 210 lb/ft torque and I couldn't even imagine having one in my Ranger because of the power and torque (hmm...well, maybe I can imagine it )...

And Ford seems to be liking those superchargers more and more...

 

Actually, the idea of a duratec - powered ranger isn't a bad idea. It would seem to me that it would be cheaper for ford to just put the existing duratec into the ranger, rather than spend the R&D money to desing a new vulcan. Especially when the top of the line rangers use the 4.0L

 

FoMoCo seems to have no common sense about engine series. How many engines in the 3-4 litre range do they need? Why did they put the Lima OHC 2.3 in the Ranger for so many years, instead of the longer stroke, higher torque at lower RPM Temp/Topaz OHV2.3 (or the 2.5 from the Taurus)? Why have a 4.0 OHV and then the Monkey-Motion OHC 4.0 ? Then have a 4.2 OHV six for the F150? And a 3.8 for the Mustang Windstar and Taurus/Sable. All these engine right around 4 litres, and why?
tom

 

Well, the 3.8 Essex and the 4.2 are the same engine family. The 4.2 is a bored out 3.8. It's a lot cheaper to use an existing design and modify the systems on the motor.

As for the 4.0s. Well, I must say my monkey-motion SOHC 4.0 has lasted me 121,000 miles, and it's an amazing engine. Yes, I think the Vulcan is probably one of the best engines for efficiency and price, but Ford doesn't really have a lot of 3-4 Liter motors. No more than any other car-maker.

If you think Ford has a lot...don't get me started on GM. 3.1, 3100, 3.4, 3.4 DOHC, 3.8, 3.8 Supercharged, 3.5....those are all V-6s btw, and almost all of them are completely different motor series. I don't know them too well, but trust me, GM has too many; not Ford.