Rev Limiter Question

[maced]

New to the site and tried to read as much as possible on the rev limiter and its implications.

My question is this: sitting in park with engine idling, then revving engine to around 3000 rpm, motor starts acting like a cylinder is cutting out. Ford dealer says this is the rev limiter but is it normal for it to kick in at 3K rpm? Noticed at highway speeds (60-65) and trying to accelerate it is very slow to pick up speed (not mashing the pedal).

 

[RangerX]

Do you know which engine you have?

 

[Red FX4]

The rev limiter only works when the transmission is in park or neutral and yes it kicks in around 3K. When you are driving, you also have a speed limiter which kicks in around 90 mph. The slow acceleration at highway speeds is probably due to being in Overdrive, especially with a 3.0L or 4 cylinder engine.

 

[JohnnyO]

I had a 99 3.0 Ranger, 02 4.0 Ranger, now an 05 4.0 Sport Trac, they all do that.

 

[maced]

Thanks for the inputs. Engine is the 3.0L V6 and I guess my problem is one of comparison. I traded in a Ford Aerostar with a similar engine for this truck and assumed that performance would be similar between the two.

Now another question regarding performance with minor mods. Have any of you experimented with different plugs, gap widths, or plug wires? I realize the gains would be minimal but what I want is a cleaner and more efficient burn. Also, what is the preference on fuel type and its effect on performance?

maced

 

[Red FX4]

You will not get any performance gains from different spark plugs or gaps. Different wires will do nothing for you either. If these items are bad or not up to spec they can degrade performance so installing new ones will improve performance back to what it should be. Unleaded regular will give you the best performance with a stock 3.0L engine unless it is carboned up.

The best mod I have seen for performance gain is programmer for the computer. They call it a something like an X-calibrator now. Bama has the best but they are not cheap.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

bama chips is one of our sponsors. Head to our computer section and you'll find a lot of information about them.

-Drew