[Wagonfanatic]

So let's talk performance for the wagon, I'm lucky enough to have landed a V6 wagon for under 1k. The duratec 30 is a solid engine, but it's not very easy to get your hands on performance parts for the engine. The Mazdaspeed swap, a bit overrated and impractical for what I want here. So what engines would be the easiest to swap in this machine to pump out some HP without making major modifications? I was thinking about the SHO 3.0, but I'm unsure of what year or if it's going to be a pain.

 

[TalonTsi90]

So lets just ignore all the other threads that tell you that theres nothing to do to the 3.0? There are so many systems tied in with the motor, gauge cluster, ECU etc that you couldnt swap in a non Mazda motor. Its def not worth it.

 

[Byakuya]

So lets just ignore all the other threads that tell you that theres nothing to do to the 3.0? There are so many systems tied in with the motor, gauge cluster, ECU etc that you couldnt swap in a non Mazda motor. Its def not worth it.

I'm with Talon on it not being worth the time. There's a crazy amount of work to go into swapping a completely non-compatible engine into this car. You'd get a better bang for your buck if you spent that money going all-in like TGNY did: TWIN TURBO PUNISHER 6 IS BORN!!!!!

 

[jman]

There was someone else who was adding a blower but don't recall reading if he got it running.

 

[TalonTsi90]

There was someone else who was adding a blower but don't recall reading if he got it running.

Yea from a Buick i think.

 

[DrFeelGood]

There was someone else who was adding a blower but don't recall reading if he got it running.

That is @hurddawg and he is using a unit from a Benz (and others)
First super charger mention is here.

 

[banzairx7]

I have a thread on here about swapping in a 2012 escape motor. This netted me about 25hp and tq. I don't think I would do it just for the power though. My motor needed to be replaced anyway.

 

[thaxman]

I have a thread on here about swapping in a 2012 escape motor. This netted me about 25hp and tq. I don't think I would do it just for the power though. My motor needed to be replaced anyway.

What displacement is the 2012 motor?
Also, since all these passenger-oriented V6s are kinda like old-school V8s from the 50's and early 60's (pre musclecar era) in that they are designed to deliver the feel of power more than actual performance, how did your butt like the result? Was it noticeable?

 

[thaxman]

I saw that Jag's version of the Duratec has some changes to the top end. Wonder if it might be a good place to start a build.

 

[TalonTsi90]

I saw that Jag's version of the Duratec has some changes to the top end. Wonder if it might be a good place to start a build.

I think Noble did one that was almost 300hp?

 

[Sydtron]

I think Noble did one that was almost 300hp?

I think all the Noble 3.0L Duratecs were twin-turbo, going from about 300 to 450 HP.

 

[banzairx7]

What displacement is the 2012 motor?
Also, since all these passenger-oriented V6s are kinda like old-school V8s from the 50's and early 60's (pre musclecar era) in that they are designed to deliver the feel of power more than actual performance, how did your butt like the result? Was it noticeable?

These V6's are the exact opposite of the V8 "test drive" tuning american manufacturers were famous for. The 3.0 has ZERO low end power. They don't come alive until ~4200rpm when the intake cam timing changes. It's all in the tuning and I haven't found anyone that can change the stock ECU. They run super conservative timing advance til it comes on the cam.

The escape motor is still a 3.0. It has different heads with better intake porting and higher compression pistons. The intake cam maybe different also but I can't confirm this. Valves and exhaust porting are the same. The car is definitely a lot faster but it's all top end. I'm still flooring it from a light and than waiting for it to get over 4200rpm before it does anything exciting.

 

[thaxman]

These V6's are the exact opposite of the V8 "test drive" tuning american manufacturers were famous for. The 3.0 has ZERO low end power. They don't come alive until ~4200rpm when the intake cam timing changes. It's all in the tuning and I haven't found anyone that can change the stock ECU. They run super conservative timing advance til it comes on the cam.

The escape motor is still a 3.0. It has different heads with better intake porting and higher compression pistons. The intake cam maybe different also but I can't confirm this. Valves and exhaust porting are the same. The car is definitely a lot faster but it's all top end. I'm still flooring it from a light and than waiting for it to get over 4200rpm before it does anything exciting.

For official clarification, when I mentioned "all these passenger-oriented V6s" I was lumping the Duratec in with all the other V6s from domestic and Japanese midsize sedans, and not singling out the Mazda-reworked version. Since the options are relatively few for a real screamer of a V6, I am really excited that the Escape V6 is spec'd like that. To me it seems that no carmaker really got into building performance V6s until the 300hp VQ 350Z came along. That shocked the world and better V6s started to show up in passenger cars and suddenly you could get a 6 second RAV4.