Those of you with a 3L...(basic questions)

[Av10sguy]

This is my first post with this name, however I am not new to this scene. Formally known as Tommyboy i sold my coug and havent been on since may or so. I recentally got in a accident so my insurance on my Infinity is going to kill me, so time to downgrade and I was thinking of a 3L Cougar or Contour. However i do have some basic questions that i could not find in the stickies or while using the magical search button. What kind of gas millage do you guys get out of the 3L's? I am sure it depends on whether they are tuned or not, but in general what kind of gas millage are you guys getting. Second, i know that there are some problems with the hybrids, but are there anyother problems that guys have been running into that are consistant with other members? I just had so many problems with my coug, i would hate to have smiliar ones with another one. Thanks guys!

[jrak123]

If you want a good cougar that is a super strong runner with nothing but the best of everything you need to contact Nick (http://www.newcougar.org/forums/fs-vehicles/117140-my-3-0l-cougar-sale.html) about his car.

If I remember correctly he gets about 25-29MPG @75MPH on the highway.

He has the full 3L oval port engine with SVT upper and lower intake. Custom True bendz exhaust MSDS headers... The list goes on. This car is about as solid as you can get. Car originally came from Florida and he always keeps it parked in the garage. I think it has seen snow maybe 3 or 4 times in it's entire life.

I am pretty good friends with Nick and while he is back up at school term he doesn't log on much, but yo are interested I can give him a call.

As far as issues like the stock 2.5L and the hybrid with oil. There isn't really an issue at hand except for keeping your oil level where it should be in the first place. BUT... The 3l does have extra drain back holes in the heads to allow oil to return to the pan faster, as well as when he built the engine he went with the updated oil pick up tube and oil pan.

I can't stress enough how nice this car is. I have driven it quite a few times and each time I am like a little kid after... just all grins. You can't go wrong with this car. The only thing you could really do to make it better is pay warmonger a little money to get a better tune than the one that ADC gave him. ADC's tune isn't bad, but it needs some more work to make it better. I know this car will make upward of 230-240 HP N/A on premium.

[Blackcoog]

That sucks about the Inifinity. I still see your old Cougar every other day. If you would like a 3L SVT let me know we picked one up from California to fix up and drop a 3L into.

As far as gas mileage they are still pretty close to stock 2.5L. I get mid to low 20's with mixed driving and about 27mpg on the highway. My SVT isn't tuned though.

As far as issues you shouldn't have any problem with the ported 3L's we build.

[Av10sguy]

Yea well I will still have to sell my car first... but this is going to my my so called third accident, or the third accident that i was involved in.... Gotta love the State of Minnesota which says if your car is in motion you are at fault... Haha! I almost put a 3L in my coug, but i never loved my car because there was always something going wrong with it it caused me to hate the damn thing. Maybe 3L's are different? I just need to find a car that has some balls, yet wont leave me stranded like my old coug did. The 3L coug that i almost bought was crazy fast, but with gas prices this high, I need to get something that gets reasonable MPG. How has the reliablity been going for all you 3L guys so far?

[Av10sguy]

That sucks about the Inifinity. I still see your old Cougar every other day. If you would like a 3L SVT let me know we picked one up from California to fix up and drop a 3L into.

As far as gas mileage they are still pretty close to stock 2.5L. I get mid to low 20's with mixed driving and about 27mpg on the highway. My SVT isn't tuned though.

As far as issues you shouldn't have any problem with the ported 3L's we build.

I do miss my Ash Gold cougar..... How is the kid liking it so far? Still cant believe that i sold that thing for 3g's! Yea Chris i know that you know 3L's like you know the back of your hand:rolleyes: haha! But after i get it fixed, I will probably be in the market for a 3L coug or Contour. Saw acouple of them on the fourms for sale.. I shouldnt have any troubles selling my suv especially since winter is right around the corner. But Ill let you know Chris as to when i will be looking.

[fordrule]

deff look at nicks coug. its solid. i remember when he was buildin his. he helped me build mine also. it is a solid car all the way around and for the price its a steal, and looks sleek for a kicker
linky (http://www.newcougar.org/forums/fs-vehicles/117140-my-3-0l-cougar-sale.html)

[gamiller]

Since you're not set on buying another Cougar yet, here are some things to keep in mind:

Buying a ten year old car will result in more "problems" than buying a five year old car. If reliability is most important to you, I suggest you look at the Ten Best Used Cars list over at Edmunds.com.

Driving a 3.0 V6 is great, but there are additional issues (a.k.a. problems) that you may have to deal with as a result. Think about whether the performance is worth the inconvenience.

[spridget]

12mpg when I'm road racing, but otherwise, average is about 25mpg.

[Av10sguy]

Since you're not set on buying another Cougar yet, here are some things to keep in mind:

Buying a ten year old car will result in more "problems" than buying a five year old car. If reliability is most important to you, I suggest you look at the Ten Best Used Cars list over at Edmunds.com.

Driving a 3.0 V6 is great, but there are additional issues (a.k.a. problems) that you may have to deal with as a result. Think about whether the performance is worth the inconvenience.

This is very true, but its nice to find a car for under 7 thousand that has a newer engine put in it. All cars will have there flaws and problems... i just wanted to know if there were consistant problems that 3L's have been having besises the oil related ones.

[gamiller]

Consistent problems with the 3L? Well, most folks initially have a problem with vacuum leaks, which cause the engine to rev at undesirable times. This even happened to BlackCoog and FastCougar. Other than that, everybody faces the challenge of obtaining a good tune. Many of us got our baseline tune from Warmonger. Others (e.g. Jaged) have been dyno tuned locally.

In my experience, the number of issues that arise is inversely proportional to the expertise of the mechanic.

[Redlineracer12]

I don't know what "problems" you ran into with your last cougar, but in reality a 3L one would be the same car still. I don't know that there are actually that many problems related to the 2.5 engine so I can't imagine that was what made your car "unreliable". Just because it would have a 3L doesn't mean it will be a different car. That said though, I don't think they are unreliable cars, but then again I owned a Probe before I bought this :rofl:

[DNeinstadt]

Speaking of probe, I have one for sale that gets 30mpg. :)

[Redlineracer12]

Speaking of probe, I have one for sale that gets 30mpg. :)

I saw that on mnpoc... Mine got 32+ with the 5 speed :tongue: G/L with the sale, I do miss mine.