Performance upgrades?

[karma11]

Hello all, im a very long time lurker, couple of posts here and there but i have never posted a question. That being how come nobody talks about engine upgrades. cold air intake, exhaust, throttle body spacer? anything that could possibly increase horsepower/torque/ MPG

I will mention that i tried the E3 spark plugs in my little scion DD and wow made a surprising difference. seemed more responsive. now i know its not a toyota, but that little scion i have is very soon to be gone. and in its place a nice new probably 2014 Tacoma. so needless to say ive been doing research on them for along time. mainly on expo, just because nobody is rude.

Anyway any and all input of what people have done to their rigs engine wise would be nice to know. Specifically, the late model V6

Karma11

 

[Milo902]

Welcome karma,

Many modern engines already breathe very well and thus rarely see performance gains from aftermarket intakes/exhausts. Exhausts are fine if you want a different sound, but don't expect any real power increases out of a yota V6. "Cold Air" intakes on the other hand, can actually hurt performance by sucking hot air from the engine bay, and oiled filters tend to let in more dust and can foul up MAF sensors. There are of course always exceptions to the rules, but my (limited) knowledge of Toyota truck V6 motors is that bolt-ons don't do much if anything for power.

Throttle body spacer? I never looked into the idea behind them, I find it hard to believe that an OEM would leave power/mileage on the table w/ something so simple.

I think the 4.0 is a pretty great motor stock, but I also think the 3.4's are peppy so who knows. The general consensus on the 'Yota V6 motors is if you wan't bolt on power, get the TRD supercharger. I have one in the garage that will be going on my 4Runner soon.

 

[robert]

How much power do you want? http://www.urdusa.com/

The cheapest mods are a snorkel which most report gives you about 1mpg increase in fuel economy, lightening the vehicle as much as possible and staying off the skinny pedal. If you really want to increase the power you're going to have to look into turbos and superchargers.

ETA Check out Tacomaworld.com and some of the other Tacoma specific forums for more info.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I have to agree with the two responses above.

There are lots of "enthusiasts" out there bolting on this and that on the assumption that it will increase performance, but most of the time all you end up doing is "fixing" something that isn't broken. Over on the T4R.org boards it's not uncommon to see people doing the CAI, exhaust, and who knows what other mods, and then sure as hell there they are a few months later complaining about sluggish performance and getting 12 mpg.

I guess you can choose to believe that "some guy on the internet" knows better about how to make an engine perform than, you know, the battalions of engineers and technicians who are employed by Toyota for that very purpose, but I think I will choose otherwise.

The other issue is reliability: The way we use our vehicles, a breakdown far from home is not something we want to have to deal with, and the more you start pulling this and that off of an engine that was designed to work as a system, the more you increase the chance of a failure in a remote part of the world.

And the final factor, IMO, is one of age. If you go to a lot of the "performance" oriented web boards, you find a lot of people (mostly men) in their teens and 20s trying to make a vehicle go fast. However, most of us here are quite a bit past the age when we're interested in getting a low quarter mile time. I would guess the average age on these boards is in the high 30's or low 40's (FWIW I'm 52.)

 

[ebg18t]

IMHO these v6 motors run well in stock form. They will never be fast, but when kept stock they are reliable. As others have suggested unless you bolt on the S/C kit just leave it stock, do the regular maintenance and enjoy it for the workhorse it is.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

Everything said in responses is good. The only way to get noticeable gains is a supercharger. For overland/offroad vehicles reliability and serviceability are key. The farther from stock you get, the more of each you lose.

 

[keezer37]

...you know, the battalions of engineers and technicians who are employed by Toyota for that very purpose, but I think I will choose otherwise.

So, every time you're inclined to walk in to Autozone and buy the latest doohickey that promises "up to 6% more HP!" (hint: you're in the "up to" category), remember the above phrase. Battalions of en-gin-eers.

Cold air intakes become hot air dogs in summer traffic. Think you might be in summer traffic occasionally?
Catbacks sound terrible on these motors. No deep rumble. Just a kinda zipper like sound.
If you can tell the seat of the pants difference between one spark plug and another, you're lying to yourself.
One piece driveshafts substitute one problem for another.
Um what else? For sale: K&N CAI and catback from JBA Racing. Like new!

 

[bkg]

So, every time you're inclined to walk in to Autozone and buy the latest doohickey that promises "up to 6% more HP!" (hint: you're in the "up to" category), remember the above phrase. Battalions of en-gin-eers.

Cold air intakes become hot air dogs in summer traffic. Think you might be in summer traffic occasionally?
Catbacks sound terrible on these motors. No deep rumble. Just a kinda zipper like sound.
If you can tell the seat of the pants difference between one spark plug and another, you're lying to yourself.
One piece driveshafts substitute one problem for another.
Um what else? For sale: K&N CAI and catback from JBA Racing. Like new!

Don't forget. however, that corporate engineers have other things that they have to worry about - things that get in the way of making efficient power... like emissions, fuel economy, Noise/vibration levels, actuarial risks for repairs... and on and on and on...

If there weren't performance gains to be had by the aftermarket... the aftermarket wouldn't exist. Period.

 

[RCsGX]

If there weren't performance gains to be had by the aftermarket... the aftermarket wouldn't exist. Period.

That is true but for the most part, Toyota engines aren't easy to mod / tune like a LS is for example so all you'd be doing is wasting your money adding a aftermarket CAI, exhaust etc. If you want power that you can feel w/ your Toyota, forced induction is the only way to go, unlike on a LS motor where you can add a cam, headers, exhaust and get substantial gains.

 

[Milo902]

OEM engineers are juggling a lot of variables when designing an engine, and power probably takes a back seat to a few things. But when it comes to getting air into and out of the engine, there are very few downsides to better breathing so they tend to do a pretty good job on that front. Unless your willing to remove the cat (tip, don't) than a larger exhaust/muffler probably won't net you anything except a louder exhaust, ditto on the intake.

One must also consider the budget available to a company like Toyota, designing an engine to be used in hundreds of thousands of vehicles around the world, vs K&N. The R&D that goes into engine intake systems would make those K&N engineers collective heads spin, theres no way an aftermarket intake can account for the range of variables an OEM has designed for. In other words, big tubing and an open filter do not necessarily equal more air flow or more power. The CIA and big exhaust approach to making more power worked 20+ years ago, but by the '90s, it is like asking Jeremy Clarkson to fix your car. Speaking of which, where's my hammer?

I'm not saying don't modify your motor, just think it through before you slap that CIA, flowmaster 40 seres, throttle body spacer, underdrive pulley, blue silicone hose, vents to the atmosphere BOV on your ride. There's no free lunch.

While there are some legit aftermarket ad-ons, most of it is just engine jewelry.

 

[Martinjmpr]

If there weren't performance gains to be had by the aftermarket... the aftermarket wouldn't exist. Period.

As long as people think they will get performance, and are willing pay for it, the aftermarket will exist, whether there is actually any performance gain or not.

 

[keezer37]

If there weren't performance gains to be had by the aftermarket... the aftermarket wouldn't exist. Period.

I must disagree. While your statement can be true. It has always been my understanding that as long there is a new crop of twenty-somethings in the pipeline, there will be vague promises to sell them. Could there, might there be some nominal gain, yes. But through experience and knowledge I've found this crap to be about as useful as vitamins.

 

[bkg]

That is true but for the most part, Toyota engines aren't easy to mod / tune like a LS is for example so all you'd be doing is wasting your money adding a aftermarket CAI, exhaust etc. If you want power that you can feel w/ your Toyota, forced induction is the only way to go, unlike on a LS motor where you can add a cam, headers, exhaust and get substantial gains.

as a guy who has built too many 22re's, a well-done 3vze, modified 5vz's, owns a supercharged/TRD'd/URD'd 5vze... I can tell you that you are incorrect. Toyota engines can and DO benefit from aftermarket components outside of forced induction. Is the code tighter? Hell yes, which is why we are only now seeing the first tuner's available for Toyotas after many years of attempting. But your blanket statement - not complete accurate.

 

[bkg]

As long as people think they will get performance, and are willing pay for it, the aftermarket will exist, whether there is actually any performance gain or not.

perhaps... but that's one hell of a marketing job to sell something that doesn't work - and create a heck of a revenue stream doing it. If people think there is performance, and empirical tests show there is no increase, then claims are false and people wise up.

Been around Toyota's my entire life - modding way too many. For people to say there are no performance gains when I know that to be not entirely true... well... I guess then we just have to agree to disagree.

note: one really should define "performance gain" for this discussion to have any credibility. Will intakes, exhaust, headers, TB Spacers, tuners, cams, etc... increase power by 40%? Hell no... But neither will they do that in nearly any gas engine. But completely deny performance increases? nope.

 

[hilux30]

I installed this: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacoma-marketplace/297774-xtp-intake-manifold-spacer-4-0l.html a month ago, stock everything.

This is after using a CAI + MAF calibrator before returning to stock. With MAF & CAI power gains where all HP (minimal) and no torque and didn't suit me, plus I did not do anything to the exhaust (short tube headers, better y-pipe, retain 2 out of 4 cats, muffler) because I wanted peace & quiet and pass emissions...

the spacer produced a very noticable kick in low end torque, HP remains the same... read