9322rerunner

Hey everyone,
so I recently did an oil change and checked over my distributor, cap, rotor, plugs and wires etc. I have noticed that when getting on the freeway, it almost feels like the truck has no power around the 4-5k rpm range. Now mind you I am running 33's on it with some heavy ass alloy wheels. What I am curious about is if this is something that should be concerning? I remember on my old 89 truck with the same engine and trans setup (22re/5speed) I had 33's and it felt like it had more power in the upper RPM range. So is there something that I can do to possibly up that power in that range?

My next thing is, I plan on buying a 26-32 inch light bar to mount in the lower valance, what I am wondering is, I have a full sound system in my runner, an OLD school Eclipse 87121.8 sub, an 800 watt amp, new speakers all around and a new deck, I want to make sure that everything is going to not draw too much from the battery and alternator. Without spending a small fortune, is there any alternators that will bolt up that are higher than the standard alternator? Maybe a 120 or higher amperage alternator?

Trying to make sure this is a truck that won't die because I want to keep her FOREVER.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Are you sure you had the same gears in both trucks??

Mileage on both engines about the same??

Weight of both trucks within a 100 pounds of each other??

Maybe then your just remembering wrong .

Gears or a Good tune up is about it.

These Engines are very expensive to build horse power .

Depends on where your skill level and budget is the 3.4 swap is about the most cost effective .

It is possible to have a stock alternator built to a higher output

GM alternator are pretty cheap just need to source the bracket.

kcaudill

Put the biggest CCA battery you can fit in it with the longest warranty. Make sure all your grounds are good and big. Size the wire to your load. Upgrade the wire size from alt to battery.

Or buy the LCEngineering 130amp alt and do all the above as well.

9322rerunner

I want to do a complete upgrade of the big 3, does anyone make a completed kit for that so it's all one and done?

Also, when you mean upgrade the wire size from the alt to the battery, meaning someone like ought gauge wiring from the alt to the battery for a better ground?

9322rerunner

Sorry for the questions, just trying to make sure that this engine isn't going or that something isn't wrong with the truck. I mean it has great power from about 1800-4000 rpm's. Also, in 5th gear, its as useless as a duck fart, unless cruising on the highway on the flat.

scope103

If you want to just be "sure" that your alternator can handle your current draw, wouldn't you want to know what that draw was? Maybe 60 is enough, or 120 (140?) STILL isn't. If it were me, I'd try one of these: (don't forget the shunt!) Hard to beat the price.

Just so you know, an LCEngineering big-ass light bar draws 7amps. And no, your sound system doesn't draw any where near 800 watts (67 amps!)

CCA is "Cold Cranking Amps," and doesn't really have anything to do with how much current you can pull out of a battery on a sustained basis. Just because I can clean-and-jerk 250lbs doesn't mean I can stand there and hold it over my head for an hour. More importantly, unless you plan to sit there for an hour with everything on BUT the engine (so you're carrying ALL the load on the battery alone), what you actually need is enough alternator ampacity. If your alternator puts out any less than your total load, no matter how beefy your battery is it will be inexorably discharged.

But if you're worried about getting stuck when the air temp is -15°F, lots of CCA is the way to go.

The plug-and-play LCEngineering alternator is $260 http://www.lceperformance.com/High-O...-p/1080010.htm compared to about $100 for stock. Is that "a small fortune"? Remember, if you're regularly drawing less than 60 amps all that extra capacity is pretty much wasted.

As kcaudill says, size the wire to the load. Yeah, yeah, you can put in arc welder cables and claim that you've "upgraded," but if you don't know your current draw you're just putting in decoration.

RJR

Scope has given you good advice. I'll go further and almost guarantee you that the combination of an LED light bar plus your stereo cranking as loud as you can stand it takes less than your blower on high speed. Your 60 amp alternator will handle all that no problem.

Typical average power draw (which is the only thing your charging system cares about) on a sound system is less than 1/10 the maximum power. So, an 800 watt system will average less than 80 watts, or about 6-7 amps. And that will be ear-bleeding loud.

The big power consumers on your vehicle are 1) the heater blower 2) the headlights (unless LED) and 3) the ignition system and injectors. Everything else doesn't amount to much.

9322rerunner

I'm going to be buying the thing off Amazon that was posted up earlier. I just feel like maybe having more amperage would also help with the dim factory headlight issue? I tried to research about where I can get a retrofit for the 93 4Runner headlights, but apparently nobody makes one?

scope103

No. It won't.

As long as your power bus reaches 14.1v or so (the approx. spec. for charging voltage from any functioning alternator), the headlights will draw what THEY want and no more. (If you can't hit 14.1v, your battery will discharge and dim lights are the least of your troubles. If you jimmy the alternator to put out a higher voltage, you'll fry the ECU.)

If your headlights are dim, the easiest fix is just replace them with good quality replacements. Headlights do age (particularly if you get water inside; a feature of an old lamp). Or, maybe you have a wiring problem; too much resistance (due to a corroded connection or badly frayed wire) will cause voltage drop from the bus to the headlamp socket, and the lamps won't get what they need. How would you know? Put your multimeter on the headlamp connector, and turn on the lights. Compare that reading with what you get right at the battery.

RJR

Again scope is correct. As long as your alternator is holding the bus at 14 volts or so, it is doing its job and has enough capacity. More amps won't help.

I improved my dim headlights considerably by replacing them with Sylvania halogen bulbs. Got them at KMart for about $6 each, and they were a direct plug-in replacement. Same wattage, but halogen bulbs have a higher color temperature (whiter in color) and are somewhat more efficient since the filament can run hotter and turn more of the input watts into visible light instead of heat.

kcaudill

I was only referring to the CCA as in the bigger CCA usually means the longer the warranty, i used to compete in stereo competitions, i shoved the biggest CCA battery (1000CCA) i could find cause they would only last about a year. They would swell up from all the current drawl. I would return it for a free new one. Did this for about 3 yrs. Yes my stereo did drawl over 67amps of current at 13v. I also used a 1.5 farad cap for the quick amp drawls. Still running the original OE alt as well to this day. Only thing i did from the start was ugrade all grounds added a few and ran larger (+) cables 8 awg i believe with all soldered ends.

scope103

Not to dispute this, but how did you measure the current draw? 8awg is good to 40 amps (50 with high-temp insulation) under the electrical code. http://www.usawire-cable.com/pdfs/nec%20ampacities.pdf (you can't really use the Electrical Code for automotive wiring, because the ambient temperature range is MUCH higher in autos.) Were you melting the insulation?

And where did all that power go? Big speakers are usually wound with a couple hundred turns of 32 awg or smaller. I can't imagine such a speaker being able to handle more than 1 amp, and then only for a few milliseconds.

What am I missing?

9322rerunner

Thanks for all the help Scope! I appreciate it. Now is there anyone that makes a headlight harness? I have read about guys making them and showing positive results, do I have to make my own or can I buy them somewhere?
Also, is there anyone that makes replacement headlights with bulbs for the 93 4Runner with the funky shaped headlights?

9322rerunner

anyone know where to get headlights that take bulbs instead of sealed beams?

RJR

Best bet is probably a salvage yard. You might be able to order new ones from Toyota if they're still available, but according to Toyotapartsoverstock.com, the assemblies are about $140-$200 per side. Probably not the direction you were hoping to go.

I honestly didn't know Toyota made both versions until your thread came up. Wonder if it's an SR5 thing.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

Holy moly! I don't think my 22re's ever seen above 4k RPMs but maybe a few times - you're taking yours up to 5k???? If you want more power up that high, my gut says look toward opening up the exhaust for sure and maybe a turbo, lol.

There are a few companies that make DOT approved light housings, they're not cheap but it's supposedly a really good upgrade since H4 bulbs are SOOO much brighter than sealed beams.

For the wiring, IIRC there are a few guys who make and sell upgraded wiring harnesses ready to go - or you can easily fabricate your own with some wire, connectors and solder. Basically they're just thicker wire so there's less resistance, and they're new = brighter lights.

For the alternator, get the Trail Gear GM alternator bracket. It will let you install pretty much any GM alternator with the 12/6 o-clock (opposite) mounting tabs. Nice thing about these is they usually start at 100 amps and are only like $80+. I haven't done it yet, but planning to do it on my 75 hilux once I figure out which alternator I want. You'll need the pigtail for the GM alternator so you can adapt to your Toyota harness -- that or get the actual adapter made to go from GM to Toyota.

9322rerunner

appreciate the help guys. I hate the sealed beam headlights and was told that in order for brighter light, there is a harness that can plug directly into my plugs, then runs to the battery and then ground. It helps the lights become brighter, but I was told that's my only option because I have the funky looking headlights that aren't typical toyota sealed beam headlights, they go further up top than on the bottom and apparently nobody makes those. So I was wondering if maybe that was some misinformation.