Supraman16

Hello Everyone,
I am currently the owner of a 2000 4x2 Automatic S/C 4Runner and I am trying to decide on getting either the URD Fuel Upgrade or Aquamist Water Injection to make sure that the truck is not leaning out and pinging. I am currently not hearing any pinging, but I know that this doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not pinging. I am leaning toward getting the water injection kit only because I don't plan on switching out the stock S/C pulley to increase the boost and hopefully I won't get any worse MPG than it already has by upgrading the fuel system. Plus, I am currently a internal medicine resident that leaves me with very little time to get a kit like the full fuel upgrade installed. Whereas the water injection kit seems like I can install it myself in a couple of days. But I'm concerned whether this is a wise idea. I searched and from what I found on the forums, there has been no one who has just gone with water injection only for their S/C 4Runner. Does the water injection kit provide a good cure for the HG/LR ping and high end lean out? Or is the fuel kit the only way to make a S/C 4Runner as realiable as a stock 4Runner? I want to keep my 4Runner as reliable as possible but also go the most convenient, and economical route.
Darshana S...

MTL_4runner

The order you install the kits should be:

1) URD fuel kit
2) Aquamist

The URD fuel kit solves the fuel starvation problem which can be the most serious to your engine. Think of the fuel kit as a basline fix to make sure the S/C functions the way it should because it has a larger fuel pump (fuel flow), injectors (fuel flow), piggyback contoller (timing control and fuel trimming), etc .

Benefits per their site:
-Increase Torque
-Increase Horsepower
-High RPM Lean Out
-Eliminate High Gear / Low RPM Ping


The aquamist helps to cool down the intake charge and again prevent detonation as well to maximize the output of the supercharger and power created by your motor.

Benefits per their site:
-Significantly reduce supercharger discharge temperatures
-Reduce heat soak
-Reduce EGT’s
-Increase Torque and Horsepower
-Further Increase Torque and Horsepower potential
-Extend the service life of the supercharger and engine

I don't see HG/LR in the aquamist list, do you?
There is a reason why everyone does the fuel upgrade first.

midiwall

Jamie's right... you need to get the fuel/timing issues under control and then worry about water injection.

Jeff B. in Michigan

Good day,

Please understand that this is just my opinion … based on my tuning experience and the data collected from my application.

Before proceeding with any fuel modifications, I would suggest that you confirm you actually have a fuel delivery problem. You can do this two ways, the first is to run your truck on a dyno with wide band air to fuel ratio metering capability. This will give you a "ball park" idea of what your AFR is on the road. The best way would be to install a wide band AFR meter. This really is the only way to tell how your truck is performing … in the real world (actual on the road condition). I am using the LM-1 produced by Innovate Motor Sports. http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products.php It is a great product.

Spark knock is not always caused by poor fuel delivery, many factors contribute to this condition. For my application, which is a 1998 TRD Supercharged 4Runner with the 2.2 (9.8psi) pulley, I did not have any problem with fuel delivery. I did however have trouble with spark knock. I purchased the Split Second FTC-1 (I think this is the same box Gadget uses in his URD kit) to control the spark knock.

Please be careful with installing modifications without understanding the base line condition. You may not need to spend any money and in some cases, adding the modifications could cause more harm than good. This is especially true if you are not interested in fine-tuning and confirming the settings are correct from time to time.

FYI… I had the supercharger installed on my truck when it had 11K miles on it. I ran it with zero additional modifications for the first 30K miles then installed the Kenny Bell Boost A Pump. I ran the BAP at a very low setting (10 or 15) to get the best performance at the track.. Yes I said track! My truck is used mainly for daily driving and hauling my SUZUKI dragbike to the track. My 4Runner has over 100 1/4-mile dragstrip passes on it. Second to the wide band AFR meter, the dragstrip is the best place to test and tune your machine for maximum performance.

Good luck with your application, I hope you can enjoy your supercharged experience as much as I am enjoying mine!

http://N8RWS.COM

Supraman16

Thank you all for the advice. I am starting to lean towards the TRD 7th Injector Kit due to it's ease of installation, smog legality (it sucks living in CA sometimes), and the fact that with URD's AIC I can start tweaking it later on. I'll also probably get the Walbro 190 to compliment the kit. My understanding previously was that water injection was a effective way of intercooling and also effectively "raising the octane" of the fuel thus allowing leaner air/fuel ratio without the fear of detonation. But like you said, the best way to make sure that fuel mods are necessary is to check it out via a wide band which I plan on doing soon. As I stated before, I don't hear any pinging currently, but the wideband may say differently...Darshana S...

HUTCHSTACO

i was told by someone today in my local parts department that auqamist is good even without a s/c. what would i expect to see if i did it without a s/c????

HUTCHSTACO

bump-

TRDOLMAN

This is just my opinion of course but even though it might be OK (even beneficial) to run an Aquamist on an N/A engine, the benefit will not justify the cost or installation labor. You don't need the added octane from the methanol. Your combustion chamber temps will not be hot enough to need the cooling. You won't have the added air charge temps that the blower produces so no cooling needed. You don't have detonation problems so your knock sensors won't cause the ECU to retard timing. If you get an Aquamist from URD, by the time you buy the adapter plate and pay shipping, you will be in the $1000 range for cost. If you had a forced induction setup running high boost I would say go for the Aquamist. On my engine it has earned it's keep. On a stock engine I couldn't justify the costs.

MTL_4runner

I agree, I doubt you could justify the price despite any small benefit gained on an N/A motor.

HUTCHSTACO

thanks