Looking for cheap Horsepower
 

I have an 1987 4runner with the 22RE and i was just wondering if there was any way to squeze a few more horse out of it for a resonalble price. Lyndon

2.25'' custom catback muffler of your choice and some intake mods

There are lots of cams out there for the 22RE, and you can get them anywhere from mild to "wild". Usually in the $90-150 range

thats pretty much it. lol. sure theres plenty of stuff u COULD do, but u start gettin into spendin a ton of money, and havin to strengthen parts, and by the time u get it up to a power level ur happy with u coulda went and bought a bigger engine and had that power for cheaper. if ur just lookin for a little bit, intake, exhaust, cam. not too expensive, gives u a little bit of oompf, and be done with it.

swap in a small-block chevy...no point in messing with a 22-re; it's a waste of time & money.

nah. gotta love the tough ol 22re. it'll last 4ever. and then some. and its got enough power in it to get u around just fine.

Well thank-you Mr. Helpful

If you're looking for 250hp and 300ft-lbs, then yes you'd be wasting your time with a 22RE. But for those out there that don't have the $2000 MINIMUM to drop on an engine swap and are just looking for a little more scoot, dropping $500 on a cam and new exhaust is a whole lot more reasonable.

you can advance your timing a bit for a few more horses, its free to do it but you have to run premium gas. a 2.25 exhaust system would be a good choice too

Any internal combustion engine functions basically as an air pump. The more air you can get it to move, the more power it makes. There are several ways to do this: Make it spin faster, or make it fill and empty the cylinders more efficiently.
The cheapest things you can do is replace the stock air cleaner housing and reduce restriction in the exhaust with a free flowing cat-back system such as a Borla. After that, you can install a cam to hold the valves open longer, and perhaps a header.
You can also reduce accessory drag by replacing the belt-driven fan with an electric fan, and by installing pulleys to turn the alternator and water pump at a slower speed.
You can improve acceleration dramatically by installing a lower gear ratio to allow the engine to run in the middle of its power curve. My truck came with 3.07 gears, I went to 4.11 and the difference was amazing.
I would specifically NOT set the timing at anything other than the factory specification UNLESS you have access to a dyno to measure the actual developed horsepower at a particular RPM. I actually tried this once, based on recommendations I found on line, and didn't notice any difference at all, even using premium fuel. If more horsepower were that easy, the factory would likely already be using that specification. Also, I can't think of any good reason the factory would deliberately use any setting other than the optimum. It is in their best interest to have the vehicle be as peppy as possible when prospective buyers are test driving. Still, this is a VERY widespread belief, and I heard it often also among motorcyclists years ago, they almost all believed that advancing ignition timing beyond the factory recommendations would yield more power.
There is an old saying among hot rodders: "Speed costs money, just how fast do you want to go?"

give it a tune-up. I hear Edelbrock stickers at 10HP at the wheels.

Smallblock for less??
 

The engine coversion of any V8 motor will be more exspensive than mods to the 22re motor. I have done engine swaps before and know the difference. Your looking adapters for the trans or another trans mounts for the new trans, driveshaft modifications if any,wiring,motormounts, radiator, exhaust, fuel modifcations, Plus overheating issues in a small engine bay- duel electric fan, aluminum V8 conversion radiator, if you do it do the conversion right. If you find cheap conversion parts and high dollar performance parts it is due to what the parts will be worth doing the conversion, I think i would stick with the 22re and save a couple thousnad dollars if parts were bought new, you might find used. bUT IF ANY CONVERSION was coming into top of your head i would recommend a buick regal or buick international 3.8 liter turbo charged in stead of the V8, a whole lot cheaper.

I'm still looking for cheap HP myself.. All I can find is the HP that costs money.

Yes, yes, yes.... no, no, no:laugh:

There are some well known half truths floating around from racing. Do they work on wheeling?

In wheeling how much do you care on wide open throtle performance? I do not care at all. You need torque at partial throtle, flat curve over the RPM range.
Free floating exhaust hurt torque on free aspirating engine, that is well known fact, just do some diggin`. Exhaust are tuned from factory for particular job and useful rpm range. Do not blow it.

As for oryginal question: How to improve 22re performance for wheeling?
I see only one way worth the effort. Previa supercharger.
I even have one sitting somwhere in garage, I`m just too much fond of AC in my truck and can`t make myself to eliminate it... well tropics.
Other radical way would be to eliminate 22re and instaling turbodiesel instead... that would be something.

Seen a successful Previa supercharger project? I'd love a link...

If you want some extra horsepower for more getting up and go and offroading, here is something to try out, but it has a price on on it for $299, Venom 400 Performance Control Module It will give you a 25% horsepower rating through 1000 to 5000-RPM power range. Look it up at JC Whitney under trucks. Another thing you could install is a good exhaust that will improve everything. I hope this works.

Succesful? hehe... everybody loves free engineering:laugh: there is nothing in it.

Previa supercharger is a factory answer for exact problem with same size engine. Its has very mild boost, plus its a stand alone unit can be fited anywhere.
I would try to match air/fuel componenets from 22re turbo to it, fabricate bracket to fit in place of AC, add cooler, change pulley and go play with it.

id like to go play with it to. hehehe.

I hope you're on their sales and marketing team, otherwise I wouldn't begin to believe a "25%" HP gain.. IF we could get a free 25% more power for $400 - let alone the sales price, everyone would be all over it.

Might as well buy one of those ebay marine fans.. I mean "electric superchargers" that add 30hp for $100.



On the Previa thing - there's more than one SC that is well matched for the 22re. The Eaton M61 comes to mind, as well as one that fits the Mercedes Kompressor that I see on ebay from time to time. If you want easy of bolt on, I've got a Turbonetics manifold sitting in the garage and can have you a turbo in under 3 hours.. It's the engine management that's the real issue... That's why I'm always interested in completed and working projects!

I would not think a catalog thats been around for years would not sell anything thats worth not buying. It is you idea

Well theres a smart comment i have come across...I have been thinking this exact same thing but just didn't want to post alone...

More horsepower doesn't do anything if you screw up the curve. Even if get 200 more horsepower but at 6,000 RPM, this does you no good for off-roading...

If you don't off-road then it is a different story