22re hp completely lost! cam? header?

[JLC84cam350]

hello i have a 1992 toyota 4runner with 300,000km, i replaced head gasket and timing chain and gears 2 years ago at 260000km, also had a bit of head work done (mostly cleaning). I have 2" exhaust all the way threw with deleted cat and dynomax turbo mufler at the end. I also have intake put on, now i want to squeeze a good extra 20hp out of this engine and right now i am running without an o2 sensor. I want a bigger cam but am clueless on wich one to get, i want something that is EFI compatibale, i seen the RV cams on ebay don't know if they are any good. I had checked earlyer and was thinking of comp cams 268 high energy but i found out it was for i believe78-87 blocks? or in other words the non EFI 22r's. I read you can go all the way up to a 280 duration on a EFI 22re but im afraid it might not work out. Please give me your opinions. I also would like to install a header and downpipe i am thinking of OBX cause i love the idea of chrome lol but would like to know if it actually helps out in hp or would a pacesetter header be better. am looking to spend around 500$ to get some power thanks for any help!

 

[turboSR5]

Tell us more about how you plan to use your 4runner (street, trail etc..). Are you looking for get up and go off the line or do you want better at speed acceleration? It is going to be very hard to gain 20hp out of a 22RE with just an exhaust and a new camshaft profile. Typically your cam is just going to change where the power comes on in these motors (e.g. RV cam for low end torque). A header will give you a slight gain in HP but you will feel like you have gained more than that because now your engine can move exhaust out of its way faster and thus your throttle response feels more crisp and resposive.
If you truly want to measure your engine in HP I'm afraid you would want to start with a new built head. Ported and polished, gasket matched exhaust and intake side, oversized valves. Seeing as how your head already has seen some major usage you would need at a minimum brand new rockers for your brand new cam to break in on. If I were you, I would only consider a new head with new cam in place of the old head and new cam. Maybe that's just me though.

 

[JLC84cam350]

well its mostlty for street i just want extra power to be able to pass a thew cars lol. I'm looking between the 2000-5000rpm range in extra power, i know 20hp is probably asking a bit much out of this motor, i was planning on putting a 350 and auto chevy transmission but i don't think that is going to happen too lazy to do the work you see lol. I run 31' tires (pirelly scorpions)
The 4runner doesn't do much off-road, and i do do lots of highway with it, and i don't want to change the gearing in it since i feel its pretty much perfect for fuel economy on highway i have 4.11's or 4.10's, only runs about 3000rpm when im going 120-140km/ph. It just needs a bit more pep to get it up the hills thats all. (5-speed 4x4) As for replacing the head, its not really an option for me, everything in their is fine, i know its high mileage but i had everything check by a toyota mechanic when i took the head off it 2 years ago was told everything was in perfect condition and ive only put about 40,000km on it since.

 

[rustyrazor]

Some sites to check out.

Here's two sites for performance Toyota parts.

engnbldr.com and lcengineering.com

I bought a timing kit, water pump, oil pump and timing cover from engnbldr and it was all good quality stuff.

lcengineering has some premium stuff.

 

[turboSR5]

From what you described it sounds like the RV cam is not what you will want. The only experience in aftermarket cams that I have are with the RV cams, I always have a need for lower RPM torque. There are mid range RPM cams available but I do not know how well they work. I actually bought a TRD mid range cam about 10 years ago that I still have in the box. I thought that was what I wanted at the time, but at the time I knew very little about what I was doing.

As already mentioned, engnbldr and LC engineering both can supply a cam as well as other goodies. I know you don't want to buy a new head but at the least check out engnbldr's heads, I don't recall how much they are exactly but for a new head and cam I do remember he had one hell of a deal going. If you still do not want to go that route at the very least install new rockers and valve lash adjusters with your new cam.
LC gets very good reviews as far as their headers go, all stainless and at a decent price. I myself have been using a NWOR header for about 10 years or so and I still love it. It is a tri y design meant for low end torque (yeah, low end torque again!). But it improved my acceleration throught the RPM range by a decent amount.

*Edit* I just looked at engnbldrs heads, apparently for the power gain you want you will be paying $448 USD and I saw no mention of oversized valves but they do mention 6-10% gain. Not a bad deal considering a bare head will cost you only $100 less but still probably way more than you want to shell out for 6-10%. I would highly reccomend that you contact Ted (engnbldr) and tell him what it is you are looking for in a cam, he is also very proficient in exhaust work and has his own recipe that I have followed on my latest 4runner.

 

[JLC84cam350]

i been checking the lc engineering camshaft kits with rocker arms and valve springs, they are interesting me but their are 2 different ones with different profile, one is called the street cam shafts, one is pro, and the other is called pro offset. what is the difference? which one would be best for my application you guys think?

 

[turboSR5]

i been checking the lc engineering camshaft kits with rocker arms and valve springs, they are interesting me but their are 2 different ones with different profile, one is called the street cam shafts, one is pro, and the other is called pro offset. what is the difference? which one would be best for my application you guys think?

I would call them and ask what the difference is, they usually do a better job of describing the effects and requirements of their products. Typically the street models are for mildly modified stock engines and would be inline with what you would want. When you get into the pro models they are normally for wildly modified/stroker/boosted applications and are tuned to take advantage of that. Don't waste your time sending them an email unless you like resending and/or waiting for them to pay attention to you, give them a call directly (from direct and second hand experience with LC).

 

[fourwd1]

I would call them and ask what the difference is, ...

You beat me to it.

Why ask anonymous people on the net when you can talk to the people that are selling what you're looking at? It's their business.

The guys at LCE are very helpful, and Ted at engnbldr.com is a 22R guru.
Also check out DOA Racing.

 

[JLC84cam350]

alright i called lc engineering and the guy toled me the cam i mentionned without the offset would do just fine for my apllication, but he said it won't turn it into a small block chev lol. As is most of the other cams out for the 22re's its designed more for low end torque and i am not sure this is what i want. He told me if you want to get actuall power out of this i would have to get the head machined with bigger valves, ported, and etc.... wich is pretty much what you guys said and i have thought about it all night and thats what i am thinking of doing. I'm gonna save up about 12-1500$ during the winter and get a performance head and cam and header. I might also buy the lc engineering performance kit for the intake (includes bigger throttle body, injectors, ported intake) Its going to cost a bit more but probably less than my original plan of putting a sbc350. I still don't know wich cam to go with and for header i am pretty sure im going with the OBX because of its price. thanks for the help guys