Best Performance Mods
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gaterose
Senior Member
I have the aFe Stage II Cold Air Intake, which after a month of reading I found the best reviews of. It is basically the same as the old style TRD CAI; I also have the aFe helical throttle body spacer, but I've been told it doesn't do much. I can't say for sure because I put it on at the same time as the CAI, I think I paid $315 for the CAI and $80 for TB spacer.
I also have an Underdog Racing Mass Airflow Recalibrator which also has great reviews and is tuned by Gadget at URD according to what other mods you have, but I am debating on upgrading to the APR X-one programmer, unfortunately it is about $1,500 (the MAF Cali was about $300). As far as I know, and I have searched a lot, that is the only programmer available for the V6. You could get a Jet Chips V-Force, but from what I read it doesn't really do anything for performance and is more of a monitor.
A tuned exhaust like Magnaflow (~$400-600), or Borla (~$800-1K) if you have the money, will also help. I had a Borla turbo muffler (p/n 40653, $110) on mine and gained about 0.5 mpg so that prolly indicates some HP gain. I took it off though cuz I got tired of it being loud under 2K RPM, the way it is tuned it sounds fine after 2K. The V6 just doesn't sound good like a V8 does IMO.
If you really want it you can also get a supercharger for about $5-6K, I can't think of who makes one off of the top of my head but there are a few. But as far as I've found that's about all you can do for the V6.
I also have an Underdog Racing Mass Airflow Recalibrator which also has great reviews and is tuned by Gadget at URD according to what other mods you have, but I am debating on upgrading to the APR X-one programmer, unfortunately it is about $1,500 (the MAF Cali was about $300). As far as I know, and I have searched a lot, that is the only programmer available for the V6. You could get a Jet Chips V-Force, but from what I read it doesn't really do anything for performance and is more of a monitor.
A tuned exhaust like Magnaflow (~$400-600), or Borla (~$800-1K) if you have the money, will also help. I had a Borla turbo muffler (p/n 40653, $110) on mine and gained about 0.5 mpg so that prolly indicates some HP gain. I took it off though cuz I got tired of it being loud under 2K RPM, the way it is tuned it sounds fine after 2K. The V6 just doesn't sound good like a V8 does IMO.
If you really want it you can also get a supercharger for about $5-6K, I can't think of who makes one off of the top of my head but there are a few. But as far as I've found that's about all you can do for the V6.
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SkylineGTRracer
New member
APR x1 not available now we don't even know if their going to make more. URD is working on a haltech ecu and it would cost the same if not more than the X1 but is supposed to be more user friendly and more tunable. Doug thorley long tube headers, TRD/AFE intake, URD/TRD (fj) Supercharger. These are the most expensive bolt on but are the ones with the best results. You can go into the motor like I will sometime in the future but its gonna cost at least 8 grand. You might wanna look into a IPT valve body upgrade in the future if you are gonna push more horsepower. theres alot more but these are just the basic mods for performance for the 1GRFE. Also look into a URD fuel pump upgrade. Even if your not gonna get a supercharger its nice knowing you can change out your fuel filter. The factory pump has the filter built into it.
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G.I.G.
New member
Trade it in for a 4Runner with the V8! :driving::jk:
All kidding aside, I think the best and most cost effective performance upgrade is a cold air intake. It will add some ponies, help with MPG's when you're not on the gas, and it won't break the bank. It adds a nice growl but it's not too obtrusive when you're not accelerating hard.
I'm always hesitant to do exhaust because of the noise. No doubt it increases performance, but it comes at the expense of having a louder vehicle. Not to mention you can loose some low-end torque when you increase exhaust flow. The only way I would upgrade to a more aggressive exhaust system is if I bought another vehicle as my daily driver.
thanks buddy. TRD makes the nice supercharger. But thats pricey haha. and tell me more about the aFe intake stage 2. is yours dry filter? and how much more performance did you gain? did it feel faster? and how fast.
I heard the Unichips are effective. May want to look into those.
gaterose
Senior Member
I have the Pro 5R filter, it is not dry but the aFe site says it gives the most performance; that's why I chose it over the dry filer. I can't say how much HP it gave me, it definitely felt faster, not a lot faster but you can't expect too much. It really only gets loud if you open it up otherwise I don't notice it very often, I find myself noticing the sound of the TB spacer more. It kinda makes "psst" noise like hydro releases or maybe a supercharger when you let off the gas. I will see if I can get a video of it later to post.
Shanesteeze
New member
intake def makes a diff. I have the TRD old style and have videos posted on here. AFE is pretty great and is TRD but under a diff. brand, and woulda got it if didnt catch a deal.
any CAI will make a big difference on pick up and blasting up a hill or passing traffic.
intake and exhaust is really the only thing I think can be done w/o gettin a sweet ass TRD supercharger. new gears maybe.
any CAI will make a big difference on pick up and blasting up a hill or passing traffic.
intake and exhaust is really the only thing I think can be done w/o gettin a sweet ass TRD supercharger. new gears maybe.
chaz
New member
heres the URD link,im pretty sure they sell everything u need, call & tell em what u think u want & they will give u the right advice. Headers - Underdog Racing Development
gaterose
Senior Member
Here is a video of the aFe stage 2. You can really only hear it at the beginning when I'm really getting on it. It's shaky because I was trying to get the tach in the picture & couldn't set it down anywhere.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S16Bwph5izA" frameborder="0"></iframe>
edit: I also have the resonator cut off and angled out the side for anyone wondering about the difference that makes in sound.
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nice impressed that it still sounds stock. Sorry but do you have one of the MPH gauge? lol thats what i really wanna see...the pickup! ha
CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
Not a very glamorous performance mod but what about a set of electric cooling fans instead of the mechanical fan? A few have done that and seem to like it.
If you do that include a fan on and off switch to prepare you for a water crossing or a situation where the auto-on fails
If you do that include a fan on and off switch to prepare you for a water crossing or a situation where the auto-on fails
galactic_04
New member
Honestly, just by gutting the cats I'd be surprised if you didn't get more than any chip out there. Throw on ONE high flow cat after the collector if you need the cat there. On a 2gr-fe (rated at 278HP at the wheels) we got 279HP AT THE WHEELS with nothing other than pulling all the cats and tunning a magnaflow behind it... I'm pretty sure teh 1gr-fe would be just as responsive to this.
G.I.G.
New member
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CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
I don't recall... I think maybe ricenpho (sp?) did it and there was one other. There have been several 3rd gen guys that have done it. IIRC late 90's, early 00's Ford Taurus fans were used in a couple of the installs due to availability and cost.
To be truthful, I thought it was neat, I know electric have fans have some real advantages but it was not a mod I envisioned myself getting around to so I didn't focus on the details all that much. I do recall they claimed they loved it and picked up some MPG and a little power.
:cheers:
Nuke
New member
I have an '07 Stang and many of the '05-'09 owners that have modded to electric water pumps have picked up about 8-12 RWHP on the GT's (300 crank HP) by reducing the losses from the mechanical pump. I'd be curious if there's something similar for the T4R.
I have the old style TRD CAI and it added some minor seat-of-the-pants RWHP but is also obnoxiously loud at 3/4 or more of WOT. A few RWHP can be gained from exhaust work but it's a lot for a little, IMO.
I have the old style TRD CAI and it added some minor seat-of-the-pants RWHP but is also obnoxiously loud at 3/4 or more of WOT. A few RWHP can be gained from exhaust work but it's a lot for a little, IMO.
SkylineGTRracer
New member
You could always put on NST pulleys as they are lighter than the factory ones and easy on your wallet. As for your electric fan Stock Fan to Electric Fan? - Page 2 - XR-Underground