lexus v8 vs our 3.4L engines

[jmt2404]

Hey guys,

So I have a question. I hope this turns into a debate because I am really curious about the pros and cons of each engine. I have been watching some you tube videos with 3rd gens with the v8s in them and they sound absolutely mean... I would love to have my runner sound like that. But I am curious to know how much power is to much power? When does the power become to much? Check out crawltechxj videos online and just YouTube lexus v8 4 runner. I watched a bunch of them and saw a lot of them struggling to get over small stuff in 4wheel drive. Idk if it comes down to drivers skill or the gear ratio they are running that makes them struggle to get over small stuff. What do you think? How many times have you gotten stuck where you just needed more power to get through that obstacle?

 

[dd210]

I got to see this but all the ones on youtube that I could find were 2nd gens

 

[the great him]

power is not the key to getting over and around stuff offroad, its gearing and driver skill. the best 4wds ive had have been 4cyl, my two 1985 Toyota pickups. small, light weight, and strong. sure ive added some power mods here and there, headers, exhaust, cam, and air filter. other than that, i havent done anything to them. i have gone places with them that guys with jeeps, blazers, broncos, scouts ect cant go. there is a lot to be said for small light weight and capable. now im not saying our 4runners are light weight(they are on the overweight side) but if you really want your 4runner to go places its all about gearing. the 3.4 puts out plenty of power to move our rigs around just fine even with 33s. if you go with a bigger motor you gonna start braking stuff left and right(if you regear to, you also run the risk, because you are increasing the torque to the components, but i think it is a lot less). if you simply want more power from your rig then get the S/C, sure it will cost about $4k to get it working perfect and you will have the same space to work -no space to work on your motor with a V8 under that hood -trust me on this, i put an Iforce 4.7 into an older 85 toyota pick up once, and while it was great fun and had endless power i would break stuff left and right, finally went to dana 60 axles front and rear(on 37s) with all custom drive train, it got $$$ fast and ended up selling it before i sold my liver and kidneys to pay for the dang thing. stick with the the stock motor, you dont have to mess with the wire harness(it will be a nightmare to get working with your dash and every thing else in the truck). if you have more money than sense and tons of free time and life is boring and have already been to the top of Mt Everest twice already then sure do the swap. but for what? so you have a mean sounding 4runner, ok ill admit it would sound really cool, but im sure a S/Ced 3.4 runner would be just as fast, after all the S/Ced 4runner can out run turbo'd civics, and integras keep up with some camaros and mustangs... check out youtube...

 

[BrianSD_42]

hmmm.

all I can say is that my next truck is going to be a LandCruiser with one of the lexus v8 engines. That vehicle might be 6-8 years away for me but it is what I want when I can afford it.

 

[MAD 69]

I have a 4.0 liter V8 in my 92 Lexus Sport Coupe, it has the UZ-FE Engine with 250 HP. I would like to see what this motor could do in the 4Runner.

 

[jmt2404]

Kid,
I totally agree. I have never gotten stuck in my runner and have been able to get up every hill I have went up with no issues. Granted I'm not going outside my driving abilities but have went through some pretty thick stuff but you get what I'm saying. And about the gears and drivers ability I think is a huge factor in being able to transfer the power your engine has to the ground. Say if I put that v8 in my truck, the 1uzfe motor and didn't change gears till later how much of a difference would it make in the capabilities of your truck? And would it be a bad or good difference? The reason I am interested in the 1uzfe motor is because when I swamped my last motor I could have put one in. Yeah the super charger is nice and cheaper than the swap but i dont know that much about them and how they work so if I needed work done I would have to take it into a shop to get it fixed or tuned.

 

[the great him]

well when i put the 2UZ-FE V8 in the 85 pickup there was no room to work on it, the headers had to be custom made and we had to notch out the inner fenders just to get it in there... i dont think you will gain much more power with the V8 as compared to the properly 5vze with S/C, and what power you do gain, you will lose in the added weight. lets say for arguments sake that you put the 1UZ-FE in the Runner, and got it all hooked up and running with no issues(ie check engine lights, all functions worked and are operable ect) your power would be enough that you probably wouldn't need to regear to run 35s, but you wouldn't be getting optimal fuel economy either. i dont think you would see much of a change in MPGs from what you have right now, maybe even a little less.

its all about gearing off road. ive seen little Suzuki Samurais with the stock 1.3l motors go places that guys with 350ci and 400ci FJ40s and jeeps are going. they dont even have a 1/4 the power those other rigs do, but they have the gearing.

 

[bike]

I'd think with 35's and stock gears you'd be lacking in crawl speed and control without re-gearing. I know on stock tires I've sometimes wished for a lower crawl speed, its rarely an issue for power. The only time I've ever though about more power is breaking trail through a lot of heavy wet snow, and that was an open field 4lo 3rd gear where I bogged down because I wasn't able to float the snow with my setup and eventually rpms dropped and I sank in even lower. It's extremely rare for me break trail though, that's normally a job for the guys on +35's and beadlocks.

 

[the great him]

I'd think with 35's and stock gears you'd be lacking in crawl speed and control without re-gearing. I know on stock tires I've sometimes wished for a lower crawl speed, its rarely an issue for power. The only time I've ever though about more power is breaking trail through a lot of heavy wet snow, and that was an open field 4lo 3rd gear where I bogged down because I wasn't able to float the snow with my setup and eventually rpms dropped and I sank in even lower. It's extremely rare for me break trail though, that's normally a job for the guys on +35's and beadlocks.

yes but those V8s have a lot of torque for there size and much more than our 3.4, so i think it would be close... youd just have to get used to the lower RPMs, but yes regearing would most certainly help.