Quick Question -

[santanvalleydirt]

I've got a 95 Runner, 3.0 V6. The thing has to be the slowest vehicle I've ever owned. I'm just wondering how on the earth the 22re's of that era even got a vehicle moving. How much different are the 22re to the 3vze?

 

[KidVermicious]

I've never driven a 3.0 truck, so I can't compare. All my 22RE trucks have been slowish but certainly usable. Some things I've noticed that may help you:

The A340 is a slug of a transmission. Look in the dictionary under "slushbox" and you'll find a picture of an A340. If you have it, you are doomed to crappy acceleration and climbing hills in second. Going from a 22RE/A340 to a 22RE/W56 was a magical transformation.

Have the right gears. Neither the 22RE or the 3VZE has the grunt to compensate for larger tires without help. If you're running bigger than 31s, you need to regear.

Don't be afraid of the RPM. The 22RE and 3VZE both have peak torque above 3500 RPM. If you're used to bigger motors and modern automatic transmissions and make your shifts around 2200-2300 RPM like most people, the truck will feel like a dog. Wind that motor out and you'll get much better response.

 

[Hyde802]

Have you done anything to try and improve it? A fresh tune up could help. They say a set of headers are the best thing you can do for this engine. A 5 speed would help a lot. Check your timing too, you can get a little "free power" buy pumping it up to 13-15ish depending on your altitude.

 

[Infamous82]

X2 on the auto trans. I have owned 3 22re vehicles and none were speed demons though my 91 2wd pickup drove fine and had plenty of power. My 3vze experience is limited, but the 5spds I've driven definitely had more power and torque than the 22re. The 3vze is a whoppin 150hp and it's pushing 4runner, not a civic so it's going to be rather slow anyway, but the auto trans makes it even worse and gas mileage suffers as well. Even the 5vze is a total slug with an auto trans

 

[santanvalleydirt]

I've never driven a 3.0 truck, so I can't compare. All my 22RE trucks have been slowish but certainly usable. Some things I've noticed that may help you:

The A340 is a slug of a transmission. Look in the dictionary under "slushbox" and you'll find a picture of an A340. If you have it, you are doomed to crappy acceleration and climbing hills in second. Going from a 22RE/A340 to a 22RE/W56 was a magical transformation.

Have the right gears. Neither the 22RE or the 3VZE has the grunt to compensate for larger tires without help. If you're running bigger than 31s, you need to regear.

Don't be afraid of the RPM. The 22RE and 3VZE both have peak torque above 3500 RPM. If you're used to bigger motors and modern automatic transmissions and make your shifts around 2200-2300 RPM like most people, the truck will feel like a dog. Wind that motor out and you'll get much better response.

I have the 5 speed, but I am unaware of what kind of transmission I have. How would I go about adjusting the gearing? I believe I have the stock tire size, so 31s. But they are wide, and stick out of the sides a little. I also run the RPMs really high. I usually shift at about 3500, because if I did any lower I was literally going nowhere.

 

[santanvalleydirt]

Have you done anything to try and improve it? A fresh tune up could help. They say a set of headers are the best thing you can do for this engine. A 5 speed would help a lot. Check your timing too, you can get a little "free power" buy pumping it up to 13-15ish depending on your altitude.

The engine was rebuilt not to long ago, with the timing reset. I would love some headers and a dual exhaust, but that's way out of my price range. Looking at it for the 95 it's about $1200 to get the parts. And I do have the 5 speed.

 

[KidVermicious]

I have the 5 speed, but I am unaware of what kind of transmission I have. How would I go about adjusting the gearing? I believe I have the stock tire size, so 31s. But they are wide, and stick out of the sides a little. I also run the RPMs really high. I usually shift at about 3500, because if I did any lower I was literally going nowhere.

You've got the R150 trans, nothing wrong with that. 31s oughta to be ok on stock gearing, yours should be 4.10, if you wanted to change I'd look for a set of 4.56 gears, that would definitely wake your truck up at the cost of MPG and higher RPM on the freeway. The biggest hit for you is probably the width of those tires. Means more rolling resistance, and more weight means more inertia to overcome when accelerating. Next time you buy tires, look for something skinnier and I'm sure you'll notice a difference (in steering feedback too!). But assuming your motor is running right and it sounds like it is, not much you can do. At the end of the day it's still 150hp in a 4000 pound truck, maybe you're just used to a bigger motor.

 

[santanvalleydirt]

You've got the R150 trans, nothing wrong with that. 31s oughta to be ok on stock gearing, yours should be 4.10, if you wanted to change I'd look for a set of 4.56 gears, that would definitely wake your truck up at the cost of MPG and higher RPM on the freeway. The biggest hit for you is probably the width of those tires. Means more rolling resistance, and more weight means more inertia to overcome when accelerating. Next time you buy tires, look for something skinnier and I'm sure you'll notice a difference (in steering feedback too!). But assuming your motor is running right and it sounds like it is, not much you can do. At the end of the day it's still 150hp in a 4000 pound truck, maybe you're just used to a bigger motor.

Yea the MPGs already aren't too hot as it is, so the gearing might not be something I should change right seeing as it's my daily driver. The tires I'm going to have to change soon anyway. They are pretty wide, I figured that might also be an issue. But it looks so GOOD like that :dancin: They're the super offroad MudClaw tires, and they have almost no tread left on them. Got any suggestions for some good half way tires, not straight street yet not totally offroad either?