Moved to NV, 4cyl not happy

I hear that!

 

I've got a 2.7 in my 2004 4X4. I live at around 7000 ft and this truck never gets below about 4000 ft. These things are gutless and certainly weren't designed for high speed activity on the interstate for long trips. Especially towing since you create a second "wind jam" with a trailer. They'll do it but don't plan on going anywhere fast. I just took a 1200+ mile trip in mine a couple of months ago with about 700 lbs in the back of it. I never got below about 4000 ft. The funny thing is that with that weight in the back I never even noticed it was back there. It wasn't any more gutless than it already was.
The solution to you're problem is the solution I use when I need to get more power out of it. Rev the shit out of it. If you look at the torque and horsepower curves on the 2.7 they don't even start making close to their max power until after 4000 rpm which won't hurt the little beast. Vary rarely does mine ever see 3000 rpm let alone past that but I do it if I have to. You can't over rev one because they have a rev limiter and revving it way up once in a while won't break the little beast either. I've had mine to 100mph in 4th before.

 

You're right. When it comes to every header out there except the ICE. There have been dyno charts shown on this forum that prove that is the only header that helps and doesn't hurt torque down low. If my stock manifold ever cracks or needs replacement for some reason I'll put an ICE header on mine but that's about the only aftermarket part I would put on my engine. That being said I like mine stock and only if I had to replace the manifold would I put a header on it and only an ICE.

 

I second that notion. After 5 months ownership, I've gotten used to the idea that if I'm gonna get anywhere, I have to put my foot up its ass, and it responds, but sounds like, as one poster put it, 4 angry hamsters up front!

 

A little background - my previous vehicle was 1971 VW Westfalia bus, with 1.776 Liter four, modified to do 65 horsepower at sea level. So, I'm very familiar with the roar of overworked hamsters coming from the rear of the vehicle.

My 2015 Access cab, with 5 speed manual and 4x4 drive train, doesn't seem nearly as overworked while maintaining 70 mph. In the Hill Country, I just leave it in 4th gear - because that's where the power band is on the 2.7. Peak torque is around 3500 rpm. Keeping the revs near 3,000 rpm puts you nicely in the sweet spot of the power curve.

For those of you who regularly climb an 11,000 foot mountain pass, I'd bet dollars to donuts the 2.7 is only producing about 100 horsepower at that altitude. My old Volksie would be in second gear, producing less than 40 ponies and running rich going up the same pass.

As a side note, in my tool kit for the Volk, I would keep three sets of jets for the carburetors - one for near sea level where I live, plus another set of jets for 4,000 feet above sea level and yet another for 7500 feet, which was perfect for the San Luis Valley.