Increasing the power of my 1999 2.4L tacoma

Hey im working on a small budget to increase the power of my engine, any suggestions or tips? I' still in high school so I can't do anything super expensive like a custom built motor or anything crazy like that.

 

How many miles? I just ran some royal purple fuel treatment through mine and wow...I can climb hills without the truck downshifting twice now. Lol.

Not really an "upgrade" but it definitely restored power for me.

 

It has 270000 miles on it, this upcoming summer I plan on saving for rebuild but wanted to make it faster. I use synthetic oil just cause it lasts longer and I put lots of miles on the truck

 

A 3.4L swap...

Seriously, these motors are bomb proof reliable, partly because they don’t make a lot of power. There really isn’t anything (that’s cheap) you can do to make a noticable increase in power. You can throw an exhaust on it, and maybe a k&n intake, but all those really do is make it louder. The power increase is negligible.

By the time you throw cams, pistons, headers, new fuel rail, turbo(s), and all that other stuff that actually makes power, you could just throw a 3.4L in it and drive away. Heck, put a super charger on it, too!

 

I was about to say... these 4 cylinders aren't known for their power...

 

Just by a rough estimate how much would that probably run me by swapping the motor and everything else that would be required

 

Don’t get me wrong, there are dudes out there with fully raced out 4cyl motors making 400+ hp, but kinda like nascar engines, the only thing left from the original is the (bored out) block.

 

Not having done it before, I’d say a couple grand, but search around here, there are several threads on engine swaps. You have a good motor still, so you might recoup some of the costs by selling the 4cyl.

 

I'd just enjoy it like it is. I'm not sure why people are suggesting an engine swap. If your in CA it would have to get a BAR sticker. The engine mounts are in the wrong spot and the wiring and cluster change if you have a tach would leave you without a vehicle for days, weeks or months while it's sorted out.

 

I live in Oklahoma so luckiy there is no emissions testing whatsoever. I have been suggested getting long headers alongside a cold air intake might boost performance a little bit. Any thoughts ?

 

I second the 3.4 swap.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/5vz-3-4-v6-swapping-guide-for-first-gen-tacomas.520148/