Headers on a 4 cylinder

I have a 2005 Tacoma 4 cylinder 2TR engine w/automatic w/94K miles on it, a/c on all the time. I've tried everything to get a little more low end, to midrange power/torque. There's no umph in it and driving around in city traffic is no fun. I've installed AEM dry air filter, removed the carbon air filter, and replaced the muffler with a cherry bomb vortex muffler, nothing but noise. Other that getting rid of it, and getting a V6. Has anyone bought ICE Performance Headers? I'm looking at their before and after dyno testing, and can't believe what their HP & Torque is! It seems to be about double throughout the dyno testing! Any possible suggestions or solutions? http://www.lceperformance.com/Street-Header-Kit-2005-2014-2TR-2-7-Liter-Tacoma-p/1041055.htm

 

I put a header on a 2.5l jeep 4 banger years ago cause I wanted more power. I didn't get any.
Save your money, you won't notice any more power, just a little more noise.

 

The headers dont really provide higher peak TQ or HP numbers, but they do move them to a lower RPM, which is good. If you search the forum for "tooter", you'll run across a lot of threads regarding the LCE headers as well one member's experiment with developing an intake manifold spacer.

 

10% off till Nov. 1 st http://www.lceperformance.com/

 

I've got to do something! Money wise I love the truck, my wife & dogs love it to just the right size. My cheapest option is to get the headers. Also want a softer ride, believe it or not I put two 50 lbs bags of cement in the back end to help soften the ride. Wonder if I can take a spring leaf out of the rear end?

 

Thanks! Yea, thought it was stupid idea. Wonder if the garbage man will notice it in the garbage can? That's why I'm thinking about removing a leaf out of the rear spring.

 

Yes it does. It decreases the percent of on sprung weight. The extra mass in the back over the rear springs increases the inertia of the body, effectively making the springs feel softer. Whenever I add winter weight for traction, it rides better. It's only 100 lbs...it will have little effect on the performance.

 

It's not a dumb idea. Generally people leave gear in the bed of their truck all the time. I have a two hundred lb cap. It makes little difference in the performance and helps the ride slightly. Actually, 200 lbs would be better. I just added 280 lbs more of tube sand for a total of 480 lbs. while getting ready for winter....could not tell the difference. No more then a passenger...a big one.

 

Cross posting because this may help. I never found one thing that did it but it through the collectiion of multiple things it had noticeable improvement.

No experience on the Toyota but I had a 4cyl CJ7 on 31's that was anemic. I wont go through all the details of every change (some of it does not apply) but I measured via GPS my top speeds after each upgrade. The thing started at 55 mph and I eventually got to 74 mph. The single best thing I did for that rig was swap out all the fluids in the manual tranny/x-case/diffs with Red Line oil 75w85. Rev'd through the gears quicker in town and I actually netted another 3 mph to my previous measured (GPS) top speed. No HP gain just less friction loss and got more to the wheels. Ehaust work can help, I removed the mechanical fan and as mentioned before lose the weight. Hope that helps.

 

Changing fluids to synthetic to decrease drag helps too. But, it's a four cylinder. If the economy is worse, have a compression check, check your tire pressure and do all the basics as far as tune up and filters are concerned. Don't worry about it. Just buy a six next time.

 

If your open to it. do the compression check but with only 94K maybe look into getting the head shaved for a little more compression. Not sure what the allowable tolerance might be.

 

Changing to synthetic for the rear it's a bad idea, also the electric cooling fan!

 

Other then the basics, as mentioned , doing mich more is not worth the money for the little power you gain. The only other thing I would consider is a transmission service if it hasn't been done for a while.

 

Your call however I do it to all my vehicles including the Tacoma. Check out the notes on the benefits in this article.

http://advancedlubes.com/advantage-75w90-full-synthetic-differential-gear-oil/256

 

Had all the fluids done when I got it 4 years ago w/84K miles ,and probably do it again next year with synthetic. I just think I answer my own question! The automatic transmission isn't down shifting when I try to floor it!

 

Finally made up my mine about getting the headers. Will probably get them in January on sale some where. Right now they go for $400.
Doug Thorley Header THY-509Y-C. An update, I've purchased them on sale $363 & installed them. Very happy with them it eliminated the flat spot I was having between 30 and 50.