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Tuning the N/A for more power with a larger powerband


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The past few months I've been doing alot of reading trying to find out the best ways to get more power out of the 4EFE.

It seems that with alot of mods (exhaust/exhaust manifold especially) it moves the powerband further up the rev range. With these sort of mods that will mean the power is at the very top end of the revs, possibly making the car unresponsive at low revs which means having to thrash the tits off it to get it to go anywhere.

With the Corolla inlet manifold and a free flowing airfilter the peak torque is somewhere around 4k to 4.2k rpm and peak power is around 5.5 - 5.6k rpm. That seems a relatively short powerband considering the rpm limit is 6200 (although power drops off towards 6k with these mods).

So what sort of mods would be good for giving a decent amount of usable power without having all the power up the top end of the rev range? (Maybe a 6 speed box would help alot?)

People would usually say intake, exhaust, exhaust manifold, bla bla... but a 2inch exhaust system with a different manifold would push the power further up the rev range...

I could be talking absolute piss but after reading about it I am having second opinions on peaky engines.

I know there are numerous topics regarding mods for more power but I am asking a different question and would ideally want answers from people who know what they're talking about rather than just saying things that other people have said.

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Whats wrong with having the power at the top of the rev range? Think about Vtec! :lol:

I have breathing mods and absolutely love the power delivery on my N/A, it kicks arse and sometimes surprises me!! :p

Edit, sorry just read your bottom line. Sorry for posting! :p

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Whats wrong with having the power at the top of the rev range? Think about Vtec! :p

I have breathing mods and absolutely love the power delivery on my N/A, it kicks arse and sometimes surprises me!! :p

Edit, sorry just read your bottom line. Sorry for posting! :p

lol don't take that bottom line too seriously

I love it too, don't get me wrong it's fucking great fun but I plan to go for alot more mods, exhaust, manifold, maybe ported head, headgasket, lightweight pulleys etc... and don't want it to turn out a bag of shit. :lol:

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Switch to a 5E and you will have more potential from the off because the 4E has less power and torque to begin with :lol:

Thats an instant 15bhp and 10ft/tq that you wouldnt get from spending the same on breathing mods for the 4E.

Its more of a low to midrange engine and could really suit you as you seem to be against peaky or thrashy engines.

You will be limited by the 4E and won't get the same effect even with all those mods.

Thats my mod recommendation.

The 6 speed has been tried before by another n/a member and there didnt seem to be much improvement.

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aye,

i say go 5E, more potential and since you don't fancy highrevving all the time, the 5E would suit you better.

Offcourse Jozinobi took 5E tuning to a next level, but he really knows what he's tlaking about, that for sure!

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The 6 speed has been tried before by another n/a member and there didnt seem to be much improvement.

in what respect???????

6 closely stacked ratios is better than five when you dont have alot of power, it keeps the power on the boil,

the 6 speed that was tried by a member(crazykid) - he thought sixth was an overdrive gear, thats why he said there was no improvement as its not an overdrive gear

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Would getting a standalone or piggyback ECU set up well not be able to widen the powerband?

(just a stab in the dark as don't understand that aspect of modifying much)

Joz is right though, the 5e is much more of a midrange engine

Just for reference, my car with TRD panel filter and catback exhaust had peak torque at 3000rpm and peak power at 4800rpm

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in what respect???????

6 closely stacked ratios is better than five when you dont have alot of power, it keeps the power on the boil,

the 6 speed that was tried by a member(crazykid) - he thought sixth was an overdrive gear, thats why he said there was no improvement as its not an overdrive gear

Aye it was crazykid who had the 6 speed. Was there actually any acceleration improvement though besides the mistaken overdrive... he didnt mention any?

There are other ways to keep the power going but you are right, gearing and especially a better final drive could be very beneficial (but expensive) on an n/a but Im not going to try it. Im banking on a lightened flywheel and underdrive crank pulley to even the odds on the accel front and the diff to put it all down to the ground better. Im also thinking of going for polybushes all round which I will do in time.

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Are lightened pulleys and flywheel as good as people say? Or is it just another one of those things that are highly over rated?

If it's possible to make the engine rev more freely and get up to higher revs easier then I can't see there being a problem.

I actually prefer peaky engines, but I just don't want to end up losing all the low end torque/power and having something that's completely useless at low revs.

But on the other hand, getting off from 1st gear doesn't take long and once you're up to speed you're only a downshift away from being in the powerband.

If I was to go much further than just the usual rolla mani/air filter...

full exhaust system

exhaust manifold

lightweight pulleys & flywheel

thinner head gasket

ported head

maybe 5EFHE cams

and maybe 6 speed box

and possibly emanage blue?

I'd hope it would end up having a good amount of usable power, but as not many people have done much with the 4EFE it's hard to know wether it's going to turn out to be rubbish or not.

I know it's alot of work for a 4EFE but I plan to go for a GT in the future so I could probably re-use most of it, the cams, head, emanage, pulleys...

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  • 6 months later...

Tune the 4efe. Fit turbo inlet cam for increased lift and rise the rev limit. she'll pull just past 6500 where-as the 5efe dies at 5500. Sounds the shit who cares if your goin fast

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I have since decided to wait a bit and get a GT rather than tuning the 4EFE as it's more power for the money.

But I still want to do a proper N/A build in a few years.

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  • 4 weeks later...

made some interesting reading for me there as im about to plan an N/A glanza S build see what sort of things we can manage, most of my time has been spent tuning N/A engines mainly VTECs though.

will get the bolt on mods in first and a good fueling set up, anyone on here hacked a std 4EFE ECU?

Jim

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this is true, but no harm in having a go, if my Dad can read the ecu and we can allow the chip to be changed to a burnable one then i can map it,

if it aint been done yet i doubt it can be done but i like a challenge lol

Jim

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  • 2 months later...

An aussie made 4efe 128bhp with a few bolton mods and a good piggyback ecu.

4efe revs higher easier than the long legged 5efe. I have both engines with same mods so far. Love bouncing out the b roads in the 4efe revvin away.

Why not fit a 4afe or the 1.8 7afe its as handy

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