Intake suggestions for Euro engine

[lormagni]

Hi guys, I want to upgrade my almost stock air intake, but my engine is different from yours, it's the 1.33 100hp 1NR-FE that is used in Europe and in some Japanese models. I'll post below a picture of my engine bay so you can see how it's made. My car now has an AFE Pro Dry S panel filter in the original airbox, I'm wondering if I should go with a Cold Air Intake or improving the stock one.
As you can see the airbox sits in the highest part of the engine bay (red circle) and the snorkel pipe connected to it ends in the middle of nowhere. The green arrow points where there's a hole in the grille to catch air
My idea was to substitute the oem snorkel with a 80mm pipe and connect it to the hole in the grille, so it will be sucking fresh air from the front of the car. Do you have any other ideas? Consider that my aim is to increase the low end, not the top end power. Thanks

[tooter]

Hey, they installed your engine backwards!

Just kidding...
...the US engines have the intake in the front and exhaust in back. You might gain a little by ducting your intake out the front. I'd try a temporary experiment with tape and some cheap flexible clothes dryer ducting just to see what happens. Does anyone make a long tube exhaust header for your engine? If they do, that's the surest way to increase your engine's low end torque. Longer exhaust runners make more torque.


Greg

[lormagni]

Originally Posted by tooter

Hey, they installed your engine backwards!

Just kidding...
...the US engines have the intake in the front and exhaust in back. You might gain a little by ducting your intake out the front. I'd try a temporary experiment with tape and some cheap flexible clothes dryer ducting just to see what happens. Does anyone make a long tube exhaust header for your engine? If they do, that's the surest way to increase your engine's low end torque. Longer exhaust runners make more torque.


Greg

Hahaha, I know it's backwards, the 1NR-FE is made this way! I think I'll try that way, ducting the intake to the front. Unfortunately there is no aftermarket header for my engine, the 2010 version of this engine had a longer 4-2-1 tube header (first picture), then in 2012 they changed it for a shorter 4-1 one (second picture) , I don't know why. I'm kindly disappointed with this engine, it seems that there are no aftermarket parts at all, maybe only something for the R1 rally version (http://www.topspeed.com/cars/toyota/...-ar133663.html). I think that the only way to improve performance is to invest in something custom made, or maybe just buying another car... :(

[tooter]

The older 4-2-1 header is better. It appears that the design of the newer one is to comply with more stringent emissions regulations at the expense of performance. If it's not too big of an expense, I'd try one of those just to see if might help. One way to make your car more fun to drive is to install an aftermarket muffler that makes a nice sound. Or put wheels, wider lower tires and better suspension to make it corner better. I bet you get great gas mileage with the 1.3. That's what they're made for more than performance.

I ride a scooter with a tiny 49cc engine. I installed an exhaust and now it sounds like a Formula 1 racer!




Greg

[lormagni]

Originally Posted by tooter

The older 4-2-1 header is better. It appears that the design of the newer one is to comply with more stringent emissions regulations at the expense of performance. If it's not too big of an expense, I'd try one of those just to see if might help. One way to make your car more fun to drive is to install an aftermarket muffler that makes a nice sound. Or put wheels, wider lower tires and better suspension to make it corner better. I bet you get great gas mileage with the 1.3. That's what they're made for more than performance.

I ride a scooter with a tiny 49cc engine. I installed an exhaust and now it sounds like a Formula 1 racer!




Greg

That's what I've done until now, my current mods are: Vogtland lowering springs + uprated shocks, Japan Racing 16x7 et40 wheels (TE37 replicas) and a sport muffler from Ulter (even if it doesn't make too much noise, because it's under European homologation that doesn't allow too much noise from mufflers). All these changes are good for car handling and sound, but I'd like to add something more to the engine, because it's nice and pushy and only suffers from those f***ing emissions regulations and is too much low-fuel consumption oriented.
I think that the worst part of this engine is the 6sp gearbox (the 1st and 2nd gears are wayyy too long) that combined with a heavy flywheel and a choked header gives poor acceleration.
By the way I was surfing on the internet and I found that this engine is very similar in some parts to the other Dual VVT-i engines such as the 2ZA-FE used on the Camry and Scion TC, look for example at the manifold or the flywheel, or even the engine configuration with the intake in the back and the exhaust header in the front . It would be good to find out if there are actually some interchangeable parts between these engines...

PS: nice Ruckus, last year I was going to pick one, it seems so much fun to drive!

[tooter]

Sounds like you've done really practical mods!

Your engine is dual VVT-I? That's better than the US engines which are only single.

Toyota is notorious for employing multiple uses of the same well designed parts. I believe this economics driven efficiency is one reason they make such reliable vehicles.

I liked the chopped off short "cue ball" shifter I had made for my 1996 Toyota pickup, and when I bought a new Toyota pickup in 2012... that 17 year old shifter bolted right on to the new transmission!



Do do some fishing around on other Toyota engines just to see what you might come up with. I adapted an intake manifold off of an old 1998 Toyota Corolla to fit my 2012 Yaris.

[lormagni]

What about using a spacer for the intake manifold as the one you made some years ago? Could it bring some benefits?

[tooter]

Originally Posted by lormagni

What about using a spacer for the intake manifold as the one you made some years ago? Could it bring some benefits?

I'm not sure if it would fit your engine. And sorry, even if it did fit, I no longer make them as I've moved on to other projects.

[lormagni]

Originally Posted by tooter

I'm not sure if it would fit your engine. And sorry, even if it did fit, I no longer make them as I've moved on to other projects.

I don't think that the original would fit the engine. The bolt holes seem to have almost the same pattern, but one hole position should be modified . Do you still have the original design files of your spacer? Is it possible to have them?



This is my manifold:



1nz-fe manifold:



Rear of the engine:

[tooter]

The most simple way is to put a piece of heavy paper over the ports of your intake manifold to mark it. Cut it out to make an accurate pattern of the ports and bolt holes. Then have a machinist vertically mill the pattern out of a piece of aluminum bar stock.

Greg

[lormagni]

Originally Posted by tooter

The most simple way is to put a piece of heavy paper over the ports of your intake manifold to mark it. Cut it out to make an accurate pattern of the ports and bolt holes. Then have a machinist vertically mill the pattern out of a piece of aluminum bar stock.

Greg

Do you think that aluminium is the only good material to make one? My sister's boyfriend owns a 3d printing activity and could make one made of nylon or ABS. This kind of materials could resist or they will melt?

[tooter]

Originally Posted by lormagni

Do you think that aluminium is the only good material to make one? My sister's boyfriend owns a 3d printing activity and could make one made of nylon or ABS. This kind of materials could resist or they will melt?

My spacers were 6/6 nylon which works great because of its strength, high temprature and hydrocarbon resistance, but it takes tool speed expertise not to gall it. If your printer can print 6/6, go for it.


Greg