n00b Question re: Upping Torque

[Beez97Cam]

I'm a total n00b when it comes to modding my car, so please forgive what'll be a dumb question for most. I like the way my Cam performs for the most part, but would love to increase the low-end torque. More getup & go away from lights or passing power is what I'm looking for. That being said, what're the most economical mods I can make to achieve that? As well, can any1 recommend a resource for beginners I could look at to learn more about what things like cold air intakes, headersm, etc. do for you? Thanx for tolerating the ignorance.

[cman2000]

do a search. Above left hand corner.

but to start you off, I also have the same engine as you 5SFE. Check my sig below. I'd start off w/ custom cold air intake (get short-ram intake, then get the extension from www.upfd.com or make your own),
then get new exhaust (Apexi world sport, or Greddy Evo catback-what I have-)
then get new header. www. rippmods.com sell header for 5SFE. basically direct bolt on header.

[SmokingTires]

CAI won't give you any low-end gains. Don't bother with the money. Just get a K&N filter and it will breathe fine. Headers won't give very good gains on a stock I4 either seeing as they really need the back pressure. Built, they work great. But they won't be much help for the money in your case.

Low-end is hard to build in a 5s-fe without adding Force Induction (Turbo or Supercharger). Custom cams would be a good way to go. Increase the duration of the intake and exhaust opening with a slightly increased valve overlap should give you better scavanging of the cyclinder and a good deal more power. It will also give you a stronger power band.

[Pineapple]

Free flow lose lowend, period.
5S is already torquey, 130Hp, 140lbft.
Use fuel injection cleaner, keep everything clean and working properly.
You can get high CR piston with cam to gain more power. You'll need a good shop to custom grind the cams.

[Beez97Cam]

Thanx all, your help & advice is much appreciated.

[MadDawg]

the 5SFE engine's main power band is between 3000-4000rpms if you ever get a chance to notice, its high end isnt that impressive, its lowend is better than its high end for some reason...

[88 LE]

^ That has to do with the head design and the cams.

With a G head its the other way around. Its kinda laggy on the low end and picks up after about 3,500 - 4,000 rpm.

[Pineapple]

All the FE are lowend power. Any mod to push power band up will result in a funny engine which you won't like at all. Keep power band where it was, don't try get high HP and you'll hae a fun torquey engine for street use.

[cman2000]

Originally Posted by Pineapple

All the FE are lowend power. Any mod to push power band up will result in a funny engine which you won't like at all. Keep power band where it was, don't try get high HP and you'll hae a fun torquey engine for street use.

well, w/ my mods, I noticed it revs a bit easier, and yeah power still doesn't kick in until about 2500 rpm-3000rpm. but off the line i didn't notice that much torque loss...in fact, w/ the headers i think torque was much improved (but not hp).

i haven't dyno'ed it yet so no "proof". I will once i get the s-afc installed

[Beez97Cam]

Originally Posted by MadDawg

the 5SFE engine's main power band is between 3000-4000rpms if you ever get a chance to notice

I've only had the car a couple of weeks but have noticed that the real fun starts - as you said - at 3K

[userlain]

F series head is for economy, not power.

Get a short-ram intake. That will definately help with throttle response. You could also upgrade the ground wires, and the "Big 3."

PM me if you need some help

[Pineapple]

Good header shouldn't remove lowend. A bit of free flowing help engine respond faster. As long as you're playing within design limit, not against it, you're fine.
Don't try to get a torquey engine to rev high or a high rev engine to make torque.
I wanna see how close the 5S-FE can get to 200HP NA.

[CrawlingEye]

Originally Posted by Pineapple

Good header shouldn't remove lowend. A bit of free flowing help engine respond faster. As long as you're playing within design limit, not against it, you're fine.
Don't try to get a torquey engine to rev high or a high rev engine to make torque.
I wanna see how close the 5S-FE can get to 200HP NA.

If you haven't seen the results of good NA 5S-FE builds, you haven't looked hard enough.
A lot of MR2 guys are getting 130's or so at the wheels with their 5S-FE's without a built bottom end. That said, it's quite feasible that 150-160whp should be obtainable without too much effort (not to say it won't be much $$).

It's wrong to think that an FE head can't be shifted to rev high and perform well at the same time. Custom cams, oversized valves (1mm is common), new springs and a decent port and polish will all contribute to allowing it to have a much broader (and higher) powerband.

One of the main restrictions posed by the Camry 5S-FE's is the fact that most are not manual, and thus you're limited to what they're allowed to shift at. Stick cars will shift at 6.5k, while you'll loose 500rpm with an auto. Given this, there's room for improvement. Many have noted 15whp gains with a full exhaust from just getting their cams done. I don't understand why it's shunned here (heat treated hardwelds) but many other forums that users build 5S-FE's on consider it a must.