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DARKSLIDER
13-10-2010, 07:22 PM
Hi all, have recently brought a TJ AWD and would like abit more performance out of it. I have done the cat back exhaust and installed a K&N air filter, it has made the car a bit better and sounds alot better. The next thing I'm doing is installing a oil cooler for the auto.
Has anyone changed the throttle body and noticed much of a diffrence?
RPW has a kit that bolts on for $250, is it worth doing?
Any tips for what I should do?
I'm not intrested in turbo or supercharging it.

[TUFFTR]
13-10-2010, 07:31 PM
Hi all, have recently brought a TJ AWD and would like abit more performance out of it. I have done the cat back exhaust and installed a K&N air filter, it has made the car a bit better and sounds alot better. The next thing I'm doing is installing a oil cooler for the auto.
Has anyone changed the throttle body and noticed much of a diffrence?
RPW has a kit that bolts on for $250, is it worth doing?
Any tips for what I should do?
I'm not intrested in turbo or supercharging it.
If your interested in making your AWD faster, cheaply, you've picked the worst car possible, heavy, and only automatic.
A throttle body will make next to no difference at all
Any tips? look into a 380 engine conversion, but even then you'll be down something in the region of at least $4000
If your not interested in FI, there are no options really. AWD's are not a performance orientated car.

Oggy
13-10-2010, 07:56 PM
Welcome to AMC!

There's lots of info here, you just have to find it :)

ECU re-tune by Steve Knight (?) in Adelaide can improve things. But intake manifolds apparently do not.

The AWD's exhaust collector joining the front pipes with the rear pipes is more a T intersection than a smooth flowing Y join.
I would think that improvements can be made here quite easily.
1 option is HM headers which will include the Y piece. Cost is something like $650 for the AWD headers.
Another option MIGHT be for your local exhaust place to fix up this section of pipe. I have no idea how easy or difficult this might be.

On the overall performance thing, I'm wondering if I've got a freak AWD or if I'm just too used to pedestrian cars, but my AWD seems to be quick. I admit I've not had any real performance cars, closest was a drive of a friends Pulsar GTi-R (damn I want one of those).
If you think the AWD is slow, what other cars have you been driving?

Maybe it's just because the AWD is so stable, it's acceleration is deceptive? Mine can take off from lights in the wet with my right foot nailing the accelerator to the carpet and it just goes straight down the road, even with hands off the steering wheel. It's almost boring, but it's quicker than anything I've seen next to me on the road with 4 wheels (so far).

Cheers + welcome again.
Oggy
(aka Graham).

Ezz
13-10-2010, 07:58 PM
Welcome to AMC!
As TUFFY explained unless you FI there are no options worth while... that is worth the money for little results. If your look for performance for an AWD, then I'd suggest you look seriously at supercharging with a Rotrex, Raptor or Springtex kit. A lot easier and less pressure on the wallet. A larger throttle body will give you next to nothing for the money. Good luck and best not to jump into anything before seeking advice first.

WytWun
13-10-2010, 09:03 PM
Welcome to AMC, and I hope you enjoy your AWD as I enjoy mine.

I agree with Oggy that the AWDs can be a bit deceptive, especially once you get them moving (which is their achilles heel).

The AWDs benefit most from mods that maximise low end torque, in order to get that mass moving.

Since you've already done the cat-back, HM extractors will complete the job.

Short of a 6G75 conversion, the next best thing is to try and locate a set of Ralliart (#7) or 380 (#15) camshafts and install them with some camshaft timing advance (either mod the stock sprockets, or buy Fidanza adjustable sprockets). You can also advance the timing of the stock (#6) camshafts to boost low end torque a bit at the cost of some top end power, but the gains will be smaller than with the Ralliart/380 cams.

3rd gens, including the AWDs, don't have a knock sensor so there's no benefit running higher octane fuel with the stock ECU tune. If you're prepared to use a minimum of either 95 or 98 RON fuel, a tune can extract a bit more performance. SKR is one place that can do this - best if you take the car to the tuner, but SKR can also do "mail order" tunes if you can send an ECU.

As to whether any of these changes are worthwhile is debatable - at the end of the day, you have to decide what's worthwhile to you.

I've done the exhaust/extractors and advanced my stock camshafts (but I still want a set of Ralliart/380 cams, and would do the 6G75 conversion if I find a reasonably priced engine). I'm looking into tuning to use higher octane fuel. Mine is still no fireball, but it goes surprisingly well.

Cheers,
Andy.

Dave
14-10-2010, 05:35 AM
Welcome to AMC!

There's lots of info here, you just have to find it :)

ECU re-tune by Steve Knight (?) in Adelaide can improve things. But intake manifolds apparently do not.

The AWD's exhaust collector joining the front pipes with the rear pipes is more a T intersection than a smooth flowing Y join.
I would think that improvements can be made here quite easily.
1 option is HM headers which will include the Y piece. Cost is something like $650 for the AWD headers.
Another option MIGHT be for your local exhaust place to fix up this section of pipe. I have no idea how easy or difficult this might be.

On the overall performance thing, I'm wondering if I've got a freak AWD or if I'm just too used to pedestrian cars, but my AWD seems to be quick. I admit I've not had any real performance cars, closest was a drive of a friends Pulsar GTi-R (damn I want one of those).
If you think the AWD is slow, what other cars have you been driving?

Maybe it's just because the AWD is so stable, it's acceleration is deceptive? Mine can take off from lights in the wet with my right foot nailing the accelerator to the carpet and it just goes straight down the road, even with hands off the steering wheel. It's almost boring, but it's quicker than anything I've seen next to me on the road with 4 wheels (so far).

Cheers + welcome again.
Oggy
(aka Graham).

I will take you for a spin if you come to tonights social

spud100
14-10-2010, 06:38 AM
Welcome.
AWD is a great choice.

Agree with these comments.
As you have done the exhaust the first thing to do is extractors.
Second, advance the cam timing, take note that this should be a different amount for each bank. Search is your friend to find the details.
I personally disagree with the comments about different inlet manifold. I have one, not much difference by itself, however, when I had the cams advanced a couple of months after fitting decent extractors my AWD became a different car.
I live in a hilly part of Sydney. Lots of stop / start uphill first thing so really noticed how much happier the engine is to rev out.

Next I would be considering a set of the special cams that have been talked about. My car is now burning oil because of hard / worn out valve stem seals.
Have a set of heads in the garage that I am slowly modifying so will be able to do a straight swap over change.

SKR tune.
Plenty of posts about how effective he is. Go read the AWD Dyno tune thread to see before and after info.
Gerry

Gerry

DynamiteZerg
14-10-2010, 09:08 AM
Hi all, have recently brought a TJ AWD and would like abit more performance out of it. I have done the cat back exhaust and installed a K&N air filter, it has made the car a bit better and sounds alot better. The next thing I'm doing is installing a oil cooler for the auto.
Has anyone changed the throttle body and noticed much of a diffrence?
RPW has a kit that bolts on for $250, is it worth doing?
Any tips for what I should do?
I'm not intrested in turbo or supercharging it.

Hey mate,

Welcome to the club! Congraz on ur purchase and I must say the AWD rocks! I have a KJ2 AWD and I know why you would like a bit more performance out of it. It's a bit of a snail moving off from the traffic lights!

Firstly, like the rest of the guys said, get a set of HM AWD headers from ebay (boltonperformance) for about $600. Install it and you will notice a difference. Since you've changed the cat back, the exhaust system will shine with the headers!

As for the TB (throttle body), try to get the EzBoy high flowed TB without TCL. He no longer makes them and you might have to post a WTB thread. It will improve the performance as well as it helps the engine breath better together with the K&N.

Performance wise, AWD struggles when it tries to move off from a stop position. However, once it starts moving it moves pretty quickly!

Oh the Ralliart/380 cams are a good mod, however, without a tune from SKR to utilize it the improvement is negligible. I know because I have a set of 380 heads on my car without a tune. The improvement is there but not by much.

FamilyWagon
14-10-2010, 02:55 PM
Hey mate.

Best mods you can do to the AWD are:

1. Hm Headers
2. Steve Knight tune to 98 Ron fuel and
3. Ralliart/380 cams if you can find a set.

Thats about all mate. Dont waste your time and money on anything else. The rest of the exhaust is fine as too is the intake.

Enjoy, and dont take notice of any negative comments said here. The AWD is the best Magna ever made. Might not be the fastest but is the most enjoyable to drive.

[TUFFTR]
14-10-2010, 06:02 PM
Eh, that's debatable if you find an automatic enjoyable...just saying...

DARKSLIDER
14-10-2010, 07:26 PM
Thanks for the advice and comments.
Yes it's abit of a shame they don't come in a manual version but sequential gearbox is pretty good.
It's a great car to drive and eats up corners, I live in Tasmania so there is plenty of corners.
It just needs some more get up and go in first gear.

Lugo
21-10-2010, 04:54 PM
FamilyWagon is a bloke you should listen to. What he's listed is essentially what he's done to his car, and it does get the best out of it without being too extreme. All else you can do thats viable for the money is a 6G75 conversion, but its much more complicated.

Whether the car is manual or auto, its not the be all or end all of the car being an enjoyable drive, its a personal preference thing. I feel the car could have achieved more as a drivers car with a manual gearbox, but the auto that comes with them is bloody good for what it is, and it's still a thoroughly enjoyable drive.

Madmagna
21-10-2010, 05:01 PM
I agree the AWD was the finest that Mits made here in Oz, it was not the fastest but was the most fun to drive if set up right

As above
SKR tune
HM Headers
380 Cams to compliment the above

If you want to do the 380 conversion, I do these as well, I can either do the complete job or you can get me to prep the motor and send it to you, even if you pay 2grand for the engine iteself you will still come in well under 4 grand with no issues at all. They are not a hard engine to fit, just need to know what to do to them to set them up. Ihave done a couple of these and have another coming up in a few weeks time

Forced induction is also a great idea for these, superchargers will get you more off the line power if that is what you are after and are a reasonably neat fit. There are a couple avail for the 3.5 set up and being a low compression motor they do take to the induction quite well provided you do not run heaps of boost and thrash the ringer out of it all the time