Getting more low - mid range power out of non tvis 4age

[gordon77]

my car (stock 91 AE92 FXGT) basically is slow off the mark then after you get past about 4500 - 5000 rpm it goes a lot quicker through the revs . i was wondering what could help me get more 'off the mark' power without going into serious modification. i was thinking of things like lightining the flywheel, extractors (what sort?), exaust, maybe some cam work too. i will be fabricating a cold airbox as soon as i can so induction will be sorted
has anyone got any sugestions?

this could possibly turn into a FAQ topic???

[Ae92typeX]

aside from slapping on a supercharger, the 4age has never been a tourque derived motor.
Do the standard airbox/exhaust stuff you have listed, it will help, but not in any great deal. I dont think lightening the flywheel will help much for low down pull either.
Cam's could be an option, but i have not fiddled with them on a 4age, but im sure someone else will have input on them.

[dragg_racer666]

yea just like he said do what u mentioned. no point doing the fly wheel. i am also wondering the diffrenct in cams. i am going to get some Kelford cams(fully modded) and see how my car gose.

[EVLGTZ]

alter your timing to change where the power is.

I use to run 18deg advance (and 96/98 gas) on my tvis bluetop and it was pretty darn good for an old motor especially in the low down revs.

Have heard of others running up to 20deg with good results on theres. All depends how good ya motor is.

Id say check your timing and try give it a few more degrees advance. Just watch for knock. if ya get some then take it back a little.

[Mr. Mainstream]

red top is more of a "up-top" engine. just make sure you rev it right out (not to much now ) to make sure you get the best of what you got.

[RedMist]

You want mid range torque and your talking of getting "fully modded" cams.
Absolutely positively the wrong way to go!
The flywheel will also make it more difficult to get off the mark, and doesn't add torque it reduces inertia.
Even your exhaust mods will more than likely push power up the rev range.
If your that desperate to get torque, buy a car with a bigger engine, because its going to be hard to get it from the 4age.

[CozmoNz]

You want mid range torque and your talking of getting "fully modded" cams.
Absolutely positively the wrong way to go!
The flywheel will also make it more difficult to get off the mark, and doesn't add torque it reduces inertia.
Even your exhaust mods will more than likely push power up the rev range.
If your that desperate to get torque, buy a car with a bigger engine, because its going to be hard to get it from the 4age.

nah bro, just turn the pistons upside down, then the stroke gets bigger and the bore gets smaller!, duh!

if you want more low down torque, just make a 7age.

[Jebus]

Launch at 8000rpm every time you drive.

[Fandango]

4agze, nuff said.

[Mr. Mainstream]

9,000 RPM at 2nd gear should fit the bill

[Mr Revhead]

the last suggestion is about the best!


but seriosuly, as redmist said, if you want torque, buy a bigger motor.
4ages need to be revved, and they love it

[EVLGTZ]

like i said....crank the timing.

Done this many a time on NA cars and had good results

[Mr Revhead]

on a lower comp engine like the blue that may work, but on a smallport 4age, you wont get that much timing out of it, and for things like 20vs, you actually have to back off from the factory timing cause of our crap fuel.

its worth a go, but be very careful. you also dont want it hitting the knock sensor, as that will knock it back a few degrees and could result in it running a coupla deg LOWER than it was in in the first place.
id say 20deg was with some damn good race fuel!

[gordon77]

ok thanks for your suggestions...
how would one go about advancing the timing??? would it be better to get an set of aftermarket cams, will they run with the stock ecu?
also talking about ecu's i heard that 4age ecus were basically impossible to mod (chip/piggyback...) is this true or just rumors

what about the 7age, this is an 1800 head on a 1600 block i assume??? what is involved in that.

i dont really wanna go buy another car - i like mine it goes fialy hard, just in the higher revs...

[Caveman]

Do not get modified cams for your engine. If you really want a new cam the only one I could think of is 4AFE cam shafts, but this could be an expensive option as the cam shaft would need modification and I doubt it would fit anyway. Not only that you'd loose all your top end so I can't see much point.

Installing 'fully worked' cam shafts only pushs your power band higher and norrower. Pretty much the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Basically if you want a flat powerband you'll need a bigger engine or go variable intake which isn't much of an option on your engine. So bigger engine.

7AGE would be cheap if you knew how to do it by yourself, However, Paying a garage to do it would be around the price of a transplant.

[Caveman]

oh and a 7age is a 1600 head on an 1800 block.

[Mr Revhead]

you probably could get some cams that would increase low torque, but itd cost ya. and the gains would be minimal. and more than likely sacrifice top end power.

basiclly the 4age is not a torquie engine. you wont turn it into one either. not cheaply anyway.


if you do decide to change the exhaust, fit 20v extractors, make sure you fit secondaries around 5-600mm long. DO NOT fit 4-1 they suit top end hp

[TuffXA]

I disagree with most of the folks here. Sure a 4age isn't the torquiest (is that a word?) motor on the street but there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get more poke out of you motor down low. On a budget the best idea is a cold air system, good extractors with small primaries and (this part is important) an exhaust system that matches your goals. If you go out and buy a 3 inch straight through system you will lose power down low, guarenteed. As EVLGTZ suggested, pop the timing up a bit (use high quality fuel, and if you want to go nuts try some octane booster, should get timing out to 22 or more).

A camshaft will absolutely give you better power down low if you select the right camshaft for your application. Just having a quick look at The Camshaft Shop it doesn't look like a good down low camshaft is available for this motor, and anything that starts at 3,000 is guarenteed to kill your power down low. Is the car and auto or manual? If it's an auto you might want to try a 3,000rpm cam combined with a high (2,800rpm) stall converter. If you don't want to splash out that much, get an adjustable timing gear for your stock camshaft and have it dyno tuned for good power down low, you'd be surprised how much can be gained from a slight camshatf tweek.

[Mr Revhead]

is this a tvis engine or not?



if its a non tvis i doubt very much youll get the base timing to 20deg or more.... at least safely

if looking for cams a rally type grind may be the best, they have a broader torque curve than track type

there is always room for improvement, its weather or not the $$ outlay is worth it. you have to make sure you goals are realistic. choosing an engine knowen for its high revving hp and trying to turn it into a low down puller isnt the best plan!

in your original post you complained about it being slow off the mark, with an engine like the 4age you gotta rev it, if going fast rev it, keep it above 5k.
if you drive round allday between 2-4000rpm then it will feel kind of "torque less"

[gordon77]

this is a non tvis engine, red top small port i believe.

so basically i need some good extractors with small primaries, are 20v extractors suitable?, they need to be re-drilled to fit a 16v right?and some ajustable cam gears, how much would they be?, where would i go about getting them...

oh and the car is manual.

when the car gets up into the higher revs its sweet, its just getting there that is annoying me.