Mods

I want better performance on my '03 Rav 4 (AWD), what should I get for my car?

Hmmmm no response yet...what have you guys done to your Rav4's?

Hmmm, how much power do you need to cruise the mall parking lots? All kidding aside, try a K&N air filter and splitfire plugs. Something a back yard mech can do and you will see a few more HP and better gas mileage. Not sure if K&N makes a ram air system like they do for the Jeep but I hear it works.

Yeah I was looking at the K&N Filter for the Rav4, supposidly it boosts accelleration by 15 - 20%. I'm going to look into a new exhaust as well. I plan to go snowboarding quite often this year and I need all the extra power I can get since it is a full time 4WD basically AWD, and whats annoying about this certain drivetrain is that it loses about 23% of the base horsepower to the wheels. At least subaru impreza's lose about that much, assuming the drivetrains between subarus and toyota's are similar...thanks for the suggesting I'll take that into account.

your 2003 should have the same setup as my '02 2.0 4wd 5door which acts as a company demonstrator - Im a wheel importer/distributor, and needed the cabin room inside, and loved the look so.....

To start with, loose the factory airbox on top of the motor.

get a cold air feed pipe made up from alloy tube, or 3in exhaust tube and run a k&n, Simota or similar pod type filter low down in front of the gearbox.
you need to put some sheilding between the pod, and the exhaust to block heat, and create some form of ducting to catch cold air from in front of the radiator, or from under your front bar.
whatever you make up, ensure that the risk of it scooping up water or snow and flooding your pod filter is minimised.

Im currently making one up where the pod is straight over the top of the gearbox, with seperate ducting right up to it from underneath the front.

second mod would be to free up the exhaust. on a late model rav, the entire system from the bottom of the Cat Converter is shocking.
get a mandrel bent 2.5" pipe made up with a decent free flow muffler in the middle, and a straight through performance style can muffler at the rear. i dont recommend going over 2.5in for a 2.0l motor unless you've discovered a bolt on turbo kit.- and yes these are very rare indeed - ive looked.

These 2 options should see a very noticable leap in performance.
a popular mod is to get a set of HKS earth straps for the motor, these are supposed to improve the electrical spark to the plugs, and again should increase responsiveness and low end power.
from there, synthetic oil, with a top grade filter will also help.

From there, the easiest way to maximise your performance is ironically on the outside. get a quality set of FORGED alloy wheels - mostly seen on import racers. the lightweight of these rims, with a set of suitably rated tyres ( not Z rated unless you drive at 100mph everywhere) will release the existing power better. with better acceleration, mileage and less jarring over road bumps.

Racers use a lightweight flywheel to lower the centrifugal drag on the motor to go faster, the weight of a wheel is heavier, and further out, and theres 4 of them. it will be like driving a 3.0 instead of a 2.
the only downside is Forged wheels dont like hitting things like rocks....

if you want more Rav info have a look at www.rav4world.com its an internet group that do nothing that play with Rav4's.... happy hunting

As far as rav exhaust goes, i would go with the greddy system. has good flow, 2.5" mandrel bent tubing, and it sounds damn good, for a toyota rav 4 anyway.

I guess trd makes a short shifter for it, and i have heard that injen makes a cold air for it too, but i have yet to see either installed in one.

are the Greddy and TRd parts your referring to for the original mark-1 style Ravs's, the mark 2 ( 2001,2002) or the newest facelift 2004 style?

The most interesting parts that Ive seen listed for the 2001 or later from TRD are spring sets, and radiator caps ?!

I havent found any really interesting parts as yet for the later models, but the original 'cutsy' mark 1 style has so many more parts and options out there to make them more exciting.

Id be really keen to see if you have other contacts for mark-2 parts that Ive overlooked.

mines a 97 so i havent even thought about newer parts.

there are so many decent parts that either bolt straight up to theearly Ravs, or can be made to fit with little effort.....

unfortunately, the next generation is still pretty lean.

Ive recently read about the new Scion TC coupe running the same 2.4L drivetrain as the 2004 Rav4 that will have a factory option low boost supercharger available.

This blower can be bolted up to the standard 2.4 at any time, and since the 1az is the same block, it should bolt up to the 2.0 with only minor mods- a thicker head gasket, or slightly machined pistons to drop compression slightly should be all thats needed.

over time, it should get easier - hopefully

Go to RAV4OZ.com and check out their shop and forums. there is a crap load of ifo over there.

I hope they make a turbo system for my car soon. I'm also looking into getting a 240sx for a project car.