Power of 99 vs 98 100 series - engine tuning????

[jwldane]

Hello,

We used to have a 98 LC100 that we sold back in 2009. Yes, I'm an idiot. Missed it so much we bought a 99 about 2 months ago. Both vehicles are identical except for 99 has rear air which we seldom use and the an ARB bumper on the front. The 99 seems to have a lack of power and does not respond as quickly to throttle as the 98 did. The engine is smooth, idles fine, oil looks like new, runs at normal temp and both were/are completely stock and unmodified. The 99 only has 130K where the 98 had 165K on the odometer when we sold it. Do any of you Toyota tech gurus out there know if the was a difference in engine tuning at the factory or any other obvious causes of this lack of power. Thanks for any help you can offer.

John

 

[patrickfinley]

I'm not a tech but can't imagine there being any noticeable differences. If so there would be a ton of threads about low power on the 99's.

Either your 98 wasn't really as fast as your memory serves, or there is an issue with the 99.

 

[mcgaskins]

Completely anecdotal, but when I was looking for my 100 a couple years ago I drove 6 different vehicles ranging from 98 to 03. I personally felt what seemed like a noticeable difference in power on the 98, and even my friend who was with me one day when we drove an 01 an hour before the 98 felt that it had much better power off the line. Mine doesn't have rear AC or heat or heated seats or a few other common NA options (it was ordered to Hawaii), so perhaps that has something to do with it. I recently drove an 04 that had the same lift as mine but it didn't have bumpers or sliders and mine felt noticeably quicker there too though the 04 had 50k more miles and seemed pretty beat up. Not sure if that's what you're looking for, but I personally noticed a difference as well.

 

[yotasavg]

About a year before I bought my '98, I drove a friends '00 up to Tahoe. When I test drove mine I thought to myself that it was a much peppier beast than I had remembered. Not trying to spread propaganda or hearsay, but that's what I remember.

On another note, my fiance blew the motor in her firebird. We replaced with a camero motor and she swears it's slower now. I don't really notice, plus it's a v6 auto so it really doesn't matter. Maybe engines can vary a bit from block to block? I really have no idea and I can't believe I'm actually about to post this.

 

[jwldane]

Thanks for the responses.

I guess I will need to do some research on performance upgrades. Both my wife and I are quite certain there is a significant power difference. Even with the 99 continuously left in EFT Power mode it just does not have the pep of the 98. Only rarely did we ever feel the need to engage the EFT power mode in the 98, even after we installed the 285/76/16's.

Any suggestions on power upgrades???? My first thought is a K&N intake or filter. Then see if there are any performance chips, larger injectors or other upgrades available. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
John

 

[SWUtah]

Completely anecdotal, but when I was looking for my 100 a couple years ago I drove 6 different vehicles ranging from 98 to 03. I personally felt what seemed like a noticeable difference in power on the 98, and even my friend who was with me one day when we drove an 01 an hour before the 98 felt that it had much better power off the line. Mine doesn't have rear AC or heat or heated seats or a few other common NA options (it was ordered to Hawaii), so perhaps that has something to do with it. I recently drove an 04 that had the same lift as mine but it didn't have bumpers or sliders and mine felt noticeably quicker there too though the 04 had 50k more miles and seemed pretty beat up. Not sure if that's what you're looking for, but I personally noticed a difference as well.
1998 LC - OME 2.5", Slee sliders, TJM T3, Engo 10k winch

2009 Ducati Monster 696, 2000 Vulcan Drifter, 2005 Honda CRF250X, 2007 Honda CRF150RB
mcgaskins, Yesterday at 5:16 AM Report#3Like+ QuoteReply

Based on engine spec's and Toyota information there is no difference. Could be a truck by truck variation?

 

[jcrandall]

TIL that my 98 is basically a supercar.

 

[mcgaskins]

Based on engine spec's and Toyota information there is no difference. Could be a truck by truck variation?

Definitely - growing up my parents each had a 1987 Audi 5000 CS Turbo Quattro, one in red one in blue which were basically identical. The blue one absolutely blew the doors off the red one though (blue one was mom's lol), and it was very noticeable even as a backseat passenger. Granted those cars were turbo charged which adds a lot of variables and complexity and manufacturing consistency probably wasn't as good back then either. I also think that there were some factory URS4 mods under the hood of the blue car, and a few of the mechanics who looked at it noted some "strange" differences on that car. It was also strangley badged only as an "Audi CS" lacking the 5000 and quattro, and in the 10+ years we had that car we never saw another one badged that way. Long answer short - yes I believe there are definitely car to car variations in power

 

[George 2000]

i recently picked up a 98 100 in absolutely mint condition to replace a 2000 100 that i've had for 5 years. There is absolutely a difference in the pick up off the line for the 98 - noticeably quicker. Same engine, same car, except for added stability control and no more rear locker for the 2000. My wife thinks the 2000 is wider and just a big bigger than the 98. Not sure about that.