Tuning the 1UZFE

Everywhere you go and everyone you ask will tell you that you can't get any significant amount of power modifying a naturally aspirated 1UZ-FE because there isn't much you can improve. I'm here to tell you that's wrong and I'm also here to tell you that maybe turbo or supercharging the thing would be easier depending on what you want.

I don't think that's NA unless the thing that looks like a turbo behind the intake isn't a turbo. Can someone enlighten me?

Let's stick our hands right into it. First, exhaust isn't going to give you power. The motor breathes extremely well already and the mods required to build a powerful NA 1UZFE are the more complicated type. I'm saying that it's the type you need a machinist for.

Actually, I take it back. With a Stage 1 and especially Stage 2 modifications, you can and will get more power from the proper exhaust.

I have to mention www.themotorhood.com because that is where I got most of my info. It's hard to find information on tuning NA 1UZ-FE motors so thank you guys.

Just like a turbo setup, an NA setup for power comes in stages. On the Motorhood website, I think they even go into stage 4 which is nuts. Stage 2 should have you putting down 350-400whp. That's wheel horsepower, the horsepower that actually makes it to the wheels. So that's maybe 450bhp. Similar torque.

The main thing is that this motor is actually pretty restricted when it comes to airflow. There's a few reasons for this and all of them will bring power out.

First of all, the engine is actually very small for a 4.0l V8. Especially the head. They did this to make it small, such as giving it a tiny head, so it would fit in their sedans and coupes. The ECU also has an airflow meter that is extremely restrictive. Who knows why but you're going to need a tuning program that plugs into your ECU to get rid of this restriction.

Let me hop back to the exhaust real quick and I will explain what you need to manage your ECU.

The Motorhood recommends this specific setup. Go to a reputable shop and ask them for four-into-one 63mm connectors mating to a 76mm exhaust system. This will give the car a nice rumble, too. They don't say you need to straight pipe it. If anything, if you need more sound, delete a muffler or two.

So how do you manage the ECU? There are programs that plug into the ECU and your phone or computer for easy tuning. The Motorhood recommends Xtreme ECU. There was another one they were talking about but that one only lets you mess with four cylinders. You might wanna look around for a different one, even, if Xtreme ECU is too expensive.

Tuning. See how in the first one, the power peaks and drops right off? In the image on the right, it just keeps going up while the torque is almost a perfect curve. This is why tuning is so important!

Having this is a Godsend though. It lets you see exactly what the car is doing and lets you modify many aspects. That's tuning. It makes it a lot easier to diagnose problems and the list can go on about why it's very useful.

Why so you need a program that directly plugs into the ECU?

The 1UZ-FE can't be chipped. That's why.

For Stage 1, you should get an aftermarket exhaust manifold. The stock ones were made to save space - not to perform well. That's one more thing that restricts air. Before this, I had no idea the engine was so restrictive with air! It also has restrictive cylinder heads. Dang.

When you finish Stage 1, your engine should be making about 250-260 to the WHEELS - this is whp not bhp (wheel horsepower versus brake horsepower - power is lost as it is transferred through the driveshaft and all that. Stage 2? Probably 350-380whp which is no joke - about 500bhp. I swear, if Lexus sold crate 1UZ-FEs with these mods, they would be used almost as much as LS1s.

You have to make a decision. If you want some extra power but you want the car to be reliable, stop there. If you go to Stage 2, the car will be harsh on the streets. At that point, you're building it to race.

1UZ-FE exhaust system (stock).

Stage 2 will cost you some money. You will be getting some parts modified, meaning machine work. The engine is popular because of its strength. I love to bring this fact up; somebody (you can Google this) wanted to see how much boost a 1UZ-FE can take before it blew. The answer? It blew just above 50psi at which point it had to have been making a LOT of power. That's stock internals!

Let's wrap this up. For Stage 2, there's a few things you can do. First, you can get high compression pistons. But let's stick to a "budget" build. If you skip that, you just need a good head and cam package. As I mentioned before, the original head is a little too small. That's so it would fit in a number of cars from Toyota's perspective and they were right to do it like this.

For the head, The Motorhood recommends sending it to Kelford Cams and CLS Cams. Considering the name, they should be able to do your cams too.

They will port the head, add heavy duty valve springs, add multi-angle valve seats, and create a more aggressive camshaft. With all of that, my friend, you will be whooping turbo cars.

Well let's talk about turbos and superchargers. I like NA motors with significant power. I also like turbos and superchargers. Now, if it was up to me, I think I would just run a turbo at 8psi most of the time and turn it up when I need it.

It's easier but it's nowhere near as cool.

If any of you have a modified NA 1UZ-FE, what kind of power are you making and what did you do to it? Contact me. Thanks for reading. Have a good day my friends.