Robb235
Jet Boat Addict
- Messages
- 149
- Reaction score
- 89
- Points
- 102
- Location
- Chattanooga, TN
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2000
- Boat Model
- Other
- Boat Length
- 18
Figured I'd share a project I recently completed over the winter. I've owned my '99 4Runner since 2012, as it was a kind of gift to myself after graduating from college. I'd always loved the 3rd gen 4Runners, my friend's mom had one when we were kids and I wanted one for myself. It was my daily driver up until 2019, but still kept it around as a spare vehicle since it's reliable and has no real problems. It also served as my tow vehicle to my first boat, a '97 Exciter 220, and now for my MR-1 swapped XR1800. However, the achilles heal of this truck was the lack of power from the 3.4L V6 motor. Towing the XR, it did ok on flat ground, but struggled trying to pull steep grades at slower (<40mph) speeds.
Toyota (TRD) offered a dealer supercharger option for these motors, but for the money, I didn't feel it was worth it. The supercharger was a Magnuson MP62 that was sized more for a 2.0L I4 engine than it was a 3.4L V6. As a result, the supercharger ran inefficiently causing intake temps to be very high. Most people typically saw only a 50hp increase. I honestly have no idea why Toyota didn't instead go for the M90 supercharger that GM cars of the same era used on the 3800 series motors. It would have been such a better match. So the TRD/Magnuson supercharger was out for me. At this point, the smartest option would have been to sell the 4Runner and pickup a 1st gen Toyota Sequoia. I opted to go turbo instead.
I began collecting parts for a turbo build several years ago. It was a slow process, as I wasn't really in a hurry to undertake the project. I was also working on the MR-1 engine swap into my XR1800 to get rid of the 2-strokes once and for all. During that time, Magnuson actually released the TVS1320 supercharger in the summer of 2023 for the old Toyota 3.4L, which is a huge upgrade to the anemic MP62. Had I not already started down the path of collecting turbo parts, I probably would've gone that route. Instead, I had already purchased the only off-the-shelf turbo manifolds, crossover pipe, downpipe, and mid pipe made for this engine from a company called CX Racing. I pieced together the rest.
Essentially CX Racing sells Chinese made products, some of which is hit or miss on quality, but they were the only option outside of custom fabricating something myself. The durability seems good, but quality control was a bit lacking. During install, some of the v-bands didn't quite line up, and I had to take the crossover pipe to a shop to have the flex pipe cut out and a longer one welded in. It was also obvious that they gave zero consideration to the person who would be installing these things, as the construction of the manifolds made it nearly impossible to tighten some of the nuts on the exhaust studs. Alternator and starter had to be removed in order to get all of them tightened, and even then it was a challenge. I had to modify and grind down a 14mm wrench in order to access some of them. Shorter exhaust studs had to be sourced in order to even get the manifolds onto the heads. The transmission dipstick also had to be relocated.
I wrapped up the install in early spring of 2024. I initially went with a non-intercooled setup and an old school 57-trim Garrett T3/T4 turbo I had laying around.
As I drove it around, it became obvious that I was going to have to go with an intercooled setup if I planned on towing my boat with this thing. On a 60 degree day, I could easily push the intake temps to 140 or higher while in boost. Not going to work in a tow application going up steep grades in boost. So I bought a no name Amazon intercooler and more silicone connectors and intake piping and swapped to an intercooled setup.
The intercooler setup worked out nice, and usually keeps intake temps within 10-20 degrees of ambient. I also replaced the old Garrett T3/T4 with a Chinesium GTX3071 turbo. The GTX3071 is a smaller turbo, so it spools up sooner and power is on tap just about instantly.
Overall, I really like this turbo setup. While it was MUCH more labor intensive to do versus a bolt on supercharger, it offers a lot more power potential with the cooler intake temps and much less parasitic drag on the engine. It's made towing my boat around a much more enjoyable experience. It's kinda funny now being that guy that's passing people on steep grades while towing a boat. Next project is installing the rear locking differential onto this thing.
Toyota (TRD) offered a dealer supercharger option for these motors, but for the money, I didn't feel it was worth it. The supercharger was a Magnuson MP62 that was sized more for a 2.0L I4 engine than it was a 3.4L V6. As a result, the supercharger ran inefficiently causing intake temps to be very high. Most people typically saw only a 50hp increase. I honestly have no idea why Toyota didn't instead go for the M90 supercharger that GM cars of the same era used on the 3800 series motors. It would have been such a better match. So the TRD/Magnuson supercharger was out for me. At this point, the smartest option would have been to sell the 4Runner and pickup a 1st gen Toyota Sequoia. I opted to go turbo instead.
I began collecting parts for a turbo build several years ago. It was a slow process, as I wasn't really in a hurry to undertake the project. I was also working on the MR-1 engine swap into my XR1800 to get rid of the 2-strokes once and for all. During that time, Magnuson actually released the TVS1320 supercharger in the summer of 2023 for the old Toyota 3.4L, which is a huge upgrade to the anemic MP62. Had I not already started down the path of collecting turbo parts, I probably would've gone that route. Instead, I had already purchased the only off-the-shelf turbo manifolds, crossover pipe, downpipe, and mid pipe made for this engine from a company called CX Racing. I pieced together the rest.
Essentially CX Racing sells Chinese made products, some of which is hit or miss on quality, but they were the only option outside of custom fabricating something myself. The durability seems good, but quality control was a bit lacking. During install, some of the v-bands didn't quite line up, and I had to take the crossover pipe to a shop to have the flex pipe cut out and a longer one welded in. It was also obvious that they gave zero consideration to the person who would be installing these things, as the construction of the manifolds made it nearly impossible to tighten some of the nuts on the exhaust studs. Alternator and starter had to be removed in order to get all of them tightened, and even then it was a challenge. I had to modify and grind down a 14mm wrench in order to access some of them. Shorter exhaust studs had to be sourced in order to even get the manifolds onto the heads. The transmission dipstick also had to be relocated.
I wrapped up the install in early spring of 2024. I initially went with a non-intercooled setup and an old school 57-trim Garrett T3/T4 turbo I had laying around.
As I drove it around, it became obvious that I was going to have to go with an intercooled setup if I planned on towing my boat with this thing. On a 60 degree day, I could easily push the intake temps to 140 or higher while in boost. Not going to work in a tow application going up steep grades in boost. So I bought a no name Amazon intercooler and more silicone connectors and intake piping and swapped to an intercooled setup.
The intercooler setup worked out nice, and usually keeps intake temps within 10-20 degrees of ambient. I also replaced the old Garrett T3/T4 with a Chinesium GTX3071 turbo. The GTX3071 is a smaller turbo, so it spools up sooner and power is on tap just about instantly.
Overall, I really like this turbo setup. While it was MUCH more labor intensive to do versus a bolt on supercharger, it offers a lot more power potential with the cooler intake temps and much less parasitic drag on the engine. It's made towing my boat around a much more enjoyable experience. It's kinda funny now being that guy that's passing people on steep grades while towing a boat. Next project is installing the rear locking differential onto this thing.
