2002 RAV4 needs more power

rav4brasil · #1 (**permalink**) 01-08-2006, 09:35 PM

Does anybody knows how o get more power from a 2002 automatic RAV4? I saw an unanswered question about turbo... does anyone tried that already?
I was thinking on reprogramg the automatic transmission, at least.
I leave in Brazil, but can buy anything in the USA.

tks

Marco

m9431 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-15-2006, 11:36 AM

When we first got our '03, I experienced a slight hesitation and expected more overall power. I eventually made two simple and inexpensive changes that made a big difference: 1) the air intake is restrictive, so I fabricated a larger intake that brings in cooler air by design. It attaches to the 'corrugated rubber' of the stock intake. To further reduce restriction, I installed a K&N air filter. 2) I started using 89 octance fuel, instead of 87 octane regular fuel. What a difference the above two items made! Better low-end torque, quicker off the line w/o any hesitation, and better mid and top-end--an across the RPM band improvement. I no longer feel that our RAV lacks for power. I must mention that ours is a 2WD 5-spd manual model. MPG measures in the range of 26 city and 31 highway.