Tuning the Toyota 3ZR

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Toyota 3ZR engine!"

The Toyota 3ZR make a good tuning project and with the ultimate uprated upgrades like remaps, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will really maximise your driving fun.

Here we examine 3ZR tuning and outline the ultimate upgrades.

When talking about the best top for your 3ZR engine, we are going to focus on the tuning parts that give the best power gain for you money.

Altering your 3ZR cam will make a dramatic difference to the engine power band. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the power band accordingly.

NB: Fast road cams usually boost the torque across the rpm range, you may lose a little low end torque but your high end rpm power will be lifted.

Motorsport and race cams, boost the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Competition camshaft won't do well if driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your bhp range to your usage of the car so for a car driven daily stick with a shorter duration 3ZR camshaft

Different 3ZR engines respond better to extreme camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuelling also have a large bearing on the torque gains you'll achieve.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Stage 1 modifications: Drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold.

Stage 2 modifications: Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam, Ported and polished head, induction kit, high flow fuel injectors.

Stage 3 modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

ECU flashing helps unlock the full potential of all the mods you've fitted to your 3ZR.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your mileage usually rely on the mods you've applied and the condition of your engine.

It is the main goal to any engine performance tuning project to pull more air into your 3ZR

The intake plenum flow the air from the air filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

Shape and flow characteristics of the Headers can make a large difference to to fuel atomisation on the 3ZR.

Commonly we find the intake manifold are in desperate need of performance upgrades, although a few OEM provide reasonably well designed intake manifold.

Larger 3ZR valves, doing some port matching and head flowing will also boost torque, and significantly will make space for an improved torque increase on other parts.

Turbo upgrades

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your 3ZR

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.

If a car has a turbo already fitted parts are simpler to install and most turbo charged engines are built with more solid components.

There are common areas of failure for every engine, with some being incredibly solid and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

See where you'll find these restrictions and fit more solid crank and pistons to cope with the power.

We see many car owners spending a loads on turbo charger upgrades on the 3ZR only to watch the engine go up in smoke on it's first outing after it's been enthusiastically driven.

Larger upgraded turbochargers commonly experience low end lag, and low capacity turbochargers spool up quickly but won't have the top end power band gains.

In recent times the market of turbo chargers is always evolving and we are seeing variable vane turbo chargers, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo chargers divert the exhaust flow into 2 channels and direct these at differently angled vanes in the turbo. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there is a limit in the air flow sensor MAP/MAF/AFM on the 3ZR when loads more air is being drawn into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited torque at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more complex to install. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling upgrades and mods

When you raise the bhp you will need to increase to the fuel system.

More bhp needs more fuel. It makes sense to be generous with your injector capacity.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when specifying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and affords a bit of spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Exhaust upgrades and mods

You only need to to upgrade your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll find the exhaust flow rate is still ok even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Please dont run with the widest exhaust you can get you'll reduce the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Typically exhaust restrictions are in the catalyst installed, so adding a higher flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots, Issues & common problem areas on the 3ZR

The 3ZR engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Water pump leaks although uncommon do happen and high engine temps are generally down to a faulty or worn water pump, these typically last around 4 years and should be replaced.

The throttle body will get dirty and throttle position sensors are known to fail, these typically manifest themselves as a rough idle.

Regular oil changes are vital on the 3ZR, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

The timing chain tensioner can rattle and knock which is a sign it needs replacing.

High oil consumption is an issue on higher mileage engines, always use the correct grade of oil or you will be asking for trouble.

History of the Engine

3ZR-FE

2.0 L DOHC, 16-valve Dual VVT-i. 141-151 hp; 105 kW) at 5600 rpm 143-149 lbft @ 4000rpm

• 2007 Toyota Voxy (ZRR70/75)
• 2007 Toyota Noah (ZRR70/75)
• Toyota Avensis (ZRT272) (ex. Europe)
• 2009 Toyota Corolla Altis (ZRE143) (Asia-Pacific ex. Japan)
• 2010 Toyota Corolla XEi (E150) (Brazil)
• 2013 Toyota RAV4 (ZSA42L/44L)

3ZR-FAE

2.0 L DOHC, 16-valve Valvematic variable lift intake system  144 bhp (107 kW) & 138 lbft (187 Nm) of torque

• Toyota Allion (ZRT261)
• Toyota Premio (ZRT261)
• Toyota RAV4 (ZSA30/35) (Europe and Central America)
• Toyota Avensis (ZRT272)
• Toyota Wish (ZGE21/22)
• Toyota Voxy (ZRR70/75)
• Toyota C-HR (2404/06) (US and Canada only)
• Toyota Harrier (Japan)

3ZR-FBE

Flex fuel engine DOHC used in the Corolla in Brazil

• Toyota Corolla (Brazil, 2010-2019)

Tuning the Toyota 3ZR and best 3ZR performance parts.

For more information on Tuning your 3ZR engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our 3ZR owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Toyota. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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