[J-san]

Hey all,

I drive a '98 5-dr 4wd RAV and I'm thinking of doing a few mods to the intake and exhaust to try and gain some precious power. My question is, do they really make much of a difference? I was looking at a Weapon-R Secret Weapon intake and having the local custom muffler shop craft a magnaflow dual exhaust for me. This may sound dumb to some of you, but I was also thinking of adding a functional hood scoop to help feed more cold air to the intake, but haven't thought of a way to avoid having water sucked in during rain. I think a scoop would look nice on a RAV.

I'm also looking for some new bulbs. The Raybrig Whitesonics looks pretty good, but they go for about $75. The Polarg Shining Wizards are also in that class. The on-line shops claim they only draw 55W but put out 95-100W of light. I definately want a bluish-white look (5000+ K range), but not if it is just a cheapy blue-tinted bulb that just filters the light and ends up reducing light output. I'd like a bulb that actually puts out more light than stock, without having to spend the cash for actual HID. Does anyone have actual experience with some of the higher end bulbs and can make comparisons?

Many thanks for the input!

- j.

 

[J-san]

No one at all, huh? Perhaps I'm asking too many things in one post.

Anyways, I've decided to go to my local exhaust shop for a custom magnaflow exhaust, but I'm still wondering about the intake. Are the Weapon-R Secret Weapon intakes worth the $160?

 

[pancake]

I have the pacesetter headers, borla muffler, a universal intake from Pepboys with a 3a enclosed filter. Under the headlight I have mesh to allow air to go into my scoop thats aimed at the enclosed filter. A hoodscoop does look good, a member on cardomain has one and it looks cool.

As for light I have the Sylvania silverstars, so much better looking, I dont remember how bright the old ones were, but I guess they were similar, just alot "clearer". The low beams (the only ones that I changed) are a nice blue-white but the high beams are really ugly color. They were 30 I think when I got them. I also bought driving lights that went into my bumper, definately helped light up the road more. I have bulbs on the way to convert my bumper lights into driving lights also.

 

[Derek]

Hi J-san, welcome to the forums. I read your post earlier but had no time to give you any answers at the time. Most of the intake and exhaust questions that you are asking has been asked many times before, thus the reluctance of some of our members. A simple search should provide you with a lot of good info. I've had no direct experience with Weapon R intakes, so I can't give you any comments on that one.

Many of us have resorted to making custom intakes with functional under bumper scoops. A hood scoop would be cool if you can make it functional. The problem with the hood scoop route is water entry and having to cut into your hood. This is one mod. that will be very expensive to reverse. If you cut the plastic under bumper shield, it is fairly easy to replace with a new one.

As for light bulbs. I've heard that the Silver Stars are good. Because I have true HIDs on my car; I've never had time to use any other HID-look bulbs.

Once again, welcome to the forum; we need more 4.1 RAV4 enthusiasts onboard. :thumbs_up:

p.s. check out my cardomain web page for good custom mods :wink:

 

[mensajero]

Check this out dude, and welcome.

http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=998&highlight=magnaflow

http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1601&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Anything else, let me know. :thumbs_up:

 

[J-san]

Guys, thanks a ton for the replies! That really helps me get an idea of where to start looking. I'm just getting into car tuning, so I didn't really have much idea of what to look for let alone what was what. Yeah, I guessI did post a number of easily answered questions due to my ignorance. My apologies. I figured my questions were a mile long and it would probably take an equally long response. Don't want to spam up this awesome forum!

Anyways, I've snooped around the forums and decided to order the Secret Weapon intake and do the vent under the headlight. Looks very cool! I still would like the functional hood scoop, but the water issue is a big one. Would it be meaningful to have a functional scoop to serve as a just an engine bay vent for cooling purposes rather than intake? Seems like some guys installed a heat shield to keep the intake free of engine heat, but if you have a scoop to vent in cold air, then perhaps that will help reduce the engine bay temps and further enhance the CAI? I don't suppose the engine electrical system is sealed enough to withstand a little rain/snow?

Mensajero, you have an awesome RAV! Too bad I can't do your exhaust mod since I have 4wd. As a result, I will have some twists and turns that only a pro shop can custom fit for me, since I don't know how to piece together a kit for myself, nor do I have the welding skills or a welder. I plan to do a header-back exhaust and replace the stock cat with a hi-flow one. Maybe a tuned header in the future, but for now, I have to split my money between my RAV, school, and my mountain bike.


Thanks again!

- jason

 

[mensajero]

J-san, all that thanks to this forum. All the advice and constructive criticism have come from members like Derek (the Guru), Franco, Andrew, Moza, Phil, Sig228, dnylrq, pancake, JayV, Irish_Rav4, Boo_Duh! nd the list goes on and on. Cool, humble people that just want to also drive cool RAV4s'. We have all experimented, evaluated, and placed our ideas here. And helped with links and parts. As you do your upgrades, post pictures so we can also see your Cool RAV4 come to life.

Peace man. :thumbs_up:

 

[SZRimaging]

And give me a review of that Secret Weapon as soon as it is installed. I belive it was me and DJSueno who were the ones contemplating it in the past. Did you make sure to order their ram air kit? basically, it would be exactly what you need to mount it under the headlight. I am probably going to do mine in a month unless I do go forward with a 3sGE engine swap (don't want the trouble of a turbo).

 

[J-san]

No, I didn't order the ram-air kit. For the price they are asking, I can probably create my own air scoop device after raiding the local hardware store for a lot less I will keep you all posted on how this intake is!

 

[SZRimaging]

Oh, I forgot. On the lights, I had success with Eurolights. Its a decent brand. But, I think the Silverstars may work better. Might try them in a year or so.