How to make more horsepower in 1995 nissan truck ?

[DR1]

What are the least costly ways I can make more horsepower in my 1995 4cyl nissan pickup truck ?
I pull a loaded utility trailer between 1,500 - 2,000 lbs,and it's somewhat sluggish when accelerating from 1st through 3rd gear from a dead stop.

Thoughts,etc ????

 

[horse123]

If it still has anything of a cat left, remove that. Different air filter. Less restrictive muffler (again, if there's even one left after this amount of time). Other than that you can't do much unless you're going to go get it tuned or put a turbo on it

 

[Joe_Power]

NITROUS!!!!!

 

[ccb056]

Remove the injectors and get them cleaned, or just replace them.

 

[supton]

Full tuneup.

I presume this is a 2wd? Sometimes the 4wd variant will have deeper rear gears, due to the taller tires. Total win for towing if you can swap. Might not be too costly to have a local shop regear either, but a junkyard axle swap is probably cheaper.

After that, get a different truck. Only so much an I4 can do.

 

[DR1]

I doubt any of my local shops will remove my cat. Removing my cat would def help,along with a flowmaster muffler.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Is this the KA24DE 2.4 4-cylinder? Those do well with a turbo, if you wanted to go down that route. It wouldn't be cheap, though. You'd probably be better off just putting that $$ towards a more powerful truck. As others have mentioned, you could get a hi-flo cat, a cold air intake and a better exhaust...

 

[Warstud]

A K&N will give you 100+ HP

 

[RamFan]

First I'd take care of any preventative maintenance items that need tending to, i.e. trans fluid, diff(s), transfer case, plugs and wires, and cleaning the throttle body. After that, for some cheap possible HP increase I'd look at CAI or hi-flow AF, exhaust system, and thorough fuel injector cleaning or replacement.

 

[OVERKILL]

A CAI and an exhaust aren't going to give you much, if any gain in power. Usually the OEM intake tracts aren't bad. Now if the cat is half plugged or something, yeah, that might make a difference but if that's not the case an aftermarket muffler or something of that ilk is just going to make it louder.

Deeper rear gears, as somebody else mentioned, is going to be the biggest difference for you; far more than any bolt on engine mod that isn't a turbo/supercharger.

 

[dishdude]

I think you need a bigger truck. How are the brakes stopping that rig? I loaded about that much weight into the back of my 4 cyl Sonoma and tried to climb a ramp to get on the Interstate with the A/C on. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry!

 

[sciphi]

If that engine was used commercially, maybe a cam tuned for more low-end power or a RV cam.

Or, if a V6 will fit, that will for sure be more power.

 

[rjundi]

NISMO sticker.....

More seriously I'd just put up with it as this truck is 20 years old and was slow from the factory v6 or i4.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
A K&N will give you 100+ HP


LMAO

 

[hansj3]

http://www.240sxforums.com/forums/ka24de-ka24e/131098-ultimate-ka24e-cam-thread.html

according to this website it looks like the standard 240 SX ka 24 has more lift and duration then the truck cam. that could be an easier and cheaper swap for more power plus there are guys usually giving these things away. but it may have unintended consequences like moving the power band around do some research
The intake for the 240 has some more power as well

 

[Chris142]

Hi flow cat,good tune up.advance the timing a few degrees if it has a distributer. The axle ratio will help too.

Everything else will get expensive quickly. In hs I drove a Toyota pickup with the 20r. It would eat those 2.4 Nissans up and spit them out.

 

[Merkava_4]

Start with an exhaust back pressure test. Remove forward oxygen sensor and install back pressure gauge. Anything over 2 psi at any rpm is too much back pressure. Replace catalytic converter at that point. Back pressure gauges are available at Harbor Freight.

 

[4wheeldog]

Trade it for a V6 Tacoma. That will fix problems you didn't even know you had.

 

[CT8]

Buy a new truck with a bigger engine.

 

[DR1]

Years ago I put an MSD ignition on my mustang gt. Would having an MSD type of ignition help ?