ok so a couple of months ago i got a 06 xb with only 9k on it this car is so new its not even funny. after driving it a bit im now doing my normal thing of thinking how i can make my little commuter better. the two things most important to me are reliability (its a daily driver) and mpg as i drive alot. so obviously the first things that come to mind are intake and exhaust. is there any place to find real world info on upgrades for these cars. im looking for a comparison of different bolt on parts and actual results (dyno and mpg) from someone other than parts manufactures.i have read articles about other cars in various magzines where they first do a baseline dyno pull then one at a time add bolt on parts to the car then dyno it again until all of the bolto ns are done then a final dyno pull is made to check the final results. has anyone done this for the xa/xb? if so wheredo i find that info. im not a kid so being cool is not very important just actual results for my efforts and cash thanks for your help

 

http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage..._xb/index.html

Enjoy!


Keith

 

I will recommend my set-up to you as well.

K & N Drop in air filter - better MPG for sure, maybe a little performance, will still pass smog, sounds good when you punch it. Local Parts Store, under $70

Megan Racing Header - Inexpensive, Good higher RPM gain. Great Quality. Find it on ebay for around $150

OBX axle back exhaust - Nice mellow sound, great for daily driving, good fit and finish. Ebay it for around $225


Keith

 

Hahaa....thanks for the link! I'm a new xB owner also, and I now have definitive proof to NEVER buy any "performance" parts for this car. Almost $1k to gain 6HP!!!

NO THANKS! Other then an intake I would never spend any type of money on so called engine performance parts for this car. It was never built with that purpose in mind, and I don't ever plan on wasting money trying to change it.

 

with a light foot "performance" parts can actually get you much better mpg...
i get about 38-42 mpg daily driver with intake / headers / exaust / lightened pulley / irridum plugs, etc...
when i keep my foot out of it of course.. now take into account i have full car dynamat, and about 50lb+ speaker box in back and i probly have some of the heaviest rims you can get for the gen 1... if i were to roll on steelies i can't imagine the mpg i would get because of the weight reduction..
as for performance gains... i can really feel that extra 6hp
with my scan guage (measures HP at the crank not the wheels) at redline in 4th gear, i am at approx 138-142hp.. mind you this is at the crank, so you would have to calculate the wheel weight and drag coificient of all 4 tires to get the % of deviation to get a true HP reading, or i could spend $ for a dyno, but why dyno when there is nothing to tune...
i believe that the standard deviation for a stock xb 5spd is about 8% or so from crank to wheel HP but i could be wrong on that number.
the stock xb is sooooo light that you really can feel the few HP gains you get from the right combo of perf parts, most people make the mistake of just getting an intake or just an exaust and expecting the world.. the intake / header / exaust all work together to do 1 common thing, get more air in and out of the engine, thats it.. you are trying to remove or minimalize bottle necks in airflow. if you add in an intake or drop in filter, you are allowing more air to pass in to the throttle body, but are not getting a real benifit because the headers will not allow that extra air to flow easily, creating a "bottle neck". now say you add intake and headers, your engine will be perforing better and you should be getting much better mpg, but your exaust is now the limiting factor in the equasion.
now don't get me wrong... i am not saying that everyone should get all the perf parts they can for good mileage.... there are many other ways to get good mileage, none better then good driving habits... i personally didn't like getting flipped off by granny in her lincoln when i was trying to enter the freeways in ca, and i knew my little car needed a touch more pep... not warrenting the extra dough a turbo / supercharger / nitros setup would cost, and it helps that i do my own work and never buy parts at suggested retail price. The noted dollar amount on that link (1100$) is rediculously high. I got my dc headers for approx 110 brand new, and my 5zigen jdm exaust was only about 240 new. The aem intake can be had for under 200, but mine came with my RS1.0 package. real world you can do these 3 mods for approx 500-600$. now $100 per HP isn't bad, but it aint great either.. i'll be the first to admit that.

 

welcome to SL and to the box.

as stated above, you're not going to see performance on this thing like you will on a lot of other cars. it's just not built for that. i got my '04 box used in summer '05. it already had almost every single option you could throw at it on there.

my setup right now is:

OEM AEM CAI
Strup 4-1 Header
GReddy Ti-C axle-back exhaust
Agency Power Lightened Crank Pulley
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
NRG Grounding Kit

from these, i can say that the box feel much peppier and more responsive, especially after the pulley. i don't have any dyno sheets or official numbers, but my guess is that from those mods that i have listed there, it's probably a 5-8 hp and tq bump. and as said before, you feel it since the box is so light. with the power mods, i'd say i've done about yeah, 1K worth of upgrading. I actually get around the same as stock MPG, around 28-32 normally. then again, i like to have fun in the box, so i drive lightly maybe 50% of the time.

i'd say, stay away from CAI and just save money and go with short ram. i talked with a local tuner shop by me, and they said to go short ram every time because you cannot realistically justify the benefits of a CAI on the street.

my suspension mods are:

OEM Hotchkis front strut bar
Cusco TypeII frame brace
Progress Tech. rear sway bar
Tein H-Tech springs
OEM TRD 18" w/ Pirelli PZero Nero

combine the power with the suspension mods i have, and the box handles pretty well. i go through the park behind my school sometimes, and it definitely can go through its paces (not as good as a true coupe or sedan would, but definitely not bad at all either). i'm sure if i went down to 15" or 16" wheels, i could probably get better handling response. also, i'm looking at Energy Suspension bushings to help tighten up that steering feel. there's also a ton more bracing and suspension options out there (coilovers, air, custom), so it's up to you if you want to play with that.

overall, the box isn't going to make power naturally aspirated. if you want a big bump, then you're going to have to go forced induction with a turbo or supercharger. there's no two ways about it. either that or you are going to have to redo the engine internals, which, if you're up for it, can happen.

my suggestion would be to get the extra bump with the IHE+P setup and really focus on handling. at least that's my approach to this platform.

hope that helps

 

The HP gain isn't great with the IHE mods, but it does improve driveability (sp?). AND, if you keep your foot out of it your mileage should go up too. You could pick all the parts up easy on eBay, and they would make GREAT additions to the box.

 

K&N drop in and open up that airbox (remove the snorkel)-adds a bit more power-actually flattens the torque and power curve but does make it go faster and better mileage too.

I have always had an exhaust so I don't know what it's like without it (do not get a larger center pipe or full cat back exhaust-it seems to rob power)-they sound good with a descent exhaust

Header added power and again smoothed it out over the whole range (I got the cheap ebay header, there is a link on installing here I did as well) and it seems to add mileage as well.

You have to ask yourself some things-do you want it to handle or just get good mileage. This is where the tire and wheel choice comes in. Narrow (like stock size) with extra air roll mega-easy (but the extra air will add ride harshness) and that aids mileage-but hurts cornering.

Wide sticky tires on this car and it handles like a go kart but will hurt your mileage slightly (I do mean slightly)

Light wheels will help both as well as braking but a taller wheel and tire set up will change the gearing and therefore give you better highway mileage but your acceleration will be hurt

 

Welcome man.
Here's a good list to follow for better MPG and slight HP increases.
1. K&N drop in. around 45 shipped online
2. $55 silver ebay ceramic coated header. Works and fits perfect without the fancy name. Much larger runners than stock pipe but still maintains the low end torque.
3. Axleback muffler. Brand depends mostly on how loud you want it to be.
4. Monroe shocks/struts for more comfortable ride quality.
5. Progress rear sway bar to control body roll.
6. Keeping the 15" tire pressures above 35psi for max mpgs.
These here things will give you the best bang for the buck. I'm averaging 33-35mpgs regularly.
Enjoy your xB. Modding these things are terribly addictive so beware . I've been fighting a losing battle for more than 4 years.

 

First, welcome boxman27 from another SoCal member here.

All the tips are right on the mark. Jeff/bB2NER has pretty much the entire list.

But I would like to add one. Progress front end link bushings. Cheap and effective! There are lots of DIY posts here for it with p/n's.

Welcome aboard!

Robert

 

Ya gotta save stuff to do later don't ya know.

 

So hopefully you have found the answers you are looking for on mileage and MPG-there was also an import tuner (I think) that did a power pages test on an exhaust, CAI and something else just this last year.

What I realized is that we all forgot some of the easy and cheap things. Oil changes (some swear synthetics help MPG), they did a test on spark plugs and although users vary it seems they do help-especially at 30,000 miles or more.

The K&N filter and axle back help but driving style helps probably more than anything and we have a learning ECU so the way you drive will allow the car to do what you hope it will.

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...146&highlight=

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...915&highlight=

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...787&highlight=

 

dude, me and you live in the same location. Leave it at intake and axleback exhaust. forget the header because Ontario PD knows whats up. See ya on the 10 or the 60 sometime. lol. congrats on the purchase and enjoy the "box".

 

Don't bother replacing the air filter if you keep the stock intake. I swapped back my stock airbox from my Fujita SRI and was looking up alternatives to the K&N drop in. Found an interesting article (though I can't find it now) about how replacing the filter with a higher flowing one does NOTHING. Any pressure difference between a stock filter or aftermarket is insignificant. If you want to get a reusable filter so you don't have to buy replacements, that's different.

 

When installing the K&N drop in filter you also have to remove the restrictive baffle tube in the lid of the airbox. You also need to remove the snorkle and install flex aluminum tubing to route cold air from in front of the driver side wheelwell area. Then there is no real need for a SRI. The increased flow of the K&N drop in is signifcant tho.

 

Yeah, do this...it added power (especially in hot weather) and helps with mileage. I added the K&N and removed the snorkel at the same time but it does add power (especially mid range)

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...437&highlight=

 

The gist of the article was that the airbox and other intake tubing is more restrictive than the filter (dirty, clean, or none). I completely agree about removing the snorkel and adding some tubing in it's place. Without something, the intake is sucking hot air almost straight from the radiator. I took out the carbon filter thing in the lid (2006) but didn't mess with the other tube so I'll try that.

Even with the snorkel, the intake temp on the scangauge is a good 10+ degrees warmer with the stock airbox than with the SRI. I think the stock airbox is blocking airflow from the radiator and/or the plastic and rubber is soaking up heat from the engine/radiator where the metal intake would conduct it.

I'm torn whether to put my SRI back or to keep the stock airbox. It's definitely more restrictive, but I got back the low RPM torque. Much more responsive off the line, running the A/C is less noticeable, more power to climb hills at lower RPM, quieter, seems to be giving better MPG. On the other hand, it doesn't rev as freely, lost the 3,000+ RPM power boost, and the A/C seems less effective (which is why I suspect the airbox is blocking airflow through the engine compartment).

 

Stew, you forget that the TBs are heated with coolant anyways. That dang system needs to be disabled after the thermastat is open and the engine is up to temp.
I love my knock off Injen SR with cone K&N and can't see myself ever going back to the airbox

 

I am suprised that no one mentioned the CABIN AIR FILTER. Scion does not provide a filter in the CABIN AIR FILTER tray behind the glove box. The previous owner probably did not know that SCIONs do not come with a CABIN AIR FILTER.
See the TECH thread called "Fabricate your own CABIN AIR FILTER'. See photos about how to pop off your glovebox to access that tray. I am guessing that your tray will be empty, unless that previous owner was in a SCION Club like SCIONLIFE.
Do not go to the dealer, they get $35 to install it. Dealer charges $22 for the filter, but any parts store will have it for $12. Or make your own and save big. Same filter as the RAV4 2005 so if they do not have Scion info, ask for that.
This will eliminate the dust build up on your dash. After 15 or 20,000 miles this filter is brown with pollen and needs to be replaced.
I also recomend the clear bug deflector to protect the hood and to blow those bugs up over the roof.
Search for 'free mods' and have fun!

 

never trust a eight year old lol