MENUTuning the Toyota NZ
"All you need to know about performance tuning the Toyota NZ engine!"
Carref prides itself on providing the latest tips and guides to your modification project.
Our aim here is to review NZ tuning and provide tips on the best upgrades.
Toyota NZ have loads of potential and with the ultimate uprated parts like remapping, turbo kits and camshafts you will greatly improve your driving pleasure.
We rely on our visitors to pass on tips and tell us about their projects and what worked on their car, and this article is the culmination of the feedback we have received. First let us look at the history and specs of this engine and then consider which tuning modifications work best on it.
History of the Engine
1NZ-FXE: from December 1997
- Toyota Prius (XW10 & XW20)
- Toyota Prius
- Toyota Aqua
- Toyota Yaris
- Toyota Corolla (Axio/Fielder)
- Toyota Sienta (2nd generation)
1NZ-FE: from July 1999
- Toyota Vios/Belta
- Toyota Yaris/Echo
- Scion xA/Toyota ist
- Scion xB (1st generation)/Toyota bB (1st generation)
- Toyota Raum
- Toyota Porte
- Toyota Platz
- Toyota Auris
- Toyota Fun Cargo
- Toyota Premio
- Toyota Allion
- Toyota Corolla (Axio/Fielder, RunX, Allex)
- Toyota Sienta
- WiLL VS
- Toyota Probox
- Toyota Ractis
1NZ-FXP: from 2017
- Toyota JPN Taxi (AP10)
1NZ-FTE: from 2004
- Toyota Vios Turbo (Thailand)
- Toyota Vitz RS Turbo (Japan)
- Toyota Corolla Axio GT (Japan)
2NZ-FE: from October 1999
- Toyota Yaris/Echo/Vitz
- Toyota Vios/Belta
- Toyota Platz
- Toyota Porte
- Toyota Corolla (E140), Pakistan only
- Toyota Corolla (E170), Pakistan only
- Toyota bB
- Toyota Ist
- Toyota Corolla (E120), Japan and Middle East only
Tuning the Toyota NZ and best NZ performance parts.
What are the most effective NZ upgrades
Just because particular upgrades are popular with NZ owners it doesn't mean you should fit it, we will ultimate upgrades that will give your NZ the biggest power gain return for your cash.
Significant gains on the NZ can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the bhp and power output.
Fast road camshafts tend to raise the performance across the rev band, you may lose a little bottom end bhp but the high end rpm power will be lifted.
Motorsport and race camshafts, raise the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.
In a car driven daily you need to match your torque band to your cars usage.
I would be surprised if you find a NZ Motorsport camshaft is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.
Some NZ engines respond better to different camshaft durations than others.
The map and fuel pump and injectors also will make differences on the power gains you'll hit.
A longer valve duration can alter the power 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.
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How to tune your car
- Improve the handling
Focus on Suspension improvements, such as coilovers and make sure the bushings are in good order and that the alignment is correct. Then focus on improving the brakes, with a big disk brake conversion kit and fast road brake pads.
- Remove restrictions
Focus on the intake and exhaust with filters being the common point of restriction in a tuned car. Intercoolers may also become restrictive on turbo engines so this may also need to be uprated.
- Burn more fuel & air
Increase the fuelling so it matches the air coming into the engine. The ratio is important so you need to improve the fuel pump and injectors, so the head mods, big valve conversions, fast road camshafts and forced induction upgrades extra supply of air is adequately met.
- Test and replace any weak parts
Weak areas are commonly the clutch, the turbocharger and pistons and crankshaft in a highly tuned engine. Makes sure these components will cope with your power aspirations.
- The Tune or Remap
A cars ECU controls the fuel, timing, spark and even the turbo in some cases, so to fully extract your gains you should remap the car last and this will fully release the power. Some cars are easy to map, and others require piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's but this is the most vital step of your tuning project.
Modifying to Stage 1:
Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust manifold.
Modifying to Stage 2:
fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, Fast road cam, induction kit.
Modifying to Stage 3:
Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Twin charging conversions, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting.
Remaps allows a tuner to to establish the full potential of all the modifications you've done to your NZ.
It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but the outcome usually differs on the modifications you've applied and the condition of your engine.
It is the main goal to any engine tuning job to pull more fuel and air into your NZ
Intake manifold flow the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.
The shape and flow rate of the Headers can make a big improvement to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the NZ.
On popular production engines intake headers are begging for motorsport parts, although some car makers provide reasonably well designed intake headers.
Big valve conversions on the NZ, doing a bit of 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also boost performance, and importantly will raise potential for a greater performance increase on other modifications.
Which turbo upgrades are best?
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 NZ
It is common that there is a restriction in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the NZ when loads more air is being drawn into the engine.
We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited performance at a much lower level.
Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more challenging to setup. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.
Fuelling
Don't forget to improve the fuelling when you are increasing the bhp - it makes the car more thirsty. 
We would recommend you to over specify your injectors flow rate.
The rule of thumb is to add another 20% when specifying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and affords some spare capacity should the engine require 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.
Choosing the right performance exhaust
One of the most common mistakes and problems we see in tuning projects is usually down to the exhaust, or rather a poorly chosen exhaust for your engine.
You only need to to replace your exhaust if your exhaust is creating a restriction.
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.
Sports exhausts balance the flow of air through the engine.
But if your exhaust pipe is too large, ie: over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose much of the exhaust flow rate and end up sapping power and torque.
Usual exhaust restrictions come around the catalysts installed, so adding a better flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.
Weak spots, Issues & problem areas on the NZ
The NZ engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.
Regular oil changes are vital on the NZ, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.
For more information on Tuning your NZ engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our NZ owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.
Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.
We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which mods work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these NZ articles which are continually updated.
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