2GRFE Intake Manifold Testing
Sept 2026
My Personal 2GR Swap
This is the modifications list for all dyno pulls on this page unless otherwise stated. All Dyno pulls were done on the same chassis dyno (DynoJet 224xlc) with same fuel (E75). On all runs the Engine was brought up to 180F water temperature and 170F oil temperature. I made every effort to make all runs as consistent as possible. My car is very stable from pull and pull and repeats within 1-2hp. I made several runs for each test to verify results. I am only posting 1 of those runs for clarity and simplicity. Message me if you need to see proof of other runs. I was very fortunate to have numerous people send me intake manifolds for testing. This will be the truest A vs B testing of these mods you will ever find.
1993 Toyota MR2
2GRFE from a 2015 Lexus ES350 completely stock internally
Toyota E153 transmission with SQS gearset
Clutch Masters Twin Disc with Aluminum flywheel
FuelTech FT600 ECU and Dual Nano Pros
Hux Racing Long Tube Stepped Headers with merges. Aluminum X-Pipe
Lexus 450H intake manifold (also known as the #4, it has no ACIS valve)
ID1300 injectors
Fuel Lab Prodigy Fuel Pump running 60psi fixed
Davies Craig 150 electric water pump with Hux Racing block off plates
Ported factory lower intake manifold (injector bosses ground down)
Lotus Baffled oil pan
All stock otherwise.
Same tune in all instances. We were looking for VE improvements from the parts, not the tune.
What Did We Test
1. #4 factory Toyota intake with stock 70mm throttle body. Run 16
2. #2 factory Toyota intake with stock 70mm throttle body. Run 26
3. CNC Innovations Billet intake with stock 70mm throttle Run 27
4. Frankenstein Lo Profile 70mm tb , no spacer Run 31
5. with 1" spacer Run 33
6. with 2" spacer Run 35
7. 3"spacer Run 37
8. 4.25"spacer Run 40
9. #4 factory intake 70mm TB, 32mm spacer Run 50
10. Frankenstein V1 with 70mm TB , no spacer Run 52
11. with 32mm spacer Run54
12. with 57mm spacer Run 58
13. with 83mm TB and 57mm spacer Run 60
14. 83mm TB and 32 mm spacer Run 62
15. 83mm TB and no spacer Run 64
16. with open headers, 83mm TB, no spacer Run 66
17. 83mm TB,no spacer, Over Ported Lower Run71
That is 15 different intake tests with an Exhaust test thrown in. Was there more things that could have been tested, absolutely. The items we did test prove the validity of certain modifications and expected gains. Telling me I need another 10mm of spacer in any particular direction is Bull Shit. The power band would just fall in between existing dyno plots. Also, once the runner length gets too long the airspeed is just too high and peak power just goes flat.
I share a graph at the bottom of page showing how much power I was making when I went 10.87 at 127mph. Its pretty interesting to see the possibilities.
What Did We Learn
1. 350whp with a 2GRFE is possible without ever pulling a valve cover or oil pan. This is an entire car build approach and not limited to just engine bolt ons. No fuel games. Just VE and rotating mass mods.
2. A 70mm throttle body is good till around 340whp on a DynoJet. The 83mm only made solid gains at the peak of the power band.
3. Stay on a factory intake unless you have a camshaft upgrade (with valve springs and raised limiter) or a close ratio gearbox like myself. Gains from 5500rpm to redline will benefit me but not those on factory E transmission gearing.
4. Lower intake spacers just shift the power band to the left. They do not make magic surges in power occur or fix upper RPM power losses.
5. Open split headers sound awful and did not pick up power on my car.
6. A 32mm spacer on a stock plenum will pick up power everywhere below 6k. This seems like a great mod if you are on a stock ECU with a low 6200 rev limit.
7. A good x-pipe design will improve mid range power while creating no losses to top end power.
8. Not everyone is going to be happy with your results. That is fine. I did these test to make me faster. If this info makes your car faster...all the better.
#4 intake vs #2 intake
#4 intake vs #4 with spacer
#4 intake vs CNC Innovations
FMW Lo Pro No Spacer, 1" spacer ,2" spacer
FMW Lo Pro 2" Spacer, 3" spacer , 4.25" spacer
FMW Lo Pro 4.25" spacer vs #4 baseline
FMW V1 No Spacer, 32mm spacer ,57mm spacer, stock TB
FMW V1 No Spacer, 32mm spacer ,57mm spacer, 83mm TB
FMW V1 No Spacer 70mm TB vs 83mm TB
FMW V1 32mm Spacer-70mm TB vs 83mm TB
FMW V1 32mm Spacer-83mm TB vs #4 baseline
This graph shows improvements that would definitely make my car quicker. Best V1 powerband I was able to achieve.
FMW V1 No Spacer-83mm TB vs #4 baseline
The improvements here are too high in the rpm range. The losses under 6200 are too great to offset the gains in the higher rpm range. A valve spring upgrade and raised rev limiter would make this a suitable option. I just wanted to share this compare as I know someone will ask for it.
FMW V1 No Spacer-83mm TB-x Pipe vs Open Header
I pulled the x-pipe and installed some short stubs to prevent reversion on my O2 sensors. I was surprised to find that the open headers gained no peak power and had minor losses from 4000 to 5500. A good x-pipe will not hurt top end power.
10.87 power vs #4 current vs Best FMW V1 run
If you made it this far I wanted to share a comparison between how much power it took for me to go 10.87 and what I have on tap now. Not stopping here on the stock long block research.
