I have some plans on how to use a hair dryer to turbo charge a lawn mower. Tim “The Toolman” Taylor would love them. The power cord needed for the hair dyer makes using a bit awkward but you will have MORE POWER!
When I was in college they had a grant to test slick 50 using lawn mower engines. We were able to measure the difference in wear but the cost of the small engine compared to added life didn’t justify the added cost of the slick 50. With larger engines it seemed to be a good option. But unless you have a fleet of lawn mowers I would stay with OEM specs.
Interesting. The motors are actually 12v DC, and i have used them as as a blower running off a computer power supply. You cannot use them as a cold air blower otherwise since even with the "cool" button held in they still blow warm air, and I could not disconnect the heating element and still get the blower to work.
But you should be able to use one of those cheap PWM speed controllers to adjust the speed. Just get the polarity right. And some hair dryers are under 10.00 , though just the 12V DC motors are cheaper.