Hot Rod Camry

[Leo99]

https://www.motor1.com/news/301577/corvette-c5-300000-miles-video/

542,000 miles on a BMW M5:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a40604651/highest-mileage-bmw-m5/

Here's another M5 with 300,000 miles:
https://www.m5board.com/threads/milestone-300-000-mile-2002-m5.378761/

And another:
https://bimmerlife.com/2019/10/19/400000-mile-m5-dyno-comparison/

You were saying?

Despite assertions to the contrary, high mileage is not reserved for the appliance crowd. It's quite achievable on performance-oriented cars, particularly German saloons, which will be more likely to be daily driven than something like a Corvette, Viper, Camaro or Shelby Mustang.

Camrys over 300k miles are not newsworthy.

 

[Leo99]

Yeah, but even a minor adjustment on shift points at partial throttles could make a 10-20-30% increase in available torque, which would feel pretty significant in normal driving. And of course playing with the pedal to throttle opening map, can help the car feel peppy, and then disappointing when you actually use full throttle!

For sure, in terms of power at full throttle, a tune might be lucky to gain 3-4-5% depending on how conservative toyota was and how much the tuner is willing to risk.

Another nearly free way to gain some torque is to slightly under size the tires in diameter. 2-3% less diameter is felt as that much more torque at the wheels. I ran some 4.5% shorter sidewall summer tires on my Focus and it was noticeable when I took the tall skinny winters off. A couple minor changes can make someone more satisfied with a simple slow car, that is now fractionally less slow and more responsive...

I guess its all relative, unless you are driving a dual or triple motor electric wonder car, your cars drivetrain is "slow" and unresponsive compared to what is available...

I've had some fun in my Camry trying to keep up with Porsche on a twisty road out in the countryside. The only way I could do that was by manually controlling the tranny. My Camry loves to upshift and lug. You have to really work it to keep the engine revs high in the power band. The biggest thing to improve its sportiness is controlling the shift points. More horsepower/torque would be trivial improvement if the tranny wants to upshift at 2400 rpm.

 

[Kira]

If you're a "Scotty Hater", don't click on the video link in the story within post #21 as it is brings you to one of his videos.

 

[edyvw]

Japanese minivans have never gone that well. But Japanese sedans are very low cost on maintenance. I think that overall the weight on the turd shaped vans is just too much stress on the engines and transaxles.

Honda and Toyota vans have always been behind their sedans.

Camry is simple vehicle. Toyota figured out how to make money. In process, they completely lost know-how in making fun or performance vehicles.
That is why these ideas around ECU tuning are ridiculous. Then you go buy vehicle that actually can support those intentions. But, if Toyota decides to put 2.4T in the Camry, a. There will be cottage industry of tuning options, b. There will be a lot of Camry’s wrapped around street light poles.

 

[OVERKILL]

Camrys over 300k miles are not newsworthy.

Corvette's aren't typically DD's, so it caught some attention. The German saloons didn't, because well, it's not rare and they are typically DD'd. I know, I dd'd mine before I very stupidly traded it, they make great daily drivers.

 

[edyvw]

Corvette's aren't typically DD's, so it caught some attention. The German saloons didn't, because well, it's not rare and they are typically DD'd. I know, I dd'd mine before I very stupidly traded it, they make great daily drivers.

I really don’t understand people buying these cars like Camry, and then comparing to Corvette. It is like insecurity thing.
That is like when someone asks: “should I buy Boxter or 911?” And you just know there will be a person that will chime in: “IDK about 911, but check Honda Accord. I have fun in it, and CVT is not bad at all.”

 

[Fabulous50s]

CVTs..... I remember back when I drove old Saab 900s, the manual shifter literally felt like it was attached to the transaxle with rubber bands. Now with CVTs the engine feels like it is attached to the wheels with rubber bands!

Oh how far we've come. The old Saabs were decently fast with quirky turbo FWD weirdness, and well a rubber band shift linkage.

 

[supton]

By the way, my BMW had less maintenance expenses than my Toyota minivan. So, there is that.

That's a minivan, not a Camry. Minivan's are notorious for being hard on tires and brakes. BMW drivers can be hard on tires and brakes, but minivans seem to chew through them like the kiddos chew through gummi bears, while a BMW driver can drive "sanely" and obtain long life.

 

[LouC]

Yeah but it’s powered by a Hemi!

Years ago I was at Englishtown/Raceway Park at an NHRA race with my son (about 16 then) & saw the “Toyota” funny car with the body propped up revealing the Hemi in all its glory. There were a couple of team Toyota girls answering questions there & I said to my son “watch this”. So I said “hey you know it looks like someone put a Chrysler Hemi your Toyota!” You should have seen their faces!

 

[edyvw]

That's a minivan, not a Camry. Minivan's are notorious for being hard on tires and brakes. BMW drivers can be hard on tires and brakes, but minivans seem to chew through them like the kiddos chew through gummi bears, while a BMW driver can drive "sanely" and obtain long life.

Yeah, those were not the biggest issues.
Generally, brakes are POS quality. It doesn’t have anything to do with driving, as brakes on BMW take DD and track (utilizing track pads) and rotors still last longer. It is quality! Nothing more or less, or lack if it.
POS quality of assembly, leaky struts after 85k, shot suspension, lift gate with hinges that are more appropriate on Yugo (known issue that Toyota still didn’t address on 4th generation Sienna) etc.

My neighbor has Sienna that I can hear 100 yards away how it is clunking. She claims she never had issues with a car. I guess, if you ignore it, it is of superb quality.

 

[tyman]

Camrys over 300k miles are not newsworthy.

Camrys in general are not newsworthy

 

[hrv]

Camrys in general are not newsworthy

your right they just keep on running and running...and last forever...ho hum...

 

[Revving2Redline]

Note for fun...

on the 2001/2002 Dodge Neon R/T, they put a variable intake manifold. At a programmed RPM, 4000 or 4500 iirc, a set of butterflies would open inside of the manifold and make the intake manifold flow more in the upper RPM range.

Sounds like the SHO from Yamaha for the Ford Tortoise

 

[Revving2Redline]

I've had some fun in my Camry trying to keep up with Porsche on a twisty road out in the countryside. The only way I could do that was by manually controlling the tranny. My Camry loves to upshift and lug. You have to really work it to keep the engine revs high in the power band. The biggest thing to improve its sportiness is controlling the shift points. More horsepower/torque would be trivial improvement if the tranny wants to upshift at 2400 rpm.

Still fun to tune whatever car you drive. This is a oil forum but there is a lot of gear head and tuners here too. I remember seeing Honda Civics with people running T3/T4 turbo setups from a Saab900 Turbo and making nice power gains. I admire anyone getting into the aftermarket car scene with performance mods. Seen a setup where the turbos were near the rear tires..Thats bold in a Lexus "Toyota" but hey it gives many people the chance to see what CAN be done vs what can't.

 

[supton]

Yeah, those were not the biggest issues.
Generally, brakes are POS quality. It doesn’t have anything to do with driving, as brakes on BMW take DD and track (utilizing track pads) and rotors still last longer. It is quality! Nothing more or less, or lack if it.
POS quality of assembly, leaky struts after 85k, shot suspension, lift gate with hinges that are more appropriate on Yugo (known issue that Toyota still didn’t address on 4th generation Sienna) etc.

My neighbor has Sienna that I can hear 100 yards away how it is clunking. She claims she never had issues with a car. I guess, if you ignore it, it is of superb quality.

Those sound more like repairs, not maintenance. Struts could be argued either way, not on the schedule, but 85k? that’s as bad as my Jetta.

Besides. Camry =/= minivan. Whatever Toyota did wrong on minivan, doesn’t necessarily translate to Camry.

 

[edyvw]

Those sound more like repairs, not maintenance. Struts could be argued either way, not on the schedule, but 85k? that’s as bad as my Jetta.

Besides. Camry =/= minivan. Whatever Toyota did wrong on minivan, doesn’t necessarily translate to Camry.

It is same platform. It is same manufacturer.
And then someone gets idea: let’s tune it up!
Buy it, go to work, come back, call it a day. Leave fun stuff to others.

 

[OVERKILL]

your right they just keep on running and running...and last forever...ho hum...

So do plenty of other vehicles, but people aren't tripping over themselves to fawn over them like we see with Toyota fanbois

 

[supton]

It is same platform. It is same manufacturer.

Huh? Camry is built on the same chassis as the minivan?

I get it, same manufacturer, so likely the same problem across the board. So: do all BMW's have rod bearing problems? If they have a V8 that is problematic, then does that mean all their engines are problematic? Wasn't there an issue with VNT rattle?

I get it, souping up a Camry is pretty foolish. Designed to be disposable, all corners cut. Run for 200k, replace. Lather rinse repeat. Fool's errand to mess with it, since it needs so much to address. Still. One should still be free to do what they want with their own car (assuming there's no consequences for others, like rolling coal or adding huge horsepower while keeping 9" drums). Even if it's a boring Camry.

 

[edyvw]

Huh? Camry is built on the same chassis as the minivan?

I get it, same manufacturer, so likely the same problem across the board. So: do all BMW's have rod bearing problems? If they have a V8 that is problematic, then does that mean all their engines are problematic? Wasn't there an issue with VNT rattle?

I get it, souping up a Camry is pretty foolish. Designed to be disposable, all corners cut. Run for 200k, replace. Lather rinse repeat. Fool's errand to mess with it, since it needs so much to address. Still. One should still be free to do what they want with their own car (assuming there's no consequences for others, like rolling coal or adding huge horsepower while keeping 9" drums). Even if it's a boring Camry.

It is the same platform! Highlander, Sienna, Camry and Avalon, as well as Lexus ES etc. were always rolling on the same platform.
They share 80% of parts etc.
What do you think how Toyota makes Camry? From scratch? Or Highlander?

Of course one should be able to do whatever. I am just saying, you can spend $15k in it, and VW GRI is still going to be faster and better handling. Making car performing well is not just about hp.

 

[R18Civic]

When I first got into cars I used to think those things worked to. My automotive teacher just laughed at me and told me to not waste my money. I advise you do the same.