Hot Rod 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.
I have not kept up, I know there are some shared platforms, but I thought Sienna had a dedicated one, being much heavier. I could see Highlander and Camry, maybe. Although I think it's Highlander and Sienna share, while Camry and Avalon share, and Corolla and RAV4 share? don't feel like looking, since I'm not shopping.

No disagreement about dropping $15k into a Camry being a waste of money. OP wanted to drop $500 or less. IMO it's not worth that either, but it's not same order of magnitude. And he just wanted more power in the hills, did not ask anything about carving canyons or repeated 60-0 stops.

When I souped up my VW I was already happy with its handling--and that was on 195/65R15's. I had no illusions about its cornering abilities--nor did I ever test them out. Same for braking (hey I got over 100k, nearly 200k out of the OEM brake pads). But the 100hp PD, while "nice", was way nicer after 40 more hp. :) I thoroughly enjoyed that extra power on my commute. Today, I would love to have that again, my current Camry is as boring as it gets--yet again, its cornering is just fine for my needs (braking, that is lacking, but probably not worth addressing). Just underpowered in getting up to speed.
 
Increasing specific bushing durometer and some creative welding and cutting and bracing doesn't cost $15K to get a suspension and chassis working much better. The latest 2.5L is putting out over 200hp. That would be good with 5 speed next to it.
the Slushbox is the killer of fun here.
 
Increasing specific bushing durometer and some creative welding and cutting and bracing doesn't cost $15K to get a suspension and chassis working much better. The latest 2.5L is putting out over 200hp. That would be good with 5 speed next to it.
the Slushbox is the killer of fun here.
The earlier 2.5 wasn't bad, although the 6MT was a total joke. The current 2.5 holds its own, the hybrid setup is nice, albeit coarse, and with the worst brakes I've had the displeasure of using*. They really don't want you using the brakes! stupid grabby.

My 2.2 with a 5MT... would still be a turd. :) I kinda shudder when I take it out to 5k, mostly out of fear of what abuse the poor transmission is taking, when it decides to shift. You know, when I do let it hit 5k, it actually accelerates on the upshift? the mass in the crank actually gives it a bit of forward jolt, it's making so little power at 5k, lol.

[The best brakes I've ever had were on a rusted out S10. Ok I bet they sucked but being manual assist they had this wonderful "linear" feel, I can't explain any other way. No power booster confusing things. It was light enough truck, and I never towed with it, but I've always wondered, why would I need power anything in a "fun" vehicle? if needed power steering&brakes, then it's on the portly side. JMHO.]
 
Made a quick HP gain chart. Should come in handy for many Toyota owners ;)

Capture.webp
 
I have not kept up, I know there are some shared platforms, but I thought Sienna had a dedicated one, being much heavier. I could see Highlander and Camry, maybe. Although I think it's Highlander and Sienna share, while Camry and Avalon share, and Corolla and RAV4 share? don't feel like looking, since I'm not shopping.

No disagreement about dropping $15k into a Camry being a waste of money. OP wanted to drop $500 or less. IMO it's not worth that either, but it's not same order of magnitude. And he just wanted more power in the hills, did not ask anything about carving canyons or repeated 60-0 stops.

When I souped up my VW I was already happy with its handling--and that was on 195/65R15's. I had no illusions about its cornering abilities--nor did I ever test them out. Same for braking (hey I got over 100k, nearly 200k out of the OEM brake pads). But the 100hp PD, while "nice", was way nicer after 40 more hp. :) I thoroughly enjoyed that extra power on my commute. Today, I would love to have that again, my current Camry is as boring as it gets--yet again, its cornering is just fine for my needs (braking, that is lacking, but probably not worth addressing). Just underpowered in getting up to speed.
There are a lot of vehicles built on the Toyota K platform. There's a whole Wiki on it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_K_platform

Screen Shot 2023-03-17 at 11.41.14 AM.webp
 
You'll want a flash tune. The tune should mod the a/f ratios and timing as needed for more power and this usually will require better fuel octane. There is some power there and I'd contact AMT or OrangeVirus tuning for some info on their flashes for your Camry, or maybe install a Unichip. You won't find anything cheap that actually works.

Simple power gains.... remove the air filter box' carbon filter built into the air filter lid... if equipped. Install a free flow dry air filter. AEM and AFE make free flow dry filters that are easily vacuumed or can be rinsed clean.

Noticeable... remove and send the throttle body to Maxbore for a little overboring.

Exhausts and free flow pod intakes add too much noise. I'd assume that you'd want more pep without noise.

NST can make you a lightweight pulley. Doesn't need to be underdriven but that is an option to consider.

Improved cooling... once engines start to heat up, you might get a little more unheard detonation and the knock sensor will become vocal. There are all-aluminum radiators available and/or one can use a 60water/40EG blend with some Lubegard Koolit.

Thin synthetic oil/atf/PSF can free up power. I am a thick oil user but you can look at datasheets and go as thin as you want within reason for your fluids.

Quantum Solenoids might be available for your engine too.



Dragonworksthornton look like jokes and I wouldn't want one for free. These seem allegedly look like all the scam donothing plug in nothingness chips that have been sold for years, with those allegedly bogus reviews on how great they are. There is no cheap ride for power and economy.



Yesterday, quite by accident, I came across some chips and performance items to boost power in the 4-cylinder Camry. I was definitely surprised to see performance enhancements for that car and engine combination. The main thing that grabbed my attention was the simplicity of using some of these chips. You just plug 'em into the OBDII port, wait a bit until the chip talks to your computer, and off y'go. The chip is easily removed just by unplugging it from the port and the car reverts back to the way it was.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME EXAMPLES

Dragon Works and Thornton seem most interesting both with regard to price and simplicity of installation.

I'm not saying that I want to do something like this, certainly not without further investigation, but it would be nice if the ol' Camry had a little more grunt when driving in the mountains.

If anyone has experience with these, or similar, chips, I'd like to hear from you.
 
Increasing specific bushing durometer and some creative welding and cutting and bracing doesn't cost $15K to get a suspension and chassis working much better. The latest 2.5L is putting out over 200hp. That would be good with 5 speed next to it.
the Slushbox is the killer of fun here.
No way. On Camry? If that was THAT simple, we wouldn’t need Porsche 911, M3 etc.
To have a use of polyurethane bushings you need suspension and chassis that can sustain that. Otherwise your first bump will have you chasing car to control it. Toyota put on Sienna RFT and didn’t change suspension. I would rather take cross country trip in my BMW with suspension that has polyurethane bushings, Bilstein B6 shocks etc. than that Sienna.
You really need BIG investment to make it a contender. And then, engine sits far front, even battery is in front of axle.

It is really, really bad vehicle to do anything like that. It has its purpose. That is why these cars are far more expensive to modify than BMW, Miata, Subaru STi etc.
 
Somebody here is really afraid of a tuner Camry blowing his doors off. LOL.

You schmoes really hijacked ol' Shel's thread with the biggest bunch of nonsense and rambling I've read on here in quite a while. Like since ... yesterday! Get a grip! :)


Especially from those that have Bavarian cars with Mexican engines.
 
I have not kept up, I know there are some shared platforms, but I thought Sienna had a dedicated one, being much heavier. I could see Highlander and Camry, maybe. Although I think it's Highlander and Sienna share, while Camry and Avalon share, and Corolla and RAV4 share? don't feel like looking, since I'm not shopping.

No disagreement about dropping $15k into a Camry being a waste of money. OP wanted to drop $500 or less. IMO it's not worth that either, but it's not same order of magnitude. And he just wanted more power in the hills, did not ask anything about carving canyons or repeated 60-0 stops.

When I souped up my VW I was already happy with its handling--and that was on 195/65R15's. I had no illusions about its cornering abilities--nor did I ever test them out. Same for braking (hey I got over 100k, nearly 200k out of the OEM brake pads). But the 100hp PD, while "nice", was way nicer after 40 more hp. :) I thoroughly enjoyed that extra power on my commute. Today, I would love to have that again, my current Camry is as boring as it gets--yet again, its cornering is just fine for my needs (braking, that is lacking, but probably not worth addressing). Just underpowered in getting up to speed.
For $500 you can get some difference in programming. That is it.

The more “appliance “ vehicle is, the more expensive is to modify. Cheapest cars to modify, and I mean some serious stuff, are BMW, Miata, Subaru STi, GTI etc. BMW of those is probably the cheapest. And I don’t mean some “ricer” stuff.
 
“……If anyone has experience with these, or similar, chips, I'd like to hear from you.”

Wow! This thread went off the rails REAL quick……✋😎🤚
The thing is that I would be really scared to put something that is $89 from some vendor to OBD.
That is the point of this.
If someone wants more fun, trade in Camry, call it a day.
 
Yesterday, quite by accident, I came across some chips and performance items to boost power in the 4-cylinder Camry. I was definitely surprised to see performance enhancements for that car and engine combination. The main thing that grabbed my attention was the simplicity of using some of these chips. You just plug 'em into the OBDII port, wait a bit until the chip talks to your computer, and off y'go. The chip is easily removed just by unplugging it from the port and the car reverts back to the way it was.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME EXAMPLES

Dragon Works and Thornton seem most interesting both with regard to price and simplicity of installation.

I'm not saying that I want to do something like this, certainly not without further investigation, but it would be nice if the ol' Camry had a little more grunt when driving in the mountains.

If anyone has experience with these, or similar, chips, I'd like to hear from you.
It will probably fail smog, since CARB is cracking down on ECU tuning.
 
I'm curious about that statement. The manual calls for regular and the two or three times I've used premium there was no discernable performance difference between the two grades.
Quite possible the chip maps to a different timing scheme to make a bit more power, but Plano using premium which given the cost delta and gains you’ll likely see, won’t be worth it.
 
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.
Yeah but they’re designed for the level of performance they’re claiming. Not juicing up a couch and expecting it to last as long….
 
Actually the real claim to fame for Toyota is how many of them you see in a war zone. A lot of the bad guys were rolling in them over in the Middle East with not a care in the world. But they were sure confident in Japanese vehicles.
 
Actually the real claim to fame for Toyota is how many of them you see in a war zone. A lot of the bad guys were rolling in them over in the Middle East with not a care in the world. But they were sure confident in Japanese vehicles.
More like, no one would be sad when the vehicle turns into a casualty… I mean, whoever shed a tear when their Toyonda died?

More seriously, I suspect they use whatever is cheapest and gets the job done, not necessarily what is “best”.
 
Actually the real claim to fame for Toyota is how many of them you see in a war zone. A lot of the bad guys were rolling in them over in the Middle East with not a care in the world. But they were sure confident in Japanese vehicles.
I used them when I worked for NATO. It is far different concept. They are cheap, and rugged. There are better vehicles, like Puch G etc. but more expensive.
But, good luck if someone decides to fire at you. They use them as that is only thing available to move off road in reliable manner.
 
The only hot rod Camry one can buy is the 1992-2001 and 2016-2020 V6. The 2016-2020 models with the 2GR-FKS V6 engine is surprisingly quick.
The 1997-2001 was the time when TRD offered a Roots supercharger for the 1MZ-FE. Combine that with the 5-speed manual, it's surprisingly fun. Also available was TRD suspension with Eibach springs and Bilstein monotube struts/shocks

the early 3rd gen Camry with the 3VZ-FE V6 can be had with a manual, however later 3rd gen 1MZ-FE was automatic only.
 
Back
Top Bottom