Observations on I4 and V6 Engine Characteristics

[m_luke]

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I apologise for the length of the post.

I've noticed on my present I4 (2az-fe) Camry Sportivo that it can be a real bother to get it to move from a standing start or rolling start in regular day-to-day use. Here are my observations:

2000rpm - lethargic at best! Engine seems to struggle a little to pull the car up to speed
2500rpm - not that much better, still lethargic
3000rpm - gradually getting there

I have found the 2az-fe to be a free revving motor as on the odd occasion, I was so frustrated that I literally planted the accelerator to the floor in a rolling start; witness the tacho-needle spin all the way to 5000rpm, felt the brief acceleration rush, albeit a lethargic one, as the engine responded and arriving at the conclusion that if I need to overtake someone, I would really need to push the car!

For the past 5 months, I have been feeding the car 98RON fuel and although I am seeing better fuel economy, the apparent performance increase have not materialised considering that I don't carry many items in the car in day-to-day use anyway.

Naturally, pushing the car meant that it consumed fuel at an alarming rate to the extent that I would need to refuel the car once every two to two-and-a-half weeks instead of once every three to three-and-a-half weeks and considering the price of fuel at present, it does make some difference!

I took this issue up when servicing the vehicle and they reported that everything was OK, but I don't believe this was the case as I was provided with a base-model I4 Gen5 Camry (Camry Altise) as a hire car and it was more athletic than my Sportivo, albeit it had over 55000km on the odometer!

I used to drive a Gen2 (SV21 - 3s-fe) Camry and after feeding this car two to three tank-fuls of 98RON fuel, the characteristic of the car was completely transformed for the better becoming much more athletic to the extent that I had to use the brakes more often!

Test driving the V6 (1mz-fe) Camry Sportivo, I also found that at 2000rpm, it was lethargic, but at 2500rpm, the 'lethargic-ness' was not as bad and it pulled strongly.

Based on these observations, I am considering whether it would be more valuable to change to the V6 Camry Sportivo or, having read that a supercharger is in development by TRD for the 2az-fe, purchase and fit this supercharger and hope for the best!

Taking the option of changing to a V6 Camry, I would need to factor-in that depreciation would have played a big part in the sell price of my present I4 Camry even though it has travelled less than average kms.

I also drive a 2005, ZZE122 (1zz-fe) Corolla and the engine is quite happy to play in the 2000-3500rpm range as any more revs would simply be a waste of fuel - engine noise just gets louder and not much else happens, so I guess this is what is described in motoring press as 'running out of puff'!

I am very interested in hearing any comments and obervations that you have made regarding your I4 or V6 Gen5/Gen5.5 Camry and any suggestions you may have.

[terrynham]

if you are thinking about getting a Camry V6, be aware you will use more fuel
i get about 380km per tank, mostly city and some highway driving....

the 2500rpm normal acceleration in the V6 is good i reckon.
it doesnt struggle too much, and will get upto speed in good time

when overtaking, it does it nicely, not much fuss at all, i dont really need to push it too hard.
i take a motorway everytime i go to Uni, and i need to get upto 80km/h pretty quickly, and it has no problems, probably only need to go upto 3000rpm

when you floor it from a standing start, it will squeal the tyres a bit, it will smoke a bit if you really push it
when it gets to about 4-5000rpm, you feel the rush of power and a good acceleration
not a fantastic acceleration because you really feel the weight of the car, but for such a large car, it is pretty good

ive never driven the I4 Sportivo before so i wouldnt know what it feels like...so i guess its a bit hard to compare

[terrastrife]

if you were driving autos remember that the stall is 2500rpm, so under that you do not get full power and of course it would be gay slow.

[terrynham]

^
yep thats definately right
anything below 2500rpm, isnt really very good

[terrastrife]

man you gotta do teh acis mod to get rid of the rush at 4000rpm

and make it come on at 2000rpm instead (or 2500rom for our case of poor poor auto)

[mobes]

You crazy Aussies!
Yeah, if you have a V6 with ACIS, port the mofo and you won't regret it!

[JetspeedCamry]

Well, my V6 (2VZ-FE) is very nice indeed. I've got a lend of my friends 5SFE Gen 3 Auto..and yer....bit different!!! It is quite a boring car to drive, to say the least! My V6, w/ 5 speed is very "racey" and punchy. You wouldnt think so for 88 model engine! It's much like a Gen 2 3SGE, if anyone has ever driven one, just with a crap load more torque!

[terrastrife]

Originally Posted by mobes

You crazy Aussies!
Yeah, if you have a V6 with ACIS, port the mofo and you won't regret it!

i meant making it actuate on throttle vacuum so you mvoe the powerband from 4000rpm+ to 2000rpm+ you also get a more throaty intake sound.

edit: toyota v6's have been overshadowed and underrated because of the companys straight6 dominance

[mobes]

Originally Posted by terrastrife

i meant making it actuate on throttle vacuum so you mvoe the powerband from 4000rpm+ to 2000rpm+ you also get a more throaty intake sound.

I've heard of doing that for the 3VZ, so I tried it on my 1MZ. I didn't like it and I switched it back. It lost way too much torque off the bottom.