echo 1.5 milage camshaft

[moonmonkey]

i have been searching for a source of a lower duration /lift camshaft for my 2002 toyota echo.( for mpg increase) does anyony have a source of info on where to buy one, if not has anyone had one ground and knows specs that work,,,, i believe alot of improvement is in the cam, and dont care if i loose high rpm power, I have built v8 race engines in the past and know that the cam is one of the single biggest factors in the personality of an engine.... sorry if there is a wealth of info on this topic but i havent found it yet. car is a stock echo 2 door best mpg is 44mpg city/highway,, 5 speed no power steering. my first post so be gentle.

[user removed]

The worst problem with the Echo is the revolutions per mile at highway speeds. Its close to 2550 at 60 MPH.

Although a cam may help some, it would probably be a lot better if you could get the revs per mile down to the 2000-2100 range.

I sold my 01 recently, but was looking at the transmissions interchangeability. There was a 6 speed with nice final drive gearing, but it was only available in Japan. Not sure how much you want to do to yours, but I would consider trying to find a taller differential ratio. Not sure if it would be cost effective, but if you could get the revs lower at high speed I think the results would probably be better.

My mileage average was close to 50, with some 53 MPG tanks this summer, but my situation is probably much more suited to higher mileage than average.

I tried engine off coasting for one tank and got 56 MPG. Too much work for the difference.

regards
Mech

[Daox]

You'd probably have to go with a custom grind. Basically, reducing duration is what will bring decrease the powerband's rpm range. A good cam shop should be able to figure this out for you.

I'd agree with Mech though, gearing would probably do more for you.

[moonmonkey]

guys i know that gearing the car to run in its most fuel eff, range will net gains. i just thought you guys might no of a source of already made cams or a company/person who had a cam grind that would bring the torque and hp curve down and improve fe . i see that milage cams can be had for geo,s and some hondas, i should try to look at the differences between those cams and there stock counterpart to get an idea on what changes to ask for at a cam grinding shop. if you make the motor more effecient in a lower rpm range it would work in syenergy with your gear change recomendations, and i dont care if i lose hp in the process the echo has 105hp and weigh,s 2000 lbs. i will be doing mirror delete , grill block and rear wheel well covers.

[MetroDriver1]

From what I have read the thing that increases your torque is advancing the cam timing so a re grind is not necessary. of course what are you going to do with the extra torque if you dont have the high gears to slow the motor down? see if you can get larger diameter tires/ wheels to change the gearing, just be sure to keep the tires narrow!

[moonmonkey]

advancing the timing is limeted by your octane rating, shortning the cam duration and lowering the lift will increase low rpm torque without the preingnition problems of advancing cam timing. the milage cams for v-8,s all have low lift and duration it just moves the engines powerband down lower and kills high rpm power, toyota could make an echo that got way more mpg ,,but it would be way slower and they could not sell enough of them, they compromise when designing the engine i want to make it a mpg specific engine and am looking at increasing the length of the primary tubes and the collector on the exaust, maybe a slight reduction in tube diameter and adding length to the intake side as well, a cam change will fit into the design as well all of these things work on v-8,s i know first hand, will they work on my 1.5 4 echo it should! i can do most of the fabricating myself making the mods cheap enough for me to try,,, i will be working on this over a long timeline as i plan on keeping this car until a battery powered one is a viable choice for me 5-7 years maybe ? i commute 105 miles a day for work. i could be totally wrong about all of this ,but i am suprised there is not more going on with you hypermilers on engine internals,, im not talking about not doing all the other mods im talking about adding these to it, having smaller valves installed,smaller tube, longer primary hedder tubes, lowering cam lift ,duration,lengthing intake runner length, all worth a try i think.

[SentraSE-R]

For most of us, a 4 mpg increase on a 40 mpg car driven 40 miles/day would take the lifetime of the car to pay off any major engine mods.

[user removed]

It already has variable valve timing from the factory. You would most likely be opening a can of worms trying to mess with the cam profiles, with the computer controlled VVT integration going against you.

You have 93 cubic inches running 10.5 to 1 compression and pulling fine down to about 1100 RPM, on the cheapest regular gas you can stick in it.

Mine had so much bottom end it was easier to start in 2nd gear than my VX is in first.

I would bet if you could drop the revs per mile to 2000 at 60, that baby would do about 55 MPG.

regards
Mech

[moonmonkey]

the vvt is something i know very little about, being an old v8 guy,,the only thing aken to that i know about is the rhoads varible pump up lifters,, i will study the effect of the vvt on changing the cam profile, you might have saved me some headache,,,i think i will play with intake and exaust first ,but will get my final drive ratio right also,thanks for the heads up old mech.