I have a 1998 Toyota Camry and I’m wandering what performance parts are available. I have the four cylinder engine and was also wondering what upgrades if any can be done to the engine to get more HP
Cars that are at least 12 years old lose both reliability and durability. When performance parts are added, cars tend to be driven much more aggressively, and this is not good for a car that has already been driven for many 10s of thousands of miles. Adding performance parts will likely lead to a much quicker demise for this car.
My suggestion is to either buy a newer car with better performance built into it, or to maintain this car really well so that it lasts for a few more years with good reliability. Spending money on things like a brake fluid flush, new coolant, and a trans fluid change (if equipped with automatic transmission) will give you a much more reliable and durable car, while adding performance upgrades will likely do the opposite on a car that is this old.
If you want a car with more HP, trade the Camry for a car with more HP. In the long run this would be much less expensive than trying to modify the Camry for more performance.
You can (will) spend a lot of money and have very little, if any, increase in performance, and any tiny little increase you get will be at the expense of reliability and economy.
Really not much available for a Camry, too bad it’s not a Honda, they attract much more of the ‘tuner’ crowd/parts.
I’m sure you could find a bolt on turbocharger or nitreous oxide kit, but as your power goes up your reliability will drop like a stone. You’ll have a few zippy run and be looking at a new motor. I don’t recommend it.
Avoid also things like cold air induction kits. You’ll spend money and never notice the gains. They’re highly overrated at best.
Bottom line: if you want more power, look for a replacement vehicle with more power.
Ah, so you’d like to trick out your '98 Toyota into the “Tokyo Drift Camry.”
Start with a magnetic fuel economy booster you snap on over the fuel lines. Just be sure to install it right. It’s gotten a bad rap from people who incorrectly installed it and saw no performance gain.
Ohboy. This may get ugly. But I truely mean no disrespect.
These are worthless gimmicks. See the below link.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars_trucks/1802932.html?page=2
If you could find a used V6 Camry SE, you’d be surprised at the performance. The I4, not so much.
I REALLY hope that Bodybagger was being facetious.
Based on some of his other posts, he possesses a wealth of knowledge regarding automotive maintenance and repair, but this post of his gives me pause.
Losing weight (not YOU, the car …or, you, also, if you’re over-weight) can help performance. Start with the trunk. Spare tire? Tools? Carpet? Other stuff? Then, inside the car. Do you need the back seat? The passenger’s seat? Carpet? The heater core? In the engine compartment, the a/c compressor is heavy. You could get a battery 20 pounds lighter. With no a/c, you don’t need the other a/c components, either.
Wheels. Go to light-weight alloys. Gas tank. Go to a smaller, light-weight one.
There are probably other places to lose weight.
The V6 engine, with matching transmission, would add considerable performance. These thing wouldn’t break the bank.