Toyota Echo Mods.

[GenFUBAR]

Hi.

I have a 2005 Echo 1.5 vvti 5 speed sedan. I'm after a little more go. I removed the snorkel from the airbox & replaced the old filter, and that made a big difference, especially when the vvt kicks in. All it's cost me is a new airfilter, so I'm happy there. But as they say, Once bitten. What have other people done?

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

[Tony Prodigy]

3 hours ago, GenFUBAR said:

Hi.

I have a 2005 Echo 1.5 vvti 5 speed sedan. I'm after a little more go. I removed the snorkel from the airbox & replaced the old filter, and that made a big difference, especially when the vvt kicks in. All it's cost me is a new airfilter, so I'm happy there. But as they say, Once bitten. What have other people done?

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

Hi Aido, I'm not sure what you're expecting to gain from a humble little 1.5lt engine. If you need more power I'd get something larger because you'll start going down a rabbit hole for a measly few horsepowers which you probably won't even notice.

If you want instant gratification and accept the risk that comes with it, whack a great big turbo on it and it will fly until it explodes. Get what I'm saying ?

Not sure what else to say to be honest. Have fun with it but don't waste too much on it.

[GenFUBAR]

Hi Tony.

Thanks for the reply. I'm hearing ya. I was asking more out of curiosity as to what others have done than anything else. For a car that only weighs in at 900kg with a 1.5 vvti, it gets up and boogies ok, surprises a few people. Not planning on putting a lot of money into it, just wondering what others have done on the cheap.

[campbeam]

13 hours ago, GenFUBAR said:

For a car that only weighs in at 900kg with a 1.5 vvti, it gets up and boogies ok, surprises a few people.

As you say, it gets up and goes. You will have noticed how high revving the engine is so look after the engine with regular oil and filter changes using a quality full synthetic oil. Also look after the engine coolant and the transmission fluid.

Always have a set of quality brand name tyres fitted. With such a light weight, I would stay with the recommended tyre width profile.

Same thing for the brakes and rotors with regular changes of the brake fluid. Something else you could consider is braided brake lines.

You could also consider upgrading the headlight bulbs. Other bulbs can be replaced with LEDs.

[GenFUBAR]

Thanks for the advice Ashley.

I run Castrol Magnatec full synthetic oil. Have for years in my cars, and trust it. Changed the oil and filter about 2k km ago, and it still looks good. My mechanic changed the brake & coolant fluids about 5k km before that when he went over it for me when I took it to him to replace a shreded power steering belt.

The car only has around 190k km on the clock, And it's been driven like a Nanas car until I bought it about 2 years ago off family friends who bought it brand new. My oldest daughter had it for about a year before I ACTUALLY got hold off it, and she drove like a Nana also. lol. I don't thrash it, but I usually hit redline at least once when I take it out after its warmed up. Having owned & driven bigger heavier cars all my life, I do get a buzz out off this little pocket rocket, if you can call it that, when I drive it. lol.

The tyres on it are coming up due for replacement, and I'll be putting something a little more sticky on it. Bought the car off family friends about 2 yrs ago, and they bought it new, and they put the standard type tyre on it. I'll be staying with the original size.

There's still a few Km left on the brake pads, but I'll be putting new fluid in when I next change them. Thanks on the idea of braided brake lines.

I'm happy with the headlight globes at the moment, they're plenty bright. They actually out perform our 2017 Jeep Cherokee, high & low beam. Probably change them if or when I blow a globe.

The car looks stock, and that's how I like it. I'm into the sleeper look when it comes too this type off car. And with the car looking ok for it's age, I don't really want to put a lot off money into it. Besides, the car will be going to my 17yr old daughter eventually, when she gets off her butt and does something about getting her license. lol.

Edited December 18, 2020 by GenFUBAR

[Squalled]

Something that is definitely beneficial for the echo is handling mods. If you find that extracting power is looking expensive, look into some coil overs/spring and shock combo along with bracing. These will go a long way in improving a great aspect the Echo has over a lot of other cars.

As Ash said, look for some new quality rubber and new rims if you can along with some new pads and discs. It will definitely make for quite a potent package in the twisties and will guarantee maximum surprise from others.

A mate of a mate has an Echo with a Blitz supercharger kit, definitely has the straight line speed that it lacks from the factory and with all of the handling and safety mods, it makes quite a great track car.

[campbeam]

I can relate very much to your latest post. The girlfriend has the 3 door Yaris hatchback and I get a buzz just sitting in the passenger seat when she is not in Nana driving mode. 😇

Let us know what tyres you end up selecting.

Somehow I think that you could be driving the Echo for quite a while.

[Hiro]

On 12/17/2020 at 2:12 PM, GenFUBAR said:

especially when the vvt kicks in.

VVTi doesn't "kick in" in modern motors, it is always running and is always varying the timing.  Not like the Lift changeover on the 2ZZ or the older non-intelligent VVT systems on the 20V 4AGEs.

[GenFUBAR]

Thanks for that info Ian. The Echo does feel like it suddenly starts to pull harder from around 4k rpm, like the VVT is kicking in. My car being a 2005, I thought that that would've been early in the VVT days, I thought it'd work similar to Honda's VTec in that it ran with one cam duration, then kick in another when it reached a predetermined RPM. I know that these days the VVT systems usually have solanoids adjusting the cam timing as the rpm rises.

You learn something new everyday.

[campbeam]

1 hour ago, GenFUBAR said:

The Echo does feel like it suddenly starts to pull harder from around 4k rpm

I went looking for a likely explanation. Following URL has charts for BHP and torque for the 1NZ-FE engine. I did notice another post in a Forum where the limit of the engine with stock internals is 149 BHP the presumably the piston rods fail. 

http://www.sourcingautoparts.com/toyota-yaris-1nz-fe-2005-turbocharger-turbo-kit-10003721 

[GenFUBAR]

Nice find Ashley.

Looking at the charts in that link, the torque jumps at around 3500-3600rpm, which feels about right. It's not a big jump, but noticable nun the less.

Going the turbo route isn't an option to me, and the car will be going to my youngest daughter when the time comes.

[Hiro]

3 hours ago, GenFUBAR said:

Thanks for that info Ian. The Echo does feel like it suddenly starts to pull harder from around 4k rpm, like the VVT is kicking in. My car being a 2005, I thought that that would've been early in the VVT days, I thought it'd work similar to Honda's VTec in that it ran with one cam duration, then kick in another when it reached a predetermined RPM. I know that these days the VVT systems usually have solanoids adjusting the cam timing as the rpm rises.

You learn something new everyday.

Nah Toyota started playing around with variable valve timing in the early 90s, back in those early days they were literally on/off systems triggered only at certain RPMs and throttle openings (much like the old variable intake systems such as TVIS).  By the time the NZ-series came around the second-generation VVT system (VVTi, with "intelligence") was well established, with infinitely variable timing (in the 1NZ case across a 60-degree range on the intake cam).  There may well be a particular change that occurs in the VVTi parameters at that RPM, but it isn't the entirety.  Engines naturally have points where torque will climb (and fall) due to a combination of intake runner length and camshaft profile, intake and exhaust restrictions, EFI maps etc even with non-variable valve timing.  Dyno plots also only show full-throttle response (which is very simplistic in engine terms), VVTi really comes in to its own in transient- and partial-throttle applications (99% of normal driving).

Cam duration can't be changed except for switching profiles.  In Toyota-world VVTi only changes timing (and by extension, overlap), VVTLi (on the 2ZZGE) has a second cam profile for high rpm which is more like the classic VTEC setup.

[Tony Prodigy]

You really need to know what your doing if you want to mess around with modern engines.

Good info there from Ian. If you're not careful you can go down that rabbit hole, spend tonnes of money and get little gain. I think money well spent asd the others have mentioned would be on the suspension, wheel/tyre dept and perhaps a free flowing exhaust. A car like the Yaris, Echo would be great fun on the twisty roads when set up nicely.

[GenFUBAR]

Thanks for that Ian & Tony. Great information.

[Dim Sim]

I just replaced air filter with fresh new one, and took off the airbox snorkel and replaced with pvc pipe turn and it seems a bit more responsive and sounds better too. 

[Nafis Malik]

New to this topic here.

I too have a Toyota Echo, mine is a 2004 manual sedan variant. Learnt to drive in my Echo, and have had it for a bit more than a year now.

I can indeed agree with you on the car being light and the 1NZ-FE being a pretty nippy engine. I find more enjoyment in nailing the heel-and-toe downshifts in the Echo than actually revving the car out. May just be me though.

I recently replaced my tyres with Bridgestone Ecopia EP150 ($119 for a tyre) which was on a buy 3 get 1 free deal. They make great difference compared to the tyres the previous owner had on the car.

The Bridgestone tyres are an everyday tyre and are good in the rain. Road noise is significantly reduced and I have had a noticable improvement in my fuel economy (from around 5.7L per 100km to around 5.5L per 100km for combined highway and city driving).

As for engine oil, I have been using 20W-50 as my engine does tend to burn oil and has done roughly 265,000km.

I am in the process of getting parts from the wreckers for my Echo to keep it in good running order. Along with getting driving lights, as the headlights do not really provide enough visibility at night.

Keep us posted on your quest for more driving enjoyment from the Echo!

[GenFUBAR]

Hi Nafis.

Heel and toes is something I learnt many years ago, and still do it most the time in the Echo coming down the gears.

I'm currently looking at tyres myself, but yet to decide on what to get.

I also had issues with the headlights, with the lenses yellowing badly. I fixed mine polishing them with Autosol. They came up like new with a bit off good old elbow grease and time. Also use a good polishing cloth. Use one cloth for the polishing, then use a clean cloth for finishing them off. Mine went from being scary to drive at night to WOW! I'd thought about driving lights, but after polishing up the headlights, I found I didn't need them.

Do the airbox mod, it costs nothing, and gives a nice throaty growl & a bit more up & go. Just pull the intake snorkel from the airbox itself & push it aside, it's that easy, that's all I did. See pic attached.

Enjoy your Echo. I know I am.

[Wing]

Got my 5 speed echo recently as I want a small car that I can rev to redline like a mouse in the kitchen

Have been looking at the Jazz and swift sports both are a lot more expensive.

I hit 60 Km in first gear, 100 km in 2nd redline. This echo is quick. Seems to be 200Pounds lighter than the yaris with similar 

1.5. My intention is to give it a bit more go unoticable to outsiders. So I planned iridium plugs. K&N springbuffers on all 4 corners( Largely improved the handling only cost$70 Aus total) Lastly braided ss brake hoses(planned) and some good tires

Steel rims will be retained with the toyota wheel caps. Now nobody is going to know the echo is so fast!!

Two times recently motorists tailgate me and I just Floor the acc and they are left with a dropped jaw and later  kept a big distance from me. They do not want to be humilated again.

My echo bought 2022 Sept had done only 27Km 2004 modal definitely a sleeper heavier corolla etc not in the same league value for money!!!!!

[Benjamin1976]

it would be best to use a collar. Preferably XN15D

[Poro]

On 12/17/2020 at 2:12 PM, GenFUBAR said:

Hi.

I have a 2005 Echo 1.5 vvti 5 speed sedan. I'm after a little more go. I removed the snorkel from the airbox & replaced the old filter, and that made a big difference, especially when the vvt kicks in. All it's cost me is a new airfilter, so I'm happy there. But as they say, Once bitten. What have other people done?

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

Thanks for the post Aldo.  Googling echo upgrades lead me to this thread and now I'm a member.  I definitely hear you.  I've been looking in to turning my 03 Echo in to a soft roader.  I bought it for 2k (clear coat was cooked) back in 2021.  

 

I managed to lose my license in it within first 3 weeks.  I HUGELY underestimated how much up and go it has.  Although on fresh tyres, previous owner went cheap.  In the wet, driving hard, I was spinning until 3rd gear/ or around 75kmh.  

 

Have been playing around with it, looking at suspension upgrades, bash plates etc, even a snorkel 😂 but best I've been able to come across so far would be swapping suspension and wheels from a Jimny or similar.  Would require a bit of custom modifications and therefore engineering certificate etc. 

 

There already seems to be some great posts in here.  Definitely suspension and air flow seme to be the go.  Since we have the old cable 🚠 based throttle, unfortunately we can't do drive-by-wire.  

I was introduced to that by a workmates 06? Hilux 4x2... That thing pulled *HARD* just from changing the mode selected on the DBW.  V6 obviously but yeah.  

 

Definitely following this thread and gonna pop the air filter next 👍🏽 👍🏽 

[Poro]

Is that for the air intake?

[Poro]

Hmm it seems like I can't quote anyone except the original post.  @Wing (hope I tagged right person) I definitely relate.  You did incredibly well with that find! Crazy low KMs!