Catalyst temperature maintenance systems and methods

A catalyst temperature control system of a vehicle, comprising:

• a fuel control module configured to control fuel injection of an engine based on a target air/fuel ratio that is fuel lean relative to a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio and a target fuel injection start timing;
• a spark control module configured to control spark timing of the engine based on a target spark timing;
• a phaser control module configured to control an intake cam phaser angle based on a target intake cam phaser angle and to control an exhaust cam phaser angle based on a target exhaust cam phaser angle;
• an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) control module configured to, based on a target EGR opening, control opening of an EGR valve that recirculates exhaust from an exhaust system of the engine back to an intake system of the engine;
• a throttle control module configured to control opening of a throttle valve based on a target throttle opening;
• and
• an adjustment module configured to maintain a temperature of a catalyst in the exhaust system above a predetermined light-out temperature of the catalyst, based on (i) a first comparison of a torque request with a predetermined torque and (ii) a second comparison of an engine speed with a predetermined engine speed, selectively adjusting at least one of:
• the target throttle opening;
• the target air/fuel ratio;
• the target fuel injection start timing;
• the target spark timing;
• the target intake cam phaser angle;
• the target exhaust cam phaser angle;
• and
• the target EGR opening.