Sintel
Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Belgium
User status: Offline
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Beginning tuner here, so bear with me ^^
Car:
opel corsa B 1.4 8v from 1997 with 6000km during her 6 first years (almost nothing!) and now the 7th year added about 17000km for a grand total of 23000km, so the engine should be in near impeccable state.
mods done: lowered 3cm, new wheels 195/50 on 15inch, replaced airfilter with shielded pod, new front grill (better air flow).
What I want is power power power, with the new wheels under it, it just feels way too slow! Turbo is not an option in the foreseeable future, too expensive. The following areas is what I have questions about:
Exhaust:
- The corsa has a cat, which i'm thinking about replacing with the bottom part on this list:
http://www.remus-racing.com/product.php?ln=2&&option=1&selPrdID=1&ln=2&selectBrtID=40&selectCatID=456&selectDtlID=1480&start=10
However, this is what I read somewhere:
"Older cars can give a good power gain if we take the cat away, but we always have to let the lambda sensor connected to allow the ECU to work well. It is possible that the power gain is 7 à 10 hp on such an old car.
Newer cars are designed to work with a cat. The cat is designed as a part of the exhaust system. The gain by taking the cat away is maybe only 2 hp with a lot of torque loss because the backpressure is too low. So don't!!"
I can't find anything about performance on the remus page, all they seem to be concerned about is the "sound". I don't care about that, with the pod the sound is already good enough, I want power! So should I (a) keep my current setup (b) replace it with the remus - i heard they considered the backpressure in the design? (c) replace it with something better; all in the interest of power ofcourse, I want max out of the exhaust system so if you know something that gains more power please say so. Also, replacing the end silencer does nothing in power-perspective - correct?
Air filter:
- I now have a pod with heat shielding but no ducting. I read something about ecu resetting, does it need to be done and gain additional power? Is ducting gonna be worth the hassle? I also have a new front grill which allows more air through it... And what about this RAM thing?
- cyclone: http://www.turbonator.com/index.html . Their power increase claims are utter bullshit, but it depicts what I mean with a cyclone and how it works somewhat. My question is, does it really increase performance at all? Even 1-2hp would be worth the hassle, I mean, it doesn't cost very much (I wouldn't get it from them ofcourse, I can get something similar locally for almost half the price), and is easy/quick to install. I just have my doubts (your putting something in the tube, restrictive...) and I already have a pod installed. Anyone with experiences?
Others:
I now drive on 95 octane fuel, 98 octane fuel is almost as expensive tho, so is upgrading the following parts
*better sparkplugs?
*throttle body upgrade? (what? bigger, spacer, etc.)
that might only work with 98 octane fuel a good idea? Again, experiences appreciated.
Considering but probably too much money/work:
- tranny conversion; what I have now is an automatic 3+1 layout, 1st does 0-50 km/h, 2nd does 50-100, 3rd does 100-145 all at the rev limit of 6k rpm. +1 overdrive which the engine is not really powerfull enough for for real acceleration. Never been able to reach the rev limit on that one but i would think from experience it be about 200. If I had the complete working tranny from a manual corsa (a donor otherwise trashed car) would a conversion be doable or not? Our other cars are manuals and i really prefer driving manual  . Or are there some things one could do to the automatic to improve it?
Any other quick fixes for extra performance? While I do not have any mechanical skills, I do have a good friend who owns a garage. In the longer term a camshaft upgrade and chip tuning are in the pipeline (combined almost +20hp). This is to tie me over till then ^^
[Edited on 11-09-2004 by Sintel]
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Sintel
Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Belgium
User status: Offline
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no1? i don't need a reply on every single question in one post, so if you know the answer on just one question reply on that one... plz? ^^
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blundey
Member
Registered: 25th May 04
Location: Flitwick, Bedfordshire
User status: Offline
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Getting quick fixes for extra performance is not usually the way forward, because most of the time you never notice the power gain if there was any in the first place.
ll try answer your questions to the best of my knowledge:
I dont know how it works in your country, but we need the cat in place to pass the MOT. If you dont have that in belgum then go for a full system exhaust...adds better sound and a few bhp if your lucky.
The original exhaust you have on there doesnt look nice so upgrading it will be a bonus in itself. The backbox and centre box both silencers do not decrease performance so that you would recognise.
That RAM air thing is alot of bollocks....you can gain 1bhp by adding some ducting from the grill to your induction kit and feeding it the right quantity of air that its gasping for. Remeber cold air is part of the cycle to more performance!
Better sprak plugs....throttle bodys on a 1.4 8v...i dont know if this would help at all but id imagine very expensive.
At the end of the day you have bought a 1.4 8v...so to be honest you cant expect peformance....i understand you want to get the most out of what you have...but seriously...you vcan get an engine transplant for about the same price as what you do spending money on wheels, body kits and all these ohter low performance enhancements.
Hope i helped.
[Edited on 12-09-2004 by blundey]
[Edited on 12-09-2004 by blundey]
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corsa5dr
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 03
Location: Bath/Bristol - Evo 4 GSR
User status: Offline
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You can fit a 2.0 16v from a cavalier/calibra/astra GTE for around £1500 over here,
That engine is 150bhp, will see 0-60 of around 7 secs in a corsa and a 15sec-ish Quarter mile time.
If you want to go further you can fit 2.0 turbo (200ish bhp) from a calibra turbo.
1.6 16v conversions can also be done(106 and 109 bhp) with engines from a corsa GSI or sport.
Wouldnt bother tuning a 1.4 8v myself, get a engine conversion or save for a faster car
If you do a search you will find loads of info about conversions and tuning
If you have a friend who owns a garage then a conversion may be a cheap option.
[Edited on 12-09-2004 by corsa5dr]
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Sintel
Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Belgium
User status: Offline
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I know about the not passing thing without a cat, but I would just keep the original exhaust and put that in place for the test. My friend would fix it so replacing it would not take long. Any links to nice full system performance exhausts?
I see your point for engine tuning, but the exhaust system as well as the air ducting etc is independent from that no? I mean if I do this I will gain some power now as well as with a new engine. Won't the fact that this car is an automatic limit the choices of engines tho? I was told that the way the tranny attaches to the engine differs from a manual - wrong?
Anyway, I don't have the money for a conversion right now, that's why I wanted some quick fixes. But instead of going for that camshaft + chiptune i'll save up for the engine conversion, which indeed seems the smarter thing to do. Tracking an engine down doesn't seem an easy job tho.
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matt etches
Member
Registered: 16th Sep 01
Location: rotherham.. drives: nova 14sr turbo
User status: Offline
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im a single parent and dont work, and ive just converted my 1.4 nova to a 1.4 turbo. if you have got the know how its not expensive and its got a big power gain too
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