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Basic Engine Modifications


pieface
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Right, I did a quick search but couldn't find anything much, so am hoping a few people on here can help me out.

I've just bought a 1.4S and although it goes well, it lacks a little power compared to my 200sx :ouch:

Just wondered what engine mods were best. Not conversions, modifications.

I'm assuming decat, air filter, etc But as I am new to the vw/Lupo scene, I'm unsure on what brands are good, and where is best to get the parts from (specialists or eBay).

Ideally I'm looking to get a little bit more poke out of the 1.4 and mainly focus on handling (arb's, coilys etc) before going to bigger power.

So basically what I'm after is a list of modifications, and rough prices (of what to expect to pay), and the best places to find them.

Cheers,

Si :mrgreen:

Edited by pieface
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What about the basics though, like air filter? Do the likes of K&N do a direct replacement, or do I need to look on ebay to find something?

Exhaust systems? Car back or manifold and all needed??

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Breathing mods (Exhaust, intake etc) and a remap are prob your best best. You wont be looking at huge gains though.

You could go extreme and go for ITBS, Bike carbs, forced induction. You'd loking at around £4/5K for a proper set up though.

Kam racing sell most of the basic bits for a pretty good price.

Forced induction stuff wil be mostly custom.

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Dont bother with the air filter. The standard item isnt retrictive in the slightest, especially for standard power. You'd be spending money just for the bark it makes when you crack open the throttle.

As said, my manifold and decat made a noticeable difference to performance. A remap would probably help to get out all of the potential, but i cant justify £400 for all of 3-5bhp!

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£4/5K for ITB's?? I'm assuming your including custom ECU for that? I ran ITB's on my Metro when I put a K series in it instead of the A-series.

For that I ran GSXR bike carbs, and a Megasquirt ECU. I'm assuming that it would be the same on the Lupo, but even that costs under £2k

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Main issue is there is not many off thr shelf mods for lupos, let alone the 1.4s .

Filter wise an aftermarket panel filter will serve the purpose well enough. Cleaning all the gunk outta your inlet may help a little.

You could look at gathering the parts from a sport to get a bit more power, this tho has been covered a lot so lotsa info is availablr on that subject.

Pound for pound the cheapest way for better power is putting a polo gti engine in, aslong as okies with a spanner its easily done sub £500 depending on how much you can source an engine for . Instant 50 hp power increase and some more torques ;)

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£4/5K for ITB's?? I'm assuming your including custom ECU for that? I ran ITB's on my Metro when I put a K series in it instead of the A-series.

For that I ran GSXR bike carbs, and a Megasquirt ECU. I'm assuming that it would be the same on the Lupo, but even that costs under £2k

You seem to be a little muddled...

Bike carbs and ITB's are completely different things.

ITB's are electronically fuel injected and are run off an ECU (aftermarket), where carbs are manually fuelled via jets.

Bike carbs have been fitted to GTI's with good results though, although, due to lack of dizzy, you'd still need a mappable ignition setup.

I fitted weber 45's to my old astra redtop, but i ran them off a dizzy and it only cost me £400 all in. For throttle bodies it would have cost way over £2k when all fitted and mapped. The Lupo would cost a lot more than this though, as it has only been done a handfull of times and parts are not readily available! Lots of custom bits and custom fabrication is needed which never comes cheap!

I bet you're 'tro went well with a K-series! My mate's got a mini with a 143 VVC engine. Was yours a VVC or a solid cam lump?

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Mine was a 1.8VVC, and as I said I ran GSXR bike carbs, and megasquirt. Redrilled the hubs so I could still use 13" ultralites, to be a little more subtle.

Went very well, with cams and a few other party pieces I saw 185bhp :P

I know ITB's and Carbs are different, ran a DCOE40 on my mini, but I was thinking of ITB's due to the Lupo engine being more modern and as you said, it doesnt run a dizzy, so ECU is easier to map etc (especially with Megasquirt).

Surely ITB's would be worth a shout??? or is it a waste of time and effort?

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I'd say that throttle bodies would be a big waste of money on an engine that was never designed to be quick in the first place.

On the GTI it might be a little more justifiable, but still, you can get a turbo up and running for £3-5k, with 250bhp easily achieveable with a few select mods!

For you, the best thing you could do would be to drop in the polo gti lump.

Out of interest, how did you find the fuel economy with the bike carbs? I know my weber's were feckin awfull and i wouldnt even consider doing it again to a road car, but i've hear good things about bike carbs and their useability....!

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The thing with webers is they CAN be thirsty. On my mini I took them to DNG Engineering and Sam set them up, cock on. Fuelling wasn't bad, and with the 1293 a-series it got 88bhp at the wheels.

If they are set up correctly, you should only really see a heavy increase in fuel use when your foots flat to the floor, but that said, I only noticed on 1/4 tank.

The ITB's were good on fuel, but thats because I was using Megasquirt ECU and I made the fuel map myself.

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Ok , so not a lot available for the engine, what about handling? What size wheels would be best for all round handling? I was thinking about 15x7 or 15x8?

Eventually the car will be turned, or the base project for a track car.

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why?? Because I want to sort out the handling. Obviously coilovers are a must and will be on soon, but what else? Whats the best ARB? etc

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H&R over whiteline? is there one for the lupo or the is the Seat Léon one better? What other modifications are there to improve the handling?

And what about wheel size? Are 15s going to be best all round, or would a bigger wheel see more benefits other than just width??

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15's are definatley the best to go for as you can fit brakes that are half decent and still keep small enough wheels for handeling.

Mate just brought TB to run on his Solid cam 1.8 Rover lump. R400 head worked on by Dave Andrews etc... Cant wait to get it going. Its in a ZR track car!

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Nice. My main plan for the 1.4S is get most of the mods, then buy a GTi or Sport, and transfer the goodies onto that, as the open air roof isnt ideal for a track weapon >_<

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Dont worry about brakes as GTI or sport are different hubs. Get decent coilovers, Wheels, Seats. Then buy a sport or GTI, no point in anything else.

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That was my plan. As you said, purchase coilys, wheels, seats, and maybe ARB etc Then buy a Sport/GTi and go from there.

Cage isnt a problem as my mate is a fabricator and does a lot of work for the BDC ( http://www.huxleymotorsport.co.uk/ ) and same for arch work

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