6 years of coop ownership and the only thing resembling a mod I’ve done is to use Mintex 1144 fast road pads. Enter stage left: a Forge DV006 replacing my knackered BOSCH valve and the difference is noticeable … it gets me thinking – I’m really missing out on something here – it’s time to catch up on lost time! So here’s my accelerated tuning plan to make up for my conservative past:

Drop the coop of at the body shop for:
a nice pair of LE side skirts

Shortly followed by a trip round to my local mechanic for:
Pro Alloy FMIC
GT28R
Boost controller (undecided on exact details!)
Apexi cone filter
(maybe the straight induction mod as well ?)

Then drive very carefully down to the RR for:
a Unichip

I’ll add a bigger downpipe and hi-flow cat next year ... maybe a blueflame - I definitely don’t want to decat. I also need to understand a bit better how to hook up the GT28R to my existing downpipe in a way that will cause minimal grief when I change the downpipe next year. The suspension was renewed fairly recently (with OE parts), so I think upgrades on that can wait for a bit. I also want to refurb the calipers fairly soon and might try Pagid Blue pads, although I’m fairly happy with the Mintex.

I’m kind of unsure as to the boost controller in terms of which one to go for (and to be honest, I don’t completely understand how an EBC works – although I get the jist ). Any comments on this plan are very welcome!

JUST DO IT!

Well put it this way if you get excitied over a new DV, you'll piss yourself when you fit that lot!

Would make over 300 bhp I would have thought. I guess you're looking at over £2k fitted. It makes a sensible list of mods Although you will need the exhaust done. Also do you have a strut brace?

Don't forget a gtec1 chip from GrahamL, and a boost gauge

and an uprated rad

Thanks for the feedback, I was hoping the EBC would act as a boost gauge? Want the cabin looking as standard as possible I don't have a strut brace - does it really help? I'll also probably add a rear Eibach ARB next year.

I've just fitted a new OE rad a few months ago!! Maybe I'll leave an uprated one till next summer!!

I will do the exhaust, but think I'll leave it for a while (or at least until my credit card recovers!)

TUNING STAGES 20VT - [courtesy of Hanny @ fccuk forum]

Stage 0 - Health Check - 220BHP
a)Get a proper engine health check including fuelling, and engine performance as well as compression test each cylinder
b)Get car fully serviced, inc coolant changes etc
c)Base-line dyno figures

Stage 1 - Basic Preparation & modifications - 230-235BHP
a)Boost gauge
b)Boost control (PRV, PBV or electronic boost controller)
c)Induction modifications (eg. drilled airbox, intake cone etc)
d)Dump valve upgrade (stop turbo stalling
e)Crankcase breather filter (stop contamination of inlet tract)
f)Water wetter (increase reduction in water temperatures)


Stage 2 - Turbo ancillaries - 240-250BHP
a) 2.5", 2.75" or 3" exhaust (less backpressure)
b) Decat or sports cat (less backpressure)
c) Uprated side mount intercooler (lower charge temperature)
d)* Water injection (lower charge temp, more advance)

Stage 3 - Chipping - 250-270BHP
a) G-Tec chip (more power) or a Unichip
b) Uprated fuel regulator (more fuel pressure)
c)* Hybrid turbo - i.e. standard casing

Stage 4 - Improving ancillaries - 260-280BHP
a) uprated clutch
b) uprated fuel pump (More fuel)
c) lightened balanced flywheel
d) FMIC and/or chargecooler

Stage 5 - Uprated turbo - 280-300BHP
a) Uprated turbo (eg. the ball bearing range Barbz is doing)
b)* Cams

Stage 6 - Advanced tuning - 300-350BHP
a)custom mapping eg. Motec (tailor ECU to modifications)
b)Uprated fuel injectors
c)* Nitrous
d) Intercooler hard pipe kit
e) intake hard pipe kit

* would denote these are things you might want to consider but may not be worthwhile
You might also have stages for non-engine stuff that should be done with the corresponding tuning level, such as

Stage 0 - Health Check
a) Check wear on all suspension parts

Stage 1 - Basic Handling
a) Strut brace


Stage 2 - Stopping power
a) Uprated front discs and pads
b) Braided brake hoses
c) Bleed brakes and put new fluid in

Stage 3 - Suspension
a)* Lowered
b) Uprated dampers
c) Uprated bumpstops

Stage 4 - Advanced Handling
a) Uprated anti-roll bar
b)*Camber adjustment (if no negative camber provided by dampers)

Stage 5 - Dynamics
a)* lighter wheels
b) wider tyres (225 profile)
c)* 5mm hubcentric spacers (wider track for standard alloys only)

Stage 6 - Advanced suspension
a) coilover suspension
b) polyurethane dampers

Thanks for the post Mark - I've seen that on here before (hence the redefining part of the title ). I guess I'm just doing quite a few stages at once. My biggest problem now is getting someone to do the work. My local garage doesn't share my vision and has said "no thanks" to my pet project

As good as Hannys post is, I'd say that its a little out of date now. For instance he is stating a chip in stage 3, but most do that first off with a boost gauge and DV / filter. Then in stage 2 there is mention of an SMIC, but it regarded now, to go straight for an FMIC.

Its still a good guide though.

I don't know who is mod of this section, but it might be worth while rewriting that, to take into account the most current tuning practices

I wrote that originally. If you want me to have another stab at it I'd be more than happy to. I appreciate things have moved on - that's the nature of tuning! Or else the mods can do it if they want

John

John - I guess you're probably one of a small handful of people sufficiently well qualified to re-write the article.

Certainly things have move on a great deal - my own 390bhp from a non-nitroused 2-litre would have been earth-shattering just a couple of years ago, and Mavric's 500 would probably have seen him banned for telling porkies!

I also think that there are now a few minor inaccuracies (such as water injection as a stage 2 mod?)

I suppose a "ten stages of tuning 20VTs" would be a logical layout and I reckon it would be particularly useful to suggest estimated costs for achieving each stage (either as a total, or as an additional cost from the previous stage) - remember that going straight to stage 10 would undoubtedly be lots cheaper than getting there a stage at a time, due to not having to buy Hybrid/28R/28RS on the way or going SMIC/C-Cooler/FMIC or PBV/PRV/EBV/Motec.

Also - how many people have used a hard-pipe kit? - not many IIRC

See i have always defined a stage 1 as a chip, exhaust and air filter, seems to be a universal thing across most cars, some of the stage 1's listed isn't really necessary, which is a boost gauge, it's not a tuning item, but something everyone should have

Sorry John, i thought it was Hannys post. But I agree with the above, tuning really has moved on a lot in the last coupe of years, would be good to get that updated.

But also, just as another point, isn't it amazing the amount of people who miss stage 0 and then can't work out whats wrong with their tuning. One of the most important stages IMO.

Well my mechanic thinks it's too much at once and wants nothing to do with an EBC, although he will fit the other stuff, but not all at once I'll probably also need to budget for a clutch, so maybe a slightly phased approach might be sensible? I'm booked in for a RR session on Aug 26, followed hopefully a few weeks later by:

FMIC
GTEC 1 or 2
EBC
Check fuelling on RR
I'll defy everyone and hold off on changing the box/air filter at this point - I haven 't been convinced of the benefits of this at "stage 1"

wait a month or so:
GT28R
Straight Induction
Apexi Cone Filter
Uprated Fuel pump (forgot this last time)
RR check again - maybe a unichip at this point if required from RR results??

Then next year do the exhaust, hi-flow cat, downpipe and remap?

What do people think? I'm half thinking that I should maybe reverse the order of the Turbo/fuel pump and Exhaust/cat/downpipe stuff?

Anyway, I look forward to the revised list from JohnS.

Hi David

Welcome to the crappy world of tuning a Fiat Coupe in Ireland . All the rest of the guys just take PowerFiat and Torque Italia for granted . As I said to you in PM you need to visit a tuning specialist such as ECC. Now that they've worked on my car and yellow_coops they're starting to build up an idea of what to expect. I'm sure there is no other garages/mechanics that can say this in Ireland!

As for what your suggesting its very similar to me. In one day long visit to ECC I'm sure they could sort you with Gtec1, K&N (they did a custom mount for me ), boost controller and maybe at a push the FMIC as they did it all on my car . Then get it RR'd to check fueling and get power figures.

Just a pity you replaced with OE suspension as I did the 3G's, pagids and coilovers before I started with the power. ECC did the suspension for me as well.

However I'll tell you again they're not cheap .

I would imagine that the only reason the chip appears in stage 3 is so that the chip can be mapped to take into account uprated parts from stages 1 & 2 otherwise you will have to get a re-map again to take into account the changes?!

Do you think it would be worth having the tuning stages as a sticky when we've got a revised version, just as a guide?! Could potentially hook up the stages to how 2's and links to posts detailing the pro's and con's?!

Just a thought.....

Also the braided brake hoses Make sure they get left out.

I've got a few questions about some of the bits i've missed out on... Going by that list, i'd be at stage 3 i guess, without the uprated side mount. What are these bits and are they still considered worthy?

From stage 1
e)Crankcase breather filter (stop contamination of inlet tract)
f)Water wetter (increase reduction in water temperatures)

From stage 3
b) Uprated fuel regulator (more fuel pressure)

I used to use water wetter in my V6 Vectra as it ran hot. Basically it's an addative that you put in your coolant which can lower the water temp by about 10 degree's or so?! It did make a difference to my Vectra, not sure if any Fiat owners have used it and how they got on?!

http://www.turbobits.co.uk/acatalog/redline_water_wetter.html

Not sure about the others, I've wondered about those too.

Crankcase breather filter more or less gives you better quality fuel as normally the oil vapours from the crankcase pressure relief system end up in the inlet. If you put a breather filter on and block off the inlet take-off then it will give you a modest performance improvement.

Water wetter is still a valid mod IMHO - if you are running an FMIC especially then your radiator isn't getting as much air over it as it originally did. Water wetter gives you a slight improvement in cooling efficiency.

I suppose both of the above are not particularly well adopted mods, but still worthwhile.

The uprated fuel pressure regulator is a 'brute-force' tuning approach to getting more fuel. It also provides better fuel atomisation so marginally improves combustion. It also implicitly affects what I'd call throttle enrichment - when you move the throttle downwards the ECU throws a little bit extra fuel in than required for that map position to improve the responsiveness. It's been found that putting the uprated fuel pressure regulator in improves responsiveness, and this is because of its effect on the throttle enrichment.

David, if you are considering doing it all at once, maybe look into bringing it to the UK, leaving it at powerfiat for a coupe of days, a nice B&B down Southend (do they exist?) and then motor home. Depending on the prices in ireland you may even save money an dyou know your work has been done by a specialist

Thanks John,

So basically the water wetter is the only safety mod (worthwhile by the sound of it), the other two are pushing for a few extra bhps or engine response. Would the uprated fuel regulator help if the car ran lean at high revs as more and more of the fccukers are discovering?

It depends on whether you've uprated your fuel pump! If you haven't you might find that with the additional fuel pressure requirements that your fuel pump can supply less fuel instead of more. If you have got an uprated pump then you will see a little extra fuel in 'open-loop' mode when the throttle is more than 70/75% depressed and the lambda sensor isn't being used.

I don't have an uprated fuel pump, everything i've done/got is in me sig.

This is starting to sound like one of these, "should have this, but then you'd need this, and while you're at it you may as well fit one of these" jobs. £400 overall

I guess if it runs a good mix at high revs there'd be no point in changing the fuel pump, regulator. I just need to get it dyno'd and checked then.

Mind you, i've said i'll wait till the FMIC for that, so i can run 1.2bar. Now i've found out i'll need a pro alloy rad if i have one of these to keep engine temps down

I suppose that was the point of the stages, so you've done each prerequisite in order.

The standard fuel pump is unsafe over approx 280-290BHP as it can cut out partially (a few of us have had this problem in the past)

He does now


(I think)

Thoughts for my turbo plus are GTEC1, blueflame with cat, maybe a boost guage, not sure about the dump valve, all after a stage 0, good service and new belts (done 48K since new) Am I a million miles out? Any better ideas out there to improve without going bonkers?

I think stage 1 needs looking at, as none of the things listed really give much of a power increase.

"Stage 1 - Basic Preparation & modifications - 230-235BHP
a)Boost gauge
b)Boost control (PRV, PBV or electronic boost controller)
c)Induction modifications (eg. drilled airbox, intake cone etc)
d)Dump valve upgrade (stop turbo stalling
e)Crankcase breather filter (stop contamination of inlet tract)
f)Water wetter (increase reduction in water temperatures) "

A - Nope

B - Nope

C - Maybe, perhaps 3- 5bhp at best. Has anyone ever done a back to back test?

D - Nope

E - Maybe possibly, again, has anyone tested this theory?

F - Nope.