Find out about "TD42Ti Modifications"

How to modify and upgrade the Nissan TD42Ti

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan TD42Ti engine!"

Ever wondered how to make your Nissan TD42Ti engine even more formidable? If you're entertaining thoughts of extracting additional power, torque, and perhaps a touch of adventure, you've arrived at the right place. This article is your portal to elevating the capabilities of your TD42Ti, the diesel powerhouse that has earned its stripes in various Nissan models.

Now, let's delve into the specifics because, let's face it, that's where the magic happens. The Nissan TD42Ti, born for durability and off-road prowess, is not just an engine; it's a testament to the legacy of diesel dominance. With its reputation for reliability and a hearty turbocharger, the TD42Ti isn't just about traversing terrains; it's about a steadfast and commanding driving experience.

But why stop there? If you're itching to make your TD42Ti-powered ride even more formidable, stay tuned. In the paragraphs to come, we'll be your guide through the landscape of modifications and upgrades, aiming to make your Nissan not just a reliable off-road companion but a robust performer without causing a dent in your finances.

This isn't a solitary adventure – I want to hear about your TD42Ti project! Use the comments below to share your experiences, ask questions, and let's build a dynamic community of enthusiasts sharing insights and assisting each other.

Get ready because the next part of our journey is about detailing the best mods and upgrades for your Nissan TD42Ti, ensuring you not only save time but also experience the joy of driving a finely-tuned diesel legend.

Popular tuning sites like TorqueCars often are getting posts about how to improve the TD42Ti from people inquiring about getting more power from the TD42Ti and wanting to know what are the things tuners recommend when it comes to TD42Ti modifications. So let us look into Nissan TD42Ti upgrades and outline the best upgrades on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

Let us review and look at TD42Ti tuning and summarise the best modifications for your car. Nissan TD42Ti are awesome to work on and with the best tuning upgrades like remaps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will greatly enhance your driving experience.

Just because particular tuning parts are appear in lots of TD42Ti projects it doesn't mean you should fit it, instead we'll focus on the ultimate tuning parts that will give your TD42Ti the biggest power gain return for your cash.

Without us subscribing to the misaprehension of 'if it's shiny and makes more noise it must be good' you seem to get in many tuning magazines and on car forums'.

Improving air intake on the TD42Ti

You need fuel and air for an engine to work. If there is insufficient fuel then it will run lean, if there is little flow of air it runs rich sapping power . We'll pick up on fuelling later in this article but for now we shall look at air supply.

So Shoving more air and fuel into your TD42Ti is vital to any engine modification project.

It is common that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the TD42Ti when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

When tuning you may well find you need to get an air sensor or flow meter capable of upto 4 bars to cope with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited bhp at a much lower level.

Intake headers flow the during the engines suck phase from the intake filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

The size of bore and shape and flow characteristics of the Intake can make a substantial change to fuel engine efficiency on the TD42Ti.

It's not uncommon that air intake manifolds are in dire need of aftermarket tuning parts, although some car makers provide well optimised air intake manifolds.

Larger TD42Ti valves, carrying out 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also increase torque, and significantly will permit a better torque increase on other upgrades.

TD42Ti performance cam tips.

Different TD42Ti engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The engine timing and fuelling also have an effect on the torque gains you'll achieve.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Significant air intake, and exhaust improvements on the TD42Ti can be made from cam upgrades. Changing the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the power band and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts usually increase the torque through the rpm band, you may lose a little bottom end bhp but the higher rpm power will be higher.

Motorsport and race camshafts, increase the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Race camshaft will just annoy you whilst driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your engines power to your preferences so for a typical daily driver stick with a fast road TD42Ti camshaft

Stage 1, 2 and 3 mods for the TD42Ti

Before we break the best tuning upgrades down into stages of tune, let's list the most effective tuning upgrades for you.

1. Suspension Upgrades - always improve your cars handling
2. Brake Upgrades - Even before adding power improve those brakes
3. Intake - make sure the intake is not restricted, use filters and intake upgrades to improve this
4. Exhaust - as with 3 ensure there is not restriction in the exhaust, cats are the usual bottleneck
5. Tunes - remapping, piggyback ECU's and aftermarket ECU's can all make decent gains
6. Fuelling - when you've increased power you'll need to match this with more fuel
7. Turbo upgrades - Improving the intake with a large turbo and better flowing intercooler will be the biggest power gain you'll see (but one of the most complex).

This video guide to tuning cars is a great starting point to work from in your project.

Stage 1 TD42Ti parts:

Intake headers, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Remaps/piggy back ECU.

Stage 2 TD42Ti parts:

fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit.

Stage 3 TD42Ti parts:

Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

ECU mapping should help to fully realize the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your TD42Ti.

You will typically expect to see gains of approximately 20-30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but the end result may differs on the tuning mods you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Turbo modifications on the TD42Ti

To get a turbo working on a NASP engine there is a lot involved, from lowering compression ratio to improved fuel supply and mapping, so we have found a great guide to helpavoid the common pitfalls or end up with an unfinished project because you were not told what you were getting into by doing this on the TD42Ti.

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes significant power gains.

When the engine is turbo charged mods are giving better power gains and turbocharged engines will have uprated components.

There are common areas of failure for every engine, with some being very over engineered and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

See where you'll find these restrictions and install better pistons and crank to handle the power.

We see many tuners spending a loads of money on turbo upgrades on the TD42Ti only to have the motor catastrophically fail soon after it's completed.

Larger turbochargers tend to experience low end lag, and small turbochargers spool up much more quickly but won't have the top end bhp gains.

In recent times the choice of turbochargers is always developing and we now see variable vane turbochargers, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and push these at differently angled vanes in the turbo charger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

Beefing up the air intake by adding a supercharger or additional turbo will help you achieve very large power gains, although more challenging to get working. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.

Tips about fuel supply on the TD42Ti

Don't dismiss the need improve the fuel system when you are increasing the bhp - it makes the car more thirsty. Most tuners we speak with say to be generous with your injectors flow rate.

As a rule of thumb add 15% when specifying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and provides some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

Don't forget that different fuel grades will usually require different settings, a high octane fuel will burn more efficiently than lower octane fuel for example. A car will trim fuel supply to keep within the ideal air fuel mix but at the extreme ends you may need to adjust your injector capacity, or the mapping or you'll get flat spots and potential lean or rich fuel issues..

Recommended TD42Ti performance exhaust upgrades

We'd only recommend you look to replace your exhaust system with an upgraded one is if the existing exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the exhaust flow rate is ok even on modest power gains, but on a serious tuning project with a big boost in power you will certainly need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts can help balance the flow of gases through the engine.

But if the exhaust is too big, ie: over two and a half inches diameter, you will lose a lot of the exhaust flow rate and end up sapping power and torque.

Typically exhaust restrictions come around the emissions filters installed, so adding a freer flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Catalyst removal (NB:catalysts reduce harmful engine emissions) is illegal in most countries and regions.

Faults issues and things to look out for on the TD42Ti

Like most engines an TD42Ti, should have few issues if it gets properly serviced and looked after.

We cannot stress enough the need for oil changes with the correct grade of oil on the TD42Ti, failure to do this will exacerbate engine wear, on a tuned TD42Ti this is more important than ever and close attention should be paid to your maintenance schedule.

If you are interested in learning more or getting impartial tuning advice for your TD42Ti why not pop over to the forums at TorqueCars where you can chat about TD42Ti tuning options and read about others projects who may be planning to do similar modifications on their TD42Ti.

We need your help to complete and improve this page, so do give us your feedback in the comments box below.

We want to know your experiences with tuning parts on your TD42Ti, it helps us improve our tips and keeps us current so please use the comments box to drop a tip.

This entry was posted under Makes and Models. Tags: engine, nissan
You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

If you liked this page please share it with your friends, drop a link to it in your favourite forum or use the bookmarking options to save it to your social media profile.

Check out TorqueCars new YouTube channel, and see their awesome new content...