Modding upgrading and tuning the Vauxhall F16D4 engine!

Discover "F16D4 Modifications"

How to modify and upgrade the Vauxhall F16D4

"Comprehensive guide to performance parts and tuning the Vauxhall F16D4 engine!"

Sites like TorqueCars are regularly seeing threads requesting information on how to improve the F16D4 from people inquiring about getting more power from the F16D4 and wanting to know what are the things tuners are recommending when it comes to F16D4 upgrades. So let us look into Vauxhall F16D4 parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

Let us review and look at F16D4 tuning and report on the best modifications for your car. Vauxhall F16D4 provide a fun base for your project and with the optimum tuning enhancements like remaps, turbo kits and camshafts you will certainly maximize your driving opportunities.

The best F16D4 modifications on an engine are typically the ones that give the best power gain for your hard earned cash.

We won't be swayed by popular F16D4 modifications, they need to be cost effective.

F16D4 induction kits

Improving air intake on the F16D4

You need air matched to fuel for an engine to work. If there is a lack of fuel then it will run lean, if there is a lack of air it runs rich losing power which risks damage to the F16D4. We'll pick up on fuelling later in this article but for now we shall look at air supply.

So the aim to any engine modification job to shove more air and fuel into each cylinder but this has a knock on effect with the air flow sensor.

It is not unusual that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the F16D4 when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

We note 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped torque at a much lower level.

Air Intake manifolds take the on the suck phase from the intake filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Design and rate of flow of the Intake headers can make a large effect on to fuel atomisation on the F16D4.

Many mass produced engine plenum chambers are needing aftermarket parts, although some car makers provide well optimised plenum chambers.

Adding a F16D4 larger valve kit, doing a bit of F16D4 port enlargement and head flowing will also improve torque, & more importantly will raise potential for increasing the torque increase on other parts.

F16D4 performance cam tips.

Different F16D4 engines respond better to more or less aggressive cam durations than others.

The ecu map and fuelling also have a large bearing on the power gains you'll make.

Longer valve durations can alter the power 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 F16D4 can be made from camshaft upgrades. Changing the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the torque and power output.

NB: Fast road cams tend to boost the torque through the rpm band, you could drop a little low end power but your high end rpm power will be better.

Race cams, boost the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Motorsport and race camshaft is not great in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your engines power to your usage of the car so for a road car stick with a shorter duration F16D4 camshaft

Stage 1, 2 and 3 mods for the F16D4

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 F16D4 parts:

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

Tuning tips and articles Engine tuning Transmission tuning Care care Intake & exhaust mods Improve handling Forums

Stage 2 F16D4 parts:

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

Stage 3 F16D4 parts:

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

The F16D4 power trains are fantastic to work on and we're pleased to see that there is a growing number of upgrades and performance parts around.

ECU mapping should help to to establish the full potential of all the modifications you've done to your F16D4.

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 your mileage usually depend much on the modifications you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Turbo modifications on the F16D4

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 F16D4.

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

When the engine has a turbocharger tuning parts are going to make more power and you will discover turbo engines will have uprated components.

However you'll find engines will need better parts at higher power limits

Research these limits and upgrade to higher quality crank and pistons to handle the power.

We see many guys spending a fortune on turbocharger upgrades on the F16D4 only to experience the engine go up in smoke when it's been completed.

Large upgraded turbochargers tend to experience no power at low rpm, and little turbochargers spool up really quickly but don't have the peak rpm torque gains.

Thankfully the choice of turbochargers is always improving and we are seeing variable vane turbochargers, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust flow into 2 channels and push these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

Beefing up the air intake by adding a supercharger or additional turbo will help you achieve very large torque gains, although harder to configure. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Tips about fuel supply on the F16D4

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so need to uprate the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a torque hike. Experienced tuners recommend to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

As a rule of thumb add another 20% when fitting an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and allows a bit of spare capacity should the engine need 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 F16D4 performance exhaust upgrades

The only time you should look to upgrade your exhaust system with an upgraded one is if your exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the flow rate is good 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 equal out the flow of gases through the engine.

But if your exhaust pipe is too large, ie: over two and a half inches diameter, you will lose a great deal of your flow rate and end up losing power and torque.

Typically exhaust restrictions can be traced to the catalysts installed, so adding a better flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

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

Faults issues and things to look out for on the F16D4

Like most engines an F16D4, 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 F16D4, failure to do this will exacerbate engine wear, on a tuned F16D4 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 F16D4 why not pop over to the forums at TorqueCars where you can chat about F16D4 tuning options and read about others projects who may be planning to do similar modifications on their F16D4.

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