Modding and performance tuning parts for the Vauxhall F14D3 engine!

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How to modify and upgrade the Vauxhall F14D3

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Vauxhall F14D3 engine!"

Popular tuning sites like TorqueCars are frequently getting posts asking about how to improve the F14D3 from people inquiring about getting more power from the F14D3 and wanting to know what are the best tips for F14D3 upgrades. So let us look into Vauxhall F14D3 tuning mods and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

The Vauxhall F14D3 provide a fun base for your project and with a few sensible motorsport tuning mods like remapping, turbo improvements and camshafts you will definitely maximise your driving experience.

In this article we examine F14D3 tuning and outline the best mods that work.

The greatest F14D3 upgrades on an engine are in our opinion the ones that give the best power gain for your hard earned cash.

We won't be swayed by popular F14D3 upgrades, they need to be cost effective.

F14D3 induction kits

Improving air intake on the F14D3

You need fuel and air for an engine to work. If there is little supply of fuel then it will run lean, if there is not enough air it runs rich resulting in lost power . We'll pick up on fuelling later in this article but for now we shall look at air supply.

So Feeding air into the F14D3 engine is the whole point to any car tuning job.

It is common that there is a restriction in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the F14D3 when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited bhp at a much lower level.

Headers flow the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Design and flow rate of the air Intake manifold can make a noticeable effect on to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the F14D3.

We often see intake manifold are in dire need of aftermarket tuning parts, although a few makers provide decently flowing intake manifold.

Big valve conversions on the F14D3, doing some 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also boost power, & more importantly will permit a better power increase on other parts.

F14D3 performance cam tips.

Different F14D3 engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the bhp gains you'll get.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the bhp 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.

Altering your F14D3 cam will make a dramatic difference to the engine torque. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the torque accordingly.

NB: Fast road cams normally raise the torque over the rpm band, you might lose a little low down bhp but your higher rpm power will be better.

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

On a car driven daily you must carefully try to match your power band to your cars usage.

I'd be amazed if you find a F14D3 Motorsport and race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Stage 1, 2 and 3 mods for the F14D3

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 F14D3 parts:

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

Stage 2 F14D3 parts:

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

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

Stage 3 F14D3 parts:

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

Plan your options and then buy your tuning mods and set yourself a power target to avoid costly mistakes.

A remap allows a tuner to unlock the full potential of all the parts you've done to your F14D3.

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 results often depend much on the parts you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Turbo modifications on the F14D3

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 F14D3.

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.

If a car is turbo charged parts are going to make more power and you'll see that turbocharged engines are made with stronger components.

There are weak spots for every engine, with some being extremely strong and some only just able to handle stock power

We recommend you find these limitations and upgrade to stronger pistons, crank and engine components to survive the power.

It's not unheard of people spending a a stack of money on turbocharger upgrades on the F14D3 only to have the motor throw a rod just after it's been enthusiastically driven.

Bigger upgraded turbo units will usually experience a bottom end lag, and little turbo units spool up more quickly but don't have the high rpm power band gains.

Thanks to new tech the world of turbo units is always evolving and we commonly find variable vane turbo units, permitting the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into two channels and push these at differently profiled 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 on twincharging if you want to read more.

Tips about fuel supply on the F14D3

When you lift the bhp you will need to increase to the fuel delivery.

More bhp needs more fuel. Most tuners we speak with say to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add another 15% when fitting an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and gives you some 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 F14D3 performance exhaust upgrades

You only need to to increase your exhaust system with an upgraded one is if your exhaust is creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll find your flow rate is still 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.

Note that with the largest exhaust you can buy this will slow the exhaust rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between one and a half to two and half inches. Your exhaust design, the bend angles and construction are what have more effect on flow rates than your pipe width to a certain extent. So the exhaust design is a big factor.

Typically exhaust restrictions can be traced to the filters installed, so adding a freer flowing 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 F14D3

Like most engines an F14D3, 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 F14D3, failure to do this will exacerbate engine wear, on a tuned F14D3 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 F14D3 why not pop over to the forums at TorqueCars where you can chat about F14D3 tuning options and read about others projects who may be planning to do similar modifications on their F14D3.

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