Mild tuning for family cars
Discussion
Mention of Murray Walker driving to Yorkshire from London after work in an Alexander tuned Standard 10 led to this question: At that time, there were several small tuning firms like Downton Engineering, Alexander, Janspeed,Rudspeed(Volvo) ,Raymond Mays (Ford), Brabham (Vauxhall).They would improve engine breathing, maybe add twin carbs, improve gas flow and exhaust extraction. None of this produced anything very fast, just nicer, smoother, often more economical. I’m not referring to ‘Blueprinting’ just mild bolt on Stage 1 enhancements. They didn’t cost lots, either. Does anything similar still exist or is the response now just buy a faster car in the first place? The question is also prompted by reading about the MINI Tritec engine which is always referred to as boring and dull, though strong and reliable compared to its Prince successor, but needing a bit more sparkle....does this happen any more?
Lester H said:
Mention of Murray Walker driving to Yorkshire from London after work in an Alexander tuned Standard 10 led to this question: At that time, there were several small tuning firms like Downton Engineering, Alexander, Janspeed,Rudspeed(Volvo) ,Raymond Mays (Ford), Brabham (Vauxhall).They would improve engine breathing, maybe add twin carbs, improve gas flow and exhaust extraction. None of this produced anything very fast, just nicer, smoother, often more economical. I’m not referring to ‘Blueprinting’ just mild bolt on Stage 1 enhancements. They didn’t cost lots, either. Does anything similar still exist or is the response now just buy a faster car in the first place? The question is also prompted by reading about the MINI Tritec engine which is always referred to as boring and dull, though strong and reliable compared to its Prince successor, but needing a bit more sparkle....does this happen any more?
They do it with ECU remaps now.Until the mid to late 80s ish, engines had plenty of scope for improvement. Cylinder heads were produced as cheaply as possible with less than half an eye to decent flow. Exhaust manifolds especially were just there to feed exhaust gasses into the exhaust pipe, nothing more. The upshot of all this was that fairly sizeable gains were to be had for little cash and fairly basic workmanship.
Tuners such as Bill Blydenstein worked their magic on thousands of cylinder heads, giving real gains throughout the rev range.
Now? Most cylinder heads are as good as they’re going to get without huge expenditure. Exhaust have turbochargers in them, which restrict gains unless you go for a stupidly large diameter system.
So yes, remaps/chip tuning, a nice exhaust, maybe a different intake, and that’s it for most.
It’s probably still quite easy to ruin a decent engine with cheap rubbish though!
Tuners such as Bill Blydenstein worked their magic on thousands of cylinder heads, giving real gains throughout the rev range.
Now? Most cylinder heads are as good as they’re going to get without huge expenditure. Exhaust have turbochargers in them, which restrict gains unless you go for a stupidly large diameter system.
So yes, remaps/chip tuning, a nice exhaust, maybe a different intake, and that’s it for most.
It’s probably still quite easy to ruin a decent engine with cheap rubbish though!
In the 1960's a typical petrol engine made between 50 and 60 bhp /litre for a good one, and some struggled to top 40 bhp/litre
That mean't you could change a few parts and make a massive difference, perhaps nearly double the power output.
Today, even the cheapest engine probably makes 75 bhp/litre, and with ever more stringent emissions aftertreatment and OBD monitoring, you simply can't just change a couple of things and hope to find any significant powergains. Add in the near universal application of forced induction, and tuning in now an electronic exercise, with h/w changes being only for massive power, more noise, or simply "Bling" factor.
That mean't you could change a few parts and make a massive difference, perhaps nearly double the power output.
Today, even the cheapest engine probably makes 75 bhp/litre, and with ever more stringent emissions aftertreatment and OBD monitoring, you simply can't just change a couple of things and hope to find any significant powergains. Add in the near universal application of forced induction, and tuning in now an electronic exercise, with h/w changes being only for massive power, more noise, or simply "Bling" factor.
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