Improve the performance of any turbo diesel?

Shawn_Dark

Can you improve the performance of any turbo diesel?

For example take any of the following cars (BHP given as an example, not necessarily accurate):

- Peugeot 206 1.4 HDI, 75 BHP
- Ford Focus 1.8 TDI, 90 BHP
- Citroen C5 2.0 HDI, 110 BHP
- Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI, 130 BHP

Now obviously some manufacturers release turbo diesel engined cars that are (again these are examples and not necessarily accurate):

- 1.4 with 110 BHP
- 1.9 with 130 BHP
- 2.2 with 190 BHP

So what I am wondering is if only certain cars can have the performance/economy improved or is it any turbo diesel?

Also, can this be something you can do yourself if you have the right kit?

forgotmyname

Not just any turbo diesel. Its easy to get extra power from ANY car.

The trick is finding the limits of whats safe and staying within that boundary.

Turbo cars are easier. Just increase the boost pressure. Simple. Whether the rest of the car stands upto it is another matter.

anotherbaldrick

In our club forum one enthusiast had a re-map done on his 2.0 TDi , took it from 120 PS to 170 PS. Was too much and the crankshaft mains fatigued. Necessitated a complete re build.

bigjl

Lower powered models might have different turbos or lack an intercooler over the more powerful versions of the same engine in the same car.

So while you can remap a mk3 Clio 1.5dci with 68bhp you won't get the 100 odd bhp that the more powerful one made, maybe 80 bhp or so. This is due to a lack of intercooler.

Less powerful ones may also have different injectors which also limit the power.

But any vehicle with an ecu can be remapped.

Turbos wether petrol or diesel give thr best results as all cars have to be meet strict EU specs and emissions aswell as remain reliable

Shawn_Dark

Is ecu remapping something I can do myself? I have access to diagnostics equipment like Ford ETIS, Merc STAR, Texa and Snap-On.

attila_

Not really. You can buy a cheap remap where you don't know how smooth the power delivery is or pay a bit more and get in on RR. This will prevent any torque spikes and prevents clutch failure.

There's a common misconception that remap !!!!!!s the clutch, but this is easily prevented by smoothing the power curve to avoid torque spikes.

Ultrasonic

Abu Yoosha, presumably you are thinking in terms of the car that will replace your current temporary one? Just buy yourself a replacement car that is designed to run at the power you want. With anything else there is always the potential for major problems in the long run. Not worth it in my book. Plus buying a car with the power you want means you can test drive it and be sure you are happy, rather than taking a gamble on an unknown re-map.

Stooby2

The place to look is the forums for those particular cars. For example, I own a Land Rover Discovery and the forums for that model give precise details on how to turn boost up, better intercoolers etc.

They'll also warn you of how far you can go without causing damage. It's all very well getting another 25bhp out of your engine, but if it blows your head gasket and wrecks your engine after 500 miles, then you've wasted your money and cost yourself a fortune.

Lastly, any modifications boosting power need to be notified to your insurance company, which may well increase your premium.

Retrogamer

I've done a little bit of modding to my TDi already for more power.
It's an Ibiza with the 1.9TDi 130Bhp engine.

2.5" Turbo back exhaust with cat removed. Reduces turbo lack and increase mid - high range power.

Wider diameter cold air feed pipe. Less restrictive with cold air feeding to the air filter.

Green cotton performance air filter. Going to change back to standard as a bit noisy with this, even in the OEM airbox.

Next mod for me will be to remove the EGR valve and EGR valve cooler and clean the intake manifold at the same time. This will be done along with a remap so hoping for 170ish bhp with the exhaust. Should still do 75mpg on a good motorway run


Edit
With turbo diesel's it's generally a case of a few things. How much boost pressure can the standard turbo take safely? Once you find that out you usually turn u p the boost to an amount you want. Fueling is then turned up to compensate for the extra air. If too much fuel, you get too much black sooty smoke. Too aggresive power gains might cause the air intake temps to rise too high as well, and this is where bigger intercoolers help out.

On older diesels without ECU's you could just attach a bleed valve and adjust the pump and you get a lot of extra power for not much more ££

Ultrasonic

Retrogamer wrote: »

Should still do 75mpg on a good motorway run.

That sounds VERY good. Have you checked this brim to brim or is it what the car trip computer is telling you? If the latter, the mods may have made this more inaccurate I'm afraid.

What speed of motorway driving do you think you get 75 mpg at?

Retrogamer

I've not done the brimming thing yet and worked it out that way, but in the process of doing it now with a full tank.

If i reset the trip computing when i join the motorway and check it when i leave the motorway on my commute to work then it's been in the high 70's cruising about 60mph over a distance of about 15 miles.

I've only done the intake and exhaust mods yet though, no remap. Will work out my average MPG with the whole tank shortly on mixed roads, granny driving