In pursuit for more power

Having had my coupe for a few months now I'm looking into a few performance upgrades

At the minute my 20vt has

K&N panel filter non drilled box

Cat back 2" pipe with tip no silencer or backbox ( came to me this way)

Boost gauge located were clock was

I'm on a standard turbo and intercooler

And looking into getting a chip but unsure which to go for

Fitting a supersprint cat and working back to make my own system using my works pipe bender a tig welder

And further tuning advice

Just looking for a bit of advise and guidance

Cheers

Supersprint doesn't do cats (anymore) - only cat replacements without actual content.

If you're going to decat, definately consider upgrading the turbo or prepare for a replacement soon after. Intercooler upgrade (FMIC) advisable.

And of course, a custom mapping. "Flea" comes as recommended on here.

I personally am on "everything standard" except for Turbo (GTIR hybrid), Blitz boost controller, K&N panel. All the other stuff is standard including exhaust. Result: around 260-270bhp.

Welcome to the forum :

If you want to keep it relatively standard but get more out of it there are some simple and relatively cheap things to do. Some are more contraversial than others.

Drill the airbox.
Fit a small breather filter to the oil recirc pipe and bung the turbo side.
Bypass the throttle body coolant tract.
Clean out the standard intercooler - internally it will be caked in oil from where it's recirced back into the intake.
Remove leaves from the SMIC intake pipework.
Flea-map.

There is a great tuning guide at the top of this forum too

"Bypass the throttle body coolant tract" why is this?

Cheers

James

The coolant circuit runs around the throttle as standard, which is designed to prevent the throttle from icing up on uber cold days.

Some people believe it also heats up the air going through the throttle - which isn't a desirable thing to do. The difference is minute, but every little helps

Thanks for all the info what's the difference between the gtec and flea map might be a retarded question but it's all new to me

Also performance wise is a panel filter better then a cone ???

Looking into the bigger turbo and pro alloy intercooler in the new year

Ah I see thanks chris

Just search for Flea using the built in search here and you will see how many people swear by him, he is a registered user of the forum so drop him a pm if you want. I am a newbie here to based in Ireland and am considering going for the swim accross the channel to see him 2

im after a plug n play chip at the minute with crimbo approaching
looking at the gtec 1 chip
but iv seen the evocars chip, rspec chip just wondered if any one has preferences
cheers again

There is no such thing as an Evocars for the 20vt, only for the 16vt so don't buy that!

The R-Spec runs a little more boost than the G-Tec, is this a good thing... for a plug & play chip not really.

GTEC has been tried and tested on this forum. Make sure you get your fueling checked on a rolling road once it's installed.

You may get boost spikes when you fit a GTEC which is the standard EBV not being able to provide the extra boost. This can be cured with a PRV / MBC, or if you're feeling more flush an aftermarket EBV.

I've just got back from fleas. Cars pretty standard and feels amazing definatly the best mod you can do for the money. Plus you'll know it's safe.

Glad you had a nice drive back, it is certainly quick for a standard car

If I were to get another coupe, after driving a very nice std coupe last week, I wouldn't go searching for more power again.

Instead I would look at improving the drivability of the coupe starting with...

# making sure all std suspension set up is in good order.
# DBA discs and Pagid gray pads.
# A short shifter.
# Top strut.
# Eibach ainti roll bars (I've not tried these yet but I'm confidant they're going to be awesome and can't wait until they arrive)
# Plus or LE Recaros

I know that’s not what you asked but I thought you might be interested in a different opinion.

Everything you say is true, you can improve the car no end by replacing many key components. That said, a remap doesn't have to be about power, and a really good tuner who knows what they are doing will be able to benefit the whole car, not just produce headline figures. Indeed I have tuned a number of cars just for driveability with no increase in peak power. It may not be as exciting as ramping up the maximum horsepower, but you sure can tell the difference compared to a standard car.

I don't doubt you and would relish a side by side test of two coupes (we'll any car) that has been ironed out just for driveability. But I've got to ask what was wrong with the original maps in the first place?

I would have thought the number of snapped aux belts as a result of mapping would have put people off

the original maps (on most cars) are just too generic - what flea appears to do is adjust the maps for YOUR optimum driving style and conditions....i'm sure that's too simplistic but that's the gist of it

This is spot on.
For real on-road improvements, brakes and suspension should always come first.
There's no point (IMHO)in putting more power though a standard set up car.

is this common when being 'flea'd'??

Aux belts snap through lack of maintenance, perishing, poor tensioning, tensioner failure and quite a few other possibles

Aux belts do NOT snap because of mapping - that's rubbish

I run a very heavily modded (and mapped) car and I've never suffered any aux belt issues, although I came close when we discovered this

from reading umpteen threads over the years I've came to the conclusion that the reason "some" ** people have aux belt failure after mapping is simply that rolling roads place a lot of stress on the engine, that if it isn't in tip top condition then some kind of failure is likely to happen under the those extreme circumstances.

Hence why I intend to have my aux belts done with a JBT pulley pulley before I visit Flea.

Paul


** No offence meant in anyway to anyone unfortubate enough to have this happen,, like everything else in life some things are a gamble. I just prefer to play it safe, esp as I already have some screeching at times

There is an aux belt issue.
It connects at the other end to the power steering pump pulley, which is bolted to the PS pump, which runs inside a bearing (a Fiat Uno front wheel bearing) inside a housing bolted to the block.
What is happening with some of our cars is that service wear in either or both of the PS pump or its bearing, as well as being a bad thing on its own, causes wear in the complementary part, which then also wears causing wear to the adjacent part and they all wear out together flinging the belt around like (insert your reality TV analogy in here).
End result is massive play, belt shreds, and debris will probably get into cam belt housing, leading to timing jump, at best.
But nothing to do with mapping.

the belts can go if they stay in the warehouses waiting to long to be sold....they look like new than afther a while they get crack,etc...+

What have you been smoking Duncan?

I'd been drooling after reading all the good things happening to your cars after being flea'ed.
I wish I could send my 20VT to be flea'ed, but being half way round the world, it's only a pipe dream.
But is it possible to do it by...how do I put it...remote?
Or maybe flea could come over for a holiday and then....
Well, I can dream can't I?

he may be able to send you a pre-mapped chip...i'm sure i read about this before, but maybe dreamt it..


@ the aux belt snapping under mapping - mine snapped when flea had it for mapping, but it happened as he was slowing down at a junction at about 15mph! so if you want to avoid belt failures don't stop at junctions as per andrewr

It is possible to do remote mapping.Contact Flea and he will explain it to you.It is not a dream.Lots of people used this service from Flea.I am now waiting for my stage 4 chip.Sure its a better thing to do live mapping but as someone knows Coupe like he does there is no problem.As soon as my chip arrives i will post my impressions.

My comment on the Aux belt was ' in jest' hence the smiley...

Seriously though, I would be changing the Aux belt far more regularly on a modded coop than the 2 year quoted standard. I'm changing mine every 12 months on standard power

Seen a couple of posts here from guys running big power with degrading a belt after 6 months

What do you want to get out of the car, and how much do you want to spend both short and longer term? Are you prepared to replace turbos and clutches should they not like the extra boost etc.?

I would not bother with a plug and play chip personally - they cause too many issues, and are a false economy IMO

Idealy over 300bhp
Looking into a bigger turbo and a pro alloy fmic and sip after christmas I'm prepared to wait and get it all done together then a flea map
Also looking at the d2 coilovers and better discs and pads all round my only stumbling point is finding a direct fit turbo

flea can get you a hybrid turbo for over 300bhp pm him

do all the mods in one go - it'll be cheaper in the long run. Just make sure that you have reserve budget for a clutch and make sure that you get the spec right. Going over 300bhp will mean you need a fuel pump, voltage mod (most of the time) etc. the tuning section wil give you more info

Poweritalia do a range of hybrid turbos that are a direct fit - up to 340 bhp or so.

a word of warning about coilovers - they wont magically transform the hamdling of the car, particularly on the road - on bumpy b roads a lot of them are worse than stock suspension. Look at upgrading the rear anti roll bar as a matter of course. Big improvements can be made by playing about with the alignment as well...