Tuning Feature: Nissan MR16DDT Modified

"Comprehensive guide to performance tuning the Nissan MR16DDT engine!"

We are always seeing threads inquiring about getting more power from the MR16DDT and wanting to know what are the best MR16DDT upgrades. So let us look into Nissan MR16DDT modifications and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some frequent tuning mistakes along the way.

This pages aim is consider MR16DDT tuning and highlight the best upgrades. Nissan MR16DDT have loads of potential and with the best motorsport upgrades like ECU maps, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will substantially enhance the drivers enjoyment of your car.

The ultimate MR16DDT mods on an engine are usually the ones that give the best power gain for you spend.

We won't be swayed by popular MR16DDT mods, they need to be cost effective.

The cam profile plays a big part in the engines power output so cam upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake & exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen cam profile, so large engines power gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

NB: Fast road cams usually boost the power throughout the rev range, you might lose a little bottom end torque 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.

In a road car one, ideally, should ideally to match your power band to your driving style.

I would be surprised if you have found a MR16DDT Motorsport and race cam is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Each engine responds better to more aggressive cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The map and injectors and fuel pump also will say much 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.

MR16DDT Tuning Stages

Stage 1 MR16DDT modifications: Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 MR16DDT modifications: Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injectors, Fast road cam, induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 MR16DDT modifications: Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

ECU flashing allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your MR16DDT.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your results usually depend much on the upgrades you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

It is the whole point to any car tuning task to pull fuel and air into your MR16DDT

Intake headers carry the air during the suck phase from the air cleaner and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The size of bore and shape and rate of flow of the Air Intake manifolds can make a big improvement to fuel delivery on the MR16DDT.

On popular production engines headers are needing a performance upgrade, although some car makers provide reasonably well designed headers.

Larger MR16DDT valves, getting MR16DDT port enlargement and head flowing will also raise bhp and torque, & importantly will give you a better bhp and torque increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the MR16DDT

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your MR16DDT

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

When the engine is turbocharged, mods are relatively easy and most turbo charged engines are built with stronger components.

However engines have limits

We recommend you find these limits and fit forged components to handle the power.

We see many car owners spending a fortune on turbo upgrades on the MR16DDT only to see the engine go up in smoke when it's used in anger.

Bigger capacity turbochargers often suffer a bottom end lag, and smaller turbochargers spool up really quickly but do not have the peak rpm torque gains.

In the last 10 years the selection of turbo chargers is always moving on and we commonly find variable vane turbo chargers, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

Twin scroll turbo chargers divert the exhaust gases into a couple of channels and feed these at differently designed vanes in the turbo charger. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there's a limitation in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the MR16DDT when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

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

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large torque gains, although more complex to get working. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating MR16DDT fuel injectors

When you raise the bhp you will need to ramp up to the fuel delivery.

More bhp needs more fuel. It is important to over specify your injector capacity.

As a rule of thumb add 20% when specifying an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and gives some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Best MR16DDT performance exhausts

You only need to to improve your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you should find that your flow rate is still good even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts can help increase the flow of air through the engine.

But if your exhaust is too big, ie: it's over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose much of your flow rate and end up losing power and torque.

Common exhaust restrictions can be located in the filters installed, so adding a higher flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the MR16DDT

The MR16DDT engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues. {But if neglected they can cost a small fortune|When neglected they get very expensive to run|They can however be quite expensive if neglected| }

Regular oil changes are vital on the MR16DDT, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your MR16DDT engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our MR16DDT owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Nissan. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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