Tuning Feature: Nissan SD33T Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan SD33T engine!"

We often are getting emails asking about the things we recommend when it comes to SD33T upgrades. So let us look into Nissan SD33T tuning mods and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

The Nissan SD33T are fantastic to work on and with the best sports tuning mods like remapping, turbo kits and camshafts you will dramatically improve your driving opportunities.

We shall detail the best approach to SD33T tuning and show the best mods that work.

The ultimate SD33T tuning mods on an engine are in our opinion the ones that give the best power gain for you spend.

We won't be swayed by popular SD33T tuning 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 power band gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

NB: Fast road camshafts usually boost the bhp across the rev range, you may lose a little low down bhp but high end rpm power will be higher.

Motorsport camshafts, boost the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Competition camshaft is not great on the daily commute.

You should ideally match your engines power to your preferences so for a car used daily stick with a shorter duration SD33T camshaft

Different SD33T engines respond better to extreme camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuelling also have a large bearing on the torque gains you'll make.

Altering valve durations can alter the torque 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.

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SD33T Tuning Stages

Stage 1 SD33T modifications: Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers.

Stage 2 SD33T modifications: induction kit, fuel pump upgrades, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors.

Stage 3 SD33T modifications: Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

ECU mapping should help to unlock the full potential of all the mods you've done to your SD33T.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but the end result often differs on the mods you've applied and the condition of your engine.

Feeding fuel and air into your SD33T is the main goal to any engine upgrade job.

Headers flow the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

The size of bore and shape and flow rate of the Intake headers can make a large improvement to fuel engine efficiency on the SD33T.

On popular production engines headers are in dire need of a performance upgrade, although some car makers provide decently flowing headers.

Increasing the SD33T valve size, getting 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also lift bhp and torque, and as an added benefit will raise potential for raising the bhp and torque increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades for the SD33T

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 SD33T

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

When a car is fitted with a turbocharger parts are relatively easy and most turbocharged engines are made with stronger components.

However most engines will need better parts at higher power limits

We recommend you find these limits and fit higher quality components to utilize the power.

We see many drivers spending a a stack of money on turbo charger upgrades on the SD33T only to see the engine block go up in smoke when it's used in anger.

Large turbochargers commonly experience low end lag, and low capacity turbochargers spool up more quickly but do not have the high rpm power band gains.

Thanks to progress the range of turbo units is always improving and we commonly find variable vane turbo units, permitting the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into two channels and flow these at differently angled vanes in the turbocharger. They also improve the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the SD33T when a lot more air is being pulled into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting bhp at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp and torque gains, although more challenging to install. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating SD33T fuel injectors

Don't forget to look at the fuel system when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. We would recommend you to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% to the flow rate when specifying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and provides a little spare capacity should the engine need 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 SD33T performance exhausts

You may need to boost your exhaust if your exhaust is creating a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is still fine 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 equal out the flow of air through the engine.

But if the exhaust pipe is too large, ie: it's over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose a great deal of your flow rate and end up sapping power and torque.

Common exhaust restrictions can be traced to the emissions filters installed, so adding a freer flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the SD33T

The SD33T 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 SD33T, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your SD33T engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our SD33T 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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We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which parts were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our SD33T guides and tips are kept up to date.

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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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