Tuning the Nissan SR18DE

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan SR18DE engine!"

The Nissan SR18DE have loads of potential and with the best modified upgrades like a remap, turbo improvements and camshafts you will definitely improve your driving fun.

This pages aim is to examine the world of SR18DE tuning and show the ultimate mods that work.

When talking about the best best for your SR18DE engine, we are going to focus on the modifications that give the best power gain for you money.

Significant gains on the SR18DE can be made from cam upgrades. Altering the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the power band and power output.

NB: Fast road cams tend to push up the torque across the rpm range, you could drop a little low end power but your top end will be better.

Competition cams, push up the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Motorsport and race camshaft makes it harder when in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your bhp range to your driving style so for a road car stick with a mild fast road SR18DE camshaft

Different SR18DE engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuelling also have an effect on the bhp gains you'll make.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the bhp 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.

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

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

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

The SR18DE engines respond well to mods and we're finding that there is a growing number of upgrades and performance parts around.

ECU flashing will help fully realize the full potential of all the tuning mods you've fitted to your SR18DE.

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

It is the aim to any tuning job to get air into each cylinder

Intake carry the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

Design and rate of flow of the Intake headers can make a noticeable difference to to fuel delivery on the SR18DE.

Most intake headers are crying out for an upgrade, although a few makers provide reasonably well designed intake headers.

Adding a SR18DE larger valve kit, carrying out SR18DE port enlargement and head flowing will also lift bhp and torque, & importantly will raise potential for a greater bhp and torque increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades

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 SR18DE

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

When your motor is fitted with a turbo mods are going to make more power and we find turbo charged engines already contain many forged and stronger components.

However engines have limits

We recommend you find these restrictions and install stronger pistons, crank and engine components to handle the power.

It's not unheard of people spending a lots of money on turbocharger upgrades on the SR18DE only to suffer the humiliation of seeing the engine block go up in smoke on it's first outing after it's been enthusiastically driven.

Bigger turbo units tend to suffer a bottom end lag, and low capacity turbo units spool up much more quickly but won't have the top end bhp gains.

Thankfully the choice of turbo units is always improving and we now see variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and direct these at differently designed vanes in the turbo. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there is a restriction in the air flow sensor MAP/MAF/AFM on the SR18DE when loads more air is being drawn into the engine.

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

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

Fuelling upgrades and mods

When you increase the power you will need to pay attention to to the fuel delivery.

More power needs more fuel. It makes sense to over specify your injectors flow rate.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% to the flow rate when buying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and allows 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.

Exhaust upgrades and mods

Only look to improve your exhaust if the current exhaust is creating a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll find the flow rate is still ok 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 usually air flow through the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too big or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for best results.

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

Weak spots, Issues & common problem areas on the SR18DE

The engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

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

History of the Engine

  • 1991-1997 Nissan Primera
  • Nissan Sunny
  • Nissan Avenir W10
  • Nissan Rasheen
  • 1991-1997 Nissan Bluebird U13
  • 1989-1998 Nissan Bluebird U14 119 PS 117 hp
  • 1990-1993 Nissan Pulsar GTi B13 and N14, 140 PS (138 hp) at 6400 rpm  (123 lbft) at 4800 rpm
  • 1991-1999 Nissan Pulsar GTi N15, 140 PS (138 hp) at 6400 rpm (123 lbft) at 4800 rpm
  • 1988-2001 Nissan Presea 125 PS (123 hp)

The SR engine also came as an SR18Di single point fuel injection and had solid cast iron blocks, and there was a SR20 version which we will cover in another article.

It is a good solid 1.8 L (1,838 cc) DOHC engine and boasts multi point fuel injection and were fitted with a lightweight crankshaft, allowing the engine to rev more freely than the SR20DE varient it is based on.

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

We need your help improving this article, so please send us your feedback in the comments box below and pass on any tips, points or facts we have wrong or have not covered.

We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which upgrades were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our guides and tips are kept up to date.

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