Tuning Feature: Nissan TB45E Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning and performance parts on the Nissan TB45E engine!"

We are regularly getting posts inquiring about getting more power from the TB45E and wanting to know what are the things we are recommending when it comes to TB45E power upgrades. So let us look into Nissan TB45E modifications and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some frequent tuning mistakes along the way.

The Nissan TB45E are awesome to work on and with carefully chosen performance parts like a remap, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will improve your driving pleasure.

Here we review and look at TB45E tuning and point out the best mods that work.

Just because particular parts are are common on TB45E it doesn't mean you should fit it, instead we'll concentrate on the greatest parts to provide your TB45E with the best power gain for you money.

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

NB: Fast road cams usually increase the bhp over the rev band, you might lose a little low end torque but your higher rpm power will improve.

Motorsport and race cams, increase the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Competition cam won't do well if in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your bhp range to your driving style so for a road car stick with a mild fast road TB45E cam

Different TB45E engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the torque gains you'll get.

Extending exhaust or intake 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.

TB45E Tuning Stages

Stage 1 TB45E modifications: Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers.

Stage 2 TB45E modifications: high flow fuel injectors, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, induction kit.

Stage 3 TB45E modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Competition cam, Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting.

ECU mapping will help unlock the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your TB45E.

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 may rely on the upgrades you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

Forcing air into your TB45E is vital to any engine tuning project.

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

Design and flow rate of the Plenum can make a large difference to to fuel atomisation on the TB45E.

I usually find intake are in dire need of aftermarket tuning parts, although some OEM provide well optimised intake.

Increasing the TB45E valve size, carrying out 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also raise bhp, the fantastic side effect is it will give you increasing the bhp increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the TB45E

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 TB45E

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 your motor has a turbocharger parts are more reliable and we find turbo engines are built using better components.

There are common areas of failure for every engine, with some being very over engineered and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

It is important to find these restrictions and install higher quality components to handle the power.

It's not unheard of people spending a lots of money on turbo upgrades on the TB45E only to suffer the indignity of watching the engine go up in smoke when it's used in anger.

Big turbochargers often suffer low end lag, and smaller turbochargers spool up more quickly but won't have the peak end torque gains.

In recent times the selection of turbo units is always improving and we commonly find variable vane turbo units, allowing the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

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

You'll commonly see there is a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the TB45E when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

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

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large torque gains, although more difficult to setup. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating TB45E fuel injectors

Don't omit to pay attention to the fuel system when you are increasing the bhp and torque - it makes the car more thirsty. It makes sense to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when buying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and allows some 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 TB45E performance exhausts

You should look to upgrade your exhaust if the existing exhaust is creating a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you'll see your 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.

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can buy this will slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

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

Problems and issues to look out for on the TB45E

The TB45E 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 TB45E, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your TB45E engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our TB45E 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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