Toledo Tuning

"Toledo Tuning"

The Toledo shared a similar platform to the MK2 Golf and has a very practical boot.

It originally started life back in 1991 being one of the first VAG designed cars SEAT released, going on from revision to revision to the awesome car we have today.

Many complain about the lack of rear leg room, but that is not something that bother the typical TorqueCars member who concentrate on sitting in the drivers seat.

The Toledo also enjoys pan European success and is particularly popular in Spain and France. Perhaps VAG saw it as a way to reach new markets and the car certainly has a Euro Chic of its own.

The choice Toledo model for a tuning project has to be the 146 bhp 2.0 16valve engine in the guise of the GTi. Other engine sizes seem underpowered so many TorqueCars members will recommend an engine swap to the 2.0 16valve or for the more adventurous a VR6 or more modern 1.8T engine conversion.

The later TFSi engines, really suit the Toledo chassis nicely with plenty of parts around for them. The Diesel units are also worth a mention, with a remap you can expect around 25% more power and better economy.

Due to the abundance of parts and tuners for the VAG group you will not have too much trouble sourcing suitable high performance parts. Body styling parts are somewhat thin on the ground though. So what should your priority modifications be?

Sadly with smaller engine sizes you are wasting your time spending money on modifications, so if this applies to you get yourself an engine swap then apply the following mods.

Toledo engine tuning mods.

The following tuning modifications are usually installed by our members, decide how far you want to go before you start.

Getting the right sports mods for your planned usage of the car is vital. Stage 3 motor sport parts just won't work well on the road hard to control in slow traffic.

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Stages of Tune

Stage 1 mods: Alloy wheels, Remap, Lighter flywheel, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm), Panel air filter, Sports exhaust.

Stage 2 mods: Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades, Power/Sport clutch, high flow fuel injector.

Stage 3 mods: Competition cam, Engine balancing, Sports gearbox, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves).

Your targets when modding the engine should be a nice flat torque band. You don't want all the torque to be at the top end unless you are creating a competition car.

In this article we shall give an overview and introduction to the best upgrades for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance part.One of the best mechanical uprated modifications you can do on your NASP engine is to fit a fast road cam .

The intake & exhaust durations play a large part in your cars power band, but be careful here, getting this wrong can upset the idle and make the car hard to drive in traffic. You'd need to follow a cam upgrade with other mods and finish with a remap for the best performance gains.

When pushing up the power you will need to pay attention to to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.

If you find you get flat spots and power surges after your sports kits you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. To get sufficient fuel you may need to improve the injectors on your engine.

Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned Toledos uprated injectors.

Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

Breathing mods are usually next up. Contrary to popular belief there is generally very little power gain obtained by fitting an induction kit, they only become beneficial and are recommended after you raise the engines power to the point where the standard air intake box cannot cope!

Derestricting the airflow into the engine is a primary goal of car tuners so get a better flowing air filter if you find that the car is running lean only if you find the car is running lean. Induction kits can sound great but due to the warm air in the engine bay they will not add noticeable power and often rob you of power.

Sports exhausts will certainly help air flow out of the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too large or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for best results.

Getting the head ported and polished will help get more air into each cylinder. This is definitely a job for a pro with a flow bench. A good triple plate fast road upgraded clutch will help to keep that power going where it should. Never skimp or assume a standard clutch to cope. The best mods that we recommend for your Toledo are Remapping or piggy back ecu, fast road cam and air intake and exhaust.

Remaps offer phenomenal power gains on all turbo charged cars. On NASP engines the benefits are doubtful. However a flashed ecu on a NASP engine will help unleash the potential if you have done a lot of mods. Adding forced induction will see significant power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. Superchargers are generally easier to add than a turbo. With a turbo the boost curve is related exponentially to the engine speed making it harder to map.

The nice steady boost and rpm characteristics of the supercharger make them simpler to map. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.

Seat Toledo Wheel modifications.

The benefits of alloy wheels include a lower unsprung weight and more efficient brake cooling. Large Toledo alloy wheels can decrease performance. If you get big alloy wheels you will be changing your final drive ratio. Aim to keep the overall rolling diameter of the wheel the same as supplied from the factory. In all cases we do not recommend going above 17 inches.

Please join us in our forum to discuss the Toledo options in more detail with our Toledo owners. It would also be worth reading our Toledo tuning articles to get a full grasp of the pros and cons of each type of 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 Seat. 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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