Tuning the Vauxhall E16SE

"Comprehensive guide to tuning and performance parts on the Vauxhall E16SE engine!"

We often are getting messages about the ultimate E16SE mods that work. So let us look into Vauxhall E16SE upgrades and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

TorqueCars will outline options for your E16SE tuning and point out the best modifications. Vauxhall E16SE make awesome project engines and with carefully picked motorsport modifications like ECU maps, turbo kits and camshafts you will dramatically increase your driving fun.

Just because particular modifications are appear in lots of E16SE projects it doesn't mean its worth having, so we'll best modifications that will give your E16SE the best power gain for you spend.

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 camshafts tend to raise the bhp through the rev range, you could sacrifice a little bottom end power but the higher rpm power will be higher.

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

For a typical daily driver must carefully try to optimize your power band to your cars usage.

I'd be surprised if you have ever thought a E16SE Race cam is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Different E16SE engines respond better to more aggressive camshaft durations so view each engine as unique.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also have an effect on the bhp gains you'll achieve.

Longer valve 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.

E16SE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 E16SE modifications: Remaps/piggy back ECU, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Intake headers.

Stage 2 E16SE modifications: fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injectors, Fast road cam, induction kit, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 E16SE modifications: Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

The E16SE power plant are fantastic to work on and we're finding that there is a lot of modifications and tuning parts around.

ECU mapping should help to to establish the full potential of all the mods you've done to your E16SE.

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 usually depend much on the mods you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

It is vital to any engine tuning job to shove more air into the E16SE engine

Intake manifold carry the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be fed into the engine cylinders.

The bore size, shape and rate of flow of the Plenum can make a substantial difference to to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the E16SE.

I usually find plenum chambers are needing performance upgrades, although some makers provide decently flowing plenum chambers.

Adding a E16SE larger valve kit, carrying out port matching and head flowing will also raise torque, and importantly will make space for increasing the torque increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades for the E16SE

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 E16SE

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 a car is turbo charged tuning parts are giving better power gains and we find turbo charged engines are made with more solid components.

However every engines will need better parts at higher power limits

Discover these restrictions and install better pistons and crank to utilize the power.

It's not unheard of car owners spending a lots of money on turbocharger upgrades on the E16SE only to see the engine throw a rod just after it's used on the roads.

Large upgraded turbochargers commonly suffer no power at low rpm, and low capacity turbochargers spool up more quickly but do not have the peak rpm power band gains.

In recent times the world of turbos is always evolving and we now see variable vane turbos, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust gases into a couple of channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there's a limit in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on the E16SE 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 sapped performance at a much lower level.

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

Uprating E16SE fuel injectors

Don't miss you'll need to pay attention to the fuelling when you are increasing the bhp - it makes the car more thirsty. It makes sense to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% capacity when specifying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and provides you 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 E16SE performance exhausts

You should look to upgrade your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you'll find the exhaust 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 will certainly help air flow out of the engine but do not go too large or you could will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Common exhaust restrictions come around the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a faster flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the E16SE

The E16SE engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the E16SE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your E16SE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our E16SE 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 mods were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our E16SE guides and tips are kept up to date.

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