Tuning the Vauxhall X24SFD

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Vauxhall X24SFD engine!"

We often are getting posts inquiring about getting more power from the X24SFD and wanting to know what are the things we are recommending when it comes to X24SFD modifications. So let us look into Vauxhall X24SFD upgrades and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

This pages aim is look at X24SFD tuning and summarise the optimum modifications for your car. Vauxhall X24SFD are awesome to work on and with the optimum tuning upgrades like remaps, turbo kits and camshafts you will really maximize your driving experience.

The best X24SFD upgrades on an engine are obviously the ones that give the best power gain for you spend.

We won't be swayed by popular X24SFD upgrades, 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 and exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen cam profile, so large bhp gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

NB: Fast road cams tend to push up the bhp and torque across the rpm band, you may lose a little bottom end torque but the top end will improve.

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

On a road car you need to match your engines power to your usage of the car.

You'll never have found a X24SFD Motorsport camshaft is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Some X24SFD engines respond better to mild camshaft durations so view each engine as unique.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also will make differences on the bhp gains you'll hit.

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.

X24SFD Tuning Stages

Stage 1 X24SFD modifications: Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold, Fast road camshaft, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 X24SFD modifications: induction kit, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors.

Stage 3 X24SFD modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting.

Review your options and then buy your modifications and set yourself a power target to avoid wasting your time and money.

ECU mapping helps to establish the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your X24SFD.

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 vary depending on the tuning mods you've applied and the condition of your engine.

It is the whole point to any performance tuning project to get fuel and air into the X24SFD engine

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

Structure and flow characteristics of the Intake headers can make a big change to fuel mixing and power on the X24SFD.

On popular production engines headers are ripe for performance upgrades, although a few makers provide well optimised headers.

Increasing the X24SFD valve size, doing a bit of port matching and head flowing will also improve power, & importantly will give you increasing the power increase on other parts.

Turbo upgrades for the X24SFD

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 X24SFD

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 an engine has a turbocharger mods are simpler to install and most turbo engines are made with better components.

However every engines have limits

Research these limitations and fit better quality components to cope with the power.

There are many guys spending a fortune on turbo charger upgrades on the X24SFD only to suffer the indignity of watching the car catastrophically fail when it's completed.

Larger capacity turbochargers commonly experience low end lag, and little turbochargers spool up quickly but don't have the peak rpm power band gains.

Thanks to new tech the world of turbochargers is always evolving and we commonly find variable vane turbochargers, allowing the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

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

You'll commonly see there's a restriction in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the X24SFD when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

Going up you'll find 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 bhp gains, although more complex to configure. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating X24SFD fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so must look at the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a bhp increase.Most tuners we speak with say to over specify your injectors flow rate.

The rule of thumb is to add another 20% when buying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and affords some spare capacity should the engine require 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 X24SFD performance exhausts

You only need to to boost your exhaust if your 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 can usually air flow from the engine but do not go too wide or you could will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Typically exhaust restrictions can be located the catalyst installed, so adding a higher flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the X24SFD

The X24SFD engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the X24SFD, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your X24SFD engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our X24SFD 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 to complete and improve this page, so do give us your feedback in the comments box below.

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 X24SFD guides and tips are kept up to date.

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