Tuning the Vauxhall Z16SE

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Vauxhall Z16SE engine!"

We often are getting posts inquiring about getting more power from the Z16SE and wanting to know what are the premier Z16SE upgrades. So let us look into Vauxhall Z16SE parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

TorqueCars will detail the best approach to Z16SE tuning and summarise the premier modifications for your car. Vauxhall Z16SE are awesome to work on and with the optimum sports mods like remaps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will dramatically enhance your driving enjoyment.

The top Z16SE upgrades on an engine are as we have found the ones that give the biggest return for your cash.

We won't be swayed by popular Z16SE 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 torque gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

NB: Fast road camshafts normally raise the performance across the rev band, you could drop a little low end bhp but higher rpm power will be lifted.

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

In a car used daily you need to match your bhp range to your usage of the car.

I'd be amazed if you have ever thought a Z16SE Motorsport and race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving in heavy traffic.

Each engine responds better to extreme camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The engine timing and fuelling also will say much on the power gains you'll get.

A longer valve duration can alter the power 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.

Best Z16SE Tuning Modifications & Upgrades

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Guide to the best Z16SE tuning mods & Upgrades

  1. ECU Tuning & Remapping

    Remapping is the most vital step of your tuning project to fully maximise your mods. Expect 10-20% on NASP engines and 30-40% on turbocharged units. Some cars may require a piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's to change the OEM map

  2. Strengthening to your Engine

    Tuned cars will show up weak spots manifest as a fault this is usually the turbochargers, a clutch and other internal engine components. Most engines can cope with mild tuning mods, TorqueCars recommend that you upgrade the internal components before these problem areas show up.

  3. Modifications to Remove Restrictions

    A restricted intake or exhaust will have an impact on your performance, so use a better flowing air filter/induction kit and better flowing exhaust (sports cats where legal are a good option) whenever your tuning creates a flow restriction. Turbo engines also benefit from intercooler upgrades as these resist heat soak for longer periods of time.

  4. Mods that Improve Fuel Delivery

    Every tuning project will aim to increase the air supply, but fuel supply is just as vital and will need to match the air the engine can utilise,  a fuel pump and injector upgrade are usual mods, but also in many cases the fuel regulator will need improvement.

  5. Mods to Improve Airflow

    Increasing the air supply is just as essential as improving fuelling, we suggest you look at engine head mods (flowing and porting, 5 angle valve jobs), fit bigger valves, fast road cams and forced induction upgrades (adding a better flowing turbo) to improve air intake.

Z16SE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 Z16SE modifications: Drilled & smoothed airbox, Intake headers, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold.

Stage 2 Z16SE modifications: Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, induction kit.

Stage 3 Z16SE 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 Z16SE engines respond well to upgrades and we're finding that there is a growing number of modifications and performance parts around.

Remaps should help to unlock the full potential of all the modifications you've done to your Z16SE.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but the end result often depend much on the modifications you've applied and the condition of your engine.

Forcing air into the Z16SE engine is the main goal to any engine modification project.

The intake plenum flow the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The shape and rate of flow of the Air Intake manifolds can make a noticeable change to fuel atomisation on the Z16SE.

Commonly we find the intake are needing aftermarket parts, although a few manufacturers provide reasonably good intake.

Fitting big valve kits, doing a bit of port work and head flowing will also increase torque, the fantastic side effect is it will raise potential for raising the torque increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades for the Z16SE

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 Z16SE

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.

If a car has a turbocharger upgrades are going to net you a larger power gain and you will discover turbocharged engines use more solid components.

There are reliable limits for every engine, with some being very over engineered and some only just able to handle stock power

Research these limitations and install better pistons and crank to survive the power.

It's not unheard of tuners spending a lot of money on turbo upgrades on the Z16SE only to see the car catastrophically fail just after it's used on the roads.

Big capacity turbo units often experience low end lag, and low capacity turbo units spool up quickly but won't have the high rpm engines power gains.

We are pleased that the choice of turbochargers is always improving and we now see variable vane turbochargers, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

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

It is common that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the Z16SE when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

We see 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 torque gains, although more complex to get working. We have this article on twincharging if you want to read more.

Uprating Z16SE fuel injectors

Don't dismiss the need improve the fuel delivery when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. We would recommend you to be generous with your injector capacity.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when specifying an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and gives 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 Z16SE performance exhausts

Only look to replace your exhaust if your exhaust is actually causing a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is 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 generally help improve air flow through the engine but do not go too big or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Usual exhaust restrictions can be traced to the filters installed, so adding a better flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the Z16SE

The Z16SE engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the Z16SE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your Z16SE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our Z16SE 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 tuning 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 Z16SE guides and tips are kept up to date.

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