Chevrolet Spark Tuning
"A Bright Spark"
Tuning the baby Chevrolet the Spark is actually good fun, the light small chassis responds really well and makes for a fun project car.
We examine at Spark tuning and highlight the optimum modifications. Chevrolet Sparks are popular cars and with a few sensible performance mods you can dramatically maximise your driving fun.The Spark is popular among our members for tuning projects If you do your research then you can create an awesome Spark but don't be fooled there are lots of performance parts out there that will simply not suit it read our unbiased guides first.
Many Spark owners uprate the handling of their cars as a priority, this will certainly increase your enjoyment of the car. We would go to a maximum drop of 35mm on most models. You risk rubbing on the arches if you go lower than this.
Top end power should be your overall aim on the Spark with a nice fat peak torque band.
The best power gains come from larger engine sizes. The more you start with the bigger the return on investment so engine swaps are good value mods for small engined cars.
These mods are usually performed by our members, decide how far you want to go before you get started.
Getting the correct grade of mods for your planned usage of the car is vital. Stage 3 competition upgrades just won't work well on the road as it makes the car hard to control in slow traffic.
Stage 1 mods:alloy wheels,sports exhaust,Remap,lighter flywheel,Panel air filter,suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm).
Stage 2 mods:Fast road cam,power clutch,fuel injector & fuel pump upgrades,Ported and polished head,.
Stage 3 mods:adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger),Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves),Engine balancing,sports gearbox, competition cam.
Power mods.
Your aims when tuning should be a wide torque curve. You don't want all the torque to be at the top end unless you are creating a competition car.
The point of this article is to give a limited introduction of car tuning mods and point you in the right direction, our forum is where you can ask for more detailed advice and tips on your project and all aspects of modding cars.It maximises the intake and exhaust durations and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a reflashed ECU.
We'd also caution you not to go with a motor sports profile cam as this upsets the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to uprate the fuelling. If you find you experience flat spots and power surges after your modifications you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. Uprating the injectors is another beneficial modification and will deliver sufficient fuel. Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned Sparks uprated injectors.
Intake and Exhaust Tuning.
Now we move on to the intake and exhaust and ensure proper flow through the engine. Induction kits only help to add power if your air intake is restricted!
Adding an induction kit to most standard engines will see NO POWER GAIN AT ALL. If you have heavily modified your engine and it's need for air INCREASES DRAMATICALLY then an induction kit is the answer and will help remove this restriction.
Derestricting the airflow into the engine is a primary goal of tuning 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 actually rob you of power.
Sports exhausts can usually air flow out of the engine but do not go too large or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.0 inches for best results.
Head work including a head port and polished and 3 or 5 angle valve job will really help to release the potential of the engine. When you start tuning your Spark you will often find that the standard clutch starts to complain so get an uprated clutch. Turbo engines are just begging to be Remapped. You will see large power gains on most modern turbo charged cars including diesels making a remap one of the most cost effective and large modifications for your money.Adding forced induction will see big power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. It is usually cheaper to bolt on a supercharger than it is to get a turbo working. Turbos give boost in exponential proportion to increasing engine speed and this can make mapping difficult. The nice steady boost to rpm characteristics of the supercharger make them easier to map. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.
Alloy wheel upgrades.
Alloy wheels will help the brakes cool down and are usually lighter than the steel ones. It is worth noting that although they can look cool on the Spark Big alloy wheels will actually decrease your performance. The larger you go the lower your acceleration will be - this is due to the change in your effective final drive ratio. For this reason we would advise sticking to a maximum wheel size of 16 inches, although we know some of our members have gone larger than this with no problems.
For more information on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Spark options in more detail with our Spark owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Chevrolet tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.
We need your help improving this article, so please send us your feedback in the comments box below and pass on any tips, points or facts we have wrong or have not covered. 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 guides and tips are kept up to date.
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