Tuning Feature: Nissan BR06DE Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan BR06DE engine!"

We are regularly getting messages inquiring about getting more power from the BR06DE and wanting to know what are the things we recommend when it comes to BR06DE modifications. So let us look into Nissan BR06DE upgrades and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

The Nissan BR06DE provide a fun base for your project and with the optimum uprated upgrades like remaps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will noticeably improve your driving experience.

This pages aim is review and look at BR06DE tuning and point out the greatest mods that work.

Just because particular tuning mods are popular with BR06DE owners it doesn't mean it is good, we will focus on the greatest tuning mods to provide your BR06DE with the best power gain for you money.

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 cams normally raise the performance across the rev band, you could drop a little low down torque but your top end will be lifted.

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

A Competition camshaft won't do well if driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your bhp range to your usage of the car so for a car driven daily stick with a mild fast road BR06DE camshaft

Each engine responds better to mild camshaft durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

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

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.

BR06DE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 BR06DE modifications: Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Panel air filters, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 BR06DE modifications: Fast road cam, induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Ported and polished head, high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades.

Stage 3 BR06DE modifications: Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

A remap allows a tuner to release the full potential of all the parts you've done to your BR06DE.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but power output may depend much on the parts you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Pulling more fuel and air into the BR06DE engine is the whole point to any engine upgrade job.

The intake plenum take the air during the suck phase from the air cleaner and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and flow characteristics of the Plenum can make a big difference to to fuel atomisation on the BR06DE.

I usually find intake manifold are in dire need of a performance upgrade, although some car makers provide well optimised intake manifold.

Big valve conversions on the BR06DE, doing some 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also raise power, & more importantly will make space for increasing the power increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades for the BR06DE

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 BR06DE

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 an engine has a turbo already fitted parts are relatively easy and most turbo engines already contain many forged and stronger components.

There are tuning limits for every engine, with some being incredibly solid and some only just able to handle stock power

It is important to find these restrictions and install higher quality crank and pistons to utilize the power.

There are many drivers spending a loads on turbo charger upgrades on the BR06DE only to suffer the humiliation of seeing the engine throw a rod when it's used on the roads.

Large capacity turbochargers will usually experience no power at low rpm, and smaller turbochargers spool up really quickly but do not have the high rpm torque gains.

Thanks to new tech the market of turbo chargers is always evolving and we now see variable vane turbo chargers, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

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

You'll commonly see there is a limitation in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the BR06DE when loads 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 limited performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp and torque gains, although more difficult to install. We have this article on twincharging if you want to read more.

Uprating BR06DE fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to look at the fuelling when you start extending past 20% of a torque increase.Don't forget to over specify your injectors flow rate.

As a rule of thumb add 20% when fitting an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and affords 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 BR06DE performance exhausts

Only look to boost your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you'll find your flow rate is good 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 through the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too wide or you may end up reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for best results.

Usual exhaust restrictions come around the filters installed, so adding a higher flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the BR06DE

The BR06DE engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues. {But if neglected they can cost a small fortune|When neglected they get very expensive to run|They can however be quite expensive if neglected| }

Regular oil changes are vital on the BR06DE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your BR06DE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our BR06DE 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 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 BR06DE guides and tips are kept up to date.

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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 Nissan. 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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