Tuning Feature: Nissan CR14DE Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan CR14DE engine!"

We are regularly getting posts asking about the optimum CR14DE upgrades. So let us look into Nissan CR14DE tuning mods and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

The Nissan CR14DE are good project engines and with a few sensible modifications like a remap, turbo improvements and camshafts you will positively maximise your driving fun.

We shall examine CR14DE tuning and highlight the ultimate upgrades.

Just because particular modifications are appear in lots of CR14DE projects it doesn't mean you should fit it, so we'll focus on the optimum modifications to provide your CR14DE with the biggest power gain return for your cash.

Altering your CR14DE camshaft could make a dramatic difference to your engines engines power. Choosing a higher performance camshaft profile raises the engines power especially at the top end.

NB: Fast road camshafts normally increase the performance throughout the rev band, you could drop a little bottom end power but your higher rpm power will be higher.

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

On a typical daily driver one, ideally, should ideally to optimize your engines power to your driving style.

You will never find a CR14DE Race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Some CR14DE engines respond better to more or less aggressive camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and fuelling also have an effect on the bhp gains you'll make.

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.

CR14DE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 CR14DE modifications: Remaps/piggy back ECU, Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 CR14DE modifications: high flow fuel injectors, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades, induction kit, Ported and polished head.

Stage 3 CR14DE modifications: Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

Remaps helps release the full potential of all the parts you've done to your CR14DE.

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 rely on the parts you've applied and the condition of your engine.

It is the aim to any engine performance tuning project to feed more air into the CR14DE engine

The intake plenum transmit the air from the filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and flow rate of the Plenum can make a large change to fuel atomisation on the CR14DE.

I usually find intake manifold are ripe for an upgrade, although some OEM provide decently flowing intake manifold.

Larger CR14DE valves, doing a bit of port work and head flowing will also lift bhp and torque, and significantly will give you a better bhp and torque increase on other modifications.

Turbo upgrades for the CR14DE

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 CR14DE

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes major power gains.

If an engine has a turbo already fitted parts are going to make more power and you will discover turbocharged engines are built with many forged and stronger components.

However you will find an engines have limits

See where you'll find these limits and upgrade to better pistons and crank to handle the power.

There are many drivers spending a a stack of money on turbo upgrades on the CR14DE only to suffer the humiliation of seeing the engine go up in smoke when it's been completed.

Big upgraded turbos tend to suffer low end lag, and little turbos spool up much more quickly but don't have the top end engines power gains.

In the last 10 years 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 bhp.

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

It is common that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor MAP/MAF/AFM on the CR14DE when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

We note 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting bhp at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although harder to get working. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating CR14DE fuel injectors

Don't overlook the need to increase the fuel system when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. Don't forget to be generous with your injectors flow rate.

The accepted safe increase is to add another 20% when fitting an injector, this accounts for 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 CR14DE performance exhausts

You may need to upgrade your exhaust if the existing exhaust is creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you should find that your 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 from the engine but do not go too big or you may end up reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

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

Problems and issues to look out for on the CR14DE

The CR14DE 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 CR14DE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your CR14DE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our CR14DE 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 CR14DE 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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