Tuning Feature: Nissan HR16DE Modified

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Nissan HR16DE engine!"

We are frequently seeing threads asking how to improve the HR16DE from people wanting to know what are the best tips on HR16DE upgrades. So let us look into Nissan HR16DE mods and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some frequent tuning mistakes along the way.

Now we shall provide a guide to HR16DE tuning and show the best modifications for your car. Nissan HR16DE really good project engines and with the ultimate sports enhancements like remapping, turbo kits and camshafts you will greatly enhance the drivers experience of your car.

The best HR16DE tuning mods on an engine are obviously the ones that give the biggest return for your cash.

We won't be swayed by popular HR16DE tuning mods, they need to be cost effective.

Altering your HR16DE cam should make a dramatic difference to your engines bhp. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the bhp especially at the top end.

NB: Fast road camshafts usually boost the bhp and torque over the rev range, you could drop a little low down torque but the top end will be higher.

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

A Competition camshaft makes it harder when in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your bhp range to your preferences so for a typical daily driver stick with a mild fast road HR16DE camshaft

Different HR16DE engines respond better to mild camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuel pump and injectors also have an effect on the torque gains you'll hit.

Longer valve durations can alter the torque 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.

HR16DE Tuning Stages

Stage 1 HR16DE modifications: Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust manifold, Intake headers.

Stage 2 HR16DE modifications: Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head.

Stage 3 HR16DE modifications: Competition cam, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

ECU mapping should help to fully realize the full potential of all the modifications you've done to your HR16DE.

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 usually differs on the modifications you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

Forcing more air and fuel into each cylinder is the aim to any engine performance tuning project.

Intake headers flow the air during the suck phase from the air filter and allow it to be fed into the engine cylinders.

Shape and flow characteristics of the Plenum can make a large effect on to fuel mixing and power on the HR16DE.

It's not uncommon that intake are ripe for performance upgrades, although some manufacturers provide fairly well optimized intake.

Fitting big valve kits, doing some HR16DE port enlargement and head flowing will also lift bhp, & importantly will allow you to get increasing the bhp increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the HR16DE

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 HR16DE

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

When the engine is fitted with a turbo parts are relatively easy and we find turbo engines are made using harder and stronger components.

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

It is important to find these restrictions and install higher quality components to survive the power.

It's not unheard of car owners spending a lots of money on turbocharger upgrades on the HR16DE only to see the motor throw a rod when it's first rolling road session.

Bigger capacity turbo units commonly experience no power at low rpm, and smaller turbo units spool up more quickly but do not have the peak end bhp gains.

In recent times the choice of turbochargers is always evolving and we now see variable vane turbochargers, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

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

It is not unusual that there's a limit in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the HR16DE when a lot 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 torque at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more challenging to install. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating HR16DE fuel injectors

Don't omit to uprate the fuel delivery when you are increasing the torque - it makes the car more thirsty. Don't forget to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when fitting an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and provides you 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 HR16DE performance exhausts

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

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is still fine 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 avoid an exhaust that is 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 emissions filters installed, so adding a better flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the HR16DE

The HR16DE 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 HR16DE, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your HR16DE engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our HR16DE 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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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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