Tuning the Renault K7M

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Renault K7M engine!"

We are frequently getting posts asking about the ultimate K7M modifications. So let us look into Renault K7M modifications and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

In this article we look at K7M tuning and provide tips on the best upgrades. Renault K7M really good project engines and with a few sensible tuning mods like ECU maps, turbo kits and camshafts you will dramatically maximise your driving experience.

Just because particular mods are appear in lots of K7M projects it doesn't mean its worth having, instead we will recommend only what we regard are the best mods that will give your K7M the biggest power gain return for your cash.

Significant gains on the K7M can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the bhp and power output.

NB: Fast road cams tend to push up the bhp over the rpm band, you could drop a little bottom end bhp but the top end will improve.

Motorsport and race cams, push up the top end 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 optimize your engines power to your preferences.

I'd never have ever thought a K7M Motorsport and race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving around busy urban areas.

Each engine responds better to mild cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and injectors and fuel pump also will say much on the power gains you'll hit.

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.

K7M Tuning Stages

Stage 1 K7M modifications: Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU.

Stage 2 K7M modifications: Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Fast road cam, induction kit, high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades.

Stage 3 K7M modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

A remap should help to unlock the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your K7M.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but figures achieved usually differs on the upgrades you've done and the condition of your engine.

It is the whole point to any car tuning project to shove more air into each cylinder

Air Intake manifolds carry the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be pulled into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

Structure and flow rate of the Intake manifold can make a big improvement to fuel atomisation on the K7M.

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

Larger K7M valves, getting K7M port enlargement and head flowing will also improve bhp, the fantastic side effect is it will give you an improved bhp increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades for the K7M

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 K7M

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

When your motor is fitted with a turbo tuning parts are going to net you a larger power gain and most turbo charged engines are built using strengthened components.

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

We recommend you find these limits and upgrade to better quality crank and pistons to handle the power.

There are many people spending a loads of money on turbocharger upgrades on the K7M only to watch the engine block literally blow up just after it's been completed.

Bigger upgraded turbochargers commonly experience no power at low rpm, and little turbochargers spool up really quickly but do not have the top end power band gains.

Thanks to new tech the range of turbos is always improving and we now see variable vane turbos, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust flow into a couple of channels and feed these at differently designed vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there is a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the K7M when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

You'll see that 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 power gains, although more challenging to install. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating K7M fuel injectors

When you boost the performance you will need to pay attention to to the fuelling.

More performance needs more fuel. We would recommend you to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

As a rule of thumb add 20% when fitting an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and affords a little 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 K7M performance exhausts

Only look to increase your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the 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 generally help improve air flow through the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too large or you could will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Common exhaust restrictions are in the emissions filters installed, so adding a higher flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the K7M

The K7M engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the K7M, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your K7M engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our K7M 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 parts were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our K7M 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 Renault. 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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