Tuning the Vauxhall F14D3

"Comprehensive guide to tuning and performance parts on the Vauxhall F14D3 engine!"

We are always seeing threads requesting info on the things we recommend when it comes to F14D3 modifications. So let us look into Vauxhall F14D3 mods and outline the best upgrades on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

The Vauxhall F14D3 make a good tuning project and with the optimum uprated parts like ECU maps, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will positively maximize your driving pleasure.

Our aim here is to review and look at F14D3 tuning and report on the best mods that work.

Just because particular parts are appear in lots of F14D3 projects it doesn't mean you should fit it, we will optimum parts that will give your F14D3 the biggest power gain return for your cash.

Significant gains on the F14D3 can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the power band and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts tend to push up the power through the rpm band, you may sacrifice a little bottom end torque but the high end rpm power will be higher.

Race camshafts, push up the high end 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 you need to match your engines power to your usage of the car.

I'd be amazed if you find a F14D3 Motorsport cam is a pleasure to live with when driving around busy urban areas.

Different F14D3 engines respond better to mild camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The map and fuelling also will make differences on the torque gains you'll hit.

Extending exhaust or intake 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.

F14D3 Tuning Stages

Stage 1 F14D3 modifications: Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Sports exhaust manifold, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters.

Stage 2 F14D3 modifications: Ported and polished head, induction kit, high flow fuel injectors, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades.

Stage 3 F14D3 modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Competition cam.

ECU mapping allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the parts you've done to your F14D3.

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

Pushing fuel and air into each cylinder is the whole point to any car tuning job.

Headers take the air from the air filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Design and flow rate of the Intake manifold can make a large difference to to fuel mixing and power on the F14D3.

I usually find plenum chambers are in desperate need of motorsport parts, although some OEM provide well optimised plenum chambers.

Big valve conversions on the F14D3, getting port work and head flowing will also improve torque, & more importantly will give you an improved torque increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the F14D3

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 F14D3

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 your motor is turbocharged, tuning mods are going to net you a larger power gain and most turbo charged engines will have strengthened components.

However every engines will need better parts at higher power limits

Discover these restrictions and install more solid crank and pistons to handle the power.

There are many people spending a fortune on turbo charger upgrades on the F14D3 only to suffer the humiliation of seeing the car throw a rod when it's used in anger.

Bigger upgraded turbo units will usually suffer a bottom end lag, and smaller turbo units spool up more quickly but won't have the top end power band gains.

Thanks to progress the market of turbo units is always increasing and we now see variable vane turbo units, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and flow these at differently angled vanes in the turbocharger. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor MAP/MAF/AFM on the F14D3 when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

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

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

Uprating F14D3 fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so need to uprate the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a bhp increase.Most tuners we speak with say to be generous with your injector capacity.

The accepted safe increase is to add another 20% when fitting an injector, this accounts 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 F14D3 performance exhausts

You may need to increase your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually creating a restriction.

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.

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can get you'll slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Common exhaust restrictions come around the filters installed, so adding a better flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the F14D3

The F14D3 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the F14D3, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your F14D3 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our F14D3 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 F14D3 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 Vauxhall. 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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