Tuning the Volvo D4164

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Volvo D4164 engine!"

We are always getting emails inquiring about getting more power from the D4164 and wanting to know what are the things we are recommending when it comes to D4164 modifications. So let us look into Volvo D4164 upgrades and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

TorqueCars will outline options for your D4164 tuning and show the best modifications. Volvo D4164 make awesome project engines and with the optimum performance upgrades like ECU maps, turbo kits and camshafts you will greatly improve your driving fun.

Just because particular parts are popular with D4164 owners it doesn't mean its worth having, instead we will concentrate) on the top parts that will give your D4164 the best power gain for you spend.

The camshaft profile plays a big part in the engines power output so camshaft upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake & exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen camshaft profile, so large engines power gains are on offer for camshaft upgrades.

NB: Fast road cams usually push up the power through the rev range, you may lose a little bottom end torque but the higher rpm power will be higher.

Competition cams, push up the higher rpm power 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 around busy urban areas.

You should ideally optimize your bhp range to your usage of the car so for a daily driver stick with a mild fast road D4164 camshaft

Different D4164 engines respond better to mild camshaft durations than others.

The map and fuelling also have an effect on the power gains you'll get.

Extending exhaust or intake durations 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.

D4164 Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

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Tuning Stages

Stage 1 D4164 modifications: Fast road camshaft, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Intake headers.

Stage 2 D4164 modifications: high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Fast road cam.

Stage 3 D4164 modifications: Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

A remap should help to fully realize the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your D4164.

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

Pulling air and fuel into the D4164 engine is the main goal to any performance tuning task.

Air Intake manifolds take the air from the filter and allow it to be fed into the engine cylinders.

Structure and rate of flow of the Intake headers can make a substantial difference to to fuel atomisation on the D4164.

Most air intake manifolds are crying out for a performance upgrade, although some makers provide reasonably well designed air intake manifolds.

Big valve conversions on the D4164, doing a bit of port matching and head flowing will also raise torque, and more importantly will make space for raising the torque increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades for the D4164

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 D4164

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

When the engine is fitted with a turbocharger modifications are giving better power gains and most turbocharged engines are built using better components.

However you will find an engines have limits

Research these limitations and install higher quality components to utilize the power.

We've seen people spending a a stack of money on turbocharger upgrades on the D4164 only to suffer the indignity of watching the motor go up in smoke soon after it's completed.

Larger capacity turbochargers tend to experience low end lag, and low capacity turbochargers spool up much more quickly but won't have the high rpm engines power gains.

In recent times the choice of turbo units is always increasing and we are seeing variable vane turbo units, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

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

It is common that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the D4164 when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

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

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

Uprating D4164 fuel injectors

When you lift the bhp and torque you will need to uprate to the fuelling.

More bhp and torque needs more fuel. We would recommend you to be generous with your injectors flow rate.

The accepted safe increase is to add another 20% when fitting an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and allows 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 D4164 performance exhausts

You only need to to upgrade your exhaust if your current exhaust is creating a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the exhaust 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 will certainly help air flow from 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 for best results.

Common exhaust restrictions are traced to the catalyst installed, so adding a faster flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

D4164 Engine specs and bhp

• 1.6L I4 (109 hp) D4164T

• 1.6L I4 (109 bhp) D4164T

Problems and issues to look out for on the D4164

The D4164 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the D4164, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your D4164 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our D4164 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 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 D4164 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 Volvo. 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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