diesel tuning

**Ron Dennis** · March 8th, 2007 04:34 PM

hi guys...i'm a newbie in this site.....i just bought a new mitsu strada gls m/t and among the available pick ups out there, i think i made the best choice....
ride is superb, high speed handling is amazing, and there is ample acceleration from the 2.5 Common Rail DiD engine.

I'm a big petrol head and know something about tuning/modifying gasoline engines, but i'm quite new with diesel especially crdi engines. are there available bolt on parts for crdi's in our market ryt now? how about ecu/chip upgrades?

tnks very much! kudos for the very well sorted out site!!!!

**hitomi** · March 13th, 2007 09:54 AM

ecu tuning is available - in the US - dunno about its availability here. its something that plugs into your computer box and allows you to modify the performance. diesel tuning has a long way to go.

**Ron Dennis** · March 13th, 2007 02:19 PM

i'v been reading some stuff in the internet....found out that Autoplus is already doing diesel mods and tuning....problem is, its quite expensive...

here's a sample:
http://www.auto-plus.com/lc80.html

hope i can find a cheaper alternative. I'm already thinking of upgrading to a less restricting air filter and exhaust system.

Is ERL doing some diesel tuning of their own?

**ferdi** · March 15th, 2007 09:49 PM

modern diesels are the way to go for performance with economy. there are some basic things you can tweak but the biggest bang for the buck for me was remapping. a simple tweaking on injection timing and duration will yield very dramatic results (20+ hp, 50+ nm of torque).
I used to do full rebuilds of gas engines i.e p&p, big valves w/tri-angle grinds, high lift & overlap camshafts, stroker cranks, lightened flywheels, double diaphragm clutches, headers w/freeflow exhaust, cd ignitions, twin side draft carbs, etc. and get 30 to 50+hp and a very narrow torque band. it would idle so rough and would not idle below 1200rpm.
diesels you can easily get 20 to 30% more power and torque without altering driveability and depending on your commute, might even increase your economy. there are other tweaks you may do like add an intake intercooler (or if you already have one, upgrade to a larger capacity), you may play around with your boost, upgrade to larger turbos, increase fuel injection pressure, etc. these will not give as dramatic an increase as a remap.
re-mapping may be accomplished via a reprogramming of your existing cpu, changing your "chip", or installing a piggy-back chip. a lot of options out there.... you will be happy with your diesel

and you will not need to rev so high to squeeze power out of your diesels.

**Ron Dennis** · March 16th, 2007 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by ferdi

modern diesels are the way to go for performance with economy. there are some basic things you can tweak but the biggest bang for the buck for me was remapping. a simple tweaking on injection timing and duration will yield very dramatic results (20+ hp, 50+ nm of torque).
I used to do full rebuilds of gas engines i.e p&p, big valves w/tri-angle grinds, high lift & overlap camshafts, stroker cranks, lightened flywheels, double diaphragm clutches, headers w/freeflow exhaust, cd ignitions, twin side draft carbs, etc. and get 30 to 50+hp and a very narrow torque band. it would idle so rough and would not idle below 1200rpm.
diesels you can easily get 20 to 30% more power and torque without altering driveability and depending on your commute, might even increase your economy. there are other tweaks you may do like add an intake intercooler (or if you already have one, upgrade to a larger capacity), you may play around with your boost, upgrade to larger turbos, increase fuel injection pressure, etc. these will not give as dramatic an increase as a remap.
re-mapping may be accomplished via a reprogramming of your existing cpu, changing your "chip", or installing a piggy-back chip. a lot of options out there.... you will be happy with your diesel

and you will not need to rev so high to squeeze power out of your diesels.

Thanks Ferdi!!! I think remmaping/reprogramming is the way to go for me .....i just need a couple more horses and few more lb-ft of torque and i'm satisfied.....been contemplating on doing a chip upgrade ever since i bought my pick up...

**ferdi** · March 16th, 2007 09:01 PM

Yes, one-time cost of a remap might throw you back several ten thousands but if you compute on Peso per hp, it will be much cheaper than putting in CAI, freeflow exhaust, intercoolers and larger turbos.
CAI ~0-5 hp PHP 10-20k
exhaust ~0-5hp PHP 5 - 70k
intercoolers ~5-10hp PHP 20 - 40k
larger turbos ~20-30hp PHP 40 - 120k
re-map ~20-30hp PHP 50 - 75k

I have gone the route of piggyback "chips so I keep my stock configuration whenever I go for service or emission testing. I have not done any dyno testing but there is a marked difference in performance (you actually feel it). Have had diesel cars since 5 - 6 years ago and no problems in any of them. Will do some actual benchmarking sessions once I save up for dyno runs. With piggyback, it is easy to do a before and after comparison.

**Ron Dennis** · March 17th, 2007 09:43 AM

whoa!...didn't know a one time remmap would cost that much....but ur correct, its peso:hp ratio is indeed worth it...

an APEXi piggyback ECU i think would cost me around 40-50K (correct me if i'm wrong)....would the gains be as significant as that of a one time remap?

but ur correct, the advantages are there when u do wanna get back at ur default settings...Thanks bro!

**ferdi** · March 17th, 2007 03:19 PM

The thing to consider with remaps is not the device but who is making the new map. The new map can control a lot of stuff like injection timing, injection pressure, injection duration, boost pressure, fuel pressure, etc. You need to ensure that you will be using a "tested" map specific for your engine. These "tested" maps gives you an assurance on performance and reliability. There are several suppliers out there for these "tested" maps but you might also want to consider tunability of the piggyback to your local conditions i.e cetane rating of diesel, humudity, temperature, etc. The piggybacks I have used are all designed and tested in Belgium for European conditions and slightly altered/tuned for Manila conditions. The device used is specific to my car model and uses factory oem connectors.

Piggybacks are not as sophisticated as true cpu remaps but very good bang for the buck (plus the benefit of complete concealability either for warranty purposes, reverting to stock for emission testing or if you want your car to be a "sleeper"). I am more of the 3rd type as i do not do modifications that can be seen and heard, just felt!

Good luck and tell me which route to performance you took.