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Giulietta QV (and not only) Tuning Guide

101K views 146 replies 35 participants last post by  hdvp 
#1 · (Edited)
Introduction:

Hello, I 'll start by introducing myself. My name is Stelios and I have a decent amount of experience in tuning which I will gladly share through this guide with you. I have been extensively reading and studying on cars and tuning since young age, managing to successfully tune 4 cars in the past 2 of which above stage 1, making it a hobby in the process. I am 31, I live in Athens, Greece and I am rather new to this Forum but I 'd like to contribute a little something to this nice Alfa Romeo corner, helping pple that are interested, in the task of tuning their favorite Giulietta. I own a Seat Leon 1,8 TFSI (you guessed right, its tuned - 220hp atm) but I am currently waiting (for the last 1,5 months to be exact) my new Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde which should be arriving within the next 3-4 weeks according to my dealer (I 'll post pictures when I get it, I only say in advance that its really looking special :D ). Back to our topic, I have been using this time productively, making an extensive research about the tuning options available for the QV during which I also came in contact with the options available for the rest of the G's as well.

Basics:

Before I really start, let me go through some basic stuff for those that aren't involved in tuning but also for those that are, so they can understand my point of view and my approach for THIS tuning guide. I 'll ONLY be writing for now about a 1st stage tuning which involves up to 3 different upgrades. Ecu Tuning, Exhaust Tuning, Induction Tuning. I will only be approaching 1st stage tuning for 3 reasons: a) Its not really expensive, b) its rather safe for your car which is important since we are talking about your new and rather expensive car and c) it will offer you a good performance/money ratio.

Ecu:

IMHO, no questions asked, go for the NOVITEC Powerjet 3 for 1,8 Turbo or the Powerjet 2 for 1,4 if you have any of the rest of the petrol Engines. Novitec also makes an ECU power-box for Diesel engines but I wont be talking at all about them since wanting a fast car and going for a Diesel one is like wanting to be polite and farting in a wedding reception (and pls skip the comments about how many fast cars with diesel engines exist cause for each one of them there is an equivalent displacement / characteristic petrol Engine that makes that car go 1,5 times faster). Back to our conversation about ECU, I have spoken to a shitload of pple over email and phone over the last month, that offer all kind of upgrades, so what made me suggest the Novitec Powerjet? a) They have experience in AR tuning. b) I have tried them in the past and was really pleased with their products c) You DON'T get to keep your warranty with ECU upgrades (if the dealer claims that a problem is related to it they wont cover the repair costs, but they can't remove all your warranty coverage) BUT since this is a removable product that connects before your ECU with a cable and changes the information the car sends to it making your original ECU act in a way that increases your cars HP / Torque, IF anything happens to your car at some point (I don't mean related to it) you remove it, you go to your dealer, they check the problem (whatever that might be) and they can't know that you had it on, so they can't give you sh.. about that losing your warranty and bla bla bla. After your visit there you can replug it and you have it working exactly as before :) . Let's get to where you want: You gain 26 hp and about 40 Nm of torque from that. That means your QV will get up to 261 Hp and 380Nm at Dynamic Mode (25 - 30 HP for the 1.4Lt engines too). Your Normal Mode gets up to the performance your Dynamic mode had BEFORE the ECU tuning. The powerbox does NOT change any of the other characteristics your DNA system affects. Something you wont find easily: there is a safety switch that after 90 seconds of continues full throttle the Powerbox reduces its effect by 50% and another 50% (down to as it was) after another 90 seconds (again assuming you haven't lifted the throttle pedal even once). Link to Novitec Giulietta products: Novitec | Giulietta | Engine | Novitec Automobile GmbH , Alfa Romeo , Fiat , Ferrari and Maserati Tuning

Exhaust:

2 and ONLY 2 options atm available for our lovely G's. Ragazzon - Supersprint (all Petrol Versions included since they have both developed systems for 1,4Lt - 1,75Lt Engines). My suggestion starts with Rag and ends with azzon. Why? OK, a) Price, b) Sound (subjective but I think my judgment is decently good), c) both are experienced brands in making Italian cars exhaust systems and acknowledged so no reason to choose Supersprint over Ragazzon since in a & b Ragazzon is better. They both promise from 8-9 to 15 HP for a complete system (including the catalytic converter). Let me take away the confusion I just created about the HP gains. NONE of them offers a DYNO test result. I have contacted both and I have heard different stories for what they expect their exhausts to give to your cars performance but the bottom line is, combined with my car and tuning judgment / knowledge, expect a result of about 10 HP on average at a price of about 1,8k Euros for Ragazzon and 2,6k Euros for Supersprint. Also you will gain some Torque which I don't want to speculate how much is going to be but not less than 20Nm for sure. Keep in mind you 'll have NO warranty issue with any dealer no matter how strict they are for changing your exhaust. If you don't want the complete system because you are mainly aiming for the sound change, the back exhaust part will give it to you, along with about 2-3 hp at a price of about 600 - 650 Euros. Link to Ragazzon: Ragazzon Srl and Supersprint: complete exhaust system ALFA ROMEO, exhaust components Alfa Romeo GIULIETTA, car tuning ALFA ROMEO

Induction:

Not much to report here unfortunately. 2 options again available but none of them really makes me tick. BMC and K&N (K&N only has for the 1,75Lt engine and to look it up you ll have to check for the 159 engine since it has the same induction as the GQV) have replacement filters for our G's but none has produced yet a complete induction system. So if you upgrade the other two (ECU & exhaust), I suggest that you change your filter too (about 80 - 85 Euros is the price), to make sure you give your car that little bit of extra air that might be needed. Again, I have contacted both these companies about potential gains and none had something solid to report but I am guessing (again from XP), you might get from a negligible result to a MAX of 1-3 HP and 10 Nm of torque. Speaking once more from personal experience and hear me out here pls, I KNOW you want better sound from the gay suppressed induction sound the G has, especially if you compare it to older Alfa's, BUT DON'T change your complete induction system to a universal one without having seen printed and tested results that prove it is going to offer a power upgrade. Otherwise you risk paying money for something that might make your car lose HP / Torque, something I have seen many times in the past happen. So IMHO, we should be waiting for someone to produce and test a complete induction system for this car before going fwd and replacing the stock. On the contrary the replacement filters I suggested are safely certain not to give you a negative result, in the worse case scenario they wont give you a positive. Keep in mind you 'll have NO warranty issue with any dealer, no matter how strict they are for changing your induction system. Link to BMC: ALFA ROMEO | Products Results | AIR FILTERS BMC | AIR FILTER | CAR | MOTORCYCLE | bike - racing - venturi admission system - carbon dynamic airbox | BMC Air Filter and to K&N: K&N Products by Vehicle Search - Year, Make, Model, Engine Search

Some Extra Info:

After speaking with a lot of Tuning Shops that offer the products mentioned above, the best by far in knowledge, friendliness and professionalism was Alfisti.Net (Link for G's: Alfa Romeo Shop - Tuning, Styling, Fanartikel und Modellautos - Alfa Romeo Giulietta Tuning & Styling ). They have both the Novitec powerboxes and all the Ragazzon exhausts. This is the shop I decided after a market search to buy from but as I said I am only stating and sharing my opinion / suggestions.

Conclusion:

Upgrading all the above will result in your car gaining from 35 -40 hp and up to 60Nm of torque but another question is, does your car already produce what it promises? If you have a 1,4Lt G yes I promise it does. If you have the QV I am afraid it doesn't. I cant with absolute certainty guarantee that, but having seen 2 dyno tests, the QV probably produces about 225hp instead of 235hp that the factory specifies. Still not too shabby. Final numbers: the 1.4Lt 170hp engine will get up to about 205hp, the QV to about 270hp (260Hp if it indeed has 225hp stock as I think it has) and the 1,4Lt 120hp version to about 160hp. You 'll also gain some nice sound from the exhaust (not annoying but muscular) and a nice smile in your face since your car is going to be performing way better than it did as stock.

P.S. 1: Excuse my mistakes in writing but English is not my main language
P.S. 2: I 'll be happy to see pple contribute by keeping this guide up to date, also pls feel free to contact me or PM me about anything.
P.S. 3: I decided to spice up in the very near future this guide by adding a stage 2 section :D
 
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#2 · (Edited)
As I posted above I had already made my decisions about my GQV tuning. Here are some of the items that I have already bought on their last display BEFORE they get mounted on my car. I should have the car itself on Friday so as you understand within the weekend I ll make the appropriate picture posting :D .

Ragazzon full exhaust system:

Front Pipe:



Center Part with metallic Catalyst Converter 200cpi (folded in 2 parts):





Back Part with twin tailpipes:





And fitted on the car:










Novitec Powerjet 3:



 
#6 ·
#7 ·
My friend, I am fully aware of your efforts and I have been monitoring your thread since the day you made it. Its a really good the job you did to get that exra roar the car is missing, I am still waiting though for something to be developed that will also ensure some extra HP output before I make any moves changing the stock system. If they dont release something soon, I will start experimenting with the BMC universial induction systems but on a dynometer and ofcourse I 'll post results in this thread and inform pple for my progress. Thx to everyone for your good words, I am always availiable for any help or feedback you guys need for improving your G's.
 
#9 ·
Hey Vulgi, Im interested in the Ragaazzon system. Can you please explain to me the different parts of the Ragazzon system:
1. Rear box ... thats ok
2. Metallic catalyst 200 cpsi + centre silencer
3. Stainless steel cat replacement pipe group N
4. Stainless steel centre pipe group N

Which parts did you get apart from the Rear box ?
 
#10 ·
The parts m8 are 3 that you need to use for the full exhaust. Parts 2 and 4 are used alternatively with each other. If you want to put your car in a track you can skip the catalyst completely and use 4. For the street you use 2. So the street legal system I have bought according to your numbering is 1,2+3. The race track system would be 1,3+4. :thumbs:
 
#14 ·
I updated the pictures of previous post and will soon upload more like: Tuning Box fitted on the car, more pictures showing the bottom of the car and better view of the rest of the exhaust. I will also upload the audio file with the Ragazzon sound for the full range of engine's RPM.
 
#16 ·
I just uploaded the rest of the Ragazzon pictures at my post above, from the bottom of the car and the hood showing the exhaust fitted on. Within the week I 'll make and upload the video since I just finished the run in of the car and I can finally use the full RPM range to make it ROAR properly. :thumbs:
 
#17 ·
What BHP figures you getting with that Powerjet 3? Somehow it baffles me how NO tuners has developed a map for the standard ECU yet...like a REVO/GIAC/UNITRONIC/APR for VAG cars...no extra hardware to install to work with the standard ECU...just a modified map upload to the standard ECU.
 
#20 ·
I didn't. I got powerjet 3. It gives as I said 26hp. Novitec | Giulietta | Engine | Novitec Automobile GmbH , Alfa Romeo , Fiat , Ferrari and Maserati Tuning . See for yourself if you don't believe me, this is the official Novitec page. You can get a powerbox with more if you ask for it but you can kiss your engine goodbye sooner or later with more than that. The turbo charger of the QV cannot tolerate more pressure to get that kind of HP added, its too small. To get over 270hp roughly that you get with exhaust, Powerjet and an induction system you definitely need bigger turbo. It gives 42hp though to the 159 - Brera engine and the reason is obvious, it has less HP with the same turbocharger so bigger distance from the "limit".
 
#29 ·
I can answer that with 100% accuracy for the following reason. For one week I only had the backpart of the exhaust on my car because the middle part hadn't arrived yet and hence I couldn't install the downpipe without it. The sound with the back muffler does change (becomes better and deeper) but the huge change took place in sound when I changed the rest of the exhaust. It became a different car in all aspects and especially in the sound department its like you suddenly unleashed all the hidden forces of nature :D.
 
#31 ·
Taking the chance since the conversation has switched to the Novitec Powerjet 3, I would like to offer some feedback about how it feels while driving. My car (I remind that its a GQV that also has full Ragazzon exhaust) has become a bit less responsive at low RPM (up until 2500 rpm) than it used to be but when it reaches that barrier suddenly there is a burst of power that didn't exist at stock setting, which lasts until about 5k rpm. After that I feel no real difference compared to stock ECU function. For more info that can actually be presented by more objective means than my "feel" I will soon take the car to a DYNO to have it tested and post the results.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Ok, the pictures aren't of the best quality since I used my Iphone while my hands where half occupied but they do the job of giving you guys an idea of how the installation goes.









The job is really simple. You have the box and 3 double cables that go to the sensors. Each cable is double because it has the part in which you plug in the original sensor (male) and the part that you plug into the original spot that this sensor was going (female). I attached the box with 5 min of work, some metal and 1 screw on the battery casing and took me another 10 min to attach the sensors (most time it took was because it was 1st time I did it + I wanted to secure everything with tire ups etc.). Lastly, you plug the box to the battery (just one positive and one negative cable that go to the appropriate battery poles) and there you go, you are ready to have some enhanced fun :D .

P.S.: Needless to say, do that with your car turned OFF, no need to take battery off though.

P.S.2: I know I have promised more for this thread which include: Expanding my tuning guide for 2nd stage tuning, audio file for car's sound, dyno results, video of the car on the road. I will come through with everything 1-1, whenever I have time I 'll be adding what I have rdy.
 
#37 ·
Check at the pictures m8, 1 is at the center and back of the engine towards the ECU (you can see that in 1 picture), and the other 2 are rather close together on the right side (as you look at it) of the engine (you can see them in the another picture). All of them + the power connector have been highlighted with red in the pictures. If you still have trouble email me and I ll go through it with you again or I ll send you new photos that show it better.
 
#40 ·
Omw to check it now, I will definitely buy it and test it. I will let you know of the results. From experience though keep in mind that a filter in the original airbox won't produce more than 2-3 HP max and a slight noise change. For bigger results in sound or performance you need new "free flow" type induction.
 
#44 ·
No audio files yet? :(

Interested in buying a twin exhaust but wondering if it's much more noisy than the stock. Would like to sound to be more sporty, but not too loud.
 
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