Highish mileage engines how far to tune?

Hi everyone, my car has done 92,000 miles but appears to be in very good mechanical condition, and has just had a new cambelt and tensioners. I am planning on getting a few tuning modifications done, but I don't want to blow up my engine.

How far is it sensible to go tuning wise on a higher mileage engine withough getting a complete engine rebuild?

The mods I had in mind at present are a GTA intake mod, performance exhaust and a red dot remap. Though I may alsoconsider a set of stage 1 C&B cams at a later date if the car is not fast enough after the initial mods.

I am sure a few others are in a similar situation to me mileage wise.

Cheers,

Simon.

Intake, exhaust & mild remap should not be a problem, however if you add high lift cams to the equation then I would recommend a rebuild.That would be the right time to then up the CR, gasflow & port the head, do the valves & balance the lot.
Monstro

as monstro says...

Are you going to decat? If so, think about the fact that the lambdas are before and after the cat.

easily solved though...

depends on how often the oil and filter was changed and if the car has been driven hard as to wether it will take tuning mods. mines got 121 k on the clock and still going strong. ive seen many a motorbike go bang after performance mods cos they've been abused before..like i said it depends on various factors, i used to strip down my mates race bike engine after every 2nd meeting and the amount of wear was scary sometimes

Your engine won't handle it since you've been using that cheapo out of spec engine oil. Unless you bought it at 90k and the previous owner oiled it properly throughout its life.

I'd say it would handle it. It isn't like the diesels. Petrol remaps are only a mild increase. You could even just smooth out the power curve to get rid of the 3K boost sensation!

- IE not actually increasing the HP or torque.

Steady as she goes Symon. Don't sign the girls death warrant.: All things in mod------deration!!! No overstress at her time of life.: Up to you mate, what ever you feel happy with. :

Originally Posted by AlfaRed147

Your engine won't handle it since you've been using that cheapo out of spec engine oil. Unless you bought it at 90k and the previous owner oiled it properly throughout its life.

I don't use cheap oil in any of my cars, even our lawnmower gets decent oil.

I normally use a 5w-40 fully synthetic which is more than adequate for road use.

Originally Posted by symonh2000

I don't use cheap oil in any of my cars, even our lawnmower gets decent oil.

I normally use a 5w-40 fully synthetic which is more than adequate for road use.

I'd certainly enquire. Red Dot even do a check on the cars condition first. Mention it to them for their opinion.

OA

I would start with a cylinder leak down test, this would give a reasonable indication of how healthy the engine is, I would also consider sending a sample of oil for analysis. If either show anything unusual it would be wise to fix the problem before starting to look for more power.

Of course, if you have the money get the engine rebuilt and this allows for much greater freedom in finding greater power

How would I go about sending the oil for analysis?

The oil does look clean after 2000 miles in the engine though, and the car hardly burns any, so I think it will probably be ok.

It was really the big ends, and mains that were my main concern though.

no problems with the mods you are suggesting. when you get to the more serious stuff like fitting a turbo or a compressor you'd be better off with a rebuild. this is not the highest mileage enfgine to get remapped..

Originally Posted by symonh2000

How would I go about sending the oil for analysis?

The oil does look clean after 2000 miles in the engine though, and the car hardly burns any, so I think it will probably be ok.

It was really the big ends, and mains that were my main concern though.

The last time I had the oil checked it was about £25 but this was some time ago, here is a article from Bobistheoilguy http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/whatisoilanalysis.htm

Originally Posted by lowejackson

The last time I had the oil checked it was about £25 but this was some time ago, here is a article from Bobistheoilguy http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/whatisoilanalysis.htm

Thanks mate, I will look into this.

Simon.

Symon your fastidious regard for oils, frequency of changing and so on, should stand you in good stead, just a bit of wear must be there, at that mileage, but if it's mild tweaks, don't be too fazzed about it.: