[plastic penguin]

Not sure if it's the right section. Apologies if it isn't.

I have a 156 SW 1.8TS. The engine is very strong. I'm looking to have the cam belt and variator changed later in the year.

Here's my question: Has anyone tried to 'soup up' their 156s, and if so, what is the best route to go down?

I've been pining for a 156 SW GTA for ages, but good ones are few and far between. Although pimping up a 1.8 engine won't get anywhere near a GTA version performance-wise, I'm interested to know how people have got on with any upgrades.

So, for instance, would changing the cam shaft give a viable difference and/or changing fuel injectors/air filter/exhaust...

Please tell...

Cheers, PP.

 

[David WB]

I looked into this for the 1.6 TS.

The swift conclusion I came to is that modifying an engine this old is a complete waste of time and money, and I should just go and buy a better car with a better engine.

What I felt the TS needed was a supercharger, but there is no way in hell that any car of the 156/147/GT era is worth paying upwards of £3000 for the upgrades.

I really couldn't imagine getting much over 20-40hp for a lower expense set of jobs; remap, exhaust etc...

I guess you could pimp it out like some of the Polish guys and girls do, but they can spend crazy money making modifications to their TS. Waste. Of. Money.

Maybe just search for a 2.5 V6. They are not common cars, but at least you can get some extra power, nice sound, without spending ludicrous amounts of money on a 12-14 year old sorted GTA.

Something like this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...-156-2-5-v6-24v-veloce-sportwagon/5905297?v=c

 

[115686]

There a so many cheaper options out there than tuning a 1.8.

You could stick a 2 litre in.
You could get a 2.5V6
If that isn't enough, you could upgrade it to a 3.0 for not much cash.
If that isn't enough, get a GTA.
If that isn't enoug, then it starts to get expensive.

If you want to keep the 1.8, then chuck money at the handling. Just as rewarding in 99% of driving conditions.

 

[Ber Tony GT]

Yes, you can get just as much fun out of a great handling car as trying to extract more power.

As long as it has some poke to begin with...