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diesel modiyingguide? Yup, thatsright. Although

diesel cars are still seenas rough-running, smoky,noisy, rep-mobiles here inBlighty, the rest o Europeis one step ahead and hasstarted to make good use othe huge tuning potentialo modern diesels.

Well be talking aboutthe latest generationo common rail dieselengines. While it is possibleto squeeze a ew extrahorses rom the older TDiunits, the real gains are

ound with the newerTDCi range.

Whether you wantjust a little more pokeunder your right oot tomake the daily commutea bit more amusing, orraise a ew eyebrowsby blowing the doorso the latest Japaneseimports, diesel-powercan do it.

Finding someone to carryout these mods can provetricky, but luckily or youweve done all the digging.Read on and get thespanners at the ready.

The rst step to release more

power is a simple remap.

Alterations to some o the ECUs

parameters can see a 20-30 per

cent increase in bhp and a 15-20

per cent increase in torque on an

otherwise actory motor.

There are a number o

ways to remap the ECU.

The actual les that

contain all the ino (or

map) are similar, but the

methods o installing

them dier. The most

popular way to remap the

ECU is to use the cars OBD

(On Board Diagnostics)

port, and upload a revised

map. Units such as the

Bluen, Code:Red,

and orthcoming

DreamScience

and Powerchips

ProFlash hand-

held devices use

this unction to

allow the user to

upload a modied

map, and cost

around 500.

An advantage o

this type o tuning

is that the user

can, i they wish,

put the standard

map back onto

the car. This can

come in handy

with new cars which

are still serviced by

main dealers, as its

quite common or Ford to

release updates or the ECU

which overwrite the existing

map, whether that map be a

standard or revised one. With one

o the hand-held devices the user

can then reload the tuned map,

or put the standard map back on

the car beore it goes to the main

dealer in the rst place.

Custom map

Although the units come with

pre-loaded generic maps, its

possible to upload a bespoke

map. This isnt something thats

needed at the rst level o tune,

and they all work ne with mild

mods such

as exhaust and air lter upgrades.

However, i youre planning on

serious power a custom map will

be needed later.

DreamScience units tend

to be more popular or this

as any DS dealer with the

Advantage III sotware can write

a custom map. Paul Hills at

Engine Advantages will write a

bespoke map or around 350,

whereas a Bluen will need

to go back to the Superchips

HQ or the required map to be

written. Bear in mind that the

Bluen unit is already available

or most o Fords diesel range,

whereas DreamScience units

are still under development, and

the companys ocusing on the

2.2-litre Mondeo ST TDCi beore

releasing units or other models.

Another way to remap is to

fash a revised map onto the

ECU. Collins Perormance oers

this, and it involves overwriting

the existing ino on the standard

ECU with new settings. Power

gains will be similar to those

seen with one o the hand-held

devices, but as the inormationis uploaded using a laptop and

Ford-specic sotware you dont

need the hand-held unit itsel, so

prices tend to be a little cheaper

at around 350, depending on

the model.

As Martin Collins o Collins

Perormance explains: This is

the way Ford put the inormation

on the ECU at the actory, so is

oten seen as the saest way to

remap an ECU.

test and develop

Custom maps are also available

using this method, but the car

will need to go to someone like

Collins Perormance or it to test,

develop and write the map.

The third way to remap the

ECU doesnt actually remove

the existing map. Instead, units

such as the Rapid and P-Box

modules alter the signals rom

the ECU to the injection system

to increase power and torque

levels. Gains and price are similar

to the other methods, ranging

rom 300-500 depending on

the model. The simple plug-and-

play method o installation is

probably the easiest to remove,

but because o how they work,

tuners tend to shy away rom this

method and only use it as a last

resort when uploading a revised

map isnt possible.I we look at the Mondeo ST

TDCi 2.2-litre as an example, you

can see how all the methods

o remapping produce similar

results. The claimed gains o

the Bluen take the power

rom 155bhp to 185bhp, the

DreamScience and ProFlash

units are expected to produce

around 185-190bhp, a

Powerchip re-fash will also

see 185bhp, while a Rapid

module gives about the

same gains with 183bhp.

There are ample to choose

rom, and its down to

preerence and what you

intend to do with the car.

FORD TDCi

TUNING

How to modify

0 1 4 7Fast Fordjuly2008

Wr: Jamie

No longer seen as smoky motorway-munchers, modern diesels haveloads of tuning potential andheres how to extract themost from them

Another way to remapis to fash a revised maponto the ECU.

a

remapping

gofrom70bhptoover350bhp

The TDCi enginernge respondswell to rempping

The TDCi injects minute quntitieso uel into the engine beore themin injectors when sensors detectunnecessry vibrtion. This mkesor very smooth engine

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Although not many people

in the UK have dabbled

with tting bigger turbos

to diesels yet, thankully

our European cousins

have. One example is

David Daniels who owns

Belgian tuning company

Street Perormance. He

has successully tted

what he calls a Stage 1

turbo upgrade to his own

Mondeo ST TDCi.

Most turbos tted to the

Ford TDCi range are VNT

turbos (Variable Nozzle

Turbine), which dier

rom conventional ones.

VNTs eature a series o

movable secondary vanes

in the turbo housing, which

alter the angle and speed

at which the exhaust

gases hit the turbine.

These are so accurate

that most VNTs dont

even require a wastegate,

as the movement o the

secondary vanes can keep

the boost pressures at a

sae level.

The way VNTs work

also allows the use o an

overboost unction, which

means you can temporarily

run extra boost at low

engine speeds when it is

sae to do so, and then

back o the boost as the

engine revs increase. Ford

makes use o this unction

on many standard TDCi

models, and tuners can

exploit this or big results.

The rst stage o turbo

upgrade is a hybrid unit.

On the ST TDCi David

uses a Garrett GT17/21V

It makes more power and

torque than beore with less

strain on the engine.

buy it noW

David can sell you one o

his Stage 1 turbos or just

300, but you will need to

add shipping costs to the UK.

Although David is currently

ocusing on the 2.2-litre

Mondeo ST TDCi engine, the

same principals will apply to

all diesel engines, so drop

him an e-mail to discuss what

options are available or you.

The next step requires an

even bigger turbo. According

to David: Getting power rom

a diesel engine means making

a bigger bang. The more air

you get in, the more power

you will have, but also the

more uel you will need to

stop things melting. The uel

pump on the Mondeo ST TDCi

is capable o supplying uel at

the injectors at 2000bar, and

the standard system only runs

at 1600bar, so there is plenty

o scope to run more boost.

A bigger turbo will require

a dierent exhaust maniold,

and probably a dierent

exhaust system to mate with

the increased size o the

exhaust housing. Initially you

will be able to get away with

standard injectors, but i you

plan to run huge amounts

o boost either modied or

higher-fowing items will

be needed. At present this

remains uncharted territory,

but David hopes to have

0 1 4 9

which has a standard exhaust

housing (as the exhaust

housing actually orms part

o the exhaust maniold on

the ST TDCi) but uses a larger

compressor wheel on the inlet

side. It is similar in size to the

Garrett T35 as ound on the

big-turbo Escort Cosworth,

and allows more airfow at the

standard boost pressure.

This turbo combined

with an intercooler upgrade

and a custom-mapped

DreamScience has seen

Davids car produce 230bhp

and 370lb/t at a reduced

boost level o 1.5bar rom the

previous 1.7bar. He explains:

a 250-300bhp package

available or the ST TDCi by

the summer. He has even

got a 400bhp upgrade on

the cards.

It is possible to produce

even more power rom a

diesel engine by running

two turbos together.

This is well and truly

into competition and

motorsport grounds, so

has the price tag to match,

and is called compound

turbocharging. This

basically involves running

two turbos in series, so

that the raised pressure

output o the rst turbo is

ed into the second, which

increases the pressure

again. With this method it

has been known or racing

diesels to produce up to

9bar o boost pressure

thats a mammoth 130psi.

Getting power rom a diesel enginemeans making a bigger bang.

Another area that needsattention is the intercooler. Onany turbocharged car, diesel orpetrol, reducing the air chargetemps plays a critical part in thepursuit o power. Also, contraryto popular belie, a well designedand better owing intercoolercan reduce turbo lag as well asmassively dropping inlet temps.

As the diesel-tuning scene isso new in the UK fnding o-the-shel replacement intercoolerupgrades is practicallyimpossible. However, thereare a number o companieswho will make a customintercooler and all the necessarypipework to make it ft.Perormance 3000 oers thisservice or around 700, andPro Alloy is also keen to getinvolved with developmentwork or diesel intercoolers.

However, i you own aMondeo ST TDCi there are aew o-the-shel intercoolers,although they are not brandedas diesel intercoolers. Thenew Focus ST uses the sameintercooler as ound in the STTDCi, so the upgrades availableor the Focus will also ft theMondeo. With the capabilityo over 400bhp they should

be more than up to the job.A Pro Alloy uprated Focus STintercooler costs around 550,so are slightly cheaper thancustom jobbies and havealready been proven in theFocus ST market.

Larger intercoolers will allowyou to saely run more boost, soanother remap will be requiredto make the most rom theintercooler upgrade.

The TDCi engines rentmuch to look t, but spoto colour coding cn help

intercoolersturbos

exhaust and air Filter

The next step ater a remap is toget the engine breathing better.An uprated panel flter rom thelikes o K&N is the cheapest andeasiest way to unleash a ewmore bhp. Depending on themodel, prices will vary between

30-50. With no other mods,except the previous remap, youwill see a couple o extra bhp, butdont expect massive gains asyou simply wont get them with apanel flter on its own.

An induction kit may ree up abit more power and vary in pricerom 80-100. A lot o moderncars have extremely crampedengine bays which meaninduction kits can oten suck inhot air and some believe theycan actually lose power over thestandard set-up. Cold air eedsand heat shields are availableto combat this problem, but thebest advice is to speak to a tunerand see what they suggest oryour particular car.

However, combine an upratedair flter with a decent exhaustsystem and you can look orwardto an improvement o around10-15bhp. Again, because dieselsare so new to the UK tuningmarket many o the big names in

perormance exhausts dont yetproduce o-the-shel upgrades.One o the ew is Piper, withits products or the Mk2 Focus,including all the diesel range.Prices start rom 150 or astainless rear section up to450 or an ST replica twin-exit system.

Other than this you will belooking at custom exhaustsystems to get rid o theunwanted gases. This is no badthing as you get an exhaust thatfts your car perectly, and youcan have any combination osingle or twin exit, bore size andtailpipe design you want.

With a custom exhaust youhave the option o a cat-back

or a ull turbo-back systemincluding a de-cat pipe.Perormance 3000 oers acustom exhaust service, andwhile actual costs depend on themodel in question, typical pricesor a cat-back system range rom

300-350 and rom 400-450 or aull system including de-cat pipe.

On the subject o de-cat pipes,unlike petrol-engined cars, thereis only one emissions test ordiesels as part o the MoT, andmost modern diesels will passthis without the use o a catalyticconverter. Perormance 3000sMike Randino explains how ade-cat can actually improve theemissions test results: With acat ftted, when people drivearound town or in trafc thecat can actually gather carbondeposits and start to block up(which hinders perormanceanyway), and then when it comesto the MoT, the tester will holdthe engine at high revs to get

a reading and all the carbondeposits get blown out the backas black smoke. With a de-catpipe ftted this doesnt happen,and it helps perormance too.

Looking once again at ourMondeo ST TDCi example, with

an uprated air flter and ree-owing de-cat exhaust systemyou should be expecting to seeanother 15-20bhp, which whencombined with the remapwill see you with around the200bhp fgure.

This cutwy demonstrtes thevnes in the open position.Compre it with the closed vnesin the pic top let o this pge

Vrible nozzle turbos re trickbits o kit. We reckon theyllend up on more modifed crsover the next ew yers

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0 1 5 0

SPECIALISTS

Code:Red

(Profle Automotive)0161 4069797www.codered-chiptuning.de

CTS01582 840008www.gearboxman.co.uk

DreamScience01482 224433www.dreamscience.co.uk

Perormance 300001935 427554www.perormance3000.com

Piper Exhausts01303 245300www.pipercams.co.uk

Powerchips(Collins Perormance)01260 279604www.powerchips.co.uk

Pro Alloy0845 226 7561www.proalloy.co.uk

Street Perormancedavid@streetperormance.be

Superchips01280 816781www.superchips.co.uk

TyPICAL PrICES

(based on 2.2-litre Mondeo ST TDCi)

Bluefn ..........................500

K&N 57i ........................100

Custom exhaust ....400-450

Uprated intercooler .....550

Stage 1 turbo ...............300

Quaie ATB ....................650

I youre planning a custom enginebuild, or to run a remarkable increasein power and torque then the standardtransmission will need looking at.

Its not the bhp that will causetransmission problems but torque, andmodifed diesels have bucket loads oit, especially i the torque limiter hasbeen removed or tampered with at theremapping stage.

Thankully most o the gearboxesftted to the TDCi range, including theMTX75 and six-speed MMT boxes, havequite strong gear teeth and are notprone to breaking easily.

According to gearbox expertsCompetition Transmission Services:Unless you are running super stickyslicks you have one very useul saetyvalve wheelspin. With the amounto torque diesels produce you areinevitably going to lose traction on theront wheels, which rom the gearboxspoint o view is a good thing as itinstantly relieves the amount o stress ithas to deal with. One thing which is wel lworth doing though is ftting an ATB di,otherwise youll struggle to get any othe power down.

An ATB or the MTX75 box as oundin the Focus models will cost 600, andone or the six-speed Mondeo ST TDCi is650, but will help get the power downand reduce torque-steer.

I you are running big power and usethe car on track or at the drag strip itmay be worth getting the gears shot-peened and super-fnished to ease thelikelihood o stress-related ractures.CTS can take care o this or around400-450.

transmission

Re-map(bhp)

Exhaust andair flter (bhp)

Intercooler(bhp)

Turbo(bhp)

fiesta 1.4 tdC (70bhp) 80-90 90-95 100-110 110-150

fiesta 1.6 tdC (90bhp) 115-120 120-125 125-135 135-180

foCus 1.8 tdC (100bhp) 125-130 130-135 135-145 145-180

foCus 1.8 tdC (115bhp) 135-140 140-145 145-155 155-190

foCus 2.0 tdC (134bhp) 155-160 160-170 170-180 180-220

mondeo 2.0 tdC( 130bhp) 155-160 160-170 170-180 180-230

mondeo 2.2 tdC (155bhp) 185-190 190-200 200-220 220-350

Running bigger turbos andincreased boost will otenmean the need or seriousinternal engine modifcations,which come with a seriouslyhety price tag. In principalthe same modifcationscan be made to a dieselengine as a petrol one, butthe limiting actor is theavailability o perormanceparts meaning expensive,bespoke components otenhave to be used.

As with petrol engines,porting and polishing thehead will ree up a ew morebhp, as will ftting dierentprofle camshats and biggervalves. The only problemis that no-one currentlyproduces perormance partslike these or the diesel range,so you would either need tohave them custom made, orsee what other existing itemsare available and modiy themto suit.

The same is true o thebottom end. H-beam conrods and orged pistonswill aid reliability and willprobably be needed whenthe standard power outputhas been increased by 50per cent or more. However,these will set you backaround 2000 alone, withoutall the other necessary parts,machining work, and bespokemapping needed or a customengine build.

custom engine Builds

The ollowing table gives an indication

o what power levels you can expect to

see at each o the dierent stages o tune.

The fgures are based on accumulative

modifcations, and are estimates only. Theactual power output o your car may vary, and

will depend on the modifcations made.

Even the 1.4 TDCicn be mde into n

impressive perormer

hoW much?

fastfaCt

TheTDin TDCistandsforTurboDiesel,theCreferstotheenginebeingCommonRail.

1.4litre 1.6litre 2.0litre 2.2litre

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