Tuning Questions

[fabulicious]

I've come to realise that the williams was never born to be standard and therefore I'm thinking about applying some performance upgrade/tuning options. Nothing too wild. Something subtle.

I've got these 2 ideas floating around in my head.

1. I buy an engine and ancillaries already modified and drop it into the bay.Job done as such. Doable?

2. Go for cams, remap and some breathing mod's. Main hurdle with this approach is that I would need to travel to the UK to get a proper live remap done.
So my question here is, if I install the cams would the car be drive-able until I get the remap done?
Also, are there any drop in cams,ecu packages that are ready to go without the need for a remap? I'm not interested in benchmarking, just genuine performance gains.

[robi1000]

1.) Doable, but you will also need an ECU already mapped for this tuned engine.

2.) Depends on the cams. You could get away with it on mild cams, but not on something wild. I don't know where you're from, but why don't you map the engine locally?

[fabulicious]

I'm in Dublin Robi. Dont know any mappers here and to be honest the only one I would go to is someone that comes highly recommended by someone I know on this site.
But the mapping is not a priority at this point and time. Choosing the right parts is.
From my reading through the posts it seems avoid piper and perhaps catcams are the business?

Does anyone know if the Group N catalogue is still available?

[robi1000]

Why would you want anything from Gr.N?

You can get Gr.N cams from Catcams, but they are just stock cams with really good tolerances and FIA certificate.

The rest of the engine is pretty much stock, apart from ECU.

Only difference is the exhaust, (and suspension, cage and other non-engine related stuff).

I'd start with a good set of cams (Catcams, exact model depends on what you want). Maybe fit Gr.A scuttle induction system with ITG filter for better breathing and an exhaust manifold and rest of the exhaust system.

Buy a decent standalone ECU (or the one that is recommended by person who's going to map your car) and then enjoy the spec until you're bored and have more money and then you can upgrade to ITBs, supercharger, turbo...

[sclark2604]

Speak to KJ16v.

He can chip and map your ECU by post, although he does suggest a live map for best result, but for what you said you needed and your location this could be a good answer for you.

And he comes very recomended by alot of people on this site, i think theres a sticky somewhere in tech or guides thats worth a read.

Hope this helps.

[fabulicious]

So I should be able to install the cams myself and drive it to the mappers. Great.

In terms of the cams themselves does anyone know if they come with pullies or do you need to buy them separately or use the originals? And whilst on the subject what benefits are there for upgrading the pullies?

I'm a newb so please be gentle with me (gets out the vaseline)

[robi1000]

You have to buy pulleys seperately, but you can get them from Catcams. But don't forget to replace the bolts on the front, because bolt heads are too big and come into contact with cambelt cover. Otherwise they are good pulleys used by many people (including myself).

You need them to set cam timing, otherwise you're limited to the angle difference between two teeth on the stock pulley.

I think pulleys are about 200 pounds new (price could have changed, I bought mine few years ago).

[fabulicious]

Thanks for the feedback on this. Spent an hour going over older posts this morning and lots of feedback about.
Thinking about it, I think it would be best for me to leave it for the experts. Maybe one day I'll book it in somewhere to have it cammed and mapped all in one go.

[Wobba]

Paddy has some cams for sale, an I may have some before long No vernier pulleys though!

[fabulicious]

It's like a candy store this place!yum yum yum
I missed Lunners sale last week :(
What spec are yours Wobba and Paddy's also?