astra mk2 1.4l

[george124uk]

any suggestions on how to modify the engine up ive had it sinse feb this year but ive not got round to the engine yet.

[astrasteve23]

small, cheaper mods wise:
-k&n bolt on(£60) or cut a couple of holes in the back of the air box and scrap the standard cold air feed and get some 4" pipe and run from the bottom of bumper straight into the front of the airbox(£5) and a k&n element for air box(£30ish)
-webber 32/34 carb - £50-£200
-after market exhaust system - £100-£300
-4 branch manifold - £100
-advance the ignition timing slightly on the distributor - £free.
-uprate plugs and leads - £60
-i've been told that a 1.2 nova head will gain a few bhp more from a 1.4!? dont really know much about it tho.
bigger more expensive:
-twin carbs - £200-£500
-high lift cam - £200ish+
-head work - £dont know
-lightening&balancing - £dont know
-engine transplant! - £50-£1500

i have a standard carb on mine at the mo with a modified air box with 4" cold air feed with a standard filter, standard 4-2-1 manifold, powerflow s/s twin box exhaust system, advanced the ignition timing slightly on the distributor, and have uprated the plugs, and its going to be rolling roaded for a power print out this sat at POWERSTATION in Cheltenham, for the mig s/w r/r so i will let you know what it gets! im hoping to get around the 85bhp mark and around 85lb/ft of torque!
standard figures for the 1.4 are 75bhp at 5600rpm and 79.7lb/ft of torque at 3000rpm!

[Brett]

best thing you can do is upgrade, for example I know someone with a 1.8i 112bhp lump for £50.... thats less than a K&N for the 1.4.....

without sounding harsh I never considered tuning my 1.3 Astra (MK1) I just looked at getting a 2.0i 8v for it. Its just not worth it for the pitiful returns you get compared to what you invest.

[george124uk]

thanx astrasteve23 ill try the airbox mod and see how that goes.

[astrasteve23]

the 4" pipe i used is flexy flue pipe as used on gas fires etc. can prob get it from most DIY stores and builders merchants and it fits perfectly over the cold air feed on the front of the airbox. as i said it is flexy and shapes and bends easily! what is your e-mail address? i will send you some pics.

[george124uk]

pics would be appreciated. thanx steve

[astrasteve23]

ok ill try and get some tomorrow for you.

[astrasteve23]

oh yeah had the astra on the rollers today at powerstation in cheltenham with mig, it got 79.5bhp at 6190rpm at the flywheel (113mph) and 39.5bhp at the wheels and 78 lb.ft of torque at 3640 rpm (66mph), they took it to 6430 rpm (117mph) (4th gear)
everyone thinks it was under-reading. i was quite happy with my result, thought i may of got slightly more tho!

[caul pope]

Is that a 'starmist' astrasteve? The greates vauxhall ever produced hee hee
I to have a 1.4, had it for 8 years now. I keep toying with the idea of tuning it but never got round to it and I'm not sure how much longer the thing will last if i do! Good to hear it has 75bhp standard, thought it would be less than that, still slow as feck though!

[Brett]

Steve's 1.4 is fast! I dont understand it but I can pass more powerful cars (supposedly) than his a lot easier than I can him.

[astrasteve23]

Is that a 'starmist' astrasteve? The greates vauxhall ever produced hee hee
I to have a 1.4, had it for 8 years now. I keep toying with the idea of tuning it but never got round to it and I'm not sure how much longer the thing will last if i do! Good to hear it has 75bhp standard, thought it would be less than that, still slow as feck though!

its an LX model. is yours the 1.4 carb engine or a 1.4i (spi) engine? i think they fitted the 1.4spi (60bhp) engine to a few of the last mk2's. (j plates) and the spi's are slugs! mine goes really well tho! it shocks a lot of people! how many miles has yours done? mine has done about 98k and still goin strong, my old mk3 1.4spi done 154000miles and i never had a serious problem with it and it used to get ragged to the rev limmiter every day of its life for the 32000 miles i done in it! if you change the oil and filter every 6k and dont rag it when the engine is cold it will go on for ever! i know of someone who done 254k in there 1.4carb mk2 and only had to do the head gasket and sold it on a few years ago and still see's it about! they are quite tuneable engines too!

[dethstar]

i had a 1.4 carb with the magical "starmist" extras. still got the seats in my gte.

shockingly spritely engine for a 1.4.

The 1.2 head raises the compression ratio and therefore adds a few bhp. i found the k&n bolt on airfilter ok made it run a bit lumpy on idle but good induction noise (got it on ebay £10).

[astrasteve23]

i had a 1.4 carb with the magical "starmist" extras. still got the seats in my gte.

shockingly spritely engine for a 1.4.

The 1.2 head raises the compression ratio and therefore adds a few bhp. i found the k&n bolt on airfilter ok made it run a bit lumpy on idle but good induction noise (got it on ebay £10).

yeah i was told a 1.2 head will gain a few more bhp but i wasn't told how they were different! do they have bigger inlet/outlet ports or bigger valves or do they just raise the c/r? i have also been told that a 1.3 head will gain bhp! are they the same head? if they are different does anyone no how? also a 1.4mpi head (c14se) i know has bigger valves and highers the c/r. which one would be best to use?

[caul pope]

Alrighty guys. Yeah Steve I've got the 1.4 carb model on a H reg (91 me thinks) had it since I was 17, 8 whole years ago. Its done 126k now.
I'll try and put some pics in the gallery soon. I've toyed with it a lot over the years but not the engine, oh apart from a manual choke kit - whoooo!
Become very attached to it over the years, but how I'd love a ........
Mk4 GSI! Sorry I mean a mint Mk2 'Champion' :D

[george124uk]

astrasteve23 did u get those pics yet
:)

[astrasteve23]

oh sorry i forgot! i will tomorrow!

[george124uk]

no probs m8

[astrasteve23]

here some pics mate, i remembered!

[astrasteve23]

some more!

[Gander]

As Brett has already mentioned, the most cost effective way to an increase in power is an Engine swap.
What is your situation, are you old enough to insure a larger engine?

[caul pope]

Cool pics steve, and those mods are almost free! very tempting, and if it I'm not keen a quick and cheap visit to the scrappies will take it back to square one.

[george124uk]

it would cost too much to much to insure just now .ive always went through my dads insurance ,until recently . regrett it now though im paying £630 a year for a 1.4L :(

[george124uk]

thanks steve ill try this at the weekend and see how it goes, have u just tucked the red vacume pipe into the flue pipe? why the hole at the back what does that do? thanx again for the pics mate apreciated.

[astrasteve23]

thanks steve ill try this at the weekend and see how it goes, have u just tucked the red vacume pipe into the flue pipe? why the hole at the back what does that do? thanx again for the pics mate apreciated.


i screwed a small screw into the vacume tube and just tucked it into an existing small hole in the bottom of the airbox where the air feed is. the 2 holes in the back allow more air to get in a also makes a louder induction noise at high revs the same as a k&n bolt on filter does on this engine! i tried a k&n on it and i didnt like it, didnt feel any different, it just took in all the hot air from the engine! the airbox prevents hot air gettin in! its also cheaper and better in my opinion!

[george124uk]

cheers steve.

[Gander]

it would cost too much to much to insure just now .ive always went through my dads insurance ,until recently . regrett it now though im paying £630 a year for a 1.4L :(
Ahh I see, cost effective mods like Steve has done will be best then.

Don't just focus on the engine though, if you can out brake and out handle similar sized cars then what you loose with regards to engine capacity and power on the straights will be gained in the corners thanks to later braking and higher speeds through corners:D

A strut brace will make a massive difference to handling for minimal outlay (circa £40). Pound for pound its the best handling upgrade you can buy!
Talk to Rob@RSC to see what he can do with regards to a strut brace and a suspension kit, also try Online Auto Sport (http://www.tuning.co.uk/vauxshop/) for suspension.

As for brakes, bleed them through with fresh fluid but the most cost effective upgrade is to get down a scrappie and get some ATE calipers, almost all 2l cavs have these ATE callipers with 256mm vented disks. The difference it will make to your brakes is incredible. An important thing to remember though it that the larger disks and callipers will require larger wheels to fit over them either go for some steels from a 2l cav or hunt down a cheep set of 15" alloys:cool:

[george124uk]

Cheers steve done the airbox on friday . i havnt put the flexy pipe on yet ,i took off the nasty metal part and put a mesh cover on the front of the box, i cut 1 hole between the clips at the back.i dont know about more power but it sounds DAMNNNN good.should i put another hole in the back of the box.and do i need an air filter as i opened it an i remembed i took it out months ago an i cant think what the hell i done with it?

[astrasteve23]

yeah cut another hole in the back! yes get a K&N element for it. now you have the holes in it etc. all the crap will get in. i think K&N elements are about £30ish. they sound good at high revs. have you got any pipe yet? make sure you get 4" pipe its a perfect fit!

[george124uk]

ill get the pipe soon as poss, what do u reckon the milage will be as it ran at 10p per mile before?will a standard filter be ok for now?

[george124uk]

:mad: had a bit of a setback on thurs night some little shits slashed 2 of my tyres. i only put the alloys on on tuesday , had to put 4 steel wheels back on till i get new tyres :mad:

[astrasteve23]

what little cun+s! yeah a standard air filter will be fine for now, mine doesn't use any more fuel if i drive sensible, but havin the extra induction noise makes you want to put your foot down! so if you used to drive with a light right foot and now its a heavy right foot you are gonna use more fuel!

[astramike]

Hi my engaine is totaly bogg standard, and i want a nice sound from my engaine so wud it be fine just to cut a few holes in the back of my air box and leave it as that ???? and wud i get a diffent sound from my engaine ???????

cheers,mike.

[astrasteve23]

Hi my engaine is totaly bogg standard, and i want a nice sound from my engaine so wud it be fine just to cut a few holes in the back of my air box and leave it as that ???? and wud i get a diffent sound from my engaine ???????

cheers,mike.

yeah it would make it slightly louder at low rev's and a lot louder at 4500rpm+ cut to holes in the back and replace the filter if its grubby, idealy with a K&N replacement element, they are about £30