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Upgrade Internals?

4K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Doppler 
#1 ·
Hey there, everyone. I'm actually wondering if there's a way for us to upgrade the internals of our engine with lighter, more durable ones. I am interested in keeping my car naturally aspirated and increasing performance through mechanical tuning, like getting to a higher compression ratio, higher revs, less restrictive intake/exhaust, and slightly richer air/fuel mixture. I honestly love the wail of a super-high revving 4 cylinder engine that's properly tuned.

What I'm wondering is are there any places where I could look to see about doing this? I'm serious about making my sedan be more of a sleeper. I know at a certain point I'd need to make the transmission and clutch able to handle increased power while also adding an LSD.

I'm wondering if 250hp at the wheels is possible with a naturally aspirated setup.
 
#2 ·
There are ways to upgrade internals , However the difficulty lies in what you want to do . Sure you can just start throwing bucket loads of money at it and it will magically get built. But at the end of the day you need to find a engine builder who is familiar with the engine. Im assuming you have a 2014 plus sedan , which runs a GDI engine . If its the first gen Forte Sedan then there is more options , Turbokits.com sells a built block already, and there are tonnes of information of building the top end .

So is 250 to the wheel possible , yes it is. Can you do it without a turbo charger .... thats the trick. you can but it won't be cheap.

let us know what year , and model and engine and im sure some answers will start to appear.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I'm on a 2016 LX running the 1.8 MPI engine. If I recall, this one uses the standard fuel injection instead of direct injection. I'd hope that actually opens up options to upgrading it.

I'm not going to throw tons of money at it randomly. I want to build the engine smartly so that it ends up balanced. I know that doing this without a turbocharger will be a challenge, but I want to be able to look at the engine and know it's pretty special. I don't know... maybe it's because I don't see too many small-displacement engines without forced induction that are pushing over 200hp anymore that I want to do this. I love a little engine that screams at high revs, and this one already makes a nice sound at 6250 RPM. Now, I want to have it working well enough to bring it safely to 8000 RPM (the end of the tach).

I'm setting a lofty goal here, but I want to do this after the powertrain warranty expires. With the amount of driving I do, that should take 3.5 years or less. I'm sure by then I'll have a bit better luck. Heck, I may even try to get myself familiar with how this car's powertrain works so I know what I'm getting myself into.

I may have to immediately start looking at forged aluminum internals or better for this kind of application.

EDIT:
I also understand a couple of things I will have to do if I want to make the engine rev to 8000 RPM.
I will absolutely have to reduce restriction in the intake and exhaust system to let the engine get up there. A Cold Air Intake, low restriction intake manifold, low restriction exhaust manifold, high flow catalytic converter, a larger pipe and straighter exhaust system, and a low restriction muffler all necessary. There's even more money I'd have to sink into the car.
 
#4 ·
Hyundai Nu engine Specification:

Displacement: 1.8L (1797cc)
Bore x stroke of 81mm x 87.12mm (offset crank to cylinder bore)
Compression ratio 10.3:1
Power: 148hp (110 kW; 150 PS) @ 6500rpm on 87-Octane
Torque: 131 lb•ft (178 N•m) @ 4700rpm
Redline 6800rpm
Combustion Fuel system: MPI
Valvetrain: Chain driven roller DOHC 16V D-CVVT
Cylinder block & head: Aluminum
Intake: Valve controlled Variable Induction System


Thats the specs on the engine you have . To say over 200 to the wheels isn't going to be that difficult .

However your major challenges are finding internals . Once you find that .... then you need to find a good performance shop that can basically build the engine. ALOT of math gonna have to go into this. Also consider going to 91 or better octane , and try and find someone that can tune the ECU , those two alone can increase HP a fair bit.

aside from that your best bet is to go find a performance shop , sit down , get to know them , buy them lunch and discuss what you want to do. and get a budget set for it.

good luck , dude , keep us up to date on this .
 
#6 ·
Hey, guys.

This isn't going to be happening for a while. I've got my car only at 11.5k miles, and I want to get it to at least the end of the warranties before I go at this. But I will be sticking around these forums, and I'll post on here when this build starts to happen.
 
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