Making a 1.4 75bhp more responsive

[16vAK]

Bit new to engine mods but what can I do to make the 1.4 16v 75bhp unit output a bit more responsiveness?!?

At a guess a remap wouldnt be worthwhile as i'd imagine i'd only get a 5 bhp increase if that, and would just be a waste of money at the end of the day!

I have a K&N panel filter, and its helped. However, it can still be tempermental at times. Sometimes it feels quite responsive, and somedays its just pure sluggish.

I'm not talking about supercharging it or anything.lol, just wondering what can be done to get more out of it really?

 

[davels]

remap isn't just about power mate, it changes the way the car revs and all sorts of other stuff,
made my 75PS a lor mor resposive on the throttle, and seemed a fair bit quicker also

 

[Nath.]

some time ago I had a mini cooper 1.3 injection

I began modding it with exhaust, filter and chip thing (it was probably a resistor in a fancy box ) plus a few styling goodies

but without doubt the best performance mod was a lightened flywheel that I fitted along with a new clutch that was spent

with the lighter flywheel the engine was way more responsive and the car was noticeably quicker and faster top end

I would do that mod again in a flash but I think the bizza has a duel mass flywheel so maybe not

 

[davels]

beeza's do have a dmf but they can be changed to single i believe

 

[craig_b]

I tried the whole remap thing. Had a ECU map from Revo and it messed up big time. As soon as I hot 4500rpm in any gear the car would stall. Revo could not find an answer for this, so I put it back to stock.

I use High Octane Unleaded Petrol and that makes a difference.
You can do the whole induction kit, exhaust system, improve cold air feed etc. All will cost though!

 

[davels]

I tried the whole remap thing. Had a ECU map from Revo and it messed up big time. As soon as I hot 4500rpm in any gear the car would stall. Revo could not find an answer for this, so I put it back to stock.

I use High Octane Unleaded Petrol and that makes a difference.
You can do the whole induction kit, exhaust system, improve cold air feed etc. All will cost though!

this is exactly what happened to me mate was yours a 1.4, i posted on this when having this trouble with mine before i got the FR, i was told it was nothing to do with the map. it cut out at about 4200RPM in every gear. didn't always stall but revs drop to 0 then returned to normal, thats the reason why i got rid of the car and the reason i haven't got a map on the new one (that and a small issue of the clutch worries)

 

[16vAK]

I tried the whole remap thing. Had a ECU map from Revo and it messed up big time. As soon as I hot 4500rpm in any gear the car would stall. Revo could not find an answer for this, so I put it back to stock.

I use High Octane Unleaded Petrol and that makes a difference.
You can do the whole induction kit, exhaust system, improve cold air feed etc. All will cost though!

Thanks for telling me that mate As I was considering a Revo, but the last thing I want is to cause more problems to the car, especially after shelling out hundreds for the remap itself.

I would assume I would almost definetely experience the same problem.

At the moment I dont have a induction kit but I have a K&N Panel filter. It has improved the responsiveness. I didn't go for a induction kit, as I've heard they reduce performance as opposed to increasing it. I have expereinced this in my old Polo mk4 too, as I had a K&N 57i induction kit and the pickup was noticably reduced.

An exhaust is on the to-do list. I'm not a huge fan of loud raspy exhausts or anything looking aftermarket. Just something neat and just sounds sporty but nothing that makes a car sound like its at 5,000rpm at 30mph when its only 2,000rpm

I've been told a custom exhaust from the likes of Powerflow or Longlife is the way to go, but also heard these can reduce performance too. Anyone experienced their exhaust systems on here?

 

[craig_b]

this is exactly what happened to me mate was yours a 1.4, i posted on this when having this trouble with mine before i got the FR, i was told it was nothing to do with the map. it cut out at about 4200RPM in every gear. didn't always stall but revs drop to 0 then returned to normal, thats the reason why i got rid of the car and the reason i haven't got a map on the new one (that and a small issue of the clutch worries)

Ah Mate, Im so glad someone else has experienced this problem. Can I ask what car it was you had then. Mine is registered 2003!

 

[davels]

Ah Mate, Im so glad someone else has experienced this problem.

oh cheers,
mine was a 1.4 SE 52 plate reged jan 2003 weird huh!
dunno whether it's worth mentioning this in the revo section, its a bit of a coincedance, but i don't think 2 cars really make it a common fault unfortunatly

 

[Scotty_b]

Spend it on coilovers etc mate and make her handle the tits around corners etc. No point going quick in a straight line if you cant keep up in the bends etc.

Also if you really want to push some extra power is cams. Even maybe some nos!

 

[craig_b]

this is a dump question, but what do the coilovers actually do in the handling of the car?

 

[davels]

make it better

 

[loonymoon]

Spend it on coilovers etc mate and make her handle the tits around corners etc. No point going quick in a straight line if you cant keep up in the bends etc.

Also if you really want to push some extra power is cams. Even maybe some nos!

I suppose the question isn't really about making the 1.4 75ps go quick .. let's face it even with all the mods it's never going to be that quick ... however the 1.4 is notoriously bad in the responsiveness department. Is this poor response mainly a complaint with the 75ps or does it also effect the higher powered 1.4's as well I wonder?? Is it a general 1.4 thing?? (I know M0rk has his own opinion on the "crapness" of the 1.4 engine so perhaps he can comment about whether this effects all versions or not!)

Don't get me wrong I love my Ibiza, but had I known I may have gone for the 1.2 over the 1.4 just because it's easier to drive. The 1.4 was a nightmare when I first got it. I did expect it to be slower than my 1.4 fiesta (90bhp) but the low rev throttle response is scarily bad when pulling out at roundabouts etc when you're not used to it. I am now used to mine so it doesn't take me by surprise anymore but... I too would be interested in anything that would make it respond better.

I think someone before on a different thread mentioned that the poor throttle response is controlled by the ECU - so perhaps there's a way of changing it without a full remap... anyone know???

 

[capt.slow]

Revo

I am having a Revo upgrade done to my 1.4 75bhp tomorrow morning and I will post to let you all know the outcome.Hopefully it wil be an improvement.
Interestingly the garage guy mentioned that this upgrade was available at Seat dealers in Greece because of the low down lack of torque issues.I will ask him tomorrow if this was done as a matter of course to all of their newly arrived stock or as an aftersales customer paid for mod.

 

[redcupratdi]

Revo site "Our engineering teams have spent countless hours ensuring that they have delivered to you the most responsive, smoothest and most powerful software available for your chosen application.

Our performance software for the small capacity N/A engines like the 1.4L and 1.6L power plants is designed to give a much better improved throttle response along with a much smoother and slightly increased power curve. Although the peak power and torque figures are minor, the overall driving performance is much enhanced making the vehicle more pleasing to drive

sounds promising!

and 220 quid fair price

also linvestigate to see what different on the 100bhp unit, then mod yours to suit?

 

[davels]

I am having a Revo upgrade done to my 1.4 75bhp tomorrow morning and I will post to let you all know the outcome.Hopefully it wil be an improvement.
Interestingly the garage guy mentioned that this upgrade was available at Seat dealers in Greece because of the low down lack of torque issues.I will ask him tomorrow if this was done as a matter of course to all of their newly arrived stock or as an aftersales customer paid for mod.

i got told this alwell.
when you get it done mate make sure you take it for a full test, to make sure reving over 4200rpm won't make it stall, if poss have you got your ECU code, i've got mine old one on a thread round here someware just to compare. it could just be certain ECU's that struggle

 

[davels]

hers my old ECU code read off the ECU stickers itself
036 906 034 AH
Benzin 4MV 001 4461
23.02.02

IRW4MV. AH
2RH86NNZC L002
don't really know what the numbers mean tho
Craig_b can you post your ECU code up to compare, gonna post a thread in the revo section askin if they have had anymore troubles with 1.4's

 

[capt.slow]

Revo Upgrade

Went to the dealers this morning but he could not do the remap.He did not have a code for my 2005 model on the Revo catalogue.Apparently the code was changed in late 2004.
He is going to contact Revo tomorrow to see if they have a code that may not have been distributed to their dealers yet or if they are working on one.
My ECU number is 036 906 034 HA.
Davels,your number is the same as mine apart from yours is AH at the end.
The dealer said that he would find out what the differences were between the 75 bhp and the 100bhp engines.
Does anybody on here definately know the differences?
The Greece dealers offered a sporty model that included this remap.

 

[davels]

mine could of been HA not AH, might be a typo, but i can't check cos i haven't got the car any more
started a thread in the revo section asking questions about the code but as of yet no replies as i would of thought REVO don't work at the weekends

 

[craig_b]

Revo site "Our engineering teams have spent countless hours ensuring that they have delivered to you the most responsive, smoothest and most powerful software available for your chosen application.

Our performance software for the small capacity N/A engines like the 1.4L and 1.6L power plants is designed to give a much better improved throttle response along with a much smoother and slightly increased power curve. Although the peak power and torque figures are minor, the overall driving performance is much enhanced making the vehicle more pleasing to drive

sounds promising!

and 220 quid fair price

also linvestigate to see what different on the 100bhp unit, then mod yours to suit?

personally i would recommend against it. From my past experience, you can get the same amount of power increase by fitting an induction kit and will be cheaper!