Hi guys,
I'll introduce myself first. My name is Andy from the Portsmouth area of the UK. I've owned the S40 for about 2 getting on to 3 years now. It came from the factory in 1998 as a 2.0T SE (1948cc) and produced 160bhp. I bought it with the intention of modifying it to around the 250bhp mark with the aid of a new turbo (from the T4 motor) a few other bits and bobs along with a remap.
Here's one of the oldest pics I have to hand -
Mmmmm... lovely.. Ok, on with the mods. It wasn't long before the 250bhp "goal" was out the window, a nice 300bhp was in order. In went new cams (from the 2.0n/a model) hybrid turbo, custom FMIC all the piping made by myself (virtually nothing is off the shelf with this car), full 3" turbo back exhaust and 441cc bosch injectors.
As well as the power I wanted it to handle well so it was fitted with KW coilovers, whiteline rear ARB, 17's with good rubber and a rear strutbrace. I also made a few minor exterior mods and I crafted an RS4 front bumper to house the FMIC. The car was looking more like this...
So, off i went to get the car mapped. All was well and the car was amazing. It was put on the rollers (in 3rd gear for some reason) and made ~290bhp and ~340lbs/ft!!! The very next morning was nice and dry and very cold, perfect, I'll give it a little "test" down the motorway to see how its performing.....it came off the motorway like this...
Banana spec rods!!
Now this was the turning point, it all went a little mad from here. Those of you that have rebuilt of engine will know the saying "whilst its out I might as well...."
New rods of course..
But then I might as well fit lower comp pistons...(Phase 2 T4 pistons 8.5:1cr mahle forged OEM)
My standard pistons had valve pockets in them so just in case...
Now the engine is good for much more power, so I might as well.....
(turbo is a Turbotechnics T38)
But I was having traction issues with less power so...
Big power, makes sense to get....
(KAD billet alu 6 pots and AP racing 330mm x28mm dics, alu bells)
All in...
...And off to get mapped again.
Unfortunately I didn't have the time to get the map 100% finished. It was only maxing 1.4/1.5 bar (75% DC on the BCS) and the fueling was only good up to 6500rpm. According the the mapper it was making around the ~375bhp mark on the "butt dyno" (car was mapped on the road).
The car was fast but I wasn't happy with it. The car was smoking a little so i took the turbo off and sent it to CR turbos for a diagnosis. I guessed that the piston rings wern't staggered gap and was leaking a bit of oil. CR took it apart and rebuit it and found it did have the staggered rings (replaced with new anyway) but noticed that I wasn't using an oil restrictor and that was the cause. Sent it back with a restrictor fitted totally FOC!
The manifold I was using was a modified T5 cast one - basically with one of the runners lopped off. I wasn't particularly happy with it so "whilst the turbo is off" I just as well make a tubualar...
I bought a cheap Mitsu Evo 1/2/3 manifold to switch flanges to make fit
Then I was offered a GT2876R, which would suit my car better so I snapped that up...
Whilst all this was going on I thought I'd upgrade the head, so I got a rare Phase 1 T4(t2) head which comes standard with solid lifters and high flow valves..... But as it was out I just as well port it!
I thought it would just be easier to build the engine out of the car so...
Just a random shot of the one or two parts laying about...
And finally, because I chat to Tomislav (Tcode on here) every day when I should be working (like now!) he finally talked me into getting a standalone ECU, obviously biased towards VEMS.
It wasn't long before I had placed my order with Rob (thanks again). I've not done much work with it because I've got LOADS on my plate at the moment - I need an engine in the car to start with! But I've managed to do this..
I'm reluctant to cut out all of my existing loom so I've decided to develop a harness to make the VEMS as "plug and play" as possible and keep the additional wires into the engine bay to a minimum.
As there is almost nothing on the market for performance S/V40 parts I've always tried to make things as simple and effective as possible so I can easily replicate it or use my knowledge to help others. If my manifold is a success I'd like to make a few more and offer it to others that are in my position - likewise for the VEMS harness.
Anyway, I should really get back to work (the MD is just in the next office!) Hope you like the project and expect lots of questions coming from my direction!
Just one more pic -
Cheers, Andy P.
