Questions on air filters, induction kits, manifolds, cams and remaps for my new (old) VTR

[Jaeger]

I've already trawled the forums and google for the basics of what manifolds, cams and re-maps are, just wanna know a few things in relation to getting these for my 2000 VTR, any help appreciated :)

1. An air filter is different to an induction kit right? Mine seems to be aftermarket, cone shaped but no label.
Is there any pro's or con's to having an induction kit over an OEM filter or AM air filter (if they're different that is) as I've read induction kits can lose power for small engined cars, and a VTR isn't huge really..

If induction kits are recommended for VTR's, for the purpose of lining the car up for a re-map down the line, whats the rough figure I'm looking at for one?


2. I've read that 4-2-1's manifolds provide better low end power, and 4-1's better for higher RPM's, I've also read VTR's have decent low end power, so a 4-1 for them is preferable, however 4-1's run the risk of being scraped on the ground if you lower the suspension. Is this all true?


3. What's the rough figure for a decent 4-2-1/4-1 manifold, and do they required specialist fitting or can your local garage fit them? (or even me, but I doubt it!)


4. I've seen new cams for around the £300 on other websites, is there a recommended brand or even type for VTRs, it's all a bit confusing despite trying to make sense of all the products out there, on top of that, are they a b***h to fit and are the gains worth it?


5. All of the above are necessary to re-map a VTR according to what I've read here, and the rolling road maps are the best apparently? What's the bhp gain increase from adding all these onto a VTR, and overall am I looking at a £600+ job?


It's a mouthful, but I can't search anything and all posts beyond a month old seem to be deleted so I can't search further back.

I'd appreciate the help on these, looking forward to seeing where I can take this car :)

[Jack_Norris]

1) there the same. An induction kit will have a air filter. Most people recommend sticking with a original vtr air box. Block the resonator hole and put a K&N, green cotton etc filter panel in them.

If you want to spend more simota or BMC do alternatives that are "better". I've gone for a BMC on my vtr but its purely for looks haven't noticed any difference in performance over the standard with a performance filter setup.

2) the difference between 4-2-1 and 4-1 will most likely be minimal so go for either. Most opt for 4-2-1. If your silly low then you may scrape on bumps but I'm down 40mm and have no problems at all.

3) As for fitting its straight forward but you may want to convert your oil filter to a mk1 setup as theres a better range of manifold for the mk1 setup. Top of the line ones that will give you the most performance are piper and supersprint. I've personally got a Toyosport thats a cheap alternative but I imagine there is a slightly better gain with the more expensive options. Not to mention build quality.

4) Unsure on cams, not done it myself but I think the main choice is Newman ph3 or a catcam varient. Look on Kamracing and there will be a few different options to choose from. Most likely can get a 10bhp gain maybe more with a good map etc.

5) To get the best power wise you will need to remap it. You wont need to remap it if you keep a standard cam and do everything else if you want t go down that route instead. (cheaper but naturally less bhp)
When you fit a cam rebuild the head, get it skimmed etc so you can get the max performance out of it.

The standard ecu can be remapped I'm sure there are plenty of local places that can do it for you best to get it done on a dyno so it can be tweaked to get it how you want it. or look up chipwizards that seemed to be the place to go for a standard ecu remap.

However you will be better off going standalone ECU such as a predator (if you can find one), emerald, omex but this is were it gets expensive. More than the 600 you put up.

At a rough guess it will probably be cost around £1000 to get a remapped vtr engine on the upgraded cam. which will see 115- 125 BHP. This is why so many people go down the 16v route as you can pick up a vts engine that has 120 BHP standard and go from there whereas a vtr engine is maxed out on power unless you want to spend serious money with ITB's or turbos.

Hope this helps.

[Jaeger]

edit: Can't seem to edit to gotta post again, seems to have an after market exhaust too, must be 3" diameter. Unless that's normal on a VTR lol

[Jaeger]

1) there the same. An induction kit will have a air filter. Most people recommend sticking with a original vtr air box. Block the resonator hole and put a K&N, green cotton etc filter panel in them.

If you want to spend more simota or BMC do alternatives that are "better". I've gone for a BMC on my vtr but its purely for looks haven't noticed any difference in performance over the standard with a performance filter setup.

2) the difference between 4-2-1 and 4-1 will most likely be minimal so go for either. Most opt for 4-2-1. If your silly low then you may scrape on bumps but I'm down 40mm and have no problems at all.

3) As for fitting its straight forward but you may want to convert your oil filter to a mk1 setup as theres a better range of manifold for the mk1 setup. Top of the line ones that will give you the most performance are piper and supersprint. I've personally got a Toyosport thats a cheap alternative but I imagine there is a slightly better gain with the more expensive options. Not to mention build quality.

4) Unsure on cams, not done it myself but I think the main choice is Newman ph3 or a catcam varient. Look on Kamracing and there will be a few different options to choose from. Most likely can get a 10bhp gain maybe more with a good map etc.

5) To get the best power wise you will need to remap it. You wont need to remap it if you keep a standard cam and do everything else if you want t go down that route instead. (cheaper but naturally less bhp)
When you fit a cam rebuild the head, get it skimmed etc so you can get the max performance out of it.

The standard ecu can be remapped I'm sure there are plenty of local places that can do it for you best to get it done on a dyno so it can be tweaked to get it how you want it. or look up chipwizards that seemed to be the place to go for a standard ecu remap.

However you will be better off going standalone ECU such as a predator (if you can find one), emerald, omex but this is were it gets expensive. More than the 600 you put up.

At a rough guess it will probably be cost around £1000 to get a remapped vtr engine on the upgraded cam. which will see 115- 125 BHP. This is why so many people go down the 16v route as you can pick up a vts engine that has 120 BHP standard and go from there whereas a vtr engine is maxed out on power unless you want to spend serious money with ITB's or turbos.

Hope this helps.


All in all, that kind of money spent really isn't worth the paltry gains is it :(
I was reading about people doing these mods and following the re-map ending up with 150bhp VTR's lol, probably not true then unless they turbo'd it.

Out of interest the manifold descriptions on eBay talk about phase 1 and 2 compatibility, they're referring to Mk1 and 2 saxo's right?

Thanks man anyway appreciate the help!

[Jack_Norris]

Yes MK1 vtr's have a metal oil filter and a catalytic converter underneath the car.

MK2 vtr's have a plastic oil filter on a bracket and have the cat inside the manifold. Bolt patterns are the same its just the oil filters get in the way on a mk2 with most 4-2-1's.

You can get good power if you have the budget seen some that are on itb's with 150 bhp and I'm pretty sure blackies old turbo's vtr had 200 bhp. Just costs a fair amount to get to it. Which seems like a waste of time on a 8v engine.

All i've done to mine is the fit a BMC induction kit, 4-2-1 manifold, supersprint centre pipe and kam racing back box. Bought some parts second hand so all in I've spent around £400 on those bits. It's a noticable improvement over standard but realistically its only a 5 BHP gain (on a good day). Its fun but I think I'm eventually going to fit a 16v engine as theres more you can do with them.

[Jaeger]

You can get good power if you have the budget seen some that are on itb's with 150 bhp and I'm pretty sure blackies old turbo's vtr had 200 bhp. Just costs a fair amount to get to it. Which seems like a waste of time on a 8v engine.

All i've done to mine is the fit a BMC induction kit, 4-2-1 manifold, supersprint centre pipe and kam racing back box. Bought some parts second hand so all in I've spent around £400 on those bits. It's a noticable improvement over standard but realistically its only a 5 BHP gain (on a good day). Its fun but I think I'm eventually going to fit a 16v engine as theres more you can do with them.

Yeah exactly, and seen as I'm jumping from a 45bhp 1l arosa, 100bhp will feel like McLaren P1 for the first few days lol.

It's nice to think about doing a few things to it, but yeah, the cost is too much for too little gain on the 8v.

I picked up this car for £200 so all in all not bad either way :D