It should hopefully drive pretty well, along with the engine being rebuilt everything else has been replaced as new too such as driveshafts, hub bearings, wishbones, group N engine mounts, gearbox, clutch etc etc so theres nothing front end that isnt new.

Everything internal to the head was replaced with a little bit of extra work, nothing special, but enough to make a difference. 708's being the biggest non standard addition to the head

Rings were changed as were all bottom end bearings, seals etc etc. It had done just over 90k originally so nothing was half arsed.

I wont be using the car too much myself to begin with as i dont want to use it for work purposes (the AX can do that) but dads going to use it to and from his work and give it a good running in after a thorough warmup.

1.0 engine before so the difference will be rather extreme to say the least.

have you actually drove it since you had the engine in??? ants is all fixed now too :D

Drove it for about 50 miles initially with a KMS ecu/wideband fitted- which was very poor!- the advice given by the company which i bought it off to correct the problem was both inadequate and poor too.- so the KMS was sold and Graham at Xspec motorsport persuaded the people who work with the Hydra EMS to develop it for the Saxo/106 and break out into the European market.

It will be available for anyone else looking for a plug and play Engine Management System.

If anyone has any questions regarding it then Graham at Xspec said he'll welcome any calls so that he can explain fully the benefits which the system has- i can pass on contact info if anyone requires it

map and camming timing need to be spot on tho for a pleasent drive

KMS wouldnt work with my setup as it doesnt work with a standard ICV (stepper motor) hence the 2.5k idle speed.

This can be corrected apparently but after spending over £1,000 on an ECU asking for everything to get it to work perfectly and giving my exact spec list to GMC they came up with the following:

Buy this aftermarket valve which MIGHT cure the problem

To fit said valve you have to drill into the inlet manifold and glue it into place

Then with the ICV you have to manually pull out the valve to a reasonable position/acquire a resonable speed and glue that into place.


For me considering the cost of the KMS id expect it to work pretty damn well for that cost and not be given some piss poor 'bodge it' job suggested solution from GMC.


The Hydra will outclass it in every sense, works with the standard ICV and will be much smoother.

With it being plug and play too it simply plugs into the existing engine loom just like the standard ECU does (so a monkey could connect it) so no labour charged are incurred atall with installation and no adaptor looms are necessary so you know exactly how much it costsas package

Ah right, so will be a tight mother f-er then when mapped, make sure you do plenty of reading into the running in stage of the engine mate. Best way i found was to drive it to the ring and trash it :D lol

KMS can now run a proper ICV (or whatever tb sensor it was that you didnt agree with Matt) for anyone thats concerned - Lol that we just posted this at exactly the same time

any updates on this ?

Matt is in USA Jay told me the other day, so presume they will be when he gets back.

I get the impression it won't be at Trax though....hopefully will be OK.

from talking to matt across this week
its back from tracktive (who make hydras)
getting the finishing touches (and a map)

hopefully it wont be too long till its fully sorted but still no definate date

I can't believe how long it's took.

I honestly can't see it making Trax, which will make Matt gutted I bet.

i rekon itll be there

if not we have been working on something whilst the saxo was away lol

glad to hear its almost done, such a cracking car hes built.

shame with whats all happened but i cant wait to find out the finishing results etc.

cheers for the update guys :y: repped

Evening all, sorry for the quietness of late.

Not a great deal to update on really with regards to the Saxo, the Hydra ECU is now in its final stages of development, just double checking everything and setting the map up perfectly now as all the parts are together and the programme is complete.

It could be finished anytime, just waiting for a call.

As long as its took (and trust me its doing my head in aswel) its one of those times where patience has to be taken.

With it being a brand new ECU setup, the first of its kind for a Saxo/106 and with the intention of making it available to anybody and break into the European market they have to make sure that everything is perfect and it is 100% first time.

Similarly with all the time and money spent on it they know that i want the job to be perfect and not have a rushed conclusion which would benefit nobody.

Im hoping that itll be complete before Trax (although i still need to MOT it and check everything over too before then aswel) but at the same time with alternative transport in the way of the AX, its not the end of the world if i have to hold on a little bit longer.

It will be back :)

so what are you plannin on doing with it? interior change? strip? full time track ?

...giant paper weight? ;)

lol would it fit on desk?

Interior wise im still not 100% sure. If i do decide to move direction from the full interior and strip it then id want to make sure its of the standard inside that Lewisimo achieved with his.

I dont necessarily need it as an everyday car now either and with the new job hopefully starting in the new year i wont want to be doing any long commuting in it. Im keeping the 1.1 AX which i have for that which is an ideal workhorse.

First immediate changes is to change a few suspension and running parts.

Everything front end has been changed for new parts except for the top mounts and top mount bearings so Group N top mounts and new bearings will come in, and whilst the Koni suspension is, in my opinion very good (also comes with lifetime warranty) im hugely tempted to upgrade these to Billies, with firmer faulkner springs or go for coilovers.

A few exterior styling changes will be made too

ive heard not much point in going from standard top mounts to group n if nothing is wrong

if your happy with how it handles then i dont see the point in putting in the billies, personally would get a few track days done to see how it feels and then think bout changing bits if you feel the need

what are the standards of lewis' saxo not see it

This is Lewis' thread, well worth a look, some of the attention to detail is brilliant

http://www.saxperience.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86724

Definately right with trying a few track days etc first to see how it feels, should be spot on, but if anything the top mounts and top mount bearings will be the next thing to require tlc due to being the only original parts left.

Cant wait to get the car back now though, 6 1/2 months since the old engine came out- long time

Yeh last time i was at knockhill there was a rallye going round tussling with 2 Gti's (and some of the bigger cars) and i spent a while trying to guess what the rallye was runing under the bonnet to help it keep up.

Turned out it was just breather mods & Gmax (of all brands) full suspension kit and just being really well driven. Even more to the lads credit is that one of the Gtis was cammed with a BVHead and R888s! Obviously it had the edge round the bends and on the straights but it took a few laps for me to actually spot all the extra power and traction it had! Especially at knockhill since the straight follows like a 140 degree hairpin and the ralleye was always fastest out of it!