Getting more power out of the kv6?
 

Hi folks im on my 3rd 180 now in the past three years and had this one the longest,The thing is every time i sell my 180 i end up buying another miss the car and noise in general, but is there much more can be done with the engine to make it quicker? After an exhaust an poss filter.I really do like these cars but they seem to have a lot of grunt but not much go to go with it at times, ive had a fiat coupe 20v turbo felt a lot quicker at 220bhp 40bhp more than my zs but felt a lot more noticeable and two old 172clios too,but love the zs180 ive got. What would be my next plan of action to just give it a little more go for a v6 guys? Or would it not happen without throwing loads of money at it? Maybe a re-map? Or something? Im no mechanic either, but itd be nice to make it a little quicker,Also is there a way of checking against another 180 its running and performing as it should be folks? Just thought id ask really what to do next,

Cheers kev ,

Sticking a T series in it seems to be the only cheap way of getting power out of it without spending serious cash.

I had Janspeed manifolds, Janspeed 100 cell sports cat and an ex-Judd racing carbon fibre induction kit on my last one and it only made 7bhp over standard!

The V6 is a fantastic smooth engine and it has been said a few times that the handling is second to none for a big saloon, so you can probably have just as much fun with a little less power


As for running if you have a look about the other secitoons on here there are a few things that can rob you of power - the most common being the VIS valves in the intake system. I won't go into it in too much detail here as it's covered extensively in other threads.

I decent exhaust system and an enclosed induction kit would help alot, 10+ Bhp as a rough guide, fitting a lightened flywheel would help get the power down quicker wont increase the BHP though, a bit of a ball ache if you cant fit your self but its one of the best mods for the 180. Not got it in mine yet, but have been in a 180 thats has one fitted and its like a different animal. from what ive read on here a re-map on its own will do little to help bhp, but with the above mods you should see a bigger gain again.




Cheers,
Matt

option 1.
Exhaust, de-cat, induction kit and a remap will yield around 200 max. Not sure if manis will add any more from it, most likely increased torque.

option 2.
option 1 plus 270 cams will probably push it to 215/220 max with a remap but would you use them? Also would you find them plus the verniers?

I would go for the first option and fit a lightened flywheel, great fun :D

Then if you can find option two and happy to pay the money then go for it.

I think the majority know where we can take this engine with current parts, affordability and reliability. Anything is possible if you have the money, the know-how and the patience.

Its also not the number of horses that is important, its the number of horses at the wheels, you will find that the ZS (especially with a lightened flywheel), is one of the best at that.

Someone one here, or Xpower, cant remember who, but put up the figures for the ZS (try searching), and it was surprisingly good, I think it had better power to weight ratio and BHP at wheels than a scooby (due to drive drain lose etc)

So, whilst the the BHP seems low compared to other cars, you have to put them side by side, and the ZS, would hold more than its own against bigger BHP cars.

I know with and exhaust and lightened fly wheel, the car feels very fast, in fact its alot quicker than my TF, that is pushing out the same horse power. The ZS just puts the power down faster, smoother and keeps it going way past what the TF can do.

it was me, link to thread http://www.themgzs.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=23079

the zs with a few mods and lightening will do very well, mods id recommend is lightweight wheels, LSD, decatt, lightweight fly, itg etc not expensive but will transform your car. Did a track day at the weekend and wasnt overtaken, considering i had a 400bhp tvr sagaris behind me at the start a few times and it didnt catch up (more about the driver not being confident than car tho) there was also caterhams v8 triumphs etc there all more than capable than my zs on paper and yet nothing kept near me. its all about putting the power down, zs does this very well. Start with those mods, and you'll find a massive difference with those.

there was also a very quick zs 120 there dont know if he was a forum member?

Has anybody confirmed if Decat's will fail the visual inspection of an MOT these days? I have heard of one or two people failing an mot due to "cat missing"...

In which case isn't a sports cat much better?

Mine passed its mot last month there with its decat, although it does have a 'box' fitted where the cat used to be so a visual inspection would see that and looks like that was enough:)

A box? Do you have any pictures?

My exhaust is a "custom" built one... so I can't even refit a standard cat in place of the stupid decat that is on it lol (stupid because it keeps breaking and I have to constantly fix it)