WORKSHOP BLOG
Phil dropped his Focus RS race car off to us with a few clutch issues, we decided that it would be best to replace the whole worn clutch and flywheel set up with a new performance clutch and flywheel that should stand up to the abuse that it will be getting
We had this classic Impreza CG8 in a few weeks back for some tuning work, unfortunately due to the problems that the vehicle was having due to a stock ECU fault we were unable to tune the vehicle on a Unichip piggyback ECU, the owner decided that due to the fact that he was building another fully forged engine to go in the car at a later date that he would go for the Link G4X plug in ECU, we supplied and fitted the ECU along with 3 port boost solenoid and then were able to get it onto the rollers to tune, a very nice usable +300bhp from a relatively stock vehicle, injectors were the limiting factor not allowing us to increase the power more than we did. However we look forward to seeing the car back next year with the new engine, turbo and injector set up in and we can see what it can really do. Many thanks to John for bringing his vehicle to us to tune and pleased to know it going well.
PRE-LOCKDOWN, we had Martins E36 Touring brought to us, unfortunately he had run into some problems with his previous tuner and asked if we would take a look at the car, we are pleased to say that after some extensive calibration work and a number of mechanical gremlins rectified including a failed supercharger we were finally able to make just shy of 500bhp, this is one lively touring.
We had this stunning original E39 M5 in last week for a run and check over on the dyno. Still looks as goes as well as it did when it left the factory over 20 years ago
PRE LOCKDOWN RT FLASH REMAP ON THIS 2.0TDI VW TIGAUN. PERFORMANCE GAINS OF 35BHP AND 65NM.
Big powered ultra rare nissan stagea autech 260 RS in here from Harlow Jap Autos for a dyno run.
Been so busy here at Redline Tuning trying to play catch up, we nearly forgot a few of the cars that have been coming in, one of which was the cracking R32 track/race car in from Harlow Jap Autos for a quick run up on the dyno.
Chris was so impressed with how is 330d was after being mapped that he brought his 220d down the next day for us to remap, another happy customer, many thanks for your custom.
Chris brought his 330d down to us to have remapped, these 330s's already perform very well however the gains from a remap truly transform how they drive, gaining 60bhp and 80nm Chris was so happy with how it now drives.
WELL OVER 1000 BHP COMING FROM THESE TWO MITSUBISHI EVO 9'S,
HAD BOTH OF THESE ON THE ROLLERS LAST WEEK MAKING OVER 500 BHP EACH.
Another big powered R32 GTR in last week for mapping on Link GT4+ECU after running in process following a engine build from our friends at RK Tuning, Ibrahim's stunning GTR now making an impressive 717BHP.
Last week Kyle brought in his R32 GTR for some tuning, running on a LINK G4+ ECU, it was a long day on the rollers chasing problem after problem which isn't unusual on these high powered cars however by the end of the day the result was nearly 670BHP, hopefully we will see Kyle back in the future when we can try and up the power some more!
Mini Cooper S in here at Redline Tuning for Stage 1 performance remap on the rolling road.
We had this Westfield Kit Car in a few weeks back for a setup following installation of a
Ford Duratec and a NODIZ Pro to control the ignition.
Had this fiesta brought into us here at Redline Tuning from one of the guys down at MotorAid in Basildon, unfortunately he had previously had the car mapped by a mobile tuner and there had been some issues with the car, the car was returned to standard and with the exhaust and air filter fitted we were able to carry out a stage 1 performance map on the rollers taking the car to 220 bhp, the car felt and drove very well and there was no starting or smoking issues that they had previously had, a very happy customer.
The Iconic Toyota MR2 Turbo, the 2 generation was released at the very end of the 80’s, powered by the legendary 3s-gte these compact lightweight mid engine rear wheel drive cars were great when they were released and so is this one now.
The customer had recently purchased the car, visually from what we could see the vehicle for fairly stock however the aftermarket exhaust system and uprated intercooler kit meant that the car should be able to produce a bit more power, the car also had fitted an old boost controller.
Firstly we got the car onto the rolling road and did some power runs to see how the car was performing, the car was producing more than standard due to the upgrades however the boost controller was not functioning properly, as with most Japanese vehicles of this age the stock ECU is not tuneable meaning that tuning the vehicle can often be a costly process involving costly standalone ECU’s, however after discussing with the customer we agreed that the best option would be to go with a Unichip Q+ installation, this would allow us to properly tune the vehicle for the modifications in place getting the most power and torque from the engine safely, rather than just turning the boost up on a new boost controller, the vehicle was calibrated with closed loop boost control and we fitted a hi/low boost switch allowing in car boost adjustment.
With the Unichip fitted it allowed us to turn up the power and now over 300bhp and ft lb of torque is now accessible at the flick of a switch, making this car not only look fast it goes fast as well.
We get the joys here at Redline Tuning on getting to see the cars you rarely see on the road, the 300zx or Fairlady Z is one of those cars, always overshadowed by the legendary SKYLINE there is still a very popular following for these 300s, unfortunately this one came to us not running on all six, after some diagnostics check we found out that there was a faulty injector and the ever so troublesome ignition amp was faulty.
Unfortunately the location of the injectors on the VG30DETT are not the easiest to access, meaning that you have to strip off the inlet manifold to gain access to them, not only this you are dealing with a car that is the best part of 30 years old that hasn’t been touched from the day it was built. Once removed we were able to get the injectors out, we were able to source from a 300zx specialist some replacement injectors, we then with our in house ASNU injector machine were able to clean, test and flow match the injectors we had so we had a perfect set of 6, these were then fitted with new seals and with new gaskets we were able to get the car back together.
The faulty ignition amp is a known problem on these z32’s so you are able to purchase a new style replacement kit, these do come from the US but are a simple to install. Now that the car was all back together we were able to turn the key and hear the V6 burst into life running on all 6 now.
The Toyota Corolla AE86, one of the most iconic Japanese sports cars, this was brought into us by one of our good customer Conner, the car had a number of modifications that had been done to it along with a old Japanese ECU, unfortunately with the car being nearly 30 years old it had developed a number of issues, the old deteriorating wiring loom wasn’t helping matter either and the customer had had enough of the intermittent non starting so it was decided that it was time for an upgrade.
We decided first to get the car onto the rollers and see what it was actually producing as it stood, power was coming back at 122 bhp a little lower than stock and with the supposed engine modifications was rather disappointing, we then set about stripping down and removing the old stock wiring harness and the ECU.
As per usual we opted to use a LINK as the ECU choice and the LINK ATOM X would do the job quite nicely, we constructed a complete new custom wiring harness to go with this incorporating coil on plug conversion as well as making a number of modifications that would allow the Atom to control everything that we needed to, once completed the ECU and wiring harness were fitted to the car and it was time for some mapping, once we got the car started we got it back onto the dyno and along with some cam timing adjustments we managed to get an increase of 30 bhp from the car taking it from 122 to 152 quite an impressive gain but more importantly for the customer the car starts and runs first time every time now it is on the new set up.
Been so busy here over the last few weeks, had this cracking CG8 Impreza in for a dyno run and service check over prior to having a track day.
We are particularly partial to a Impreza here at Unichip Europe especially a Wagon.
The owner has spend a lot of time and money restoring this car to how it left the factory nearly 25 years ago, it had just undergone a complete full respray and is looking amazing, the owner thought that not only should it look good, it should go a bit better, from its stock form, the customer had added a full exhaust system, front mount intercooler set up, induction kit, upgraded IHI turbo from a later version.
With all these modifications in place the only way to get the most out of the car was to go for a Unichip Q+ ECU installation which would allow us to live map the vehicle for the modifications in place.
Once the ECU had been wired in and a base map loaded, it was time to get the car onto the dyno and strapped down for some tuning, the customer also wanted to make use of the switchable maps so we installed a 3 port boost solenoid and a 2 way toggle switch so that the maps could be changed at the flick of a switch.
RANGE ROVER SPORT in here at Redline Tuning for Stage 1 performance remap, stunning looking vehicle
Had this Series 2 RS Turbo in last week, originally in to go on the dyno and to set up the new cam that the customer had had fitted, in was soon apparent that this wasn't going to be a quick redialling of the camshaft.
The vehicle was down on power massively after some further investigation the turbo was found to be seriously worn and in need of a rebuild.
Bernie's Blowers sorted us out quickly with a refurbished unit and we were able to get it back on the car.
Along with a new battery and fuel pump and a fresh tank of fuel we got the car back on the rollers and the car was running spot on.
One of our regular customers in here at Redline Tuning last week for a check over and replacement Walbro Fuel Pump. Filter had seen better days so good time to change it.
Had this classic Sierra Cosworth in here at Unichip Europe last week for Unichip Q+ installation complete with boost control to allow for the fine tuning on the modifications that had been done.
Mitsubishi 5 & 6 in over the last week, the 5 was in for a power run and a check over before tuning and the 6 was a 600 bhp build we did a few years ago in for MOT and servicing.
300C in a week ago for a stage 1 remap, performance gains of 35bhp and 65nm.
Will grab a picture of the front of this car when it comes back in next week. We had this amazingly styled Rocket Bunny R33 in last week on the dyno for some tuning following recent engine and turbo upgrade.
Was nice to see the Lotus Evora S that we carried out a full turbo conversion on a few years ago. In for service, mot and a check over, still going very well indeed, customer had added some colour to the car which really does set it off now, forgot how much of a punch this had.
We see a few of these here at Redline Tuning, and i personally like them a lot, customer wanted a side mounted pillar pod to show oil temperature, pressure and a boost gauge, as there wasn't one available off the shelf for his sti we had there original sent off and made into a triple to mount his gauges, what a good job they did to.
Renault Clio 172 track car in here at Redline Tuning for geometry set up/ corner weighting.
Just playing catch up here at Redline Tuning, we have been incredibly busy we nearly forgot about this cracking EVO 9 running on a Link G4+ we had in for full mapping, customer was thrilled with how his car now drove.
We have been very busy here at Redline Tuning and thought we would give you an update on a few cars we have had in, we had Paul in a few weeks ago with his saxo for mapping following a fresh engine build, made some good power, fingers crossed testing went well.
Just had this Aston Martin dropped off by one of our customers, he had purchased the vehicle and wasn't sure it was putting out the power it should, after a few checks and putting it onto the rollers we soon found out this was correct, the vehicle was down on power, after some fault finding the problems was found the catalytic converters were in bad shape and had started to fall apart causing a restriction, we decided that it was best just to simply remove them and fit a couple of custom decat pipes, once installed it was back on the rollers, not only has the missing power been found it now has the added benefit of a few more pops, bangs and some flames. (graph showing the power before and after the blocked cats were removed).
Another Link G4+ getting installed on this Mitsubishi EVO 8 FQ 300. The Link G4+ plug in board that is available for the evo is a simple plug in board, we removed the ECU from the car, pulled the stock board out and popped the new board in, connected up the vacuum line for the on board Map sensor and got it strapped onto the rollers, customer wanted to retain the aftermarket boost controller that he already had fitted, once it was mapped with some boost going through it it made a nice usable 458 bhp & 420 ftlb.
STUCK PISTONS!!! We are seeing this more and more lately especially on the Brembo 4 pots that are fitted to a couple of the SRT8's we look after. The customer was concerned that his car was making some noises and pulling to one side, we got the car in and onto the ramp, where we quickly discovered that the pads were down to the metal, however only on one side and uneven, after closer inspection we found that 3 out of the 4 pistons were seized, 2 completely solid and the braking on that wheel was being done from 1 piston hence the uneven pad wear and noise. A replacement caliper would have cost well over £1000 and was a week or so wait, so we said to the customer as long as we can remove the pistons and the caliper itself inst damaged we can rebuild them for him. After quite some time we managed to free the stuck 3 pistons, cleaned the calipers up, sourced new replacement pistons, seals and dust seals and rebuilt the caliper, as the pads and discs were also shot they had a nice fresh new set fitted, once everything was back on and bleed up, quick test drive everything was good. If your car is running any sort of aftermarket or upgrade ie Brembo 4/6 pot it is definitely worth keeping an eye on your brakes to make sure they are all free and working properly, usually we find that it is the outer dust seal that deteriorates and splits which then leads to the plating on the piston being corroded and then the piston starts to seize in the caliper, obviously if caught early its a fairly simple cheaper alternative to having to replace the calipers.
Out with the old, in with the new, the customer of this Peugeot 106 race car decided it was time to ditch the old tired wiring loom and have a nice new one made. Having wiring issues on a race car can cause big problems and can make the difference of winning or loosing.
So with the wiring loom being the best part of 20 years old it was time for it to be replaced, plugs and pins get brittle and start snapping as well as the wire itself becoming brittle and degrading.
We make custom wiring looms for all cars in house here at Redline Tuning, with different choices of over braid or heat shrink for Motorsport application so not only will it do the job properly it looks good to.
As you all will know we work on a huge variety of vehicles here at Redline Tuning, here we have another 90's beast the Nissan 300ZX or Fairlady Z. We had this dropped of from another customer of ours who couldn't pinpoint the problem, it was having running problems, intermittent running issues and cutting out, non starting etc, after doing some checks on it we identified the ignition AMP to be at fault, not surprising really considering its bigger brother the Skyline has the same issues as well, once a replacement was sourced and fitted all was well again.
Another Rare Japanese 90's Classic in here at Redline Tuning, we had this Toyota Celica ST185 GT4 in last week to get up and running on a Link G4+ ECU set up, 3 map sensor and boost control, customer had had some bad luck with the car following a lengthily rebuild, once up and running got it onto the dyno and strapped down, started calibration however unfortunately we had clutch slipping issues so had to abort, hopefully he get get a replacement clutch in and we can finish off the job.
We had the Japanese Classic in this week here at Redline Tuning, this 280z as you can see has had a RB25 conversion done. The customer had brought it to us after having some running issues with it, spark plugs kept fouling up, cold start issues and general poor running, we got it on the dyno and run it up and confirmed what we thought, not the best tune and to add to this the car had been fitted with a Z32 air flow meter which seems to be the in thing for modifying these with big power, however the car was only running 316 BHP, so the need for the Z32 AFM wasn't necessary, why you might say? well it makes the calibration far less accurate loosing the resolution on the map, basically leading to a poor driving vehicle, we suggested to the customer that re calibrating the car with the Z32 on it although we would improve it, it would be far more beneficial to them if we changed the AFM back to stock RB25 as the car would drive so much nicer, especially as the customer wasnt after lots of power.
We managed to source a AFM from RK Tuning and installed it onto the vehicle. We then started from scratch and recalibated the Power FC. The results speak for themselves as you can see on the dyno graph from the power curve, better all round, better drivability, better cold start, no more spark plugs fouling and even a bit more power for the customer, the boost wasn't changed as it is just running on waste gate pressure.
Nearly forgot this one!! one of our regulars, who absolutely loves his fords popped in the other day with this stunning green MK1 mexico for a quick check over before its strip down, we will keep you informed on the progress of this beauty.
Winter in certainly upon us!! remember to keep your vehicles serviced and maintained, simple checks such as a battery test are often overlooked when servicing and can save you from not being able to start your car on a icy winters morning.
Another "AWESOME" looking car from Harlow Jap Imports, we had this S13 180SX in a few weeks ago for a check over on the dyno, making some serious power from the SR20.
Here at Unichip Europe we get to work on such a verity of vehicles as the Unichip is a universal product.
Last week we had in quite a rare car the Rover 200 BRM, this was a top of the range version powered by the 1.8VVC k- series with a few very noticeable features, most obvious is the bright orange front grill, and red leather interior.
The customer had recently just finished doing some restoration on the car and wanted to get the most from it whilst keeping it stock.
We supplied and fitted the base Unichip Q and got the car onto the rollers, now it is a fact there is going to be minimal performance gains to be had from a small stock NA engine however we managed to extract from 4200 rpm 8 FTLB torque and from 5k nearly 10 BHP through to the redline.
This doesn't sound a lot but the customer was very happy with the gains and said the pickup had vastly improved.
Obviously in the future the customer may wish to change the exhaust and intake system, possibly upgraded camshafts or full engine rebuild all of which the Unichip can cater for.
A very popular car for the Unichip installation are the Mitsubishi Evolution's, as with most Japanese vehicles the stock ECU cannot be mapped or limited in later models.
The customer had made a number of modifications to this stock GSR, upgraded turbo & manifold, full exhaust system upgraded intercooler and intake, upgraded fuel pump and reg. We supplied and fitted and Unichip Q+ which allowed us to custom live map the vehicle on the dyno for the modifications in place, we also set up in car adjustable hi/low boost at the flick of a switch.
Power was limited to just over 360 bhp and 340 ftlb, due to having a week actuator, hopefully we will see the car back in the coming months with a stronger actuator and can run some more boost.
SUPERCHARGED SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT
The owner of this Suzuki Swift Sport had decided that the 123 bhp that it left the factory with just didn't do the job, the car has had a number of modifications done to it to improve the performance from the 1.6 vvt engine, however only so much can be achieved from simple bolt on modifications.
Clearly a lot more power was wanted by the customer, so they decided to add a supercharger setup to the engine. Now the stock ECU on these cars like most of the Japanese market is unable to be tuned to compensate for the supercharger, so they opted to go for the Unichip route. We supplied and fitted a Unichip Q+ and an Injection overdrive module to let us safely tune the vehicle, its now making 183 bhp, we expect to see the car back in the future when we will be able to do some more tuning, including raising the rev limit which should see us able to get more power from it.
Certainly one impressive little car which should surprise a few people, in its current state gaining over 60 bhp.
We had this retro Toyota Corolla in last week, the customer had fitted a 4A-GE engine and had opted to ditch the stock injection system and fit a set of Honda bike carbs.
To control the ignition system they had opted for the ME Nodiz Pro which would do the job nicely and is very reasonably priced, once on the rollers we tuned the ignition system, the little 1600 sounded great!!
Another "TANGO" Ford Focus ST 225 in here for a custom stage 2 remap after having uprated, intake, exhaust system, and inter cooler upgrades, this one made just over 300 bhp, should keep the customer happy for a while at least.
Had James XJS race car in last week for suspension geometry and dyno check over before his last meeting at Donington at the weekend where he managed to pick up 2 race wins "well done mate great drive and finish to the season". Just finished off suspension geometry, few mechanical issues and check over on Pauls Cosworth for his last race at Brands Hatch this weekend, good luck and hopefully you will be mixing it up at the front.
Audi A6 in here for some diagnostics checks due to running issues.
One of a favourite Nissan GTR's back in here last week for some fault finding and set up on the dyno after having some engine work done. This car is simply stunning and great to see it being used on track, should be out racing this weekend coming.
Not a car you see very often, we have had this TVR S series in here at Redline Tuning for some general repairs and maintenance, MOT and check over on the dyno.
Not sure if its to easy to guess but who knows what the rear lights are from on this TVR.
Last week we had this Historic MGB Race Car in for a check over and set up on the rollers, absolutely brilliant condition and quality considering its age.
Check this out, we had this Porsche kit car in last week for a few jobs following its carb replacement, full custom exhaust and manifold and new intake. (only managed to get a picture whilst it was on the dyno being tuned.)
Had this Ford Fiesta ST race car in last week on the dyno for a check over.
The Toyota Land cruiser has certainly got a name for itself of being able to go anywhere, no exceptions here with this example complete with it snorkel, chunky tyres etc. Well this customer obviously wanted to get there a bit faster so they opted for a stage 1 performance map.
Yesterday we had this Ford Focus ST in that needed a custom tune, customer had fitted uprated, hybrid turbo, injectors, intake plenum, front mount intercooler, full exhaust, decat and induction kit.
It had been mapped elsewhere before the customer had bought it and he was not happy with how it was driving, boost would fluctuate and generally didn't drive very nice.
With our tune with less boost it made more power and the boost came in and held steady.
With nearly 350 bhp and 380 ftlb this goes very well indeed.
This customer had been pushed from pillar to post with his Ford C Max having endless problems diagnosed supposedly fixed and repaired, he was at a loose end and had handed out far to much money. He was referred to us and we quickly diagnosed the fault and rectified it for him. Finally he left somewhere feeling happy.
One of the biggest problems that we face here at Redline Tuning is trying to diagnose faults with customers cars, and one of the most used replies we get are (no it can’t be that I’ve changed them there new!) this is always going to cause you problems but you have to realise that just because its new it doesn’t mean its going to work.
Just look at this set of injectors that were brought to us to check and test, the customer had been having problems with his car and wanted to check the injectors over.
These are brand new out the box! just look at the spray pattern and atomisation.
Unfortunately this is a problem that we all deal with from day to day, obviously you can reduce the risk of inferior or cheap products by making sure you purchase genuine parts from a trusted source.
Unfortunately this customer had paid quite a lot of money for these!
The colour certainly make this PORSCHE 911 3.6 stand out, just had this in here at Redline Tuning for dyno and check over.
The 2nd Honda Civic Type R in this week for a Unichip Q installation, basic stock car with exhaust and intake upgrade tuned for track use on the Unichip, once the exhaust/intake manifolds have been upgraded should be looking at around 230 bhp.
Another rare car in here at Redline Tuning, this time we got to work on the Abarth Punto, powered by a 1.4 turbo these little cars certainly go well. Unfortunately one of the main problems these have along with other vehicles powered by this engine are the problems associated with the multi air unit. The customer had fitted a new unit but brought it into us to reprogram it and whilst it was here they decided to have a stage 1 performance map as well.
Suzuki Swift Sport in today at Redline Tuning for annual service and MOT, great little cars these.
Following on from earlier in the week, we have had this EP3 Honda Civic Type R in for a Unichip Q installation and calibration on the dyno.
The customer had purchased the vehicle and wanted to get the full potential out of the modifications he had done, the car was to be used for track use and he wanted to get the vtec to come in earlier, as well as the Unichip we installed a vtec driver which enables us to tune the vtec.
Once installed and on the dyno we were very impressed with the results from bolt on modifications, custom exhaust manifold and full exhaust system, and air intake now tuned taking it to nearly 227bhp.
Had this Audi A5 in yesterday for a stage 1 remap, impressing gains from the 3.0 TDI engine fitted.
Another Beastly Jaguar Race Car in here with some strange running issues, after a substantial amount of investigation the fault was traced to the vehicle wiring loom. It was decided that due to this being a race car and needing to run faultlessly it was to have a new cus
![](/shared/images/content/bus_55027/payment-logos-ecommerce-01_2.png" rel="lightbox[reason8])