Old diesel tuning - David Horn
The fact my dad's had his Rover 75 chipped led me to wondering whether I could get any more useful power from my 1.9TD XUD Xsara, which according to the handbook generates a good ol' 90BHP with the turbo and intercooler as standard.

Obviously, it can't be chipped but would it be worth paying to have it "tuned" by a specialist? Would I need to inform my insurance company (this assumes no parts are changed). Can it even be done? Would it positively or negatively impact the fuel consumption?

This is, of course, all hypothetical. :-)

Cheers,

David.
Old diesel tuning - TheOilBurner
If it has an engine management computer then it's possible it could be chipped by an ecu re-map. Whether anybody offers an off-the-shelf map for your car is another matter.
If the car is already at the limits of what the engine and gearbox can take (unlikely) then there won't be any options for you..

Regardless, anything which increases performance needs to be declared to the insurance company. Only safe way to do it, I'm afraid.
Old diesel tuning - TheOilBurner
BTW, Superchips offer a re-map for the 2.1 TD Xantia but not the 1.9 - so I guess there's little you could do to the engine without getting into new turbo territory or the like.

Apparently another 30bhp is available for the 2.1, for a mere £511! Ouch!

Probably would make the car drive much better throughout the rev range though.

Fuel economy can be improved, but the maps are optimised for performance - so nothing is for certain.
Old diesel tuning - David Horn
No ECU, all mechanical AFAIK. More screwdriver than computer.
Old diesel tuning - TheOilBurner
Are you sure? What year is it from?

I can't put my finger on the year with ECU controlled engines became the norm, but I thought it was many years back for petrols, and assumed it was the same for diesels?
Old diesel tuning - madf
www.johns306.com/guides/dt_tuning.htm

should help..
madf
Old diesel tuning - madf
In case you can't find it from above link, this is a copy...
Tuning a Peugeot 306 Turbo-Diesel (mechanical type)
After a lot of people asking for help in this area I've decided to put this page up. It is not my own work and I cannot remember who originally forwarded me this document. From what I have heard it has originated from the Peugeot Sports Club forum and been passed around and re-written many times. The copy you see below is how it was taken from the document I was sent.
I will be re-writing this document as I get the pictures together, along with observations and my own experiences with my turbo-tweaking. I'll also say that I will in no way be held responsible for ANYTHING you do to your own vehicle, this guide is for your information only.
** Update 28/04/04 ** Some information relating to solenoids and switches has been removed to avoid confusion. I the original document it was suggested that a solenoid could be used as an "economy" mode. This has since been shown to have no effect on economy or performance.
**Update 18/06/04 ** Added some more details to help people find the right tools before you start.

Engine
The modifications I have carried out are only applicable to the pre-HDI engine car, i.e. the engines with the Bosch or Lucas Mechanical fuel injection pumps.
When I drove the standard car I felt the mid-range power was good, but the throttle response under 2000 rpm was tardy, turbo lag noticeable and the top end rev range was restrictive.

Injection Pump and Fuelling
The majority of the improvements to the power band are achieved by increasing the maximum fuel setting and the boost compensator fuelling. The standard car like all diesels is set-up very lean. The procedure to adjust the fuelling is not difficult, but requires many careful and small incremental changes, and many test drives until the optimum settings are found.
The limit of the performance is related to either the amount a smoke produced or/and the reduced fuel economy that can be tolerated. The smoking is un-burnt diesel, which is mainly seen when the engine is laboured off-boost i.e. under 2000 rpm.
The tuning technique I've used is derived from many sources, you will not find any information on this in the Haynes manual as it's not a maintenance procedure, and the text will state 'recommended only by an authorised dealer'. Do n't be put off, it's not that difficult.

Boost compensator Fuelling
The maximum fuel setting has the greatest effect on performance controlling about 80% of fuel delivery, for this reason I would adjust the boost compensator fuelling first. The procedure to increase the boost compensator fuelling is similar on both the Lucas and Bosch pumps. The boost compensator unit can be recognised by a brass coloured diagram assembly connected to the intercooler by a vacuum hose. Unscrew the external 14mm lock nut and turn the adjuster anti-clockwise. The adjustment range is about 1.5 to 2.5 turns (adjustment can be made in half turns). The setting is not so critical; running the car rich from the compensator does not make a great performance difference.

Maximum Fuel Settings
The maximum fuel setting is located in different positions for the Lucas and Bosch pumps. On the Lucas pump a large plastic plug is found on the front of the pump. This must be unscrewed and the pump will empty its contents of diesel. Put a plastic bag over the alternator to protect it. Using a small mirror look inside the pump and you may see a hole with a recessed socket head bolt. I think it's about a 5mm size Allen key. If this can not be seen put the engine in gear and rock the car. You will see a cylinder assembly rotate in the pump. It will need to rotate about 180 degrees to reveal the maximum fuel screw. The screw will need to be turned clockwise. To access the screw you will need to insert the long part of the Allen key. Don't use a ball type driver, as the ball may break-off in the pump. The screw to quite tight and so a spanner will need to be used on the end of the key. The range of adjustment is a relative 20 to 40 degrees (40 degrees is rich, make adjustments in about 10 degree increments). Replace the plug; prime the pump and test drive. Look for evidence of smoke off-boost. Repeat the procedure until the desired performance, smoke level and economy compromise is reached.
With the Bosch pump the procedure is much easier. The maximum fuel screw is located on the top right side of the pump. It will have a tamper proof fitting on it, which will need to be removed. This screw is adjusted clockwise up to about 90 degrees (again use about 10 to 20 degree increments).

Maximum Engine Speed
Another simple modification I did was to raise the maximum engine speed to about 5,200rpm (See the Haynes manual). Although I don't rev the engine above 5,000 rpm it has allowed the engine to rev freely to 5,000 rpm, as the standard rev limiter effects the engine at about 4,600 rpm onwards. The improvement is seen when accelerating through the gears.

Idle Speed
I increased my idle speed to about 950 rpm. The engine seems more comfortable at this speed, and it helps the engine pick-up quicker from stationary starts.

Turbo charger and Boost
My car is fitted with the Garret T2. The standard boost is 14 to 15 PSI on full load @ 3000 rpm. I have increased the boost to the maximum I believe the T2 can produce on this engine, by shortening the waste-gate adjustment arm. I've heard of some people bending the arm to increase the boost if the threads are ceased, I leave that decision to yourself? The boost I run is about 17.5 PSI @ 3000 rpm under full load, peaking a about 19 - 20 PSI @ 4000 rpm. I've heard of higher, but my gauge is calibrated. My car also develops standard boost @ 2500 rpm, about a 1000 rpm lower than standard. I recommend raising the boost if possible, but the car must at least have the standard boost.
The KKK type turbo has a locking nut and adjuster on the end of it. The locking nut I believe is a 13mm or 14mm nut and the adjuster needs to be turned about 1 and 1/2 turns clockwise to turn up to about 1.3bar. The adjuster is turned using a 2.5mm allen key. A 2.0mm key will fit but it will not turn the adjuster properly. See this guide for more info
The performance gains above 15 PSI boost diminish quite quickly as the charge temperature raises rapidly. However, if the car produces less than 15PSI boost the increase in boost to standard will yield a relatively higher gain in performance than above. I would not recommend raising the boost above say 18 PSI (peak boost) unless uprated intercooling was used.
Remember, the boost pressures and fuelling are not independent on a diesel engine. The waste gate is a final mechanical pressure blow-off, if the fuelling is the limiting factor, additional boost will not be gained. Hence, when tuning the car check the boost as the fuel increments are made. On my car I measure the boost from a 'T' piece I have inserted into the injection pump compensator vacuum hose.
The new HDI engine has been fitted with the Garret GT15 turbo which is smaller and more efficient than the T2 it replaced. On driving the new HDI car the engine has excellent low speed pick-up, revved smoothly and is much quieter. However, this turbo being smaller will limit the top-end potential of the engine. The GT15 is designed around 110BHP maximum on a diesel engine, as the bigger T2 it replaced will flow up to about 130BHP.

Summary of the Tuning procedure
1. Check the boost, it must be at least 15PSI @ 3000 rpm under full load.
2. Adjust boost compensation fuelling on the pump - set when a small increase in the amount of smoke is seen when the engine is laboured under 2000 rpm.
3. Isolate the boost compensator fuelling as described in note below.
4. Adjust maximum fuelling on pump - set when a small amount of smoke is seen when the engine is laboured under 2000 rpm.
5. Re-connect the boost compensator hose.
5. Check the boost, and adjust the wastegate if necessary.
6. Repeat 4 - clockwise to increase fuel or anti-clockwise to decrease fuel - until the optimum compromise is found for smoke emission, performance and fuel economy. This process of careful adjustment was carried out over a period weeks, I carefully monitored visual smoke emissions and fuel economy during the period.

Note: To isolate the effects of the compensator from the effects of the maximum fuel screw since the compensator has little effect when set to rich, simply pull-off the vacuum hose from the compensator and plug-off it off with stopper, say a bolt (on the intercooler side !).
There are a few Diesel tuners in the business who charge a great deal of money for this process which I've done for friends in about an hour!
Home
Home
The KKK turbo.
Here's the pics I've been promising people for ages. It's the elusive KKK turbo fitted to a majority of 306 turbo diesels. The pictures here should help people who are trying to increase the fuel and boost settings to increase power, hopefully by looking here you'll see what you need to be looking for before you take the plunge.
Click the pics here for the bigger pics to open in a new window.

First jack the car up on the front drivers side and secure on axle stands. I have found it's easiest and safest to put the stand as shown to the left.

From where the jack is in the previous picture, if you look in behind the wheel into the engine bay you will see this. Almost exactly in the middle of this picture is the waste-gate adjustment of the KKK turbo. You can see the bell shaped housing just above the steering rod.

If you now crawl under the car and lie with your head under the steering rod and your feet out the front of the car under the bumper and look up you will see this. You can see the bell housing tucked behind the black pipe hanging down. You can also just make out the nut you have to remove to adjust the waste-gate (and hence turbo boost pressure). The adjuster inside it turned using a 2.5mm allen key.

View from directly under the turbo unit looking up. For a clearance point of view this is probably the easiest place to put you arm up to do the adjustments.

View from the other end of the turbo, this is how you tell if you got a KKK or a garret. Note the KKK logo stamped on the side of the unit, dead centre in the picture. The waste-gate bell housing can be seen on the far right.
Return to info main index
All of this information has been compiled by myself, and it is all my own work. Please feel free to let your friends know about this website and email me to let me know what you think. If you wish to copy this page to put on your own website I do not mind but please email me first. I also ask that you put a link back to my website, and make a voluntary monetary contribution to my website via PayPal.


madf
Old diesel tuning - jc2
Ecu's on diesels started appearing about the mid-90's mainly to comply with St.II emissions butthere had been odd examples before this.
Old diesel tuning - blue_haddock
When tuning a mechanical injection diesel it is very easy to get it wrong and you end up with all sorts of problems. If your unsure it's best to get it done properly - should only cost somewhere around the £100 mark to get it done.

By tweaking the fueling and the boost you are looking at around 110 to 115 bhp, something else that helps is replacing the combined downpipe and cat with a front pipe off an early DTurbo which didn't have the cat fitted. It bolts straight in place and helps it pick up.
Old diesel tuning - David Horn
According to the derv doctor tuning give an additional 20ish BHP and costs 130 pounds + VAT. Worth it, you reckon?
Old diesel tuning - mss1tw
My HDi got spanked off a roundabout last night by an old tech 1.9 Dturbo...
Old diesel tuning - Malcolm_L
I had a 94 Xantia TD - At around 20k I took it to Van Aaken who where one of the few people who could tweak diesels back then.

This upped the the power and torque by about 30%, it also made the car far more driveable as the low end torque came in earlier and the
engine revved more freely (anyone who drives an unmodded XUD unit will know about the brick wall effect when you hit 4200-4200).
Fuel economy did take a hit but on motorway runs it wasn't noticable, only on A-roads when you had the opportunity to use the extra power.

I kept the car for another 57k and sold it on, still going according to DVLA website which is heartening. In terms of value for money it's the best car I've owned, other than routine maintenance all the suspension spheres were replaced by me (front's easy/rear's are a complete pain) and the accumulator sphere and that's it.
Old diesel tuning - David Horn
Worth doing then, in your opinion?
Old diesel tuning - blue_haddock
Definately worth doing in my opinion mate - works out to a 22% power increase, now that is pretty impressive for not much over a hundred quid.

Not only will it be more powerful but it will be more responsive and often more economical too.