Hi guys, I'm now up to date in terms of maintenance. During the past few months I've replaced the drive belt, cps, 02 sensor and other stuff and I'm starting to look in to some possible upgrades for the m44. I've looked into strut braces but they are quite hard to source but I came across some performance ignition leads which were only 50 or so quid. Didn't want to risk it as they seemed too cheap. Which brings me on to my question, has anyone on here got experience regarding performance HT leads for the m44 I'm coming up to 117k miles now and I'm sure they could benefit from replacing soon. Any recommendations? Brands etc? Thanks
Rich
Ignition upgrades?
Re: Ignition upgrades?
Quick look around reveals plenty of choice on ebay or the parts sites at Car Parts 4 less and Europarts.
Vast range of prices £25 - +£100 for sets depending on materials they are made from. Standard copper cables seem to be the cheapest with Silicon leads being the more expensive.
Given your mileage the leads may well be worth changing as over time the copper in them will have gone hard and brittle from years of vibration which hardens the copper and eventually causes them to break down as well as the heat cycles they endure under the bonnet.
I would go for a reasonable priced copper set probably from CarParts4less, check out their discount codes on their front page to get extra discount, they do special offers regularly.
Vast range of prices £25 - +£100 for sets depending on materials they are made from. Standard copper cables seem to be the cheapest with Silicon leads being the more expensive.
Given your mileage the leads may well be worth changing as over time the copper in them will have gone hard and brittle from years of vibration which hardens the copper and eventually causes them to break down as well as the heat cycles they endure under the bonnet.
I would go for a reasonable priced copper set probably from CarParts4less, check out their discount codes on their front page to get extra discount, they do special offers regularly.
Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
Re: Ignition upgrades?
Replaced my set a couple of years ago – I think I paid something like £60 from GSF. I changed because I was getting a resistance reading from one cable (not the longest one) which was slightly higher than the others. To be honest it’s not something that gives the feel of an obvious performance improvement. I’m not sure there is really any such thing as “performance” HT leads – the OE Bremi ones were very good quality
Other “tuning”
The M44 engine responds quite well to a stage 1 remap – mine went from the standard 140 to 152 BHP as did a couple of other forum members – no need for higher octane fuel. Economy is the same (if not slightly better) and the engine was smoother and slightly more responsive.
The car also seemed to respond well to a spark plug upgrade - Bosch FGR 7DQP+
“Performance air filters” – I’m very sceptical and just use normal, paper panel filters and keep them clean.
Engine oil – some M44 owners report slightly rough starting in cooler weather sometimes followed by a slight ticking. This seems to be sticking valve lifters – solved by good quality 0w-40 engine oil.
Cleaning the butterfly valve perimeter can give a smoother, crisper throttle response.
The M44 has a lot of rubber vacuum pipework that can age and split allowing in unmetered air which can weaken the combustion mix and thus reduce power. 1) the small pipe at the front of the engine, 2) the MAF bellows, 3) a small pipe branching from the MAF bellows feeding a tree of four pipes going to each injector 4) the four little pipes going to the injectors (under the top part of the inlet manifold).
The sum of the above plus refreshing shock absorbers and worn bushes will improve drivability tremendously as the 1.9 is a relatively light car, with most of the engine weight well behind the front wheels and sharp steering.
Other “tuning”
The M44 engine responds quite well to a stage 1 remap – mine went from the standard 140 to 152 BHP as did a couple of other forum members – no need for higher octane fuel. Economy is the same (if not slightly better) and the engine was smoother and slightly more responsive.
The car also seemed to respond well to a spark plug upgrade - Bosch FGR 7DQP+
“Performance air filters” – I’m very sceptical and just use normal, paper panel filters and keep them clean.
Engine oil – some M44 owners report slightly rough starting in cooler weather sometimes followed by a slight ticking. This seems to be sticking valve lifters – solved by good quality 0w-40 engine oil.
Cleaning the butterfly valve perimeter can give a smoother, crisper throttle response.
The M44 has a lot of rubber vacuum pipework that can age and split allowing in unmetered air which can weaken the combustion mix and thus reduce power. 1) the small pipe at the front of the engine, 2) the MAF bellows, 3) a small pipe branching from the MAF bellows feeding a tree of four pipes going to each injector 4) the four little pipes going to the injectors (under the top part of the inlet manifold).
The sum of the above plus refreshing shock absorbers and worn bushes will improve drivability tremendously as the 1.9 is a relatively light car, with most of the engine weight well behind the front wheels and sharp steering.
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BladeRunner919
- Joined: Fri 17 Feb, 2012 20:18
- Posts: 2225
Re: Ignition upgrades?
Where did you have that done and what was the cost, if you don't mind sharing?Del wrote: Other “tuning”
The M44 engine responds quite well to a stage 1 remap – mine went from the standard 140 to 152 BHP as did a couple of other forum members – no need for higher octane fuel. Economy is the same (if not slightly better) and the engine was smoother and slightly more responsive.
Re: Ignition upgrades?
Can't forget to mention the fogged air box mod! that brought out the best in my little Z. I'll be looking into getting a performance cat-back exhaust as the one i have now, not sure what brand it is but it sounds significantly louder/deeper than stock. I contacted a company for a quote regarding re-mapping and i got quoted 275 quid plus VAT! I know it is possible to get a better deal but not a lot of places round my area can do my carDel wrote:Replaced my set a couple of years ago – I think I paid something like £60 from GSF. I changed because I was getting a resistance reading from one cable (not the longest one) which was slightly higher than the others. To be honest it’s not something that gives the feel of an obvious performance improvement. I’m not sure there is really any such thing as “performance” HT leads – the OE Bremi ones were very good quality
Other “tuning”
The M44 engine responds quite well to a stage 1 remap – mine went from the standard 140 to 152 BHP as did a couple of other forum members – no need for higher octane fuel. Economy is the same (if not slightly better) and the engine was smoother and slightly more responsive.
The car also seemed to respond well to a spark plug upgrade - Bosch FGR 7DQP+
“Performance air filters” – I’m very sceptical and just use normal, paper panel filters and keep them clean.
Engine oil – some M44 owners report slightly rough starting in cooler weather sometimes followed by a slight ticking. This seems to be sticking valve lifters – solved by good quality 0w-40 engine oil.
Cleaning the butterfly valve perimeter can give a smoother, crisper throttle response.
The M44 has a lot of rubber vacuum pipework that can age and split allowing in unmetered air which can weaken the combustion mix and thus reduce power. 1) the small pipe at the front of the engine, 2) the MAF bellows, 3) a small pipe branching from the MAF bellows feeding a tree of four pipes going to each injector 4) the four little pipes going to the injectors (under the top part of the inlet manifold).
The sum of the above plus refreshing shock absorbers and worn bushes will improve drivability tremendously as the 1.9 is a relatively light car, with most of the engine weight well behind the front wheels and sharp steering.
Z3 > Miata
