Suzuki Forums banner

Is the 8V worth adding power to?

3K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Floordford 
#1 ·
My 8V is blowing white oil smoke out of the exhaust and so I'd like to pull the head and have it checked out. But of it's off I might as well up the compression, add a bigger cam, do a 3 angle valve job and have it ported. But if it's cheaper to 16v swap the top end I might do that.

What's the best road to take, a modified 8V or a 16v swap top end?

My thoughts go to the fact that I'm unsure how much more power I'll make with the TBI. But if I can just up the fuel pressure and play with timing I might be able to save a few hundred dollars over swapping over to 16v.
 
#4 ·
fuel pressure increase won't help, unless you can get a remap done on the ECU to allow for increased fuel flow, and get more air in to mix with the extra fuel. All extra pressure will do is make it run rich.
These things are pretty much at their limit now in terms of power.
 
#5 ·
So a stand alone ECU would be needed, I'm guessing. Because I have yet to see any tuning chips or reflashed ECUs for these. Honestly I just thought they were so basic that it came down to old school style tuning techniques. Like messing with timing and fuel pressure.

And adding a bigger cam and porting will make it go lean if everything else is the same. So adding fuel pressure to get the mix more rich should be the thing to do. Maybe a wide band O2 would help dial it in too.
 
#7 ·
LOL....I WISH I had a few more horsepower. I live in the mountains of NC, and if when I want to take my Tin Can ( TC...wife's name for her lol) for a drive, 45 mph is max going up the mountain; 70 coming down lol. It's only a 2 lane road and the speed limit is 55mph, but me doing 45 is not good. c'est la vie...
 
#10 ·
You’ve just identified part of your problem - those tires. Way too heavy and big for your little engine, if you’re looking for any kind of acceleration. I went from the factory 205/75/15 to 235/75/15 and it has had a BIG impact on acceleration. While they look great, it has changed the way the car drives. I plan to knock back down on my next set. Of course, making sure that your engine is timed and tuned properly, plugs gapped at .028”, etc., will have an impact, too. But our little 8v’s struggle with those tires.
 
#11 ·
Whilst the tires are certainly an issue, an engine that's
blowing white oil smoke out of the exhaust
is likely to need way more than just a head rebuild and a "port & polish" to get any power out of it.

Do wet & dry compression tests and post the numbers, I'm guessing the rings are long gone.
 
#13 ·
Bea...Bee...Bei...Beo...Beu....BEX....lol I, too, went to a larger size tire...235/70/15. Any idea what you lost in going from the smaller to larger tire, power wise. My current acceleration SEEMS fine; it's the uphill loss of power (45mph max) that is killing me....I never drove up the mountain with smaller tires, so I do not know what the difference might have been. I drove the mountain to and from my house....lol
 
#14 ·
I get that the 30"s are going to slow it down but thats why I want a little extra power. Im mostly thinking about it for street drivability. That way I dont need to worry about waiting for an insane gap just to pull out into traffic. I think 80hp should be fine for trails. I also didnt go to 31"s because ive heard of a big dive when it comes to fuel mileage. Plus RZRs do fine with 29"s. Eventually id like to get more articulation and diff lockers. But Im thinking ill pull the 8V head, send it to the machine shop and go from there. But where "there" is has yet to be determined.
 
#15 ·
I also keep stumbling over threads where people say that the TBI is at its power limit but I never read of anyone doing any tuning to it. Not sure if a different TBI unit can be swapped in or if a different injector can be used. I'd be happy to modify the TBI injector.

I'd like to get more air in but if I can't get more fuel in then it's going to lean out.
 
#17 ·
I also keep stumbling over threads where people say that the TBI is at its power limit but I never read of anyone doing any tuning to it. Not sure if a different TBI unit can be swapped in or if a different injector can be used. I'd be happy to modify the TBI injector.
The ECU is designed to run the engine within certain perimeters. To go beyond those substantially, you’d need to remap the ECU, AFAIK.
 
#16 ·
Perhaps the route is to pull the entire TB and get an aftermarket racing one for smaller engines. That might give you an extra "oomph" without a Turbo.

Anyway, whatever you do, post some pics an info, I am interested.
 
#19 ·
So what companies do good work with TBI tuning? Honestly id love to know if there are options to go to a bigger throttle body injector unit. Maybe not insane big but it looks like a bit of a choke point. Especially if they only intended it to make 80hp.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top