Upping Wira 1.5 MMC performance

[Nyfka]

Hi sifus, I have a 2000 Wira 1.5 with the 4G15 MMC engine (also has 5-speed manual) which I plan to turn into a project car of sorts.

Not planning to turn this into a pure track-oriented car, I just want to have some high-speed fun on the weekends.

I won't layan any suggestions for engine swaps as I am in Pulau Langkawi and resources here are limited + I am not confident in my regular mechanics' abilities to do an engine swap with minimal issues (Though if I do have the resources, I do want to sumbat in a twincam 4G93)

So what I plan to do with the engine is to drop in a 272 degree highcam, high comp pistons and the obligatory air filter, exhaust, and suspension upgrades.

Some questions I have:

* What gains would I get from using high comp pistons that are the same size as the standard ones and is it worth it? (I have limited resources so boring out the block for 1.6 stroker kit is not an option)
* Can the standard valve springs (no, I won't reuse the original ones that came with the car) work with the 272 cam or would I have to upgrade those as well?
* Would the extractor from the Wira SE be good enough or are there better aftermarket brands?
* What else would I have to work on regarding the engine head, electronics and internals? (I plan to stay NA with this project so no turbo or supercharger pls... also I am aware that not everything can simply PnP)
* Since I do have a performance radiator on-hand, would I need to change the radiator fan as well? (I haven't installed the rad yet btw)
* How much effort would it take to tune the MMC ECU? (I've heard the VDO one can be quite difficult to work with when tuning)

Also I am looking for recommendations on things like:

* Adjustables or performance absorber brands
* Appropriate head gasket material + size
* Clutch type (like OEM, heavy duty etc) and brands
* Any shop within Kedah or Perlis that can do ECU jobs

 

[vr2turbo]

Hi, since you are not getting much response here, I just share some of my minimal knowledge on the mods you mentioned.
I have only done extractor mods on my Wira and Accord. The power gain is very minimal only. High gain in power needs better fuel feed, faster flow in and out, therefore even with better flow air filter and extractors, only gives minimal gains. I have done a weber carb mod on another Accord and that mod was way better as the weber fuel feed was much better than the Original.

After all those minimal mods I decided to go big, so I bought a Mitsubishi Galant Super Saloon. Was Auto until the gear box gave way and to replace already cost a few thousand ringgit, so might as well transplant together with the engine and manual GB. It was a VR4 cyclone turbo. The power gain is almost double that of the previous single cam engine. I have kept it for 26 years now. Condition now is not good, so it is used for my daily around town.

As for your cam upgrade, I think high cam will be hard to drive in town. I remember a friend who did on his Nissan had rough idling and need to rev quite high to drive off and even worst when have passengers. However once driven off and at higher speed the power gain is good. Mainly good for higher speed driving. That is why Honda develop Vtec, with low cam at low speed and high cam at high speed....

Adjustable are good but make sure you get the correct spring weight. I had them with 8kg front and 5 kg rears, is good with heavy load but very uncomfortable when alone. Corners are good but on high speed it felt unstable.
When I changed back to my previous setup with hi lo rears and rebuilt fronts, the ride is way more comfortable and more stable at high speed but cornering will not be that great. So you have to look properly into this.

Even with 200 horses I am just using normal Exedy clutch and plates only. Light to use especially driving in town and good enough for high speed. Racing clutches are very heavy so again chose carefully.