Tuning the 1.9 140hp model?

hard top

Zorg Expert (I)
Dutch Zeds
The M44 Massive
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Dec 5, 2011
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Netherlands
I would not bother to be honest, I found the 1.9 good enough factory spec.
 

Fraser

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British Zeds
The M44 Massive
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Nov 14, 2016
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98
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Earl Shilton, Leicestershire.
Model of Z
1.9 140bhp
Use the revs.....3500rpm and above, the engine comes alive at that point.

However, I have seen superchargers and have been intrigued myself with the idea. :coolsteer)
 

benf

Zorg Legend
British Zeds
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May 21, 2018
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80
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Leicestershire
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Z4 E89
If you find it slow why not upgrade to something a bit more meaty? got to be a better option than messing about with what you've got, either way you're gonna have to part with some cash!
 

jonco

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British Zeds
The M44 Massive
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Dec 6, 2011
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Chester
Model of Z
'98 1.9 Auto
It's slow
Do you mean it's not performing to its build specification or the build spec is not enough for what you want?
If the latter then trade up a size - not worth money for minor gains on tinkering.
 

spurs fan in a coupe

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What can be done at reasonable prices?
Is it worth tuning it?
No expert I’m afraid, but I hear you can add a super charger to create a very light, very fast 4cyl zed. Would be pretty rare (yet expensive to build) but if you love your car why not.

I’m sure some who knows what it would need will be along to help soon.
 

Faheem

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British Zeds
The M44 Massive
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Jun 9, 2016
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Leicester
Model of Z
1.9 M44
Supposedly the factory airbox was made to be restrictive so that the M44 engine wouldn't be more powerful than the 2.0l engine that BMW put into the Z3s.

Many enthusiasts will 'fog' their airbox to give better performance although I'm not sure if the improvements will be massively noticeable (which is what it sounds like you're after!)

Here's a link if you want to read more into it:
http://mz3.net/1-9-fogged-airbox-modification.html

You could maybe even put a free flowing exhaust but again without doing a dyno before and after there's no way of knowing how much power you've gained, if any!

Other than that a supercharger would probably be the way to go but they are rare to find!
 

littlefeller

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British Zeds
The M44 Massive
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Oct 18, 2015
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evesham
Supposedly the factory airbox was made to be restrictive so that the M44 engine wouldn't be more powerful than the 2.0l engine that BMW put into the Z3s.

Many enthusiasts will 'fog' their airbox to give better performance although I'm not sure if the improvements will be massively noticeable (which is what it sounds like you're after!)

Here's a link if you want to read more into it:
http://mz3.net/1-9-fogged-airbox-modification.html

You could maybe even put a free flowing exhaust but again without doing a dyno before and after there's no way of knowing how much power you've gained, if any!

Other than that a supercharger would probably be the way to go but they are rare to find!

as for the fogged box, it is supposed to work quite well for a freebie, was going to give it a try but with a slight difference, I was going to fit a reed valve (opens only on demand) to my box just to see it it does work, you would soon know as it would suddenly get louder.
 
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littlefeller

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problem with air intake mods is the so called gains are usually just more roar, this gives the impression of better. I always think how can something flow more air but still trap as much crap, most k&n fitted cars you see tend to smoke abit ummmmm
 

littlefeller

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oh yeh forgot to mention the - single mass flywheel, you don't see many posts of these though suggesting its not all plain sailing.
 

littlefeller

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British Zeds
The M44 Massive
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evesham
No expert I’m afraid, but I hear you can add a super charger to create a very light, very fast 4cyl zed. Would be pretty rare (yet expensive to build) but if you love your car why not.

I’m sure some who knows what it would need will be along to help soon.
im sure I read somewhere that you can supercharge the m44 upto 0.6 bar without any other mods.
 

Lee

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British Zeds
M Power
#ZedShed
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Mar 26, 2014
Points
193
Location
Basingstoke
Model of Z
Z4 Coupe 3.0si
Despite what people say you can achieve 300bhp from these without forced induction. A company in Southampton uses this engine to rally and do all sorts of crazy things with it. @windym looked into this in great detail and nearly committed to building one.
 

littlefeller

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British Zeds
The M44 Massive
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evesham
also google - metric mechanic, they did both the m42 and m44, the m42 was upto something like 220bhp while the m44 was over 180 (the big difference here was the m42 had an increased stroke actually making it a 2.2
 

Ianmc

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New Forest
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Z3 (M44)
Interesting comment, I haven't found the M44 to be wanting in the real world at all. I also have a couple of BMW 6 cylinder cars that are very different to drive. You have to work the M44 hard (which it seems to thrive on) where as the 6 pot cars are more cruisers. Also, the M44 handles very well due to its lightness up front. All depends what you want from your car, but I understand that reasonable power increase to the M44 is not possible without significant cost. Would love to have a go in a supercharged M44 though, could be the perfect Z3!:)
 

ZTec

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Llantwit Major
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Z3
I’m happy with the way mine gets down the road, also driven @PHILIP BAXTER 3.0, totally different, although a lovely drive, you can feel the extra weight it carries.
 

windym

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Despite what people say you can achieve 300bhp from these without forced induction. A company in Southampton uses this engine to rally and do all sorts of crazy things with it. @windym looked into this in great detail and nearly committed to building one.
Very much so, in fact the only thing that stopped me was the car being written off and getting ill.
 

Paul Weller

Dedicated Member
British Zeds
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May 21, 2018
Points
28
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Hayling Island
Model of Z
Roadster 1.9i 140bhp
Not specific to the M44 but all ageing engines tend to go lean at mid and top end. So the best upgrade I think is always to get it chipped before anything else. Worked magic on a Porsche 944s2 I had.

The cheap fix is to 'frig' the air mass flow meter by a piggy back resistor to kid it that it has more air going in and needs more fuel!
 

Pingu

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problem with air intake mods is the so called gains are usually just more roar, this gives the impression of better. I always think how can something flow more air but still trap as much crap, most k&n fitted cars you see tend to smoke abit ummmmm
Spot on. And induction roar is an indication of inefficiency.

1. Service the car to make sure that it as good as factory spec.
2. Remove restrictions (to increase volume flow rate).
3. Insulate the intake system (to increase mass flow rate)
 
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