Acceleration!!!

CMF_yoyoninjaboy

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Hey. i own a 1.0 litre w reg micra. ive sorted out alloys, bodykit is in garage waiting for summer, interior is just how i like it (for the time being) so now onto performance!
to be perfectly honest at the mo im quite happy with 95mph being the top speed, but i really would like to tweak the car to improve acceleration. and to be perfectly honest i dont no where to start.

firstly what can i alter that is standard on the car to improve acceleration?

secondly, what can i buy to add to the car to improve acceleration?

after reading the specs of some cars on here i figured this is a good place to find out.
any help would be greatly appreciated
 

CMF_Yom

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First step in my humble option is another 300cc and the extra 25hp that gives you!

Find a CG13DE. Mabye even try something a little bit 'different' and retrofit a CGA3DE from a later model K11.

You can spend money on a 2" exhaust, janspeed exhaust manifold (or whatever you uk fellas have available to you), and a higher flowing intake but you're going to see a larger gain in performance by going straight to the 1.3L engine.
 

CMF_micra-man

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If you want it to accelerate faster, what about the smallest diameter (not width) tyres you can fit on to your rims?

Going back to 13 inch rims and putting on something like a set of 185/55R13.

From memory smaller diameter tyres = faster acceleration but lower top speed.

Or have I got that the wrong way around?
 

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CMF_makes

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I recommend you check out Cisco's excellent article about the A$1500 powerup...

http://www.micra.com.au/information/nissan-micra-articles/1500powerup.php

These changes would also be applicable to a 1000cc micra but would probably not be as effective.... As Yom mentioned upgrading to a 1300cc motor is the easiest & cheapest way to improve the performance of your car.

Your alloy wheels look excellent. However the 195/50 R15 tyres you have fitted have a much larger diameter than the standard wheel & tyre combination. This translates into a significant loss of performance when accelerating but better highway cruising.

This website will help you work out the size difference...
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
 

cisco

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Agreed.. I would definately get rid of those big 15" wheels and slam on some tiny 13s again. Even some ultra lightweight factory style 155/70/13s seem to be pretty zippy. The less weight on your overall wheel/tyre combo the better.
 

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CMF_w8upforme

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with the 1.4 k11, haven't seen the speedo over 121 mph, but that must be exagerated, as I'm sure it can't be that far of from factory claims with just a differen exhaust.

But definitely worth to get a 1.3 instead of tuning the 1.0
 

CMF_Yom

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I dont understand the facination with top speed.

Mabye I'm just lacking testicular fortitude but top speed has never really appealed to me?

If i want to go fast I'll learn how to fly a plane and leave you all for dead. Pretty simple really? :p
 

CMF_Polar

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"140mph?? I do not think so.Crack 100 mph and you are doing fine.Even 100mph would have to be dead straight/ downhill with no head wind."
140mph is what the 1.3 micra top speed is so thats why i posted it. as i also said 106mph is the top speed with standard power....
what this means is that if you have enough bhp you can get 140mph in a 1.3 micra, no more. unless you do some of the suggestions i mentioned.

 

CMF_Toma

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I agree Yom :D Top speed is kinda silly to brag about, unless you live on a race track. Day-to-day driving, youll never get over 110km/h unless youre a hoon. A blistering sprint car with 3 second 0-100km/h is a better bragging value :D

Yoyoninjaboy, if its feasable, try dropping some weight. This can include removing the back seat and the spare tyre.. that is, if you can live without them :D
 

CMF_jamm'n

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I just wanted to say that this...

"the 1.3 with standard transmission with standard diameter wheels top speed is near enough bang on 140mph in 5th gear bouncing on the standard 6.9k rev limit"

isn't what would happen, so don't get the wrong idea.
i've had mine flat out, down a very long hill, and i managed close enough to 112 miles an hour.
140mph pfft!! yeah i wish :)
 

cisco

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Polar, I also interpreted your original post as saying that all factory k11s can get up to 140mph in practice. I think it was worded in a way that made it sound that way.

But now I realise that you mean that 140mph is the maximum achievable speed based on gear ratios and wheel diameters IF you theoretically had maximum possible power.

And then you were saying that you could only increase that by raising the rev limiter, because this would let the 5th gear rev out to a higher top speed.

Sure that all makes sense.

I haven't heard people call that a "car's top speed though". But I know what you mean. Its like maximum achievable speed with those particular gear ratios etc.

In blue monster, I still haven't got the car up to its maximum speed.. Got it up to about 180kmh once, but it wasn't the most suitable road, so I slowed down again pretty quickly. It was still accelerating really nicely at that point however, it has a rev limiter of a fraction under 8000rpm aswell, so it should have a half decent top speed I would guess. Micras are certainly not anywhere as stable as my old S14a 200sx at those kind of speeds. I did 237kmh once in the 200sx and it felt like 150kmh in a micra. So stable and wide and safe.

Napster and Polar I deleted a couple of your posts because your grammar was lazy. Let's take a bit of time to construct reasonable sentences using decent grammar.
 

CMF_Polar

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you understood me cisco, sorry i must have written it really badly for other people not to get it.
to put it simply, on a flat road a standard power 1.3 micra= 106mph top speed.
the same micra on the same flat road with at least 150bhp or any amount higher =140mph top speed.

using the actual ratios and wheel diameters you can create a theoretical top speed of 150mph at 6893rpm but this would be almost impossible to get without accidentally triggering rev cut out. 140mph comes to 6443rpm so is easy to attain. i also think many k11 ecu have 6700rpm rev limit.
i rembeber john with a turbo k11 in uk saying he had about 138mph while testing at some point, i dont think that was at the limit though.

 

CMF_Napster

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how come the 1.3 micra standard can get a top speed of AROUND 106mph and the 1.0L can get about 103mph?
not that i have taken my car to the limit and its not based on my car, but someother person said this?

seems odd that the difference in 0.3L engine is 3mph?

(im going to be wrong i know it lol)
 

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CMF_Polar

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that 103mph you say is probably based on what the speedo on the instruments are saying. not the actual speed your doing, which will be less. best way to see what real speed your doing is look at what rpm your doing and use the programme "gearcalc" to see what speed you were doing. you will need to fit a tacho if you havent got one as standard though. also there are GPS systems that give road speed, i dont know to what degree accurate they are, but i think they are better than a standard car speedo. 1998 onwards micra have the digital speedo drive so this should be accurate, but probably still has the built-in over-read which manufacturers give their cars, partly down to the law that they cant under-read.
 

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CMF_evade

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top speed...maybe about 195km/h..

as cisco said, car starts getting a bit lofty..i cant imagine they designed a micra to go at that speeds...theres no real wings/spoilers/diffusers to give any real downforce

scary at that speed.
 

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CMF_Polar

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is that the nissan tacho you refer to knieval or an aftermarket? i have converted my non tacho dials to the nissan setup that includes them, wired to the ecu. seems to be quite good. i have seen cheap aftermarket ones fitted to distributor that seem a bit erratic.
 

CMF_Yom

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"as cisco said, car starts getting a bit lofty..i cant imagine they designed a micra to go at that speeds...theres no real wings/spoilers/diffusers to give any real downforce"

Yep unlike the K12 which was shaped to give a low drag coefficient.

Although the standard super s rear wing, believe it or not, is shaped to give some degree of downforce. Because of the way they shaped it up the top to look 'sporty' it actually deflects the roof air upwards creating extreme turbulance behind the car at high speeds. I dont think it would be enough to compress the rear suspension at road legal speeds though.

Seriously though you get more downforce on the whole car if you tilt the sunroof open. I've found I get better economy with the sunroof closed rather than tilted (and thats not with the aircon on either).
 

CMF_nz_aj

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The Japanese G# model has a standard rear spoiler that wraps around the rear glass. It gives a sharp edge all around the bubble shaped back, which would stop the separation point moving around & hopefully cure the floaty back end feeling you get from about 130km/hr+
 

CMF_evade

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oh and as for the sunroof being open/closed - does have a fair effect on drag..more than you'd probably think

so if you are racing keep it closed heh..as for tilt..would probably help a little but i doubt you'd even notice it really.

that said i might try it
 

CMF_Alex_B

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enough of the pissing competition, read the topic title...

yoyoninjaboy, read these, their not 1.0L but its give you an idea of how much improvement you get over stock >

https://micra.org.uk/cmf/message/8351

https://micra.org.uk/cmf/message/2040

as its been mentioned if you dont want to upgrade motors yet, do some or all of the $1500 powerup, as you can transplant your parts over if you ever want the bigger motor,

Alex
 

CMF_Alex_B

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correct...it was a pissing competition > and now its offshooted into high speed stability/aerodynamics interest topic.

First 5 replys in this thread are useful to yoyo, pretty appauling considering there are 33 replys. AFAIK changes in aerodynamics force/drag are not measurable until over 80-90km/h,

Alex
 

CMF_Alex_B

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yoyo, in answer to "firstly what can i alter that is standard on the car to improve acceleration?"

Check that the Timing is at 15d (advance to 17d and see if you notice anything). Also try one tank of 98RON petrol and see if you notice anything. The 98RON fuel dosn't do much in my dads car, but combined with the slightly advanced timing of 17d it makes noticable difference to mine, gives it more instant response esp if caught in higer gear,

Alex

> another thing to check is that your floor matts aren't stopping the accel pedal before reaching full throttle.
 

CMF_Yom

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"yeah thats like on our super-s models here in australia..the rear wrap up spoiler thing..

and it really doesn't make a difference..having owned one with /without."

Some of the UK guys did a test with them and apparently the non-wing equipped car achieved top speed quicker than the wing equipped example.

One of my mates who works for DJR (**** Johnson Racing) reckons the super s rear wing would actually provide a measureable amount of downforce if it were to be tested in a wind tunnel.

But whether it makes a difference to normal driving? Yeh I agree, bugger all. Just makes it look better! I dont think i could stand driving around a k11 without that little rear wing.
 

CMF_evade

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yeah true,

but this is like the 200th time we've discussed these sort of issues. gets a bit tiring.

could've just said, do a search, or actually look around at the site, and check the articles first..
 

CMF_nz_aj

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Well that spoiler is a rare option over here. I haven't seen one driving on the road here before, just a picture of one I want to buy. It also has the factory sunroof & this is my largest area of concern. I'm 188cm tall & not sure if I'd have enough headroom.
 

CMF_nz_aj

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OK I see that S-shortcake has a sunroof.
So Cisco, how tall are you?
And what's it like headroomwise while driving, especially when on rough roads or judderbars? (Assuming you get to drive & aren't otherwise banished to your other micras?)
 

cisco

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aj, I am only 186.5cm. Both blue monster and s-shortcake are super s models and thus both have sunroofs.

The head clearance is perfectly fine for me. There is a noticable increase in headroom in a non-sunroof model though. But those ones (LX, SLX etc) have OODLES of headroom for me. Actually LX/SLX micras have more headroom than my parents' huge EF falcon.

The super s with sunroof is good for me. I never ever come close to hitting the roof. Friends and stuff etc have commented that I look a bit funny driving a tiny micra, but I'm not extremely huge or anything.
 

CMF_White Knight

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Spot on Cisco. One thing the Micra has is lots of head room.
Not good for aerodynamics and gives it a bit of that jelly bean look but hell for a small car it leaves anything else for dead.
Find me another car around the same size that has the same roomy feeling.
 

CMF_yoyoninjaboy

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Hey. Thanks for all the help. Not ready for upgrading to a 1.3 but makes sense to use parts that can be swaped over at a later date. exhaust and air filter seems a good starting point. not sure about removing seats and spare wheel. while this seems a good idea for a track car, prob not the best when going to work every day. ill check out the links and take it from there.
thanks again
oh, and wihile the aerodynamis lesson wasnt too helpful, it did make for a good read.
cheers
 

CMF_bourkey

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hi there

before i was robbed of my micra which was a 998 cc i had managed to tune the engine up so that the accelaration was very quick.what i did was:

1.take any unwanted weight out of your car.you dont have to strip to bare just keep it free of daily rubbish. this includes anything from a bit of shopping to a few cans of pop in the boot.also the spare wheel is very heavy.pick it up and you will see what i mean.i got went to a scrap yard and found a big saloon car.get the spare wheel out of one of them as they are "space saver wheels" and are half the size and half the weight of 90% of most wheels.

2.get some engine treatment.usually to decoke the engine its very expensive although it is very good.usually you can find lots of engine cleaners and treatment liquids you add to the petrol or spray in the air intake.these add noticable bits of power that your car may have lost due to dirt inside.also clean up the engine bay so nothing is randomly dangling about for saftey reasons.

3.service.change the oil to a better performance oil and when you change the oil take the sump off when its empty and clean out all the old oil and there may be tiny bits of metal in there too.i used gtx magnatec and the engine felt a lot snappier and ready to go.there is also oil additives you can add to improve the performance of your oil.the oil also warmed up much quicker hence the engine warmed up much quicker.

4.power bits.get some performance spark plugs with a v shaped coductor rod on the end as they make twice the spark.get performance ignition leads.these are much better than standard as they send a better spark to your plugs.i used quad core 10mm ones and they where fabulous.an ecotek valve.many people say these dont work but if you spend the time to set them up properly they work very well.they make the accelaration that bit quicker.get a power boost valve.these adjust the pressure of the fuel as you accelarate so you get the right amount of fuel when you need it.an air induction kit takes away the restrictive airbox on your engine hence more power as it is not restricting the engine.a perforance exhaust adds quite a bit of power if you get the right one.a full system is advisable but can be expensive.performance oil filter adds to what you already have by now aswell.

5.look after your engine.this may seem stupid but you would be surprised how many modified cars sit at the side of the road because the owner couldnt be bothered checking the oiul or coolent.check everything regularly to make sure they are sweet or you will be sorry later.

a 1300cc is considerable better and this advise goes to 1300cc aswel but if you cant afford that then these bits can all be aquired cheaply from ebay or or websites.i managed to get all these bits and bobs for less than 400gbp.
then when you get more dosh get a 1.3 and ask cisco for advise on parts like them gorgous coilovers i had my eye on or that turbo.ooooooooooo yaaaaaaaaaa
 
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