Abarth Performance Specialist

Loverly red AGP 155 in for a spruce up on power, due to having some mods installed and wanting it mapped so both power and fuel consumption was better.

Unfortunately whilst tuning, it was noted that boost on the back end would continously drop no matter the request or duty cycle.

A check of all the boost hoses, vacuum lines and actuator showed all to be okay, but unfortunately the issue at hand turned out to be the casting of the turbo.

A fairly hefty crack from the penny valve port all the way through to the turbine wheel area showed where that boost pressure was going 😕 straight out the exhaust!

But none the less, 174hp was achieved compared to 152hp when it came in, as well as far better torque delivery and fuel consumption.

A fresh IHI turbo will resolve the issues regarding boost and give the car the full hp gains that we were looking for in the beginning.

The full modification list for this car:
➡️ Custom intake
➡️ Airtec Intercooler
➡️ 200 cell sports cat
➡️ Backbox delete
❗Bosch ME7.9.10 ECU
_______________________________________
Results 🏁

⚠️ 174 BHP @ 5475rpm - 1.40 Bar down to 0.7 Bar
⚠️ 216 Ftlb @ 3406rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 13 degrees at 6200RPM
⚠️ AFR: 11.7

Autotech Tuning AIRTEC Motorsport Abarth Performance Specialist

Another week and you guessed it, another head gasket 🤦🏻
This time delivered via recovery truck, as the engine decided to puke coolant out of the expansion cap like an angry coffee machine.

Abarth punto evo with just over 100k miles, 0 modifications and stock map, upon teardown it was discovered that both a breach between cylinders as well as coolant side were breached so a double wammy.

The usual inspection and checks, deck cleaned and cylinder head skimmed and rebuilt accordingly, to then rebuild the car and replace all service items as well.

Whilst doing the work the owner asked for some modifications and a remap to really get the most of the visit to us as he's over 150 miles away 😅

Front bumper off and old intercooler removed to find the radiator had basically deleted itself from the car and exploded onto the workshop floor 🤦🏻

So 1 genuine radiator later and rebuilding everything, tuning occoured 🙂 with the car being stock, we didn't get massive gains, compared to the stock 163hp, 205hp is a good jump and the difference is very noticeable.

The owner was very pleased upon test drive, being shocked at how well the car pulled all the way to limiter as well as how good the mpg was on the way home ❤️ another abarth punto saved and many more miles to come for the lovely car!!

The full modification list for this car:
➡️ A.P.S Intercooler
➡️ Forge Intake
❗Marelli 8GMF ECU
_______________________________________
Results 🏁

⚠️ 205 BHP @ 5977rpm - 1.45 BAR
⚠️ 220 Ftlb @ 3371rpm
⚠️ EGT 955c @ 5895rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 7.5 degrees at 6300rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.4

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport Abarth Performance Specialist

Recently had an evo in that was puking coolant out of the coolant bottle as well as drinking it...

We all know what the answer is 🙄 yet another head gasket... But under the usual health checks, it passed at 100% with no issues? Great compression, great leak down, great boost simulation tests at the factory boost levels.

But test driving showed otherwise 😬 doing a pull in 4th gear whilst data logging and 1.85 bar later... This little nugget was suffering from head lift 🤦🏻

Once back from the test drive, cylinder inspection again via bore scope and suprise suprise, cylinder 2 has coolant running down the cylinder wall from the head gasket.

Unknown to the owner, this punto had previously been remapped... Badly... Requesting death as soon as you put your foot down, everything raised past safe levels for a stock engine, boost limiters, airflow, torque... It was all a shambles 😡

So down to the strip and inspection, to find even more suprises with this poor punto, someone had also previously done a head gasket, but instead of getting the head skimmed, good old sand paper that left a hefty amount of visual scratches 🤦🏻

So off to the machine shop, checked for any warpage and thankfully only the smallest amount, so a light skim and rebuild and the cylinder head was good to go.

The usual steps of inspection and clean, to then reinstall for the rebuild procedure, replacing all service items, fresh gaskets and seals, cambelt and Waterpump etc so it's all refreshed.

Ramp tested up to temperature to then flash an original 163hp file onto the car as the file it came in on was pure death 😐

Road tested and datalogged and happily back to being like new, as far as for a fully stock car that is.

Unfortunately there are far to many people who will happily turn everything up to the max and disregard any saftey or risk to the car these days, this proves it, a first for myself as far as diagnosing a punto with cylinder head lift 🙁

Steve Miller in for a Friday inspection, due to a road trip to Europe in a couple of weeks.
An Indepth going over of the car, checking over everything to make sure all in order and healthy.
Only issue that was picked up was heavily worn front wishbones.
Off with the old and on with the new, this evo is very clean underneath, so getting it apart was a breeze.
Additionally, a road test to listen or feel for any issues that may be unapparent to Steve. But nothing but turbo noises and the usual interior squeaks to report 😂

Mid week multiair fun, especially for this evo...
Originally booking in for a gtx300 turbo upgrade, additional mods and a remap, things sounded pretty simple.

But unfortunately the health check had other ideas 😬 compression test passed with flying colours, a strong 160psi across the 4 cylinders, all good? No.
Leak down at minimal pressure was absolutely fine, but unfortunately under a boost simulation test in cylinder 3, air was heavily passing into cylinder 4 as well as cylinder 2.

If you haven't guessed it already, another dead head gasket, an early failure yes, but none the less a failed health check, small fracture on one side and a wavy breach on the other.

A quick chat with the customer, who was present for the tests, straight into resolving, fixing and bolting on a shiny new turbo once all fixed.

A complete overhaul of the top end, all service parts replaced, uprated reinforced head gasket and away with the tuning.

As far as the gtx300 and multiair with additional mods, we have these absolutely nailed now, greddy profec for boost to give the best control as well as a true low and high boost for rainy days or calm driving.

Boost was tested at 1.75+ but torque was becoming a large risk factor for a stock engine, nearly 300ftlb+, not worth the risk or sustainability.

1.65 bar is the sweet spot as far as boost, drivability is perfect at that pressure, especially for the torque side of things, this has been one of the best results for torque from the gtx300 so far.

The full modification list for this car:
➡️ A.P.S GTX300 Turbo
➡️ A.P.S 3" Intake
➡️ A.P.S 3" Downpipe
➡️ A.P.S blow of valve kit
➡️ 3" Exhaust system
➡️ Airtec Intercooler
➡️ 1.82mm Headgasket
➡️ 390cc Injectors
➡️ Forge Actuator
➡️ Greddy profec boost controller

❗Stock multiair cylinder head
❗Stock multiair camshaft
❗Marelli 8GMF ECU
_______________________________________

Results 🏁
Low boost:
⚠️ 225 BHP @ 6650rpm - 1.1 BAR
⚠️ 215 Ftlb @ 4074rpm
⚠️ EGT 795c @ 6976rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 13 degrees at 7000rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.7

High boost:
⚠️ 304 BHP @ 6788rpm - 1.65 BAR
⚠️ 278 Ftlb @ 4130rpm
⚠️ EGT 822c @ 7021rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 7.5 degrees at 7000rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.2

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport AIRTEC Motorsport Abarth Performance Specialist

Did someone say L*D? William Reilly finally bit the bullet and bought a limited slip differential for his gorgous abarth punto evo.
Being a c635 box it has to be split to install, but once done not so bad.
This car is absolutely brilliant now, 230bhp, sharp and responsive brakes, great suspension setup and now an L*D to finish it off 😁

Mr Pembo dropped me a message earlier in the week about having issues with his clutch, as well as puddle of brake fluid under the gearbox 😅

Thankfully Thursday was avaliable for him to drop by and have a full refresh of the dual mass flywheel, clutch kit and concentric slave cylinder that was leaking.

Definitely winning the award for both the most worn clutch plate as well as the filthiest gearbox I've had to remove to date!

All installed and back to being driveable, this gorgous evo is good for the future 👌🏻

Some serious temperatures this week, but it's nice to have some sunshine to tune in. ☀️

A car that's been trying to get to me for over 3 years! Joe with his abarth punto evo, originally contacting me me 2021 to organise a remap, has had a long 3 years of snags, delays and mishaps with the car.

But finally managed to get the car across to me from the other side of the country pretty much 😅

As soon as he pulled in my ears detected an audible noise coming from the engine bay, a tapping sound that was on one cylinder 😬

Straight into diagnosis and health check, a compression test revealed cylinder 4 was only 80psi!... Not good considering the other 3 were a strong 160psi.

Leak down test showed all 4 cylinders to hold pressure well, as well as a cylinder inspection via the bore scope, no head gasket issues for a change 😅.

Next up was to pull the multiair unit as you can have issues and no codes unfortunately, as soon as I lifted the unit off, it rained hydraulic valve lifters into the engine... Fair to say we have found the issue.

Cylinder 4 actually had a multiair hydraulic lifter jammed in between the intake valve springs, I have a feeling this is where the 80psi came from.

Not to mention a replacement cam gasket and spark plug seals as she was happy to let oil pour out 😬 giving the cam cover a good clean as well as making the engine look 10 x better for it.

A quick replacement with a new unit and she was right as rain, meaning onto the tuning, being 140k on the clock we didn't feel the need to push her too hard, stock catalytic converter as well so no point in chasing lots of boost.

Spooling up to 1.45 to drop down to 1.3 on the back end was more then adequate for this setup, considering it came in with 164hp and 190ftlb after the multiair unit was replaced.

It's good to finally meet Joe and work on his evo, a fun little pocket rocket for sure 😊 Joe himself is a great guy who has serious love for the car, despite all the issues she's given him.

Additionally fitted with a traction control switch so the car can be used to it's full potential without any interruptions ✌🏻As well as put a smile on Joe's face in the wet 😅

Definitely an enjoyable car to work on ❤️

The full modification list for this car:

➡️ Garrett GT1446 Turbo
➡️ Forge Intake
➡️ Airtec Intercooler
➡️ DV+
➡️ Forge actuator
➡️ 2.5" Catback Exhaust

❗ Stock Catalytic Converter
❗ Stock Actuator
❗ Magneti Marelli 8GMF ECU
_______________________________________

Results 🏁

⚠️ 215 BHP @ 5800rpm - 1.45 BAR
⚠️ 218 Ftlb @ 3346rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 7 degrees at 6000rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.7
⚠️ EGT: 945c max

_______________________________________

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport AIRTEC Motorsport Abarth Performance Specialist

Joe Basta in for a nice list of service work as well as a nice shiny big turbo upgrade 😊

Past 3 weeks on and off due to health, doing jobs like a fresh cambelt kit with full service, as well as installation of our GTX300 ball bearing turbo kit.

This AGP is absolutely gorgous, really well looked after as well as clean both underneath and inside ❤️

Keeping it clean and neat with the GTX300 install, as wanted to run with the engine cover in place to show it was still an esseesse at heart ❤️

Tuning wise the greddy profec oled boost controller was chosen for the optimal boost control, as well as giving low and high boost options.

Being 15 years old, still running on the stock 0.72mm head gasket, the decision to keep boost under 1.6 bar was chosen.

Peak spool being 1.6 bar to then fall down to 1.4 at 6000rpm, this little rocket is so much fun! Low boost is only 1.25 bar constant till limiter, but even so, great fun.

The engine has strong compression for being over 100k miles, this really helped keep the torque strong as its a flat line until around 6000rpm where the boost is set to drop down to 1.4 bar.

The full modification list for this car:

➡️ A.P.S GTX300 ball bearing turbo
➡️ A.P.S 3" intake
➡️ A.P.S 3" Downpipe
➡️ A.P.S Intercooler
➡️ Forge actuator
➡️ Forge blow off valve
➡️ 390cc Injectors
➡️ TBF catch can setup
➡️ Greddy Profec Oled boost controller

❗ Stock intake manifold
❗ Bosch ME7.9.10 ECU
_______________________________________

Results 🏁

Low boost:

⚠️ 233 BHP @ 6139rpm - 1.25 BAR
⚠️ 221 Ftlb @ 4441rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 10 degrees at 7200rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.7

High boost:

⚠️ 287 BHP @ 6622rpm - 1.60 BAR
⚠️ 275 Ftlb @ 4852rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 9 degrees at 7200rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.1

_______________________________________

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport Abarth Performance Specialist Abarth

Nice to be back in the workshop for some light work 😅 health temporarily better due to magical drugs 🤦🏻
Brian back in for a full set of Koni active shocks and 30mm Eibach lowering springs.
Fresh rear pads due to a sticky caliper and a new radiator as the car decided to create an additional ventilation port 🤦🏻
Cars really coming together nicely, 300hp, well setup suspension, great brakes and looks amazing 👌🏻
Desperately in need of an L*D now though 😁

Unfortunately health has been very poor past couple of weeks so not been in the workshop or on socials for messages.

Instead take a look at this gorgeous line up of genuine Abarth grande punto esseesse in all the colours that came to the UK ❤️

Very rare to have all 3 colours together let alone all running with no issues 😅

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be replying to messages on all platforms, please be patient, It's day to day at the moment unfortunately 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Please note we are closed until the 1st of June

We are still having issues with Facebook Meta messages - not able to see messages.
Please email:
[email protected]
For all inquiries
Thanks
A.P.S

One of the many puntos in the workshop, unfortunately this one was in a severely poor state when it arrived on the back of a town truck due to the owner failing to listen to some strong advice...

Diagnosed with a badly breached head gasket back at the start of March, it was advised not to drive the car until repairs could take place 😅

Well 600 miles later, the engine decided to gr***de itself due to different cylinder compression, fuelling and temperatures...

Cylinder 1 piston crown broke, absolutely destroying the valves, debris travelling though the turbo, destroying that, not to mention finding its way into the intake manifold and induction pipework 😟 all 4 cylinders were peppered with debris.

The best part is that when the engine let go, it took out cylinder 1 in a big way, cracking the cylinder all the way around 🫡

So a new engine sourced, a replacement turbo and the decision to strip to install a new head gasket for future proofing due to running strong power.

Cleaning took a fair few hours, even the smallest piece of aluminium debris can cause chaos inside the engine 😑

Freshly built the new engine up on the stand, a full refresh on all service parts, fresh fluids and a cleanup to get the engine ready to install.

Then the basics of installing back into the car and ramp testing to make sure no issues, run up to temperature, compression tested and health checked.

All green across the board, including a final test drive with data logging and monitoring due to this car being modified and tuned.

At the end of the day, issues like this could of been avoided if the car wasn't driven as advised, but unfortunately not for this punto, but with a new engine and a full refresh of all parts, this mad little machine should last for many years to come ❤️

A blast to the past with Steve Miller and his gorgous abarth punto evo esseesse ❤️

For those that don't know, back in early 2021, Steve was generous enough to donate his evo to us for the development of our GTX300 turbo on the multiair platform.

Once the kit was fitted, the fun of tuning took place, the car made a strong 262hp and 330nm with a peak of 1.5 bar boost tailing down to 1.3 bar at 6900rpm.

Steve was really happy with the power, the delivery and the drivability of the car with the new setup, so for the past 3 years he's been happily enjoying the car 😊

However, the past couple of months, Steve and I have discussed finding the full potential of the gtx300 turbo on a stock engine.

Taking into account the longevity of the engine, maximum boost pressure, rpm limiters and choosing what route to go regarding boost control.

The choice to move over to a greddy profec for boost control was decided, to have a better control of boost due to a far larger boost solanoid as well as having a choice for low and high boost at the press of a button.

Once all fitted and wired in, another full session of tuning, building the boost up as well as keeping an eye on airflow, torque and fuelling.

The final boost pressure of 1.7 bar was chosen with a rpm limiter of 7300, the gtx300 bhp peaked at just over 7000rpm and started to fall off at approximately 7300rpm.

A fair bit of time later, multiple tweaks, lots of runs, the car was dialed, working on the initial spool, making sure to keep it smooth and a nice curve, not a sharp rise with a load of torque at the start.

The turbo can spool quicker but the sudden rise in boost pressure and torque was a danger factor to internals, so it was smoothed off for safety.

Fair to say it's an absolute animal of a car now, pulling strong all the way to 7300rpm, I look forward to seeing this car on track in the future ❤️
__________________________________________________

Modifications:

➡️ A.P.S GTX300 Ball Bearing Turbo
➡️ Forge Actuator - 1 Bar Spring
➡️ 390cc Injectors
➡️ A.P.S 3" 200 Cell high flow sports cat
➡️ A.P.S 3" Intake
➡️ Stage 1 multiair camshaft
➡️ Reinforced multiair springs
➡️ Uprated Intercooler
➡️ High Spark coil packs
➡️ Greddy Profec boost controller
➡️ DV+

❗ Stock multiair cylinder head
❗ Stock intake manifold
❗ Stock exhaust manifold
❗ Marelli 8GMF ECU
_________________________________________________

Results 🏁

⚠️ 305 BHP @ 6881rpm - 1.70 BAR
⚠️ 375.5Nm (277Ftlb) @ 5217rpm
⚠️ EGT 840c @ 7300rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 7 degrees at 7300rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.4

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport Abarth Performance Specialist Tork Motorsports Abarth

Another week and you guessed it, another head gasket 😣
Luca asked me to come to him to diagnose why his abarth punto evo was running rough and not driving well...
After a compression test it was clear an internal issue was present, especially with cylinder 2 and 3 being 70psi instead of the healthy 160 😔
The car was transported up to me to have the work carried out to revive the engine as the car was undrivable in the state it was.
The usual treatment of a strong clean as a fair few leaks as well as a new cambelt kit, thermostat and service items.
Another evo back up and running, Luca was suprised how much power had been lost due to the gasket failing over time.
Unfortunately we have more gasket jobs booked in for the future as age is really showing this to be a common occurrence.

Ethan back in for a suspension refresh, age hasn't been kind to the majority of the suspension, but happily back to full heath with a freshen up.

Top mounts sounded more like rumble strips then bearings along with two failed rear struts 😔 driving the car was very uncomfortable as it was very unsettled...

Definitely out with the old and in with the new.

Fresh top mounts, wishbones, rear struts with new top mounts and front drop links, the cars back to being sharp and responsive 😊

I always mention how gorgeous this car is, even more so due to a freshen up of the steering wheel, really makes the drivers side of the car pop 👌🏻

Some development components that have been in the works over the part 18 months, working hard to develop equal free flowing tubular manifolds for stock fitment with water rail and lines taken into account.

Both internally gated and also external wastegate manifolds have been designed for 400hp+ application, EGT port to monitor temperatures if needed as well.

Both manifolds are Vband connection onto the turbo for the ease of access as well as best flow, not to mention less risk of blowing due to not needing a gasket.

These manifolds in particular are designed for top mount turbo location similar to stock (far larger turbos however 😅)

Factory water pipe dosn't need to be replaced and the factory water / oil exchange unit on both builds has been converted to an A.P.S oil cooler kit to aid in cooling.

However stock water / oil exchange units aren't compromised due to these manifolds.

Fully TIG welded using SCH10 1.25" mild steel pipework for maximum strength and low weight. The collector is made to flow and with sufficient length which helps massively.

Total weight is 4.8kg for non externally gated and for externally gated it's 5.0kg, that is pretty good considering the size of both manifolds and that they are fully SCH10 1.25".

Please note we are now closed until the 1st of April

Another week and another head gasket, lovely campavolo grey with sabelt seats ❤️

Another breach between cylinder 2 and 3, luckily no gas cutting to the cylinder head either.

Only 87k on the clock with very minimal modifications.

Full strip down and clean, check over all parts that were removed and rebuilt, the multiair cylinder head needed to have a fresh lap of the valves due to 50% failing to seal correctly.

All rebuilt back up and ramp tested through some heat cycles, runs like a dream now it's back on all 4 cylinders 😂

Road tested and logged to make sure no little niggles, really nice car ❤️

Lovely stock abarth grande punto in for a M32 short shifter and replacement column for lights, Wipers, indicators and cruise control.

A known issue with the column switches on the puntos, intermittent or permanently on lights, Wipers not having one touch, cruise control dropping off or failing to respond, all issues that a new steering column switch set can resolve.

Nice to see an unmolested AGP ☺️

Another abarth punto evo in for a headgasket 😢 this time 115k on the clock.

Unmolested with modifications as well, seems to be a head gasket a week at the moment with these cars now due to the age of the cars.

Full strip down and clean, this car was absolutely horrid with gunky oil, rad weld and build ups of old oil 🤮 many hours of cleaning and scrubbing.

Rebuilt with all new service items, fresh thermostat as was still on original, as well as fresh waterpump and cambelt kit, fired up first turn of the key and runs like a dream again 😊

Regarding the head gasket, a breach between two cylinders as well as cylinder 4 pushing into coolant galley, pressuring coolant system and spraying out of the expansion bottle like a fire extinguisher!!

🏁🏁 New UK Abarth Punto Evo Multiair record 🏁🏁

back in September 2022 we had this well known campavolo grey supersport in for a fully forged engine with gtx350 turbo kit, unfortunately we maxed the 390cc injectors out so the project had to be put on pause 😔

Until recently, finally getting out hands back on this car to finish off what was started in 2022 🏁 over 10,000 miles on this engine since built and the health check was a 100% pass ✅

A fresh service before tuning, inspection and checking small things like vacuum lines for the external wastegate to controller.

The full modification list for this car:

➡️ A.P.S fully forged engine
- wossner 72.5mm pistons
- PEC rods
- ARP con rod bolts
- rebored block
➡️ A.P.S 3" intake
➡️ A.P.S 3" full exhaust system with electronic valve - Kieran Burston 🙏🏻
➡️ ARP head studs
➡️ Stage 2 Multiair Camshaft
➡️ Uprated multiair springs
➡️ A.P.S GTX350 ball bearing turbo
➡️ Airtec Intercooler
➡️ 1.82mm Headgasket
➡️ 630cc Injectors
➡️ Tubular Exhaust Manifold
➡️ Tial 38mm External Wastegate
➡️ CG motorsport lightened flywheel
➡️ Stage 1 dual friction clutch
➡️ A.P.S AC delete kit
➡️ Custom catch can setup
➡️ GFB gforce 2 boost controller

❗ Stock multiair cylinder head
❗ Stock intake manifold
❗ Stock fuel pump
❗ Stock 3.5 bar fuel regulator
❗ Marelli 8GMF ECU
_______________________________________

Results 🏁

Low boost:

⚠️ 258 BHP @ 7545rpm - 1.35 BAR
⚠️ 295 Nm (218Ftlb) @ 5070rpm
⚠️ EGT 750c @ 7500rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 11 degrees at 7500rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.4

High boost:

⚠️ 344 BHP @ 6675rpm - 1.80 BAR
⚠️ 377 Nm (280Ftlb) @ 6067rpm
⚠️ EGT 775c @ 7500rpm
⚠️ Ignition timing: 8 degrees at 7500rpm
⚠️ AFR: 11.2

_______________________________________

It feels great to finally finish this project after waiting nearly 2 years! Seeing the powerband given from the gtx350 and how well it holds the torque in both low and high boost especially!

1.8 bar until 7500rpm is something else in this car, in high boost the turbo falls off at approximately 6600rpm but the torque stays above 325nm from 4300rpm to 7500rpm ❤️

The drivability of the car is comfortable, the clutch works well and doesn't give you an 'on / off' feeling, you can drive casually as well as have full potential at the press of the throttle.

With this car, it wasn't about chasing numbers, we could have pushed up to 2 bar boost but it's not needed, unnecessary stress and temperatures, the setup and build would have taken it fine but that's not what we were aiming for.

Having the limiter at 7500rpm was to see how long the gtx350 holds on for, as mentioned above, bhp drops off around 6600rpm but torque goes till limiter.

We could have pushed up to 8000rpm but again not needed, what we aim for is drivability, not chase numbers.

A huge thank you to all that were involved with this project 💪🏻💪🏻 cannot wait to reveal the bigger builds later on this year 😏😏

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport AIRTEC Motorsport

Not often we have an abarth 124 in the workshop, especially one of the earliest to hit the UK.

Unfortunately a little poorly due to being run on 3 cylinders for over 30 miles due to a dead coil pack 😬 (road side assistance told the owner it was okay... It was not...)

The owners local garage replaced the coil packs and plugs but more issues cropped up, dead lambda sensors causing the car to drop into limp and run poorly.

A quick trip on the ramp and replacement of lambda sensors, test drive to clear any unburnt residual fuel and back to being happy ☺️ despite being an mx5 underneath, they are a really nice car, especially a manual like this one!

So onto part 2 for the Alfa Romeo Mito 135hp multiair 😊

The tuning 👌🏻 being a 1.4 multiair with the same 8gmf ecu as the abarth punto evo, we jumped right into it.

First thing was to flash the car back to stock as a previous garage had attempted to tune the car, we never work off the back of another's tuning, we clean the slate and start again.

From there we progress with building up the tune, starting off with the fuelling at 1 bar of boost, making sure the air to fuel ratio is correct until the desired rpm, multiple data logs to look for any anomalies, things like dropping ignition timing, high exhaust temperature etc.

From here we build it up until we can see the turbo has reached its maximum potential or we are seeing desired figures, we're not after record numbers or chasing high amounts of boost 🙄

As far as modifications, this mad little mito is running the following:

➡️ Turbo developments hybrid garrett gt1446
➡️ Forge Intake
➡️ Forge blow off valve
➡️ Forge actuator
➡️ 390cc injectors
➡️ Airtec Intercooler
➡️ Straight through downpipe
➡️ Aftermarket exhaust system
➡️ Larger diamiter aluminium boost pipes
➡️ Stock multiair camshaft

It was an absolute blast tuning this car, being an alfa romeo and having the DNA system to work with, dynamic mode is where all the fun happens on this little rocket.

Results:

▶️ 251bhp - 6627rpm @ 1.6 bar peak down to 1.4
▶️ 253Ftlb / 344Nm - 3900rpm
▶️ 11.4 AFR
▶️ 922.c EGT
▶️ Marelli 8GMF ECU

Absolutely love how this turbo spools as well as holds till just over 6500rpm, the torque is the best part as it just keeps pulling ❤️

From the stock 135hp to 250hp it's a big jump, especially with the 5 speed box, 3rd gear has some long legs 🔥

Look forward to working on more Mitos in the future 🇮🇹

Autotech Tuning Forge Motorsport AIRTEC Motorsport

An abarth? No, but a multiair? Yes ❤️

This is PART 1 of this story, I'll post the second part after.

I've had my hands on this gorgeous car since early January, originally the car came in for a remap but unfortunately when it came to the health check we ran into issues straight away 😞

When it comes to tuning these cars, it's crucial to have a health check, anyone that doesn't simply isn't doing it right!

The compression test for this mito was fine, strong equal compression across the 4 cylinders, some would think "okay, tuning time", but no, we make sure to take additional steps with a cylinder leak down test and also a cylinder inspection via a HD bore scope.

When it came to the leak down, cylinder 1 failed badly in comparison to the other 3 cylinders, with further investigation via the bore scope it was clear to see a large quantity of foreign objects inside the cylinder 😟

The owner was informed and the project was put on pause until it was agreed that the only correct way of going about this was to strip the top of the engine apart to diagnose, repair and then rebuild.

As with the engine how it was, cylinder 1 could potentially run lean in comparison to the other 3 cylinders.
Due to the valves failing to seal correctly due to this debris, this can cost you an engine 😬

Once stripped apart, it was clear this debris wasn't from the engine, it was foreign to the car, almost like gravel - dirt - rock like substance, it took a fair while to understand where this had come from until looking at the intake manifold...

Previous to coming to us, this Mito had a hybrid 1446 turbo installed along with 390cc injectors from another garage... The only way possible for just 1 cylinder out of the 4 to have foreign debris is from the injectors being replaced, the other 3 cylinders were spotless.

If you're not running an undertray on these cars, it's more then possible that road debris, gravel, dirt or tiny rocks can be blown up into the engine bay, cleaned off intake manifolds previous to this to prevent this exact situation.

When removing injectors you always want to check to make sure no foreign objects are present and at risk of falling into the injector hole when removed, it's believed that in this case, that's exactly what had happened, especially as the same gravel like material was still present all over the intake manifold 😔

So onto the repairs, cylinder head bowls checked, 3 out of the 4 valves leaking air on cylinder 1, removed and checked, not bent, just pitted due to the debris with some built up of gunk.

Cylinder head fully stripped, 16 x valves checked, freshly lapped and rechecked once rebuilt, 100% seal ❤️

The rebuild was nice and straight forward, all service items replaced, everything cleaned, degreased and looking gorgous! This little mito was so nice to work on.

Ramp tested, another health check once the engine was put through some heat cycles and she was 100% ready for tuning 👌🏻

Remember folks, it only takes a small piece of rock or gravel to take out a valve, to then cost you an engine, take care when removing components that will leave in combustion chamber open to risk!

This mito got lucky 🙏🏻

Tuning and results will be on PART 2 👍🏻