M1Tch's Fiesta Mk6 1.4 Tdci Daily Project

[Ben87]

Always enjoy reading you updates Mitch, like what your doing. Keep up the good work.

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

[m1tch]

Always enjoy reading you updates Mitch, like what your doing. Keep up the good work.

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

Thanks for that, I figure that I might as well have a go at using my car as a test bed, we all know that manufacturers compromise on certain things for the balance between noise, cost and performance. I know when I read up about the 1.4 tdci vs 1.6 tdci that I was quite tempted with the 1.6 engine owing to the economy out of the box but figured with a few tweaks I could get the smaller (but older designed) engine to perform slightly better. I have been quite amazed so far at how well it response with just a simple induction change, the issue I am coming up with is how to get a everything to fit as there is limited space.

I will keep with the updates, the 35mm filter has arrived which I can then bolt directly onto the turbo and then run a breather/catch can on the rocker cover, will be interesting to see how well it performs without the MAF without any restriction to the turbo.

[m1tch]

Quick update on this, I have refueled the car again, part of this tank was used up whilst sitting in traffic on the M25 as well as me not really watching the fuel trip computer eg probably the worst MPG I can get - although I did have the modded air filter. The MPG came to 56.6mpg so basically the same as stock meaning that even if driven badly/not economically with a modded air filter it will still return an average MPG!

Anyway, I have also just fitted the EGR blanking plate, engine sounds slightly different - there is much more induction noise when letting off the throttle, this means that air is being drawn into the engine more via the air filter. Before fitting the blanking plate the noise wasn't really as noticeable as I guess that part of the 'air' was being taken from the exhaust via the EGR valve.

Fitment wasn't too bad, one bolt is fairly easy to get to, the other not as much but you can feel for it, both are 8mm, I kept the fuel filter in as it doesn't really get in the way too much, probably took about half an hour or so - most of that was spent on the more hidden bolt.

I will see what the MPG is like this week and report back, the car does seem slightly more responsive but the main difference has been the change in air filters as it seems to respond well to an air filter change by removing the stock airbox. I have found a 90 degree 60mm pipe in the garage, its actually off a Renault Megane 1.9 DCi I nabbed a massive OEM front mounted intercooler off, guess it makes sense to have the same sort of pipework.

I will look to use that to make a 90 degree bend then open it up to 76mm (3") and put a slimline cone filter on the end - will look to do that at some point soonish although still want to try directly bolting a filter to the turbo.

[chemfusion]

On 19/01/2016 at 9:35 PM, m1tch said:

"there is much more induction noise when letting off the throttle"

How would you describe the induction noise? I get a noise in mine when you let off the throttle, like a muffled gargling-water-in-the-back-of-your-throat sound - not sure how else to describe it. It's more noticeable when you've got too few revs for your current speed (I think)

[m1tch]

21 hours ago, chemfusion said:

How would you describe the induction noise? I get a noise in mine when you let off the throttle, like a muffled gargling-water-in-the-back-of-your-throat sound - not sure how else to describe it. It's more noticeable when you've got too few revs for your current speed (I think)

I know exactly what you mean - does your car also have the EGR blanking plate on it? I noticed that the noise has gradually been getting louder during the week and the performance felt like it was dropping off - the MPG for last week was only at 53mpg. I found that due to the fact that my air filter was open to the elements (for testing) rather than being 100% covered by the base of the airbox I found that it had started to get rather dirty.

I have now changed back to the small cone filter, however this time I have attached it inside a 60mm to 76mm adaptor so that there isn't a restriction in the coupling, throttle response is now much much better, basically instant, and there is no noise on throttle let off.

I believe the noise we both heard would be the engine trying to suck more air through the airbox than was available, with the EGR unblanked this difference was made up from the EGR being open and 'air' being sucked in from both the air filter and the EGR pipe. Now that I have changed the air filter over to a better flowing filter the engine now gets the air it needs hence no induction noise on throttle let off. 

I will be running with the small cone filter this week and will see what the MPG is like and see how it performs on the motorway, I will be looking to get a 90 degree elbow and look to run a larger cone filter but will try out the small cone to start with.

[chemfusion]

3 hours ago, m1tch said:

does your car also have the EGR blanking plate on it?

No; I have one though, and tried to fit it, but couldn't get the bolts undone to slip it in due to the awkward location.

[m1tch]

7 hours ago, chemfusion said:

No; I have one though, and tried to fit it, but couldn't get the bolts undone to slip it in due to the awkward location.

It's not too bad, you can see the top bolt, its the bolt further in that was the issue, I managed to find a long handled spanner to just about reach it, its a bit of a faff due to the fact that the actual EGR body gets in the way, you can feel where it is though. I found that I had enough access with the airbox removed so I didn't need to remove the fuel filter as I have seen some guides do - I will try and get a photo of the spanner I used - think its called a gooseneck spanner.

Also an update on the air filter, the car has averaged 67.4mpg from the time I installed the smaller cone filter, have done a bit of town driving then the motorway drive this morning, I have noticed that its much quieter meaning that the airflow is good. One thing to note is that the power delivery is smooth, it revs quite happily and the throttle response is very good (considering the throttle pedal isn't physically connected to the engine).

I have noticed that there isn't any black smoke if giving it a rev on idle as it was before with the cone filter installed - this must be due to the airflow now being smooth and correct without the rubber coupler restricting the filter as it was before. I will be very interested to see how well this performs and might then look into getting a 90 degree elbow with an air filter attached onto it - the current setup isn't ideal and it was just to check the difference with regards to the restriction I found in the coupler.

[chemfusion]

12 hours ago, m1tch said:

Also an update on the air filter...

Do you have any more pictures of your filter set-ups?

[m1tch]

2 hours ago, chemfusion said:

Do you have any more pictures of your filter set-ups?

I am basically running it the same as below, there is just enough space between the end of the MAF and the fuel filter to fit the small cone filter, ideally I would run a 90 degree silicone bend and then run another filter where the OEM airbox went. The setup below means that I can run the MAF and intake pipe as per OEM setup as well as having the inbuilt breather without needing to mod anything. I am still working on a 35mm to 60mm adaptor (so I can bolt the MAF directly infront of the turbo) but am happy with the setup so far. The car is averaging around 65mpg for the past few days on the trip computer, although I know that its slightly out so guessing high 50/60mpg. The main difference is that its so much nicer to drive with the better throttle response, it just picks up when you need it to.

[m1tch]

Typically I was stuck in a lot of traffic yesterday so its knocked about 10% off the MPG, still having a few issues with the MAF throwing a P0100 code though, I also got a p0103 code as well, they both seem to point to the MAF flowing too much air! I will also recheck the connector isn't getting knocked as the P0100 code was thrown at EXACTLY the same place on my drive home which is coming off a sliproad, uphill and braking which might mean that the connector is getting tugged as the engine moves or something - will see if I can adjust it more as this code wasn't being thrown with the modded OEM box.

I might also look to unplug the doser valve as well on the way home tonight, there isn't really any reason to have that plugged in anymore as it can't draw any air through the EGR pipe!

[m1tch]

Just filled up again, MPG was 53.5 but that was also me sat in traffic for one of the trips and it never really recovered back, I am still getting the P0100 code come up every now and then, might unplug the doser valve to make sure that isn't messing with the airflow as it would usually get airflow from the EGR which is now blocked off.

I have ordered another larger air filter, will be looking to fit a 90 degree bend to the MAF to see if that also helps, so far its running around 20mpg less than the more powerful Clio :(

[m1tch]

Slight breakthrough with the MPG on the car, I unplugged the doser valve over the weekend and then drove it into work this morning, the car does cruise much better in terms of when the throttle is let off the car continues rolling without too much engine braking. This kinda confirms my thoughts about the doser valve + a blanked EGR in terms of the engine closes the EGR valve as it is expecting there to be additional 'air' coming from the EGR valve which I would guess would be open at the same time. As the EGR is blanked off when the doser valve closes all it tries to do is suck air from blanked off pipe which I think is why the car doesn't roll as easily as its basically increasing the engine braking.

The MPG on the trip computer for the same journey into work this morning with the same sort of traffic was at 73.2, even taking off the 10% for error that running in the mid 65s vs last week which was more like mid 55s - so around an 18% improvement. One thing to note is that on the M25 the MPG was initially up at 75-81mpg on the average MPG calculator but then dropped to high 60s when I needed to accelerate away from a roundabout from a junction but it did recover again even with a fair number of hills on the other motorway.

I did notice over the weekend that injectors 1 and 2 (from the cambelt end) were still slightly damp around where the leak off lines attach so I have a feeling the small O rings might have gone/been reused when the injector seals were done. This would also mean that on cruise there is probably a bit of fuel that wouldn't be returning to the tank/pump especially on lower throttle inputs as more of the diesel should be leaking back due to the lower injector duty.

I will look into either replacing the leak off lines or seeing if I can get replacement O rings for the 2 injectors, injectors 3 and 4 are completely dry.

[m1tch]

Right, after knowing that the small cone setup works, I figure I would fit a larger cone filter as initially planned, I have just got a generic filter and then attached it using some hose and parts I had in the garage. Its actually a HDI 110 boost pipe and some of the OEM fiesta pipe!

Its a very simply setup and its just another temporary test, so far after having a drive around it does seem to give a bit more mid range torque - the smaller filter might have maxxed out in terms of airflow but this one is fine. I will see what the MPG is like tomorrow to see if there is an improvement or not over the smaller filter - my thought is that the longer intake might mean slightly less throttle response - will see tomorrow.

Sorry for the bad photo, its dark outside, but you get the idea:

[chemfusion]

Interesting, from memory my 1.4 TDCi doesn't have a doser valve like you speak of; if it did I might have tried unplugging it to see if it would have any effect on the weird noise that I described before.

Decided that I will have another go at blanking the EGR again when I can get hold of the socket set at home

[m1tch]

10 minutes ago, chemfusion said:

Interesting, from memory my 1.4 TDCi doesn't have a doser valve like you speak of; if it did I might have tried unplugging it to see if it would have any effect on the weird noise that I described before.

Decided that I will have another go at blanking the EGR again when I can get hold of the socket set at home

Perhaps post up a photo of your engine bay, it should be the same as mine but I guess there could be some differences in emissions parts, maybe mine was added at a later time.

I will report back tomorrow to see how well this larger filter works, I still have the option of running without a MAF and run a filter directly on the turbo, I am still working on a straight shot kit in front of the turbo as well.

[chemfusion]

3 minutes ago, m1tch said:

Perhaps post up a photo of your engine bay...

On second thoughts...

After the resonator box mine just has a section of pipe that ends in a plastic block, whereas yours (as per the pic in your post from 25th Jan) has a plastic section with a green connector half way along - is this what you are referring to?

Cos from this (last pics in 12th Aug post) 

I might have a valve like that you are talking about but in the plastic block at the end of the pipe?

[m1tch]

The plastic block is the doser valve, there should be a connector under it which actuates the flap, the green connector I believe is the intake air temp sensor I believe - its inside the pipe.

Just drove to work this morning with the new air filter setup, it seems to have done the trick with the MPG, the car does roll much better and there is very little throttle input needed to keep it moving. At different sections of the motorway I decided to reset the MPG counter and run it at a constant speed to see what the differences are, initially when starting at around 50mph I found that the MPG was pinned at 99.9mpg but dropped a bit when going up a hill. At 60mph the MPG was in the mid 80s (so around 75mpg when taking off the 10% error), at 70 the MPG dropped to mid 60s (around 56mpg with the 10% error) which is where the MPG was when driving economically with the stock airbox.

One thing I did notice that the engine is quiet at 2k rpm (which is around 50mph in 5th), at 56mph there is a slight induction noise, at 60 there is a bit more and at 70mph, it would seem that anything over around 2,100 rpm the engine starts to labour slightly more meaning that I need to keep my foot down more to keep a constant speed. It would seem that at 56mph would be the most economical between MPG and actually getting to where you are going.

I do still need to check my leak off lines but so far the larger air filter seems to be working, the throttle response is still ok although I don't 'feel' that its quite as crisp, will still try a few other things but its a step in the right direction especially as its edging up to the high 70s early 80s on the average MPG display.

[chemfusion]

Here's mine... So it's just to the left of the jubilee clip? Also I've got it in my head that there's an air valve somewhere that shuts when you turn the engine off to cut all air flow to the engine? Is it the same one?

[m1tch]

18 hours ago, chemfusion said:

Here's mine... So it's just to the left of the jubilee clip? Also I've got it in my head that there's an air valve somewhere that shuts when you turn the engine off to cut all air flow to the engine? Is it the same one?

It looks like your engine has the same connector between the inlet manifold to boost pipe (next to the jubilee clip) but doesn't have the valve in it - thanks for this photo as it shows that I might now be able to swap out the current one on my engine with the style on your engine to delete it all together! Looks like you are also missing the other sensor in the pipe which might actually be another pressure measuring sensor to check to see if that valve is working correctly (will research into it).

You can also see the silver EGR pipe next to the brake master cylinder in the back, just follow that pipe over and you will get to the EGR itself - happy to take a few photos of the bolt locations if you want, one is easy to get to, the other is a bit of a faff.

Also, an update on the MPG, I drove steadily at 56mph on a flat part of the motorway to see what sort of MPG the trip computer would suggest, the MPG was hovering around the 85mpg mark so removing the 10% error it would come out to be around 76mpg which is more like it for a smaller diesel engine!

Also last night I decided to reset the MPG on part of the way home onto a bypass on the way home, its basically all up hill, set of lights at the bottom, I accelerated full throttle up to 70mph and then maintained that speed - the MPG dropped to 62mpg which works out to be the same as if driving the car economically with the stock airbox.

The new airfilter setup has made a fairly marked difference, will be interesting to see what happens when I look to replace the exhaust backbox for a better flowing one, although the stock exhaust is only 48mm OD lol.

[m1tch]

So I filled up the car yesterday, the car returned 59.3mpg which was mixed between economy and checking the MPG at 70 etc so not a bad increase so far.

I have found that the engine works best at between 1,750 and 2,125 rpm - basically keeping the engine below the 2,125rpm mark and the engine doesn't labour, anything over that the engine increases in fuel consumption.

I have also ordered some gel badges, other than that it is still fairly standard, I will get a double DIN head unit soon but I am now a bit happier with the fuel consumption.

[chemfusion]

Apart from more induction noise did you notice any other changes in terms of how it drives etc from fitting the EGR blanking plate?

[m1tch]

21 hours ago, chemfusion said:

Apart from more induction noise did you notice any other changes in terms of how it drives etc from fitting the EGR blanking plate?

The car did feel slightly better although I wasn't running a stock airbox, the main thing is that there wasn't any muck being chucked into the engine anymore!

[m1tch]

MPG update, last fill up was 59.41MPG, I can see that I do have 2 leaking leak off pipes though so it should be higher, trip computer stated it was running at 66.3.

I will look to sort out the leak off lines, 2 are fine, 2 are leaking - MPG would be higher if all of the fuel was going either into the engine or back to the tank rather than escaping lol.

 

 

[j03K3R]

been a very interesting read and great info. I will be looking into blanking g the egr valve and an induction kit. my car currently runs a chip box plug and play sort of thing and it's sat at 155,000 miles with a recent oil and oil filter change sent from oilsopieoils.com I also have a boost gauge and bleed valve on my car. the car will be having a remap at some stage soon but wanted to sort things out first. I don't do eco driving in mine and it returns on trip computer 55-58 mpg if I do economic drive I'm in the mid 60's. keep up the good work mate.

[m1tch]

On 2/26/2016 at 11:42 PM, j03K3R said:

been a very interesting read and great info. I will be looking into blanking g the egr valve and an induction kit. my car currently runs a chip box plug and play sort of thing and it's sat at 155,000 miles with a recent oil and oil filter change sent from oilsopieoils.com I also have a boost gauge and bleed valve on my car. the car will be having a remap at some stage soon but wanted to sort things out first. I don't do eco driving in mine and it returns on trip computer 55-58 mpg if I do economic drive I'm in the mid 60's. keep up the good work mate.

Quick update on the project so far, I have sorted 2 things out (although still need to fully fix them):

Leak off pipes leaking

I have applied some high temp silicone around the join which seems to have stopped the leak temporarily, need to look to replace the line/connector, due to the fact that fuel wasn't actually making it back to the tank the MPG would be lower on a brim to brim fueling, MPG should improve as this fuel will actually be burnt now!

Boost leak around EGR valve

There was a slight leak around the EGR valve blanking plate, I have again temporarily sealed it using some high temp silicone, I will be blanking off the other end of the EGR pipe as well (the part that actually connects to the manifold. I noticed 2 things which lead me to investigate the possible leak, the first thing was the fact that the induction kit was fairly loud meaning that a lot of air was being passed through it. The other indicator was an overboost error code - basically the boost was leaking out of the manifold slightly through the EGR valve blanking plate which meant that the turbo was overboosting to compensate.

With the boost leak fixed the car is more responsive to drive and quieter as well due to not needing to run high boost through the system, the trip computer is showing mid to high 70s on the motorway, dropping to 71 mpg for the whole trip (town driving each end). Even taking off the possible 10% error on the MPG the car should still be doing around 65mpg which is okish (still over 10% less than the Clio 1.5 DCi).

My setup that seems to work well is:

• Large cone air filter connected to the stock MAF and intake pipework
• EGR blanked (and not leaking)
• Doser valve unplugged

My insurance is due soon so I might be tempted to predeclare a remap, might also look at an exhaust change as well but the turbo spools well with the stock exhaust system.