Vauxhall Carlton Tuning

"Big but potentially very fast."

The Carlton was one of the largest vehichles that Vauxhall made. The Cosworth beating Lotus carlton shows the potential the Carlton has for tuning. Its long body and heavy engine can make for difficult handling.

So handling modifications are usually your first port of call for the Carlton. We would go to a maximum drop of 40mm on most models (25-30mm on the 300 GSi models). You will risk rubbing on the arches if you go lower than this.

Top end power should be your overall aim on the Carlton with a nice fat peak torque band.

Engine swaps are a good option if you have an under powered 2.6 engine. The turbo engines are really the choice engines for tuning up so look around for a suitable donor car. The 3000 Gsi was a good engine also and produced massive power with its 24 valves.

Vauxhall Carlton Tuning modifications.

Fast road cams offer one of the biggest performance gains as far as a bolt on part goes. When pushing up the power you will need to pay attention to the fuelling.

More power needs more fuel. Improve your cars response to the throttle with a Fuel pressure boost valve. Uprating the injectors is another beneficial modification and will deliver sufficient fuel. Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned Carlton.

You will also need to increase the throttle bodies if you are forcing more air in - some models effectively choke if you expect too much from the standard throttle bodies.

Vauxhall Carlton Induction kits and sports Exhaust.

Breathing mods are usually next up. Maximum power gains come from a full induction kit. On small engines (under 100cc) you will actually lose low down power so we suggest you use a panel air fitler instead. Do not go with the biggest exhaust you can find - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches.

Converting a 12 valve to the 24 valve head will give nice power gains for relatively little outlay. In nearly all cases of Carlton tuning your clutch will eventaully start to complain and slip and this needs to be uprated - read our article on clutches for more information.

Remaps offer significant power gains on all turbo charged cars. On NASP engines the benefits are doubtful, but will help unleash the potential if you have done a lot of mods. Adding forced induction will see big power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective.

Vauxhall Carlton Wheel modifications.

Because alloy wheels are lighter they improve performance and they help to cool the brake disks. The downside to large alloy wheels on your Carlton is that you alter your effective final drive ratio and this will have a detrimental effect on performance. Aim to keep the overall rolling diameter of the wheel the same as supplied from the factory. In all cases we do not recommend going above 18 inches.

Please join us in our forum to discuss the Carlton options in more detail with our Carlton owners. It would also be worth reading our Vauxhall tuning articles to get a full grasp of the pros and cons of each type of modification.