Hyundai Xcent Tuning

"Tuning guide to the greatest Hyundai Xcent modifications."

Also branded as the Hyundai Grand i10 Sedan it is based on the excellent i10 platform and has been popular in many regions, notably in India and Mexico.

The Xcent is a good car tuning project to play with. If you do your research then you can create an awesome Xcent but don't be fooled there are lots of performance parts out there that will simply not suit it read our unbiased guides first.

 Xcent Handling/Suspension upgrades

Handling modifications are usually your first port of call for the Xcent.

A front strut brace is a must have and sorts out the suspension adding a little rigidity and restoring a slight camber which gets lost as the Xcent gets older.

If you set the toe out to 1-1.7 degrees on the front, and add some negative camber then cornering will usually improve.

We suggest that you fit modified suspension and lower the car by 28mm - 44 mm. Larger drops require arch work - especially on models already equipped with uprated suspension.

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

To be completely frank and honest, on the more modest engine sizes you are wasting your time spending money on modifications, so if this applies to you get yourself an engine swap then apply the following mods.

 Xcent Power mods.

These mods uprated modifications are usually fitted by our members, decide how far you want to push your car before you get started.

Getting the correct grade of sports upgrades for your planned usage of the car is a time and money saver. Stage 3 motor sport parts just won't work well on the road making the car difficult to drive.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best mods for your Xcent

1. Xcent Handling Mods (suspension) - Upgrading your suspension dramatically improves Xcent handling Coilovers and Bushings are the usual go to mods
2. Flowing and porting the engine head - for larger gains, you will get better flow and make a more efficient engine if you do this to support your other mods.
3. Intake Mods and Exhaust Upgrades - Note that on their own these mods won't ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
4. Braking Mods - Improve your ability to stop needs to be listed in your priority list.
5. Engine Tunes - Xcent engine tuning/remapping provides the biggest gains compared to cost, replacement ECUs, and inline Tuning boxes are all alternatives.
6. Fast road Camshafts are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they are doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.

Xcent Tuning Stages

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Suspension upgrade (drop 28mm - 44 mm.), Engine Tunes/Remapping, Panel air filter, Alloy wheels, Sports exhaust, Lighter flywheel.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, Power/Sport clutch, high flow fuel injector.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Competition cam, Sports gearbox, Engine balancing, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

Peak power is good on competition cars but for a daily driven car you need a long torque band and perhaps extending the rev range.

In this article we shall give a limited introduction to the best mods for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance upgrade.Fast road cams offer one of the biggest power gains for your money as far as a solitary uprated parts goes on a NA (naturally aspirated) engine.

It improves the intake and exhaust flow and pushes up the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a reflashed ECU. We'd also caution you not to go with a motor sports profile cam as this affects the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to ramp up the fuelling.

If you find you have flat spots and power surges after your performance upgrades you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. Increasing the injectors is another beneficial modification and will deliver sufficient fuel.

If have increased your fuelling with bigger injectors you will also need to get a bigger fuel pump to supply it.

Xcent Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

Now we move on to the intake and exhaust and ensure proper flow through the engine. Air induction kits are only beneficial to add performance if your air intake is struggling! Adding an induction kit to most standard engines will see NONE OF A LOW END POWER GAIN AT ALL. If you have heavily modified your engine and it's need for air INCREASES DRAMATICALLY then an induction kit is the answer and will help remove this restriction.

Induction kits can work well on turbo engines and larger engines (if supplied with a suitable cold air feed or air box), generally though we'd just recommend for Xcent engines you should just fit a performance panel air filter preferably made from cotton.

Do not go with the largest exhaust you can find this will slow the exhaust rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Airflow through the head can be dramatically increased with some professional polishing and ported. These should match and be setup to take into account any other engine mods. In nearly all cases of Xcent tuning your clutch will start to slip and this needs an upgrade - read our guide on clutches for more information. The best mods that we recommend for your Xcent are remaps, sports camshafts and induction improvements.

Turbo engines are just begging to be remapped. You will see big power gains on most modern turbo charged cars including diesels making a tune/remap one of the most cost effective and big modifications for your money.

We've also come across some owners playing with twincharged conversions and making some impressively high power gains.

Adding forced induction will see phenomenal power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. Turbos are usually harder to add than a supercharger. With a turbo the power curve is related exponentially to the engine speed making it harder to map.

It is simpler to map a supercharger because the boost is correlating to engine speed on a linear curve. Alternatively you could perhaps fit water injection to control knock.

Xcent Alloy wheel upgrades.

The benefits of alloy wheels include a lower unsprung weight and more efficient brake cooling via the extra air flow they allow. Get a good directional tread pattern tire to improve your handling and help improve traction on your Xcent. Large Xcent alloy wheels can decrease performance. If you get big alloy wheels you will be changing your final drive ratio.

Although some people have fitted larger wheels without problems we would stick to a 16 inch rim size as the maximum.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Xcent options in more detail with our Xcent owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Hyundai tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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