Nissan GA Tuning

"All you need to know about performance tuning the Nissan GA engine!"

The Nissan GA offer good returns when tuned and with a few sensible motorsport upgrades like remapping, turbo kits and camshafts you will greatly enhance your driving pleasure.

Let us review GA tuning and provide tips on the greatest upgrades.

History, Power & Specs of the Engine

GA13

• GA13S SOHC Carb 12 valve 79hp
• GA13DS DOHC Carb 16valve 78hp
• GA13DE DOHC fuel injection 84hp

1990 Nissan Sunny
1993 Nissan Sentra B13 series in LEC model (Philippines).
1998 Nissan Sentra B14 series in FE model (Philippines).
1994 Nissan AD

GA14

• GA14S SOHC Carb 12 valve 79 hp 
• GA14DS DOHC Carb 16valve 74hp
• GA14DE DOHC fuel injection  101 hp

1990-1998 Nissan Sunny N14
1990-1994 Nissan Sunny B13 (Export models)
1992-1995 Nissan Sentra B13 Series JX and EX models (Philippines).
1996-1997 Nissan Sentra B14 series EX models (Philippines).

1992-1995 Nissan Sunny N14
1996-2000 Nissan Sentra B14 series EX models (Philippines)
1999 Nissan Sentra (South Africa)
1995-2001 Almera/Pulsar N15

GA15

• GA15S SOHC Carb 12 valve 84hp
• GA15DS DOHC Carb 16valve 93hp
• GA15E SOHC fuel injection 96 hp
• GA15DE DOHC  fuel injection 104 hp

1990-1993 Nissan Sunny
1990-1993 Nissan Pulsar
1990-1994 Nissan NX Coupé (JDM)
1990-1997 Nissan Wingroad & AD van

1995-1998 B14 Nissan Sunny
1995-2000 N15 Nissan Pulsar/Nissan Lucino, R11 Nissan Presea (JDM)
1994-2000 Nissan Rasheen
1995-1999 Y10 Nissan Wingroad/Nissan AD Van
1997-1999 Subaru Leone Van (rebadged Y10)
1997-1999 Mazda Familia Van (rebadged Y10)

GA16

• GA16S SOHC Carb 12 valve 94 hp
• GA16E SOHC fuel injection 110 hp
• GA16i DOHC fuel injection 90 hp
• GA16DE DOHC  fuel injection 16 valves 110 hp
• GA16DE DOHC  fuel injection 16 valves 102 & 115hp USA
• GA16DS  DOHC 16 valves  electronically controlled carburetor & catalyst 89 hp
• GA16DNE DOHC 16 valves  electronically controlled carburetor & catalyst 105 hp Mexico & Asia

1989-1990 Nissan Sentra
1989-1990 Nissan Pulsar

1993-1996 Nissan NX1600 B13
1991-1994 Nissan Sentra B13
1994-1995 Nissan 100NX B13 (UK)
1991-1994 Nissan Presea R10
1995-1999 Nissan Sentra B14
1995-1999 Nissan 200SX B14
1995-1999 Nissan Almera N15
1990-1999 Nissan Pulsar N14/N15
1993-1999 Nissan Primera P10/P11
10/1992-07/1995 Nissan Sunny Traveller N14 / Nissan Wingroad Y10
1999-2001 Nissan Exalta Philippines

1990-1993 Nissan Primera P10
1990-1993 Nissan Sunny N14
1990-1993 Nissan 100NX B13
1990-1997 Nissan Avenir Cargo
1992-1996 Nissan Bluebird U13

1998-2004 Nissan Tsubame Y10 (Mexico)
1996-2000 Nissan Sentra B14
1998-2011 Nissan Tsuru B13
1998-2002 Nissan Sentra N14 (South Africa)
1998-2002 Nissan Sabre N14 (South Africa)
1996-1999 Nissan Sentra B14 (Philippines)

Tuning the Nissan GA and best GA performance parts.

Best GA tuning mods

Just because particular parts are are common on GA it doesn't mean you should fit it, we shall greatest parts that will give your GA the best power gain for you money.

Altering your GA cam will make a dramatic difference to the engine engines power. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the engines power accordingly.

Fast road cams tend to raise the bhp throughout the rev band, you could drop a little bottom end power but the top end will improve.

Motorsport cams, raise the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

For a daily driver should ideally to match your power band to your typical driving style.

I'd be surprised if you find a GA Motorsport and race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving in heavy traffic. The low end idle will be very lumpy and irregular, so something you would notice on a track when you drive in the upper third of the rpm band, but on roads this is a serious issue and we've heard from lots of drivers lamenting their decision to add an extreme competition cam profile to their engine.

Different GA engines respond better to less aggressive camshaft durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The map and injectors and fuel pump also have a large bearing on the power gains you'll get.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the power band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

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 Engine Mods for your car

1. Engine Tunes - engine tuning/remapping provides the most advantage in terms of cost savings,  aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
2. Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
3. Intake and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods will NOT ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
4. Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most efficient approach to increase air supply, allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. It is one of the most costly upgrades but provides the best gains.
5. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Intake manifolds, drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust header/manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Panel air filters.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, induction kit, Fast road cam.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

ECU mapping should help to fully realize the full potential of all the mods you've fitted to your GA.

(In some cases, as the factory ECU is locked flashing is not an option, so an aftermarket ECU is the route to take, and many of these will outperform factory ECU's but make sure it has knock protection and that you get it setup properly.)

It will usually give you around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NA (naturally aspirated) engines, but the end result usually vary depending on the mods you've done and the condition of your engine.

Feeding fuel and air into the GA engine is the main goal to any engine tuning project.

The intake manifolds flow rates are important because this channels the air from the air filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

The bore size, shape and flow rate of the Intake manifold can make a noticeable difference to fuel delivery on the GA.

On popular production engines manifolds are begging for an upgrade, although a few OEM provide fairly well optimized headers.

Fitting big valve kits, doing a bit of port work and head flowing will also lift performance, the fantastic side effect is it will permit a greater performance increase on other modifications.

Turbo upgrades

NA (naturally aspirated) engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your GA

It is not unusual that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on these engines when considerably more air is being pulled into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped bhp at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large torque gains, although more complex to get working. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling

Don't dismiss the need improve the fuel delivery when you are increasing the bhp - it makes the car more thirsty.

Converting from a carb to fuel injection brings many benefits but is not particularly easy to do.

One method is to take the fuel injection system from another GA block and retrofit it to yours.

Don't forget to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when buying an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and affords some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

All the following flywheel power targets will assume an injector duty cycle of 80% and a base of 58psi of fuel pressure at idle.

4 Cylinder NA (naturally aspirated) engines

• 58 PSI 285cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 426cc/min 300hp

Exhaust

Only look to uprate your exhaust if your exhaust is actually creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you should find that your flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Don't go with the largest exhaust you can find you'll slow the exhaust rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Usual exhaust restrictions are traced to the filters installed, so adding a freer flowing race alternative such as a sports catalyst pretty much removes this restriction, thanks to it's larger size and surface area, and will effectively raise the performance to levels you would expect without having a catalyst installed, but keeps the car road legal.

Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the GA

The GA engines are generally reliable and solid units, as long as you follow the manufacturers service schedules, and use a good quality oil to ensure longevity. Few problems should happen as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Carbon build up in the head, particularly around the valves which will sap power or create flat spots, this is a larger issue on direct injection engines but should be looked out for on all engines. We have tips on removing carbon build up.

Some of our members have had issues with flat spots or glitches after applying mods and upgrades or tuning, this is not usually related to this engines design, so instead see our article on diagnosing flat spots and problems after tuning which should help you get the bottom of this issue.

Regular oil changes are vital on the GA, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your GA engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which tuning parts work best for you on your car. Which helps us keep our guides and tips up to date helping others with their modified car projects. Your feedback and comments are used to keep this page up to date, and help improve the accuracy of these GA tuning guides which get regular updates and revisions.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Nissan. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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