Nissan MR16DDT Tuning

"All you need to know about tuning the Nissan MR16DDT engine!"

The Nissan MR16DDT provide a fun base for your project and with the best modified enhancements like remapping, turbo kits and camshafts you will maximize your driving opportunities.

Nissan produced the Deltawing race car which had an impressive 221 kW; 296 hp at 7400 rpm which shows what the MR16DDT is capable of.

Let us review and look at MR16DDT tuning and highlight the best mods that work.

History, Power & Specs of the MR16DDT Engine

The MR16DDT was used in a number of Renault vehicles but had different badges, typically M5M.

  • 2011–present Nissan Juke 188 hp (191 PS; 140 kW)
  • 2013-2015 Nissan Juke NISMO (V1 Engine) 197 hp (200 PS; 147 kW)
  • 2014–present Nissan Juke NISMO RS FWD 215 PS (158 kW; 212 hp) and 285 Nm (210 lbft) of torque
  • 2013–present Nissan Tiida (hatchback)/Nissan Pulsar/Nissan Sylphy
  • 2015–present Nissan X-Trail (161 hp (120 kW; 163 PS))
  • 2015–present Nissan Teana L33 (190 PS (140 kW; 187 hp))
  • 2017–present Nissan Sentra SR Turbo & NISMO (188 hp (140 kW; 191 PS))

Tuning the Nissan MR16DDT and best MR16DDT performance parts.

Best MR16DDT tuning parts

Just because particular modifications are are common on MR16DDT it doesn't mean it is good, we shall concentrate on the greatest modifications that will give your MR16DDT the best power gain for you money.

The cam profile plays a big part in the engines power output so cam upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake & exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen cam profile, so large torque gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

Fast road cams tend to push up the performance across the rpm range, you may sacrifice a little low down bhp but your top end will be lifted.

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

A Motorsport cam will just annoy you whilst in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your power band to your preferences so for a car used daily stick with a shorter duration MR16DDT cam

Some MR16DDT engines respond better to extreme camshaft durations so view each engine as unique.

The ecu map and injectors and fuel pump also will make differences on the power gains you'll make.

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

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

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

    Carefully think through your options and then acquire your tuning parts and set yourself a power target to avoid costly mistakes.

    ECU flashing should help to unlock the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your MR16DDT.

    (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 your mileage will differs on the tuning mods you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

    Forcing fuel and air into your MR16DDT is the main goal to any tuning job.

    Intake manifold transmit the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be fed into the engine and mixed with fuel.

    The shape and flow characteristics of the Plenum can make a big change to fuel mixing and power on the MR16DDT.

    On popular production engines intake are crying out for performance upgrades, although a few manufacturers provide reasonably well designed intake.

    Larger MR16DDT valves, doing some 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also raise bhp, and significantly will raise potential for raising the bhp increase on other parts.

    MR16DDT 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 MR16DDT

    The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.

    When your motor is fitted with a turbo modifications are going to make more power and you will discover turbocharged engines use many forged and stronger components.

    There are tuning limits for every engine, with some being incredibly solid and some only just able to handle stock powerIt is important to find these limitations and fit forged components to handle the power.

    We see many people spending a lots of money on turbo charger upgrades on the MR16DDT only to suffer the humiliation of seeing the MR16DDT explode just after it's used on the roads.

    Big capacity turbo units will usually experience no power at low rpm, and low capacity turbo units spool up more quickly but do not have the peak rpm bhp gains.

    Thankfully the market of turbos is always developing and we now see variable vane turbos, allowing the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

    Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust gases into two channels and direct these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also improve the scavenging effect of the engine.

    It is common that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the MR16DDT when loads more air is being drawn into the engine.

    You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited performance at a much lower level.

    Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although more difficult to configure. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

    Fuelling

    Don't omit to look at the fuel delivery when you are increasing the power - it makes the car more thirsty. We strongly recommend you to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

    The rule of thumb is to add another 20% when specifying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and provides a little spare capacity should the engine require 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 turbocharged engines

    • 58 PSI 340cc/min 200hp
    • 58 PSI 511cc/min 300hp
    • 58 PSI 682cc/min 400hp

    4 Cylinder supercharged engines

    • 58 PSI 312cc/min 200hp
    • 58 PSI 468cc/min 300hp
    • 58 PSI 625cc/min 400hp

    MR16DDT Performance Exhausts

    You should look to uprate your exhaust if your current exhaust is actually creating a restriction.

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

    Sports exhausts generally help improve air flow through the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too big or you could very well end up with a reduced flow rate. So generally speaking, keep to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

    Usual exhaust restrictions can be traced to the filters installed, so adding a better 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 MR16DDT

    The MR16DDT 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 MR16DDT, 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 MR16DDT engine please join us in our car forums where you can discuss MR16DDT tuning options in more detail with our MR16DDT owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Nissan tuning articles to get insights into each modification and how effective they will be for your car.

    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 upgrades 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 MR16DDT tuning guides which get regular updates and revisions.

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