PSA DV Tuning

"All you need to know about performance tuning the PSA DV engine!"

The PSA DV make awesome project engines and with carefully chosen modified parts like remapping, turbo improvements and camshafts you will greatly maximise your driving fun.

This pages aim is review DV tuning and show the optimum modifications.

History, Power & Specs of the DV4 DV5 DV6 Engine

Built through a venture with Ford this solid and popular diesel was conceptualised. (Ford branded this the DLD)

  • DV4 — 1.4 L (1,399 cc)
  • DV5 — 1.5 L (1,496 cc)
  • DV6 — 1.6 L (1,560 cc)

Tuning the PSA DV and best DV performance parts.

Best DV4 DV5 DV6 parts

The ultimate DV parts on an engine are obviously the ones that give the best value for money.

We won't be swayed by popular DV parts, they need to be cost effective.

Significant gains on the DV can be made from cam upgrades. Altering the cam profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the torque and power output.

Fast road cams commonly bump the torque over the rpm band, you may sacrifice a little low down bhp but your high end rpm power will be lifted.

Motorsport and race cams, bump the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Motorsport and race cam makes it harder 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.

You should ideally match your power band to your preferences so for a car used daily stick with a fast road DV cam

Different DV engines respond better to mild camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also have an effect on the power gains you'll make.

Longer valve 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.

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Best mods for your DV

  1. Remaps - A Remapped DV ECU provides the biggest gains compared to cost, aftermarket ECUs, and inline Tuning boxes are all alternatives.
  2. Internal engine mods - crank, pistons, conrods & compression ratio including balancing and blueprinting
  3. Fast road cams are generally the biggest mechanical mod upgrade, 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.
  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. Typically one of the most costly upgrades you'll see massive gains.
  5. Air Induction and Exhaust - 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.

DV Tuning Stages

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

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

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

Review your options and then acquire your tuning parts and set yourself a power target to avoid disappointment.

remap helps to establish the full potential of all the modifications you've done to your DV.

(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 outcome often differs on the modifications you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Pulling fuel and air into the DV engine is the whole point to any car tuning project.

Intake manifold carry the air during the suck phase from the intake filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and flow rate of the Intake can make a substantial effect on to fuel atomisation on the DV.

We often see manifolds are ripe for an upgrade, although some makers provide well optimised headers.

Larger DV valves, doing a bit of port work and head flowing will also lift bhp and torque, the fantastic side effect is it will give you a greater bhp and torque increase on other parts.

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 DV

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 car is fitted with a turbocharger tuning parts are giving better power gains and most turbocharged engines will have strengthened components.

There are reliable limits for every engine, with some being over specified and some only able to handle stock power

Research these restrictions and fit more solid crank and pistons to cope with the power.

It's not unheard of people spending a loads of money on turbo charger upgrades on the DV only to have the car go up in smoke on it's first outing after it's first rolling road session.

Bigger capacity turbo units will usually experience a bottom end lag, and little turbo units spool up really quickly but won't have the peak rpm bhp gains.

In recent times the range of turbochargers is always increasing and we commonly find variable vane turbochargers, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

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

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

Going up you'll find 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although more challenging to get working. We have this article on twincharging if you want to read more.

Fuelling

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to uprate the fuelling when you start going beyond 20% of a power increase.We strongly recommend you to be generous with your injector capacity.

As a rule of thumb add another 20% when specifying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and affords 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.

Exhaust

You only need to boost your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the exhaust 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.

Note that with the widest exhaust you can buy this will reduce the exhaust flow 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.

Typically exhaust restrictions come around the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a faster flowing sports alternative is the answer. This keeps the car road legal and will flow much better due to it's higher internal surface area and design, so has the added benefit of keeping your car road legal. The alternative decat should be considered an off road only mod, as removing a catalyst is illegal in most territories and regions for road registered cars..

Weak spots, Issues & problem areas on the DV

The DV 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 DV, 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 DV engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our DV owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased 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 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 DV tuning guides which get regular updates and revisions.

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