Renault K7M Tuning
"All you need to know about performance tuning the Renault K7M engine!"
Let us provide a guide to K7M tuning and point out the optimum mods that work. Renault K7M are popular tuning projects and with the optimum uprated upgrades like remapping, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will definitely maximize your driving pleasure.
History, Power & Specs of the K7M Engine
K7M 410 E4
64 kW 87 PS 86 hp 5500 rpm
Lada Largus
K7M 702/703
66 kW 90 PS 89 hp 5000 rpm
Renault Megane
Renault Scénic
K7M 720
55 kW 75 PS 74 hp 5000 rpm
Renault Megane
Renault Scénic
K7M 790
66 kW 90 PS 89 hp 5000 rpm
Renault Megane
K7M 744/745
66 kW 90 PS 89 hp 5250 rpm
Renault Clio II
K7M 710
64 kW 87 PS 86 hp 5500 rpm
Dacia Logan
Dacia Sandero
K7M 718 LPG E4
64 kW 87 PS 86 hp 5500 rpm
Dacia Logan
Dacia Sandero
K7M 764 Flex-fuel
73 kW 99 PS 98 hp 5500 rpm
Dacia Logan
Dacia Sandero
K7M 800
62 kW 84 PS 83 hp 5250 rpm
Dacia Logan
Dacia Sandero
K7M 812
60 kW 82 PS 80 hp 5000 rpm
Dacia Lodgy
Dacia Dokker
K7M 818 LPG E5
64 kW 87 PS 86 hp 5500 rpm
Dacia Logan
Dacia Sandero
K7M 828 LPG E5b
60 kW 82 PS 80 hp 5000 rpm
Dacia Lodgy
Dacia Dokker
Tuning the Renault K7M and best K7M performance parts.
Best K7M modifications
Just because particular parts are appear in lots of K7M projects it doesn't mean its worth having, so we'll ultimate parts that will give your K7M the best power gain for you spend.
Significant gains on the K7M 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 camshafts tend to boost the performance across the rev band, you might lose a little low end power but the high end rpm power will be better.
Competition camshafts, boost the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.
A Race camshaft won't do well if in heavy traffic.
You should ideally optimize your torque band to your driving style so for a typical daily driver stick with a mild fast road K7M camshaft
Some K7M engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations than others.
The map and injectors and fuel pump also will say much on the power gains you'll achieve.
Altering 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 K7M
- Engine Tunes - A Remapped K7M ECU provides the most advantage for the money, aftermarket ECU upgrades, and inline Tuning boxes are all alternatives.
- 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.
- Intake and Exhaust - Please 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.
- Forced induction upgrades - Adding a turbocharger 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.
- 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.
K7M Tuning Stages
Typical stage 1 mods often include:
drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters, Intake manifolds, Sports exhaust header/manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft.
Typical stage 2 mods often include:
Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, fuel pump upgrades.
Typical stage 3 mods often include:
Engine balancing & blueprinting, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Twin charging conversions.
A remap will help release the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your K7M.
(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 figures achieved usually differs on the upgrades you've carried out and the condition of your engine.
Pulling more air into each cylinder is the aim to any car tuning project.
Intake manifold carry the air during the suck phase 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 manifolds can make a large change to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the K7M.
I usually find intake manifolds are in dire need of a performance upgrade, although some manufacturers provide reasonably good intake manifolds.
Increasing the K7M valve size, doing a bit of K7M port enlargement and head flowing will also improve torque, and more importantly will raise potential for an improved torque increase on other tuning mods.
K7M 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 K7M
The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes impressive power gains.
If your car has a turbo already fitted modifications are more reliable and most turbocharged engines already contain uprated components.
However every engine has limitations on how much power it can handle..See where you'll find these limitations and fit better pistons and crank to utilize the power.
We see many mechanics spending a loads on turbo charger upgrades on the K7M only to watch the whole thing literally blow up soon after it's completed.
Big capacity turbos will usually suffer low end lag, and small turbos spool up really quickly but won't have the top end bhp gains.
Thankfully the range of turbos is always evolving and we are seeing variable vane turbos, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.
Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust flow into two channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.
It is common that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the K7M when loads more air is being fed into the engine.
We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting torque at a much lower level.
Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although more difficult to get working. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.
Fuelling
Don't forget to uprate the fuel delivery when you are increasing the bhp - it makes the car more thirsty. Most tuners we speak with say to over specify your injectors flow rate.
The accepted safe increase is to add another 20% when buying an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and affords a bit of 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.
K7M Performance Exhausts
You may need to boost your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually causing a flow problem.
On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is still good 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 from the engine but do not go too wide 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.
Common exhaust restrictions can be traced to the catalyst installed, so adding a better 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 K7M
The K7M 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 K7M, 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 K7M engine please join us in our car forums where you can discuss K7M tuning options in more detail with our K7M owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Renault tuning articles to get insights into each modification and how effective they will be for your car.
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