Ssangyong Tivoli Tuning

"Thank you for reading my Tivoli tuning tips"

We review and look at Tivoli tuning and summarise the greatest modifications. Ssangyong Tivolis provide a fun base for your project and with the best sports modifications you can enhance your driving experience.

The Tivoli is marketed as a subcompact SUV and if you read backwards, the name reads I love it! Actually it was named after the Italian town of the same name

The Tivoli is the first car to be produced by Ssanyong under the new Mahindra ownership, the Tivoli made quite an impression and a new version was unveiled in 2019.

Let's dive into the world of the SsangYong Tivoli – a compact SUV that's making waves for its unique style and practical features.

The Tivoli has undergone some revisions since its debut, with each update bringing improvements to its design and features. From its distinctive front grille to its sleek profile, the Tivoli stands out with a modern and eye-catching aesthetic.

Now, when it comes to models and engines, the Tivoli offers a variety to cater to different preferences. You'll find options like the Tivoli ELX, Tivoli XLV, and others, each offering a blend of style and functionality. The engines vary, but commonly, you'll encounter efficient petrol and diesel options, providing a balance between performance and fuel economy.

What sets the SsangYong Tivoli apart? It's all about the blend of style, space, and versatility. The Tivoli doesn't just look good; it's designed with practicality in mind. The spacious interior, ample cargo space, and user-friendly features make it a great choice for those who value comfort and convenience.

Driving a Tivoli is an experience in itself – the smooth handling and comfortable ride make it suitable for both city commutes and adventurous road trips. The Tivoli is not just a car; it's a lifestyle choice for those who want a vehicle that complements their active and dynamic life.

In conclusion, if you're in the market for a compact SUV that stands out from the crowd, the SsangYong Tivoli might be your perfect match. It combines a unique design with practical features, making it a versatile choice for individuals or families on the go. Embrace the distinctive style and enjoy the driving experience that the Tivoli brings to the table – it's not just a car; it's a statement of individuality on wheels.

The Tivoli is a good car tuning project to try. The key to Tivoli tuning is finding the right mods you can waste loads of money if you do it wrong.

There were 2 petrol engines and a diesel engine option on the Tivoli.

  • 1.5 L e-XGi150T T-GDI I4 (petrol)
  • 1.6 L e-XGi160 i4 (petrol)
  • 1.6 L e-XDi160 I4-T (diesel)

Tuning tips and articles

Engine tuning Transmission tuning Care care Intake & exhaust mods Improve handling Forums

Handling/Suspension upgrades

Improving the handling for most drivers, is rated as a top priority mod in your Tivoli tuning project.

Putting some negative camber at the front wheels and a degree or two of toe in to improve stability or toe out for better cornering, will radically benefit your Tivoli in handling and cornering.

We would go to a maximum drop of 22mm - 37 mm on most models. You risk rubbing on the arches if you go lower than this.

A nice wide torque band and sweet spot of peak power at one third of your RPM range is optimum.

Spending just a little bit of money on the right engine and handling mods should transform your car into a high performance car.

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.

Engine tuning mods.

Typically these modified modifications are usually installed by our members, decide how far you wish to go in your tuning project before you begin.

Getting the best uprated parts 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 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: Sports exhaust, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm), Alloy wheels, Engine Tunes/Remapping, Lighter flywheel, Panel air filter.

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

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

Your aim when tuning should be a flat and wide torque band. You don't want all the power to be at the top end of the rev range unless you are creating a motor sport car.

The point of our tips is to give a brief overview of customizing modifications and point you in the right direction, our forum is where you can ask for more detailed advice and tips on your tuning project, the best performance modifications and all aspects of modding cars.One of the most cost effective mechanical performance upgrades you can do on your NA (naturally aspirated) engine is to fit a fast road cam .

It maximises the intake and exhaust durations and pushes up the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a performance chip. We'd also caution you not to go with a motor sport cam as this upsets the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.

When pushing up the power you will need to uprate to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.

Using high octane petrol is another option if you find you are suffering from pinking or premature ignition on your Ssangyong project after fitting other motorsport mods. To get sufficient fuel you may need to upgrade the injectors on your engine.

If you've uprated your fuelling with bigger injectors you will also need to get a bigger fuel pump to supply it.

Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

Now we move on to the intake and exhaust and ensure proper flow through the engine. Contrary to popular belief there is usually very little power gain got by fitting an induction kit, they only become beneficial and are recommended after you boos the engines power to the point where the standard air intake box cannot cope!

Maximum power gains come from a full induction kit with a cold air feed on heavily tuned engines, this can be sited within an air box but a performance panel filter should suffice for most applications. TorqueCars suggest you use a panel air filter as these are easy to clean and maintain and generally perform better than paper ones.

Sports exhausts will certainly help air flow out of the engine but avoid an exhaust that is 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.

Head work including a polish and port and 3 or 5 angle valve job will really help to release the potential of the engine. When you tune up your Tivoli you will discover that the standard clutch starts to suffer so get an uprated clutch. The best mods in our experience for your Tivoli are a tune/remap especially on a turbo, a fast road camshaft and sports exhaust, with a good air intakeTurbo engines are just asking to be Upgraded. You will see impressive power gains on most modern turbo charged cars including diesels making a tune/remap one of the most cost effective and impressive modifications for your money.

We've also seen some tuners playing with twin charging applications and making some very high power gains.

Adding forced induction will see massive power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. It is often easier to bolt on a supercharger than it is to install a turbo. It is difficult to map fuelling with a turbo as the boost comes on exponentially with revs.

It is easier to map a supercharger because the boost is proportional to engine speed on a linear curve. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.

Alloy wheel upgrades.

The benefits of alloy wheels include reducing your unsprung weight and better brake cooling. Further improvements can be made to your cars handling with the addition of directional tread pattern tire. Large Tivoli alloy wheels can decrease performance. If you get big alloy wheels you will be changing your final drive ratio.

Due to this fact try to keep the overall rolling diameter of the wheel the OEM setup. In all cases avoid going bigger than 17 inches.

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 Tivoli options in more detail with our Tivoli owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Ssangyong 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 hearing about our website visitors projects, especially the mods done and which 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 articles which are kept updated and constantly revised.

If you've enjoyed this page we would be very grateful if you could share a link to it on your favourite forums or on your social media profiles, it helps us keep going.

Please Check out my YouTube channel, we're regularly adding new content...

PLEASE HELP: I NEED YOUR DONATIONS TO COVER THE COSTS OF RUNNING THIS SITE AND KEEP IT RUNNING. I do not charge you to access this website and it saves most TorqueCars readers $100's each year - but we are NON PROFIT and not even covering our costs. To keep us running PLEASE Donate here

If you liked this page please share it with your friends, drop a link to it in your favourite forum or use the bookmarking options to save it to your social media profile.

Feedback - What do You Think?

Please use our forums if you wish to ask a tuning question, and please note we do not sell parts or services, we are just an online magazine.

Help us improve, leave a suggestion or tip

Your Constructive comments on this article, I really want to improve this article with your help and suggestions.


Please watch this video and subscribe to my YouTube channel.



Member Benefits

Join our forum today and benefit from over 300,000 posts on tuning styling and friendly car banter.

You will also have full access to the modifed car gallery, project car updates and exclusive member only areas.

(All car owners of all ages and from all countries are welcome).


BMW 335i - 2021 COTY

We gave the BMW 335i our coveted car of the year award, read more about this awesome car and see why 335i Tuning Guide

Tips for N54 Tuning

Tips for N55 Tuning
Tips for B58 Tuning

Popular articles

Tuning diesels
ECU remapping
Double declutch
Induction Kits
Customize a car
Chip Tuning
Modded Car insurance
Insuring Track days
Remap Diesels
MPG calculator
DPF cleaning
Tuning Stages


Panel Air Filters

Panel air filters
Read more...

Tuning Mpg

Tuning for improved MPG
Read more...

Matt Paint

How to get a matt or silk paint finish.
Read more...

Lowerering

Lowering the suspension. Ride height adjustments.
Read more...

Car Tuning Tools

Car tuning tools
Read more...

Car Technology

In car technological developments
Read more...

MPG Calculator

MPG calculator UK miles per Gallon – calculate MPG
Read more...