More power xsi

[Quietone]

I got a 2001 xsi 5 door . I want a little more power has a cat back exhaust . 
What els would ppl recommend to up power a bit more . I am in Australia so some things are illegal like pod unless enclosed and I been told that u loose power cause of them also is there flash tubes or anything

[Mighty306]

There aren't really any easy gains with this engine I'm afraid.  By 'flash tubes' I assume you mean 'flash tuning' of the ECU.  The Bosch MP5.2 in these can't really be mapped (from what I've read) or adapt to very significant changes to the engine.  Taylor engineering, in your neck of the woods, did (don't know if they still do) a very mild regrind of the camshaft which they claim just about works with the stock ECU.  http://www.taylor-eng.com/xu10j4rs/306_camgrinds.htm .  Anything else you're looking at significant spend on aftermarket ECU in addition to any engine changes you make.

Some people look to swap to a GTi6 inlet & exhaust manifold.  That might make sense in the context of other changes to the engine but from what I've read I'm not convinced they make any difference on their own.  See discussion below.
https://www.306oc.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=37055

Finally, I've seen very knowledgeable people state multiple times on forums that going down the route of making big changes to the XU10J4R doesn't really make sense …..much easier & cheaper to just drop a J4RS lump in (with stock GTi6 ECU).

The XU10J4R is definitely no screamer but it's a half-decent, solid engine that moves you along at a good pace if in good condition.  Make sure it's still making good compression & everything around the engine is in good order (sensors working well, breather systems ok, injectors tested & cleaned, plugs ok etc) before rushing to find more power in other ways.

[Eeyore]

Hi. I spent a few years and a lot of money putting bodies and a gti6 exhaust manifold on a 1.8. Its the same stud pattern. It only made about 10 hp more. ECU tuning isnt readily available and being N/A you wont see many gains. You can put gti6 inlet and exhaust on it but without being able to adjust the map to suit you wont see many gains.

The best thing you can probably do is keep the exhaust on. Maybe put a filter on for more noise but be careful for heatsoak. Spend your money on some other things like Bilstein B12 suspension and eibach springs. You can git a gti6 box which may help you feel like youre going faster due to the shorter gearing.

If you do get it tuned it would be a few hundred... at which point you might as well have just bought a gti6 engine and drop it in.

[Quietone]

My wife's cuzzen works for haltech so stand alone ECU ain't a issue

[Eeyore]

Ah I didnt see the Australia bit. Best whack a haltech on there and get it mapped up then. Then put a gti6 head and manifolds on. Maybe a turbo.

[Quietone]

turbo would be nice i am on look out for some gti6 parts but hard to find in aussie .
i am thinking of buying a whole xsi engine and rebuilding it not sure if i wanna go n./a or forced induction