In Development: Astra Power Upgrades

[vegetaarmy]

From what I can understand, a turbo would not be a good option for this engine.  It has high compression and apparently can't handle more than 2-3 psi without damage to the internals.  Not to mention if you are able to get boost, you would have to upgrade your clutch/tranny.  There are some people looking into other options with astra owners in mind.  Look over at www.saturnfans.com .  Someone is making a custom exhaust for us to look into and another has found a shop in arizona for tuning options.  It's only a matter of time till we have options available.  Thank You Mr. Clarkson for you research and time to get some stuff available .

-Jess

[dmoser]

Over the past month, I've been working pretty hard on laying the ground-work for getting some engine upgrade parts worked out for the Astra. Most of them are pretty near being available for sale, and I'll keep everyone updated when they become available.

To wet your appetites however, here's a list of what's coming down the pipeline:

Camshaft
I was working on getting a camshaft regrind package put together, but the lifters were an odd design that most companies didn't want to touch. As such, I'm going to switch to having a new cam made from a core, with greater lift but hopefully not too much more duration. This will take the longest time to bring to market.
Gains: Should be around 8-10% gain in top end power.

Manifolds
Stock exhaust manifold isn't too bad, but the intake side is pretty restrictive as far as making power goes. I'm using the Dbilas manifold now, and I'm working with them to get a group buy on the manifolds, so that more people can get in on it, with far lower costs than what I had to pay to get it 
Gains: Gains around 15hp over the stock manifold

Tuning
I have yet to find a single computer (outside of the dealership) that can communicate with our SimTec 75 ECU. As such, I'm currently running a Unichip piggyback tuning system as an alternative. I'm going to have the wiring harness needed for the Astra made, so that I can offer it to other owners as well. You'll, however, need to buy the actual Unichip computer on your own, and have a shop tune it for you. But since no other software can do it yet, this is the only, and pretty damn good option, as it keeps your ECU stock in case the dealer needs to connect to it.
Gains: On a stock engine, you'd gain around 10hp, with the manifold you'd gain around 15hp.

Pullies
I'm currently prototyping a crankshaft and alternator pulley out of 6061 aluminum, that should weigh about 1/3 the weight of the stock units. This will reduce the rotational mass of the drive system, and reduce parasitic loss to the engine.
Gains: Won't strictly increase power, but will free up power that you were loosing by making the system more efficient. Gains should be around 4-5hp

Hopefully I'll be able to offer these products soon, and many of you will get a few more ponies out of your Astras 

Has this completely fizzled out?

[Mr. Clarkson]

All companies gave up on wanting to help....so yes

[dmoser]

All companies gave up on wanting to help....so yes

That is too bad.  It would be a great market for an entry level product designer.  Not enough business opportunity for the bigger companies I guess.

[jwschmo]

Mr. Clarkson, are you still running with the UNI chipset attached? Did you get a shop to do that? and how much did it cost?(roughly)