Some questions about the E7J engine

[Mr_D]

Hi everyone

I have a Mk1 Ph1 Clio with the 1390cc E7J engine. I have a few questions about it in general and I'm looking at tuning it. Apologies if it's in the Archives somewhere, I did have a look first before posting

General

1. When changing the cambelt, how crucial is it to measure the deflection of the new belt? All the belts I've done before either used a tensioner with the tension markings on it, or you did the old school twisting of the belt along its longest span. Could I not do this, or do I have to measure Xmm of deflection when Y Nm of force is applied?

2. Which gearbox would I have fitted as standard? Are there uprated clutches available or clutches off other Renaults that would fit e.g. 1.8 Clio RSi, R5GTT? Would I need an uprated clutch with the mods I'm looking at below?

Tuning

1. I'm looking into the possiblities of improving the TB and cam. Is there anything from the Renault range that could be used to improve things? I read that a TB off a Laguna could be used - which Laguna? The 1.8? Is it a straight fit? What about a cam? A new cam from a specialist would be a bit strong pricewise considering how much the car has cost me so far. Of course this will be with induction and exhaust mods.

2. Is there anyone who could rechip the E7J ECU to make the most of the mods? The only 2 specialists I knew of in my limited experience of Renault tuners are K-Tec (they don't do anything for the E7J as far as I can see) and Hillpower (who seem to be no more?). Fitting the chip myself shouldn't be much of a problem.

How much of an improvement could I be looking at with all this?

3. Would improving the brake pad material improve the braking by much (Bendix 238mm), or would the RSi brakes be a suitable upgrade? Or would I be better off just fitting the fronts from a Clio Valver? Could I use 14" wheels with a Valver setup?

Apologies for being a newbie with a barrel load of questions. And to stave off the inevitable 'stick a Valver in it'/'buy a Valver'...I don't want a Valver I'm quite fond of the car I have now, including its lump and this would be just for fun It also goes without saying, I would have suspension mods on the cards too.

Cheers

 

[Peter T]

Chris H, as said before. the E7J go well with head-work.

 

[Chris H]

1. Its a cambelt on a primitive engine, the twist method is sufficient.

2. Will most likely have a JB1 derivative. Why do you need an uprated clutch? Theres no way you have enough power to overcome the standard one. if its slipping its either poor driving technique, plain wear and tear or contamination of the lining (oil).

Really its not worth it. But if you insist.

1. 1.8 SPI laguna, be lucky to find one these days. It needs the manifold bored out to accept it. there is also a variety of different plugs for these, no 2 cars are the same or so I have seen anyway.

the 1.2 DIET engines use roller rockers, not sure of their rocker arm ratio but they will reduce friction and if the ratio is greater will give higher lift. Not tried them looked into it then thought why bother?

2. Only mapping will make use of it, generic aftermarket chips just up the fuelling and perhaps advance the timing if your lucky.

How much improvement? Not enough to make it worth the effort.

However these heads respond well to porting which if you had to pick one engine mod that would be it even with standard everything else you can get a decent gain through headwork.

although I would only do it if the gasket was rotten which they often are.

3. Throw the bendix brakes int he nearest skip they are awful. keeping the stock discs and changing to girling calipers will give a big improvement. Change to RSI/TD/GTT calipers and discs again big improvement and again the 16v 259 set up improvement again but the 5259's require 14 inch wheels min. Brake upgrade is probably the best mod you can do.

i won't suggest a valver, however buying a decent car may be an idea.

 

[Mr_D]

1. Its a cambelt on a primitive engine, the twist method is sufficient.

I could check on the current belt but how much should I be able to twist it? 90 degrees?

2. Will most likely have a JB1 derivative. Why do you need an uprated clutch? Theres no way you have enough power to overcome the standard one. if its slipping its either poor driving technique, plain wear and tear or contamination of the lining (oil).

It's not my driving, honest! :lol: I don't need an uprated clutch, it's just that IME some cars have marginal clutches if they're only mildly tuned.

Really its not worth it. But if you insist.

1. 1.8 SPI laguna, be lucky to find one these days. It needs the manifold bored out to accept it. there is also a variety of different plugs for these, no 2 cars are the same or so I have seen anyway.

Fair enough. Sounds like a bit of effort. There's a 1.6 Energy lump isn't there? What about that?

the 1.2 DIET engines use roller rockers, not sure of their rocker arm ratio but they will reduce friction and if the ratio is greater will give higher lift. Not tried them looked into it then thought why bother?

Very true. There's no way I'd be buying a new blank from an aftermarket supplier.

2. Only mapping will make use of it, generic aftermarket chips just up the fuelling and perhaps advance the timing if your lucky.

That's what I was on about. Ideally remapping the EPROM rather than a generic chip.

How much improvement? Not enough to make it worth the effort.

However these heads respond well to porting which if you had to pick one engine mod that would be it even with standard everything else you can get a decent gain through headwork.

although I would only do it if the gasket was rotten which they often are.

3. Throw the bendix brakes int he nearest skip they are awful. keeping the stock discs and changing to girling calipers will give a big improvement. Change to RSI/TD/GTT calipers and discs again big improvement and again the 16v 259 set up improvement again but the 5259's require 14 inch wheels min. Brake upgrade is probably the best mod you can do.

Cheers for that. How much of an improvement is the 259 over the RSi 238 setup?

i won't suggest a valver, however buying a decent car may be an idea.

You need to read my thread in the Newbie forum This is a car that I saved from going to the scrap heap. It was too good for that TBH.

See the bold bits above

That avatar's distracting too

 

[Chris H]

the existing belt will be slacker than when it was installed. As for how much well that depends on ones strength doesn't it. if you have done them before you'll know how tight.

There is a 1.6 fitted the megane. K7M, think e7j but add a different head, semi sequential fuel injection and an ecu which you won;t get to run in yours.

259 overt eh 238, its noticeable and jumping from bendix to either will be a vast improvement the 259 is the best but the 238 is good enough in a clio.

 

[Mr_D]

the existing belt will be slacker than when it was installed. As for how much well that depends on ones strength doesn't it. if you have done them before you'll know how tight.

There is a 1.6 fitted the megane. K7M, think e7j but add a different head, semi sequential fuel injection and an ecu which you won;t get to run in yours.

259 overt eh 238, its noticeable and jumping from bendix to either will be a vast improvement the 259 is the best but the 238 is good enough in a clio.

Very true Chris re strength. All the engines I've worked on needed to be twisted 90 degrees but I've got something in the back of mind that some engines (don't ask me which ones, I can't remember ) that you only need to twist them 45 degrees when you use the same amount of strength. Just wanted to make sure that the Energy lump wasn't one of those

What about the K7M camshaft on its own? I'm not overly bothered about the rest of the top end setup TBH.

Thank you very much for your help so far

 

[Chris H]

i have no idea on the specs of the 1.6 cam.

however for an extra 200 cc's theres only a 10 bhp gain with it, so probably not the way to go.

 

[Mr_D]

i have no idea on the specs of the 1.6 cam.

however for an extra 200 cc's theres only a 10 bhp gain with it, so probably not the way to go.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cam casting is the same on both the E7J and the K7M TBH.

 

[Gentle Ben]

Headwork and brake upgrade is probably the best value for money you'll get as said.

If you want big power, then a bigger engine is a must. The obvious choice would be the 16v, but you would ideally want to rebuild it first as most will likely be high mileage and very battle weary by now.

 

[Mr_D]

Headwork and brake upgrade is probably the best value for money you'll get as said.

If you want big power, then a bigger engine is a must. The obvious choice would be the 16v, but you would ideally want to rebuild it first as most will likely be high mileage and very battle weary by now.

IMO if I went for an engine change I may as well just buy a Valver (or a hybrid) and have the better suspension, brakes etc. fom the start. That would be the most sensible/easiest/cheapest/justifiable thing to do. I would like to keep the standard lump

Just 1 more question about the throttle body; are there any alternatives available aside from the 1.8SPi Laguna jobbie?

 

[Peter T]

What year is the car. You say E7J. That's Carb. odd's on your is the E6J INJ.

Throw money at it, you can end up with a engine bay like this.

Big image http://www.madpierre.co.uk/gallery/albums/Trax2005/DSCF1962.JPG

But is it worth it?

 

[Mr_D]

What year is the car. You say E7J. That's Carb. odd's on your is the E6J INJ.

I was under the impression it was the other way around; the E7J was an injected engine and the E6J was the carb. It's a '93 ph1.

But is it worth it?

Is it worth me raiding the Renault parts bin and buy a few bits off eBay etc? To me, yes. I'm not out to make a pretty engine bay as in the pic you posted, although I can see that's a motor that's had a lot of time and cash spent on it

 

[hooverphonique]

E7J is SPI, yes...

 

[Peter T]

Ok I may be wrong om the E6J/E7J thing.

And for as it's worth it, Well that's up to you. So may bigger engine's going cheap now, that will fit in the engine bay/ Or car with the bigger engine allready in.

 

[minichapperz]

E7j all the way pmsl, porting hey humm best i get the die grinder out lol

 

[Mr_D]

And for as it's worth it, Well that's up to you. So may bigger engine's going cheap now, that will fit in the engine bay/ Or car with the bigger engine allready in.

Yes, I know it's up to me. My money, my choice

So, back to the original query.

Camshaft - appears to be nothing in the Renault range unless anyone knows any different?

TB - 1.8SPi Laguna fits with a bit of machining. Any other options?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chris H]

I don't get the camshaft question.

possibly a tb off another manufacturers vehicle.

unless you want to throw a lot of money at it and go ITB which will have less power and torque than a standard 16V in good health (many aren't)

 

[Mr_D]

I don't get the camshaft question.

possibly a tb off another manufacturers vehicle.

unless you want to throw a lot of money at it and go ITB which will have less power and torque than a standard 16V in good health (many aren't)

ITBs for what I want from the engine are OTT and too much money.

Can I ask what you mean about the plugs in your first post regarding fitting the Laguna TB? Do you mean the injector wiring plug?

I'll rephrase the camshaft question...does anyone know if there's a camshaft from a Renault engine other than a E7J that would fit and would improve things?

Cheers

 

[Chris H]

there is no cam, like I said though the roller rockers might depending on their arm ratio but even if the same will reduce friction.

i mean the main body plug of which the injector wiring plug is only 2 wires of, theres 3 variants that I know of.

 

[Mr_D]

OK, cheers for that Chris.