MI16 conversion

-westy- · 11 Sep 2007 at 01:32

What engine's in a Xantia VSX?

[TW]Fox · 11 Sep 2007 at 01:32

2 litre 16v with 150bhp.

-westy- · 11 Sep 2007 at 01:40

^^^ just talked about the above engine on MSN, anyone know the difference between that and an Mi16? just a different head/cam i suppose?

Durzel · 11 Sep 2007 at 04:34

All this talk of old school engine swaps makes me wish I still had my Astra GTE. Very nearly ended up getting a Calibra Turbo engine transplanted into it.

Dogbreath · 11 Sep 2007 at 08:57

-westy- said:
^^^ just talked about the above engine on MSN, anyone know the difference between that and an Mi16? just a different head/cam i suppose?

The Xantia will almost certainly have the iron blocked XU10J4 engine. Still a very good lump, just about 20kg heavier than the alloy block.

bigchez · 11 Sep 2007 at 12:14

Dogbreath said:
The Xantia will almost certainly have the iron blocked XU10J4 engine. Still a very good lump, just about 20kg heavier than the alloy block.

And 10 less horsepowers than the Mi16. A common problem with the Mi16 engine that the S16 and GTi6 engines are less prone to is oil surge around bends which is only really rectified by fitting a dry sump.

At this age most Mi lumps you'll find will need rebuilding before being put in so budget another k for that.

Dogbreath · 11 Sep 2007 at 12:37

bigchez said:
And 10 less horsepowers than the Mi16. A common problem with the Mi16 engine that the S16 and GTi6 engines are less prone to is oil surge around bends which is only really rectified by fitting a dry sump.

They are very prone to oil surge in competition use, but on road tyres this shouldn't be much of an issue. The guy I know with a tarmac rally 205 only started blowing engines up when he moved to slicks.

-westy- · 11 Sep 2007 at 21:18

bigchez said:
And 10 less horsepowers than the Mi16. A common problem with the Mi16 engine that the S16 and GTi6 engines are less prone to is oil surge around bends which is only really rectified by fitting a dry sump.

At this age most Mi lumps you'll find will need rebuilding before being put in so budget another k for that.

I think with most owners, oil pressure is an issue, certainly the people I've spoken to have said that they find themselves constantly monitoring it, some people even fit 3rd party guages, and the Peugeot one is notoriously innaccurate.

I've been looking into doing a conversion myself, unfortunately I just can't justify it at the moment, financially. Hopefully sometime soon, although I'm quite happy with the performance of my 1.9

insane200 · 11 Sep 2007 at 21:29

none of my mates have had probs with oil surges, one has a 106 dima with the mi16 lump, and the others have got/had 205's, not sure if its the pug or citreon one though.

GT3 · 11 Sep 2007 at 22:04

Got any pics of the 106 with the mi lump in mate?

triggerthat · 11 Sep 2007 at 22:27

Hey,

Suppose here is the best place to ask.

How much power did the 1.9 in the 205 Gti produce and what was it to 60?

Why do people do the Mi16 conversion? Is it a matter of a huge power increase?

Lopéz · 11 Sep 2007 at 23:11

The 1.9 is 130bhp, the Mi16 is around 160, which is a substantial increase in a car that weighs so little.

-westy- · 11 Sep 2007 at 23:16

triggerthat said:
Hey,

Suppose here is the best place to ask.

How much power did the 1.9 in the 205 Gti produce and what was it to 60?

Why do people do the Mi16 conversion? Is it a matter of a huge power increase?

Most of the 1.9's are pre-cat, it was around 130bhp, although you'll be lucky to find one that produces that much power. Mine was RR'd at 118.5 bhp, although that was with a top-end misfire, so i'd imagine it'd have a few more, as I had to back off at around 5250rpm. (redline is 6000rpm) It was around 7.8 to 60 iirc, versus the 8.5 of the 1.6.

The standard 1.9 engine is an 8v unit, the Mi16 unit, is, as you've probably guessed, 16v. It produces around 160bhp. So you're looking at about 30-40bhp power increase, although obviously torque increases as well. I've been told that driving an Mi16 is pretty similar to a 1.9, then once you hit 4000rpm it all goes crazy

The_Dark_Side · 12 Sep 2007 at 00:22

triggerthat said:
Why do people do the Mi16 conversion? Is it a matter of a huge power increase?

That and the engine comes from the same manufacturer so it's almost a simple spanner job.

The_Dark_Side · 12 Sep 2007 at 00:23

Incidentally, Europe (ie everyone except us) got the 309 Mi16 and that was a fantastic car.

The_Dark_Side · 12 Sep 2007 at 00:25

Dogbreath said:
They are very prone to oil surge in competition use.

surely something like a windage tray would cure this without having to resort to more expensive solutions like a dry sump?

Lopéz · 12 Sep 2007 at 07:47

The_Dark_Side said:
surely something like a windage tray would cure this without having to resort to more expensive solutions like a dry sump?

You'd think so wouldn't you, but it appears not. Lots of people fit baffled sumps with no joy, they still get surge on long hard corners.

I bet having the engine canted at an angle of around 30 degrees from vertical doesn't help much either.

I've driven both 205 and 309 Mi16's, I think the 309 is one of my favourites of all time. Such a spot-on package.

Dogbreath · 12 Sep 2007 at 09:39

The_Dark_Side said:
surely something like a windage tray would cure this without having to resort to more expensive solutions like a dry sump?

As Lopez mentions, trick baffled sump designs just don't seem to work that well on this engine. Dry sumping is really the only option if you are running sticky tyres.

wassap · 12 Sep 2007 at 12:52

How does dry sumping work then?

triggerthat · 12 Sep 2007 at 12:57

Lopéz said:
The 1.9 is 130bhp, the Mi16 is around 160, which is a substantial increase in a car that weighs so little.

Would it be wise to use the money customising the current engine, rather than a spending it on the transplant? I suppose its fun factor.