Tuning the Hyundai Gamma

"Building the best modified Hyundai Gamma engine!"

Carref prides itself on providing the latest tips and guides to your modification project.

We examine the options for your Gamma tuning and report on the best upgrades.

Hyundai Gamma blocks make for a really good tuning project  and with the best motorsport parts like a remap, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will positively maximise your driving enjoyment.

We review and look at Gamma tuning and summarise the best modifications for your car.

We rely on our visitors to pass on tips and tell us about their projects and what worked on their car, and this article is the culmination of the feedback we have received. First let us look at the history and specs of this engine and then consider which tuning modifications work best on it.

History of the Engine

•  1.4L G4FA CVVT intake 1396cc
• (111 PS) 109 hp @6,300 rpm and 101 lbft  @4,200 rpm.
• (100 PS) 99 hp  @5,500 rpm and 100 lbft  @4,200 rpm - Hyundai i20.
• 1.6L 
• 1.6 Gamma GDi G4FD 140 PS (138 hp) @ 6300 rpm (123 lbft) @ 4850 rpm 11.0:1
• 1.6 Gamma II MPi G4FC 130 PS (128 hp) @ 6000 rpm ( 116 lbft)@ 4850 rpm 10.5:1
• 1.6 Gamma II MPi G4FG 132 PS ( 130 hp) @ 6300 rpm (116 lbft)@ 4850 rpm 10.5:1
• 1.6 Gamma T-GDI G4FJ 177 PS (175 hp)@ 5500 rpm  (195 lbft)@ 1500-4500 rpm 9.5:1
• 1.6 Gamma T-GDI G4FJ 204 PS (201 hp) @ 6000 rpm  195 lbft) @ 1750-4500 rpm 9.5:1
• 1.6 Gamma T-GDI G4FJ 204 PS (150 kW; 201 hp) @ 6000 rpm (265 N⋅m; 195 lbft) @ 1500-4500 rpm
• 1.6 Gamma LPI L4FC (Hybrid) 138 PS (101 kW; 136 hp) @ 5700 rpm 195 lbft) @ 4000 rpm

The GDI G4FJ came with a twin scroll turbocharger, direct cylinder injection for fuel which allows a relatively high compression ratio and CVVT on the intake and exhaust, making this a dream for the tuner to work on.

The second generation of the Veloster had a version of the G4FJ and improved this engine further by adding higher compression ratio, a fully electronic wastegate and the CPEGD2.20.3 ECU.

What are the most effective Gamma parts

The optimum tuning mods on an engine are in our opinion the ones that give the biggest return for your cash.

We won't be swayed by popular Gamma tuning mods, they need to be cost effective.

Altering your Gamma cam will make a dramatic difference to the engine torque. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the torque accordingly.

Fast road cams usually raise the performance across the rev range, you could sacrifice a little bottom end bhp but the higher rpm power will be lifted.

Competition cams, raise the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

On a car driven daily should ideally to match your power band to your typical driving style.

I'd be surprised if you have thought a Race cam is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Different Gamma engines respond better to more or less aggressive camshaft durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The ecu map and injectors and fuel pump also have a large bearing on the bhp gains you'll get.

A longer valve duration can alter the bhp band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

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Modifying to Stage 1:

 Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust manifold, Intake headers, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Panel air filters.

Modifying to Stage 2:

 fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injectors, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, induction kit, Fast road cam.

Modifying to Stage 3:

 Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

ECU flashing should help to to establish the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your Gamma.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and 15% on NASP engines, but you mileage will vary depending on the tuning mods you've done and the condition of your engine.

It is vital to any tuning task to get air and fuel into your Gamma

Intake headers transmit the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be fed into the engine and mixed with fuel.

The bore size, shape and flow characteristics of the Intake headers can make a big improvement to fuel mixing and power on the Gamma.

Most headers are in dire need of motorsport parts, although a few car makers provide fairly well optimized headers.

Fitting big valve kits, doing a bit of Gamma port enlargement and head flowing will also improve torque, and more importantly will raise potential for a greater torque increase on other parts.

Which turbo upgrades are best?

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your Gamma

Although there was a turbocharged version of this engine you can't just bolt on a turbo for the same power, you need to setup the dual VVT, uprate the fuelling and get the timing map spot on.

The more air to get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.

If the engine has a turbo already fitted upgrades are relatively easy and you will discover turbo engines are built using uprated components.

However every engines will need better parts at higher power limits

We recommend you find these limits and fit higher quality crank and pistons to survive the power.

There are many car owners spending a a stack of money on turbo charger upgrades on the Gamma only to have the motor go up in smoke when it's used on the roads.

Big turbochargers often experience a bottom end lag, and low capacity turbochargers spool up much more quickly but don't have the top end engines power gains.

In the last 10 years the selection of turbo units is always evolving and we now see variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into two channels and feed these at differently angled vanes in the turbo charger. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there is a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on these engines when loads more air is being sucked into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped torque at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although more difficult to install. We have a twincharger performance adding guide if you want to read more.

Fuelling

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will have to uprate the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a power increase.Don't forget to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% to the flow rate when fitting an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and gives you some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

All the following flywheel power targets will assume an injector duty cycle of 80% and a base of 58 psi of fuel pressure at idle.

4 Cylinder turbocharged engines

• 58 PSI 340cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 511cc/min 300hp
• 58 PSI 682cc/min 400hp
• 58 PSI 1022cc/min 600hp

4 Cylinder NASP engines

• 58 PSI 285cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 426cc/min 300hp
• 58 PSI 568cc/min 400hp
• 58 PSI 853cc/min 600hp

Choosing the right performance exhaust

One of the most common mistakes and problems we see in tuning projects is usually down to the exhaust, or rather a poorly chosen exhaust for your engine.

You should look to improve your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually creating a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that your flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts will certainly help air flow from the engine but do not go too big or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Usual exhaust restrictions are traced to the catalysts installed, so adding a higher flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the

The engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Regular oil changes are vital on the , especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

For more information on Tuning your engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased 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 to hear what our visitors have got up to and which modifications work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these articles which are continually updated.

This article was written by Waynne Smith on TorqueCars, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Hyundai, Kia. You can leave a response below or join TorqueCars forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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