The Chevrolet Niva is a so-called workhorse, which is unlikely to fit for exhibitions or rampant races, therefore, the goals of tuning are to transform the appearance, increase practicality, refine technical parameters, improve the comfort of the driver and passengers, as well as increase cross-country ability in off-road conditions. The amount of work directly depends on your skills, wallet thickness and desire. Skills, by the way, are very easy to improve. Tuning Chevrolet Niva can be performed in three key options - improvement of technical parameters, visual modernization and a combined approach. What are the most affordable and effective options?

External transformation

Visual tuning of the Chevy Niva is the most successful way to quickly achieve an effect. A cardinal approach is a color change, but it will take a lot of time, and the price of the issue will bite many. Alternatively, use film. Professional pasting allows you to extend the service life of the body by protecting it from chips and scratches. It goes without saying that it will be a real reincarnation.

You may also be interested in our expert's article on features and nuances.

When choosing a film, go for the micro-channel options, which will help you work on curved surfaces. Avoid Chinese manufacturers, as the quality of such products will be enough for the interior decor.

You should pay attention to the following manufacturers.

1. 3M Is a Japanese brand offering films with brushed steel, brushed metal or carbon look effects.
2. Hexis- a French product, among the assortment of which the film with a pearl effect deserves the greatest attention. Imitation metal, plastic or leather is also available.
3. Orafol Is a German manufacturer focused on the production of premium films. A wide range of colors and textures are presented.

Work order

If this is your first time buying a film and you don't know if you can stick it on, practice on a small, flat area without bends. The dust level in the room should be kept to a minimum. Do not skimp on consumables and be sure to purchase a primer. We are talking about a special adhesive, thanks to which it is much easier to cope with sharp corners when pasting.

The stages of the work are as follows.

1. Clean the selected element and mirror the pattern.
2. It is worth choosing the area between the middle and the edge of the part as the start zone taking into account the configuration.
3. Take your time when fixing the vinyl, take the trouble to get rid of any bubbles with a soft spatula.
4. Use a primer to further secure the film around the edge.
5. Remember that using a building hair dryer allows you to make the material more elastic and it will take the shape of the required surface. It is very easy to overheat the film on uneven surfaces, be careful.
6. Over-tensioning the material can cost you eye-catching embossing.

Interior modernization

If you have already achieved the external transformation of the car, also do the tuning of the Chevrolet Niva interior with your own hands, otherwise the contrast between the exterior and the faded interior will be too obvious. The options for internal improvements can be as follows.

1. Buying a new steering wheel or covering it with leather. Visual excellence will be in harmony with practicality.
2. Installation of a video recorder, audio system, navigator and other modern electronics. An alternative is a complex multisystem that includes all the mentioned functions.
3. Change of the dashboard and torpedo.
4. Inserts on regulators, gear knobs and hand-outs can be tinted, decorated with stickers or replaced completely.
5. If you are not satisfied with the chairs, feel free to change them, but you can also get by with new covers or replacing the upholstery.
6. Soundproofing, despite its cardinality, will not change the appearance of the car in any way, but the comfort will increase many times over.
7. Fine tuning in the form of pedal pads, stickers or LEDs allows you to make point accents on different areas of the cabin.

Trunk tuning

By transforming the exterior and interior, you can tune the trunk of a Chevrolet Niva, because it should not be too different from the interior. The functions of this part of the SUV are not limited to luggage storage. Here you can find a place for a powerful speaker system, which can be complemented by LEDs on the lid and along the perimeter of the rear door arch. The 320-liter volume allows even an ergonomic billiard table with an automatic folding and extension system to be installed here.

Optics

The optics deserve special attention, and you can transform the headlights thanks to the special glow. Get GT Block Small reflectors and Hiper Flux yellow LED chips. In addition, you will need black paint in the form of a spray.

The procedure will be as follows:

1. Dismantle the headlamp and use paint to treat the underlay.
2. Create 16 holes for the reflectors at the bottom of the enclosure. Make sure that the distance between them is strictly the same. These will be daytime running lights, so the LEDs should be white. After connecting the elements in the circuit, it remains to connect them to the standard power supply.
3. The yellow LEDs come in handy for the bend repeater. Use thin plastic as a base, in which you need to make 4-6 vertical and 10 horizontal holes. They must be symmetrical. Use the wires to connect them and also connect the standard wiring.
4. It remains to collect the headlight and return it to its rightful place.

You can use other options for localizing holes - it all depends on your imagination. Single diodes can be replaced with LED strip, so you save time and effort.

Such tuning of the Chevrolet Niva with your own hands will allow you to save on energy consumption, extend the operational life of the lighting elements and increase the brightness.

Engine

To transform the VAZ 2123 engine, you will have to delve deeper into the topic of tuning. If you are unfamiliar with the basic concepts of the device, it is better to give up your own hand manipulations. Realize that you, as the owner, will have to tinker with the design of the engine, change specific elements and perform other operations, in which errors can be fatal. So, if you are confident in yourself, go for it.

1. Install new piston rings and crankshaft. This way you can increase the volume of the motor by 100 ml. Despite a tiny change at first glance, the technical parameters will actually improve significantly.
2. The possibility of chip tuning can be expanded by installing a new control unit.
3. Replace injectors. Prioritize efficiency and quality if you strive to achieve fuel consumption that is beneficial to both dynamics and power.
4. You can work on the geometry of the engine too. An increase in the diameter of the wells and valves of the inlet and outlet channels will help you in this matter.
5. The traditional catalyst can be replaced with a flame arrester, which will significantly transform the dynamics of the car and the operation of the exhaust system.

Since such manipulations, again, require experience and knowledge from the driver, drivers often prefer chip tuning.

ECUs are present on each modification of this model, they are responsible for control over all engine systems. If the standard factory firmware upsets you, perform chip tuning on the Chevrolet Niva, you can do this with the control unit removed or directly on the car. In the first case, take care of the presence of an additional power supply with a suitable connector, as well as a matching data input unit.

Diagnostic mode. By connecting a laptop to the ECU, you can identify problematic components of the electronic system and troubleshoot the oxygen sensor and catalyst. Firmware installation is allowed only on fully functional equipment. Among the advantages of the upgraded firmware are not only the speed of work (2 hours maximum), but also:

• reduction of fuel consumption to a liter per 100 km;
• increasing the dynamic performance of the engine;
• capacity growth by 10%;
• stabilization of the motor in all gears;
• minimum financial costs.

The Chevrolet Niva SUV has been very popular among domestic motorists for many years. The versatility of the machine and high cross-country ability are the things that are most appreciated among the owners of the "baby". The car is suitable for daily trips, for going out, it can also serve as a "workhorse". The Chevrolet Niva is versatile, but structurally not ideal.

Most of all, fans of a compact SUV are not satisfied with the interior, which looks slightly unfinished. To correct this drawback, and to make the movement of passengers more comfortable, perhaps by tuning the salon of the Chevrolet Niva. Doing all the work on your own, without resorting to the help of specialists, will not be difficult. The main thing is to arm yourself with the necessary tools and show a little imagination.

What can be improved in the Chevrolet Niva showroom?

Many SUV owners, trying to make the car more comfortable inside, often get by with just one hauling of the seats. Genuine leather or a quality substitute will produce not only a functional, but also a visual effect. Someone considers this method of modernization irrational, and replaces the standard sports seats from other cars. Padding and chrome inserts on the doors are an effective, but far from complete, way to improve the interior.

You can also work on the following components with your own hands:

• Padding of the torpedo upholstery;
• Dashboard tuning;
• Interior lighting upgrade;
• Improving acoustics.

"Kid" boasts a roomy and voluminous interior space. The manufacturer, for the manifestation of creative imagination, provided a really large territory. It is enough to be creative in doing the work, and after a few hours you can get a boring car interior.

Overtightening the upholstery: what is important to consider?

If there are no complaints about the comfort of the seats, then tuning the Chevrolet Niva salon should start with a constriction. The seats, together with the torpedo, take up most of the interior space. When the doors are opened, the first thing to look at is these components of the interior. This is one of the most time-consuming and crucial stages in improving the car's interior. What is important to consider when tightening the upholstery?

At the first stage, you need to decide on the material. Rely entirely on your own preference. But it should be remembered that low-quality upholstery will not last long and will only become an excuse for unforeseen expenses. On the market today you can find a lot of different materials for upholstery of leather and suede chairs. The most popular, but also expensive, is Alcantara, an Italian-made artificial suede. Of the most available materials, we note velor and corduroy. Generally speaking, you should look for a "golden mean" for yourself. You need to take with a margin: for this, you should measure all the parts that will be dragged and multiplied by a factor of 1.2.

As for the colors, everything is not so simple here. You can be guided by your own taste, but there are some nuances that it is advisable not to ignore. It is not necessary to overtighten the chairs with materials of the same color. The arrangement of two or three shades is allowed, which do not violate the overall harmony. Professionals recommend composing the two base colors at a ratio of 55% to 45%. You can choose the optimal color scheme using a special table.

Instructions for tightening the upholstery

It is important not only to choose high-quality material and decide on the most harmonious color scheme, but also to choose suitable threads for sewing. Regular ones will not work, you need special ones - strong and elastic. If the seat covers are sewn by hand, it will practically not work to get an even stitch. This should be taken into account, because the threads contrasting with the material will stand out too much, which will not have the best effect in aesthetic terms. It will be much better if the color of the threads matches the color of velor or corduroy.

To complete the task, you should arm yourself with the following:

1. Glue.
2. Sewing threads.
3. A set of keys.
4. Degreaser.
5. Sandpaper.

Preparatory work involves the dismantling of seats and torpedoes. As such, there is no single sequence of work. Experienced drivers recommend starting the hauling with complex elements. But, if there is no such work experience, it is best to do otherwise - start with simple elements.

It is advisable to start covering with a door card. It is washed and cleaned of dust and dirt, after which it is cleaned and degreased. Glue is applied to the surface of the card with a spatula; hard-to-reach places are smeared with a brush. Then the material is glued, heated and smoothed with a hair dryer.

According to the same principle, the torpedo is pulled over, however, there will be more difficult sections, therefore, folds will appear. But they can always be brought out to invisible areas. Ceiling work is less difficult. It is enough to dismantle the factory coating and clean it up. After that, glue is applied in strips of 20-25 cm and the material is glued, simultaneously with heating and smoothing.

Already half of the work is over, it remains to give a new look to the seats. New covers are sewn for them. At first glance, the procedure is complicated, but in fact it will not be difficult to do it yourself. Old covers need to be removed, ripped at the seams and used as a template for cutting out pieces of new material. Then these pieces are sewn together, and new covers are tried on on the seats.

We continue tuning the salon: dashboard, lighting, audio system

It is quite simple to upgrade the dashboard - replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs will give it a completely different look. It contains only 18 ordinary bulbs, they must be unscrewed and LEDs installed in their place. You can also replace the two bulbs in the stove. In any auto shop, you can purchase LED strip to replace the standard interior lighting. It is characterized by a very bright light that can illuminate a significant part of the interior.

True, the tape has some drawbacks - a weakness for mechanical damage. In any case, this type of tuning is very popular and produces a really impressive effect. What else can be included in the tuning of the salon? It will not be difficult to independently install chrome or wood trims on the gearbox handle or door handle. With their help, it is easy to give the car interior a special charm and elegance.

Completing the improvement of the Chevrolet Niva interior, of course, it is worth taking care of the quality of the audio system. Nothing brightens up a long journey like your favorite musical compositions. It is enough to purchase a new one, it is desirable that it includes a navigation system. The subwoofer and modern speakers, which today are not only part of the audio system, but one of the components of the car interior, will improve the acoustics.

Chevrolet Niva is one of the representatives of the class of small SUVs. It has been highly popular in our country for a long time. The car is characterized by high cross-country ability and is excellent for movement, including in the city, it can also become a family transport. But it has a small drawback - a rustic and slightly unfinished interior.

Chevrolet Niva will help fix this and make the car more comfortable and easier to move. Moreover, most of the procedures can be done independently without the help of specialists, the main thing is to be ready for experiments.

Highlights of the Chevrolet Niva interior modernization

For the comfort of the driver and passengers, it is important to provide a stylish, comfortable and functional environment inside the car. The main directions of modernizing the Chevrolet Niva salon with their own hands:

Padding upholstery

Still, the most difficult and most responsible of the entire list is the car interior upholstery. Yes, and she, first of all, catches the eye when opening the doors, so we will dwell on it and consider in detail all the stages of implementation.

Choosing a color

The choice of color is one of the most important and serious stages of work. In any case, the choice remains with the taste preferences of the car owner, but some aspects should still be taken into account:

Important! If the interior material is black, and the color of the stitching is light or white, keep in mind that all the shortcomings will be immediately noticeable.

Choosing a material

The range of materials for the banner is simply huge, so when choosing, try to present your salon with each of the options you like. The main criterion in this part of the preparatory activities is the price issue, since everyone has different opportunities. Most often, materials such as:

• Artificial suede.
• Velveteen.
• Velours.
• Leather.
• Leatherette.

Important! Do not buy material over the Internet, as it is very difficult to understand from the photo what quality a particular option has, most often the images do not correspond to reality.

Buy material with a margin. The most proven way not to miss with the quantity is to measure all the components of the cabin that you are going to drag and multiply by a safety factor of 1.2. The threads should be strong and elastic; threads for leather goods or eco-leather (Gutermann, Arianna, Synton, etc.) would be a good option. They can also be used to work with other materials.

Glue

To tune the Chevrolet Niva interior, you also need glue. For these purposes, glue "Moment", "Kaiflex" and universal "88 Luxе" are suitable.

We drag complex elements with glue (doors, panels, etc.)

1. Initially, you need to prepare the surface, for this you need to rinse it well, sand it and degrease it. Sanding should be done carefully so that no scratches remain.

It is best to degrease with specially designed products such as Supercolle or at least gasoline.

1. Then glue is applied to the entire surface and material, the uneven areas are smeared with a brush. Use a hair dryer to warm up and smooth the fabric.

If it is not possible to glue the material to some parts of the surface, then they must be putty with automobile putty and the hauling must be repeated again.

General recommendations for the manufacture of elements for the waist of the cabin, when you need to sew them on a sewing machine

1. The first step is to prepare the surface and make the elements for the pattern.
2. Then transfer the resulting elements to special paper. Cut out a paper template and attach it to the material, circle and mark a line with a dotted line at a distance of 1 cm from the template, cut the blank along the dotted line.
3. Sew along the marked lines and sew 0.5 cm from the seam.
4. Trim off excess, but not close to the seam.
5. Apply glue to the surface and material, but do so carefully so that the glue does not seep onto the front side. Then attach the material to the product.

Important!

1. First of all, the seam is always aligned over the surface and the material is glued next to it, so that it does not slide out later.
2. In the places where the stitching is located, sew on non-woven strips so that the glue does not seep out.

We pull the visors

1. Prepare the elements for the pattern.
2. Remove the size of the visors and transfer them to special paper with a margin of 3-4 mm in the opposite direction so that no sagging occurs in the future and the cover fits exactly under the visor.
3. Cut out a piece of paper and attach it to the material, circle and mark a dotted line at a distance of 0.5 cm.
4. Sew the fabric on three sides, and add a separate stitching stitch on the back where the visor will be attached.
5. For even bends, without bumps and irregularities, make 10 small cuts, acute-angled triangles.
6. Unscrew the resulting cover and insert the visor into it, tighten.

Ceiling

1. Remove the factory coating and sand to smooth the surface.
2. Apply glue in strips of 25 cm only on the ceiling and immediately apply the material, warming up with a hairdryer, while smoothing it.

Seats

The tuning of the Chevrolet salon does not end there. New seat upholstery needs to be sewn. To do this, make patterns on the old casing, after removing them and spacers, transfer to paper. And after that, transfer from paper to a new material and sew.

Torpedo and steering wheel

The work is carried out according to the established scheme:

1. We make patterns.
2. We cut out the material.
3. We sew.
4. We glue it to the torpedo, first apply the glue to the flattest part - the upper one, smooth it by heating it with a hairdryer.
5. We glue the steering wheel.

Thanks to the detailed instructions for finalizing the interior, presented in the article, you can handle the hauling yourself without the help of specialists.

The cars of the Volzhsky plant are not considered prestigious. Even the updated "Niva", to the creation of which the specialists of "Chevrolet" had a hand, often raises complaints about the level of comfort, engine power and other parameters.

Many motorists want to improve their car with their own hands, and often this desire is associated not only with improving its characteristics, but also with the desire to adjust the car to their ideas of a good car, to give it individuality.

Most owners are limited to external changes: installing aerodynamic and purely decorative body kits with their own hands, replacing wheel disks, etc. Real tuning starts with the engine. Chevrolet Niva tuning masters have extensive experience in finalizing standard Niva engines.

In their arsenal are the replacement of factory pistons and crankshafts, allowing to increase the engine displacement, alteration of the valve system, changing the valve timing, reducing the gas-dynamic resistance of the exhaust and intake systems, installing a lightweight flywheel and other measures. All this makes it possible to significantly increase the engine power and improve the accelerating dynamics of the machine.

Tuning an engine is an improvement in its characteristics, and not a complete replacement, as did the Australian fans of the hot rod, somehow "shoving" a five-liter monster under the hood of a Niva that got to them.

Engine tuning parts for Chevrolet Niva

The increase in engine power and thrust is carried out in two directions: an increase in the working volume and an increase in the efficiency of gas dynamics.

The first way is to bore the cylinders and replace the standard pistons with larger pistons. Thus, it is possible to raise the working volume from the standard 1700 to 1900 cc. In addition, it is possible to install a crankshaft with an increased shoulder and replace the connecting rods with shorter ones, which increases the piston stroke.

New pistons can be cast or forged. Particularly durable parts are made by forging, which have an increased resource, but the main thing when tuning is perfect balance and accuracy. The balance of the masses of the piston and the forces acting on it, the dynamic balance of the pistons, connecting rods and the crankshaft are all necessary conditions for reducing vibrations, minimizing stress on all parts and increasing their service life.

The increase in the working volume entails the need to improve the blowing of the cylinders. This is the only way to fully realize their new potential. To ensure greater gas exchange in the cylinder, valve seats are bored and valves with an increased diameter are installed. The same effect can be achieved in a simpler way - by replacing the standard valves with T-shaped ones, which have a thinner profile and open a passage of a larger section for the gas flow.

Turned valves are lighter and are able to operate without "hanging" at higher speeds. Moving the moment of breaking the timing kinematics to the high speed zone allows you to shift the operating frequency range up to 8000 rpm and thereby obtain a noticeable increase in power. In accordance with the general logic of reducing the inertia of moving parts, to achieve the maximum effect, the upper valve spring plates, the springs themselves, and pushers are replaced.

For efficient operation of the engine at high speeds, other valve timing is needed, taking into account the high speed of the piston and the inertia of gas processes. More than a hundred tuning camshafts with modified cam geometry have been developed for the Niva engine. Among them, you can choose a shaft that provides the desired amplitude and the required opening and closing moments of the valves.

To fine-tune the valve timing (VGR), a split gear with a movable ring is installed on the camshaft. When assembling a timing kit, you need to take into account the existing software systems for flashing the engine control unit.

Refinement of the Chevy Niva engine with your own hands in the video:

Chip tuning of the Chevrolet Niva engine

The standard parameters of the engine management program are designed for economical driving and the widest possible range of modes, which "smoothes" the potential of the motor. By changing the program, you can achieve a significant increase in power from it.

It is quite obvious that the control of the converted engine, which has an increased displacement and changed FGR, should differ from the standard one.

There is a prejudice among the masters of chip tuning that it is better not to interfere with the operation of the Niva engine computer. Thanks to its inherent self-learning ability, it independently optimizes the operation of the motor. This is indeed true for Bosch ECUs 7.9.0, M7.9.7 and M7.9.7 +.

Electronic control units intended for tuned engines can be reflashed and thus the control parameters can be brought in accordance with the new qualities of the motor. Chip tuning "Chevy-Niva" can provide up to 15% increase in power. Having made significant efforts to refine the engine, this opportunity should hardly be neglected.

Chevrolet Niva transmission tuning

In tuning the Chevrolet-Niva transmission, the most popular measure is the fight against vibrations, the source of which is the front gearbox. It is not uncommon to try to install a self-locking gearbox. If vibration reduction is useful in any case, limited slip differentials, ball or hypoid limited slip differentials do not fit very well with the Niva and can lead to complications.

Given the off-road nature of the Niva, many owners prefer to increase its cross-country ability by installing side (wheel) gearboxes. With these gearboxes, the car becomes much higher, the torque on the wheels increases, it becomes possible to install tires with an increased diameter or even low pressure tires on the car, which allow you to overcome wetlands and deep snow.

Chevrolet Niva suspension tuning

The simplest but most useful suspension modification is the installation of polyurethane elastic elements: silent blocks, bushings, stoppers, etc. The increased resistance of these parts to loads, low and high temperatures, oil products is very useful for a machine designed for bad roads.

Shock absorbers have a great influence on the driving performance of the car. For speed lovers, it is better to put shock absorbers with increased stiffness. This will improve the stability and handling of the machine. For those who often drive on bad roads or with a heavy load, it is better to prefer gas or gas-oil shock absorbers. And for cross-country rodeo enthusiasts, there is the option to fit dual shock absorbers. This refinement will help to cope with the car in conditions unthinkable for the average driver.

Off-road SUV tuning

Improving off-road qualities is perhaps the main direction of tuning the Niva. For all its merits, the serial "Niva" is still an all-terrain road vehicle. The possibilities of lifting the machine have already been mentioned above. Now it's worth talking about the possibility of overcoming the fords.

The hydraulic preparation of the machine includes the installation of a snorkel, protection of breathers and electrical wiring. When installing a snorkel, it is important to correctly calculate its cross section. The dynamic air resistance in it is the greater, the greater its length and the more its cross-section differs from the circle. If the air duct is too narrow, the filling of the cylinders may deteriorate, which will lead to a decrease in engine power.

The breathers are protected by rubber hoses brought to the top of the engine compartment and equipped with filters.

An example of off-road tuning for a Chevrolet Niva in the video:

Tuning is endless, as the possibilities for improvement are endless. Every car owner has their own preferences, and tuning provides the means to customize the car to an individual ideal. Before you start implementing your ideas, we advise you to use virtual programs, with which you can try on various modifications for your car on a computer.

Under the article, we have collected several photos with the most interesting tuning options for the Chevrolet Niva, which, perhaps, will give an idea for improving your car.

Nowadays it is customary to scold the products of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. They say that comfort is not enough, and the engines are not the same ... Even a really successful model, proudly bearing the Russian name Niva, is forced to endure the nagging of disgruntled users.

However, all the disadvantages of the car are easily compensated for by the tuning capabilities. Any model - including a completely modern Chevrolet Niva - can be redesigned according to the owner's ideas.

Will this make the car better? It all depends on the diligence of the performers ... Let's take a closer look.

Engine tuning - the beginning of all beginnings

And although most amateur tuners rush to improve their Niva by installing body kits, the rational path begins with the engine compartment. By the masters tuning Chevrolet Niva gained invaluable experience in converting standard eighty-horsepower engines.

By replacing the factory pistons and camshafts, modifying the cylinder head in terms of improving the gas distribution mechanism and valve system, installing lightweight balanced flywheels and high-flow exhaust systems, specialists achieve a very significant increase in the power and torque of the Niva engine.

However, you also need to know when to stop: overseas craftsmen, modernizing the Niva, who knows how to have sailed to Australia, decided that a five-liter engine is the very thing for a Russian SUV.

According to eyewitnesses, the nivomonster roars more terrible than a lion's pride, but no one can ride it ...

Tuning parts for the Chevrolet Niva engine

Boring the cylinders and installing pistons with an increased diameter allows you to raise the working volume of the engine from 1700 cm 3 to 1900 cm 3 - which in any case has a positive effect on power.

Tuning pistons can be either cast or forged. The denser metal of the forgings promises longer component life, but in reality, the balance of each piston is a much more important parameter.

The displacement of the center of gravity relative to the axis of the piston pin entails the appearance of a subtle tilt of the part during its reciprocating movement in the cylinder. The result of the skew is the rapid wear of the walls, the appearance of ellipticity in the section, and a decrease in compression - up to a critical level.

That is why when choosing tuning pistons, you need to pay special attention to balancing parts.

The increased volume of the cylinders implies optimized ventilation of the combustion chamber. The obvious solution suggests itself: to bore out the seats, to install valves with an increased diameter. The use of T-shaped tuning valves gives quite a noticeable effect even without risky boring operations.

The high class of processing of the closing surface of the tuning valve ensures reliable sealing of the cylinder. The reduced poppet weight helps maintain the valve temperature. Against ordinary expectations, the T-shaped valve does not burn out, and works - due to the special geometry of the body - much more productively. The throughput of the channel closed by the tuning valve is higher than the standard one.

Modified camshafts for tuning the engine Chevrolet Niva, like camshafts for Chevrolet Cruze engines, are divided into three groups. For Niva, as for an SUV, it is especially important to "pick up" the pace of movement when shifting to lower gears.

Effective use of the tractive effort of the motor is determined by the shape of the camshaft cams. The popularity of "grassroots" shafts, which help to increase the vehicle's cross-country ability, is natural for the Chevrolet Niva. However, there are so many modifications of the Niva tuning shafts that they are numbered, and the bill has long exceeded a hundred.

When choosing a tuning kit for the gas distribution mechanism, one should be guided by the presence of the appropriate firmware for the software complex that controls the operation of the Chevrolet Niva engine.

Chip tuning of the Chevrolet Niva engine

The serial Niva engine, subjected to chipping, demonstrates performance exceeding the generally accepted standard. The motor, in the device of which major changes were made, and in which the volume of the combustion chamber increased, the mass of the crankshaft and connecting rods decreased, a tuning camshaft and a split timing gear appeared, all the more it needs to improve the program that controls it.

Among amateur masters of chip tuning, there has long been a belief that the electronic control unit of the all-wheel drive Niva does not tolerate interference, and its tendency to self-study makes any efforts to change the firmware useless.

This is true for Bosch electronic control units 7.9.0, M7.9.7 and M7.9.7 +. The January 7.2 ECU installed on tuned cars is devoid of such disadvantages. Its ROM (read only memory) calibrations can be changed during the flashing process.

The increase in power resulting from chip tuning Chevrolet Niva, can reach 15%.

Transmission tuning

Most often, as a tuning of the Chevrolet Niva transmission, measures are proposed to reduce the vibration that occurs in the front gearbox and is transmitted to the car body. Attempts to install self-locking gearboxes are no less common.

But if anti-vibration measures are unambiguously useful for both the car and the riders, all kinds of limited slip differentials and ball self-blocks can complicate the use of the Niva.

The problems of using such units usually run into the insufficient durability of structural materials. Intractable design flaws in newfangled devices hinder their effective use. As a rule, the negative results of such alterations are noted by the majority of Niva owners.

So it is not in vain that the reviews of adherents of such alterations honestly recommend: put the standard rear axle gearbox in the trunk, and carry it with you always. One day it will come in handy ...

but tuning Chevrolet Niva often narrowly focused, and is carried out in order to improve the off-road properties of the machine. In this case, one cannot but admit that the installation of onboard (in other words, wheel) gearboxes is justified.

Raised ("lifted") body, large-diameter wheels, unprecedented cross-country ability and peremptory appearance - these are the results of the installation of wheel reduction gears.

It should be noted that it is the wheel reducers that make it possible to equip the car with special soft tires, which make it possible to move both in swampy terrain and in deep snow.

Of course, when converting the transmission, it is necessary and Chevrolet Niva suspension tuning

Experienced field owners, without even changing the driving characteristics of the machine, try to replace the standard suspension parts with more reliable, productive, resistant to climatic and operational loads.

The common practice of replacing rubber bushings with polyurethane parts should be adopted by every Chevrolet Niva owner. Polyurethane silent blocks, stoppers, seals, couplings and other suspension elements serve three times longer than rubber ones. They are insensitive to temperature conditions, they are not afraid of oil products, they work perfectly in compression and fracture.

Mounting dual shock absorbers, contrary to skepticism, does not make the suspension critically inert. Dual shock absorbers increase the vehicle's ability to withstand dynamic loads and allow the vehicle to be driven even at high-speed off-road driving.

On the forums dedicated to tuning Chevrolet Niva, the issue of choosing the type of shock absorbers that are optimal for installation on this short-base SUV is often discussed. Adherents of radical changes advocate the use of gas-filled shock-absorbing devices.

The operating experience of the Chevrolet Niva shows: gas shock absorbers are justified only if the car participates in cross-country races. During normal operation of the Niva, gas-oil or high-quality oil shock absorbers from reputable manufacturers have proven themselves in the best way.

Improving off-road performance ChevroletNiva

The high cross-country ability of the serial Niva is not a reason to use the car as an amphibian. Many owners of this SUV are sure: silicone seals and lubricants, abundant watering of high-voltage wires and electrical appliances with kerosene-containing liquid makes it possible to force water obstacles of great depth.

Meanwhile, the high-speed overcoming of even a shallow-looking puddle can lead to sad consequences. Water that has entered the cylinders of a running engine through the air intake is an incompressible medium. The moving piston is unable to overcome the compression resistance of the water. As a result, the rotating crankshaft bends the connecting rod - and this is still a relatively harmless result of driver's daring.

No less harm is caused by the ingress of water into the oil sump. This is why hydraulic conditioning is so important for the Chevrolet Niva.

The established standards of hydraulic preparation include the installation of a snorkel (placed on the roof of the air intake) and the exclusion of the possibility of water entering the mechanisms through standard breathers.

A great variety of snorkel designs have been developed, but the main thing in each of them is a sufficient duct cross-section. The rule of self-creation of a snorkel is simple: the longer the air duct, the greater its throughput should be. Otherwise, a considerable part of the engine power will be spent on creating a vacuum in the snorkel tube, and its installation will have a detrimental effect on the driving performance of the machine.

Rubber hoses put on the breathers, brought out into the engine compartment and protected by filters, will ensure the protection of important mechanisms from moisture.

A functional body kit is an important part of tuning a Chevrolet Niva

Who would think of decorating the Niva with decorative overlays? An off-road vehicle needs many extremely useful outdoor fixtures to be installed. Reinforced bumper with built-in winch - the first device needed in the event of a jammed machine.

And while a power bumper for a monocoque vehicle is by no means a panacea for hard collisions, its functionality is undeniable. The durable 3mm steel bumper, which is integral with the engine protection, ensures the safety of the body and assemblies in difficult road conditions.

Additional headlights recessed into the bumper are usually equipped with fog filters. The towing eyes are fixed in the attachment points of the structure to the body. The emergency winch can easily find a place inside such a bumper.

When choosing a winch model, you should prefer devices equipped with polymer ropes. Steel cables are stronger, but winding with force on the reel, they can get pinched among the turns. Releasing the winch cable in the field is always a challenge.

Some Chevrolet Niva owners, trying to give the car the appearance of a fighter against the dominance of stray kangaroos, diligently decorate the car with arches curved from pipes. Reinforced at the front and back, turned into side steps, the arcs of thick pipes do more harm than good. They reduce the vehicle's ground clearance, flatten the angles of the front and rear overhangs.

The appearance of the car, of course, benefits from such alterations, but the cross-country ability drops. And the total weight of the hinged metal is often several tens of kilograms. Why carry unnecessary cargo?

A roof rack made of lightweight materials, equipped with several headlights and mounted on the roof cannot but be considered an extremely useful acquisition. Even if its carrying capacity is not particularly large, it will fit three cans of fuel, and this is at least several hundred kilometers of track, guaranteed with fuel.

Electro tuning SUV

The temptation to add headlights to the roof rails is sometimes daunting. Indeed, why not create a light platform on the roof of the car that can flood the entire area with radiance? The problem is the high energy consumption of halogen lamps. They are gradually being replaced by LED headlights. They are still expensive, but already very practical: durable, economical, unpretentious. And they are not so complicated that it was impossible to assemble them with your own hands with a minimum of knowledge in electrical engineering ...

The LED headlights do not overload the generator and give a high light output. The future is behind them!

The sore spot of any SUV used on rough terrain in wet weather is the windscreen washers. You often have to add water to the tank, which is not particularly pleasant at an air temperature of about 0˚С. In addition, cold water does not wash away mud masses well from glass.

A rational solution is to install a heater. Hot (up to + 75˚С) water is consumed more economically, it works better. Most importantly, heating water allows you to abandon the use of methanol solutions that are unsafe for humans, which are used as antifreeze liquids for washing glass.

The industry produces several models of engine preheating and seat heating devices. Their relevance in the Russian climate is understandable. Inexpensive and useful anti-freeze outside rear-view mirrors with repeaters of turns and an electric drive of adjustment of an angle of reflection.

It is important to choose a model of tuning mirrors that is equipped with an aerodynamic protrusion along the lower edge of the plastic. This unobtrusive part is an excellent remedy for keeping the mirrors from getting dirty with fine particles from the front wheel.

We have touched on only a few aspects tuning Chevrolet Niva... The popularity of the brand, the availability of parts for self-tuning gives the widest opportunities for creativity.