K&N , Exhaust and other mods through Perf. Auto. Pricing and tthe Should I factor

[zaphod]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a few minor mods in my baleno.

I went over to Performance Auto in Noida and met Mr. Raj Kapoor.

The prices given by him were :

K&N Extremeflow ~7000+~2000 fitment w/ chrome piping.
P.Auto's own designed exhaust : ~13000 (mild steel)

Are these above prices in the right range ? (the price for the exhaust seems rather high)

Other mods I was considering :

Front Strut Brace
NGK Spark Plugs

will the above aid handling(strut brace) and perf. (plugs) by an appreciable margin ? I havent asked the prices for these but what can I expect ?
Is there anything else I can get fitted or done which would help my handling and performance. My budget is a bit limited at the present and I won't be able to afford most of the goodies till next year at the least.


Now I come to the 'Should I' factor.


I rarely rev my car that much. In the city I shift at ~2000-2500.
If driving hard , I may take it to ~5000 but that comes once in a few months and I'm not kidding - I seem to be treating my baleno with kid gloves after the way I drove my esteem.

Would spending this money make sense on pleasure which I'll get once in a blue moon - I do drive down to Jaipur once-twice a year and that's when I truly enjoy the Baleno.

Also Mr Kapoor assured me that I will not see any drop in low end torque - which is my FAVOURITE part about the baleno.
Is that true and if now , what kind of a drop am I looking at ?

thanks

zaphod

[viper]

Hi,

The prices quoted by him are on the higher side. Go in for the strut braces, Iridium Plugs & K&N Extreme Conical filter(5.5k) only. Leave the exhaust out going by your driving style.

Would recommend OWS Iridium plugs which are far better than the NGK's. Use the money for the exhaust on better rubber or upgrade your ICE.

Viper

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by viper

upgrade your ICE.

Viper

this is a good option to consider......

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

this is a good option to consider......

I would say better rubber & ignore LBM's request if you follow his words you are gonna have some bhains fans too

[zaphod]

Viper and LBM , Will....slash that....might take your advice regarding the exhaust - the rest of my family who sometimes drive my car when it's the first one at hand are not too pleased about the idea of a grunty exhaust...(but i want the exhaust.....i want the growl as i rev the car....to 3000rpm )

As for rubber ...please see my story in the tyres and alloys section and commiserate with me... I had some nice Michelin MXF sport 195/60R14 tyres...of which one is trashed.... So i might try sell the entire lot with the 5 Aura 14 inchers and move to 15" with Eagle F1 D3 or Michelin Pilot Sport
(but the budget is a MAJOR constraint for this)

LBM and Viper - I find my current ICE - yes, the Nippon Audio 40wx4 complimentary fitment quite satisfactory - okay no laughing at me.... I just dont listen to music at very high volumes. The clarity is okay at low-mid volumes but perhaps i could move this stereo into my old esteem as a gift to my sis and get one with an ipod input. I'll file that as a maybe... How about a sunroof ? that's one thing I could go for, or real leather inside. Or even perhaps FIA approved rally seats - are there any affordable ones out there ?

lemme put it this way, can you guys suggest the best performance and handling mods within a measly 30,000. (might stretch it to 40,000)

heh, iraghava, there are enough bhains in noida..... can do without any unwanted attention of that sort.

As for the work, P.A seems expensive - it was just close to home so i was being lazy but I'll then perhaps go to Autopsyche - my work's nothing fancy but he's good some real neat mods out there.

Thanks


zaphod
(currently without any vehicle and traveling by bus...damn, back to my school and univ days)

[iraghava]

If loudness is not an issue then you should spend your 40k on the following:

Exhaust w/Headers
Good wheels & rubber
Iridium Spark Plugs
K&N Filter

BTW what car do you own??

[team dragstar]

dude start off with
1. k and n extreme...... eith chrome pipes 6000
2. plugs.......2000
3. wires... splitfire/ msd/ nology only.........5000
4. good exaust... 15000
5. strut braces ... 4000
6. some nice rims for an exchange somwhere. 12000

viper ... 40000.... no tri phase?????

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by team dragstar

5. strut braces ... 4000

Isn't that too much..!!!!

KP

[viper]

Originally Posted by team dragstar

viper ... 40000.... no tri phase?????

Hey Amitabh,

Have to follow the rules.

Viper

[viper]

Originally Posted by iraghava

BTW what car do you own??

Hi,

He has a baleno. Pl read the first post.

Viper

[speedzak]

Originally Posted by team dragstar

dude start off with

4. good exaust... 15000

Automech exhaust with Headers, Expansion chamber, intermediate pipes, muffler and Steel tip. The whole set cost me only Rs.5065/- for my Alto LX. Is'nt automech good exhaust makers?

[manson]

why are you looking at handling, considering you don't drive fast it would be an absolute waste.
Same with all the engine mods other have mentioned above.
You could get some nic tyres and wheels though considering you need to replace one of them.

@team dragster: triphase i think is for around 18k, and a freeflow setup shouldnot cost more than 12k on the higher side considering its done in mild steel.

manson.

[Harrie]

If you design an ehaust which starts growling at 3000 rpm you might end up with a constant exhaust noise when you arecruising at around 2000-2500 rpm. It can get irritating. Get an exhaust which starts to open up at around 4000 rpm. Cabin will be ultra quiet at cruising speeds.

[.anshuman]

Get a 4-2-1 header with low noise muffler and get it tuned for low and midrange punch,and when you dont push your car much then why are investing on all this intead go in for a cool pair of alloys mated to some nice tyres and cool ICE.

[zaphod]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I do drive fast , it's just that with being busy working and living in crowded Delhi, there's no time and place to do so that often . Whenever I get onto the DND or onto NH8 or even the 15A road in Noida, I open up the baleno. Also, whenever I'm on a curvy stretch - no matter how short, I do blast around the corners - driving fast in a straight line has never interested me that much but I do love going fast around corners.

I think overall it's just that after the way I used and abused my carbed 96 esteem , I've been treating the baleno like a delicate and fragile piece of equipment.
(I went to 3 autocrosses in my esteem - 14th qualifier once, 18th and 17th the next 2 times - winning my races against MPFI esteems but not being able to make the cut for the final 16).

I will also be spending a lot of time down south and will travel around and would like to make trips to the Chennai/Coimbatore race tracks for any 'open days' like some of our members have attended.

Perhaps an air filter (conical/extreme)... - the stock one needs to be changed as it is and as anshuman has suggested an exhaust tuned for low and midrange would be nice. (or higher end as well, but concentratig on the midrange which is where my car spends a lot of time)
I'm thinking of coupling them with plugs and wires and a front strut brace.
(will a rear strut brace increase understeer ? and also intrude into the already small boot ?)

As for the tyres, I've got nice alloys (14"x5.5" Aura's) and I really can't trash 4 Michelins because one got ruined - I want to upgrade to 15" but I'll wait till the tyres wear out. I'll try and find another MXF Sport or a second hand same sized tyre for use as a spare.

ICE doesn't really interest me atm - I'm quite satisfied with what I have.
Perhaps next year I'd like to change that but not for now.

However I might be interested in getting a sunroof and sprucing up the interiors - which are a weak point of the baleno - somehow the black vinyl seat covers I got are a bit irritating at times. Black/blue leather trim would be nice. Perhaps even recaro replicas - are any of these FIA approved ?Any estimates on this work ? Maybe getting the front discs painted to match the colour of the car - is suitable paint available ?
Anyway, how much wuld a rear disc conversion cost ? (I'm even afraid of asking)

btw, what's a tri-phase and a 4-2-1 header ?

cheers

zaphod