What it takes to own a modded ride - Part II. The dark side!

[abhilash]

To start: Not a regular guy at all when it comes to posting on this forum. But read most of the good and bad threads that are listed. Thought should write a post for this thread.

@Mclaren1885 - Very sorry to hear about the state of your car and the trauma that you went thru. I can completely sink into your shoes and feel how it would be, cause my friend went thru a similar kind of thing for a year inspite of me trying to discourage him not to go ahead with the mods which he is not sure how it would work or has seen on any car.

What we all forget is India is not so advanced when it comes to mods. Unlike what we see in regular TV shows (AXN, Travel & Living and etc). The equipment used during those mods are far superior and high tech to what even the authorised service centers would have in India. (I hope you guys agree here).

I have seen a LOT of topics being discussed here(forum) where people are just talking what they have either read or seen on TV. This ends up to misleading a lot of people ex: Mclaren.

Mclaren I hope you enjoy the baleno as it comes stock for a while and then do mods which are practical and easy to carryout without all this heart burn.


PS: I'm not a very tech person when it comes to cars but still can manage some jargons used. Have also dirted my hands at garages cause I love to do that.

Regards
Abhi

[dipen]

May I suggest selling the Baleno and getting a used bone stock OHC with complete verifiable records or if budget permits a used Cedia.

The car has already been through all. Would it be worth spending on getting it back to normal trouble-free running and then again spending on mods. As you never know if the engine will still be reliable? A car has thousands of parts and the car has had its share of mods, tracks, kms on the odo, etc. I am sure, there are still hundreds of parts in the car that havent been reported bad or are not in the best of health.

Just to add, one should ask tuners to at least provide warranties (on the labor) for the mods done maybe for 6 months with the assurance from the customer that the car will be serviced with the tuner all the time during that period. This way the tuner is assured that the car is untouched by a untrained mech.
I understand parts warranty is very difficult but labor is surely workable.

[streetsdisciple]

This thread is an eye opener ,must have been heart breaking for you to be treated like this by your tuner whom you trusted blindly ,is he a member here ??

[Shan2nu]

May I suggest selling the Baleno and getting a used bone stock OHC with complete verifiable records

Seriously dude, for the amount you've spent on your car, you could have got a B16 OHC setup like Rocam's. No need to even modify the engine, damn thing comes with 170bhp.

I heard that you had even considered a Mivec or B16 possibility some time back.

Shan2nu

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by cheap_deal

the best advice. for example, i've always wondered why people buy a honda civic and try to make it a Ferrari. all the money spent in the process could have been used to buy maybe a 350z?

Becoz u have missed the point - people like to tune cars, its an obsession with some people.

People do that to all cars not just civics because they enjoy tuning engines, they are just car crazy. (maybe more civics becoz of the price range and how much potential it has)

Some people like to buy a performance car off the shelf and call themselves auto enthusiasts ,some like to build one and call themselves auto enthusiasts, everyone has a diff opinion as anyways both of them are going to spend the same money.
Maybe some dont have the skills to build a tuner car , .. or maybe they dont have the crazy obsessive motivation tune a car from scratch so they go for a ready made performance car.

Look at mclaren1885 over here - bloody freakin psycho petrolhead ... take his example , would he go for a 12 lakh car off the shelf or build a 12 lakh with own hands part by part...
and he's still not letting go.
hope this helps u figure out.

(mclaren: dude clear ur inbox)

[aZa]

Nice and emotional write up mclaren! Hope you and your car come out of this strongly!

[n_aditya]

whoa, 3 rebuilds in a single year is just so . Hope your car is now doing better and is back in action soon.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Mclaren 1885,

From all that you have written, I can only offer my sympathies. Please note that a modern production petrol engine is an extermely reliable piece of machinery and nowadays modifications to enhance performance are NOT carried out on engines but in other areas of the car.

Please stay away from aftermarket modifications as most of the people who carry them out do not have even basic equipment like a good engine dynamometer to check whether the engine is really developing more power.

If at all you want to get into this category, the complete driveline will have to be balanced including R&H (ride and handling).

Please accept my best personal regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[R32_GTR]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

I have often come across this statement that "Tuners hate a customer who has been to almost all the tuners to get work done on his car or bike". I have often witnessed people mocking such people. Truth be told, I don't see anything wrong. Mostly, they too might have faced such issues that I have and gone to someone to correct them like I have.

I could not agree with you more. tuners prefer / like customers that know less than them. this helps them justify as few things mentioned viz cost, performance, reliability etc.

I am disgusted with the level of professionalism in India, where tuners have no value for a customers TIME whatsoever, which bothers me the most.

The brakes on my GTR were replaced in under an hour in Sydney and i was more than happy to shell out $150/hour rate that i was charged as labour. I am unable to say so about my current tuner on my current project in India. (I am inclined to stop here with my frustration before i burst a vein)

Secondly, I might have to quit my day job to continue with the project but then i wont be able to pay for the project.

moral of the (my) story...just roll with it mate!!!!

and honestly with the traffic conditions in mumbai, reliability, air conditioning, a comfy drivers seat and power steering are all the mods one needs or save up and buy a 911 carrera.

cheers.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by dipen

May I suggest selling the Baleno and getting a used bone stock OHC with complete verifiable records or if budget permits a used Cedia.

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

Seriously dude, for the amount you've spent on your car, you could have got a B16 OHC setup like Rocam's. No need to even modify the engine, damn thing comes with 170bhp.

I heard that you had even considered a Mivec or B16 possibility some time back.

Shan2nu

Thats not an option anymore. I had to take a decision last month when I put up another thread. Now that I have taken the decision I have decided to stick by it and make sure it works this time around.

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

(mclaren: dude clear ur inbox)

Chetan, kindly e-mail me. PM box is full, and since I have no net connection I am still unable to log in regularly.

Dear Mclaren 1885,

From all that you have written, I can only offer my sympathies. Please note that a modern production petrol engine is an extermely reliable piece of machinery and nowadays modifications to enhance performance are NOT carried out on engines but in other areas of the car.

Please stay away from aftermarket modifications as most of the people who carry them out do not have even basic equipment like a good engine dynamometer to check whether the engine is really developing more power.

If at all you want to get into this category, the complete driveline will have to be balanced including R&H (ride and handling).

Please accept my best personal regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Very well said. I tried to the best of my abilities get the entire car upto my liking. With reference to power, ride & handling. Somewhere along the line things went wrong. Its time to correct them now.

[Shan2nu]

Thats not an option anymore. I had to take a decision last month when I put up another thread. Now that I have taken the decision I have decided to stick by it and make sure it works this time around.

Is it gonna be a drag spec or a track spec Baleno.

Shan2nu

[nkapoor777]

My heart goes out to you man. Hang in there.

[rocksterraghu]

Rahul, I did not have enough time to read your entire thread before.

Now that I've read it completely, I feel really bad for you. This thread is very informative, even if some find it to be an exaggeration - I think it is a must-read for people who want to spend their hard-earned money blindly on modifying their cars.

I have a few friends who ask me to modify my Baleno - like ask me to work on the headers, put free-flows etc. I don't do it for the exact reason that I don't know much about it. I may look like a fool to them - because I upgrade my ICE or buy another gadget instead of doing some mods under the hood. Atleast, I am happy that I don't spend on things I don't understand.

Cheers! Just gave this thread a 5-star rating!

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

Is it gonna be a drag spec or a track spec Baleno.

Shan2nu

Neither! What I want right now is a fun to drive car which I can occasionally take to the tracks and drag strips (time permitting)and not the other way round.

[mclaren1885]

Finally some good news. Cars back and doing really well. Just need to sit down and wriggle out a few niggles here and there. For more, read my signature. Will put up a detailed report once I get back from CBE.