A Sunday in the life of a BHPian

[revvedup]

Today was going to be an exciting day. After all it is not everyday that you get to experience an E-ZEN first hand, especially in Delhi where performance for the masses is hard to spot( all right you have the GTO’s but nothing else with serious performance modifications). This was going to be one hell of a day, all I was dreaming about was the feel of sitting in those body-hugging Recaros and sound of the exhaust.


My day started as usual with T-BHP of course, with some rock music added for good effect, later briefly read Hitchhiker’s guide to choosing a good college on an IIT forum. Some lunch and some confirmatory calls to Praneet later I was all ready to board my chariot to Noida in my special Suzuki shirt (err Non-turbo Indica as a chariot, never mind) .

Some good roads and dead ends later I was here in Noida where the Ivory white E-ZEN was being given a good clean-up. Praneet was a very good host and explained everything to me that had been changed apart from also answering all my queries. Mind you this Zen mechanically is as different from a stock Zen as chalk from cheese. Everything you could think of has been changed to cope up with the extra number of horses ready to gallop from under the hood. Esteem brakes and engine head, beefed up clutch, a K&N equivalent of an air-only black hole , torsion bars a.k.a. strut braces, stiffer suspension the works. The car was so capable not even the mechanic was able to resist spinning it's wheels (fellow boys and girls, this is not good for your car please don’t try this often unless you like the smell of a burnt clutch ).


All theory and no practical ain’t a good thing. Washing –shashing done I sunk into those Recaros and off the car went as if inertia of rest was something that existed only in the realms of a scientist whose head had been damaged by an apple. Even mild application of the throttle cum volume control resulted the car’s in-built ICE was pumping out bassy notes VROOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!VROOM!!!. Although the roads we were driving weren’t at all conducive for spirited driving, but still I saw the speedo needle cross 120.

Now this was all what I experienced from the passenger seat but the real thing could only be experienced if I had a chance to drive the car myself and Praneet kindly accepted my request. Usually I always start my car with my foot on the clutch but somehow this time missed doing that and as result stalled the car, again restarted the car only to stall it again as I had not been quite able to acclimatize myself with the clutch’s bite point. Not a good start you must say but was able to get it moving in the next try. In the beginning I was a little hesitant drove the car very timidly doing early shifts partly because of the traffic and partly because I wanted to know the car a little better before ripping her.

While I was slowly following another car I asked Praneet at what RPM was the shift light set at and pat came the reply 8000 RPM. At that moment, more used to 8500 RPM shifts on my bike I failed to recognize the gravity of that statement , it was only later when I reached home that I remembered that a stock carb Zen redlines at 6.5K’s and said wow!!. Ok here’s the moment you all have been waiting for,I found around 200 mts of empty space in front of me and almost floored the accelerator( note almost) but enough to get the shift light flashing( I almost didn’t notice this briefly having overevved the car, sorry car and Praneet) urging me to shift into third a brief glance of the speedo showed needle climbing north of 100 clicks.

After this I didn’t want to risk such a well maintained car and so I went no further(Young I maybe but 6 years of driving has made properly aware ofthe risks on Indian roads). Also earlier I had a chance to do a complete U-turn in the car and despite the larger tires the steering was quite light partly helped by the smaller steering wheel although at the same time it also meant one had to be more aggressive with the steering wheel.

Overall it was an entertaining drive although good roads would have made it even more entertaining , Praneet eagerly awaiting the next drive on some proper roads and thank you for tolerating my slightly harsh driving and ignoring all of it in some Marlboros. Three cheers to you for making my day.

With all this over in a matter of an hour, I thought having come all this far ( I am told it was 30-35 KMS ) I may as well check out what was one once Asia’ largest mall(err India’s) for some scale models . Unfortunately I couldn’t find them but I ended up visiting Planet M( good store DJ, mixer et all) where finally after having ordered the Evanescence’s Fallen Album CD at almost all Music worlds and Planet M I could locate, I was finally able to find the CD( Yippeee finally I had a chance to listen it on audio CD ad get rid of the rubbish MP# I had). But sadly I remembered that all I had taken in the wallet today was money enough to buy me two litres of petrol but this CD was worth four litres (sad , what is the petrol thing rising crude prices getting the better of me hmmmmm). Although the DJ cum store operator was kind enough to reserve this CD for me provide that I turn up in a week which is highly unlikely unless my next drive with the Zen comes up on the coming Sunday. Could one of you take this CD on my behalf ?
So that was it an my Sunday, well spent I must say.
Mods please move this to an appropiate section if I have wrongly posted this in the wrong section.

[planet_rocker]

wow! well written revvedup! how about sharing some pictures? and who is praneet? is he a member of the forum?

[revvedup]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

wow! well written revvedup! how about sharing some pictures? and who is praneet? is he a member of the forum?

Thank you Planet Rocker. I didn't have any camera on that day despite the fact that I love automobile photography ( BHpian trait, one likes anything that is even remotely related to wheels ). But rest ensured I will get the pics next time, and yes Praneet71 is a member on the forums.

[khan_sultan]

Now that's what I call a 'SUNDAE' treat!!! ripping a fellow bhpian's car. Great post revvedup

BTW, where in Nodia is the 'scale model' mall that you have mentioned?

[revvedup]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Now that's what I call a 'SUNDAE' treat!!! ripping a fellow bhpian's car. Great post revvedup

BTW, where in Nodia is the 'scale model' mall that you have mentioned?

Yes surely it was a treat to remember, thanks again to Praneet for making this happen and giving me an opportunity to drive his car.

No, we aren't lucky enough to get a scale model mall in Noida.
I just ventured into centrestage mall in hope of finding some scale models there. BTW the best place I have seen for scale models in Delhi is the AutoART showroom near the PVR in select citywalk mall in Saket (incidentally I also remember seeing the Turkish grand Prix in this PVR, was good fun)that houses some nice scale models including the Audi Quattro,a Nismo R34 Skyline GTR, the Batmobile BMW and a Lotus Europa among others

[sammyboy]

Fantastic write up Revved up. I am one of the lucky ones who have experienced Praneet's Zen (he was gracious enough to accomodate me as a passenger to the faboulous Auto Expo meet). I remember you drooling over it when we reached there too It is one heck of a car and he is one really nice guy.
Great to hear u had loads of fun.

[Praneet71]

Hi Revvedup, i just happened to have logged onto the forum and saw your post - very well written and i am glad you enjoyed the ride.

Take care

[GTO]

Nice writeup, Revvedup. That sounds like a pretty serious Zen, how about some pictures? Who has performed the modification work on her?

[Praneet71]

GTO - its a great car and i love it. The idea of getting this car was not to race but i was looking for a good commute vehicle which had extra pep to offer and i think she delivers on all counts - thanks to Raj Hingorani.

I will definately post a few pics in the next couple of days.

[revvedup]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Fantastic write up Revved up. I am one of the lucky ones who have experienced Praneet's Zen (he was gracious enough to accomodate me as a passenger to the faboulous Auto Expo meet). I remember you drooling over it when we reached there too It is one heck of a car and he is one really nice guy.
Great to hear u had loads of fun.

Thank you for the apprecaition.
Ya saying that I had fun would be an understatement although I am eagerly awaiting another drive in the Zen . You see these things are addictive : ).

And yes agree with you about the car and Praneet. Not everybody finds time on a sunday for a person who he has only met only once and then on top of it lets you drive his special car ( I know these things are personal each person has his unique driving style and the car does kinda behave a little different after somebody else drives your car). A big thank you to you and ashthedivx for introducing me to Praneet.

Originally Posted by Praneet71

Hi Revvedup, i just happened to have logged onto the forum and saw your post - very well written and i am glad you enjoyed the ride.

Take care

I am glad you apprecaited my writeup. And a big thanks for the ride again.
Eagerly awaiting another ride in the car on some better roads.

Originally Posted by GTO

Nice writeup, Revvedup. That sounds like a pretty serious Zen, how about some pictures? Who has performed the modification work on her?

Yes a very serious Zen indeed praneet tells me it develops around 90 -95 BHP( 95 Bhp and 750 Kg you do the math), I have covered all the performance mods Pranet told me about and which I remember but I am sure there are more Pranet can tell us about.

Sorry no pics as I stated in an earlier post I had no camera( bad !) . Let's see if I can plan a photoshoot sometime ( Man, do I love this car I never run out of reasons ).

[Praneet71]

This is what the car looks like....

Cheers

[GTO]

Nice and simple sleeper look....not a single indication of a more powerful engine beneath. Perfect!

Is that a recent picture, Praneet? If so, this Zen is a well-maintained car.