[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by Col KRK

Need some answers to the questions, as i am also keen to get a Race Chip fitted in my Linea MJD EMO pk.
a. By remapping with this chip, we are bypassing the stock given by FIAT. In that case. Yes, there is a significant gain noticed in all vehicles. What happens when it is used for a long? Will it impact the engine in long run?
b. Why Fiat has not gone in such a similar chip or their version in 2012 Linea to increase the power and fuel efficiency, when all were beating that Linea is under powered?

Nice questions, let me see if I can answer to your satisfaction

1. A racechip is not a remap of the electronic control unit. A chip is just a box that piggy backs on the OEM ECU and alters the pressure of the fuel that goes into the engine. Since diesel engines work on fuel pressure. A remap is where you actually erase the current OEM ECU maps and replace them with custom ones. Its more like formatting and reinstalling a higher version of Windows on your computer.

There has not been any adverse issues reported for long use of a chip.

2. This one beats me as to why Fiat did not power the Linea some more

[kdadi]

Generally manufacturers go for a conservative approach towards engine tuning. They look at fuel efficiency, long-term reliability, emission control etc. to fix on a specific output for an engine. Theoritically atleast, with the add-on chip, where it alters the fuel pressure, timing, mixture richness etc., to get more horsepower and torque, there will be lesser long-term reliability. Added to that there could also be collateral damage possible on components such as clutch, gearbox, crankshaft etc. when there is excessive torque & HP. But usually, there is good tolerance built into those components. Now you will need to determine if this is critical for you or not. For me the difference between something like 3lac kms to 2.75lac kms longevity is not a major concern, as I am pretty sure that I would not be running a single car that long in my case.

[Col KRK]

@motomaverick ---Absolutely, you have a novel way to answer my question. You made it simple to understand quoting an example of software upgrade. With my thought, such software upgrade has to have a matching hardware to work efficiently, which is amply clarified by @kdadi.

Thanx to both for the response.

The ball is in my court to play!!!!!

[kdadi]

Been a long while since I posted an update. Recently got the 4 year / 60K kms service done from Aadya Motors (after their separate Fiat establishment). Here is a summary of all things good and bad in the past year.

Tyres
The Michelin PLC have started to put out a some more road noise than before. Very small weathering cracks can been seen near the side-walls. But the best part of the tyres has been that I have not had a SINGLE puncture till date

But, then it had already done 47000kms. So I decided to avoid any risk, as I was due to travel on some outstation trips. I have now replaced them with Yokos - AVS DB V550. I upgraded to 205/60R15, getting about 0.5inch of extra ground clearance. I paid about Rs.6700/- per tyre.

First impressions - excellent grip, low road noise (definitely can make out the difference between the ageing PLC and the Yoko). It was just awesome to drive on the bangalore-shimoga route last weekend.

Engine:
Predominantly smooth. Keep getting around 14/15kmpl during office commutes; around the 22kmpl mark during outstation trips. I have tuned the race-chip for better driveability, and I think that's been one of the reasons for the good mileage. I recently changed the tuning to get better top-end, but can clearly see a dip in mileage. The recent trip to Shimoga gave me just about 20kmpl. But that had some really spirited acceleration involved. Will most likely switch back the setting.

Battery:
Changed the OEM battery to Exide maintenance free about a month ago. Over the past couple of months, had been noticing some random warning lights on the dash. I first ignored it as I assumed it could be because of the recent 3M detailing that I had got done on the car. But then after some days the engine RPM started swinging on its own. So got the battery checked immediately and it turned out that many cells were dead. This set me back by Rs.4500/-.

Interiors:
The interiors of the car have held up well. No undue paint rip-offs or creaks. There is a small rattle from the rear left door, that's been persisting across many services. But it just seems like its not going away for good. It's to do with the door lock shunting with the latch on the body. Now have some insulation tape wrapped around the latch, which has muted the rattle a little bit. Need to experiment further, as I don't expect Fiat A** to be able to do anything else on their own.

Sound Deadening:
Have now got some less known (& less expensive) sound deadening pads in the doors. It does make a noticeable difference to the audio quality, but not very significant. It costed about Rs.3000/- per pad.

Service:
Like I mentioned, got the 4th year service done at Aadya motors. Getting there is a pain. Might be better off spending Rs.350/- for pickup/drop facility. The place itself is still getting readied. It seems that Fiat deadline to separate out the operations from the TATA side of things meant that they shifted without being fully ready.
Well what about the work? It's OK. They are atleast showing some intent. But then the quality of work was pretty much what we are all used to. The worst part was that they broke the clip of the rear AC vent housing. . Now I used super glue to fix it in place.

Well, the car has definitely been a pleasure all these years. If we just resign to the fact that Fiat A** is what it is & try to do as much as we can ourselves, its been near perfect - a large sedan, looks that stand the test of time, 20+kmpl of diesel, power boost by race-chip, awesome ride & handling, pretty decent service & maintenance costs...

Stiil, miss a bit more power, that's it...just a bit more!

MODS: Can you please move this to the long-term section? Thanks!

[akshay4587]

Did you change the timing chain at 60K
If not,please do.

[kdadi]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Did you change the timing chain at 60K
If not,please do.

Yep. That was done as part of the 60K service. Total cost of this service came to Rs.19000/-

[h14]

My Linea has crossed 30k now. Installed race chip when it had done around 7k kms. Tried few settings and now on e,3. Its not that great but pretty good. Only downside is city fuel efficiency decreased. So will try 3,e now and post my feedback

[TheTeacher]

Originally Posted by kdadi

Tyres
I have now replaced them with Yokos - AVS DB V550. I upgraded to 205/60R15, getting about 0.5inch of extra ground clearance. I paid about Rs.6700/- per tyre.

Can you please let me now where your Yokos were purchased? Seems to be a very good price. Thanks.

[kdadi]

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Can you please let me now where your Yokos were purchased? Seems to be a very good price. Thanks.

I bought them at Madhus Enterprises, Lavelle Road.