[headers]

Originally Posted by epicenter.rulez

next week most probably. also some other good news will be coming regarding the car.
drive safe guys.

Let me guess - You got another MAGIC BOX

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by headers

Let me guess - You got another MAGIC BOX

yes header 22g
its a box alright....magic or not will be decided when the contents are fitted onto the car!!!

[epicenter.rulez]

just a small update guys
the cars crossed 27000 kilometers today. checked all the old diesel bills for the odo reading on them...my average mileage has been around 19.6 overall with the a/c on all the time.
not bad is it?
will keep you guys posted with everything else happening onto the car!!!
oh and yeah....the all weather prismatics are wonderful in wet weather night drives
drive safe all you epk owners...the goodyears are not that great in the rains!!

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by epicenter.rulez

just a small update guys
the cars crossed 27000 kilometers today. checked all the old diesel bills for the odo reading on them...my average mileage has been around 19.6 overall with the a/c on all the time.
not bad is it?
will keep you guys posted with everything else happening onto the car!!!
oh and yeah....the all weather prismatics are wonderful in wet weather night drives
drive safe all you epk owners...the goodyears are not that great in the rains!!

not bad eh? It is fantastic mileage. Good to know about the lamps as well.

[epicenter.rulez]

hey guys,
the car has been needing a new set of shoes since some kilometers now. since i had an opportunity to travel to ahmedabad, here is what transpired :
had also been doing some r&d with stock and stock replacement air filters since some time now. observations noted below.

drove an emotion with just a k&n on it. and there is a difference between that and a peted punto.
since i was driving in the city itself and that too ahmedabad at that, i'll not be in a position to extoll the virtues of the filter because u cannot do much in a city where bumper to bumper traffic is a way of life. but will surely try to pull out the tuning box and run the car for a couple of days without it and see how it works.

now coming back to the air filter r&d i was doing.
well initially it was just me and then there was a friend along with me when we started working on the filters.
people may be talking great guns about how the low end torque increases with better flowing air filters and how they are oh so nice in all kinds of situation and how they give you extra pulling power from extremely low revs.
but i've noticed it that all this is heresay.
anyone using a k&n can please be kind enough to just plonk in a stock filter back into its place and check out the low end grunt of it.
the car is extremely driveable in very tight traffic situations in the 3rd gear with a little or no clutch play.
take the car out on open expressways and u'll find a marked difference as to how the car lurches forward begging to be let free and is extremely responsive at high rpms right upto the 100 mark.
that is the only time when the need for a better breathing air filter is felt and you have to actually increase your volume to be heard over the intake noise.
one more thing to note would be that even with a nice smooth running stock car, the engine will become a tad noisier with a tuning box and an air filter.
its natural with the air filter but some of you may ask why with the tuning box?
the answer lies in the overfueling. since the injection sequence changes and also the injected quantity of diesel increases, it tends to cause a resonance in the combustion chamber which in turn makes the engine a little more noisier.
but once one gets the hang of it there is no turning back.

well i'd been cribbing about changing the tires since the last 7000 kilometers or so.
well i did just that. the car now sports yokohama v550 avs decibels of 205 section and 60 profile. a lot of people may again go into exploiting the benefits of low profile tires and question my sanity regarding why i upsized and kept the aspect ratio same.
well the prime reason is that the car already has razor sharp handling. the only thing it lacks in is some more comfort and ground clearance when fully loaded.
with the suspension being tuned for handling and comfort, as you pile up the miles, the suspension becomes more pliant and the body roll becomes considerably noticed. the 195 section 60 profile tires only help in making the matters worse. the first thing is that they do not fill up the wheel arches and make the car a little less appealing.
the 205s not only fill up the wheel arches, they also take up the car by 6 millimeters which though looks like a very small figure makes a lot of difference when you miss touching the bump by a mere 6 mm.
with the track width also going up by 20 more millimeters, the entire ride dynamics of the car have changed for better. the body roll due to the bigger section and larger track is decreased drastically. since the tires have almost zero rolling resistance the car begs to be driven unlike earlier with the gt3s when you really had to floor it and wait for something to happen.
the car now handles like a bigger car..more like the innova and its fun throwing it into corners.
the other thing we wanted to try on the car was eibach lowering springs. the site says that the car lowers by 30 mm and we had planned on going for 195/65 section tires with the eibachs to compensate for the ride height lowering.
when the springs were fitted onto the struts and the car brought back to the ground on stock tires, it was a sight to behold. the car looked amazingly poised to strike and my only misfortune was that i couldnt click any pics of it.
the rear arches were covering the wheel by over 25 mm and that is where, though the car looked killer, we realised that something was drastically wrong.
nevertheless we decided to take a ride in it just for the hell of it.
the car came out of the garage after negotiating a bump where it almost wanted to sit on top of it and we headed for the road. hit 100 and absolutely unshakeable. with the car sitting so low, the only fear was an unseen something cropping up but nothing did. we came to a circle and took the circle at the same speed. no understeer. it felt as solid as a meteor heading on its trajectory on a collision course. it was an exciting momemt and we came back with some very wicked smiles to share.
we called up the eibach guys and told them what was transpiring with the car and they told us that something similar had been noted with the swifts also and that meant that these springs were meant for the europe spec cars and not the indian versions. the european cars come with massive 17 inchers while we make do with 15 inchers.
with a heavy heart, we removed the lovely red springs and put them back into their box. they had to go back.
but even with the stock suspension the v550s work very beautifully.
another thing noticed during the drive was that the car had a flat spot between 60 to 80 and wasnt responding the way it should to the throttle response. it was also growling and sounded harsh.
opening the bonnet to check out the source it was another story. the k&n had been removed for cleaning at 20000 kilometers. when fitting it back, the so called expert had overtightened the screws on the filter top and that in turn had created gaps between the screws which was letting air in through all the wrong places. the car inturn was gasping for air.
the filter had to be cleaned again and when it was removed the lid was heated with a glowgun and straightened out and put back.
while we were at it, we also decided to decarbonise the engine. i went off to chill out to the mall next door while vishal and gang baby sat the car.
a couple of subways and 2 hours later, i got a call to come back to the garage. vishal greeted me with a huge thump on my back which made my eyez pop out. go start the car he said.
i cranked it and i couldnt believe what i was listening to. from heavy metal, the music had subsided to a symphony.
the car was as silent as it could be and that was when the resonance theory was discussed.
the only thing left was tires. pondering over what shoes to get for the car from 195/65 and 205/60, we just went by the theory that bigger is better and shod the car with the decibels.
then vishal dropped the bombshell. dude, we need to smoke your tail lamps out. i say what???? yeah thats what i'm saying, smoke your tail lamps out!!! i give in, the tail lamps are removed and we take the car out for a spin again.
this time, i cannot believe what i experience. its a totally different animal altogether. i get nostalgic and get goosebumps. the car is giving me the same vibes that i used to get when i owned the swift in the days of yore.
its immensely driveable and within no time we are cruising on sg road at 140 kph. the throttle is getting minimal feedback. just pressed inwards sufficient to keep the car at the 140 mark. a couple of times, i floor it and come back. the car wants to jump out of itself. amazing feeling.
happy once more, we head back to the garage. the lamps would be ready later in the evening. the car would be dropped home where i can drool over it all i want and for the time being, i can have vishal's punto if i want.
i gratefully accept the keys and rush out of neighborhood hyundai, damn confident that if i wait here another moment, one more surprise is going to hit me square in my face. and yokohamas, eibachs, a decarb, an air filter recharge and smoked out tail lamps are the only things that i can take for today.
the car looks amazing. will put up pics in a couple of days.
in the meanwhile, please go ahead and have some fun in your puntoes. i know i did.
drive safe guys and wear a seatbelt.

[Soccerfan]

man cant wait for the pictures. didnt the steering become a lot tighter with 205/60??

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

didnt the steering become a lot tighter with 205/60??

you bet it did not as light as the eps but light enough.

[epicenter.rulez]

31000 on the odo and the service is still pending.....no space at the authorised service center.
i've been promised an appointment on tuesday or wednesday with a replacement car for the day
meanwhile i continue to enjoy the car as always. it was raining a steady rain today and a friend and i went for a smallish drive. some pics for all you guys out there.
the v550s are amazingly tractable on wet roads too...and the smoked lamps are driving people crazy by the dozen.

have fun guys. and always wear a seatbelt!!

[shantyrocks]

Your punto sure looks hot maan!

[krreddy]

epicenter, how do you rate Pete's?

I have a K&N filter for my 1.3 MJD Punto as well and it does improve pickup but quite enough. How is the car handle post the Pete's tuning box?

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by krreddy

epicenter, how do you rate Pete's?

I have a K&N filter for my 1.3 MJD Punto as well and it does improve pickup but quite enough. How is the car handle post the Pete's tuning box?

all there on page 1 and 4 buddy.
drive safe

[Soccerfan]

It looksss hotttt!!! . how much did the "smoking" cost you??

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

It looksss hotttt!!! . how much did the "smoking" cost you??

compliments of a friend! but i suppose they charge you anywhere between 2000 to 3000 bucks from what has been indicated to me.

[Klub Class]

Beautiful snaps friend. Yes, I'm drooling over those smoked tail lamps! Btw, did you smoke the headlamps?

Driver her safe

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

Beautiful snaps friend. Yes, I'm drooling over those smoked tail lamps! Btw, did you smoke the headlamps?

Driver her safe

the headlamps will be done in style...creating an appropriate mask for the reflector area. that and the linea side strip mod will be carried out together!