[epicenter.rulez]

ok guys so here it goes,

first things first:

1. it is a remus universal bolton
2. it will work without any hassles on any car without any issues
3. it is a glass packed muffler
4. it has been engineered by the remus guys in austria in such a way that it changes the performance dynamics of the car without having to compromise on the acoustic part of it.
5. you will not find much of a difference in sound when the car is idling or running between the stock exhaust and the remus.
6. the remus endcan is oval in shape with a nice 98 mm tailpiece
7. the final exhaust diameter of the silencer is almost similar to the stock exhaust but it is well covered by the tailpipe trim.
8. this endcan is made of specialised stainless steel. i suspect it is ss316h or 410 which takes up the exhaust gas temperatures without having any distorting or discoloring effect on the endcan.
9. it costs around 18000 bucks off the shelf plus taxes and fitting charges at actuals.
10. you have to remove your stock endcan, cut the piece of the exhaust piping up front, match it to this exhaust and weld or braze it and then fit the endcan into place. a dash of cold galvanising spray onto the welded part will help prevent rust formation later on.
11. a decent car shop who knows what its all about will be able to do up the job in around 3 to 4 hours of time.
now the after effects of it:

ok, so i had decided to get the remus and had been pestering vishal for it since a long time. the only thing was that he had the exhaust and the only misfortune of mine was the lack of time.
but then the stars started turning and doing their stuff and things started going my way.
an early saturday morning found me and a friend driving down sedately on nh 8 towards ahmedabad. the destination for the remus and to have a good time with friends.

the car was at the workshop at 10 and vishal went ballistic when he saw the mileage at 21 to the liter and the odo reading a vague 42ish thou kilometers. his punto has never given him anything above 12.5 in the stop and go traffic and there is a reason to it which is better kept between the two of us.
so the car was taken out for a spin before the fitment of the remus and a couple of things were discussed. we took the highway and did an easy 130 with a reasonable amount of traffic thrown in. the tires felt brand new even after 12k kilometers, the traction as always, exemplary, the handling, legendary.
so one thing was decided that the tires needed to be rotated. there was a marginal inner wear which we deduced to a fractional mistake in alignment. balancing was also in order.

on return, while the car cooled down, we discussed a couple of bmws and a friends skoda superb over cappucinos.
then as the endcan was unvieled and all of us drooled and oohed and aahed over it, a couple of more friends from my days of royal enfields arrived. that's a different story altogether and while a lot of grammatically incorrect words were exchanged betwixt us, we decided it was time for lunch. everybody concurred that indeed it was. and we had lunch. with vishal actng as host as usual. the food, again as usual was excellent.
back at the workshop, the car is onto the 2 post lift and about six feet high.

munavvar works with his usual speed and removes the stock tail pipe from the car. the welder takes measurements, cuts the exhaust pipe from the muffler and tacks it into place on the remus perfectly in one go. the stock exhaust, strangely is triangular in shape. space saving i suppose. taking a closer look at the exhaust piping, we discuss sadly, the number and angles of bends in the piping. no doubt the car doesnt run like it should. the backpressure at the exhaust manifold throttles the performance with both hands. hopefully, it is decided that the new endcan will help. we nod like the wise men from the hills and retire to vishals's office to bother him some more. he, again, as usual is unfazed.

one observation that i'd made was that during slow turns, the shock absorber on the front right wheel would make a strange noise. i put my doubts on the table and while the exhaust is being final welded, the mechanics decide to sort this issue out. the shock absorber is removed from its housing and it is found that the bearing on which it moves with the wheel has had its lubrication all dried out and all that remains there is mud and such. a bad case of rains. due to this, instead of the bearing area rotating, its the spring thats trying to shift in its place. the shocker is disassembled, washed and dried, lubed and put back. problem solved.

by the time munavvar cleans his hands on cotton waste, the silencer is back from welding. a bit apprehensive on the fitment as the pipe may have warped or gone out of true due to the heat of welding, he puts the silencer in place. its a perfect fit. everybody is happy. the joints are sealed, the rubber hangers installed and the car brought down from its high abode. time to listen to the whisper of the gods.
the key goes into the ignition slot and is turned. all tell tale lights come into sight. we wait a full minute to see if any of them is blinking or the mid is showing any error message. nothing. we switch it off and turn it back on. the self starter is engaged, the engine cranks and burbles to life. the idle is a bit erratic at first and then it settles down to the stock 900 revolutions. maybe the ecm adjusts itself. the car is switched off and restarted. perfect. now is the time to differentiate between the sounds.

at first hearing at the tailpipe, the car sounds a bit bassy and full throated. feels like there is something powerful waiting in there to be unleashed. the vibration levels have gone down considerably. inside the cabin the difference is noticeable. the engine whine at the front has gone down to minute levels. the car now sounds more silent. we press the accelerator and raise the rpms, suddenly a couple of times, theres black smoke. deduction is that the car is overfueling after vishal has disclosed that he has replaced the k&n with the stock air filter. the car also has a tuning box which makes it overfuel because of the restricted air flow through the stock air intake. a high speed jaunt is in order. vishal takes the steering.

we start the car, the gear is slotted into alpha and the clutch is let out. the feeling is totally different. the entire car wants to leap out of its skin and run off. the garage is in the basement with a steep 30 degree incline. we come out of there with the car in 2nd gear and no accelerator at all. grins as big as two faces are all you could see in the front windscreen.

out on the road, a fast gearchange is executed. the true pedigree of the car is envisaged. it actually wants to set the streets on fire and then do it once more. we head into traffic to check out the difference. its visible. where earlier one had to keep the car in the 2nd and 3rd gear in traffic situations, we trawl the roads in 3rd and 4th with minimal throttle input. about 10 kilometers later its decided and enough is enough. the highway has to be hit, a more powerful car has to be hunted, pursued and then killed. a turn on an empty road and we are heading to the highway. i watch the little shrubs go by rather slowly. the quiteness in the cabin makes one feel like he's gone suddenly deaf or maybe developed an ear problem. i turn around to face vishal and ask him why the hell is he trying to drive so slow. he indicates the speedo and i am surprised out of my teeth. the car is already doing 100 and rising. thats something amazing happening.

up on the highway we slow down and shift to 2nd. then the magic happens. the clutch is let in, the accelerator pedal is floored, both of us are in the backs of our seats and the needle is rising to 60, the muted roar at the tailpipe is pure orgasmic bliss. blipping the throttle to see the car riding the wave of torque gives a heady feeling. 3rd pulls to 80 and then the 4th goes all the way to 120. the fifth is slotted and we stop giving input to the throttle pedal. the speed keeps on rising. a jam ahead makes us brake and the last view of the speedo needle is at 150. thats a fast 150.
so finally we are back at the workshop where the car goes in for washing while we take a tea break and discuss a turbocharger and suspension upgrade. very doable in the next 6 months or so.

so that was the day the exhaust was fitted. it was a small drive to check out how it worked and like any properly engineered exhaust, it did its job well. the million dollar question was how it would perform in everyday use. that question was answered in the one of the most enjoyable drives in the punto back home from ahmedabad.
we started at 3.30 in the afternoon and friends like the friends they are were not allowing us to leave. countless hugs and about 10 cups of tea later we were allowed to leave with a promise to be back at every opportunity. the taste of the piping hot paya soup, the ultra spicy mutton masala from last night's dinner which was more of rocket fuel than food was emblazoned on our minds forever. the hospitality, the love of friends, the countless hours of fun, priceless and unpayable in terms of payback.

so getting to the highway, the clock read 5.50 in the evening. we set a sedate pace till we reached the expressway. a 96 kilometer long python made up of some of the smoothest tarmac this side of india. no boastning but we'd once conquered this stretch from one toll booth at the start to the other one at the end in 23 minutes in a skoda superb. the speedo had read 240 kmph at times and never less than 180 kmph ever. but that was a superb and this was a punto with a tuning box, a k&n, a set of v550s, a remus and a gearbox which as best can be termed as primitive in a single word, still no match for a superb.

since it was early evening, the expressway was reached in about 20 odd minutes. the toll, all of 71 rupees paid and the reciept taken. with my friend driving, we decided to keep the speeds in check but not before we had the car "road ready" and at the right temperature. the foot was stomped on the accelerator and like a stone out of the catapult, the car shot out. the 150 was reached at in its stipulated time and we held to that mark for about 5 minutes. finally at around 20 kilometers, it was decided that it would be very much appreciable if the car was driven in a more humane way. the needle came down to 110 kmph and that was that. the mid said that the car was still delivering 21 to the liter.
the real fun started after we were off the expressway and joined the mainstream traffic of nh8. nh8 is supposed to be the busiest highway in india and i have been a part of this busy stretch of road since the last 28 years or so.
we usually did 3 digit speeds which came up on the odo with little feedback on the accelerator pedal. the car felt more tractable and picked up in 5th gear from speeds as low as 40kph. sometimes, it gave a feel of driving an automatic. after a blast through an empty stretch at 140, the car rolled beautifully for quite some time, longer than i had imagined even after the foot was picked off the accelerator pedal. the low end grunt of the car seems to have improved manyfold.
havent checked up on the top speed though unlike some around here for whom 170 is very doable.

performance mods on a car are done to make the car more fun to drive and not check the top speeds, though i believe that this speed would be very much acheivable with this setup. what i cant understand here is that a stock swift with such a good gearbox struggles to reach 185 kilometers per hour. how the hell is a punto with this gearbox, a heavily restricted inlet and exhaust able to achieve 170? well who knows that may be possible? with the inclusion of two pitstops, we were home in a little over 4 hours. not bad for a 350 kilometer jaunt.

i'd tanked up the day before and the fuel level was just a tad below the 1/4th mark. the mid again said 21 and i sighed. wouldnt this damn thing show any other number?

its almost 1500 kilometers since the exhaust mod. as the exhaust gas flowed through the glasspack, the glasswool has compressed around in its place and made a suitable exit for the volume of the exhaust to come out. some carbon deposition on the sidewalls and around has also insulated the exhaust and now the car has quitened down a lot.
the 80-90-100 band is the sweetspot of the vehicle and you can probably do anything once the car has come to this revband.

upon pressing the accelrator, the car does make a bit of noise through the exhaust but it quitens down once you have come to your pre determined speeds and backed off the throttle.

if you drive wisely, the car rarely lets you know that its a diesel except for the time when you start it and it settles into its clattering idle. once the car is warmed up its a different story altogether.
once you cross the 70 kph band the car starts quitening down and at 110 -120 kmph its very quiet in the cabin unlike earlier when the drone of the air filter would make your ear drums palpitate so hard you'd start having a headache.
mileage hasnt suffered much and the average average remains at a steady 19.
the car is scheduled to go for its 45k service by the end of next week.

strangely, when the car was being done up at the garage, the mechanic had told me that the brake pads had an approximate life of around 900 to 1500 kilometers left on them and it would be good if i changed them immediately.
throwing caution to the wind, i'd ordered a set of brake pads from tata and i got them delivered yesterday morning. my plan was to change them today. as if on signal, the old pads died completely yesterday while i was 3 kilometers from my house while returning from office. they lasted exactly 1500 kilometers.
i put in the new ones today. the photos are attached for your reference. the old ones were down to the bare metal.
so i guess thats all thats been done to the car that i can put down on paper as of now. will keep everyone informed on anything else that is being done or happens to the car.

drive safe everyone and always wear a seatbelt. i do.

[ragsri]

Excellent review epicenter. With all the mods you have in Punto, can you test what the new bhp ratings and how fast is 0 - 100 time would be?
Thanks

[jkdas]

epicenter; that was nice read; more like a novel Had pain decoding the full stops and caps at right places,otherwise it was good.

Pix?

[sanjaymugur]

really nice write up. great mileage from your FIAT with all those mod's.

Originally Posted by epicenter.rulez

i'd ordered a set of brake pads from tata and i got them delivered yesterday morning

can you tell me how did you order the parts from TATA? did they deliver it to your residence or TATA A.S.S?

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please take time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by ragsri

Excellent review epicenter. With all the mods you have in Punto, can you test what the new bhp ratings and how fast is 0 - 100 time would be?
Thanks

sir thank you for the compliments. for the timings, doing something on a stopwatch is haphazard. the car is no doubt faster off the block, the ingear acceleration is also good and the 0 - 100 timing is definitely faster. i'd like to offer my car to all you guys out there with some equipment that could check the output, performance and other figures for documentation and comparision. can anybody help me out with this? food and stay is my responsibility. the only thing you guys have to do is bear with me

Originally Posted by jkdas

epicenter; that was nice read; more like a novel Had pain decoding the full stops and caps at right places,otherwise it was good.

Pix?

sorry for the unformatted form dada. pics will be up soon. there are some on the first or second page though if you are interested. the car odo reads 44695. service on tuesday. no issues till now.

Originally Posted by sanjaymugur

really nice write up. great mileage from your FIAT with all those mod's.



can you tell me how did you order the parts from TATA? did they deliver it to your residence or TATA A.S.S?

well sanjay, having friends at the Tata A. S. S always helps . i have several who help me out whenever something has to be done in an out of the way mode.

thanks for the comments guys. drive safe all of you. always wear a seatbelt.

[shibujp]

Thanks for that very detailed review!!

Originally Posted by epicenter.rulez

munavvar works with his usual speed and removes the stock tail pipe from the car. the welder takes measurements, cuts the exhaust pipe from the muffler and tacks it into place on the remus perfectly in one go.

So i assume he cut out the piece from the engine side of the muffler so that he could tack it to the Remus and bolt the combination to the rest of the exhaust assembly on the car?

If so, does this mean that you can no longer bolt the stock muffler if you want to replace it?

Drive on,
Shibu.

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Thanks for that very detailed review!!



So i assume he cut out the piece from the engine side of the muffler so that he could tack it to the Remus and bolt the combination to the rest of the exhaust assembly on the car?

If so, does this mean that you can no longer bolt the stock muffler if you want to replace it?

Drive on,
Shibu.

the tailpipe is shoved onto the exhaust header like a pipe in pipe construction. you need to pry open the muffler front end and loosen it to remove it from the rest of the piping. then a cut here and a tack there and everything is done. the original rubber hangers are retained and all you need is a bracket clamp arrangement that is supplied with the muffler to make it fast so that it doesnt come off the car.
remus doesnt have bolt ons in india, they have only universal mufflers that need the weld procedure.
drive safe buddy...and you need to have one on your car to believe what it can do!

[epicenter.rulez]

hey guys,
really sorry again...been busy with truckloads of work after the diwali hiatus but i think this one will answer a lot of questions.
here's one for the sake of it
last week, the baby had gone for its 45k service at 46kish kilometers. the service was perfect and the kharcha was 5k odd. happy with the car smoothening down after the oil change. it ran good for a couple of days and then one day while coming back, the car started acting up. it simply wouldnt go beyond 120 kph and felt like somebody was strangiing it. it wasnt getting enough air, even with the k&n. a cold finger of fear touched the back of my neck and i suddenly started feeling hot in a very comfortably cool cabin. was this the start of problems in an otherwise unproblematic car? were all the horror stories that i had read across all those forums going to repeat themselves on my car? would my car ever recover from this or would it become a constant presence at the service center or have to be towed to one again and again?
and then again, a reassuring thought came to my mind. i had good friends at the right places all over. the problem would be solved. but until then, what?
as i drove home reducing the speed to around 80kph the car started struggling. it would run fine for a couple of kilometers and then suddenly go limp like somebody had cut off the fuel supply and then be back to normal again. called up bawa (a friend at the service center who is the only guy allowed to touch my car during services) and he assured me that all would be taken care of the next day even if it meant removal of parts from cars in the stockyard. assured of all the best services i decided to limp home and go to the service center the next day. a big fear was that something had gone wrong with the tuning box, and a hundred thousand other things. speculation ranged from an improperly fitted fuel filter to a fried turbocharger.
strangely enough no warning light showed up on the dash. dad gave me the logic that since there was no light, it was a problem that could be fixed...or maybe not. fingers crossed, i had a tastelss dinner and fell into a disturbed sleep waking up a number of times at night and looking at the car from my balcony. i wished i was a little child from the days of yore, when a nice sleep at night made sure that everything was aok the next day when you woke up. a silent prayer passed my lips every time i went back to the bedroom. tomorrow would be a different day altogether.
got up early and got ready. called up bawa and he was already waiting at the service center blocking all the necessary equipment required. throwing caution to the wind, i started the car. the starter engaged and the car fired up a bit on the rougher side with a hiccup and settled into a constant idle at 900 rpms. nothing wrong so far. slotted into first and it surged ahead with the eagerness of a dog being drawn by the smell of something delicious being cooked. second, third and fourth came up as usual and so did the fifth. thinking that all my prayers had been answered i felt a bit relaxed and the gremlins started doing their black magic. as i entered into the mainstream traffic and downshifted, the car bogged down completely and refused to go beyond 10 kph. somehow or the other and literally trying to avoid panic as coolly as i could, i wangled out of the traffic that had its horns blaring and to the side of the road. switched it off and started it again and let it settle down to a nice gurgle. slotted into first again and it bogged down again but was still responding to the throttle inputs. with a pinch of salt decided to see what would happen when it would happen. reached the service center in about 45 minutes with the traffic playing havoc and the car not wanting to budge over 70 with instants of almost shutting off. bawa was waiting at the gate and heaved a sigh of relief when 98 was spotted. immediately asked dad to please go and have a seat in the waiting room while he tried out the car. with him on the driver seat and me on edge, we tried the car. the problem was very much there and he said that all the systems of the car were so precisely calibrated that even a dirty air fliter would be serious problem to the ecm. a pinprick puncture in the intercooler tubing would ground the car and numerous other things.
back at the service center, we decided to start with the simplest. replaced the k&n with the stock filter and fired up the car. it was instantly a different beast. the idling had smoothened down and when revved it gave out the sound of power waiting to be unleashed. we took to the road again and the car went easily to 140 which was the max we could touch on an empty stretch. the tuning box was still connected and so was the remus. hoping that the problem was solved, we shook hands and i blasted off to the factory. the car performed very nicely and high speeds were doable once again. i took it to a nice 150 without effort and was all grins when i screeched to a halt at the factory gate.
it would be the same in the evening, or would it? the thought kept niggling and i couldnt concentrate on any work completely. 6 o clock and i was back in the car heading home. decided to take it slow for some kilometers while the car came up to operating temperatures and then open it up. on the highway, couldnt wait. as soon as the car touched the highway, my foot went down on the throttle pedal. the car blasted off to 100 and then started struggling. i'd opened my mouth too soon. the problem was not gone. slowing down again, i called bawa and told him the story. he asked me to get home and leave the car keys with him. he'd arrange to get the car to the workshop and get it into shape by the same evening any how. all parts would be made available. done deal.
reaching home had never been so painful. the car didnt go past 40 kph and i couldnt go beyond the 4th gear. i'd never even been tired when i'd driven non stop from valsad to delhi in 19 hours flat. this 80 kilometer drive took 3 hours and drained me. for the first time in the 9 months of owning this baby, doubts began to creep up. with a weight on my chest, i decided that if the problem was major and fixed within warranty i'd sell off the car and go for something else. but then thinking hard, there was no something else except the 90 hp. my car ran better than the 90 hp so even that was out of the question. leaving thoughts for later i drifted off to sleep. tomorrow i'd be riding the 500 to work. after a very long time. the bike needed riding too.
the next day as i was getting ready to go to work, bawa called me up. the car was barely moving and just to be on the safer side, could he remove the tuning box? by all means, i said. do whatever needed to be done. just get the car running. so the tuning box was unplugged and the car was back to stock. well, almost...the remus couldnt be removed. it still only crawled and somehow managed to reach the workshop. while bawa struggled to get the car back to life, the wait began. the most boring thing in the whole wild world is to wait and i did just that.
4 o clock in the evening, with nothing to do at the factory, i was just cleaning the 500s sparkplug when the phone rang. the screen said it was bawa and bawa it was. excited beyond sanity and overlapping words with more words. fearing the worse i asked him to slow down and explain what happened. and he did and my happiness knew no bounds. the car was back to life.
when the tuning box had been removed and the car still didnt move, he somehow managed to take it to the workshop. they have a procedure called proxy align which they do at every service. that is the same as doing a scan with an obd i suppose. so the scan showed that the fuel rail pressure was extremely high and fluctuating in the higher limits only. strangely, the dash showed no warning lights even then. tracing the electricals they came to the fuel rail pressure sensor and found that it had somehow worked itself loose in its couple and was engaging and disengaging causing wrong signals to the ecm while the ecm tried for correction. the coupler was opened, cleaned with contact cleaner and fitted back and secured. also while they were at it, the checked up everything else too and found that the power steering oil level had gone down and on thorough checkup found that there was a slight leakage in the steering rack and pinion. a new set has been ordered under warranty and will be available by saturday or monday when again, the car would be picked up and the rack assembly changed. apart from that everything was found ok. the car started better, idled smoother and ran like a bat out of hell. only this time it did the same without the tuning box and the k&n. liking the feel of the car, i decided to keep it almost stock till i couldnt stand it any longer. note that this was done before i had actually tested the car. only bawa knew what he was talking and i was just feeling what he said was logical.
the car was delivered home after a comlimentary interior vacuum cleaning job and a full washing service. when i thumped home, the car waited under the lights, all gleaming and white. it was time to drive the car and see whether what bawa had said held water.

remember that the car was running only the remus as the tuning box and the k&n had been removed.
so i took the keys and headed three floors down where the car i loved waited, patiently.
unlocked, seated and key inserted, i was waiting for all the telltales to disappear so that it could be started. start it did and settle into an exceptionally smooth gurgle. felt like i was listening to water coming off a small hill through a rock filled stream. the exact word would not be a gurgle but a churl.
if it would have been facebook i wouldve super liked it. and i did.
slotting into first, i toggled the throttle. the car was unrestrained. it just wanted to go from the word go.
the second went upto 50, the third to 80, the fourth went right out of the roof and when i slotted into fifth the car was already crossing 120. superliked it again. with a sheepish grin all over my face, i headed off to dharampur road, the only road with minimum traffic to check out what balls the baby had.
now, since i was driving the car without the tuning box and the filter, i could definitely make out the difference the two things had made. since the filter was stock and more restrictive, the car was growling a bit. not like last time since the exhaust was taking care of that but it was still louder than earlier. since the tuning box was not there, the fuelling and injection timing had returned to stock. this was resulting in more input onto the throttle pedal than earlier when i just had to blip the throttle to feel goosebumps and see the car unleash its power. it definitely took time to get to the marked speeds, but it got there eventually and i was amazed to see just what a better flowing exhaust tailpipe could do. now the search begins for a custom designed header to maximise the gas flow and optimise the turbocharger performance. but all in all what i mean to say is that yes, if you do not want to spend on the air filter and the tuning box and are willing to go for the remus muffler alone, you can do it without thinking twice. since the gases would be flowing in a better way, your torque curve will be optimised and you'd be definitely running a faster car that could not only kill stock cars without any doubt but also do that with almost no effect to fuel economy. all in all money well spent on the exhaust is what i can say.
now comes the question about why i didnt go for a bolt on exhaust and go through all the trouble of cutting and welding and bolting. well, there is no bolt on available in india and the one thats available abroad would be a mismatch with the indian spec punto if it was specifically made for the punto 1.3 mjd euro spec. these guys and most of the exhaust makers at that manufacture universal replacement exhausts which fit engines of certain capacities to certain capacities. the one i am using would work very well even on a bmw 3 series and i've seen one being fitted on a petrol version and man she sounded amazing. remus being the top notch muffler manufacturers and on top of them being austrian who also strive for perfection and performance and never stop unless they achieve it were therefore my choice.
so thats two questions answered. i'm also planning for a video that what i have in mind is taking up a sound level meter and checking out the levels both on my punto and a dzire thats driven by our general manager to compare the sound levels of both the cars and all that. gimme some more time guys and i'll definitely do it.
the k&n will go back into the hood tomorrow and i'll definitely put up a feedback on how the car feels with the k&n, the remus and minus the tuning box. i'll run it the same way for some days till i start itching for that extra 20 newton meters of torque
ofcourse, will definitely be available for any queries, comments, criticism, praises and blessings from one and all around. the rest of it all is purely engineering
about putting the remus and the k&n on the 1.2 and the 1.4 petrols, it is very much possible and these two things would make the car very much more pliable at low speeds as it would be breathing better and putting out a lot more exhaust gases than that ultra restrictive stock silencer. since the exhaust headers would not be loaded with exhaust gases that are not being put out, your car would be running a lot smooth too as the harmonics and waveforms of the exhaust noise characteristic curve would also change. the car would definitely become more powerful and fuel efficient at the same time as what you would be doing would be optimising on both the air intake and the exhaust outlet. remus have been master muffler makers who have taken great pains to make mufflers that are high on performance and low on acoustics. so what basically would be happening is that the front of your car (the engine bay) would become dramatically silent. when you rev . you'd be hearing a nice low bassy note from your exhaust . the idle would be exceptionally smooth and most of the vibes would be ironed out.
since the car was delivered a couple of days ago, the odo reads 49111 kilometers.
will also be putting up a detailed breakup of service costs which is still coming to 31 paise per kilometer. will also put up what kind of moolah has been spent on the performance parts and tires and all that.
till then, all of you drive safe and have a great time.
dont forget that seat belt though!!!

[Soccerfan]

scary experience to say . Nice to hear that shes back to normal

[download2live]

Originally Posted by epicenter.rulez

mid again said 21

How come you getting 21+ mileage when you are doing mostly speeds in excess of 100. You do not have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic or is it the mods which have made the difference? Till now I thought that the best mileage is given when the speed is somewhere aound 80.

[headers]

Originally Posted by download2live

Till now I thought that the best mileage is given when the speed is somewhere aound 80.

Yup, you will get 26 kpl at that speed!

[kiren]

Hi! Mandeep,

If I am not mistaken, its nearly 20,000 kms your are on 205/60 tyres. Can you give us your views on using this size of tyre. The +ves & the -ve points.
1. Does this foul with the wheel well or the suspensions with 5 people in the car?
2. Has the ride quality changed?
3. What about GC.
4. How are the tyres?
5. Will you recommend others to use this size of tyre?

Thanks,


Kiran

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

scary experience to say . Nice to hear that shes back to normal

exactly. i was afraid that the neverending list of fiat failures has started.

Originally Posted by download2live

How come you getting 21+ mileage when you are doing mostly speeds in excess of 100. You do not have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic or is it the mods which have made the difference? Till now I thought that the best mileage is given when the speed is somewhere aound 80.

you are right, i do not have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic, out of the 170 odd kilometers that i travel daily almost 95 percent is highways. the rest of it is a mixture of single roads badly kept and city roads where the traffic barely moves over 30 kph. the highway speeds are almost always 3 digits but i usually control my urge to cross the 100 mark, unsuccessfully. i've learnt not to question the mileage part of any car. my swift, for example used to deliver a consistent 23 to the liter with a tuning box, k&n and the a/c on continuously without any issues for almost 2 lac kilometers before i sold it off. its the same with the punto

Originally Posted by headers

Yup, you will get 26 kpl at that speed!

headers sir, when my brake pads went kaput in the middle of the road, i was actually doing a slow 70-80. just for kicks i reset the tripmeter and my average fuel consumption went to 27 kmpl. i thought the brakes had also played havoc with the ecm but then as i encountered traffic a few kilometers down the road, the mileage started dropping down. but never went below 24.

Originally Posted by kiren

Hi! Mandeep,

If I am not mistaken, its nearly 20,000 kms your are on 205/60 tyres. Can you give us your views on using this size of tyre. The +ves & the -ve points.
1. Does this foul with the wheel well or the suspensions with 5 people in the car?
2. Has the ride quality changed?
3. What about GC.
4. How are the tyres?
5. Will you recommend others to use this size of tyre?

Thanks,


Kiran

yes kiran, it is almost 20000 kilometers since the tires. and i'll honestly answer what you ask..

1. no the tires do not foul anywhere

2. yes the ride quality has changed. but with the sidewalls being a bit on the stiffer side (just compensating for a softer suspension setup) it is slightly harsh on bad roads. they are super quiet, the rolling resistance is minimal and the entire character of the car has changed for that. body roll has also gone down considerably and even at high speeds going into those sexy curves has never been so much fun. the car feels like it has been velcroed to the road.

3. ground clearance is up by 6 millimeters. the car has actually stopped scraping its belly at many places where it used to earlier. so i guess the extra 6 millimeters have helped.

4. tires are in good condition. i rotated them at 10k kilometers and will do the same again as the 10k mark comes up in some days time. no cuts, no unusual wearing pattern, although i've been in rough pothole strewn roads and hit the tires hard more often than not, there are no bubbles and i guess the harder sidewalls have helped save the alloys too which according to the fiat guys are not very strong when subjected to impact and tend to bend or warp.

5. yes i'll recommend others to use this tire.

hope this helps. drive safe all you guys. always wear a seatbelt.

oh...forgot to mention. the car clocked its half tonne mark today. yes, it is all of 50000 kilometers old. all this and 10 months. nice.

[Soccerfan]

50000kms is a lot of running. Hope your Punto will easily outstretch what your swift did.
Also can you please list down any issues that you faced with your Swift towards the end of its life with you

[epicenter.rulez]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

50000kms is a lot of running. Hope your Punto will easily outstretch what your swift did.
Also can you please list down any issues that you faced with your Swift towards the end of its life with you

@soccerfan,
with the build quality of a tank, well almost, yes it should outlast the swift. i am not even planning to sell this car.
the only issue the swift ever had was me. even at the end of the ownership, the car was performing very nicely. the one issue that had been harassing me since the last 1000 kilometers or so was an unusual sound from the underbelly after a couple of kilometers down the road. finally traced it to an exhaust leak and changed both the silencer packings (the round ones made of braided steel and asbestos). the aftermarket ones were 500 bucks each whereas the oems were not even available. the car sounded as good as new then.
thats all i faced. everything else is there in the ownership review elsewhere.