| Swift VDi Remapped
Background:
August 2009 Suzuki Swift VDi
78,000 kms done till date
Previous Alto Lxi sold for want of a more spacious car. Also, daily running of almost 60kms on an average and occasional out station trips made it more of a requirement.
Purchase, Initial Impressions:
The purchase was done at My Car, Wakad, Pune. And even though there are a lot of negative reviews about the dealership, I had a smooth sailing experience right from the beginning. The PDI was not denied. Since the car was bought a day before my birthday, they arranged for a small ceremony while giving delivery. At this point no accessories were fitted.
Initial impressions were all positive. We also own a Dzire so the cabin was not unfamiliar. The turbo lag is what I enjoyed the most then. And I was very impressed with the power as well ( my previous car was an alto ). The commute become much more enjoyable and having people with legs use the backseat no longer needed the knee-in-the-dashboard experience for the people upfront.
All in all, I was happy. Very very happy.
Living with it:
Within a months time, the car was accessorised with the essentials. Art Leather seat covers by Autoform, Garware Natural Dark Ash tint, and matting all around. With a lot of help and advice from shrivz, I got a GroundZero 4channel amp, Illusion Audio front components, Illusion Audio rear 6" coaxials and a GroundZero 12" subwoofer with a box. Head unit was of my choice, a JVC AVX 810 7" touchscreen double DIN. Tuning and install was done under the careful supervision of shrivz.
At 40000 kms, the tyres were changed to Yokohama AVS ES100's. 205/60R14. that's an odd choice of size but it was what was available at the last minute. The tyres proved to be a great choice. Grip was massive, the stability was improved unbelievably and the car felt a lot more composed. However tramlining did rise its ugly head once in a while, ride quality became stiffer, steering became heavier and tyre noise was a lot more. But almost 40k kms later, these tyres still feel as good, and I would really recommend these to people who are ready to make a small compromise wrt noise and ride.
The BEST Part- Performance Modifications:
Had it planned right since the beginning. So I started off with a k&n panel air filter. Honestly, it did not feel that great. So within a week, I got myself a Pipercross panel filter. This one felt much better than the k&n, and I ran it for almost 10k kms. The performance bug had started biting again, so I went to Tune Up Plus, Baner to check what is what. After a few suggestions, I had a Cosworth Cold Air Intake on the car. Once the fitting was done, we took the car out for a test drive. And wow, the performance difference was awesome. The pull was stronger, midrange was better, the car felt much smoother than before. I was very happy with the filter. But my happiness was short lived.
Within 2 days of getting the Cosworth on the car, my parents asked me to let go off the car, and buy myself the new Swift. It made sense to me back then as well, so against all the memories and feelings I had attached to the car, I started looking for buyers. Also, all the parts I had added to the car were put on sale. But this feeling too was short lived.
I just knew I didn't want to let her go. So after a lot of convincing, my parents agreed to let me keep the car. All of this was a short memory really, it got over too soon. The sad part now was the the Cosworth filter I had put on sale, was sold. And I was in no way ready to drive the car stock. Tune Up Plus recommended me to try the Green Storm CAI kit, since I had already tried the Cosworth. Since my Cosworth had gone for a really nice price, I added a few on top and the Green was fitted on the car. And, most of all, i was glad I wasnt driving the stock car anymore. The filter felt like the Cosworth, the only advantage being that this one was covered. While the Cosworth felt punchy and meaty, the Green was a bit more linear, but smoother. And since it had a cover, it meant more peace of mind.
At this time I got in touch with Cosworth. A few call transfers later, I was talking to Sarvesh Shah, their performance engineer. He told me about their Swift Remap. This had really got me excited. I really never was a fan of Tuning Boxes. A proper remap is what I always wanted for my car. So after a detailed conversation, I promised to him that I would call back. For sure.
The remap was Rs.22000/- . I thought of all possible things I could cut down on to make my dream realise a bit earlier. I was very excited, just with the fact that I knew my car would be remapped very soon.
Very Soon Later-
Two guys from Cosworth arrive in the parking lot. One of them is Sarvesh Shah. They also have a big black box. Which reads Cosworth. My smiles keep getting bigger. honestly I could not contain my excitement. I just could not stop smiling. Pleasantries exchanged, he explained me how it would be done. We also had a brief conversation about how and where I wanted the power. I just told him one thing. Max it out!
Now due to Company Policies, the amount of power they add to their map is restricted owing to reliability and wear reasons. I did not ask him for figures. I just told him, if it makes a noticeable difference, I'll be more than happy.
And they got to work.
The battery was connected to a power source, the laptop was switched on and the ECU was connected to the laptop via a connection box. My smiles grew bigger every time some reading went from 0%-100%. Almost 2.5hours later, the last 100% reading was displayed and all of us were smiling. Mine was the biggest. After wrapping things up in 5 minutes, the car was started. Something just dint seem right.
In a nice way. The car was idling, but the noise was gone. The car had become super silent. From inside the cabin, it was most noticeable. It felt weird. I'm used to a lot of idle clatter. It just felt different. Slotting it into gear, we pulled off. Quite literally! There is no way I can explain this in words, but the power rise is magical. As we went through the gears, i could not stop raving about how the car has changed. There was power in every gear, every range of the tacho. I have driven Box'ed cars, and unlike those where u see a percentage rise over the existing map, this one had power all around. No longer did the car feel dead before 2000rpm and after 3200rpm. Its one of those times, where you feel that the character has really changed buy just plugging something in. The power is just addictive, and drivability was superb. I did not need all those shifts, the car managed itself with all it had. We were all very excited and this led us to the Bombay Pune Expressway where we were keen to see what happens when she's given the beans. We did take a few readings on the iPhone apps, which I will put up, but more importantly, 5th gear, 4200rpm the car speedo read 185kmph. Given a longer empty stretch, it could have gone upto 190. A full vbox report will be put up as and when it happens. The car was truly transformed. Full points to Cosworth.
Test drive over, we went for coffee and discussed about how Cosworth plans to play big in this market. Packages, upgrades etc. it was a superb day. Money really well spent. And it got better.
After almost 2 months of having the remap, I get a call from Sarvesh. He tells me that he wants to meet. The plan was made, and what happened was just unbelievable. He told me that Cosworth had reduced the prices of the remap to Rs.16,000/- for the months of December and January. and promptly returned Rs.6000/- back to me. Brownie points to them as well.
It's been 7000kms since the remap now, and it still puts a smile on my face every single time I drive it. Everyone who has driven the car has come back surprised. My driver wants one on the Dzire too.
It does not end here.
Will keep posting as and when newer things happen.
Till then, Cheers!
Last edited by .anshuman : 21st January 2012 at 19:47.
Reason: Formatted post for better readability. Thanks
| 
8th January 2012, 00:40
(10)
Thanks
