Team-BHP - Santro Specifics Mods and Upgrades!

Thanks Arjun!! :)

Mayank - I was in the same boat as you and over the years wanted to do a few mods on my santro to get the hang of things before I move on to something which is more mod-friendly.

First of all doing anything more than stage 1 mods on a santro is useless and purely academic - this was told to me by a well know rally tuner in bangy (who it 'seems' had worked with hyundai long back to improve the original santro performance!). Hyundai cars are made very close to the max numbers (unlike honda) and have very little scope for improvement.

The things I have done are (in the order below)
1) move to alloys, but stuck to 13" as with 14" there were complains of scraping (don't even know how vik is managing 15"). I have 185/60 yokohamas and the car handles well on highway and trackdays
2) K&N Cold Air Intake - which takes in air from the front grill - the car runs cooler and performs well after this upgrade. One caveat is the space under hood is less and so CAI pipe cracks over time (easy to replace or tape up). Sounds great as a byproduct but cannot be muffled.
3) Headers/FFE - i got this done from a much recommended tuner in bangy and this has really improved the car's performance (especially acceleration on low and mid revs as I wanted it there). The sound as mentioned by arjun is a great byproduct (can be muffled if you want to)

I did these upgrades with gaps of 6 months between each and hence could clearly make out the performance/handling changes.

Academic purpose mods - porting/polishing, iridium spark plugs, suspension mods. I had originally planned these for learning purposes, but gave up as my car is doing great with stage 1 mods and I really can't find the time to do more for no significant improvements. The suspension is quite stiff from my experience at last trackday and does not require any changes. Apart from regular servicing, all I have had to do is change brake pads and once the clutch (possibly due to more strain from mods).

Let us know how your mods go :D good luck!

Hey Jassi first things first, have to tell you that your idea of mod mirrors mine to a great extent. I just Love to get as close to "Don't Cross This Line" kind of mod but yet maintain the original look. Just can't wait to see some pics of your ride.

I don't want to mod my santro for any show off purpose, but would just Love to do it only for my Personal Liking. I guess thats more or less your idea too.

15" Rims is not the Best when it comes to off roading, but I have been managing it with some very careful drives through our Brilliant Tarmac which is like our Bangalore Climate..."Never The Same"!!:deadhorse

Anyws, please advice me as to whom should I go for when it comes to Header since I don't want a Loud Howling Car that crawls all over the road but a mild growl which will increase my Driving experience. please:

My santro XING also had the issue of pinking, all the mechanics (authorised workshops) told me that it was due to bad fuel quality. Finally I took it to Chandra Hyundai at coimbatore, a mechanic told me it could be cos' the timing might have been mis-alinged. He replaced a timing wheel and corrected the mis-alingment, now seems fine.

In the bargain he replaced my AUTOMECH free flow exhaust, his reasoning was: "The O2 sensor on the original fitment is right on the cast iron manifold, where all the air from the 4 cylinders converge. Where as on a freeflow system it is located on 1 of the pipes, so the sensor does not give the correct reading and so it has to be removed".

Can someone give a technical input on fitting such a freeflow system onto a SANTRO XING.

Hey, thanks guys.Good to see that people are still interested in modding santros.As for mine, have just deposited it with the fabricator for headers.For those in delhi,it’s the one at scindia house on KG Marg.Seems to be a good shop, going by the number of people who’ve trusted their rides to him.Saw an OHC, a palio and a baleno undergoing similar treatment.Will definitely update on the quality of work.Jassi, ditto for me.i don’t want any cosmetic mods, cos I don’t think a santro has the liens to carry it off well.My goal is for the car to look regular, run-of-the-mills sort, and then……….SHOCK VALUE!!FYI, losing about 2-3 kmpl, but I think that because of a leadfoot.Anybody else who’s experienced this post modifications?Cheerios!

Ok,so got the car back from the mechanic.
One word of advice to anybody going in for the procedure.
Get the whole FFE fitted from the same guy, if possible, even if youre going in for it in bits and parts.
It’s a given that one man’s work will obstruct/hamper the others.
Seniors, some guidance here.
I have done the down-side changes.
Headerscatcons gone,some other box fitted(please tell me if this is the “resonator”?)end-can.
And all the pipes from the OE have been changed to larger dia ones.
Is this par for the course, for FFE?
Workmanship is decent, as is the cost.
Now, for the FFE to be called FFE, I just need a CAI,right?
Help.
Also, one query.
I hear a noise from under the hood.its kind of like a piece of paper flapping in very high winds,almost like a “whirrrr”, anytime I just floor it in any gear.
Goes away when the speed is settled though.but any aceeleration, and it comes back.
The mechanic guy at the fabricator said its because of the stock filter, as its not able to cope with the demands generated because of the free flow.when you cahnge to the conical one,voila!
Could this be so?
Anybody else faced this problem?
I don’t want to ignore this if it’s a problem and have the engine pack up.

Oh,I thought a complete freeflow would begin from when the air enters and whenit exits.newbie mistake.
So i suppose just getting the stock filter replaced with a K&N or any other, will not help me with this noise,eh?
A leak on the FFE sounds sounds nasty,i'd best get it checked before i head out anywhere.
Just one thought though.If the pipes were leaking, wouldnt it be a non-stop noise, rather than only when accelerating?I mean, the gas flow within the pipes would be a constant,no?

No activity?
anyway, in case someone sailed the same seas.....
it IS a leak, although my mechanic is saying its not.
tell me what you think of this : he says, the "packing" has compressed, which is causing the sound. I understand that if it has, then there is a gap(?), and which would be a leak?

oh, and one other small piece of advice, not to save money, but to get a correct solution.
Wherever you get these procedures done, speak to the guy who's actually doing the most work on the kit, and not the one with whom you discussed finances with, even if he is getting his hands dirty working on it.he'll be the business front.he'll try to sell you something else, even if it doesnt solve your problem, like i was getting a filter as a cure-all.
well, i anyway will be going for it, but the filter would'nt have solved my problem if the packing wasnt replaced, now would it?
the other guy, the actual mechanic, he identified the problem within 2 minutes of sitting in the car.

sound gone.
FE front : did some vroom-vroom dring initially, dropped about 2-4 KMPL..but now a daily run on the gurgaon expressway is giving me 13-14(still a bit of vroom-vroom, especially in the third gear).
not bad at all.someday i hope to hit 16.

Hey!not getting any responses...no help for a newbie?
anyway,the santro has been ,if you can call it that, an AWESOME learning experience!!!
some minor glitches to be taken care of, but then she's all done.
I've been trying to source an ractive or green-cotton,as i don't want to go the k&n route(guess who was backing a dismal McL during schumacher's reign).
so, can someone tell/PM me where i can get the filter here in delhi, and for how much?have my own fabricator here who'll do the plumbing.

that apart,like i mentioned, its been a great learning experience.
(Mods:help here, this is about trying to buy a used baleno)
this santro's going to the wife.filter and all.has done close to 1.5 L,had accidents,and i'm the 3rd person to "own" it since we got it in 2001.so a lot of experience and attachment with the car,hence no point or will to sell it off.

Sooooooooo..........
I've started looking at some dealers online and maruti true value.
My queries are:
1. Vxi or Lxi? - i do not care about the climate control or seat height adjusment i read here somewhere.the engine's the same 1.6,yes?
2. prior owners/buyers, guide me in what to look for to understand what the car has been through?
3. true-value:if they can give me some guarantees, like the checks they've carried out are thorough,and they are willing to back it up, i just don't mind the premium i will pay.
4. a ball bark on a 2006 baleno which has done approximately 50k KMs.

and then i plan to go crazy on it!!!!!

Hey everyone :), I am a newbie. Currently I am a student. I got hands on my on a used Santro Xing GLS which is a 2013 model. It already has alloys but there is a catch, they are not for my car. Their size is 185/55 R14, I am planning on upgrading and downsizing the wheels. I am planning on 175/60 R13. Is this a good choice? Also I am planning to install the following-
1) Underbody lights
2) Fog lamps (with DRLs and if I don't get with DRLs then also I am fine)
3) Bar light (which I will use as the DRL)
4) Stock Replacement Filter from either K&N or BMC (whichever fits my budget)
5) Ambient lighting in the cabin
6) Bluetooth HU (as my phone doesn't have aux compatibility)
7) LED on the headlights and taillights
8) Do the roof black
9) Maybe get a cat back exhaust
10) Add Team-BHP stickers.
Can you guys please suggest me on these and tell me if I should do anything or not, I'll be grateful and sorry if my language is not that proper in terms of car as I am starting to learn. Can I add a tachometer? I read somewhere that if you want to install a tachometer in a Santro then you should put a 2 cylinder engine's Tachometer. I also want to add wiper and washer in the rear, there's mounting for the washer though. I have attached some pics of my car. And can someone please tell me how many pics I can attach in a thread. Thanks :Cheering: