[garrett_t16]

So it all started with a new paintjob, the culprit - a BEST bus driver scraped the whole right side of my car when parked under a friends building. nothing much i could do about it, the next week the car was off to my painter. and it came back sparkling and as good as new. then life began as usual for about 2 weeks till i got beat by a honda city Vtec on the bandra-worli sealink and i was not even close, i said to myself, why drive around in a stock esteem when there are so many things to play around with(being a mechanical engineer somehow helps in a lot of ways)

so i went home and next morning before leaving for work told dad that i need a faster daily drive car(do something with the esteem) or he should buy me a new car, and that it had clocked 75000 kms on the odo and it was hightime i played around with it.

here were the rules laid down by him
1) Cannot buy a new car
2) Cannot sell the esteem
3) Engine Block number cant change
4) everything (inclusive of all costs) cant cross 1.50 lakhs
5) the car cant look too flashy (that was least of my concerns)
6) the car cant be too excessively/irritatingly loud
7) 4 people should be able to sit in the car (he knew i was thinking of some weight reduction)

I happily said ok and walked out of the house smiling, he had just allowed me to spend 1.50 lakhs on a '06 esteem u can buy today for a lakh !

next day it was time for some new shoes and rubbers.

this is how she looked with the new rims and tyres- 6J wheels with yoko A539's, brilliant tyres ! it just sticks to the road on corners




here is what i had in mind
-port polish and head shaving
-Piper cross CAI
-throttle body enlargement
-0.50 pistons and overbore(2nd oversize)
-lighter flywheel (cosworth)
-stage 1 clutch
-close ratio gearbox with shorter throw
-crank balancing
-Free Flow exhaust
-285 piper cams
-RD 0901 ecu
-full engine and gearbox buffing, inside out
-cross ventilated disc brakes
-roll cage 6 point (4 seats)

so i called the so called suzuki king Fahad Kutty (team Game Over) and had a long phone talk, followed by a personal meeting and the build was on the next week itself. He said it would take 2 weeks and i was waiting like a child waiting for candy.

here is how the engine looked after the build







the first 3000 kms of running in felt like 30,000 literally ! i did 75000 without noticing,but that anticipation gets you feeling that its a lot !, it was so difficult to control the right foot for so long. i couldnt cross 2500rpm and i couldnt use AirCon
and finally once it was done, one engine oil change and i was flying !

Fahad's close ratio gearbox is magic ! it just is, you catch revs so fast in 1st and 2nd its un-believable, he has got it bang on and hit the sweet spot !, in 1st from a stand still its just wheel spinning all the way to redline, on a moving start it shoots like a rocket and spins after 4k rpm, and on open stretches you redline in 5th ! its a different feeling alltogether. i thought it would be a curse in disguise in the city(need to shift too quickly), but surprisingly its a boon ! you just leave it in 3rd and stop bothering about it like an automatic it pulls away from crawling speeds in bumper to bumper traffic directly from 3rd. it was pretty surprising how much low end grunt i was producing.

sadly due to shortage of moolah(and the budget set) couldnt buy the cams, so its just the ecu for now, already got it in hand, wiring and tuning left , currently running on the stock ecu. after the RD i hope to see the far side of 8000rpm very often


i am very very happy and satisfied with my car now, it looks stock, almost sounds stock, but when the pedal is to the floor its a completely different beast. And the complete purpose of a daily drive fast car is met, which you are in love with in peaceful aircon and road manners even in bumper to bumper traffic and also on the open stretches has a completely different personality.

also the rollcage is left too, here is one of my own crude designs, fine tuning and final designing left.


Cheers,
Manan

[pganapathy]

Nice mods to your Esteem. I am also planning something similar to my dad's Esteem once funds, and dad, permit it.

May I also suggest getting your suspension setup upgraded as with this performance you can take faster corners and you want the car to be able to cope.

[infotech58]

Nice build!

Could you post details on what you did to brakes? Did you convert rears to disk too? And, how is the braking power after this setup?

I too would recommend you to upgrade the suspension to make most use of this build.

[mashmash]

Congratulations. The mods sound sweet and very tempting. I have a 2005 model, absolutely stock, hope fully not for too long. My main attention would be towards improving the low end.

Eyes glued to your thread, for all the possible details.

MaSh

[1self]

Lovely build garrett t16! Way to go!

Some pointers:
1. With a stock crank (even if balanced) you should not be doing 8000 rpm, even if the ecu allows it...the crank needs to be MUCH stronger to handle the forces. Are the pistons, rods etc. built to handle said rpm?
2. You don't need a roll cage in a street driven car. The interior goes for a toss. Also, you MUST have a 6-point harness on the seat. Without that, it's DANGEROUS in case of an accident as you would hit soft tissue against hard metal protruding in the interior.
3. Are you are planning to use the aftermarket ECU as a piggy-back or a stand-alone?

[spawnofsatan]

Great work Manan, more pics please !!!

I have sat in this vehicle and the performance is brilliant. Great looking sleeper.

[Hashim]

Awesome! Esteem is a good car and feels somewhat like a sports car to drive with its low seat height. Few days back I have also given my M1000 for complete body work to give it a new life.

[i<3turbo]

I dont think you should spend the time and money on a roll cage. just my two cents..

[garrett_t16]

@pganapathy - 1st things first , this is not meant to be a circuit racer, its just a fun city drive i never exceed my limit around corners, i dont drive like a maniac in traffic like the usual people you see all over the place with air filters and exhausts. i know my limits , this is just a project to see for myself what the peppy little zuki can do, in the straights there's hardly anything that comes close to it. and when i get to a corner i peacefully slow down, with so much power at disposal i also think it needs a suspension upgrade, but till Vitamin M permits i dont see it happening.

@infotech58- from what i have heard from a lot of people, converting all 4 to discs creates some issues a little while down the line, un-equal pressure distribution will only lead to less-controllable car manners while braking hard. the discs are just cross ventilated (holes are drilled in a specific manner on the discs) as of now gear breaking is my new best friend. Looking for aftermarket better brake pads - any leads ?

@mashmash- the solution to your problem is a close ratio box, i had to go for it because of the flywheel, in technical terms the flywheel holds momentum/inertia. once you make it lighter, almost to half the weight, throttle response shoots up through the roof and fast buildup of revs is very easily noticed. so in simple terms we are killing low end to enjoy more of the sweet side of 3500-6600 rpm. To balance this effect of low end sluggishness we need a closer ratio in lower gears so that the car dosen't feel dead in traffic. now in your case a bone stock engine with a close ratio box should do the trick, loads of low end torque coupled with shorter ratios.

@1self - the stock crank, con-rods and pistons are not my concerns as of now, technically at 8000rpm the weakest links will be the valves, rocker arms and springs, these bone stock MGP take upto 8500 and over that we need stronger, more expensive counterparts. secondly im running a much higher compression then the stock esteem but not so high that my con-rods crank and pistons go for a toss. a turbo esteem with stock internals can easily take upto 4 psi, sounds small but in pressure buildup internally it is a lot. so increase in rpm from 6600 to 8000 shouldn't be a problem as revs are shooting up but they are not under a lot of stress in terms of pressure(comp ratio). even though this build can take 8500 i'm leaving 500 as FOS(factor of safety) cant compromise the reliability of a daily drive, also regarding the RD i want a flip switch installed, position 1 stock map, position 2 - Madness. still have to figure out that bit

@spawnofsatan - thanks a lot bro, a guy who previously owned a 300zx Twin Turbo saying my cars performance is brilliant, means a lot.

@i<3turbo - safety first. shall see if the roll cage is possible. without letting the interior going for a toss

[paras211]

When do I get a drive? Sounds like an awesome build. Other than your 8k rpm it's a reliable build too which is so important in a daily drive.
Used cams ?
Maybe an itb setup using a bike's itb s like Pranav did ?

[garrett_t16]

engagement return gift ? ITB's Cams and a HP premium card. what say ?
Drive whenever you see me next.
not going for cams because then i will have to run only RD, without the cams we might figure out a way to switch maps on the go, the stock esteem ecu does not read the 285 profile cams i want.

[paras211]

Rd is used along with the stock ecu. Or do they have a full stand alone where you throw away the stock ecu ? Cant rd store and switch between 2 maps with a switch ? They have remote control switching on their diesel box that too 4 modes.
If you can have a fe map and a madness one. Why need a stock map ?

[pranavt]

No offense, but the port work on that is a joke. The bowls and short-side radius doesn't seem to have even been touched with a grinder. They are the second most critical areas after the valve seats which need, at a minimum, a 3 angle valve job.

What's the stock revlimit on this engine? With higher compression, it is usually the pistons and the rod bearings that take the brunt of detonation.

And since you've switched to a short ratio gearbox, what are the new ratios? Or is it just a shorter final drive?

Congrats. If you enjoy driving it, nothing else matters.

[garrett_t16]

its a complete new gearbox with a stock final drive , a very well kept secret of Mr.Fahad. its a piece of brilliance. according to what i remember from out 1st personal meeting, it too him some 2 years just to get the ratios right. and i'm enjoying every single bit of it.

[nitrous]

Reminds me of my esteem, back home. One of the best cars to have fun with and tuning parts are as cheap as they come, at least in my neck of the woods.
Unfortunately, my long term abroad is making me sell her as she is less used, in my absence.

I don't know why you haven't focused on improving its dynamics. Probably, it just a difference in needs. But, I'd recommend you to sort out the handling to enjoy it much much more.

Originally Posted by garrett

a very well kept secret of Mr.Fahad.

Every permutation and combination has already been tried and tested at the TN race tracks. Esteems are bread and butter for tin top racers, remember.