[nim_peter]

Hi All,

Took a while for me to pen it down.

Few of you might have followed my earlier thread (Palio GTX Engine problem).

Lot of things happened after that and I just got some time to update you all on the progress.

First I would like to thank everyone on this forum and PUG members for their valuable advice.

Just to brief on what happened earlier, I fried my engines without realizing the temperature needle hovering over the H mark. Thanks to a taxi guy shouting behind me of smoke coming from the exhaust, I stopped the car. From there everything went backwards. Had to tow my car to the mechanic shed and after a month and a fat bill, got my car back with a rebored 3rd cylinder, new knockers and values.

But something was not right from the moment I fired up my car. The Idle was erratic, rough and even the power delivery was not smooth. There was a lot of miss fire and jerks which I was not happy with. Moreover I completely lost all low end torque, struggling to even climb a fly over. Repeated visits to my mechanic didn’t bear any fruit and I realized there is no point expecting anything from him. Unhappy with the engine performance I was looking for advice on how to get things right and should I go for a new engine.

I was stuck with 2 options, rebuild old engine or buy a new one from KAVA auto. Though a new engine sounds like a good option, I was worried about the age of such engine, condition and RC issues. So after a long thought decided to get the old engine into working condition and soup it up. Took the car to Mumbai and handed it over to Jignesh (Viper Performance) with whom I had good experience earlier with my FFE. I was happy with the work and never had problems with the exhaust till now even after 4 yrs.

After a few chat with Jignesh, it was clear to him what I wanted. After getting answers to all my stupid questions, I was happy to hand over the car to him and I came back to Pune.

The next day I got an update call from Jignesh and got a few shocking news. We found that the earlier guy to whom I gave the car didn't do anything, messed up the engine and took me for a ride. Nothing was changed and he charged for lot of things. Also he had assembled 4 inlet valves in first 2 cylinder and 4 outlet valves in the other 2 which explained the ruggedness and loss of power. Even the pistons and cylinder were not in good shape.

Had a big discussion with Jignesh on this and finally decided to build the complete engine. I had 2 options for rebore, add a sleeve and use stock pistons or go for bigger pistons. While I was confused how to proceed, I got another call and got a confirmation that 1.8 pistons are available. I was happy and gave the go ahead. The work started and when it was complete, it was a 1.8 ltr with completely new parts.

It didn't end there, since the engine was opened, I decided to go for porting/polishing also. My greediness took the better of me and ended up going for a throttle body enlargement and a BMC Dynamic air intake kit as well.

Finally I can say the1st stage mods are almost complete, not sure what is left.

• 1.8 Ltr engine(rebored from the 1.6 block)
• Porting and polishing
• Throttle body enlargement
• BMC air intake
• Free flow exhaust (Already installed 4 yrs back)

The above should give me a healthy power gain not sure how much.

It is 2 months now after the build, the running in, oil change done and I’ve completed around 2000 odd kms in total, should say the performance has improved a lot. The power increase is very much felt and the low end torque has increased a lot. The car has become very very responsive and it just takes off like a mad bull. Enjoyed the return journey so much, it was fun to drive around and smoke a few big cars. Other noticeable improvement is the acceleration, pedal to metal and I almost lost control of the car, which never happened in my 4 years of driving. Lot of torque steer, so my driving style has changed a bit now to adapt to the new throttle response and torque.
Two important things are still pending, a brake upgrade and remap, may go for it maybe in a month or two.

And finally I would like to thank Jignesh for bringing the wide grin back on my face. Wonderful experience throughout and I’m more than happy with the work.

Few WIP pics:

[rajeev k]

By how much did the bore increase for accommodating the bigger pistons? Are the connecting rods and its bearings, crankshaft and big end bearings the same stock ones.
Looking forward to know the engine performance.

[sagarpadaki]

The engine looks really yummy! LOL! That a 200CC increase would lead to sufficient increase in power right? Which brand spare parts did you use for the rebuild?

Enjoy the revving palio!

[revintup]

Congrats. Sounds yummy yum.

Any idea about what kind of bhp/ torque is being produced?

Surely you can do a 0-100. in-gear etc and let us know the facts/ statistics.

[iceman7]

This is S-W-E-E-T!! Probably the only 1.8L Palio

Now, please head to the nearest dyno center and give us BHP figures!!

Also a running report on performance, reliability, et al is immensely appreciated

[thumpingheart]

One word to you sir - WOW! That's really awesome! The car gave you so many problems and the earlier mechanic took you for a ride, but ultimately it made you get this transformation in your car and you have ended up with a monster!! A Palio 1.6 is already a great base to start from and this new rush of adrenaline much quite something.

But do get brakes and tyres upgraded as safety comes first! Because I think this will really be taking your ride to its limits!

Cheers man! Do keep us updated on the "numbers" as well. Also photos of your mad Italian ride!

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Man, 1.8 sounds sweet !! We finally have a 'hot hatch' in India
Please provide us with the figures asap.

Originally Posted by thumpingheart

But do get brakes and tyres upgraded as safety comes first! Because I think this will really be taking your ride to its limits!

I agree, it deserves much better brakes and tyres. Plan for softer compounds, will enhance grip, though will be a bit noisy.
Palio is a perfect hatch for a 1.8L, they will complement each other well - Congratulations and Great Work !!

[nim_peter]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

By how much did the bore increase for accommodating the bigger pistons? Are the connecting rods and its bearings, crankshaft and big end bearings the same stock ones.
Looking forward to know the engine performance.

Not sure how by how much the bore was increased. But all the other stuffs you listed are stock.

Originally Posted by thumpingheart

One word to you sir - WOW! That's really awesome! The car gave you so many problems and the earlier mechanic took you for a ride, but ultimately it made you get this transformation in your car and you have ended up with a monster!! A Palio 1.6 is already a great base to start from and this new rush of adrenaline much quite something.

But do get brakes and tyres upgraded as safety comes first! Because I think this will really be taking your ride to its limits!

Cheers man! Do keep us updated on the "numbers" as well. Also photos of your mad Italian ride!

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

Man, 1.8 sounds sweet !! We finally have a 'hot hatch' in India
Please provide us with the figures asap.


I agree, it deserves much better brakes and tyres. Plan for softer compounds, will enhance grip, though will be a bit noisy.
Palio is a perfect hatch for a 1.8L, they will complement each other well - Congratulations and Great Work !!

I already have Yoko 195 S drives. A pair of cross drilled disc are already available with Jignesh, will go for some performance pads with that. Spent all my savings in this, need a couple of months to save more for the brakes and ECU remap. Also need a paint job, the interior and exterior looks horrible, doesn't justify what is under the hood. And last week someone ripped my FIAT logo as well I have one horrible looking car now. Planning to get the mechanical stuffs done first and then will go for a nice restoration work.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by nim_peter

Spent all my savings in this, need a couple of months to save more for the brakes and ECU remap

Would like to have updates on the engine and performance during the last six months.
How much all these cost you and are these new pistons spares for the Palio Diesel?

[nim_peter]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Would like to have updates on the engine and performance during the last six months.
How much all these cost you and are these new pistons spares for the Palio Diesel?

Hi Rajeev, performance is very good. Have lot of power and torque in lower RPMs, so acceleration is very good now. Earlier I used to redline to 7000+RPM limiter to extract the performance, now the same performance can be achieved well below the RPM range. It is ideal for city use and infact my mileage figures have improved without any loss in performance with a heavy foot. There is always that extra power available from 5000 to 7200 RPM which I use rare, when racing someone or on spirited drives. Almost touched 200kmph once in Mumbai-Pune expressway when it returned a mileage of 3.5 kmpl(constant 180+)

I still feel more power can be extracted if I can get a well tuned header and exhaust. Overall I'm quite happy with the performance.

[jacs]

nim_peter - Just bumped into this thread seeing your signature. I would say you are one guy who is putting the GTX to full use. 200kmph is just awesome buddy. All the best and drive safe. Do you have any Youtubes, I would love to hear her roar.

[nim_peter]

Originally Posted by jacs

nim_peter - Just bumped into this thread seeing your signature. I would say you are one guy who is putting the GTX to full use. 200kmph is just awesome buddy. All the best and drive safe. Do you have any Youtubes, I would love to hear her roar.

My exhaust sound, taken at night, so only for sound. This was taken before the engine mods, will shoot a new video and post it soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zif0nAxg3ng

[jacs]

Originally Posted by nim_peter

My exhaust sound, taken at night, so only for sound. This was taken before the engine mods, will shoot a new video and post it soon.

Thanks buddy. Its very very inviting.

Safety first! Did you install the cross drilled discs? I would suggest you do consider investing on a more promising Brembo kit which is known for its braking performance. GTX comes Airbags right? Get the sensors checked as well. Also check the tension of seat belts if you are not considering any upgrades.

[nim_peter]

Originally Posted by jacs

Thanks buddy. Its very very inviting.

Safety first! Did you install the cross drilled discs? I would suggest you do consider investing on a more promising Brembo kit which is known for its braking performance. GTX comes Airbags right? Get the sensors checked as well. Also check the tension of seat belts if you are not considering any upgrades.

Thanks Jacs. Yes everything in pipeline. Planning for a complete restoration work with new brakes and seat belts. A good restoration work will put me off by a lakh atleast, need a couple of months for funds Also I have GTX which doesn't come with airbag or ABS, GTX SP had those. I came across a well maintained GTX SP just 2 months after my purchase for the same price, missed by 2 months.

Had to change 2 of my tyres last week, side wall punctures and buldges It was Rs.3500 per tyre when I first bought those, now it costs Rs.5500, so my budget for restoration took a hit. As for the current brakes, it is more like F1 brakes, works really good when it is in certain temperature range, otherwise, it is quite poor. So I driving quite slow these days.

[HydroFuel]

Hi
Has restoration taken place or not. Please update.