[Jvice]

Hey Guys!

I have just joined in! i reside in mumbai - i am a keen motor enthusiast - i love bikes n cars and my hobby is aeromodelling - i own a few RC cars, boats, airplanes and heli's.

i drive a Ford Ikon 1.6 petrol - the car has just completed the extended warranty period and hence i have started to slowly put in a few mods - the first thing is did was installed a K&N universal /conical filter - i am pretty pleased with the same - sound good and i think there is a slight power boost as well.

I now want to go in for a free flow exhasut and probably a simple body kit and some other mods as well - any leads with regards to where i can get this done? i have heard of guys like automech and one more automotive engineering place that stocks the magna flow exhaust systems - i would rather have some opinions on where i should get this done especially from anyone of you who has done the same thing - your advice and assiatnce is much appreciated.

i also wanted to know if it is possible to keep the original headers and cat and just add in a end can / muffler - is this a good idea? will it increase performance and sound good as well?

another thing i need advice on is to know if free flow exhaust systems are legal in mumbai - i hear that the cops often fine cars with the same.

Thanks again and i do hope you guys will help me with my above mentioned queries.

[shazikon]

Welcome onboard..
first of all post your intro in the introduction section....
Well if you just need sound go in for a cat back muffler.. if you really want power go in for a complete free flow. the choice of muffler decides what sound you want. Infact a good free flow with a prop designed header will actually increase your FE if driven normally. Magnaflow is good if you dont want very loud exhaust. It give you more low freq notes!! Else you always have locally made mufflers.. and one more advise get your headers done by a person who knows the stuff.. automech is not the perfect solution for every car and needs.. look around for a good tuner who can make a custome header for you!! I run a custom 4-2-1 header with a magnaflow exhaust on my ikon1.6
chao

[diven_b]

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hi,
automech is good for ff exhausts...but if u want performance u need to get the full thing done...headers etc...just the muffler will just sound better,it wont increase performance....u will just feel thet ur goin faster because of the sound......and yes theses are illegal,i've been caught many times...u solve this prob, get a muted muffler,and keep the revs low when u see a cop...and for the body kit u can go to gautam of carmodernize or rio...both of them are really good.

[furioussphinx]

Originally Posted by shazikon

Welcome onboard..
first of all post your intro in the introduction section....
Well if you just need sound go in for a cat back muffler.. if you really want power go in for a complete free flow. the choice of muffler decides what sound you want. Infact a good free flow with a prop designed header will actually increase your FE if driven normally. Magnaflow is good if you dont want very loud exhaust. It give you more low freq notes!! Else you always have locally made mufflers.. and one more advise get your headers done by a person who knows the stuff.. automech is not the perfect solution for every car and needs.. look around for a good tuner who can make a custome header for you!! I run a custom 4-2-1 header with a magnaflow exhaust on my ikon1.6
chao

Does complete free flow stuff along with headers and all increase FE??? and what all come in the complete stuff??? Custom Headers, Muffler and ??? Plz shed some light over this plz.

[dragger]

hey buddy welcome to t-bhp..well first of all it's good you've got your air intake improved,the next step is the exhaust i would personally advise you to go in for a complete free flow exhaust which starts from the header's 4x2x1 then the expansion then the tail end muffler..it gives a big boost as far as performance of your car is concerned,also if your worried about cops you can get a muted muffler made which will then avoid you the hassle of dealing with cops,after that upgrade your ignition system with upgraded iridium plugs,high density ignition wires,ignition coil's etc etc..well if you do need any info please feel free to pm me..cheers..happy revvin...!!

[diven_b]

Originally Posted by furioussphinx

Does complete free flow stuff along with headers and all increase FE??? and what all come in the complete stuff??? Custom Headers, Muffler and ??? Plz shed some light over this plz.

yes,under normal driving,a good ff exhaust does increase fe,but only slightly.....and check out www.automechexhausts.comfor all the info u need

[Beeman]

Good to hear about you. Your hobby aero-modelling is the same as my cousins, in fact we make aero-models professionally as well!!

[Jvice]

Hey Beeman,

Where are you based? Who's your cousin - If he resides in Mumbai, i should know him since the Aeromodellers Club in Mumbai is quite small and well knit.

Jvice

[Prashast]

Try getting your flywheel lightened. I got that done on my IKON 1.6 and it feels peppier. Like it's in attack mode all the time. The slight downside is that low RPM torque (<1750 RPM) reduces - so I had to re-learn how to drive slow. Once re-learnt, I found fuel economy to be unaffected by this mod.

Make sure that when you do this, you don't go overboard. Too light and the flywheel will not do it's job correctly. Best go to an expert.

I got mine done at Performance Auto in NOIDA.
To the best of my knowledge, this mod is street legal.

[viper]

Hey Jvice,

Would not recommend the Flywheel lightening in your case. You would be better of with a free flow and some other mods.

@ Prashant - I dont think 99% of the mods(performance or body) carried out in India are Street Legal. These terms are best used and common abroad. Also lightening the flywheel involves opening the gearbox.

Viper

[Prashast]

Hi again,

Just got a complete free-flow system installed from Automech. I have seen few posts that do not recommend this for the IKON. I will let you know in a few weeks how this works out for me. Always cheaper to mod the existing car rather than buy a new one, I always say..

City driving speeds : <=80Kph ~ 2000RPM in the IKON 1.6.
First impressions :
1. I did not want my car to sound loud - just go faster. The sound is indeed muted at city driving speeds. No difference noticed from stock. Above this, there is a muted roar that I find acceptable. While accelerating at any speed, I can hear sounds that I did not hear before from the front of the car. Sounds like valves - but I could be mistaken.

2. The car feels like there's less torque at city driving speeds. However, the flat spot between 2000 and 3000 RPM seems to have vanished. The car accelerates evenly.

3. Managed to salvage the original exhaust completely - maybe the guy who buys this car from me would like to have it (when I sell this car).

I am soon going on a trip outside the city. Will give you a another report on my return in this thread.

Viper : I did not know that changing the flywheel requires the gearbox to be opened. Thanks for illuminating. If I had known this earlier, I might not have commissioned this job. Too late now. The upside is : I might not hesitate having the engine head opened at some stage.

All : I already have :

1. A K&N drop in filter
2. The Automech freeflow
3. A lightened flywheel + competition pulley (Same diameter, less rotating mass).
4. Light alloys shod with good tubeless tyres

What's my next upgrade ? I was thinking of sourcing a tri-phase. Have read many threads in here about this piece of kit. What do you think ?

[Prashast]

Hi there,

As promised, here's my report :

1. The exhaust seals blew. The Automech manifold for the Ikon is in two pieces. The 4x2 and the 2x1 sections were not not aligning properly. Had to go back to the garage and get it fixed - twice. The chap in the garage finally fixed this using his trusty blowtorch. Everything OK now. This definitely seems to be a manufacturing defect and Automech should tighten quality checks.

2. There is in fact no loss in power low down. Things seem to be better there with the car pulling evenly from as low as 1000rpm. I have learnt to drive in a higher gear than before while in the city and this helps mileage somewhat.

3. There was marginal improvement in mileage on the highway trip. Not something to write home about. Did not feel like the car went substantially quicker. There is lesser hesitation while accelerating.

4. The exhaust is very quiet at city speeds. At highway speeds it makes a wooshing sound. The woosh starts around 2000rpm (when accelerating in daily driving) - No hesitation driving near traffic cops. It's not loud enough to get me challaned. Cabin noise levels also seemed OK at full throttle on the highway (with the windows rolled up and the A/C on).

My biggest fear was about cabin noise and I can confidently say that I am satisfied with this aspect.

So that's it then. Honestly, I was expecting more fireworks..

I guess I will have to make that call and get me a tri-phase soon.

[TARUL]

Hey guys I got a k&n universal filter installed last week,the car is pulling away to glory & it does sound amazing at high rpm's.I heard that the ikon is not a very mod friendy car but anyway is there any other mods that can be done other than the basic intake & free flow exhaust system.

[cyneverdie]

KS , Viper & N1 . Take your pick , they will provide you with what you need man.

[TARUL]

Will definitely try and contact one of them.