[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by Rohan24

Beautiful. The cosmetic modifications are just so pleasing to the eye, very tasteful.

Thank you.

The 1.6 is already a scorcher and this must be something else with the remap!

Oh yes! The car is much more aggressive and fun to drive now. A stock S-Cross 1.6 has noticeable turbo lag, resulting in poor low-end. All that is sorted now with the remap. There's power throughout!

Btw, has the Panda been featured on the StayTunedIndia page on Insta? Some pics looked familiar, hence asked.

Yes, a few times. One of the pictures (the one with the Red Audi) has been featured on STI.

Also, IMO, you should've kept the 1.6 badge. I personally feel an instant connect when I see a 1.6 S-cross, because they are so rare.

Initially, I was skeptical about removing the 1.6 badge. But later realized that there's nothing in a badge, IMO. It could be bought and stuck anywhere. It's the heart that matters

I still have the de-chromed 1.6 badge, in case I have a change of mind.

[AtheK]

beautiful, and good to find a fellow bhpian who hates chrome. Those rims look yummy.

[Amit_Kapoor4750]

Take a bow man!
I am not a fan of the looks and design of the S-Cross, for me, it is another Ertiga on steroids. But, what you have done to this car is amazing. I must say that I am in love with your car now. You have worked hard for all these modifications and the way you have presented your car is simply superb.

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by AtheK

beautiful, and good to find a fellow bhpian who hates chrome. Those rims look yummy.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Amit_Kapoor4750

Take a bow man!
I am not a fan of the looks and design of the S-Cross, for me, it is another Ertiga on steroids. But, what you have done to this car is amazing. I must say that I am in love with your car now. You have worked hard for all these modifications and the way you have presented your car is simply superb.

Thank you.

I’ve always felt that it looks like a mutated version of the SX-4. It shares a few parts with the car too. Now that you’ve mentioned it, the S-Cross does resemble the Ertiga from certain angles.

[Rohan24]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

.
.
Initially, I was skeptical about removing the 1.6 badge. But later realized that there's nothing in a badge, IMO. It could be bought and stuck anywhere. It's the heart that matters

I still have the de-chromed 1.6 badge, in case I have a change of mind.

Haha! Good thinking. My Fiesta is also without it's 1.6 badge, probably stolen when it was with previous owner. I dabbled with the idea of getting one off aliexpress but decided against it as it's pointless.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

Disclaimer :
- There are quite a few well written reviews about the S-Cross 1.6 on T-BHP. I don't think I'd be able to come up with an equally good ownership review. Hence, I'd be covering only the modifications done on the car.
- All the mods/add ons, right from the smallest bulb change, have been mentioned in the thread.

Neatly done set of mods on the S-Cross. Simple mods but very cleverly executed to change the look. Especially blacking out the front grill.

Any reason why you did not try out a K&N universal air filter. Custom plumbing should be a reasonable task. Regarding suspension, does the aftermarket for the SX4 fit the SCross?

Drive on,
Shibu.

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Neatly done set of mods on the S-Cross. Simple mods but very cleverly executed to change the look. Especially blacking out the front grill.

Thank you.

Any reason why you did not try out a K&N universal air filter.

Not keen on getting an open filter. Chances of the filter getting wet is quite high (IMO), plus it would get dirty fairly quickly too. I don’t want to take the risk for a negligible power bump (if at all any).

Regarding suspension, does the aftermarket for the SX4 fit the SCross?

It should, mostly. I didn’t consider that option because of the weight difference between the two cars. Don’t want any suspensions issues in the future, post the upgrade.

[grease.monkey]

Mod 16 : Brake Pads
I had ordered EBC Greenstuff brake pads, but unfortunately, the shipment got delayed. The stock pads were almost done and I badly wanted a brake upgrade.

AM Racing, Delhi, had a set of Dixcel Extra Speed brake pads for the car. These are entry level pads from Dixcel. As the pads were readily available, I decided to give them a try.

Pictures of the invoice and shipment details were Whatsapped to me, within an hour post the payment. I received the product in two days. Full marks to AM.





I had the pads changed at a Bosch Service Center. Meanwhile, the car had DOT 3 brake fluid and I decided to switch to DOT 4. The old brake fluid was completely drained and the system was flushed and filled with the new Bosch DOT 4 fluid.



The pads were bed in for about 300 kms, as instructed by AM. The overall braking has improved noticeably, over stock. I was expecting a better initial bite, but then no complains. Overall, happy with the product and service.

[grease.monkey]

Mod 17 : Projector Fog Lights

The stock light output is extremely poor and a upgrade is very much needed. But, limited options are available for headlight bulb upgrade and the reliable Morimoto bulbs are quite expensive. Hence, the only option is better and brighter projector fogs.

One of the existing HID fog bulbs had given up and I decided to upgrade. I contacted one of my good friends, Sheikh Ershad, (OT: He has 2 tuned S-Cross 1.6s), who had already done the mod, for advice. He had a set of Sinolyn Bi-xenon HID waterproof projectors, he had bought for his second 1.6 and was kind enough to give me those

The bright option was connected to the HL bright switch. Would be hardly using this as it would blind the people coming from the opposite side.




Testing the lights


With only the projector fog lights


With both the HL and fogs on


Both the lights in the bright mode

[grease.monkey]

Mod 18 : Smoked Headlights

I have been craving to carry out this modification for a very long time now and was scared at the same time. The headlights are huge and smoked lights might be overkill. I figured leaving a few chrome bits as it is, would be better.

Determined, I came up with a few options on paint. I'm a noob when it comes to PS, hence












Decided to get something like this done

I had mentioned about the smoking idea to Dr.Naren, and he gave me the contact of a HL restoration guy in Kochi, who smokes headlights and does projector work too. I checked his Facebook page (Reflectionz Headlight Restoration) and all his work were really good. I contacted him and fixed an appointment.

I met him and even he agreed that leaving a bit of chrome would be better. He opened one of the HLs and I eagerly waited to see what all chrome bits could be taken apart and painted separately. But,





The entire thing is a single unit. The only option was to mask the bits to be retained. Then, he raised a concern that there are chances of chrome peeling off along with the masking tape. And there I was, heartbroken and back to square one.

The lights were opened and taken apart anyway, so I asked him to paint the entire thing in Matte Black.

Here's the final output :




The light above the indicator is a dummy light and I asked him to paint that as well









And finally,




IMHO, this mod would look better on a darker shade car. A part of me thinks this is overdone and another is happy because of the elimination of chrome.




PS: He carried out both, the HL smoking and projector fog mods, and almost 2 days were required. But, work quality is top notch.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

[b]Mod 17 : Smoked Headlight

Brilliant. The work also looks very professional

I had mentioned about the smoking idea to Dr.Naren, and he gave me the contact of a HL restoration guy in Kochi, who smokes headlights and does projector work too. I checked his Facebook page (Reflectionz Headlight Restoration) and all his work were really good. I contacted him and fixed an appointment.

I have not got anything done from him. A fellow S-Cross owner had visited him for DRL installation and informed me that the guy is very professional. I checked his page, his works did look good. It is clearly reflected from the pics you have shared too. Do update us if there are any water / moisture issues. Also what was the total cost?

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Do update us if there are any water / moisture issues.

Will do. He said he'd sort it out, in case something like that happens and gave 1 year warranty too.

Also what was the total cost?

Have PM'd you the details

[Dr.Naren]

Rahul,

No updates since last couple of months!

1. How are the headlights holding up? Any moisture issues faced during the rains?

2. How many kms have you run post Wolf Moto Remap? Any more updates?

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Rahul,

No updates since last couple of months!

1. How are the headlights holding up? Any moisture issues faced during the rains?

2. How many kms have you run post Wolf Moto Remap? Any more updates?

Hey Naren,

I’m taking the build slow due to other commitments.

1. Headlights have no moisture issues, period. It’s sealed pretty tight. I hope it stays that way.

2. I’ve covered close to 20,000 kms post the remap. I’m trying out a few custom maps from Wolf. Will give a detailed feedback in a few days

[grease.monkey]

Mod 10 : Remap (Update)

The car is a hoot to drive, with the Wolf Moto map. It responds to the slightest tap on the a-pedal, good low end, strong mid range and better top end. I was very happy, till I compared my car with another 1.6 running the same tune, but stock spec wheels. The other car was much faster and more fun to drive. Thanks to the extra weight of upgraded rims and wider rubber, the performance of my car took a slight hit.

I spoke to Rajiv, the tuner, regarding the same and asked him whether it'd be possible to extract more juice within the safety limits. It was then he mentioned that he cracked a new way to make more power, with lesser smoke, while working on his Stage 2 VW Polo 1.6 GT TDI. I was SOLD!

Rajiv does proper study before implementing something and he had researched for a year before taking his VW to Stage 2. I trust him and wanted him to use my car for a while, study and tune it in the best way possible, to which he agreed. Meanwhile, he gave his Sleeper VW for my use and feedback. The car is a missile! Honestly, I didn't want to return it. I even tried to convince him to swap cars and do a year long study on mine. Sadly, that didn't work More on the VW later, once the build is complete.

Coming back to the Panda, I asked for the following changes in the new map :
- I wanted it to be more linear. So, driving in the city would be much easier.
- Lower torque in the first and second gear. There was too much of wheelspin and traction loss. I enjoyed it a lot at the start, but eventually it dawned on me that I'm unnecessarily burning rubber.
- More power in the mid range.

Rajiv first made a Beta Map for me to try out. And after testing it thoroughly for around 3000 kms, he gave me a more powerful and final (?) map.

Impressions of the new map after driving for a few hundred kms :
- It feels like a more powerful car, straight from the factory. Power delivery is smooth and very very linear. Feels more premium.
- The car is more mature now. No drama in the first two gears, no sudden surge of power or traction issues. Before, it was like an angry, drunk teen. Now, like a well behaved grownup, who keeps calm even after a few drinks.
- Acceleration has improved noticeably. The car reaches unmentionable speeds in no time. It's definitely faster, than before!
- The mid range is holding on longer and stronger than before.
- Top end is better than the previous map. But not maxed out, in order to keep the EGT in check.
- Smoke has reduced.

Is my car faster than a tuned 1.6, with stock spec wheels? Well, not exactly. But, both the cars were neck to neck, when checked.