[karthik247]

Hey guys,
Im looking to pick up a used OHC or Baleno and do it up completely. Now which one would be the better buy?? I have a budget of 5L including the car.

Here are some cars i found, help me decide which one is best (if anyone of you have cars for sale please PM me)

1. OHC Vtec - 2002, 70k kms, 2nd owner, black colour for 2.3L
2. Baleno - 2005, 60k kms, 2nd owner, silver colour for 2.7L
3. Baleno - 2006, 35k kms, 1st owner, black colour for 3L (the one with climate control AC)

Now the rest for the 2-2.5L maybe more will be going into mods, performance and basic body stuff... NO ICE.

I need to get the car before June, so please help me out with the car as well as the mods.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks to ya'll in advance
Karthik

[cooldude1988765]

Are you planning to retain the stock engine ? Or are you going to swap engines ?

[karthik247]

Stock engine, but it won't be stock

[cooldude1988765]

I think it is better you decide the car based on what is available as you seem to be in a hurry to buy the car. AFAIK (i dont know much) both cars are equally good and baleno vs OHC vtec has been discussed on this forum so many times with no proper answer.
From what i read the baleno is easier to tune than the vtec. (owing to the complicated vtec )
Drive both the vtec and baleno see what you like better.
If you do decide on the baleno pick up a euro 2 one.
Also obviously look for the one with the least miles on it.

[kutlee]

OHC has a wagging tail and suspension kits are not many here. Engine wise OHC is the best bet.

[JayD]

For engine mods, the OHC would be a better choice, since (I think) there would be more aftermarket parts for it. But it is not too stable, and things can get scary after 120Kmph. The baleno is supposed to be more stable. If visual mods are considered, the there is no beating the OHC. so take your pick.

[karthik247]

Priority is performance, as about 80% of the money will be going into performance mods. But yes, i would also want it to look good as well

@JayD
You got a OHC right?? How does it compare with the Baleno?

@Kutlee
Koni's are available for the Baleno, ain't nothing like that available for the OHC?? Can't the stability issue be sorted out?

BTW, is is going to be a daily drive as well. Might be doing atleast 70kms a day in BLR. So it should be reliable as well.. atleast a bit.

[mclaren1885]

First decide if you want to remain NA or go FI. Then decide if you want it for street spec or race spec. Then ask yourself what kind of power increase are you aiming for.

If you want to take the NA route OHC is the best bet, if you want to go FI stick to the baleno. There are many tuners who have TCed baleno's in Bangalore but not many OHC's. Also, you can check with wolf, take a ride in his car and see where you want to go. If you do up a baleno, I would be glad to assist you with all the research I have been doing to go turbo.

[karthik247]

Turbo is kinda risky i suppose unless there is some tuner who can ASSURE me proper reliability, which i doubt. So i guess it has to be the NA way.

Since its gonna be my daily drive, i think i should stick to street spec. Drag spec will only produce power higher in the band, won't come handy in the city rite..

BTW, any suggestions about the tuners in BLR

Also guys, help me pick the right deal from the cars i posted below. Need to get the car first, lol.
Found another OHC 1.5, 2002 model, 50k kms for 2.6L

Help me on the car

[black12rr]

Sir ,you already have 2+ good and fast cars , one more ? ,may I ask why ?

[crazydiablo]

I would say Baleno for the following reasons:

1. Mods are easier and cheaper.
2. Torquey engine
3. Suspension options available.

There are two things you told which would be in favour of baleno:
1. It has to be a daily driver. Lots of torque and a wide powerband will make for an enjoyable daily drive.
2. Performance is more important than looks.

Those are amazing deals that you have there now. I did not know about these or else I would have searche in bangalore. I always thought Bangalore prices were hovering above and around 3.5L for the balenos.

[mclaren1885]

Honestly, both NA and turbo builds can be unreliable if done the wrong way or if you go outright on the builds. Look at my baleno for example, a quick street spec NA build completely gone hay wire.

I was in your place a long time back unable to decide which route to take. Now the only thing I would do to my car is going turbo. If you choose the right equipment, good quality stuff, get the tuning right you can have a reliable turbo car. Memo's SX4 is pretty reliable. So are a couple of baleno's, swift's that I know.

Since you already have a Cedia & a RS ask yourself how much more faster a car you want to turn the OHC or Baleno into. Last thing you want to do is, build a car and realize its not to your expectations or you would prefer the RS instead.

Personal choice I would say pick up the black baleno for 3L and spend the 2L on turbo and suspension. You wont regret it. For street you can run low on boost and stock internals. With time you can upgrade that too.

[crazydiablo]

What boost can you run daily on a Baleno with stock internals? What are the turbo balenos running?

[karthik247]

Skoda and Cedia arnt exactly easy on the wallet. Ill be getting into college in BLR and would be staying alone there, so these cars would be comparatively easier to up keep.

Thats why i need an alternative, a equally fast or faster car.

@McLaren
I don't think these would produce anything more than 150bhp unless i go FI, right? So i anyways can't expect the kinda performance i would get from an RS. But somehow, driving these is more of a thrill, makes you feel more involved.

[karthik247]

@McLaren, Crazydiablo
You both have worked up Balenos, how would you compare them with modded OHCs?



If it wasn't for this pic, i wouldn't have been so confused