Team-BHP - Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

i just stated the facts and i dont think much more info is required on this thread.
there are reasons why OEM restrict some engines output capacity.
i just mentioned one of those reasons.
Some guys are plain childish over here and also petes tuning box is god to them. they believe its good to the vehicle and it wont affect the reliability even 1% .
no wonder petes tuning boxes are liked by all :)
All the best for Punto owners and Linea owners who are going for tuning boxes.
and to those owners who ride their machines hard.
you will definitely need lots of it :)
happy motoring to all.
Peace out .

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmbabu (Post 1419084)

I find it even more interesting for ppl to choose a car that they think doens't have the power that "they want" and then add "extra stuff" to get the required surge (in power). For normal driving that is, not for racing and stuff.

AFAIK, people go for Petes to make fast cars go even faster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas8700 (Post 1422016)

i just stated the facts and i dont think much more info is required on this thread.
there are reasons why OEM restrict some engines output capacity.
i just mentioned one of those reasons.

If the car has same specs in another country with higher engine capacity, we can say that car is 'detuned' for Indian market.
If the car is pruned specifically for Indian market, then you have a point about OEM restricting engine capacity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas8700 (Post 1421814)

...
as to why the there is a detuning

the details for the Fiat Grande punto parts are given below.

.................

ever wondered why the Fiesta is tuned too linear and that too to 69ps ( it might be 64 also not sure!) inspite of having 1.4l capacity?

they use the same KP35 family turbo charger .

happy Motoring :)

Loads of statistics (googled), a bit of imagination, and voila, there comes the proof that the MJD is one crappy engine. Tell me, what use is the statistics above for the "imagination" below? Reason, valid statistics lend credibility to the "imagination" that follows. Nice gameplan.

First of all, thanks for posting with facts and figures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas8700 (Post 1421814)

KKK ( pronounced as triple K turbo chargers are used in many european vehicles they are made in germany and are primarily tuned for european conditions were humidity adn temp. are never as high as india.!!) but obviously they are no match for Garret ones.

for low cost Fiat has used lower grade Turbo . KKK can never match Garret Period. ( yes KKK is less costly and lower grade compared to Garret)

This does not make sense to me. If the same turbo is being used by Fiat in Europe also, why is it not taking a beating in europe, ergo, by not bagging car of the year awards? To my mind, and I am no auto expert, the use of KKK entails only one condition, most bang for the buck. So if two auto manufacturers have used the same engines, there must be something good about it. However, you point about using Pete's tuning box requires more deliberation as I have not come across any reports saying Swift engine blew off because of Pete's or oil seals went kaput after 30-40k. Nobody would be singing paeans about Swift or Maruti in particular if that was the case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas8700 (Post 1421814)

Fiat india has went with engine grade for india ( same stuff used in vista TATA vehicles,)( what do you expect? they import the same grade metal from outside india say europe and then build the engine in india? then whats the purpose??] . and loaded the car with featurers ( in india these engines do would run provided they are used sensibly ) but with the kind of TATA oriented Quality checks and Engine assembling. Dont expect anything Good

That's one heck of a sweeping statement thomas. With one stroke you have delivered the judgment that Tata delivers crappy products into people courtyards.

Interesting set of recent posts on this thread! Btw, I must admit to being suspicious of things such as off the shelf tuning boxes myself. Regardless of any engine quality issues being there or not. Because I do not believe in free lunches, and I also know that engine tuning is science and an art that needs to be done keeping in mind the need to keep the various parts of the entire system in balance. So just plunking in a box and expecting only upsides is being very naive. IMHO. At best, you will end up having spent the money for it. Worst case - blown engine perhaps? Or braking/suspension/tyres not able to handle the extra power and compromising safety? Also, given the ARAI certification that a car has to go through before launch, does anyone know if a tuning box fitted in a casual manner is even legal? I suspect it would not be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1355245)

Other points:

• Someone else mentioned that the fuel gauge takes 5 - 7 minutes to show the correct reading, right after a tank fill. I haven't verified this statement.

I had noted this point down when I read GTO's review the first time. And now I have verified it three times (every time I have filled up the tank)

It does take 5-7 minutes for the fuel guauge to show the correct reading. In fact, the first time I filled up the tank it took such a long time that I thought the fuel station had cheated me or they had a malfunctioning fuel hose !!

But yeah, I definitely can verify this statement !!

Sorry for suddenly deviating from the tuning box topic !!

@ Sawyer : Completely agree with you about the legality of the tuning box.

You should switch off the ignition and restart, the needle will jump up instantly. I discovered this in my Linea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar (Post 1422420)

Quote:

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar (Post 1422420)

I also do not see this problem in my punto. When ever i fill in Diesel i switch off the ignition. When i switch on the ignition the fuel gauge shows the correct reading and I also see the difference in the Range reading as well whenever i check it after filling Diesel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VahanPujari (Post 1421943)

I'll have to call my relatives, colleagues, friends & neighbours again

Yday I told them to throw away their cars where Engines are manufactured in India. Reason? Materials / metal used in India vs those used abroad/ Europe to manufacture engine. Now, I've to tell them the metal used is from abroad but no use in Indian weather & conditions. This may dent my credibility but then I'm their well wisher & must persist

To those relatives of mine who own those certain cars with no oil seals problem even after 30k/ 40k/ 50k kms, I'll have to scold them to be ignorant enough not to get oil seals checked as It MUST have been worn out & still they're not changing it.

I'll have to also explain them engine intricacies like turbo & if still they resist discarding their car, I'll have to ask them to shift themselves to Europe alongwith their car having KKK or similar turbo as its made for Europe & is not suited to Indian Hot & humid conditions

I'll have to ask them to sue the tuning box company why it has not given a power gain of 20ps in their cars & also for colluding with manufacturers in doing so.

In doing so, my credibility may take a hit but then as I said, I must persist being well-wisher of my relatives, friends, colleagues, & neighbours.

Your credibility just shot through the roof as far as I am concerned. Your post # 909 here is a classic and this one proves that it was not a one off fluke. Hats off to you. These two posts of yours had me in splits and I am a confirmed fan for life.

Just one question. . . . . Does TBHP classifieds have enough bullockcarts for all of us?

Cheers,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sawyer (Post 1422181)

Sawyer,

I'm also like you - OEM stickler & do not believe in free lunches. If I've a diesel car, probably I may never put a tuning box in it.

However, on the other hand I also tend to understand viewpoints of those who have put it. Its like this - there are 2 cars - in 1 car, most of the key buying parameters are excellent & the buyer wishes to just have a bit increased power. In the other car, the power is alright but some other imp parameters are missing or severly compromised. Another situation is power is alright in the car, the buyer just wants to tick it upwards for his preference & fun to drive. Its here the buyer tends to go for tuning box. Many bhpians have done that & majority (I think almost all) have not faced any visible issues. In fact, I've not read any issue coming up due to tuning box on t-bhp. So, its subjective again.

While I might not put it in my car worrying that natural laws exist & may be long time effects, others may give a damn & put it and till date, it seems to have been working fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VahanPujari (Post 1422733)

I always switch OFF the ignition while getting petrol filled. The niddle imdtly jumps.

In fact, ignition ON while filling petrol is a stict no no for me. Never ever I do it in any car.

I tried filling with engine on once and at that time the low fuel warning lamp was also on. Even after filling the tank the warning lamp refused to shut off. I had to turn off the engine once and after restart it was normal.

(Sorry for going off topic.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VahanPujari (Post 1422708)

While I might not put it in my car worrying that natural laws exist & may be long time effects, others may give a damn & put it and till date, it seems to have been working fine.

Maybe. Or maybe not. How can you know if this stepping up of the power to the extent of disturbing the balance of the system has not led to any mishaps - be it accidents or reduced engine life? Or even something as little as higher fuel bills? Remember that box makers claim that you will get better FE and more power if you do not change your driving style. What an outrageous thing to say. Because whatever that last phrase means is a mystery and I suspect it is only an escape clause to protect against worsening of the FE that is almost an inevitability. I prefer to do what you do too - if I want high performance, I will get myself a high performance car, to the extent of my abilities to control it in places I intend to drive it. Because I do not know enough about the tuning subject, and people that genuinely do so are not easy to find in the country.
And as someone has pointed out, they are illegal - no one has contradicted that statement thus far. So, the law may be an ***, but is that an excuse to promote breaking it? This of course is the least of the things I worry about in the case against such mods, but cannot just be wished away.
PS to mods - why on earth is the shorter word for a donkey considered profane in this forum?? Policing is fine, but to this extent???!! It is also an acronym for after sales service btw. Let me see what the system does with arse, which is only used in a profane context. I suspect this one will get through.
PPS- it did, you need to switch the words in your profanity bleeping software!