Team-BHP - My Honda Brio Turbo Build

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco (Post 5812397)

Nice work. But my question is "Is it worth it?"
Years ago when the Honda City, Mitsubishi Lancer, Suzuki Baleno were the cars that people modded by doing Turbo Installs or Engine Swaps, there were few options for fast cars. Either you spent a whole lot of cash on a premium German Car or went the Turbo/Swap route. The average Joe could not afford a German. So there was only option 2.
But since Skoda entered the Indian market, things have changed. Modding any of the stock turbo cars is very easy. You can just do a remap and achieve the same result as a turbo install on a NA car at a fraction of the cost and without compromising reliability. Then you have the option of Stage 2 and Stage 3.
So is a turbo install or engine swap worth it? IMO a big No. A friend of mine dis a K24 swap on his City. He's not ready to say how much he spent but he know he would have spent less if he picked up a Laura and got it up to stage 3.

If you can afford it, it's a better option to buy a stock turbo car and then tune that if need be. Yes, NA turbo builds can have more reliability issues if not built or tuned well. A fairly good build and safe tune would go a long way to keep it trouble free. For me it's as much about the journey and learning from various aspects of these builds ...as much as enjoying the fruits of labor.

You sure have learnt a lot to start a company with turbo solutions for almost all 1000-1500cc Indian car owners. If you put your heart to it you can choose top 5 cars sold in India and make custom packages for them. Price them right, say about 1.25Lacs (ball park) for the full package with 1 year warranty and you have a great business idea.

Ps - you only need to be a integrator, do not need to manufacture turbos, ECMs, or injectors or plumbing. There are many GenZ clients today who have the money and taste to look beyond seatcover/sunfilm/audio accessories stores. You just need to put your ideas into action.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftboost (Post 5812406)

If you can afford it, it's a better option to buy a stock turbo car and then tune that if need be.

Affordability was the main reason builds started. Engine Swaps and Turbo Installs were common in the US because of easy availability of parts and it was way more affordable than buying a performance car from the factory. In India the cost of these builds comes to such a level where you can buy a used premium car have the same or better performance for a similar price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by svsantosh (Post 5813160)

If you put your heart to it you can choose top 5 cars sold in India and make custom packages for them. Price them right, say about 1.25Lacs (ball park) for the full package with 1 year warranty and you have a great business idea.

Problem is the only NA engines in cars today are the Suzuki K10/12/14/15 and the Honda City engine. All other manufacturers have turbo options.

Quote:

Originally Posted by svsantosh (Post 5813160)

There's are a lot of 'ifs' here. If there's enough units that can be sold and if some automotive aftermarket component manufacturer comes up with a comprehensive kit, like Greddy, HKS etc for select models, it just may find success. If it's priced right, but without volumes they may not even consider doing development for a kit.

Real life example - Quite a few years back, a company decided to make a performance kit for Bullet 350 (UCE), since they saw a lot of interest in that segment. They invested a lot of money into manufacturing a new cylinder, new cylinder head, new piston, new carb, etc etc. all engineered and made here in India. Not 'jugaad' engineering ! Sadly enough, the project did not get enough traction except for a few test kits.

WOW!! this is like what i have been hunting for, i have this cute little Car at Home too since 2013 and have been dreaming on make this a hot ride for long.

Few Queries, - Did you change the exhaust, Any upgrade to strengthen engine bay, do you plan to update the breaks as they seem not enough even for the stock engine. And finally any update to the suspensions to

While you have document the process how much did this cost overall, will DM you as well for connect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajchetan (Post 5813423)

Changes in exhaust -
Stock manifold is replaced with a short runner turbo manifold and a large dia downpipe from the turbine outlet.
Rest of the exhaust system is completely stock for the moment. It has been retained so that the car sounds like a stock car. Cops and the MVD is clamping down hard on exhaust mods. This makes logging and testing difficult. Will do a low decibel exhaust system sometime later though.

Brakes - upgraded brake pads, everything else is stock now.

Suspension - Adjustable coilover suspension on duty.

Cost - I haven't documented or kept track of costs since the build was spread over a longer period of time.. besides, if I keep track of the rising costs, I may not want to spend more on the build...Haha