[wildchild4lyfe]

What makes a tuner car ?
in India why is it that people are so inclined to the Hondas and suzukis?
we all understand that availability of aftermarket parts are a major factor and also the amount of stress the engines can take and then theres the weight factor.
Lets take an example here.
the Suzi Swift is a 1.3 with an approx 88 bhp weighing 1100 kgs ( dry weight)
The Chevy Aveo 1.4 with an output of 94 bhp weighing in at 1050 kgs (dry weight)
yes the gear ratios are ofcourse different but is that the only reason swifts are preferred over aveos?

given a good tuner i feel any car can be made to perform. Prove me wrong..

[raj_5004]

the silky smooth engine of the swift revs enthusiastically all the way to its redline where aveo's engine would labour it way thereby sounding coarse. that matters for spirited drivers.

also, a modded swift looks much more 'cooler' than a modded aveo, but thats just my personal opinion!

[wildchild4lyfe]

the cool factor doesnt really matter to an enthusiast who only looks for performance out of his car.
case and point Madhusudan Reddys City.hes got a very ugly hood design but to him it doesnt matter as the design is highly technical and functional.well to him if it makes the fastest honda city in India faster then its enough.

But then again i also do understand that a tuner car also has to look good and no one does it like the Japs!!

Next what is it that makes the swift engine rev so freely?

[pranavt]

Engine's internal characteristics like bore x stroke, rod-stroke ratio, cam rocker ratios, cam profiles, weight of internal parts, availability of aftermarket parts, reliability of OE parts, popularity of the said car, etc etc all decide in whether a car is tuner-friendly or not and whether it'll respond favorably to modifications.

Peak hp and tq figures are only useful to a certain point; you are not going to drive at a constant RPM all the time.

[wildchild4lyfe]

Originally Posted by pranavt

Engine's internal characteristics like bore x stroke, rod-stroke ratio, cam rocker ratios, cam profiles, weight of internal parts, availability of aftermarket parts, reliability of OE parts, popularity of the said car, etc etc all decide in whether a car is tuner-friendly or not and whether it'll respond favorably to modifications.

Peak hp and tq figures are only useful to a certain point; you are not going to drive at a constant RPM all the time.

if not all atleast 90 % of these factors can be worked on but at a price..cant they?

[pranavt]

See, that is the point. If you go around changing things like the stroke, bore, rocker arms of an engine, you will end up spending a huge huge amount.

A new stroker/de-stroker crank? Around 450-700 USD. Then factor in the cost of shipping that weight (around 8-12 kgs + packaging weight) to India.
New rods and pistons? If you can use stock pistons and/or rods from some other motor, all good. Otherwise, around 400-800 USD for a good forged set of internals.
Custom rocker arms? Haha, I doubt if anyone's going to make a custom set of something like this unless you throw money at him.
New cam/cams? Anything from 150-400 USD if its an SOHC, or almost double if it's a DOHC. This is quite possibly the only upgrade that's worth the money.

And after all this, you will be working with an engine that doesn't have a knowledgeable community focussed towards performance around it. So nobody to help if anything doesn't work as intended.

[wildchild4lyfe]

ok now let me talk about my car the aveo.
the aveo 1.4 can be stroked to a 1.7 as the block is the same for the 1.4 and the 1.6
and it has been done before too.
there are numerous aveo forums like aveoforum.com,daewootech.com etc.
now lets talk cams.what do we keep in mind when we consider after market cams? lift , duration et al..

[wildchild4lyfe]

For that matter even the Corsas & Mondeos are a bit hit in the tuner scene in the UK.

[dragger]

hey pranav has worded it out so well here,all above mentioned details should give you an answer as to why an aveo wouldnt be considered as mod friendly as a honda or a suzuki for that matter,see you already have a question regarding cams,how would one answer that question on an engine like an aveo when they havent really ventured into it,for one you would need details of port diameter,combustion chamber volume,valve diameter,stem length,rocker ratio,compression ratio etc etc to be able to judge what kind of cam would be ideal,the company that grinds the cam usually does all their tech work first after reading the stock cam on a machine like a cam doctor or something,so this is one of the very reasons suzuki's and honda's are popular because most companies have done their r&d over supplying parts for these engine's,im not trying to dampen your spirits,just thinking from a practical point of view if something can be done for cheaper then why go that route of having to build custom everything,also its not necessary that once you have the right cam your going to instantly make all the power,you will require correspoding intake/exhaust job,head work,compression bump,ideal bore x stroke etc,so to sum it all up,tried & tested is the better route to go,just do it correctly that's all that is important,hope this helps,cheers,happy revving..!

More About The "Cam Doctor" - http://blog.raceology.com/2004/11/ca...education.html

[Cyrus43]

Originally Posted by wildchild4lyfe

For that matter even the Corsas & Mondeos are a bit hit in the tuner scene in the UK.

That is because they are very popular in the first place.

All said and done, I think the Fiats have maximum potential.

[wildchild4lyfe]

thanks Dragger!that made a lot of sense but somehow i dont want to trade my car for a vtec and jus be another city on the streets. nothing against the vtecs cz i have atmost respect for them but you know...
and by the way wheres your team from? ive seen quite a few Ovaboost stickers on cars.

ok question. whats the max power that can be pulled out of a City 1.5?

[dragger]

hey,the vtec's are menacing machines in the right hands,pranav/jitu are peoplewho can give you more insight on the honda scene,i speak to him frequently about his build,kudos to him to go ahead the DIY route & do it correctly at the same time,well as far as the honda is concerned the vtec(B15C2/D15B/D16) can be pushed 400whp+ with boost if machined correctly,right choice of parts,tuned correctly,so many factors variate the total output of the car,its not impossible,the thing is there are only a handful of people in our country who "make it possible" and the sad part is even fewer are willing to share,so if you have a honda built well it wont be "just another vtec on the streets",hope this help clarify your view about tuner friendly cars,nothing against the chevrolet aveo,im sure given the time,money & resources that will do great aswel,cheers,happy revving..!

[wildchild4lyfe]

Thanks bud!
i know what you mean.