[anachronix]

Originally Posted by JayD

What do you mean by DMS? Im sorry, but cannot Place it.

DMS is the place right before Teynampet Signal going from Gemini flyover. I have seen buses start from there with the board as DMS. Dont really know if that place is called as DMS

I wanted to goto electra, but heard that it aint the same after krupesh left, hence didnt go.

I am not sure, but I heard that Electra is being run by Krupesh's bro after he moved to OZ. May be you should check out and see if the old guys are still around. They were pretty good!

Coming back to the s10,

I got the number of the cochin s10 owner from my friend, and called him up.

WoW! That looks very neat for a 9 year old car!

[rock18]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Not all T-BHPians are experts in the mechanicals of a car which also means they are no experts at telling what should be changed at what intervals. Mostly some will read out from their own car manuals or some others are very good guessers. Please do not get misled by them. There are very good knowledgeable folks out here who know what they are talking about. All you have to do is spend sometime going through threads and posts on a regular basis to sift the real ones from the one time posters.

From personal experience, my esteem is running on the original timing belt for the last 13.5 years and almost 1.5L kms. Me too read some posts and insisted on my garage to change the timing belt at 90k kms and then i begged him to change at 1.3L kms, but every time my mech opened the case and looked at it, he said it looks as good as new, only the new ones do not last long.
The AC, alternator etc belts are the ones that are exposed to the harsh weather conditions and need replacement at early intervals.

BTW, I think Raghav is also a T-BHPian.

Points taken. Thanks.
As jay said,Raghav was a nice person to interact with but he is not good with FIAT engines.
I know of another FIAT user who went to Raghav for some issues with his FIAT stile 1.6 but He was told that the engine is a goner and was quoted some insane figure to get the work done.Car in question did not even cross 50000kms and must be 2006/2007 model.
Just imagine the plight of the owner .

Luckily he found some other mechanic/workshop(Bosch service centre) who was able to solve his problem.It was just an ignition coil problem.


@Jay D: Eagerly waiting for the remaining story .I am eager to find out the mechanic who set the S10 right.

[JayD]

Sorry for the broken up posts guys, travelling a lot, hence updating is slow.

Starting off from where i left off,

The owner was supposed to get back within a day, but that became 3, and yet no answer. I gave him a call, and he was now having second thoughts about selling it, and finally decided not to.

After almost an hour of coaxing, he finally relented, and we arrived at a mutually acceptable price. The deal was done. And i was now the owner of 2 s10s!!

Went to the owner the next day,closed the deal, and came home with the car!

To tell you more about 6900.
Tag #379
Single owner
Done roughly 30k
Fully stock, all services done at the showroom
used for about 3-5km a day, that too occasionally
Had Palio seatcovers from the showroom, so the seats underneath were still new


The bad
Front shocks would bottom out after speedbreakers
there was a small vibrating sound from the front


But overall, i was over the moon. The car was beautiful. The first thing i did was to change all the fluids and consumables.

Moreover, i found a very reliable garage in cochin, who was very well versed with s10s and GTXs. they used to work at fiat, and were company trained in these cars. They had started a garage of their own.

My initial list was as follows

1)All fluids and consumables
2) Clutch MC/SC
3) Timing Belt and all tensioners(!!!!!!)


Everyone insisted me not to change the belt, as the car had done some 28k kms. I was insistent, and on opening the timing belt box, it was noted that the belt was frayed at one side. Thank god i changed it.

The day i was collecting the car, i was very very tense. I didnt want another s10 ignited. But all my fears were put to rest, when i drove the car. It was brilliant, and was now revving more freely, and boy did she move! I was a happy man again!

[JayD]

Originally Posted by streetracer_919

This is a pretty neat car! What price did the owner quote for the s10?

Thanks.Please pm me for the price.

Originally Posted by blackbeast

+1. what was his asking price post negotiation ?
Guys, we know that s10 has different gear box from the regular 1.6 gtx/stile. Does it have a different suspension set up as well ? however, what happens if the gear box assembly needs a replacement or the suspension if its applicable. i dont think Fiat wouldn't be supplying s10 spec gear box.

The s10 has the same gearbox, but with shorter ratios for the 2,3,4th gears.

Originally Posted by anachronix

DMS is the place right before Teynampet Signal going from Gemini flyover. I have seen buses start from there with the board as DMS. Dont really know if that place is called as DMS

Lol! I doubt it would ne my car, as thanks to my friendly local mechaic, it never made it to town and back without any incidents!

I am not sure, but I heard that Electra is being run by Krupesh's bro after he moved to OZ. May be you should check out and see if the old guys are still around. They were pretty good!

I wanted to check it out, especially the classic cars which were moved there from Haute car zone, but never got around doing it.

WoW! That looks very neat for a 9 year old car!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by rock18

Points taken. Thanks.
As jay said,Raghav was a nice person to interact with but he is not good with FIAT engines.
I know of another FIAT user who went to Raghav for some issues with his FIAT stile 1.6 but He was told that the engine is a goner and was quoted some insane figure to get the work done.Car in question did not even cross 50000kms and must be 2006/2007 model.
Just imagine the plight of the owner .

Luckily he found some other mechanic/workshop(Bosch service centre) who was able to solve his problem.It was just an ignition coil problem.


@Jay D: Eagerly waiting for the remaining story .I am eager to find out the mechanic who set the S10 right.

Exactly. This being a pretty complicated engine, and especially since the parts availability and support is very low from the company, it is extremely crucial that only people well versed in this motor lay hands on it.




4460 Again-

For some time, i was happy with the new car, and was in cochin for a while. I got bac to chennai, and was kinda depressed to see 4460, lying in a corner, forgotten.

I decided enough was enough, and started looking around again for reliable garages in chennai. I pinged all the fiat owners here on tbhp, and all of them helped me quite a bit. Thanks guys.

Vijaycool recommended that i go to MYTVS, guindy, and that they were capable of doing it.

I went there with a prior appointment, and somehow dragged the s10 till the garage. They were not too sure of the timing belt, as the tool was in another garage and the Guindy facility was under renovation. Nevertheless they assured me that the clutch issue would be fixed.

3 Days later, i got a call from Mytvs, that the car was ready. I went to collect the car.

• The car was spotless, and the interiors too were polished.
• The clutch return was now snappy and no issues in engaging.
• The idle was still loopy, but was not switching off very often.

The bill charged was reasonable, and above all, the car was finally running.

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by JayD

The s10 has the same gearbox, but with shorter ratios for the 2,3,4th gears.

If the gears worn out or something of that sort, does Fiat replaces them with the ones you find them palio stile ? or they still stock what the s10 actually has?

Where i'm getting at is, why not buy a 2 yr old 1.6 sport at ~2 L and replace gears with specs of S10 ?
I'm ruling out the fact that s10 is a collectible. i'm only talking about having a similar driving experience which s10 gives. Similarly, how is suspension in s10 mechanically different from usual 1.6.

[esteem_lover]

JayD, congrats on another 'brand new' Palio S10. She sure looks like a beauty.

Hope you can understand that every old palio, more than any other car, will have it's issues and it is up to you to maintain the car further ( It is a serious commitment that money alone cannot buy). Maybe it is better you keep her there and let her be maintained by whoever was doing it till now.

[SunnyBoi]

Congrats again JayD!

Originally Posted by JayD

The s10 has the same gearbox, but with shorter ratios for the 2,3,4th gears.

*cough* its 3 4 5 reverse *cough*

[rock18]

Can anyone explain the gearing ratio difference explained in the above sheet?.
What is the difference between the 1.2,1.6 and S10 and how does that affect/aid while driving?

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

JayD, congrats on another 'brand new' Palio S10. She sure looks like a beauty.

Hope you can understand that every old palio, more than any other car, will have it's issues and it is up to you to maintain the car further ( It is a serious commitment that money alone cannot buy). Maybe it is better you keep her there and let her be maintained by whoever was doing it till now.

Seems like JayD has disappeared just like I did for 4 days, Lol !!!!!

[JayD]

Was on travel for a few days, sorry for the delayed update!

Originally Posted by blackbeast

If the gears worn out or something of that sort, does Fiat replaces them with the ones you find them palio stile ? or they still stock what the s10 actually has?

Where i'm getting at is, why not buy a 2 yr old 1.6 sport at ~2 L and replace gears with specs of S10 ?
I'm ruling out the fact that s10 is a collectible. i'm only talking about having a similar driving experience which s10 gives. Similarly, how is suspension in s10 mechanically different from usual 1.6.

Gears don't get worn out too soon, if you drive properly. It is not a consumable item like belts or bearings.

In how many of your cars have you changed the gearwheels on?

It will be far easier to buy an s10 than to tamper with an OE gearbox. At best, you can get a sGB from a scrapped s10, and swap it in the gtx/sport. But then again, reliability, if not done well, will be a problem.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

JayD, congrats on another 'brand new' Palio S10. She sure looks like a beauty.

Hope you can understand that every old palio, more than any other car, will have it's issues and it is up to you to maintain the car further ( It is a serious commitment that money alone cannot buy). Maybe it is better you keep her there and let her be maintained by whoever was doing it till now.

Thanks. Yes, i do know a fair bit about what it takes to live with an older car.(see my sig ) I bought the s10, knowing fully well, the pains behind it. I was only disappointed when Raghav ripped me off completely. He knew it was beyond his scope to repair the car. He should have just told in advance that he did not have the cam locking trool/the experience of working with this issue oin a 1.6. i would have moved on, and found another capable garage.

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

Congrats again JayD!

*cough* its 3 4 5 reverse *cough*

Attachment 970242

Reverse!! LOL!!

nd thanks a lot for the gear ratios!

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Seems like JayD has disappeared just like I did for 4 days, Lol !!!!!

Was on travel EL! Am back now!!

[JayD]

I was driving around the stock car for a few days, Was very happy that i finally had a running s10. I did some significant distances in it, and found a few weaknesses with the car.

1) Brakes!! Damn! There were none!! I never pushed 4460 enough, to understand how horrible the brakes were. On the hills especially, the fade was so bad, after a while, i had zero brakes!!

2) Suspension- Although much has been said about the palios suspension, i was not happy, it was too soft for me. Agreed, it was way better than an OHC/swift etc, but after driving around an RS with KW suspension, getting into the s10, it felt like a comfy sofa, and not a razor sharp track tool that i wanted.

3) Seats- I personally felt it lacked lumbar support, and the height in relation to the steering, was somehow not working out for me.

4) Headlights- For many years, i used to wonder, how lucky palio drivers are , 6 Headlights!! Now i know that not even one o them lights up the road!!Upgrade needed.

With these requirements in mind, i set out to find the solutions for them....

[krish3]

Now now now... are we going to see a S10 with just the body, engine and gearbox as stock?

@JayD - Admire your passion for the S10 and the effort you took to buy 2 and get them both into running condition.

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by JayD

Gears don't get worn out too soon, if you drive properly. It is not a consumable item like belts or bearings.

In how many of your cars have you changed the gearwheels on?

It will be far easier to buy an s10 than to tamper with an OE gearbox. At best, you can get a sGB from a scrapped s10, and swap it in the gtx/sport. But then again, reliability, if not done well, will be a problem.

Well, the reason i asked that question is because i'm also looking for a s10. Did you happen to see a clean piece post your search ? Needless to say I do not mind if its located out of the state.

[JayD]

Originally Posted by krish3

Now now now... are we going to see a S10 with just the body, engine and gearbox as stock?

@JayD - Admire your passion for the S10 and the effort you took to buy 2 and get them both into running condition.

IN a nutshell, yes!

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Well, the reason i asked that question is because i'm also looking for a s10. Did you happen to see a clean piece post your search ? Needless to say I do not mind if its located out of the state.

There are a few s10s for sale. The main thing to look out for is the mechanical condition, and the originality. The rest can be brought up to standard.

Good S10s are hard to find, but prices strangely are on the rise. PM me if you need any help is looking for one.

[JayD]

I'm Back! After a long delay!!

Anyways, as stated in my last post, the brakes and suspension were my primary concern.

The brakes were just horrible, no bite, and would fade faster than you could scream STOP! Slotted rotors, with Tarox Racing brake fluid was the only way to go.

For the suspension, no off the shelf alternatives are available for the palio, and hence, had to get a custom made set done.

More details regarding the brakes and rotors will be answered in a while, as we are working on them, to make a few sets available for fellow palio owners. Mind you, this is not a commercial deal, and this 'may' happen, since quite a few are behind me for the same, after people drove my car.

At the same time, the car also got a set of Sparco branded race seats, with a harness. Much more comfy than the OE seats, and way more support.