[thoma]

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Now, I'm pretty sure, some auto mags guys will capture pics of your Fiat and post them as scoops pics of Abarth coming to India!

And just imagine, the real photo-shoot is still pending.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

The photoshoot is still pending, but I am going to upload the photoshoot pictures in another post.

- the photoshoot out on the open roads.

KarthikK, we are eagerly awaiting the real photo-shoot

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

The first step was to strip off the once-nice-but-now-hideous 'Sport' sticker stripe on the bootlid.

Now - I am a biggg fan! It looks just perfect! I like this idea of getting the OEM logos! Much better than the sticker mods I have seen so far - which looks good only in pictures. Infact I had almost decided not to touch the stock looks. May be next march, lets see!

EDIT: Steering wheel looks totally out of place IMO. Not upto the high standards set by the other mod jobs. Move the scorpion to the dashboard and get the proper logo imported instead please.

EDIT 2: How much did it cost, for the logos?

[suhaas307]

Colour me weird, but I do have a soft-spot for badges like these. It not only is cost effective, but also adds understated appeal.

Of course, now I expect you to do justice to them and get some proper performance mods too.

Well done Karthik!

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I don't get much paisa vasool out of remapping/performance modding the car, because it is restricted to doing daily city traffic duty , where I can barely use the potential of the souped-up performance

Oh that's gotta suck! :\
How do you vary your usage between your TJet and your Abarth *wink* now?

[amansanc]

Now your car is even more drool worthy and i feel that most people will believe it if you say that this is a *REAL* abarth that you got imported from Europe

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Steering wheel looks totally out of place IMO. Not upto the high standards set by the other mod jobs. Move the scorpion to the dashboard and get the proper logo imported instead please.

BTW hemanth anand from our forum has bought 3 abarth steering logos from a local shop and is willing to give 2 of them to any of his friends. You could contact him if needed.

One more suggestion - Since you have experimented so much with the carbon fiber wrap, why not cover the outside part of the odd looking exhaust tip with it till the time you source the abarth spec tip?

[KarthikK]

Sorry for the late reply folks. Hadn't logged in to the forum for a couple of days.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

One more suggestion, the actual abarth logo is tilted everywhere by around 40 degrees. But on your steering wheeel its straight
Since its only pasted, check if you can remove and paste it again

Point noted. Thanks a lot for pointing out this flaw, Hemanth. I seem to have absent-mindedly put it straight. I will get it corrected ASAP.

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Now, I'm pretty sure, some auto mags guys will capture pics of your Fiat and post them as scoops pics of Abarth coming to India!

Awesome work Karthik!

Abarth Punto EsseEsse CF limited edition with 15-16 kmpl and black smoke.

Originally Posted by sivadeep

Karthik, Amazing changes and great pictures. A true connoisseur in you !!! This is the only one deserves the "Scorpion Sting" realted titles

Thanks a lot sivadeep! Glad you liked it

Originally Posted by thoma

And just imagine, the real photo-shoot is still pending.



KarthikK, we are eagerly awaiting the real photo-shoot

Unfortunately, its been raining cats and dogs in Bangalore since the past 8-10 days. I plan to do a very different type of photoshoot, and need clear weather for it. Suspense continues until this weekend, assuming it doesn't rain this weekend too, hehe!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Now - I am a biggg fan! It looks just perfect! I like this idea of getting the OEM logos! Much better than the sticker mods I have seen so far - which looks good only in pictures. Infact I had almost decided not to touch the stock looks. May be next march, lets see!

A white Abarth Evo will be interesting. Why next year?? Heard of that old saying - "don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today"?? *winks*

EDIT: Steering wheel looks totally out of place IMO. Not upto the high standards set by the other mod jobs. Move the scorpion to the dashboard and get the proper logo imported instead please.

Not available in any eBay site. The other alternative is to paste a sticker on top of the Fiat text. I'll see if I can do that like Hemanth has done.

EDIT 2: How much did it cost, for the logos?

Roughly 95 pounds . After I bought it, the prices went up by another 25-30 pounds, thank god I bought it before that!

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Colour me weird, but I do have a soft-spot for badges like these. It not only is cost effective, but also adds understated appeal.

Of course, now I expect you to do justice to them and get some proper performance mods too.

Well done Karthik!

Thanks a lot Suhaas! The performance mods should roll in too, but not before I soup up the interiors to full leather racing seats or thereabouts. Since this is a daily drive, I may not indulge in too many performance mods which might affect reliability. At the most, I'll go for a remap to 110-120HP and upgrade the brakes and tyres.

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

Oh that's gotta suck! :\
How do you vary your usage between your TJet and your Abarth *wink* now?

The 'Abarth' multiJet is used in the city for my home-office-home commute on weekdays, in choc-a-bloc traffic. It is also used for odd jobs and errands within the city. It clocks around 70 km a day on average, and 1800-2000 km per month.

The T-Jet is used only on weekends, and mainly for highway runs, trips and long drives. I invariably end up travelling or doing long drives every Saturday or Sunday. This car clocks around 150 km per weekend, and ~600 km per month. It is hardly ever used in the city, and remains under cover (literally) at all other times apart from weekends *lol*.

Originally Posted by amansanc

Now your car is even more drool worthy and i feel that most people will believe it if you say that this is a *REAL* abarth that you got imported from Europe

Thanks a lot! amansanc! glad you liked the way it has turned out!

BTW hemanth anand from our forum has bought 3 abarth steering logos from a local shop and is willing to give 2 of them to any of his friends. You could contact him if needed.

I'll PM him and see how I can get hold of those.

One more suggestion - Since you have experimented so much with the carbon fiber wrap, why not cover the outside part of the odd looking exhaust tip with it till the time you source the abarth spec tip?

I tried a sample of that, but the CF vinyl started getting burnt in a few places due to the heat. Not a viable alternative. I'm hunting around for a double exhaust tip without much success. I should be able to find it soon if I dig deep enough into the murky aftermarket accessory shops, hehe. Only a matter of time.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

...The other alternative is to paste a sticker on top of the Fiat text. I'll see if I can do that like Hemanth has done...

...I'll PM him and see how I can get hold of those...

You don't seem to have installed Whatsapp in your new Lumia
Take a look at it and then PM

now that the rebadging is also done...What next? and when?

[vb-saan]

It’s quite interesting now. Your two cars now portray an entirely different image from their real self
The T-Jet is a hooligan disguised as a gentleman in black suit, whereas the red Punto is on the exact opposite side – a classical singer trying to do PSY

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

You don't seem to have installed Whatsapp in your new Lumia
Take a look at it and then PM

I'd uninstalled the stupid application after getting annoyed with it. I was part of 8-10 different groups, and everytime I logged on to the net it would download all the messages (sometimes in hundreds) and hog the bandwidth when I wanted to do other important things. Sadly, there is no option to turn off the automatic downloads or automatic connection to net. Until they add that feature, I doubt I'll install the app again.

now that the rebadging is also done...What next? and when?

Philips DRL4 DIY, twin exhaust tip DIY, followed by full leather black+red 'sport' seats .

Originally Posted by vb-san

It’s quite interesting now. Your two cars now portray an entirely different image from their real self
The T-Jet is a hooligan disguised as a gentleman in black suit, whereas the red Punto is on the exact opposite side – a classical singer trying to do PSY

Now that you pointed it out, it is hilarious and totally true when I think of it. The T-Jet remains bone stock and unassuming in appearance, although it will beat the living daylights out of the multijet. In my opinion Linea cannot carry off many modifications either, thanks to the mature design. Even the smallest of mods will make it look stupid. The current black+chrome combo goes very well, and can carry off a dignified look. The Punto has already been spoilt abroad by Abarth and gang *lol*, which I'm trying to mimic here. With the 2 cars parked side by side, it looks like a split personality - one a show-off type, 'loud' car screaming for attention, and another one a mature, grown-up car whenever some dignity/sophistication is required. *winks*

P.S : after-effects of modifying the Punto - my dad refuses to touch the Punto since he feels it is too flashy for a 60+ person to be seen driving in *rofl*.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Why next year?? Heard of that old saying - "don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today"?? *winks*

Can say the same to you I think your car desperately needs performance mods now, considering the flashy looks and the abarth badges, it needs to actually be quicker than the rest of the puntos on the road. A remap, a good stock replacement filter an better tires will be great for now. No need to upgrade brakes, the better tires will improve the braking a fair amount.

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Unfortunately, its been raining cats and dogs in Bangalore since the past 8-10 days. I plan to do a very different type of photoshoot, and need clear weather for it. Suspense continues until this weekend, assuming it doesn't rain this weekend too.

Hahaha Bangalore has become an ocean of sorts lately. I think you should do one of those TopGear-esque cloudy sky photoshoots.

The 'Abarth' multiJet is used in the city for my home-office-home commute on weekdays, in choc-a-bloc traffic. It is also used for odd jobs and errands within the city. It clocks around 70 km a day on average, and 1800-2000 km per month.

The T-Jet is used only on weekends, and mainly for highway runs, trips and long drives. I invariably end up travelling or doing long drives every Saturday or Sunday. This car clocks around 150 km per weekend, and ~600 km per month. It is hardly ever used in the city, and remains under cover (literally) at all other times apart from weekends *lol*

Man, you've really hit the jackpot there haven't you? You spend A LOT of time in two great cars!

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Can say the same to you

I think your car desperately needs performance mods now, considering the flashy looks and the abarth badges, it needs to actually be quicker than the rest of the puntos on the road. A remap, a good stock replacement filter an better tires will be great for now. No need to upgrade brakes, the better tires will improve the braking a fair amount.

Definitely on the cards, just that I'm getting other stuff done while waiting it out. The main reason for me delaying the remap is the odometer reading. I'm currently treading around the 10k km mark. I want to complete 15k km, get the 2nd service done with and then go ahead with the Tune-O-Tronics remap to 115HP or so. On the tyre front, I will most probably go with Pirelli P7 205/55R15. I'll do the entire thing in 1 shot - remap + filter + tyres.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Definitely on the cards, just that I'm getting other stuff done while waiting it out. The main reason for me delaying the remap is the odometer reading. I'm currently treading around the 10k km mark. I want to complete 15k km, get the 2nd service done with and then go ahead with the Tune-O-Tronics remap to 115HP or so. On the tyre front, I will most probably go with Pirelli P7 205/55R15. I'll do the entire thing in 1 shot - remap + filter + tyres.

10k is actually more than enough. Tune o tronics is good, they seem to know their stuff. As for tires, see what is available at the time. I find pirellis a bit overpriced to be honest.

[Arch-Angel]

Karthik you seem to be going all out on this car lol. Its like watching those auto shows where a chap brings in an everday car and drives out with the same car with some souped up mods. The side effect you mentioned with regards to your dad does need consideration . He definitely would not want to be accosted by other people on the road with people either pointing out "esseesse" or the "Bharath" logo on your ride. Same car but different car as us Indians usually see things.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Arch-Angel

Karthik you seem to be going all out on this car lol. Its like watching those auto shows where a chap brings in an everday car and drives out with the same car with some souped up mods. The side effect you mentioned with regards to your dad does need consideration . He definitely would not want to be accosted by other people on the road with people either pointing out "esseesse" or the "Bharath" logo on your ride. Same car but different car as us Indians usually see things.

The show was called 'pimp my ride' on VH1, if I remember correctly. The side effect with dad's comments was just mentioned for fun. He actually supported most of these mods and likes the overall result himself. Its just that he won't want to take out this car himself, thanks to the bad-boy image post-modification. Very similar to how an older generation person may not want to be seen riding a superbike . He doesn't go out much nowadays since we have our office (dad's business) at home itself now. When he needs to go out, he prefers the sedately styled T-Jet which is always at home on weekdays . No inconvenience for him as such.

The EsseEsse effect is seriously showing up too much nowadays for me. Literally every person passing by the car keeps turning around and giving second, sometimes third looks. Some people ask me what brand this is, and why it looks similar to a Punto *lol*. Some people ask me how much mileage I get, some ask me what is the top speed, etc. One person in a Punto asked for my permission and took a photograph of the car! Maybe for his own modification plans, hehe. Rebadging to an unknown brand has its perks *winks*