[Eminenttismo]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Its not total eradication of logos though..when we close the windows the glasses reveal "FIAT"

can we remove that as well? I want to do that if its possible

Originally Posted by KarthikK

LoL! nice observation. I haven't even seen it. Do you mean the set of logos near the spot where visibility % is printed?? I'll check when I crank the car in a few hours from now, currently it is under cover

Don't you think you've got a FIAT logo on the keyfob as well? Or did you change it at the very first place?

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Karthik, car looks great. Kudos for all the mods done. There is one fly in the ointment for a keen eye. The spoiler. The current one with those clips is not the OEM one and doesn't look as great as well. Suggest you to consider installing an OEM one.

Nice suggestion DRIV3R . Point noted and added to backlog. I was looking up a couple of suggestions you had made about the spoiler earlier in this thread. As I understand, you have installed this OE spoiler with just 3M double sided tape and no drilling?? I'll need some guidance from you on this.

If it is a matter of fixing it with double sided tape, I can procure the part, get it painted at Vecto to Exotica Red, and do a DIY myself.

And BTW, with regards to the variants, there are only two. The regular Emotion trim 90HP and the Limited Sport 90HP. Just that the sticker patterns and few cosmetics change for the limited models. The 'only' 90HP variant which you mentioned is nothing but the cars which were manufactured to be Sport variants but then poor cars didn't get the required accessories like the decal sets, exhaust tip and pedals as Fiat was facing a shortage then. This is why you see few variants like these, with the Emotion monogram missing and different colored ORVMs.

So it was the stock availability playing havoc with the nomenclature between Sport and non-sport?

Originally Posted by Eminenttismo

Don't you think you've got a FIAT logo on the keyfob as well? Or did you change it at the very first place?

Point noted and added to next month's backlog *winks*. That Fiat thing is too, too small on the remote. Need to see how I can replace it with Abarth. Hemanth to the rescue again, hopefully.

[sagarpadaki]

Karthik, Stanley leather is good. But they are interested only during the initial sale which Will give them big money. The support when you encounter some problem is what that is lacking. They turn a cold shoulder then . The Honda city that I was talking of earlier had random discolor on the rear seat which according to the owner is used only on weekends since he drives the car daily to office. So when he took the car to them to ask why is it so they said the rear seat must be used regularly for the patches not to appear. And also blamed him for not maintaining the leather properly since they saw some biscuit pieces on the floor!

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Karthik, Stanley leather is good. But they are interested only during the initial sale which Will give them big money. The support when you encounter some problem is what that is lacking. They turn a cold shoulder then . The Honda city that I was talking of earlier had random discolor on the rear seat which according to the owner is used only on weekends since he drives the car daily to office. So when he took the car to them to ask why is it so they said the rear seat must be used regularly for the patches not to appear. And also blamed him for not maintaining the leather properly since they saw some biscuit pieces on the floor!

Looks like Karlsson is the only way to go then, keeping future customer service in mind. I didn't like any of the stuff that Marvin and Ovion were offering. Stanley and Karlsson's fit and finish were excellent from the samples that I saw, almost OE quality. Karlsson was a bit rigid about some customizations I asked for, while Stanley was willing to go the extra mile. I guess I'll have to give after-sales some consideration too, after you told me about this City episode.

I'm actually not looking for anything flashy or overly intricate. I just want something similar to the BMW 3 series sport line interiors: Black Napa leather with red lining and red stitches, like in this 320D Sport cockpit pictures below:

[robimahanta]

Karthik
Stanley is a tad overpriced for what it offers. Maybe because of the brand image it has been able to create. I have done the leather work for both my cars at Karlssons and I am quite happy with the material and the workmanship. I agree they are a bit rigid on customization but the owner Sajith has been with the leather industry for ages and is thorough gentleman. So he will never try to dupe you to make a quick buck. Their after sales support is also very good and will sort out any small issues which you might be having at the earliest. The stitching and fitment is as important as the quality of leather when it comes to car interiors. Karlsson also has a full grain option which is even better than Napa, do check it out.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Karthik
Stanley is a tad overpriced for what it offers. Maybe because of the brand image it has been able to create. I have done the leather work for both my cars at Karlssons and I am quite happy with the material and the workmanship. I agree they are a bit rigid on customization but the owner Sajith has been with the leather industry for ages and is thorough gentleman. So he will never try to dupe you to make a quick buck. Their after sales support is also very good and will sort out any small issues which you might be having at the earliest. The stitching and fitment is as important as the quality of leather when it comes to car interiors. Karlsson also has a full grain option which is even better than Napa, do check it out.

Thanks for helpful advice robimahanta! I've been a silent admirer of both your machines and the customizations you've been getting on them, both superb threads to draw inspirations from . Like you suggested, I'll pay another visit to Karlsson and try to see how I can arrive at a mutual agreement for my requirements.

I'll check out the fine grain option too . Is the feel significantly different from Napa??

P.S - hoping to catch your baby TSi at 3M sometime soon

[nkrishnap]

I too vouch for the material quality and workmanship of Karlsson. The only fly in the ointment is limited customization options. The pricing too is very reasonable compared to Ovion and Stanley.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Nice suggestion DRIV3R . Point noted and added to backlog. I was looking up a couple of suggestions you had made about the spoiler earlier in this thread. As I understand, you have installed this OE spoiler with just 3M double sided tape and no drilling?? I'll need some guidance from you on this.

Karthik, refer to the post below for what I did for the installation.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2969990

And yes, no drilling, and only with 3M double side tape. Be as generous as you can with the tape and you are good to go. The spoiler is holding up well till date.

I would PM you my number and you can reach me anytime.

[guyfrmblr]

Karthik, One of my friend has got Karlsson leather installed in his car and he is completely satisfied with the product. I too was planning for leather seat covers for my car from very long time but have dropped the plan since the car has already run close to 60K km and also the "Dolphin" artificial leather covers have aged very well and are not showing any signs of tear.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I was able to go one step ahead and complete the total eradication of the 'FIAT' logo, and switch to Abarth logos everywhere.

I really appreciate your efforts in modifying the car . I guess you can go one more step ahead and import an Abarth Punto itself .

[shashank.nk]

Karthik, here's how the "Scandinavian" leather (second to Nappa grade) looks in less than 3 years. We got it done in Jan 2010, and when I showed it to them in July 2013, they gave me excuses like "Leather is old" pointing to the old stanley sticker, "You have not maintained it well" so told him i'd get it cleaned once in 4-5 months,atleast 3 times a year from them, so he said one needs to clean it 4 times a year!

Fade on steering wheel


Another pic of steering wheel, notice how the fade extends to the entire wheel


Fading on drivers seat


Drivers seat lower portion (near the knees)


Driver's seat, upper portion (where the back would rest)


Drivers' seat, where you sit


Front passengers seat


Front passengers seat


Gear Knob

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Karthik, here's how the "Scandinavian" leather (second to Nappa grade) looks in less than 3 years. We got it done in Jan 2010, and when I showed it to them in July 2013, they gave me excuses like "Leather is old" pointing to the old stanley sticker, "You have not maintained it well" so told him i'd get it cleaned once in 4-5 months,atleast 3 times a year from them, so he said one needs to clean it 4 times a year!

Thats really bad. I had done my leather with Karlssons three years back and there has been no wear and tear at all. It has aged really well and the patina it has developed over the years makes it look even better. It is Napa and I hardly got it cleaned more than 5/6 times over the years.

I have heard instances where Stanley has short changed unsuspecting customers my passing off corrected grain leather as full grain Napa. It is mainly because of the brand image it has been able to generate among the masses by being the first movers in the after market leather car interiors scene in India.

Majority of folks consider Stanley to be some hallowed international brand and its the first thing that comes to their mind when one mentions leather car interiors in India. Its actually a Bangalore based company having franchise across India.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Eminenttismo

Don't you think you've got a FIAT logo on the keyfob as well? Or did you change it at the very first place?

I have already closed that...fiat is not visible now and abarth will come up soon. Once its on my car's key...KarthikK will get it in no time

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Thats really bad. I had done my leather with Karlssons three years back and there has been no wear and tear at all.

Yes, Karlssons seem to be better. Unfortunately,back in 2009-2010 when I was researching Stanley was most popular but I did check Ovion leather, didn't like the workmanship so decided with Stanley. It was a bad choice. What's more upsetting is the attitude these folks have, they outright blame you without the slightest hesitation or regret!

[Eminenttismo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAIR-OF-FIAT...item35be37fc7a

May be if you can reprogram this, it'd be perfect.

[k_ajay]

Hey Karthik, been a while since we met at 3M (was surprised you weren't there the last 2 weekends).

Btw, you almost had me in trouble for keeping close and performing vehicular stalking. On Wednesday evening when returning from office (and I choose the ORR because I had to go buy dinner). On a short-cut from ORR to join Old airport road, I saw this red Punto with Abarth decals and kept close, thinking it was you.

I saw the EsseEsse logo and the abarth logo and assumed it was you (missed to note there was no 3M carbon fibre vinyl on the lower part of the bumper). Tried overtaking the guy and also honked a couple of times, until i noticed the guy driving the car was someone else [with lots more hair]. Even then I then started thinking another family member must have been driving it. Only when I thought of not chasing the car, did I then spot the additional Abarth lightning decal and then the Team Fiat sticker, etc. Fortunately for me, I didn't make a fool of myself trying to stop the car.. Couldn't find your number on my phone so disturbed Sidhu and we laughed about it.



So there is more than 1 red Punto in B'luru with the Abarth decals. Time you did something more radical to easily identify your Abarth punto..

Btw, Sidhu and I knew you were planning up for further upgrades when you didn't show up 2 consecutive weeks. Your post about planned upgrades has validated our guess.