[nkrishnap]

Karthik, Dont you want to try the RD Tuning box (the one without the Turbo boost technology).

We can give that a try and see what the incremental cost would be to get the maps updated to the Dual channle one? What say?

[CliffHanger]

Hi Karthik,

I've been seeing your Punto a lot of times on the ORR. Firstly, I would like to appreciate the effort you have put in. Now, since the intention is to make this car look super hot, I would like to mention the following stuffs which I think will make the car completely HOT(Now it is only partially hot).

1. The mud flaps just spoils the HOTness quotient. Please remove them, they stick like a sore thumb.

2. The alloys don't go well with the Red-Black theme. Black alloys will make a whole lot of difference. One option is painting the current alloys black, but the current alloy design looks dated, I think you would have already been contemplating new alloys, if that's the case, try looking at options in black. A thing I've noticed with few after market alloys on Punto is - the spokes are kind of squarish. Punto is a curvaceous car with flowing lines, squarish spoked alloys don'tgo well with the overall design theme of Punto, so try looking at designs that have flowing spokes.

3. The silver front grill again doesn't go well with the Red-Black theme. So, paint it black.

4. If you do the first 3 points, the car will look like a red-black spider. Now, just smoke the headlights and the car will look completely Killer.

The above modifications might not stick to Abarth theme, but you will get a killer of a car which might even look better than the Abarth.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

We can give that a try and see what the incremental cost would be to get the maps updated to the Dual channle one? What say?

Correct me if I am wrong but the dual channel and single channel are different hardware and not just the different maps. Since the dual channel works only for VGT, it needs to connect to an additional sensor that can control the turbo boost.

The single channel plays with rail pressure and pulse duration of injection. This is in layman's terms but I'm sure there is more to it.

If you have a VGT, teh dual channel makes sense since boost is a better way to improve performance. Basically you can back off on changing the rail pressure a little and play a little on the boost side to get same performance as single channel.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I just completed 4600 km, and thought I must put up an update here on this thread before I send the Punto in for the first service (5000 km).

Great mile crunching there Karthik! My car is at 11k now and is due for the first service soon. Your daily commutes add miles pretty quickly I guess

- The good luck of the T-Jet has rubbed off on its younger sibling. With 3 months of driving in choc-a-bloc traffic, with extreme care, the car has had absolutely zero scratches/blemishes. Touchwood! Hope it remains this way for as long as possible.

This is just brilliant in bangalore traffic ! Many of us haven't been so lucky.

On the modifications' side of things, I've done part of the visual makeover, the rest will be done soon along with other modifications.
- Philips DRLs (February)
- RaceDynamics dual channel tuning box with replacement air filter (maybe K&N), and michelin tyres (March-April)
- ICE upgrade (June)
- Stanley red/black themed (full leather) interiors to mimic the bmw 320D sport theme interiors (July-Aug)
- Interior Neon lighting (Sept). Let me see if I can do a DIY in case it is simple enough.

To add to the list (and you're wallet woes), why not get a bi-xenon setup done on your Punto, just like what amitmechengg has done on his Linea. It'll look brilliant coupled with the DRLs. After seeing the KT & Morimotos on the Linea/Vento, i'm so tempted to get them on my Polo even though I don't do a lot of highway driving

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

The mud flaps spoil the looks of an otherwise very nice looking car. They are too big. An eye sore!

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

1. The mud flaps just spoils the HOTness quotient. Please remove them, they stick like a sore thumb.

Feedback taken and acted upon immediately . The yuck-looking rubber mud flaps are now safely packed in a carton and put away on my room attic. I have installed the better looking 'Contoured splash guards' from the absolute edition of accessories. Thanks to both of you for the feedback. Pictures will follow shortly.

3. The silver front grill again doesn't go well with the Red-Black theme. So, paint it black.

Going in line with my policy of not painting any OEM part (no permanent damage type of modifications for me), what I will instead do is fetch the black radiator grille from the Active version and swap it during first service. That way, I can always swap it back to the chrome grille when I want to.

4. If you do the first 3 points, the car will look like a red-black spider. Now, just smoke the headlights and the car will look completely Killer.

Trying to get hold of the Abarth headlamps and taillamps which are a direct plug-in replacement for the stock headlamps/taillamps. Smoking again is a form of modifying the OEM specs, which I don't think I will do.

The above modifications might not stick to Abarth theme, but you will get a killer of a car which might even look better than the Abarth.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions CliffHanger. I'll try to implement them to look as good as possible.

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Great mile crunching there Karthik! My car is at 11k now and is due for the first service soon. Your daily commutes add miles pretty quickly I guess

I do around 70 kms a day (weekdays) from Jayanagar to ITPL and back . That explains the reason for the sudden spurt, hehe. 11k in 8 months is not bad either. My T-Jet probably has the worst record - 8k kms in 1.5 years!! Darn!

This is just brilliant in bangalore traffic ! Many of us haven't been so lucky.

Touchwood!

To add to the list (and you're wallet woes), why not get a bi-xenon setup done on your Punto, just like what amitmechengg has done on his Linea. It'll look brilliant coupled with the DRLs. After seeing the KT & Morimotos on the Linea/Vento, i'm so tempted to get them on my Polo even though I don't do a lot of highway driving

I'm inclined to try better headlamps like the nightbreakers. It's just that I probably won't ever use the extra lighting power since the Punto is usually restricted to city/suburb use. Just wondering if projectors/xenons are worth the effort of relaying, etc and all that additional electrical tampering if it is just for looks. I'll take a call on this in a few months, food for thought, now that you tempted me *lol*.

[KarthikK]

Taking into account feedback here and outside, I have got rid of the ugly OEM mudflaps, and instead installed the Contoured splash guards from the Absolute edition accessory set. These are shorter and look much better on the Punto's body. They are made of hard plastic unlike the rubber material of the previous flaps.


Before



After



Closer look at the components :

Front mud flap


Rear mud flap





Rear mud flap - rear view



Overall enhancement to rear profile



In other news, some of you had pointed out the flaw with the DIY roof film process - there were some gaps exposing the red roof underneath the film, both in the front as well as in the sides. I found no suitable method for this other than to go for Carbon Fibre wraps at 3M car care. The gloss film is exhausted, and the material is not easily found in other accessory shops here. Here is the gap filling process done with CF fibre. Hopefully I have not overdone the CF theme. I just got the gaps filled in straight lines, which form a CF border on all 4 sides of the roof. Pictures for your reference :

Before - observe the gap between the actual roof and the film



Solution - 3M carbon fibre wrap for the gap. It is thin and sits properly in tight edges.





The final product emerging after the patch-work



Front view in daylight, after the patch-work
You can't make out which is the roof and which is the windshield, can you? That's the intention behind a fake panorama sunroof glass.







Balcony view - Before



Balcony view - After



Tip to avoid unwanted shunts in traffic and keep motorists away - detail your car to such an extent that other road users get scared to even come close to your car .



Recipe for this type of finish on your car's surface?
- Stop washing your car frequently. If you have a local cleaner boy, fire him
- Use only a duster for daily dust removal. No more 'old cloth'. Only microfibre cloth allowed.
- Get your car washed/detailed only at 3M car care centres.
- Last but not the least, use 3M's TechWax 2.0 wax polish for detailing. I have not seen such astounding surface results with other polish products in all my car ownership history. The picture above is a proof of TechWax 2.0's capability.

[ashis89]

Karthik I must say your car looks stunning, even better than a new Punto right out of the showroom. You seem to have taken great pain to keep the car in such a condition and I hope your Red Rocket continues to shine.

[srinath34]

Amazing work Karthik!!! Glad you took the advice from fellow BHPians(me included) and removed the dirty mudflaps that were an eyesore. These Absolute edition ones look very aesthetic though their functionality may be limited due to wide foot(tyre)print. The roof is a piece of art. Can be easily mistaken for paint.

I have spotted only a couple of Punto Abarths in Japan so far so this thread keeps me glued to the Italian Stallion.

Now I definitely need to see your car again in flesh once I am back to base and get some visual treat.

Cheers

Srinath

[fiat_tarun]

Lovely pictures Karthik. The car looks great !

How much do these mud flaps cost ? They seriously do transform the look of the car.

[Arkesh]

Infact the carbon fiber treatment at 3m makes it look even more classy. I too will go for mud flaps from absolute pack.

[rohittunga]

Wow Karthik your car looks just amazing and the mud flaps are way better than stock ones. Even i'll head out to Aadya to put these in my car.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

...I do around 70 kms a day (weekdays) from Jayanagar to ITPL and back...

Ahh, incidently my friend who confirmed booking a Red Punto (after seeing your ride) also stays @ Jayanagar. If we goes for all the sticker job you have done, then there will be twin Puntos there!

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Taking into account feedback here and outside, I have got rid of the ugly OEM mudflaps, and instead installed the Contoured splash guards from the Absolute edition accessory set. These are shorter and look much better on the Punto's body. They are made of hard plastic unlike the rubber material of the previous flaps...

The mud flaps looks beautiful! You could try sending a mail to Fiat with these pics & they might decide to offer these as standard equipment in future!

Edit:: Tempting pictures, the detailing is wonderful! Please do have that lemon & chilly hung on the car soon!

[naut]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Recipe for this type of finish on your car's surface?
- Stop washing your car frequently. If you have a local cleaner boy, fire him
- Use only a duster for daily dust removal. No more 'old cloth'. Only microfibre cloth allowed.
- Get your car washed/detailed only at 3M car care centres.
- Last but not the least, use 3M's TechWax 2.0 wax polish for detailing. I have not seen such astounding surface results with other polish products in all my car ownership history. The picture above is a proof of TechWax 2.0's capability.

Karthik,

Awesome effort there (both towards the car & to keep us all posted). Thanks for sharing. I am tempted to see the fiat siblings in person. They look wicked! By the way I stay quite to close to east end road (Near Madhavan park), lets see if we can arrange a small Jayanagar meet up someday?

Naut

[Eminenttismo]

That's really nice to see your RR Punto SHINE. Your attention to detail is kewl man, although many might not care for such small stuff, you with attention to every detail MUST be very satisfied working for the result and the outcome.

As is always, the 3M guys did an AMAZING job.


Good luck,
You are making a lot of people envy of your ride.

DRIVE SAFE.

[nkrishnap]

Super stuff there Karthik. I like your idea of scaring away people from the Car by keeping it spankingly clean.

Yes, the techwax gives very nice finish after the application. Also this shine stays far longer than the other waxes like the formula1/Sonax etc.

Watchout for the twin punto which Swiftnfurious pointed out