The D-Day was here!! Welcome the new hot hatch on the block: The Red Rocket has been remapped to achieve almost the T-Jet's levels of acceleration and performance. The Dyno runs are scheduled for sometime next week, but the approximate gains according to Sidharth and Vivek of Tune-O-Tronics, stand at ~120 HP at the crank and ~110 HP at the wheels
. Now, the car doesn't just
look fast, it is really
F-A-S-T!
It was a warm Wednesday morning when I set out for the remap mission at T-O-T's Sarjapur road office. Their office is superbly located on a desolated stretch of road, convenient for testing the power gains *winks*. Vivek was already in office well ahead of time.
Reaching the Tune-O-Tronics office on Sarjapur road
Exploring the nicely done up office of T-O-T
We set out for a couple of test drives and he asked me all about my requirements and what exactly I was looking for in the remap.
My requirements were very clear :
- This car is a city daily commuter car and my initial needs were better driveability and rocket-like acceleration, considering I do come across a lot of trucks and slow vehicles along my office commute on a single lane highway.
- Reduced turbo lag and more linear power delivery
- Sticking to the tolerance limits of the components and not compromising much on reliability. TOT were also very insistent on this, something which I liked in them.
- Sane torque delivery in the very low end of the spectrum. I don't want the car to be so powerful low-down that it jumps like a frog in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
- Ready to compromise on top end for better low-end and mid-range acceleration.
We tried going for a vBox run for the 'Before' results, but there was some app syncing problem via Bluetooth, so we put it off for the weekend. I had a long chat with Vivek and Sidharth again, and finally both of them began work on the car promising the tune to be done up to my requirements. These guys are phenomenal and very eager to listen to the customer's needs patiently, something I find lacking in other tuners/box sellers who just want to market and dump their stuff on you. What I also liked was the fact that they are willing to tune up the car N number of times based on your changing needs and inputs. Both of them are very knowledgeable and really do know their stuff inside out. All my doubts and queries were put to rest very patiently and superbly by Vivek and Sid.
Trying a few VBox runs before the remap process begins
The Punto gets ready for a brain transplant!
The odometer reading when the remap took place. Ignore the voltage warning light - it was caused by a loose connection with a number plate light.
Getting the Magnetti Marelli ECU out
Meanwhile I was joined by 2 other BHPians CrazyDriver and nkrishnap, along with another aspiring BHPian Mohan, all of whom drive cars with the MultiJet VGT 90HP engine, to get their opinions. They were curious to see the results since most of them are also planning on remapping their MultiJets very soon. By the time we could finish lunch and get back, Vivek was done with the remap and he called me when we were still at the restaurant. The whole process hardly took 2-3 hours from start to finish.
A closer look at the ECU
The remap process begins
Vivek busy at work, wearing his work!
Putting the ECU back into place after the brain transplant and memory loss
We had multiple runs with each of us taking turns driving the remapped car and the stock 90HP engine. The initial runs were a bit bland, Sidharth had told me the ECU needs some time to adapt and it would take a few days for the full effect to kick in, considering the ECU is freshly flashed, just like on a brand new car right now. The first run showed very little improvement. However, I managed to do around 20-30 km of running yesternight on the return route, and it has transformed the car by a massive margin for me. TOT continues to be on standby just in case I want any modifications in the map in any part of the spectrum.
I really have to create a separate thread for this (will do so when I get the dyno and VBox results), but here's a summary of what I've gained :
800 to 1200 rpm:
Stock Punto 90 - dead
remapped Red Rocket - dead
1200 to 1600 rpm:
Stock Punto 90 - dead
Remapped Red Rocket - linear punchy acceleration begins
1600 to 2200 rpm:
Stock Punto 90 - somewhat starting to accelerate
Remapped Red Rocket - linear punchy acceleration continues (quite a noticeable improvement over stock)
2200 to 3000 rpm:
Stock Punto 90 - very strong acceleration
Remapped Red Rocket - more linear, but stronger acceleration than stock
3000 to 4000 rpm:
Stock Punto 90 - strong acceleration, tapers off around 3500 and runs out of steam
Remapped Red Rocket - turbo-petrol-like, mind-blowing acceleration all the way upto 4500. This is a transformed beast in the 2000 to 4000 rpm zone. With the Punto's speed-masking capability, you really have to keep looking at the Speedo to ensure you keep your adrenaline levels in check. I really couldn't believe a MultiJet can give the experience of a T-Jet, until today. It looks like the whole reason of driving to office will become my commute itself!
0-100 kmph (speedo figures and mobile stopwatch app so don't flame me for (in)accuracy):
Stock Punto 90 - 15.2 secs
Remapped Red Rocket - 11.74 secs
The full thread should be up with all the technical details, dyno runs and VBox results of before-after comparos very soon. For now, I will leave you with a few eye-candy shots of the Red Rocket from this past weekend's team-bhp meet:
Catching up with a cousin at the team-bhp meet (BHPian hemanth.anand's Abarth Punto)
Hemanth's beautifully detailed Abarth
Some more pictures
nkrishnap helped take some on-the-road shots of the 'Abarth' on the way back from the meet:
Do you see a need to change the alloy wheels now?? Hell no!
In action
A headlamp update, a service update and an update on the footwell neons are pending from my side, but hey, the week just began!
Stay tuned for more