Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports


Reply
  Search this Thread
581,488 views
Old 30th September 2013, 11:54   #511
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Quote:
Originally Posted by DRIV3R View Post
Sorry to hear that. I beleive the damage is due to mishandling by the courier which shipped it, as all of the lamps the rest of us bought are fine. (shipped through bus)
I think you are correct DRIV3R, just a bit of bad luck for my particular case. What I liked was he took complete accountability for it and offered to immediately ship a replacement lamp for the one with damaged reflector. The lamp should be at home today I think by now .

Quote:
As for the fogging, there is no need to pry open the lamps and reseal them. After you park just keep the car running with the headlamps on for 10 mins, remove the dust cover at the rear of the headlamp while you are at it. The trapped moisture finds a way to escape and you can refit the dust caps before you turn off. Worked for me. Things would complicate if you try to open and reseal them.
Thanks a lot for this tip. I will try this today and make sure the moisture is removed by allowing it to escape through the dust cap.
KarthikK is offline  
Old 30th September 2013, 12:04   #512
BHPian
 
Biraj's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NCR
Posts: 690
Thanked: 2,249 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Eagerly waiting for the update on remap. Have you checked this posting on T-bhp classifieds? Might be useful for future mods.
Biraj is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 30th September 2013, 12:42   #513
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Biraj View Post
Eagerly waiting for the update on remap. Have you checked this posting on T-bhp classifieds? Might be useful for future mods.
Thanks a lot Biraj! Remap update report (with dyno run results) should be out by next week, although I will be doing the remap on Wednesday. The lamps in that ad are chrome finished. I am looking at a black design to go with the overall theme. For the next high-budget switch to projector lamps with integrated DRLs, I was thinking of this, a variation of the design you sent but with the disadvantage of having to ship it from Germany. Looks absolutely terminator-ish
KarthikK is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 30th September 2013, 13:12   #514
BHPian
 
nipcarlover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Sheffield/A'bad
Posts: 428
Thanked: 307 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Awesome work Karthik!

Sad to hear the issue with the headlamps, but nice to see the supplier taking prompt action.

Now looking forward to Gandhi Jayanti!
nipcarlover is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 30th September 2013, 22:37   #515
BHPian
 
greatpower's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 118
Thanked: 4 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

@Karthikk

The Punto looks uber cool!. The grey panel around the stereo is still an eyesore. If you can somehow make this black, it would be look awesome in my humble opinion.
greatpower is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 08:30   #516
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

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
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0046.jpg


Exploring the nicely done up office of T-O-T
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0044.jpg


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 Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0047.jpg


The Punto gets ready for a brain transplant!
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0036.jpg


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.
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-wp_20131002_003.jpg


Getting the Magnetti Marelli ECU out
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0037.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0042.jpg


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 Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0052.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0053.jpg


The remap process begins
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0058.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0062.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0070.jpg


Vivek busy at work, wearing his work!
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0063.jpg


Putting the ECU back into place after the brain transplant and memory loss
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0072.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0075.jpg


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:

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0863.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0859.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0883.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0893.jpg


Catching up with a cousin at the team-bhp meet (BHPian hemanth.anand's Abarth Punto)
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0862.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0874.jpg


Hemanth's beautifully detailed Abarth
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0882.jpg


Some more pictures
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0889.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0896.jpg


nkrishnap helped take some on-the-road shots of the 'Abarth' on the way back from the meet:
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-img_3942.jpg

The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-img_3929.jpg


Do you see a need to change the alloy wheels now?? Hell no!
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-img_3921.jpg


In action
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-img_3943.jpg


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

Last edited by KarthikK : 3rd October 2013 at 08:44.
KarthikK is offline   (23) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 08:50   #517
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Santoshbhat's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,345
Thanked: 6,849 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
[b]
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
Wow! 3.5 secs shaved off from 0-100 is truly phenomenal Karthik.

Wonder why Fiat gave it such a conservative tune. For this sport version, this kind of performance would really grab everyone's attention.
Santoshbhat is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 08:54   #518
Distinguished - BHPian
 
nkrishnap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 3,983
Thanked: 7,405 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Santoshbhat View Post
Wow! 3.5 secs shaved off from 0-100 is truly phenomenal Karthik.

Wonder why Fiat gave it such a conservative tune. For this sport version, this kind of performance would really grab everyone's attention.
To add to the woes are the gear ratios selected for the 1st and 2nd gear . The remap + a Euro spec gearbox would have had this one do 0-100 around 10 secs which would have been very good.

But the 3.5 secs improvement is quite good for now.
nkrishnap is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 08:57   #519
Distinguished - BHPian
 
hemanth.anand's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Bengaluru
Posts: 3,272
Thanked: 14,692 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

"Wait for me!!! Huff!! pufff!" This is my car's voice here.

Now I won't be surprised if TV9 reports any UFO spotting in Bangalore

Even I wanted to join you and I tried calling you yesterday around noon but couldn't reach you...May be you were testing your car and you were way too fast for the mobile networks to connect

Now eagerly looking forward to your leather interiors and other mods.

Congratulations on the new Car!
hemanth.anand is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 09:14   #520
Senior - BHPian
 
ghodlur's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Thane
Posts: 5,997
Thanked: 4,174 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Karthik,

Apart from turning head, the monster will now scorch the roads too. Congrats on the mods already done and the future ones too. I bet Fiat India will be closely follwoing this thread and nodding their heads in disbelief. You dont know they might launch a model named after karthikk instead of Abarth.

Now the question to be asked is "kitna kam deti hai"?
ghodlur is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 09:25   #521
Senior - BHPian
 
akshay4587's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt
Posts: 4,151
Thanked: 4,525 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

The Performance figures and Power output look promising.
Btw how about switching to Pre 2012 suspension,will give her a better stance and reduce the body roll
akshay4587 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 09:53   #522
Senior - BHPian
 
motomaverick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,898
Thanked: 989 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Congrats Karthik, shaving off 3.5 secs from the stock is pretty good. I guess if the Punto shaves off some weight this will be even more fast. Waiting for the rest of the upgrades.
motomaverick is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 10:41   #523
BHPian
 
brraj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: bangalore
Posts: 912
Thanked: 1,272 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
Remapped Red Rocket - turbo-petrol-like, mind-blowing acceleration all the way upto 4500
Congrats and Welcome to the diesel mod club .
brraj is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 13:18   #524
BHPian
 
nipcarlover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Sheffield/A'bad
Posts: 428
Thanked: 307 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Awesome Karthik!

Finally the Red Rocket has the power to match its looks! Car looks absolutely awesome right now, but it would look 100x better with lower pre-2012 suspension.

Anyway, keep posting more about your awesome mods!
nipcarlover is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2013, 13:46   #525
Senior - BHPian
 
shashank.nk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,695
Thanked: 1,044 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* 114 BHP & 250 Nm by Tune-O-Tronics

Congrats Karthik! Now you have 2 jets that fly in your garage
Looking forward to your thread and the vbox timings, the improvements look very good even with a stopwatch. 3 secs is excellent. Heard he does similar magic on the 1.5tdci too

Last edited by shashank.nk : 3rd October 2013 at 13:47.
shashank.nk is offline   (1) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks