[DRIV3R]

Karthikk, Congrats! Did you ask for a better low range as car is going to spend most of the time within the city?

And pending information:
ECU flash counter?
Any other way other than the flash counter (if it's present) for the FASS to know that the ECU is fiddled? I mean, just during a routine service, would everything remain the same when the technicians plug in their examiner tool?

I know, too many questions, but it's the paranoid me.

And when are my suggestions getting executed? :P

1. Headlamp moisture
2. OEM Spoiler
3. Patch up work for the abarth decal on front fender, seems like you got some red area after changing mud-flaps? Get it done during your next 3M visit.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

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.

Completely agree with you on the performance part, Santosh. This car ought to have been quicker in stock form as a 'Sport' version.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

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.

+1 on the gear ratios part. It does lose out in 0-100 time due to an extra gear shift required, thanks to the short gear ratios.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

"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!

Thanks Hemanth. There was some network connectivity issue even for me there. IronH4wk tried contacting me, and I got the sms after 3-4 hours, when I again returned to the city, hehe.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

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"?

Thanks a lot Girish sir! It has really transformed the driving experience of the MultiJet, enjoying the change for now, hehe.

Not much difference in the fuel efficiency department. In fact if driven with a light foot, Sidharth and Vivek were saying it can return better figures since the drive is effortless and we don't need to prod the throttle pedal as much as we would do in stock form.

Here's a snapshot of the fuel efficiency post-remap, recorded for a distance of approximately 100 kilometres or so. There was a lot of pedal-to-metal action, followed by today's chaotic B2B traffic on the way to office. A/C was on throughout the tripmeter distance. The remapped car still returned ~13 kmpl, which was in fact slightly more than what I would have got in stock form *winks*

Originally Posted by akshay4587

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

Thanks a lot Akshay! Good suggestion, but I think I need the increased ground clearance for a while. My office commute involves some bad patches of roads through a state highway, and bottoming out twice a day, everyday is something I wouldn't want to get into. I'd love to have lowered the car and enhanced the looks and handling otherwise.

Originally Posted by motomaverick

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.

Thanks for all the help motomaverick. I remember I used to trouble you all the time at 3M, asking different doubts about the remap. Glad to join your club now.

Originally Posted by brraj

Congrats and Welcome to the diesel mod club .

Aye aye! But petrolheads remain petroheads sir *lol*

Originally Posted by nipcarlover

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!

Thanks a lot nipcarlover! Looking forward to the rest of the mods now.

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

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

thanks a lot Shashank! the detailed thread should be out in a week or so from now. Meanwhile, looking forward to the ownership review of the EcoSport TDCi.

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Karthikk, Congrats! Did you ask for a better low range as car is going to spend most of the time within the city?

Thanks DRIV3R. Yeah, I went for a better low end and mid-range to aid city driving and overtaking at lower rpms.

And pending information:
ECU flash counter?
Any other way other than the flash counter (if it's present) for the FASS to know that the ECU is fiddled? I mean, just during a routine service, would everything remain the same when the technicians plug in their examiner tool?

I know, too many questions, but it's the paranoid me.

ECU flash counter is only updated if the remap is done via the OBD method. The Bench flash method directly writes the map file back into the ECU and this is not detectable by scanning at the service centres (none of the service centres here have the infrastructure to bench flash as far as I know). The only way they can detect this file has changed is by sending the ECU to Magnetti Marelli, Italy. And we all know Fiat service centres far too well by now, to believe they will go to that extent.

And when are my suggestions getting executed? :P

1. Headlamp moisture

Tried the method on 1 day. The moisture seems to be slowly getting released. There is only a small amount of fogging now. I'd still not got the replacement lamp until today. When I disconnect the bumper again for re-fitting, I'll blow hot air into the lamp and seal it properly. This should fix the issue. Thanks for the assistance with these lamps DRIV3R. They really look cool.

2. OEM Spoiler

I forgot to update on this actually. The dealer had no stock of this part when I went for servicing. I have placed an order for the OE spoiler (thanks again for giving me the part number long, long ago on this review thread itself)

3. Patch up work for the abarth decal on front fender, seems like you got some red area after changing mud-flaps? Get it done during your next 3M visit.

Yeah, that's a sore area which needs some focus sometime. I had some of the black vinyl left over after the DIY vinyl application last year, packed away somewhere in the room attic. Need to get some of that down and patch up that exposed portion sometime.

[Arjun Reddy]

Karthikk. How does this compare to the Diesel Tronics from Race Dynamics. My Punto is currently running on the RD Ecu for the last 20 k Kms.

[srinath34]

Wow KarthikK!!! The car is now officially a fiery red beast. 0-100 kmph timing of 11.74 secs brings it very close to Gen-1 Swift DDiS timings with the added benefit of stability and Italian gorgeousness.

Someone needs to swap these codes with the ones currently used in Magnetti Marelli, Italy

Anyways, warming myself to take the car for a spin. Maybe another trackday session (now you know why I did not insist to take the Red Rocket for a spin on the banks of Kanva)

Cheers

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Karthikk. How does this compare to the Diesel Tronics from Race Dynamics. My Punto is currently running on the RD Ecu for the last 20 k Kms.

Comparison reviews coming up within the next two weeks! I have already driven Karthik's car but I don't want to compare it with my RD dual channel P2 just yet. Not till we get a chance to test both cars back to back extensively.

Exciting days ahead for sure.

[guyfrmblr]

Congratulations Karthik. Its a perfectly modded rocket now. A powerful horn will complement the performance of the beast. Eagerly waiting for the statistics and comparisons with RD box.

I need to watch out for your rocket on Varthur stretch now.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by srinath34

Wow KarthikK!!! The car is now officially a fiery red beast. 0-100 kmph timing of 11.74 secs brings it very close to Gen-1 Swift DDiS timings with the added benefit of stability and Italian gorgeousness.

Someone needs to swap these codes with the ones currently used in Magnetti Marelli, Italy

Anyways, warming myself to take the car for a spin. Maybe another trackday session (now you know why I did not insist to take the Red Rocket for a spin on the banks of Kanva)

Cheers

Thanks a lot Srinath! Looking forward to catching up at the usual place one of these weekends. You could drive the remapped version and give your feedback too.

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Karthikk. How does this compare to the Diesel Tronics from Race Dynamics. My Punto is currently running on the RD Ecu for the last 20 k Kms.

It is like a combination of P1 in the lower revs (lesser turbo lag and more linear acceleration) plus P2 in the higher revs after 2000 rpm.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Comparison reviews coming up within the next two weeks! I have already driven Karthik's car but I don't want to compare it with my RD dual channel P2 just yet. Not till we get a chance to test both cars back to back extensively.

Exciting days ahead for sure.

As CrazyDriver says, we'll be creating a separate thread with dyno runs, VBox tests of all 3 modes - MultiJet 90HP stock, with P2 mode in RaceDynamics Dieseltronic, and the TOT 120HP remapped version. Hang on for a couple of weeks more, all the data should be comprehensively presented in a separate thread here.

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Congratulations Karthik. Its a perfectly modded rocket now. A powerful horn will complement the performance of the beast. Eagerly waiting for the statistics and comparisons with RD box.

I need to watch out for your rocket on Varthur stretch now.

Thanks a lot Vinay! I am looking at changing the horns to roots like the one you have on your i20. Most likely I will get the work done this weekend itself, the current one has started making squeaky sounds due to my over-usage with rash cabbies .

Lets catch up on the Varthur stretch sometime and you can take the remapped diesel Abarth for a spin there.

[DRIV3R]

Roots? There are two variants, one in black which can be dismantled and the other in red which is fully sealed. Latter is costlier.

I had the black ones in my car and managed to conk off 2 sets. Later moved on to Red and they seemed to go fine. What I learnt is Minda Trumpet is a better option, have purchased them, but am yet to swap.

And oh, the horns are not plug and play as with anything FIAT.

If you are finicky about cutting wires, you should do some work in finding compatible pins for the adapters. I could not find them and hence had to file/grind the male pins to fit into the adapters.

I read your cabbie part and the Roots' come with a warning not to be used over 2 seconds at a stretch.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Roots? There are two variants, one in black which can be dismantled and the other in red which is fully sealed. Latter is costlier.

I had the black ones in my car and managed to conk off 2 sets. Later moved on to Red and they seemed to go fine. What I learnt is Minda Trumpet is a better option, have purchased them, but am yet to swap.

And oh, the horns are not plug and play as with anything FIAT.

If you are finicky about cutting wires, you should do some work in finding compatible pins for the adapters. I could not find them and hence had to file/grind the male pins to fit into the adapters.

I read your cabbie part and the Roots' come with a warning not to be used over 2 seconds at a stretch.

The wiring will be taken care off as you rightly pointed out that its not plug n play. So why not make it plug n play.

A couple of pics of the connector.





Also you dont need to remove the bumper to fit this, just remove the front logo, upper gril and the top 4 screws that hold the bumper and though this is not done with ease as removing the bumper. Should be done in 30-40 mins max.

On the roots horn, I have it in 3 cars which are running still fine. Linea (6+ months and one 2 ft water wading ), Liva (1.5+ years) and the Alto (3+ years) are still in perfect condition. Just the placement of the horn & the wiring needs to be taken care of and it should do fine without going kaput. If the horn is fixed in a way where water can enter, the horn dies out in no time since the roots horn is allergic to water .

[rohittunga]

Wow Karthik, an amazing addition to an already superb car.

So there is a remarkable improvement in the 0-100 time. Was there any noticeable difference in the 20-80 in 3rd gear and 40-100 in 4th gear ?

Also I doubt whether you were driving the car when it recorded a 11.xx sec to 100kmph. I say this because the way you were driving the car so sedately on the track while Krishna and me were literally driving the wheels off our cars.

Also the bi xenon projector headlights are in the pipeline still ??

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Wow Karthik, an amazing addition to an already superb car.

So there is a remarkable improvement in the 0-100 time. Was there any noticeable difference in the 20-80 in 3rd gear and 40-100 in 4th gear ?

Also I doubt whether you were driving the car when it recorded a 11.xx sec to 100kmph. I say this because the way you were driving the car so sedately on the track while Krishna and me were literally driving the wheels off our cars.

Also the bi xenon projector headlights are in the pipeline still ??

More than the 0-100 time, the driveability is now far better when I drove. The stock 90 HP is dead between 1300-1800 odd rpm. But with the remap it has got this dead zone out and there is linear acceleration. Would love this set up on mine too albeit the full power band available around 2200 rpm instead of 2600/2700 rpm for more kicks in the city runs.

On the track thing, Mohan is still grumpy about the way we were driving wheels of the car. Next we will do a proper track day in Chennai/Coimbatore. Karthik will be lapping us even without pushing the car to the limit.

The FXR 3.0 Stage IV set up with the Osram/Philips HID will cost around 27-30K in Bangalore with the headlights safely sealed with no fogging. Will ask Raghu to get his i20 which has this FXR 3.0 (stage 3) set up. Lets see if we can meet up tonight at Barista and confuse Karthik further

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Wow Karthik, an amazing addition to an already superb car.

So there is a remarkable improvement in the 0-100 time. Was there any noticeable difference in the 20-80 in 3rd gear and 40-100 in 4th gear ?

Thanks a lot Rohit . There is a significant improvement in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears and I am sure the roll-on acceleration timings will show up a huge difference with stock maps when I do the VBox runs next week. The power band itself has become almost like a turbo petrol with the engine revving more freely now all the way from 1500 upto 4500 rpm, almost clatter-free, although this (redlining) is something I would avoid doing on a diesel on a day-to-day basis.

Also I doubt whether you were driving the car when it recorded a 11.xx sec to 100kmph. I say this because the way you were driving the car so sedately on the track while Krishna and me were literally driving the wheels off our cars.

Haha. I was taking it easy for the photoshoot . I did the timed runs myself on a private stretch of road, with a non-BHPian friend helping me out with the stopwatch.

Also the bi xenon projector headlights are in the pipeline still ??

My current budget will get affected with the headlights if I go for that right now, so it might go on the backburner for a while. Next big thing would be to do up the interiors with a Karlsson napa full leather makeover, black sport seats with red stitching *winks*

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Also you dont need to remove the bumper to fit this, just remove the front logo, upper gril and the top 4 screws that hold the bumper and though this is not done with ease as removing the bumper. Should be done in 30-40 mins max.

Mmm, no. For the Punto, it is better to remove the bumper off. 2 reasons, one, Punto's grille is smaller and gives lesser access area. Two, Punto's top grille is a pain to remove, not as easy as in the Linea. Moreover, if you try removing it without getting off the bumper, high probability of the clips breaking.

On the roots horn, I have it in 3 cars which are running still fine. Linea (6+ months and one 2 ft water wading ), Liva (1.5+ years) and the Alto (3+ years) are still in perfect condition. Just the placement of the horn & the wiring needs to be taken care of and it should do fine without going kaput. If the horn is fixed in a way where water can enter, the horn dies out in no time since the roots horn is allergic to water .

I have used 3 sets, and all were placed in the same location. If water spoilt the first 2 sets, it should have spoilt the third too.

[vignesh.cv]

Congrats KarthikK on the fantastic set of mods and then this remap

Looks like the drive-ability of the car has improved by a huge margin as shown by the reduction in 0-100 times. Please do a dyno run on the Red rooster facility when time permits.

[KarthikK]

2 updates pending from my side (many more yet to be completed):

The first is a small update which I've been planning to get done on the Punto since quite a long time. The OEM horn was lousy and thanks to my daily 4-hour commute, the OEM horn was making a coarse, squeak sound when it was being used. I wanted to upgrade to Roots (thanks to guyfrmblr who has these on his i20 and had showed it to me during one of our previous meets). nkrishnap and I went to Satya (Evo) and got these fitted on Friday night, in lieu of the OEM stock horns. The result is now a slightly louder but better sounding horn.

The staff at the famous Evo accessories store (Satya) begin the horn replacement job on the Red Rocket.



It is possible to swap out the horns without needing to dismantle the front bumper. The gap created by removing the upper grill is sufficient to do the job.



Replacement horn : Roots Windtone





My second update has been delayed by a week due to the extra shipping time taken by Kava automobiles to ship an extra replacement headlamp for the right side one which had a slightly loose (read damaged) reflector. Both sides of the headlamps have now been successfully retrofitted on the Punto. All fogging and moisture issues are also resolved after some hot air sessions with a hair dryer. Here are some pictures in retrospect:

The parcel arrived in a neatly packaged manner



Both headlamps were again independently packed in 2 boxes



Hay and dry grass used in the packaging started flying out and dirtying the room while I was trying to unpack these parcels. My mom wanted to know why my room was suddenly stinking (and looking) like a cowshed the next morning .



And here were the lamps, neatly packaged in more protective covering



Before : This is how a regular Punto's headlamps look. Everyone knows that!



After : This is how the blackened headlamps available with Kava automobiles look like. After DRIV3R told about these lamps, I contacted them on their landline number to place an order for this part (number is available even on google search).



The difference it has made to the front profile: Before



The Red Rocket with the black headlamps: After. These lamps transform the look to a more wicked stance at the front



The headlamps' reflectors are intact and it is only the surrounding area which has been blackened, thus the visibility is the same as the OE lamps. Maybe I even find it better than my stock lights because these are brand new ones. Here's a shot of the visibility with low beam



Now, how can I not post that compulsory balcony view picture of the Punto parked next to that old battered compound wall opposite my gate, it has always been the norm on this thread :

Dec 2012 :


April 2013 :


Sept 2013 :



Coming up tomorrow, a sneak peek *winks*:



Coming up later this week:
- DIY installation of OSRAM LEDriving DRLs


- Dyno runs and VBox results for Punto MultiJet 90HP remap + stock + RaceDynamics DieselTronic box


Coming up later this month :
- FXR stage-III projectors with amber corona rings
- Karlsson full leather Napa interiors, black sport seats with red stitching (maybe this will move to November too)