[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by rav11stars

Here's the WB report.

I will compare your report with my recently done WA report, but offhand I can remember the front right caster readings to be lesser than the limits. Same applies to the front left caster readings. There was was no adjustment done to bring it within the limits. The only things that were adjusted was the Toes - Front right & left and Rear right and left. The front & rear Camber readings were again within limits hence not adjusted. As per the technician and Fiat SA doing the alignment, the front caster cannot be adjusted during the regular wheel alignment. Any adjustment would have to be done after dropping the suspension setup, hence not done during the usual Wheel alignment but could be done during the 15K interval checks if there is a reported pulling towards left/right issue. Paying Rs 500/- for only toe adjustment is IMO way too high.

Anyone encountered this? Should this front Caster readings outside alignment limits be brought to Fiat's notice? I checked up the last alignment report and found the limit values to be same as Fiat's. But even that time the front caster readings weren't adjusted. So is this a factory adjustment issue? Sorry Rav11stars for bumping your thread with my queries.

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

As per the technician and Fiat SA doing the alignment, the front caster cannot be adjusted during the regular wheel alignment. Any adjustment would have to be done after dropping the suspension setup, hence not done during the usual Wheel alignment but could be done during the 15K interval checks if there is a reported pulling towards left/right issue. Paying Rs 500/- for only toe adjustment is IMO way too high.
Sorry Rav11stars for bumping your thread with my queries.

I too found the caster outside the thresholds, but I remember being told the last time that they usually do not touch caster settings unless it's a major issue. After the toe settings are done, it's going straight. I'd be more than happy if we get some inputs on this thread. I do not mind

[jetti]

Very good review, rav11stars. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
I liked the way you blacked out the chrome strip on the front bumper. Makes it look much better!
I do find both the old Punto and Evo both attractive. And the Evo looks a lot better in-the-flesh as against pictures. Fiat should take a demo-car and ride it around at key places where many people can see it. I'm sure one look at the car itself will draw in a lot more people

[AMDB9]

I have been going through this thread from day one and got the member access last week only. Belated wishes on your car and what a car it is.! It's love at first sight and a decision from the heart. Your review is spot on and well narrated.
As 'jetty' has mentioned this car requires a little bit of marketing to see some good numbers in the sales chart.
Have many safer miles with the Punto.

[motorpsycho]

Guy's what's the engine difference between the 90 HP and the 75 HP? Is it just a map of they have plonked a totally different engine.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

Guy's what's the engine difference between the 90 HP and the 75 HP? Is it just a map of they have plonked a totally different engine.

1) Map will be different;

2) The turbo used on the 75hp is a FGT whereas on 90hp it is VGT.

FGT: Fixed Geometry Turbo
VGT: Variable Geometry Turbo.

The VGT is the main thing IMO.

[SUVU]

Hi rav11stars

Heartiest congratulations on your aquisition!

Superb review with some great details, it shows off the efforts you have taken to pulling out this sort of a review. Prospective owners of the new EVO will be the highest beneficiaries.

I can also see the photographer in you talking of depth in the design and the photographs simply amazing.

Appreciate how you brought out the Reindeer connection for us. I see what you see!

Let me also tell you the ordeal you went with the dealer was the same I went through in terms of registering the car. I guess that's how they deal with each customer. I was ready to do the DP and informed the dealer, but as usual it was difficult at the first place with all those doc requirements, it did put me off initially but I always knew if the car is for me, it will find its way, and left following up with the dealer completely. Now suddenly the GM of the showroom agrees to look into this and things goes well. I took it from Pandit Auto Model colony, it seems the same place where you got your vehicle from.

Being a FIAT customer one needs to have the perseverance and the patience to get the work done and that's what I have learnt.

Wish you many miles of Happiness with your EVO

Regards,
SUVU

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

Guy's what's the engine difference between the 90 HP and the 75 HP? Is it just a map of they have plonked a totally different engine.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

1

Apologies to be replying late- But Anurag, I must correct you here.

The main differences between the the 1248CC 76 HP and the 93HP FIAT Advanced MultiJet are as follows:

A] Different Engine Map. The difference is evident sometimes, sometimes not.

B] The Turbocharger. The 76HP has a fixed geometry turbocharger, whereas the 93HP version has the variable geometry turbocharger. The turbo construction appears to be largely similar. Minor differences exist- but the fundamental design appears similar.

C] The Gearing. There is a different GB for the 90HP I believe.

D] Minor variations- Such as slightly upgraded internals, et cetera. There is some difference, perhaps in the electrical system. I guess that the 90HP has a slightly different wiring loom, towards the engine. Perchance.

Originally Posted by SUVU

SUVU

Saw you today. You happened to follow a certain silver WagonR VXi K10BN, whilst it was taking a turn.

You could've referred my name @ 3M.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

The main differences between the the 1248CC 76 HP and the 93HP FIAT Advanced MultiJet are as follows:

A] Different Engine Map. The difference is evident sometimes, sometimes not.

B] The Turbocharger. The 76HP has a fixed geometry turbocharger, whereas the 93HP version has the variable geometry turbocharger. The turbo construction appears to be largely similar. Minor differences exist- but the fundamental design appears similar.

C] The Gearing. There is a different GB for the 90HP I believe.

Sir, didn't i mention the same in my post too?

75PS - FGT
90PS - VGT

As the question was pertaining to engine, I didn't included the gearbox.

[motorpsycho]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

Apologies to be replying late- But Anurag, I must correct you here.


A] Different Engine Map.

B] The Turbocharger.

C] The Gearing.

Saw you today. You happened to follow a certain silver WagonR VXi K10BN, whilst it was taking a turn.

You could've referred my name @ 3M.

Thanks Guys, I met the sales rep and asked him what is the reason for the difference. I was hoping against hope that it was just a map .

[rav11stars]

So here I am living my "aam aadmi" IT life; doing nothing but going to work, back to home and thinking of doing a lot of things, but doing none I've not gone anywhere these days and so satisfying my urge to drive by driving to work.
Sometimes I'm getting this crazy idea that I should become a cabbie :P

So yesterday I receive this message about the FIAT free service camp and so decide to pay them a visit. For all the GP owners, FIAT is now offering a 15% off on 15inch alloys. You may want to consider exchanging the silver alloys. After discount the price of alloys works out to 4950/-. The offer is valid till March 31st.




Pandit FIAT had some nice festival-like mood going on at their service center.





and finally I opted out of the free wash and went to 3M at Baner for the wash.

[rav11stars]

and by the way forgot to mention in the earlier post : I was told that the service station received a schedule about some issue with the cigarette lighter in some Punto Evo models.

All the technician did was to pull out the lighter and interchange the terminals. He doesn't have any more info other than that to interchange them

[rav11stars]

A break to my monotonous routine came in the form of a cousin's marriage. We're super-excited as we've already made up our mind to drive home. Wife has to arrive at this compromise as it's always a battle scene with the baggage. I always want to travel light, but the folks back home pack so much stuff that I always fight a losing battle arguing about packing only what is necessary.
We'd be driving from Pune to Rajahmundry, a distance of 1040km. The only worry point being the Solapur-Hyderabad road.

I read all threads that I can find, some even dating back to 2011 before HVK Sir stepped in and said "just take NH9". I explained about him to wife and she said "just take NH9". We were not even sure how our 8-month old son will react to such a long journey.
As always she was correct when she suggested let's leave for Solapur on 4th March evening, stay there and then leave for RJY in the morning. But as always I was stupid enough not to take her advice and wanted to see if we can make the journey in one stretch.

I read and re-read the threads on highway driving and as I read explained them to my wife. Yeah, I trust her memory power more than mine :P

Finally we decided to try this at one go and decided on 5th March so we can beat the Holi weekend rush. I said we'll sleep by 8pm and wake up by 4.30am; slept off by 11pm and woke up by 5am : so much for punctuality :P
Give the lady a free hand at packing things and she'll not even accept an Nobel prize, if offered.



packed to the hilt


Reset the counter and to comfort ourselves for the delay broadcast a comment "what's the hurry, let's drive leisurely enjoying the scenery and drive".



It took almost an hour to reach the other end of the city, Hadapsar where we filled her up and set off towards Solapur.



A nice cruising speed between 90 - 100kmph, pass the first toll gate onto the Pune-Solapur highway. Then wife says "everyone's crossing us, Fortuner, Swift, Alto!!. What speed are we doing? Can't you go faster"

"Relax, we're doing 100kmph, the speed limit on this road is 80kmph. Wives usually ask to slow down. You're doing the wives community an injustice with such requests. Every car can do insane speeds. A Nano can also cross 100kmph. It's the safety and control that matters"

This worked and she got busy with the kid explaining him about the scenery whizzing past by us. Wonder what he understood but he put on an understanding expression. He must have already understood that it's better to agree that question.

A question : I completed 5000km by now and whenever I reached 100kmph the smoothness that was there earlier was replaced with a slight growl that can be heard/felt. Is it due to the rising RPM? Push it further to the 110-120kmph range and it sort of settles down. Is this ok?

We crossed the second toll gate and the traffic has thinned down. The cruising speed has increased to 110-120kmph and I really felt this car should have come with a cruise control. What impressed me was the zero fatigue. We didn't feel the need to stop anywhere; Maybe it's due to the comfy seats, the well-sorted suspension.
We crossed Solapur onto NH9 by around 10:30 and took our first halt.



We saw a truck parked under the shade near a temple. It felt so pleasant and reminded me of childhood stories where people stopped in temples for the night. I had a chat with the truck driver as they're preparing their lunch.

We set off again at 11:30am for Hyderabad. There was thin traffic except for the trucks who were disciplined as always. Look out for those deceiving potholes around Omerga. They're tricky especially if you're overtaking a vehicle and the vehicle has to veer right to avoid a pothole in his path. They're pretty deep and can cause damage for sure.

Traffic as always, was undisciplined in the towns and is more once we entered Telangana. They were giving us a taste of the traffic to expect if you were to drive into Hyderabad city. Thankfully we're spared and got onto the ORR at around 4.30pm; took the Gachibowli exit, waited for our cousin for nearly two hours. I used the time to get some shut-eye.

Once she came we decided not to stay, but set off towards home. Even if we reach late, we can go home and sleep rather than wait in HYD, wake up again and then drive.



60km on the ORR and we're on NH65 towards Vijayawada. A slight drizzle started and we were doing 60-70kmph.
One hour on and the rain stopped. This time I got to see the indiscipline of the private vehicles viz cars, SUVs. What I found to be surprising is that the glare of oncoming vehicles is so much that it negated the advantage of having a 4-lane highway. This was not observed on the Pune-Solapur stretch and maybe due to the presence of plants on the divider.

We maintained a steady 70-80kmph, planning to take the next halt in VJA. We experienced the idiocy of fellow citizens and realized maybe these are the type of people who make it to next day's newspapers accidents column.
A truck is overtaking another one and so I moved into the lane of the overtaking truck. Out of nowhere this WagonR comes from behind and starts honking. Wish I could get into this guy's head to understand how incessant honking can help accelerate an overtaking truck.
He takes it one step further and squeezes himself between the truck being overtaken and the Punto. My wife sees this and is shocked to find this moron just inches away from her window. I slow down and got to appreciate the truck driver who also slows down. This guy then zips into that gap and whizzes away.

Every time I drive the sticker on my bonnet flashes in my mind. It makes me proud that anyone who sees it will recognize that I'm a responsible driver. At the same time, it always reminds me my responsibility lest someone take a snap and post it here saying a team-bhp member is driving in an undisciplined manner.

I snapped this on our return journey when we stopped for a break. Cars were zipping past us and I found an angle to get this.



Coming back to our onward journey, the highway takes us through Vijayawada city. The only advantage being we didn't face the usual city traffic, but wondered if this narrow lane in which we're following trucks is indeed a national highway. There were the usual freaks who like to zip around the empty city roads on bikes/scooters.

Finally at about 2.45am on 6th March, reached home. A bit exhausted, but not as much as we've expected we'd be, we hit the bed. I know it's not recommended but I drove as per my limits and within control. For a distance of 1040km we took 20hours including breaks.



I purchased a new tripod to try out macros. Thanks to the marriage it only lay there in the car as a weapon Here are some snaps I managed to take.











The only macro I was able to manage. It's a mosquito, it's a fly : It's both. I do not know what it is.



On the return we took a halt at HYD. An accident happened around Zaheerabad probably 5 min ahead of us. Trucks came to a standstill and I saw a maroon Maruti 800 being pushed to one side. As we slowly moved forward, we observed an Ecosport with all air-bags inflated and an Hyundai i10.
We're not sure how it happened and I didn't think it to be proper to take snaps as it happened only just then. The driver side door of the Ecosport had the maroon colour of the M-800 on it. Initially thought it was blood. It looked like the Ecosport took the brunt of the impact. The M-800 only had a dent.

Apart from a rogue empty oil tanker probably being driven by a cleaner, the rest of the journey was uneventful.

Some stats:

Total Toll amount paid : 625 + 619 = 1244/-

Total diesel : 111 litres
Total diesel cost : 6240/-
Approx average attained with 90% AC on : 20.1kmpl

The parting shot:

[v_safari]

Hello,
I'm planning to buy a replacement hatchback. I currently drive a Swift and I've always been a fan of FIAT.
Now my query might sound funny, but is it possible to install the front center console from the new Linea to the new Punto Evo ??
I've seen people owning the older gen punto install the console from the older linea.

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by v_safari

Hello,
I'm planning to buy a replacement hatchback. I currently drive a Swift and I've always been a fan of FIAT.
Now my query might sound funny, but is it possible to install the front center console from the new Linea to the new Punto Evo ??
I've seen people owning the older gen punto install the console from the older linea.

Are you referring to the front dashboard? If yes, then it's a straight lift from the new Linea. See this :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...d-intlight.jpg