Baleno - RDD Street Setup

[crazydiablo]

I dont know what to say but just wanted to let everybody know that I am extremely happy with the way the car is shaping up. Lots of guys have been asking whats goin on and I never got to writing a feed back. We ran into a lot of hurdles and there were not many helping hands but am glad to say we made if just fine all thanks to one man's hard work.

Whats been done now:
Porting and polishing of the Head
Slightly higher compression
Street Cam

WIP:
Headers
WB O2 sensor and controller
RDD Standalone ECU

I have been involved in the progress of the car from the beginning. Ron showed be the flaws in the head and believe me there were quite a few. Car had run only for 27k but had lots of carbon build up. He showed me what he was gonna do and explained everything and did show me as the head shaped up. It was an awesome learning experience. And truly unless you are involed its very difficult to guage how much work has gone into it.

The day I started up the car after the work it felt instantly different. Smoothly idling at 750 rpm. The car was way way smoother than before. I have driven the car for around 1000 kms and its absolutely a blast. The powerband is smooth and crisp and its making power all the way to the redline. Absolutely awesome.

The best part is this is just the beginning! Headers and the much awaited ECU will bring in a lot of difference and ofcourse more of magic tuning.

Another thing I wanted to thank Ron was that he diagonosed some issues my car had previously. I have never seen this kinds diagnosis and troubleshooting from anybody else. Awesome man...just awesome.

Couple of guys have driven it like Tom, Jaggu and Ajith. Please feel free to add in your comments. Also any hints to further improve anything is always welcome.

[senthilkannanee]

Happy to hear that she's doing good man. I recall Ron showing the head superbly finished and all shinny weeks ago!!

One thing for sure about RDD tuning...Doesn't take too long to realize the betterment. You instantly feel the difference. And behind which is where you need to see the long hours that have gone into getting it there!!!

Way to go!!!!

[TOM Wheeler]

hahahah...ALL BALENO OWNERS WATCH OUT!!! This is one kickass car!!

[ajithk]

+1

[chinoy]

Thanks to Guru Ji Neels. Without whoes gr8 s.w I would have landed up installing a 290+ cam in a long stroke motor.

Target was a super reliable car. No compromise on reliability. But a little fun to drive. A combo of sorts for cars.

No giving up power in one RPM to get it else where.
Just a widening of the power band thru out the RPM range.
A fun car to drive. Thats all.

Enjoy your honey moon in the car and we carry on when you get back.

Why NA ?

Because we have been there done that with Turbos. We actually pioneered the trend in India. So wanted to prove what can be achieved without a turbo. After some time we just may plug in a turbo also.


Ps: Mohit I tried the header dims we got recentlly you know what Im talking about. Power was down by 20 BHP.

[bikelover]

Congrats Ron & Mohit. I had a chance to get a glimpse at the kind of work Ron has put in on the heads. It has turned out to be really superb. Am sure once the other pending jobs are done, it'll only get better !

[crazydiablo]

yeah the power band is really wide, pulling clean from 3k all the way till redline. Awesome.

Ah those headers, hmmm thats huge power loss. We really need to find one guy man.

[crazydiablo]

Thanks for the exhaust Ron, car is moving really well and sounding nice too. Car has completed around 4K and is going in for its regular service.

[rags]

One more reason for me to look for a Baleno.

[crazydiablo]

Next time you are in town lets catch up and go for a spin.

[rags]

I am most likely to be there end of august or early september.

[crazydiablo]

Alright, there are more updates for the car in a short time. Ron has been making steady improvements to the car whenever I get time to drop of the car with him. Last week I dropped off the car just before I had to go to kerala. He surprised me with a Chinoy Filter filter in the car. This was really exciting because I did not have any clue that he could spare a filter for the car. I picked up the car the day before I left for the journey and did not have time to test the car in the town before I left.

Just came back from a 2000kms ride in the past few days. This makes it 6000kms after the mods done to the car. If this is not a test of reliability I dont know what it is, the car ran like butter without any issues.

Before I post my experience, let me say what my dad had to say. Its the first time he is driving after I did mods (which he does not approve of).To say the least he was very impressed with the car. He has a nitpicking character and when he commented on the torque of the car, the smoothness and the acceleration in low rpm, it really brought a proud smile to my face. He does not approve of the loudness of the car, quite understandable.

As for me, wow what a drive I had. I had a blast infact. This was my first long drive after we fitted the exhaust and the Chinoy Filter filter and oh boy I love the way the car has come together. There is only one phrase that come to my mind to describe the car :Torque Driven:

The way the car pulls in all gears is amazing. The car has oodles of torque....just oodles of torque. In city this is a blessing but on the high way this is a dream for any kind of driver. For the revv head or the guy riding the torque, this kind of powerband is a fantasy. I am assuming the filter had a major role to play here. The power comes on at 2500rpm and all the way till redline. The power is crisp and strong pulling like insane in lower gears. There is a rush of power that comes just before 5k and stays all the till you can hold it. So one of the reasons Dad liked the car is basically because he can slot it into 5th and cruise all day, just rolling off and on the accelerator.

I preferred savouring the powerband everytime I could. The cruising speed was mostly 130-140 on the highways and 110 or so on Kerala roads. There was power everywhere, whichever gear I was in and where ever in the rpm range. The mad I hit on the speedo with wifey glaring was a 190kmph. This was on the L&T high way in coimbatore and 190kmph came up in 4th gear at around 6250 rpm. This was with 3 people in the car and a boot full of luggage. 2nd gear tops out at 105kmph and 3rd gear at 150kmph. I dont push in the first gear. Oh what a rush it was seeing that on the speedo. The best a stock baleno would do is 175kmph on the speedo which was my personal best till now.

Considering the fact that redline is at 6750rpm and I had 500rpm more in 4th gear means conservatively we should pull atleast another 10kmph in 4th putting the topspeed at more that 200kmph. With less load and single driver this should be done with a lot easier. One thing I have noticed in all your builds is the way the car/bike pulls in top gear. Usually the car/bike runs out of breath in top but this one pulls and pulls like a loco.

Oh lemme talk mileage. Mileage is 12.5kmpl for a fully loaded car with AC on full time. My previous mileage was 12kmpl under less load. Yes my driving habits are not really mileage consious so this is the least anyone can expect in the car. I am happy because now I have a much more powerful car with pretty much the same mileage. Maybe I should let my dad test mileage and am sure he can easily get couple of more kms to the litre.

I found the exhaust a tad too loud on these long drive. I felt it added to the fatigue. The irony is I wanted a loud car and when I got one, i really did not like it. Its ok for city boys out on a saturday night ride to MG road. Ron, maybe we should revert to old manifold with a turbo at the end. he he

So we are slowly and steadily getting there and am more than happy while we are at it. I just keep wondering what Chinoy's magic box will do in this car, and he lets me keep on wondering.

[chinoy]

1. Thanks for the kind words Im glad you made it home and back safe. An that your having so much fun with the car. End of the day thats all that counts.

2. Thanks for giving me the oportunity to prove what Car tuning is all about. Its not everyday that somebody hands over their car and a large chunk of change to somebody with no experience or track record.

3. I had gotten feed up with all the scarstic cheap shots taken against RDD and me by total chootya cutlets who know jack shit about car, tuning engines or driving and so I wanted to prove a point. Thanks for giving me that opportunity.

Ps: The change you saw after the last tuning session has less to do with the Chinoy filter and more to do with the 14 hours I put into tuning the ECU.
How about a shot at the land speed club for 4 wheelers I can garuntee you that it will pull to the redline in over drive just an issue of finding the right road.
Our target was a fun, reliable, rubber burning street setup and I think we got it right.

The best part is you can sit back and laughf that you got all this done for a fraction of the cost others pay.

Now lets just focus on the suspension and setup.
And do a few more tune up sessions. Forget the turbo for two reasons. a. Ive allready proved what can be done with a Turbo. b. With a turbo and this setup you would be pumping out over 200 BHP. And it would no longer be fun or a useable street setup. It would become another garage queen only taken out for braging rights.
DO you reall want to deal with striped gear boxes, broken drive shafts and other issues which will surelly come up with that kind of power.


Hey dont forget to put the RD on the dyno. We need to set a standard for others to try for.

[chinoy]

My humble thanks to Guru Ji Neels Vanik for his wisdom guidance and brilliant Engine simulator which helped me pick the best Cam for the application.
Thank you Guru Neels Vanik for everything without you I would be nothing.

[crazydiablo]

How about a shot at the land speed club for 4 wheelers I can garuntee you that it will pull to the redline in over drive just an issue of finding the right road.

Yeah the only issue is finding the right road. We can hook up the Gtech and have a run. Considering the fact we never talked about topspeed before the build and that it was never build for topspeed, this is hardly a concern.

Our target was a fun, reliable, rubber burning street setup and I think we got it right.

We have achieved above and over what we set out to achieve in the first place.

Now lets just focus on the suspension and setup.

Yeah this is definitely on the cards. Right now am broke. But the priorities are Good tyres, Suspension and Brakes. Tuning is entirely upto you. I will get these done as soon as possible.

With a turbo and this setup you would be pumping out over 200 BHP. And it would no longer be fun or a useable street setup. It would become another garage queen only taken out for braging rights.
DO you reall want to deal with striped gear boxes, broken drive shafts and other issues which will surelly come up with that kind of power.

Hmmm food for thought. I thought a reliable turbo setup can be done. I dont know about driveability. This will be a daily driver and not a weekend car. You know i cant afford blown gearboxes, drive shafts and other issues.

Will put the RD on the dyno soon.

[chinoy]

I think the reason it came out so well was because. We looked at the short comings of the Baleno Engine and opted to use them to our advantage vs struggling against them.
i.e. Long stroke motor. Means make more Torque and power low down. Dont chase absurd high BHP numbers and power thru reves.

Nothing but the same principle we use on our RDs. i.e. usable power is more important than peak power.
This is the most critical factor on a street build.

Yea dont worry about it man. Your young Ive known you and been tuning for you for what now 7-8 years. / from your collage days.
There will come a time when you can afford another car soon. At that time Ill give you what ever you ask for.
Your being broke and trying to tune puts a very heavy burden of responsibility on my shoulders. There are many things I could have done to extract even more power but didnt because this car has to be as reliable as a stock car or even more.

You just got married this is your only car. It has to be super super super reliable.
I think the fact that it puts a smile on your face every time you drive it is all that matters.
Enjoy.
Like me you worked hard & you purchased this car with your hard earned money papa isnt going to pay for a rebuild if you need one.
Its come out well. Now we just keep fine tuning it and refining it. There is no such thing as perfect. Or tuned. Its a journey whose foundation starts with reliability.

[crazydiablo]

Yeah man, everytime I hit the powerband it brings a smile to my face. Was just having a blast on the way back from your place today.

I have been thinking hard on the pointers that you had given me. I have been thinking on Turbo and doing a lot of research. Apart from the reliability part what I found out is that it involves a lot of dedication, effort, time and money, if things are going to be done the right way. As always I believe if I am doing it, I have to do it right. Just for experiencing boost, we could do a budget turbo but that does not seem to be the way I want it to be.

So lets run NA for some time, I dont know how long. I will learn a bit more and plan a lot more and then take it forward. I would say lets wrap up the car and let it clock some miles.

[chinoy]

As a customer there are only two things you need. No matter what the build.

a. Funds
b. Patience.

Your car is pretty much finished. Maybe a minor addition.
I am hoping to package your build specs and offer it to other select customers who can be trusted.

If you want a turbo sure I will do it for you. But honestlly after seing the way the car has come out. I see no reason to Turbo.
Expect for maybe braging rights. Its your car. You tell me when your ready with the funds. I will do it.

[bikelover]

Recently got to ride shot gun with Mohit on his car, the way it builds up speed and rpms is effortless. First gear acceleration literally pinned me back on the seat. Its got Ron's signature power band. Those who've ridden RDD prepped bikes will know what am talking about. This is truly a job well done.

Congrats to both of you.

[Jaggu]

I would go with Rons advice of savoring the build and then decide on Turbo later. It can be done, but really not worth it, dont get hazzled/led by idiots who just talk.