[shreeda]

Hi all,

Here is a quick 1000Km update from my side. It has been about 3 weeks since I got my Jet. I have taken the car on both city streets and highways.

Some observations so far.

1. Car handles wonderfully well at high speeds.
2. Turbo is addictive.
3. Rear seat comfort is perhaps better than the front. (How do I know? My friends want to get the rear seats during long drives)
4. Epic ground clearance is useful in Bengaluru
5. I have not been able to make use of dead pedal yet.
6. Driving in city takes some getting used to. Once you figure out the gear ratios you will be fine.
7. Economy so far has been around 9.7kmpl for the whole distance.
8. Fit and finish could be better. e.g. I need to get this fixed -


Mods/treatments done:
1. Spoiler


2. Focal Component speakers for front, Hertz coaxials for rear, RF Amp and sub. (Much much better sound compared to stock china speakers, even with stock HU.)



3. CQuartz paint sealant from Ultimate Detailerz (These guys are awesome!)

Yet to get:
1. 3D mats. There are some confusions regarding size.
2. Sunfilm

For your viewing pleasure

[JayKis]

Originally Posted by JayKis

Also is there a way to check the engine manufacturing date?

My bad here. The tyres last 4 numbers are 0813. So i think it should be Feb manufactured.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by shreeda

Much much better sound compared to stock china speakers, even with stock HU

Can you please share speaker size information for front and rear speaker units.

Did you mean to say the Focal and Hertz combination sound was quite acceptable even after being driven direct by the stock head unit and without an external amplifier?

I am also curious as to how the amplifier was wired for it to turn on/off. How is the trigger circuit wired?

The all important cost for the speakers and your installer.

[shreeda]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Can you please share speaker size information for front and rear speaker units.

Front - 6.5", Focal P165 V15
Rear - 5.25" Hertz ECX130

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Did you mean to say the Focal and Hertz combination sound was quite acceptable even after being driven direct by the stock head unit and without an external amplifier?

Front components and sub are powered by the RF 4 channel amp, and rear by the HU. Amp is fed through a Hi-Low filter.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I am also curious as to how the amplifier was wired for it to turn on/off. How is the trigger circuit wired?

They added the remote turn off through the ignition itself.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

The all important cost for the speakers and your installer.

Costed me around 50k including bare minimum damping and ground zero wiring. Installer was Auto Planet near BDA complex, Koramangala. I really liked their work. Very professional.

[puchoo]

Where did you get the spoiler from , was it readily available at the dealership and what was the cost for it?

Originally Posted by shreeda

Hi all,

Here is a quick 1000Km update from my side. It has been about 3 weeks since I got my Jet. I have taken the car on both city streets and highways.

[Sivasankar]

How much does the car cost on-road now?

I have a 2011 T.

Originally Posted by shreeda

Hi all,

Here is a quick 1000Km update from my side. It has been about 3 weeks since I got my Jet. I have taken the car on both city streets and highways.

Some observations so far.

1. Car handles wonderfully well at high speeds.
2. Turbo is addictive.
3. Rear seat comfort is perhaps better than the front. (How do I know? My friends want to get the rear seats during long drives)
4. Epic ground clearance is useful in Bengaluru
5. I have not been able to make use of dead pedal yet.
6. Driving in city takes some getting used to. Once you figure out the gear ratios you will be fine.
7. Economy so far has been around 9.7kmpl for the whole distance.
8. Fit and finish could be better. e.g. I need to get this fixed -

[djay99]

Originally Posted by shreeda

Front components and sub are powered by the RF 4 channel amp, and rear by the HU. Amp is fed through a Hi-Low filter.

Your car looks very good

How many RCA preout does stock HU has?

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by shreeda

Front - 6.5", Focal P165 V15
Rear - 5.25" Hertz ECX130



Front components and sub are powered by the RF 4 channel amp, and rear by the HU. Amp is fed through a Hi-Low filter.


They added the remote turn off through the ignition itself.



Costed me around 50k including bare minimum damping and ground zero wiring. Installer was Auto Planet near BDA complex, Koramangala. I really liked their work. Very professional.

Doing the above will not void your factory warranty? Just curious to know that ?

Can you also post pictures of the SUB and AMP placement.

[puchoo]

It being may manufactured on its own is not a bad thing , as i said people were buying 12-15 month old T-Jets when they were being offered at massive discounts last year , what i would be more curious to get clarity on is why May?

If the T-Jet is selling really well then old stocks should be clearing fast and May should not be available , that was probably the first production month for the car in 2013.

If its not selling well and moving slowly , it still does not make much sense since the majority of the members have reported delivery times of 15 days plus , if the car was standing around it should have been faster

The only possible reason which i can think of is that that Oceanic Blue is not selling and that color is lying around - from what i had been told by my SA , the GM etc was that after i escalated and made a fuss on my waiting time , there were a couple of OB batches which were produced despite not having got enough orders for it . But don't tell the dealership this - let them get back to you.

There have been no fixes or issues which fiat has had to resolve in the 2013 cars , atleast not yet , so getting something from May in that sense is safe.

Originally Posted by JayKis

My bad here. The tyres last 4 numbers are 0813. So i think it should be Feb manufactured.

[shreeda]

Originally Posted by puchoo

Where did you get the spoiler from , was it readily available at the dealership and what was the cost for it?

It is very tough to source. That was the only piece with the dealer. Costed be about 4.3k.

Originally Posted by Sivasankar

How much does the car cost on-road now?

I have a 2011 T.

Emotion should cost about 10.8L without any offer now. That was the original quote I got 2 months back when I booked.

Originally Posted by djay99

Your car looks very good

How many RCA preout does stock HU has?

Thanks djay
There is no pre-out. You need to put a converter between HU and Amp.

Originally Posted by sriramr9

Doing the above will not void your factory warranty? Just curious to know that ?

Can you also post pictures of the SUB and AMP placement.

Unless you cut any power wires, it shouldn't. This job was done without cutting any wire as far as I understood the process. But, I can't be 100% sure, may be someone else can confirm this. I will post the pictures when I get some time. On a travel at the moment

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by shreeda

It is very tough to source. That was the only piece with the dealer. Costed be about 4.3k.



Emotion should cost about 10.8L without any offer now. That was the original quote I got 2 months back when I booked.



Thanks djay
There is no pre-out. You need to put a converter between HU and Amp.



Unless you cut any power wires, it shouldn't. This job was done without cutting any wire as far as I understood the process. But, I can't be 100% sure, may be someone else can confirm this. I will post the pictures when I get some time. On a travel at the moment

Sure, but power supply for the Amp and the convertor that you mentioned are after market fitments that definetly need additional work and ofcourse need to draw power directly from battery. Aftermarket fitment is onething i am most concerned, hence wanted to know from you firsthand.

I am also looking for an upgrade to the extent of replacing the speakers alone.

The reason i asked about warranty was, once i inquire service@fiapl.com asking if the company warranty would be linient enough if i got installed a pair of nightbreakers or a similar hella headlamps with relay et all. The reply was stern and they were no way in support of any after market fitment even be it so minor. They were plain in saying no acceptance of responsibility what so ever after effects if at all may cause, upon repeated questioning came to know, wiring harnesses current handling capacities are tested only to factory supported products and tolerances on higher side are not tested so they can be reliably given a go ahead.

One noob questioning here, if high current Amp is used, will it not put a beating on the Alternator which needs to work real hard to keep the electrical system stabilized.

[khoj]

At the outset understand this, there is a fundamental difference between installing an Amp and a relay for the headlights. The Amp's power wire runs from the battery to the amplifier completely independent of the vehicle's OE harness as does it's ground wire. Whereas the headlight relay is incorporated in to the wiring harness itself and therefore will effect it directly.

The OE alternator is rated to supply enough charge to the battery for a probable condition wherein all of the systems that require electric power are operating simultaneously and draining the battery at a rapid rate. This situation never really presents itself but the system is designed to cater to the same. Now the amplifiers that are installed in normal course (unless it is an audio competition car) do not put that much of a demand on the battery that a larger or an additional battery or an alternator upgrade be required. 99% installations do not even require the big 3 upgrade.

As for the concerns about aftermarket fitment, these should be there especially in view of how the vehicles are handled by the so called experts out on the road side in front of the glitziest of audio shops.

In Linea the speaker wire is the one that should be of most concern as the OE speaker wiring along with that for the glass winding motor, auto lock unlock, door open/close sensor etc. passes from the body panel in to the doors via a Molex connector. The majority of installers simply drill through the door panel and some brave (albeit foolish) souls go via the connector itself.

Another concern is with powering the convertor which ideally should be via the HU. If the HU itself is being changed then this eliminates the need for the above concern but when one retains the OE HU this can be major headache especially in cars where the OE HU is the Delphi F199IN model. Those that have the Blaupunkt OE HU are lucky enough as that model has a spare 12V power out pin-socket. Then again not many installers are aware of this and most simply connect the supply either from the ignition itself, yet others do it via the accessory port and the better ones amongst the latter do it by using T connectors and not by splicing the wire itself.

All in all the dangers are not from the audio system itself but from the chaps who do the install. Wish I was the DIY sort.

Originally Posted by sriramr9

Sure, but power supply for the Amp and the convertor that you mentioned are after market fitments that definetly need additional work and ofcourse need to draw power directly from battery.
Aftermarket fitment is onething i am most concerned.....

I am also looking for an upgrade to the extent of replacing the speakers alone.

The reason i asked about warranty was, once i inquire...... upon repeated questioning came to know, wiring harnesses current handling capacities are tested only to factory supported products and tolerances on higher side are not tested so they can be reliably given a go ahead.

One noob questioning here, if high current Amp is used, will it not put a beating on the Alternator which needs to work real hard to keep the electrical system stabilized.

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by khoj

All in all the dangers are not from the audio system itself but from the chaps who do the install. Wish I was the DIY sort.

The answers were spot ON, thanks for your time and effort spent, Always good to hear from someone who has already worked on the vehicle in & out (Saw your gallery/install details).

My only concerns were how will power be extracted from battery as part of after market audio fitment, will a set of lead cables (higher current rating) be directly taken from battery terminals or is there a alternate way to do so? please let us know how your setup is done in this area ?

If i need to go for a speaker only upgrade (Components + coax) combo powered by OEM head unit, do i need to consider speaker cable upgrade as well ?

There was wide spread speculation about the reason for a Vento diesel gutted in fires is due to a faulty after market ICE installation which might have triggered a spark/caused short circuit leading eventually to fire, this was claimed by VW india, A Rapid also faced the same fate and ended up blamed for faulty ICE. Would there not have been the relevant fuses on critical power paths to burn the fuses and save the vehicle from a potential catastrophe.

The reason seems fake but i still felt not to leave any stone unturned in this area ?

Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

[khoj]

Well the next time you want to thank someone you may want to press the 'thanks' button under their posts

So coming to the power wire. As I said before one will need to run a wire from the battery's positive to the amplifier's power in port. The wire has been run through the firewall via an existing hole that was blocked off by a rubber 'stopper'. This was taken off and a plastic grommet was installed. A grommet is basically like a thick/ wide washer that allows the wire to pass through without chaffing and seals the through hole by taking up the excess space between the wire and the hole itself.



This is in two sections the first runs from the + terminal to an in line fuse and the from the fuse to the amplifier. The fuse rating is ideally 3 times the total ampere draw rating of the amplifier. In my car I have an Audision LRx6.9 with a current draw rating of 70 Amps. Now the Audison comes with an on board fuse of 80 Amps so I have installed a fuse rated at 250Amps (3 x 80=240).




The other alternative is to use a circuit breaker but for some reason this is not at all popular with the installers here across the various cities.




Regarding the fire in the various cars, well no one will no for sure but the fact is that the wiring harnesses in today's vehicles are increasingly complex and can be damaged due to a host of reasons including mishandling and or splicing during installs. The installers are used to the industrial grade wiring of the older vehicles including the earlier Marutis and could be putting drivers at risk every time they tug, peel, cut and maraud the wires in the modern day vehicles.

Regarding the speaker wires I can only recommend what I have in my car and that is after market wires running from Amplifier to cross overs and on to the HU connector. From there I have retained the OE wire that carries the signals the speakers.



The OE harness is untouched as is the Molex connector (not in pic.)



The after market speaker is attached to the OE thimbles/connectors.

I would recommend that you too retain the OE wiring. Per my friend who had the install done for me, the OE wiring in FIATs is pretty good and the way my system sounds is proof enough for me.

Let me know if you would like to know anything else besides the above.

Originally Posted by sriramr9

The answers were spot ON, thanks for your time and effort spent,

The reason seems fake but i still felt not to leave any stone unturned in this area ?

[Speed Pujari]

Here is the current update of my Car (T-Jet plus, 2010 Nov).
The car has been doing good until some rats entered my car and made their house in the glove box.
There was no breakdown and car was running fine. Though I was getting Airbag failure and sometime blue and me getting cranky. I checked the batteries and looks like 2 of cells have gone totally weak, thanks to Fiat for providing Exide OEM. Even in my Palio the Exide died in 2.5 years, so I was not surprised.
I am getting new Amaron today, please correct me if I am wrong with the spec. I am getting the 60 Ah DIN50.
Lately the vibration level was quite on the higher side at idling. I gave my car to KHT and they ran the diagnoser. They said there were few errors due to some wiring issue, probably done by rats. The wiring have been fixed and I feel the vibs have gone. I still need to do a long run before concluding on this since the vib comes when engine is hot.

Secondly I am totally amazed with the FE after changing my driving style. On a sunday bangalore traffic, with every signal working in second half, slow yet moving traffic sometimes at snail pace, I got a FE of 13.9 with 100% AC. This was for 24 kms drive, with some drags. I have reduced my clutch usage drastically and think that is the reason. I have also started Engine braking.
Overall, I am overly satisfied with the car.

A note of awareness- The rear windows regulator needed replacement and in the first instant KHT service advisor said it is not covered in warranty. I called up Fiat, and to my surprise action were taken in a span of 5 minutes of my call. I received a call from KHT service manager explaining me about the issue and he said he will try to get the part covered in warranty.

Only 50% was covered as a goodwill gesture since my second service was delayed by 2 months. KHT did not charge for labour and they charged only 50% for the regulator.
During the PDI my door were slightly misaligned, due to this the underpanel was getting scratched by repeated usage.
I showed it to KHT and they repainted the door underpanel for zero cost !

They did not charge me for wiring fixation which was spoiled by rats.

Overall I was overwhelmed by their service this time. And kudoos to Fiat customer care, they kept following it up till I got my car back home.