[CannedShroud]

Hey guys, I'm kinda on the fence here. I own a Tata Altroz iTurbo (which I understand is far from being the best base for a build). And it has a number of small but tasteful mods that have been done to her over the past year and a half (performance and otherwise). So here's the full list.. I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I'm looking for more power, but creature-comfort mods are welcome as well.

Base: Tata Altroz iTurbo XZ+

• BMC Conical Air Intake
• Aftermarket 'HKS' Muffler (99% not HKS)
• NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
• Bosch Brake Pads
• Continental UC6 205/55/r16 rubber (maybe not so much of a mod but it's definitely worth it)
• Aftermarket rims (16 inch 7J)
• Stage 1+ remap from WolfMoto
• 95 RON Fuel Calibration from WolfMoto
• Honda City Auto Dimming IRVM
• All white lights (HID + LED + LED)
• LED turn Indicators

Apart from these, I do maintain the car well.

• Doing regular service every 10k rather than 15 as per Tata
• Using better quality fluids
• Opting for OEM replacement parts (better than complete OEM)

How can I proceed from here?

Thanks and Regards

[GTO]

Originally Posted by CannedShroud

How can I proceed from here?

I think you've done enough. I believe in customizing cars, but not "over-modifying" them.

- The Altroz is not a hot hatch like the Polo GTs. Rather, you should derive pleasure from its styling, highway manners, mature suspension, great cabin etc.

- Go road-tripping. The memories you create with a car are more important than anything else. The money you'd saved up for mods, spend it on road-tripping with your friends / girlfriend / family.

- Follow the best practices here (Best Practices : Maintain your Car in Top Shape). Needs a little time & money.

- At most, a sound system upgrade because you've really done up your car well (share more pics). Although, the stock ICE is pretty good by OEM audio standards.

[lemedico]

Maybe add a racing stripe on the bumper?

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Go road-tripping. The memories you create with a car are more important than anything else. The money you'd saved up for mods, spend it on road-tripping with your friends / girlfriend / family.

Absolutely agree to "Go road-tripping" No point of having an over modified car and not running it to it's potential. Altroz has good highway manners and can cruise comfortably for long hours. Enjoy the plush ride and collect many more (s)miles on the way

[CannedShroud]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Go road-tripping. The memories you create with a car are more important than anything else. The money you'd saved up for mods, spend it on road-tripping with your friends / girlfriend / family.

Yess, I've done a few trips with her - and God the fun and contempt there is to experience with the mature ride and breathtaking destinations. I've done a few trips around to Ooty, Pune, Shirdi etc and will definitely be going out a lot more haha. The memories are amazing

Originally Posted by GTO

- Follow the best practices here (Best Practices : Maintain your Car in Top Shape). Needs a little time & money.

This is again something I follow dearly. I belive that - If you take care of her, she will take care of you. And she's family - so there's no compromises on maintainance.

Originally Posted by GTO

- At most, a sound system upgrade because you've really done up your car well (share more pics). Although, the stock ICE is pretty good by OEM audio standards.

This is a rabbit hole honestly I'm trying to keep myself from going down , I lack the proper knowledge or the budget (maybe) needed to get a good setup. But yes we will probably get there sooner or later haha.

Definately will he sharing a lot more images!

Thanks for the kind words

Originally Posted by lemedico

Maybe add a racing stripe on the bumper?

Sounds like a good idea, but I'm more of a clean-vibe kinda guy! But will definitely consider it thanks!

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Absolutely agree to "Go road-tripping" No point of having an over modified car and not running it to it's potential. Altroz has good highway manners and can cruise comfortably for long hours. Enjoy the plush ride and collect many more (s)miles on the way

Definitely man, like I said before - the memories are just unparalleled.

[Asish_VK]

Your car looks to have most of the things done already and looks great. I don't have much suggestions here, but if you don't mind can you share the performance gains by the mods carried out ?
(With the remap, fuel mapping & air intake etc) ?

[CannedShroud]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Your car looks to have most of the things done already and looks great. I don't have much suggestions here, but if you don't mind can you share the performance gains by the mods carried out ?
(With the remap, fuel mapping & air intake etc) ?

Sure, the short answer is the same as what my tuner gave me - 16-18% gains on peak figures from them stage 1+ remap. So that comes to like 125 bhp and 165Nm torque.

The long answer is... There are gains but not so much in the peak bhp or torque department. More in the torque curve. You can feel the turbo spool sooner. The torque in the low end (which was already quite good) has gone up tremendously. The tune I opted for might not be for "comfort" oriented drivers because if you are not gentle with the pedal - you can feel the boost building up. Even under 2k, you can feel the engine trying to tug it's way though! And much like a diesel you can feel the sharp push of torque from 2.5k right up to 4.5k rpm (I think this is where it makes its peak numbers). That, and the last final (jerky yet fun) nudge in performance after 4.8k rpm still remains!!

About the fuel calibration - it comes at a cost. I cannot run normal rated fuel ( I only have to run 95+ rated fuels ). But I'd say it's worth it. These small turbo engines are notorious for engine knock and to manage this they have extremely harsh punishments on ignition timing to help avoid knock.
So having the 95 RON calibration, I can stay a few degrees of timing in advance (because of the VVT). This renders in less "oh what? Where's the power?" Moments and also greatened fuel economy figures!

They also offer a hybrid fuel map- where you can run normal fuel under 2k rpm and then 95/97/100 octane calibration past 2k.

This is good enough to cruise around ar 80 when tug through traffic when there's no higher grade fuel pumps nearby. But yolo, I have never been in a situation where I couldn't find a pump. And even if I did - I have a few bottles of ProOctane octane booster in my trunk aid in those situations.

The air filter is trouble honestly. It doesn't filter dust particles as well as the stock paper filter. And the placement of it (the way I have it is wrong) but pulls it hot air (almost all the time). But the crazy induction sounds you get from it gives me butterflies!
The whoosh as boost is building up and the sharp pfffft when the BOV releases the air pressure is just heart-soothing in a way!

But the dust in the intake manifold because of this and the fact that it's oiled, causes some issues. I tend to find some oily coating on my MAP sensor which needs to be cleaned or the car doesn't run properly sometimes. (Might also have to do something with the initial issues I had with her.. there are a few iTurbos that have some underlying powertrain trouble that Tata isn't able to solve).

If you have any further questions, I'm happy to help! I understand how tough it is to find and support a car that sadly has absolutely no presence in the aftermarket scene..

Hope this helps

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by CannedShroud

I understand how tough it is to find and support a car that sadly has absolutely no presence in the aftermarket scene.

You truly deserved a Polo GT, if not the 1.2 TSI then the 1.0 TSI MT. But, every car is unique and your efforts and knowledge shall probably let us know a lot more about Altroz Turbo.

[CannedShroud]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

You truly deserved a Polo GT, if not the 1.2 TSI then the 1.0 TSI MT. But, every car is unique and your efforts and knowledge shall probably let us know a lot more about Altroz Turbo.

Thanks a lot for your kind words, I do believe every car has soul and I adore her truly. But yes direct injection and another piston would have been great . I will definitely be always in an eye out for "the next thing".

Will keep this post updated

[Raghav07]

Originally Posted by CannedShroud

• BMC Conical Air Intake
• Aftermarket 'HKS' Muffler (99% not HKS)
• NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
• Bosch Brake Pads
• Continental UC6 205/55/r16 rubber (maybe not so much of a mod but it's definitely worth it)
• Aftermarket rims (16 inch 7J)
• Stage 1+ remap from WolfMoto
• 95 RON Fuel Calibration from WolfMoto
• Honda City Auto Dimming IRVM
• All white lights (HID + LED + LED)
• LED turn Indicators

I think these mods are great for such a car. But like GTO said, its the memories and trips with the car that make it more memorable. The Altroz is indeed a interesting pic for a project car, but you have made it work Well done

Did you run a dyno test with all these mods? If yes, what is the hp and torque output?

[CannedShroud]

Originally Posted by Raghav07

I think these mods are great for such a car. But like GTO said, its the memories and trips with the car that make it more memorable. The Altroz is indeed a interesting pic for a project car, but you have made it work Well done

Did you run a dyno test with all these mods? If yes, what is the hp and torque output?

Thanks a lot for your kind words! I actually have been planning a Dyno run for a while now.. but I'm unsure about the pricing and as an add-on the Dyno closest to me is in Bangalore ~600km away

But that's definitely on the list!

Thanks and Regards

[RoverX]

Originally Posted by CannedShroud

I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I'm looking for more power, but creature-comfort mods are welcome as well.

Hi CannedShroud, yours is one of the best iTurbos here on the forum. I cannot help but admire how restrained and tasteful all those mods are, and the car is a perfect example of how I'd like to maintain mine!

• BMC Conical Air Intake
• Aftermarket 'HKS' Muffler (99% not HKS)
• NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
• Bosch Brake Pads
• Continental UC6 205/55/r16 rubber (maybe not so much of a mod but it's definitely worth it)
• Aftermarket rims (16 inch 7J)
• Stage 1+ remap from WolfMoto
• 95 RON Fuel Calibration from WolfMoto
• Honda City Auto Dimming IRVM
• All white lights (HID + LED + LED)
• LED turn Indicators

I too own a year-old Harbour Blue i-Turbo, and I might end up asking for your inputs on some of these! Jokes apart, I think you could go for a dual-channel dash camera, UV-cut glass / high quality sun film, retractable sunshades, additional sound dampening for the doors, etc. Cosmetically and powertrain-wise, I believe you are maxed out; anything more would make the car look over-modded.

[IshaanIan]

I would say get some good quality 195 width tyres and 6J rims. The reduced rotational mass will instantly be felt and you will gain so much more in terms of acceleration, braking, steering and bump absorption abilities. Ofcourse lightened flywheel can also be considered and an audio upgrade is definitely worth it.

[CannedShroud]

Originally Posted by RoverX

Hi CannedShroud, yours is one of the best iTurbos here on the forum. I cannot help but admire how restrained and tasteful all those mods are, and the car is a perfect example of how I'd like to maintain mine!


I too own a year-old Harbour Blue i-Turbo, and I might end up asking for your inputs on some of these! Jokes apart, I think you could go for a dual-channel dash camera, UV-cut glass / high quality sun film, retractable sunshades, additional sound dampening for the doors, etc. Cosmetically and powertrain-wise, I believe you are maxed out; anything more would make the car look over-modded.

Haha thanks a lot, you're flattering me. I actually have Lumar's UV film on all glass(es) (will edit original post). I'll definitely look into the other recommendations you've given me! They definately sound extremely practical and must haves!


Thanks and Regards.

[CannedShroud]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I would say get some good quality 195 width tyres and 6J rims. The reduced rotational mass will instantly be felt and you will gain so much more in terms of acceleration, braking, steering and bump absorption abilities. Ofcourse lightened flywheel can also be considered and an audio upgrade is definitely worth it.

Thanks a lot for your inputs, I actually JUST settled on 7J rims running on 205s. You're right.. in retrospect - 6J would make the car feel more agile.

But the 7s with the 205s gives the car a thick kinda look when accelerating (like a squat?). But yeah! 6J on 195 with good rubber like Primacy 4ST or UC6 is more than sufficient to chuck this baby into corners. And is definately someone else looking at this thread for a guide consider!


Thanks and Regards