Over the years, the car has received multiple upgrades, including Stage 2 Wolf tune, lowered suspension, brake pads, lights & audio; among a few others.
BHPian Dr.Naren recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
1 lakh km with S-Cross 1.6: Quick review on modifications, Brief summary on replacement of parts/reliability!!
I have driven 1 lakh+ km. The car was purchased in May 2016. The only reason this car found its way to my garage was because of the 1.6 diesel engine. Frankly, I didn’t have any plan to modify this car to what it is today.
Modifications
Performance
- Tune O Tronics Stage 1 remap: This was the first performance mod in my car. Tuning S-Cross 1.6 was a challenge then. TOT too faced issues, but they did manage to give me a decent stage 1 map. I drove around 10k km with this map and there were no issues. But, they couldn’t support me when I wanted to go high on power.
- Blackworks decat downpipe: I have run more than 85k km with this downpipe now. No issues at all. It is a well-designed solid downpipe. There is decent improvement in the mid and top end.
- Wolf Moto Stage 2 remap: My journey with Wolf moto started after I got the decat downpipe. I found TOT not very supportive in offering me a stage 2 remap. Back then only a few ECU tools could support the S-Cross ECU properly. Wolf had a tool which could easily read and write my ECU. I learnt a lot too, thanks to Rajiv. He would answer all my questions and even explain the process of tuning. We tried a lot of tunes, it was a fun experience. I drove around 30k km with Wolf stage 2 map, with no issues whatsoever.
- Wolf Stage 3 remap with Garrett turbo and intercooler upgrade: I have driven 55k+ km on stage 3 now. This has really exploited the potential of 1.6 MJD. Garrett turbo and intercooler upgrades are also nice and reliable. I had tried different iterations of stage 3 tunes from Wolf. Overall, very impressed with the support from Wolf. They take the feedback positively.
- Engineering exponent’s performance muffler: This is a nice mod. The exhaust doesn’t sound very loud inside the cabin, you would hardly make out. But the sound is prominent outside, but it is not too loud to attract cops haha. I could notice mild improvement across the rev band.
- HPI open air filter: No big gains as such. I like the induction sound. Throttle response did improve.
Suspension
- Eibach lowering springs: I drove around 25k km on these springs. I was surprised to observe that the ride quality wasn’t bad at all. It was in fact better than OE when you go fast on bad roads. Good handling improved braking and high-speed stability. I reverted to stock a few months back, thanks to the rains and Bangalore city roads. It was difficult to judge the depth of potholes filled with water. GC was hardly 130 mm with these springs. I will install these springs back soon.
- KYB Excel-G dampers: These are OE replacement dampers from KYB. The good improvement compared to OE. I am still running KYB in front. I replaced the rear KYBs with Monroe. Thanks to the lowering springs, there was an oil leak from the rear KYB. Yes, lowering springs can affect the life of dampers.
Braking
- Dixcel slotted front rotors: There was a good improvement in braking. Too expensive though, cost more than 30k. Not sure if it’s normal, the rotors were fully plain in 30k km. I do a lot of high-speed braking, so will give these rotors the benefit of doubt here.
- Dixcel brake pads: I had tried ES and M-type pads at the front. EC type was installed at the rear. Overall mixed experience with Dixcel pads. M type was the worst, not at all meant for high-speed braking. The pads were destroyed in 3k km. ES type was decent. EC had a low life.
- EBC brake pads: I had tried YellowStuff and Greenstuff in front. Ultimax-2 was installed at the rear. Overall good experience with EBC. I would say YellowStuff was the best and perfectly meets my requirements. However it’s too expensive at 12k, but I do not find it worth it for fast street usage. GreenStuff and Ultimax-2 are decent and work as claimed.
- Cheaper brake pads: No matter what brand it is, I get 6-7k km brake pads in front. Hence I started to explore cheaper options. I tried various brands like TVS, KBX, Roullunds, Ferodo, Rane, Supercircle, ASK, Gomechanic, Hella, etc etc. All these pads cost less than 1.5k. Out of these, I would recommend Ferodo, TVS Elite, and KBX.
Light Upgrades
- Xenon planet / IPHCAR Bi-xenon fog projector: They were basically IPHCAR projectors with XP stickers. Not sure what they use now. Fog projectors were a good, a huge improvement. I had used them for almost 5 years. Do note that HID projectors won’t last a lifetime. The reflector bowl will get burn marks due to heat and output will reduce. I replaced them with another pair of IPHCAR HID fog projectors.
- IPHCAR Bi-xenon headlight projectors: I got this done at Xenon_It Mumbai. They are working well. Massive improvement in light output. I hope they last long.
Tyres
I have tried Continental MC5 , MRF Perfinza, Michelin P4ST, And Kenda Komet SPT-1.
- Life: P4ST > MC5 > Perfinza
- Comfort: P4ST> MC5 = Perfinza = Kenda SPT-1
- Grip: Perfinza > MC5 > P4ST = Kenda SPT-1
- Steering: MC5 > Perfinza > P4ST = Kenda SPT-1
- Noise: P4ST> Kenda > MC5 = Perfinza
I would be installing Continental UC6 soon.
Wheels
I was running with machine-finished MGA wheels of Brezza, switched to Lenso Jager Dyna after 4 years. The car looked hot with lowering springs and Lenso wheels. Currently running on SX4 OE alloys. I will switch back to Lenso soon.
Audio
Good experience with Muneem (Galaxy Kochi). All the details are documented in a separate thread. I need to update on the new 3-way active setup consisting of Mosconi amplifier and Helix DSP. I couldn’t believe that I had spent most of the money on audio mods haha.
Replacement of parts
Warranty
- Steering column (sticky steering issue)
- Front right strut (oil leak)
- Rear dampers (bouncy ride)
- Rear suspension beam (rear alignment: toe was bad)
- Brake switch (CEL)
- Glow plug x 1 (CEL)
Out of warranty
- Glow plug x 1 (CEL)
- Timing kit at 1 lakh km (Preventive maintenance)
- Aux belt and supporting parts (Preventive maintenance)
- Clutch, slave cylinder, and flywheel at 90k km (mild sound on the half clutch / preventive maintenance)
- Engine torque rod (wear and tear)
- Lower arms x 2 (wear and tear)
- Stabiliser link rods x 3 (wear and tear)
- Brake caliper sliding pins: front and rear (caliper sticking issue)
- Tailgate balancers
- Minor parts like fog lamp covers, cladding, mud flap, AC vent knobs, and gear knobs.
Body Repair
I had a minor accident, Alto had rear-ended. The rear bumpers and rear panel were replaced. The tailgate dent was removed and painted.
The car never let me down anytime, not even a single breakdown to date. S-Cross 1.6 is the fastest and most reliable machine in my garage.
Keyword: 1 lakh km with a S-Cross 1.6: Fastest & most reliable car in my garage