Hi all. This means that two years have passed since I owned this car, and as much as I remain satisfied with it, I have 5 life hacks for you that will help you when operating this car.
Well, I think that thanks to these life hacks, your car will also make you happy. Because the car, in this case, is mine for the sixth year, 2006, and there were some problems that it would be advisable to eliminate immediately.
Something is not a jamb, something, well, more has been done to improve it. Well, I still want to share with you, maybe this video will be useful to someone. So let's go.
Lifehack No. 1
This is Kalina's ECU, that is, almost all of Kalina's owners have probably encountered it; those who haven't, they already know about the drawback in the location of the ECU. Initially, Kalina's ECU is located here under the panel.
And there is a stove above the ECU, and Kalina’s stove tends to leak, but we’ll talk about this later, why and how. When the radiator leaks, the heater usually floods, which means the brains of the ECU.
That is, the ECU costs, I have a Boshev one, it costs about 7 - 8000. Like any other ECU, that is, approximately, that is, any other ECU in this area costs. Here, no matter what your situation is, that is.
Here's how I solved this problem? That is, immediately when I bought the car, I got it from there, screwed it on there with these covers and installed it here.
This is how I have it located here, here I have the lighting for the legs, that is, here, I placed it under the glove compartment, there it does not bother anyone, no one kicks it, as I initially thought that they would touch it with their feet, no one doesn't hurt, doesn't interfere with anything.
That is, I secured it with two bolts, the first, the second and that’s it. That is, this is enough. It stays here, nice, warm and dry. That is, I think this should be done first of all when buying Kalina.
Because if your brain is flooded, it’s a waste of money, which is unnecessary, so first of all, those who don’t know yet, be sure to do it. It literally takes 20 minutes and will save your wallet very well.
Suspension
So, then, the second thing I would like to talk about is the suspension. How did I encounter the suspension? That is, it didn’t leak, it didn’t knock or anything, but it kind of rattled, not just knocked, it sort of rattled and rattled, it was here, there were some knocks in the supports, that’s it, and so on.
In short, I read and realized that the Grant suspension, that is, it was better designed, the Kalinovsky jambs in the supports were removed, well, in short, without hesitation, I bought Grant struts assembled with supports, with springs, everything, both front and rear.
Here. I went to Avito, searched for Grant and found a broken Grant with 15,000 miles on it, so they were bought from it, I paid 3,000 rubles for all the racks. That is, the front, the back, everything is assembled, here.
That is, the suspension was changed about six months after the purchase, that is, a year and a half later, I did not regret at all that I installed it.
Now, since it has proven itself only from the best side, no noise, very soft, pleasant. Exactly, that is, the main thing is that there is a drain, that’s it. That is, I really liked the pendant, so I kind of recommend it.
The stove doesn't heat well
The second thing I encountered when owning this car is that the heater does not heat up enough. That is, well, sometimes it seemed like there wasn’t enough heat, that’s it. Plus airing the system and so on.
I also read it and realized that this was also done better on Grant than on Kalina. Well, as it were, Granta is the same Kalina, that is, with the jambs eliminated. That's why many people installed a Granta thermostat.
I installed it too, but you won’t be able to see it here. I installed, here, a Grant thermostat. That is, what are the advantages? It has much less, it has much less pipe of any kind.
That is, it is generally simpler. I'll leave you a link under the video to my DriveDvorra, where I have everything chewed up. So, what’s the point, that is, who is interested in Grant’s soda and in general in what I’m talking about, in general in all the alterations, that is, go in and read there.
What can I note, then, after the rework? Now, the main advantage here is that the contour is small, when I sit in the car, the wind is blowing - it’s inconvenient to talk about.
A small cooling circuit on the Grant thermostat, it goes, that is, the engine and the heater radiator, that is, what do we get? We start the car, as soon as the engine warms up, it immediately releases heat into the interior onto the radiator.
That is, before, if I was driving to work in winter, that is, I literally had to get to work so that it would become more or less warm in the car, now, that is, it’s enough to drive, well, warm up a little and drive a couple of kilometers .
And that’s it, it’s already kind of warm in the car, that’s it. That is, this is the main advantage. There’s no airing, there’s none of that. But, that is, the point is airing, you will have air in the stove, well, the stove there is, in general, a honeycomb, but alteration will not help.
You also need to monitor the condition of the cap on the expansion tank. For myself, I found such caps, which means they are, well, a cap for the expansion tank, it’s called “Avtopribor”, in a blue box it says “Avtopribor”, these are good caps.
But once a year I still try to change them. Well, here the opinion of potassium growers is generally divided, that is, into two types. Some say that it’s better not to mess with your native system, it’s just that you have a handicap there, that’s not the point, there are those who seem to change and are happy.
Here. I am one of those who change and am happy and have not regretted it at all. In terms of money, it all worked out, I installed all the pipes there that were needed, well, I installed everything new in short, it came out to about 3000, I don’t regret it at all, that is, there are only advantages.
Mirrors
The next thing I would like to note when owning a Gran, oh Kalina, is the mirrors. That is, mirrors from 2006, I won’t even say, to be honest, at what price, they cost very small drops like this, those who have them know that after restyling they already have these.
Expensive or more affordable options
The simplest type of modification that does not require large investments is cosmetic. Tuning the vehicle interior is in second place in terms of complexity. The list ends with technical tuning. The last type affects the engine and chassis.
According to official statistics, tuning of the Lada Kalina 2 in most cases affects exclusively the exterior part. This fact is not difficult to understand, because it is the not entirely attractive appearance of the model that is the reason for numerous jokes.
The simplest upgrade is to install a tint film. At the same time, the car owner must remember that the legislation has a number of restrictions related to this issue. We are talking here about the maximum permissible percentage of dimming. In general, the modification of the Lada Kalina should be reasonable.
On the one hand, professionally selected tuning allows you to stand out in an urban environment. Even the most unsightly car can easily be made to look like a racing car. On the other hand, in an urban environment it is impossible to drive more than 60 km/h. In constant city traffic jams, you can stand in the basic version of the car.
Technical tuning of Lada Kalina
It is worth noting that Kalina Sport is quite different from the usual one. It comes stock with disc brakes, gas-oil suspension, cast 15th wheels, a dark interior and highly supportive seats. In short, it has all the normal parameters for a hot hatch. This makes you wonder whether there is any point in upgrading a standard car if it is easier (and perhaps cheaper) to take the Sport version.
Budget 10,000 rubles
— Exhaust manifolds for Kalina can be found from 3,500 rubles; — Some of the most popular shock absorbers from Plaza Sport start from about 2,000 rubles. a piece;
— Rack extensions start from RUR 1,500; — Resonators – from 2,500 rubles; — Camshafts – from 2,500 rubles; — “Zero” filters – from 1,000 rubles;
Budget 50,000 rubles
— If your Kalina is not in the Sport version, then it makes sense first of all to modify the brakes (on a regular Kalina they are drums). A rear set from Turbosmart costs about 15,000 rubles;
Chassis conversion
After window tinting, the most affordable upgrade is to improve the rims and wheels of the vehicle. Experienced drivers rush here to warn their less experienced colleagues. You should not rush to install wheels on your car whose diameter ranges from 14 to 15 inches. Such a step will bring more problems than aesthetic or functional benefits.
Firstly, such a diameter was not intended by the developers. A couple of small holes are enough for newfangled wheels to practically destroy the rubber. Secondly, we must always remember about the quality of domestic roads. It is impossible to transform the VAZ 1118 Kalina in such a way that the poor quality of the road surface due to the large wheels does not completely ruin the car.
The best option would be to install disks whose diameter matches that recommended by the manufacturer. Separately, it is necessary to dwell on the choice of colors. Today you can often see cars with numerous colored rims. Experts do not advise following the general craze for many reasons.
Firstly, such tuning of the Lada Kalina cannot under any circumstances be called aesthetic.
It is recommended that the disc color be black or white. If necessary, you can choose rims with a tint, but in any case they should be in harmony with the overall color of the car.
Secondly, the durability of colored rims has long been questioned.
Armchairs
The seats in a car are the first thing everyone who gets into it pays attention to. And tuning the interior of the Lada Kalina will be incomplete if the seats are not modernized or replaced. A short bottom cushion and lack of lateral support are the main disadvantages of the seats installed in Kalina. To correct these shortcomings, you can contact a specialized studio and reshape the existing seats or select a suitable option from another car. The latter option is more acceptable due to the amount of funds spent on its implementation. Specialized studios charge a lot of money for their services, and if you are lucky enough to find chairs that suit you, you can redo the fastenings yourself.
Improvement of optical elements
Unlike most of the body, the headlights and other small elements of the model do not particularly need any improvement.
The design features of the Lada will not allow you to do this, but there is room for creativity here.
You can start by cleaning all the elements. To do this, you can use special tools, which can be found in automotive stores. In 2nd place there are various stickers. The choice here is really great.
High-quality tuning of Lada Kalina involves the use of thematic overlays. Each of them allows you to create the necessary image for your car. In 2nd place is the body kit and spoiler. The retail chain offers many options for visual transformation, but the car owner must remember simple rules:
- The body kit must fit the car. Visual incompatibility will be a significant disadvantage.
- Lada Kalina Cross does not need the in-depth nature of such optimization. Balance and common sense will save money and also attract the attention of others to the vehicle. When installing such parts, special attention must be paid to the quality of fasteners.
External tuning of Lada Kalina
Budget 10,000 rubles
— Alternative optics, in particular rear lights, start at RUR 3,000;
— Mirror covers with LED repeaters cost from 2,000 rubles; — Prices for body kits are quite humane, for example, “Sniper” thresholds cost only 1,000 rubles. per set; — Fog lights cost from 1,000 rubles;
Optimization of chassis and interior
Inside the car you can find a stove that allows for minor changes. Here it is necessary to remember the feasibility of such changes. In the operating instructions you can find the technical characteristics of the stove, talking about the power and its options. When replacing this device in your car, you should not exceed the indicators indicated there:
- The design of the stove is designed for a certain level of cooling or heating. The desire to increase this indicator will only lead to accelerated wear of the running parts and the mechanism as a whole.
- The stove for the Lada must be selected taking into account the characteristics of the interior. It is designed to ensure even distribution of warm or cold air. If the owner installs a stove whose activity will be much higher, there is a risk of driving with constantly fogged windows.
From the stove you can move on to improving driving performance. High-quality Lada chip tuning is not cheap, but there are opportunities to save money. If you devote more time to tuning Kalina yourself, then there are several options to save money.
Depending on the desired level of improvement in the dynamic performance of the engine, it is necessary to purchase various parts on the car market. Today, Lada Kalina Cross allows optimization of its performance by almost a third.
To ensure that ready-made chip tuning does not cause unplanned expenses in the future, it is necessary to carefully study their technical characteristics before installing parts. In some cases, such changes may have a negative impact on fuel consumption.
VAZ 1119
A car for the prime minister. History and tuning of the VAZ 1119
Story
VAZ 1119 is a front-wheel drive five-door hatchback from the Lada Kalina family. The prototype of this car appeared as the very first of the presented series - back in 1999, earlier than the founder of the family - VAZ 1118. Yes - although the prototype came out first, the father of the family was still the sedan, which earned the right to be the first production car. And the VAZ 1119 began to be assembled almost two years later - on July 21, 2006. The first batch of cars reached Russian car dealerships on August 4th of the same year.
The VAZ 1119 (or LADA 1119) car gained greater maneuverability in urban conditions due to its more compact overall dimensions than, say, representatives of the Samara, Samara 2 and LADA 110 families. Additionally, the hatchback behaves somewhat more confidently on the road than the same sedan that was released earlier. The car also has higher sporting characteristics, which has led to the fact that the VAZ 1119 today is gradually displacing the rather outdated V8 from the race tracks.
The first modifications of the VAZ 1119 were equipped with a 1.6-liter eight-valve gasoline engine with distributed fuel injection. Later, variations with a 1.4-liter 16-valve engine and the same 1.6-liter unit went on sale. All types of engines that were installed in the VAZ 1119 fully comply with the Euro-3 standard. As in the case of the VAZ 1118, this model has been equipped with an ABS system since 2007.
In addition to the original VAZ 1119, the Volzhsky Automobile Plant produced a sports version of this car - Lada Kalina Sport. Her birthday can be considered May 15, 2008. It was on this day that the first prototype of the new car was released. The model entered small-scale production in the summer of the same year.
This car received two modifications with a 1.4 and 1.6-liter 6-valve engine. Unlike the original model, VAZ 1119, Lada Kalina Sport began to be equipped with slightly modified bumpers, an exhaust pipe nozzle, and sports pedal pads. At the same time, this model did not provide for the installation of airbags and had a short steering column. The interior itself has acquired the appearance not of a calm city dweller, but of a progressive sports car (as far as this is applicable for VAZ cars).
Interesting Facts
Lada Kalina Sport, which, to some extent, can be regarded as a tuned VAZ 1119, was exactly the same car that Vladimir Putin, who then held the position of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, took part in testing in 2008. Driving this model, the prime minister took part in a motor rally along the new Chita-Khabarovsk highway. AvtoVAZ provided three Lada Kalina 1.6 cars for V. Putin (one of them was driven by Vladimir Vladimirovich, the other two were driving behind on a specially equipped trailer) yellow. At the end of the run, one car went to the Moscow International Motor Show, the other two became gifts for an employee of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant and a builder who participated in building the Chita-Khabarovsk highway.
Tuning VAZ 1119
Currently, tuning the VAZ 1119 is widespread in connection with its second calling - racing tracks (in particular: circuit racing, track, rallycross, autocross). Of course, sports tuning of the VAZ 1119 provides for a number of interventions in the design of the car, which should only be performed by specialists (you can always find them with us). But, in any case, it should include more or less standard actions that are widespread for cars of the Lada Kalina family.
The first thing that VAZ 1119 tuning is needed for is correcting factory defects, which, unfortunately, are not that uncommon in this series. The second is to increase comfort, technical characteristics and improve the appearance of the car. That is, here again technical tuning, interior tuning and styling of the VAZ 1119 takes place.
External tuning of the VAZ 1119 (or simply styling of the VAZ 1119) often includes the installation of tuned optics on the headlights and rear light unit. Various body kits are also used in this matter, which can give the car the most sporty look. It is difficult to do without spoilers, cast or forged wheels, etc.
Now regarding the internal structure. To improve the driving characteristics of a hatchback from the Lada Kalina series, the first step is to focus on tuning the VAZ 1119 engine. The direction of further work, in principle, depends on the specific modification of the car and the type of engine that is used in it. If the car is powered by an eight-valve engine (which was used in early models), then there can be two ways out in this situation - either leave the original piston engine, modifying the cylinder head by grinding and enlarging the channels, installing lightweight valves, flywheels, a sports receiver or a throttle body ( or compressor), direct-flow resonator and muffler, equal-length exhaust manifold, or switch to a 16-valve engine. This motor can be subjected to all of the above tests. Additionally, you can increase the engine capacity to 1.6 (if a 1.4-liter unit is used) or 1.8 liters by installing a crankshaft with an increased stroke with corresponding pistons and connecting rods.
Do not forget that technical tuning of the VAZ 1119 includes not only engine modifications. In combination with it, it is necessary to perform tuning of the brake system, tuning of the suspension and steering of the VAZ 1119. You can read about them in similar articles on the history and tuning of VAZ cars. You can also contact us to receive detailed advice and quality service in our workshops.
Consult and sign up for tuning by phone: +7(903) 124 78 25, (Monday to Friday from 11-00 to 20-00, Moscow)
Noise insulation
When a car moves along the road, a large number of extraneous noises arise, which strive to get inside the car. Noise comes from the wheels, engine, gearbox and other elements of the car. "Kalina" has standard sound insulation, but it is not enough, or it is of poor quality. To replace it, you need to disassemble almost the entire interior:
- Remove the seats (front and rear).
- Remove the carpet (if done carefully, you can re-cover it).
- Dismantle the old Shumka and factory anticorrosive.
- Apply a new anti-corrosion coating and lay sound insulation, then assemble all dismantled parts into place.
The work to improve sound insulation properties is very long and dirty. But with proper installation of the Shumka, you can make your car as protected as possible from extraneous noise.
Lighting
The Kalina's interior lighting leaves much to be desired. Only the front part of the machine is equipped with a lamp. The back row does not have any lighting devices. An LED strip will help fill the back row with light. It can be powered from the front lamp, and the wiring can be laid under the ceiling card. For convenience, you can install a separate switch in the rear row area so that passengers can turn it on themselves.
Tuning the Lada Kalina with your own hands will take a little time, but by doing so you will reduce the cost of its implementation. By making changes to problematic parts of the car, you thereby improve the impression of the entire car as a whole.
