Kalina station wagon. History and tuning of the VAZ 1117
Story
Lada Kalina VAZ 1117 is a five-door station wagon produced by the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. This model was the last of the Kalina series, because production of the first VAZ 1117 began only in 2007, when a similar sedan had been traveling on the roads of Russia and the CIS for three years. And the first time LADA 1117 was presented to the public at the Leipzig Motor Show (Germany) in 2006.
In principle, it is quite difficult to say anything more about this car. The name of the body type speaks for itself. That is, the car received a slightly larger overall length than the VAZ 1119 and VAZ 1118. In theory, this should lead to some deterioration in maneuverability - after all, the large mass makes itself felt. But we haven’t heard any particularly strong complaints about this from drivers, and this means that the Volga designers managed to maintain a kind of balance in this matter.
But it’s still worth looking for a more convenient domestically produced car for traveling in urban areas. Like the VAZ 2111, the Kalina station wagon did not become a favorite means of transportation for summer residents, as the Quartet did in its time. The VAZ 1117 can often be found as a comfortable and roomy family car. The spacious trunk, which AvtoVAZ engineers awarded their new creation, was a good solution for long trips, and the reclining rear seat back made it possible to obtain a cargo platform from the rear of the cabin for transporting small-sized cargo.
Two modifications of the Lada Kalina VAZ 1117 went on sale, differing from each other in engine technical characteristics. Traditionally, the first copies used an 8-valve injection engine with a volume of 1.6 liters. However, shortly after the release of this model, cars of the Lada Kalina family also began to be equipped with a 1.4-liter 16-valve engine. Additionally, the ABS system began to be installed on new modifications. A small modernization affected this car and in 2010 - the interior, which received a basalt color, began to be equipped with a standard audio system. Minor tuning of the VAZ 1117, which includes improvements to some components and a general restyling of the model, is also scheduled for 2012.
In general, frankly speaking, it is very difficult to tell anything about any car from the Lada Kalina series separately - the fates of the VAZ 1117, 1118, 1119 are significantly intertwined with each other. And these models share all achievements and failures equally. The only thing that can still be said in favor of the VAZ 1117 is that this car has slightly fewer shortcomings than its predecessors. This may be due to the fact that it appeared the very last - the designers had time to get rid of the mistakes. Moreover, the release of the “station wagon” coincided with a large-scale recall of cars produced in previous years due to a large number of defects.
Tuning VAZ 1117
Of course, many people may have the opinion that a station wagon is the least suitable for racing tracks. However, this is not quite true. Having undergone the necessary tuning, the VAZ 1117 becomes no less suitable for participation in circuit racing, autocross and rallycross. Sometimes they can be found as full-fledged participants in drag racing competitions.
Technical tuning of the VAZ 1117 consists of traditional components. But in it, special attention should be paid to tuning the VAZ 1117 suspension (by the way, the tuning options described below may be quite applicable to other models of the Lada Kalina series). This type of tuning allows you to compensate for the increased weight of the car and make it more stable on the track. Moreover, in the original configuration of the VAZ 1117 there are often shortcomings in the suspension design. Therefore, its modernization can achieve two goals at once.
Tuning the VAZ 1117 suspension may include: installing sports springs in combination with stiffer PLAZA or SS20 shock absorbers (improves handling and reduces the number of rolls), wishbones of the front suspension and a front reinforced stabilizer (20-22 mm), a subframe and reinforced strut supports, replacing all silent blocks with polyurethane ones, using negative camber plates on the rear wheels, etc.
Interior tuning of Lada Kalina station wagon
The primary measure in the Lada Kalina station wagon is to increase the sound insulation properties of the body. If we compare it with the fashionable Priora model, the “culprit” of our review is significantly inferior to it in this discipline. Most likely due to the lack of linings in the area of the wheel arches. Some owners of station wagons do not “stress” over such a troublesome procedure as sound insulation and resort to installing more powerful audio systems. Here the owner will need to first decide on his own priorities, and then begin modernization.
Let's touch on the interior trim. AvtoVAZ provided its buyer with a relatively good solution, since the elements are upholstered in durable and inexpensive synthetics. Those who are not satisfied with the standard seat material can be upholstered in leather, which is very expensive (about 30 thousand rubles).
Also, when tuning is carried out, the owners of the Lada Kalina station wagon replace the instrument panel. The manufacturer foresaw this development of the situation and met its buyer halfway, ensuring the possibility of complete dismantling of the panel.
What budget can the owner count on if he “dared” to perform tuning of the interior space of the Lada Kalina station wagon? In ordinary cases, it is not at all more expensive in comparison with similar measures in other AvtoVAZ models.
Melnikov and Lada Kalina NFR in the crowd of the National racing class
Lada Kalina NFR for 850 thousand rubles - why so cheap? I drove a million dollar car! At the same time, it has only one seat, no “music” and trouble with sound insulation. Because this is a racing car of the R1 group, in which I took part in the Russian circuit racing series at the Moscow Raceway.
K Alina NFR group R1 falls into the most popular class of the Russian “ring” - National, which is more often called Emotional. But why did Lada Sport receive only two special “ring” permits for the NFR for this season? Moreover, it is prohibited to put fast racers behind the wheel of these cars - that’s why Vitaly Primak, deputy director of Lada Sport, is driving one car at this stage, and the second was entrusted to me.
Kalina exterior tuning
When tuning the appearance, the owner of a universal model has much more freedom in choosing solutions and taking actions to implement them. Here you can replace almost any of the body components. In this aspect, the plant also meets fans of modernization halfway and produces modified body panels and linings, although not of the best quality. Also, the market space in this segment is represented by a wide variety of companies specializing in the production of accessories for external tuning.
Kalina cross in tuning
Self-adhesive rubber vertical seal. Designed to eliminate gaps between the front and rear doors of VAZ cars..
Fastening bracket (spring) for the instrument panel and door trim of Lada Granta / Kalina-2 / Vesta, Datsun ..
For Standard and Norm configurations, 2 pcs are required, for Luxury – 4 pcs. Not suitable for Kalina Cross. ..
The steering column switch boots are universal to protect the steering column switches from dirt and dust. Includes 2 dust bags. Us..
New items
Original standard lower rear bumper trim with holes for parking sensors for Lada Vesta sedan. ..
Well, we polished out this scratch on the windshield.
Result? The scratch is smaller, but remains. And what I was afraid of happened: the lens effect.
