[prabuddhadg]

Very nice thread this.

I have a query regarding my Petra 1.6. The car is great. The engine is superb. I love to feel it rev. The car is extremely stable and the ride is excellent. It strikes a great balance between ride and handling. I do feel that the rear has a strong opinion when it comes to high speed turns, but I am not complaining.

Now I get to the query I have. This car is now a year and three months old. I have driven it for 20k km. Only about 2-3000km over highways, while the rest has all been on Bombay roads. As we all know, Bombay roads do call for good suspension. I have made full use of the suspension of the car, and already it is showing signs of weakness.

When I go over a bump, just as I cross the peak and the wheel starts to go down the slope, I hear a sound. The sound is like two heavy pieces of metal knocking, and comes from near the left front wheel. I also hear a slightly different version of the sound when I take a sharp right turn.

I do not know whether this is due to my misuse (I have often driven through rough patches; not potholes, of course, without slowing down) or due to a damaged set up from the showroom itself.

Firstly, I would like to know from people who have had this car or the palio for long periods, if the suspension can be expected to show signs of weakness this early.

I am going to take my car to Shaman for a check up. So, secondly, I was wondering, that if the suspension can not be repaired, and I have to replace the complete struts, whether it would be a good idea to upgrade to stronger a stronger non OEM set up. The benefit would be to that I could get a better handling car. Just wanted to know from all the experts if this would be worth it. I am not too keen on a very comfy ride. What I like about this car with the current set up is that it does not have too much body roll. If the new set up improves that, good.

So, what should I do? Advice please?