Swift VDi ownership: A Running report

[Thad E Ginathom]

I love that blue detail on the wheels with the blue car.

Makes me wish I'd chosen mine more carefuly!

[GeekSrik]

they are just stickers provided by lenso and by coincidence they are blue

today i was reading the whatCar magazine and it looks like a powerful combination of the brand new indica (fiat engines - petrol and diesel), the grande punto and linea along with the recently launched palio multi jet diesel (same as ddis) would prove to be a formidable opposition to many other cars which are going to enter the market this year.

so it now looks like the focus is shifting from maruti to tatas. how i wish they improved their service attitude and then everything would be great!

until then i ll be looking forward to the splash (upgraded wagon r replacement) and the swift sedan (replacement for esteem) and the sx4 diesel to see what dent it makes in the already crowded market.

odo reading is now 10300 kms, and the rattles have become more after the damping job. i ve to reach manjesh next week to see what more he will add or delete from the car. that aside my friend asked me today casually how my car was doing and i told him i had finished 10k in about 7 months without even the slightest of issues (touch wood) and he was greatly surprised that here is a car of a high calibre w.r.t engine credentials and performance.

good job maruti, your commitment to diesels is well appreciated. keep it going. and fiat, come back fast!

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by BUSA

But still the Getz Diesel is better in terms of rattling wrt Swift Diesel.

Viz. that the Getz is better at rattling? Lol

[nikunj_cal]

Originally Posted by s0uljah

Viz. that the Getz is better at rattling? Lol

LOL ...........................

[GeekSrik]

a query on tyre rotation. i m reaching 11k almost now. when is it needed that i rotate the tyres and do any wheel balancing if at all ? and any ideas how much it would cost me if i do it the same place i bought these?

Srik

[ravibhat]

There are lot of shops famous ones: Vijay wheel alignment, tyre professionals/Iyengar Tyre clinic and M.A.S.S. so on.

Tyre rotation good shop is supposed to be Tyre professionals near South End Circle next to Bangalore Hospital in R V Road.

Should not cost more than 450/- including rotation/balancing/alingment however it all depends on the weight they put on Alloys. since you have alloys make sure whoever doing is knows what to do

This thread might help you

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...bangalore.html (Wheel Alignment & Balancing in South Bangalore)

Regards,

Ravi.

[DieselFan]

I follow following schedule -

1. Rotate the tyres every 5 K km.

2. Alignment and balancing every 10 K km.

The above schedule is due to good road/highway driving most of the time. If the road is bad and you have alignment problems then better get item #2 also done every 5 K kms.

If you do the alignment and Balancing rotation is taken care of. Alignment costs - 200 Rs. and Balancing about 150 + cost of weights. Just for rotation I pay about 50-60 Rs.

Good places to have this done is Tyre professionals (one near South end circle/ one on JC Road).

[Jaggu]

I do wheel rotation, then front 2 wheels balancing and finally wheel alignment every 7 to 8 k kms. Cost 300-400 bucks in total from Madhu's.

[GeekSrik]

i was thinking of going to sai iyengar since i bought the wheels and tyres there only (CMH road) dunno how much he ll charge me though. that aside i would like to understand the basics of why tyres are rotated, is it only to balance the wear and tear or anything else?

[Jaggu]

The driven wheels have more torture to bear, so will wear out faster (swift Front wheel drive). Again the spare if left unused will go bad, so this again is used to get max mileage out of each tyre (paisa wasool).

Steering geometry changes with Kms and abuse due to roads, to correct that alignment.

If front wheels are unbalanced, they will resonate with the springs causing unwatned juder at the resonating speeds, especially in the case of completely independent suspension. This in turn leads to more wear and tare for tyre as well as other components. To avoid this, wheel balancing.

If Sai Iyengar has good equipment and technicians, go ahead. Optical aligners (esp laser ones) are most accurate.

Usually alignment will cost 200 to 300
Wheel balancing 50 Rs per tyre plus cost of weights used.

[GeekSrik]

this concept of weights add to my misery. i ve had this happening on my 800 a billion times (of course they were steel rims) and i was not sure whether the MASS dealer did it rightly each time. somehow the one and only thing i was disgruntled with in my 800 were the tyres. thankfully i m not feeling that way in my swift. and i want that peace of mind to remain.

so jaggu who you say have got the optical aligners (laser ones in bangalore?)

and is madhu's in jc road or near double road (near VGP)?

sorry for the query again if i repeated, just lost track.

Srik

[nikunj_cal]

One query here , since I did not go for the 5th alloy , the only way of Tyre Rotation in my case I think will be taking out the uni-directional tyres from the alloys and refitting them !

@jaggu and @geek - Did you go for alloys for the spare tyre also ?

[DKG]

A friend recently bought a new Swift VDI and within a week called me about a harsh sound from the engine. I haven't had a chance to drive the car and check for myself but I suggested it could be a bad patch of diesel causing detonation(pinging). The dealer seemed clueless and brushed it aside as normal.

My friend mentioned its not there in cold but as the engine warms up its apparent at times. Which further reinforces my hunch its pinging, as a hotter engine further aids in pre-ignition

Has anyone else encountered this problem? Any other explanations? If it is pinging, then left unaddressed its bound to mess up the engine in no time

[Jaggu]

@geek: i have been using Madhu's for last 3 years and they have done a good job till now. Yes they do have good equipment and experienced mechs.

@nikunj: yes what you said is true, you have to remove the tyre and refit it, if you want to use the spare. I dont have to bother since i have different (non directional MRF tyre) as spare on steel rims and it will surely go wasted.

[RufRoc]

There's a Bridgestone Performance dealer on the Outer Ring Road, maybe a km from the Marathalli bridge (while going towards Sarjapur Signal). Felt he did a pretty neat job with the rotation/balancing and alignment. Charged 400 bucks.

Would also recommend Sai Iyengar, got my alloys from them and they do a good job too.