My comprehensive BALENO ownership thread

[binz]

Finally decided to start this report,had had plenty of experiences with the Baleno so far,some brilliant some not so. Have replaced a lot of parts on the car,normal wear and tear,some due to negligence.

But today the car is in much much better shape than when we first got it a couple of years back,second-hand at around 40k+ km. Its now done 74000kms and the engine is still in great shape.Got my muffler changed again(4th time) i believe and i'm finally satisfied with the way she sounds and moves.Its a custom twin tip fabricated by one of blueraven's contacts.Shall post the picture.

Dropped the car in U.M. Motors here in Indiranagar, have built up a great rapport with the Service advisor Sivaram and he takes brilliant care of the car everytime its dropped there.

A wheel stud had broken and had to be replaced.
The rear camber adjustment bolts couldn't be tightened fully.The bolts were slipping.Those were ordered(MGP) but the washers which were slipping too aren't available and they are baleno-specific so the middle had to be welded and filed.Problem solved wheels aligned perfectly!

Slight leak noticed on the power steering pump. Was told by Sivaram that they do not know how to change the seals(rather they wouldn't do so as they might not get the sizes right) as they are instructed to replace the entire pump(SGP 20,000INR). Saving grace was that the seals could be replaced outside for a few hundreds.This shall get done tomorrow,driving the car without power-steering with 205-15 inchers is not easy!

Bumpers

Have seen many baleno's with a gap between the sides of the bumper and the
body.I had thought the clamp on the bumper had broken but it turns out that the clamp is on the body itself.Will post a pic and explain this better.

[BlackPearl]

Great going binz. I sold mine at 52000 Km on the odo.

[binz]

Started off with the stock 165-80-13 on stock Aura rims(Mine's the vxi!)
Brilliant ride quality, absolutely pathetic handling/braking and feels unstable at cruising speeds.Ran these till I could convince my dad to get something better.

Next buy was a set of 195-60-14 Yokohama ES100s on swift steel rims.The tires exceeded by a large margin the limits at which I drove.I would recommend this size to anyone looking for a upgrade for good comfort and performance.Got a set of 14" alloys in the meantime,and ran the setup for about 10k kms till I sold them.Just a note,the tires used to bulge a bit on the side on the swift steel rims so preferably use 6j/6.5j rims.

While running the 14s tried Mclaren's 195-50-15 Yokohama Advan Neovas for a week( Something which i regret) on 15" corolla rims.The car looked mean with the black rims and the wide section neovas. It gripped like crazy!Have ranted a lot about these tires on other threads so i won't start here again.I will say though that the car was faster( The size was chosen by an ace rally driver) ride was compromised a bit.

Move over es100s next major buy were a set of Lenso blitz 15" 7J 7-Spoke rims with a +38 offset and a set of my very own 195-55-15 Ad-07s.
It costed a BOMB!But NOW I feel it was well worth it.Ride was much better than the previous 50 profiles.Wont start about handling.Was flamed a lot by plenty of members because of the lack of tread on the tires.They still gripped like mad but we destroyed them completely after 60+ laps during the recently held trackday at the mmst.

Now currently running a set Hankook Ventus k102 205-50-15 on the same rims.Nowhere as close to the neovas but they are really good for what they are worth.Ride quality is decent,considering they are on 7J rims.Not as noisy as the neovas!

Overall,from my little experience,I think the 195-55-15 are the best for those leaning towards performance whereas 195-60-14 is a good compromise between ride and handling.

Tire pressures maintained between 28-30 on the digital meters at shell/BP.

Trivia:You cannot mount 175 section tires on 7j rims. I tried

[iceman91]

The steering pump seals can be replaced for a few hundred rupees but do not last and the mechanics do not recommend this.
Do take the relialbility factor into consideration and the risks of failure.

[vikram_d]

Binz, If your stop flying your car over speed breakers, it will last you really long.

Oh and also stop sitting on the roof for photo shoots.

[filcord]

Maybe a better title for this thread would be:
How to max a Baleno in every way.
I feel like a little old lady with my Baleno after reading what Binz does with his car!

[binz]

Filcord .. vikram is just pulling my leg,coz of some dents on the roof. I haven't made the car fly (yet!).

[binz]

Dropped in the speedo console for some work yesterday,though the guages were backlit white,the needles cannot be illuminated so those are being replaced with needles than can.
More on the backlit speedo here (White instrument cluster on a baleno w/pics!)

Should be done by the time i get the car back from the garage.

Installed a Parrot CK3000 evolution bluetooth kit too,plugs into the stock harnesses and seamlessly integrates with the Blaupunkt MP46 head unit.Voice clarity is superb,so far the nobody has complained about echoing etc.It also mutes the music playing autmatically when a call comes in.Costs about 100$

[iceman91]

what about the exhaust? Did you get it looked at?

[binz]

Not yet,will get it checked by 3pm.Nice avatar!

[vikram_d]

The exhaust on bonoy's car gets looked at every two months. I don't think any more looking is needed.

[iceman91]

ok also check the headers at the joint if its correct. Cos my car too has a leak again :(

Thanks, the pic is taken by you.

[binz]

Spoke to Shreshta about the exhaust Amit,he said the sound is typical 4x1 and is also being characterized by the material used to make the muffler.

Got the Speedo console back today,needles look SEXY!!

Work has started on the power steering oil seals.Car should be back Tuesday.


@Iceman .. I picked them up!!!!

[iceman91]

nice nice now a pic of the speedo so i can get it done too

[binz]

Got the car back today from Motorsmiths.
Steering overhaul + Labour + Power steering belt + PS oil + a body wash was Rs 4500/-
Steering is a lot lighter than before,looking good so far,lets see if it holds up.

Put the Speedo console back,and Blueraven got my Head unit serviced (Rs 250/-)so put that back also.

Here the pics:

Second pis is the controller for the Bluetooth kit,its on the left of the handbrake .