Palio 1.6 GTX – Initial review of a used 2002 model

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by bottle

Good luck with your pet project Gaurav , looks like its going great already.

About 195/60 R14 scraping the wheel wells could you point out where exactly there is contact ? because there is a fellow bhpian with a palio stile 1.6 and 195 tyres but he hasnt complained about this

The outside edge of the tires scraped the inside of the wheel well where the rear bumper is attached. I will try to post a pic or two of the tires tomorrow to give you a better idea.

The guy where I bought my tires actually had a chart that showed that the 195/60 14 size to be an acceptable fit, so I did not expect the rubbing, and was really surprised that this happened. This type of rubbing can actually be dangerous if it happens at high speed and results in a blowout.

I probably overeacted by pulling out a big hammer and electric grinder. I hammered around the lip and banged away until there was a lot of clearance. Then I proceeded to grind away the bumper mounting sheet metal, so there was no chance of any rubbing ever.

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Thanks Gaurav. That was indeed a detailed feedback.
I will see if I can get hold of them in Bangalore.

Just so you know, the guy that did this injector clean for me was positive about the fact that you cannot purchase this Liqui Moly product in the retail market. Apparently it is only available to dealers, etc.

They charged me Rs.500 for the can of chemical, and 300 for labor.

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by bottle

Good luck with your pet project Gaurav , looks like its going great already.

About 195/60 R14 scraping the wheel wells could you point out where exactly there is contact ? because there is a fellow bhpian with a palio stile 1.6 and 195 tyres but he hasnt complained about this

I just snapped some pictures of the tire rub marks, and my crude fender rolling job using a large hammer.

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

Really thorough job you have done there. Great!

Cosmetically, there are a few more things to be done (apart from what has been said already):

1. FIAT badge in the front.
2. "1.6" badge at the rear
3. 100 16V badge on the left fender. Samyak should have all the badges in stock, from my experience.
3. Get rid of the mudflaps. They look OK on the 1.2s, but the GTX looks better without them. If you want, I can share my GTX's picture for reference.
4. The cover for the tow-away tether is missing from the rear bumper. Ask the Samyak body shop people to get on for you from a damaged bumper, so that you do not have to buy a new one just for that.

Rear seat belts are hard to get. I have been pushing Vivek and Samyak for the past 2 months. Do post pics of the interior.

Agreed on the cosmetic issues such as denting and painting. Will have the front FIAT round badge installed when body work is done. I am just debating where to have the body work done. I like the fact that Samyak has all parts in stock and have experience with doing Fiats, but they are very expensive. Do you have any recommendations for a good shop for denting/painting in the NCR?

But I am going to leave out the badges, since I like the clean lines without extra lettering. I plan to just leave the "Palio GTX" on the rear of the car, so people will know what just passed them.

I am taking your advise on the mudflaps and will remove them. You are right, it will look much better.

Do post pics of your Palio, would love to see them.

Not having rear seat belts is really strange, do any Palios have these? If so, is this a straight forward install?

Thanks,

[TOR]

Do you have the tyre rubbing problem only on one side? the panel seems to be reworked(? accident repair) maybe that is the reason for the 'rubbing', anyway nice buy, please do post some interior pictures also.

[khan_sultan]

Hi Gaurav,

Your post reminds me of my experience of buying my Palio 1.6 S10.

Originally Posted by RedMM340

.....Honda VTEC cars are great performers, but cost 3L plus for decent condition cars....

Fully agree. In fact after buying my S10, I wrote a post on why I bought an S10 over a Vtec. In Bangalore you will be amazed of know what kind of prices are being quoted for OHC Vtec ~4L + for a decent car.

Originally Posted by RedMM340

.....Pending upgrades (short term):
Not sure whether to use a K&N universal or K&N replacement filter to fit in stock air box.......

I would suggest that you go for the Green STORM CAI + Dynamization Kit and NOT the K&N. I find it much better than K&N and also my friends who had K&N in their Palio 1.6 also recommend NOT to go for K&N. I have installed Green STORM and am very much satisfied with it. Here is the link to the post I wrote about it. Green Storm CAI

Originally Posted by RedMM340

At a total budget of <2L, you just can’t get more VFM. The air conditioning works great with a nice chilled interior. Vehicle build quality is great and feels very solid and safe. Great vehicle for around town driving, very comfortable. The really nice thing about the Palio 1.6 GTX is that it has a sort of split personality; you can drive it nice and slow for fuel economy or you can put the pedal to the floor and drive it like a rally car. The GTX has a real jewel of an engine that is free revving and has a large usable range of engine rpm.

Spot on. If you are looking for a used performance hatch at a budget of ~2L, you can;t get better VFM than a Palio 1.6. The build quality, the solidity, the performance is brilliant. You put it very nicely by saying that it has a split personality -- easy going in the city and a pocket rocket on the highways.

Originally Posted by RedMM340

This Palio is definitely a fuel guzzler, but the performance is great. It is really strong on the highways, and passing is no problem. In fact having terrific acceleration is an important safety aspect on Indian roads.

Having driven a santro before as my daily ride, I can vouch for the fact that overtaking on highways with a Palio 1.6 is a breeze. You just downshift and floor the acclarator.

It is really a fuel guzzler. No doubt about that but at an avg of ~9KM/L, it is ok.

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Problems
Brakes are inadequate at high speeds (over 100 kph). Anyone with suggestions on how to improve brakes? Did a thorough flush with DOT 4 fluid, and it helped a little.

Agree. In fact the absence of ABS is a great drawback. Even I am looking on tips on how to increase braking aspects of the Palio

Originally Posted by RedMM340

..Not having rear seat belts is really strange, do any Palios have these? If so, is this a straight forward install?...

I have the rear seat belts on my S10. I think it should be a straight install. The earlier Palio's didn't come with rear seat belts.

[GTO]

An enthusiast on a budget of 2 lac rupees really cant do better than the Palio 1.6. Congrats, Gaurav! Your garage is getting better by the day.

Drove about 2 hours to Noida from my house, and told the mechanic that I wanted the car to be repaired to the point that it should be as good as a new vehicle. The mechanic was a bit unused to this level of maintenance level, but gradually understood that my standards of repair and quality were the vehicle should be “as new” condition. If a part had the slightest issue, my instruction was replace it!

You have practically restored the entire car with that long list!

[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Agreed on the cosmetic issues such as denting and painting. Will have the front FIAT round badge installed when body work is done. I am just debating where to have the body work done. I like the fact that Samyak has all parts in stock and have experience with doing Fiats, but they are very expensive. Do you have any recommendations for a good shop for denting/painting in the NCR?

But I am going to leave out the badges, since I like the clean lines without extra lettering. I plan to just leave the "Palio GTX" on the rear of the car, so people will know what just passed them.

I am taking your advise on the mudflaps and will remove them. You are right, it will look much better.

Do post pics of your Palio, would love to see them.

Not having rear seat belts is really strange, do any Palios have these? If so, is this a straight forward install?

Thanks,

Unfortunately, I would not be able to guide you on a good body shop in NCR. I always go to Samyak because their people are able to 'merge' the paint without painting the whole body panel. And you really cannot tell the difference unless you are *really* out to look for it. So that way, it is cheaper. I have lost my faith in Vivek Auto seeing the way they treat the cars when the customers are not around.

Agreed on leaving out some of the badges. I do feel sometimes that there are too many badges on the car. Was giving my suggestion just for the sake of completeness sake ('the stock look').

Rear seat belts are a direct fit (so Samyak and Vivek people tell me), but it is a very slow moving item. I have been waiting for a long time for these. Price is Rs. 4000.

I just created my garage yesterday. Do come and take a look!

[airfoil]

Congratulations on a well thought out and executed project. I own a 2001 GTX and am as enthusiastic about it as I was when I bought it new.

I can't help but wince though, when I see what you've done to help the tyre clearance problem! I'd rather downsize or find another solution that do that to the bodywork.

Funny thing is, I've had 195/60 R14 Potenzas on the car for a while now and have never faced any scraping issues even under full load. Was the car loaded to the gills when the scraping occurred? Perhaps the rear suspension needed/needs looking at as well.

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by TOR

Do you have the tyre rubbing problem only on one side? the panel seems to be reworked(? accident repair) maybe that is the reason for the 'rubbing', anyway nice buy, please do post some interior pictures also.

I am also starting to suspect that the tire rubbing may have been due to the damaged rear dead axle and worn out rear shocks. I probably was a bit hasty in whipping out the denting hammer and grinder. That's what happens when you buy a car for 85K. No hesitation in banging it into shape with a hathodi & chheni. Which by the way is the ultimate Indian multi-purpose tool!

The rear dead axle has been replaced with a new one and the shocks are also brand new. Well I guess there will have to be some touch up paint done now!

Pics of the interior are posted below:

[rmonie]

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Do you have any recommendations for a good shop for denting/painting in the NCR?

I regularly use ORIX in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon. They have an excellent body shop and the paint matching is excellent. I have had them repaint a left fender on my Octy (Cayenne Orange) and the rear bumper as well. The job is over a year old and there no fade or difference. Orix is an authorised Fiat service center. PM me for the service manager number if you plan on using them.

[supremeBaleno]

Wow, you seem to have done a real good job on getting a rundown car to super condition. Great work there.

BTW, it won't be a bad idea to have the ex-owner (the IBM dude) have a dekko at the car as it is now. I am sure he would be flabbergasted.

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Of course there were some cars that were quicker. There was a crazy guy in Punjab in an Accent CRDi that I could not keep up with

Ha, when did headers(vikram) go to Punjab with his Accent-D ?

[arajand]

Is it just me or are there two sets of floor mats in the car?

If I knew so much about cars as you, I would have bought a used Palio. . Great stuff.

[bottle]

Thanks for clearing that up about the tyres. Car looks in pretty decent condition considering its age actually. Other than the bodywork and painting are there any other cosmetic upgrades in the works ?

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by bottle

Thanks for clearing that up about the tyres. Car looks in pretty decent condition considering its age actually. Other than the bodywork and painting are there any other cosmetic upgrades in the works ?

No not any cosmetic upgrades, I just want this thing to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Looks like a nice normal econo-hatchback on the outside with a firecracker engine and nice sticky tires.

If I could only find someone to do quality engine tuning that has actually done a Palio 1.6 before. Maybe I have to drive south for a road trip to get this done.