[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Another little tip that I discovered - in the early days, fortunately. The grille between the bonnet and the front windshield is only useful to trap fallen leaves, dirt, and then rainwater entry makes a further mess of things there that are close to impossible to clean, leaving a possible rust trap in place. I solved this little headache by applying wide Scotch tape the entire length when the car was new, and every few months I apply it again as a simple and fast renewal, with more lengths applied before every monsoon season starts. It looks a little messy now, but that doesn't matter much on a Gypsy; more importantly, it is very effective.

Oh yes. That vent is a headache during rains. Even i used tape to seal it off else the water used to seep in. Another place where the water comes in is from the gap between the foldable windscreen and bonnet. Try to insert a rubber beading in this gap and you are sorted.

Else every time you take a fast right, the drivers feet get washed and with a left, the passengers feet. Its quite funny when your passenger shrieks and says, 'kidhar se to paani aaya andar' and you keep cool stating that's normal.

Another tip is to remove the rubber grommets from the floor so that the water drains out.

Cheers,
Raj

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

The grille between the bonnet and the front windshield is only useful to trap fallen leaves, dirt, and then rainwater entry makes a further mess of things

Is that vent suppose to serve any purpose, by design?

[Sawyer]

The vent is meant to provide fresh air via the front panel, when set to fresh air; I doubt it does much of that, but I would not know for sure since mine has been taped up from day 1.

I have never had any water coming in from the place you mention. Where I get soaked is if I forget to clear accumulated rain water on the soft top, when taking a turn and the front sleeve next to the window of either the driver or the passenger gets drenched depending on which side one turns. Any time the car has stood in rain, one needs to keep the windows up, and push the roof up a few times in the right places so that the standing water flows away first.

All the little things one learns in use with the car - I have also never had to remove the rubber grommets from the floor pan, they do their job of keeping the water out. The only time I remove them is when the car needs to be hosed down from inside with a pipe.

One problem I have never solved is cabin fogging up in the rains. One has to then have the windows down, with the inevitable soaking of the shirt.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

One problem I have never solved is cabin fogging up in the rains. One has to then have the windows down, with the inevitable soaking of the shirt.

You can install an AC or get the door visors which will enable you to keep the window down a few inches and will also keep the rain water from coming inside.

[Sawyer]

AC is ruled out for reliability, and I don't need it anyway. I haven't found the visors to work; the problem is that the place to install them in a gypsy is so thin, that any visors that fit there are very flimsy and of little use even when they stay in place.

[antihero]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

You can install an AC or get the door visors which will enable you to keep the window down a few inches and will also keep the rain water from coming inside.

Rain visors work for light rain but they do not prevent windshield misting in a Western Ghat monsoon shower/deluge. I found this out on my dismay during a Western Ghat trip last year.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

AC is ruled out for reliability, and I don't need it anyway. I haven't found the visors to work; the problem is that the place to install them in a gypsy is so thin, that any visors that fit there are very flimsy and of little use even when they stay in place.

Ok for the visors. But why is AC ruled out due to reliability. An AC in the Gypsy can be reliable if done properly by the right person / expert.

I never faced any overheating issues, ever. I think you can go ahead with that.

[Sawyer]

"Done properly" is the issue, and then, maintaining it. In Pune, I just don't use the car for the three months of summer; since there isn't the humidity, it isn't a problem to run without AC the rest of the time and I have settled into that practice since 2009.

I could not use the car in places like Mumbai/Goa/Chennai without AC. For the rains, I have shirts that look equally bad irrespective of being wet or dry!

[shyamkrish]

Hi All,

I gave the Gypsy for the 1000 Km service. The dealer asked me if i would like to coat the undercarriage with anti-rust coating with Metachem. Honestly iam not for it

Just wanted to check if its needed. As long as i wash the undercarriage monthly i should be ok right? Moreover Madurai is not coastal so i dont see any rust issue

Please let me know if anyone has done it

Thanks

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by shyamkrish

The dealer asked me if i would like to coat the undercarriage with anti-rust coating with Metachem.

Undercarriage coating definitely helps in the long run - you should get it done in case you plan to keep the Gypsy for long term (6+ years). I get it done for all my new cars - will also get it done for my soon-to-arrive Gypsy. However, instead of getting it done from the dealer, I'd recommend getting it done from a 3M outlet, if available in Madurai.

[Sawyer]

I have a different view about undercoats and I don't do it on any of my cars. My understanding is that it can act to trap moisture in places where the inevitable break down in the coat happens, encouraging corrosion. I also think that modern cars have improved so much in this area that no after market treatment is now needed.

Even a monthly undercarriage wash isn't a must. All that is needed is this kind of a pressure wash if you have driven on muddy roads where the undercarriage and wheel wells have been coated with mud, to clean off all the accumulated stuff.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Latest update - Air force Blue is not available as an option for civilian buyers :( It is reserved for Air Force only. So Dolphin Blue it is! The wait continues!

Just had a chat with the dealer - production in Maruti Suzuki plants was suspended for a few days due to fire at Subros! This might impact the production schedule for Gypsy's as well Well, just need to be patient I guess...

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by shyamkrish

Hi All,

I gave the Gypsy for the 1000 Km service. The dealer asked me if i would like to coat the undercarriage with anti-rust coating with Metachem. Honestly iam not for it

Please let me know if anyone has done it

Thanks

I got this Metachem coating on my 800 last week, and they had two versions of it-a greycoloured paint like coating for passenger cars, and a different black color rubberised coating for Gypsy, Omni and Eeco variants. I chose the latter as it also offered some noise insulation, apart from being incredibly protective(have used many anti rusts like 3M underseal, Body schutz and Wurth, found metachem the best of the lot).

Kindly go through the link below-
Click to open

In my opinion, its always advisable to get the anti-rust done in the earlier stages of ownership. It helps in protecting the factory paint from chipping and degrading.

Regards,
Shashi

[Amrik Singh]

I solved the problem of Water ingress through slots below Windshield by placing a thin Aluminium plate (used by Car / Scooter Number Plate manufacturer), made one surface rough and pasted it with Silicone sealant over the slots. Pasted a matching colour, specially designed decal over the entire width of the horizontal part of body. Permanently closed the slots.
But
Do not know where some water still drips near pedals at the feet during rain.

[Sawyer]

I had thought about something like the plate solution and was using the 3M tape as a temporary answer. It worked so well however, that it proved enough once I added on more tape on top of the old one at the start of the monsoons every year.

I am perhaps lucky, but no leaks of any kind in the rains if the front windows are all the way up. With them down, and when driving, rain gets inside. As does standing water pooled in the soft top on turns, if one has forgotten to get that to drain away first.