Mclaren's take on the baleno over the 1st 1000kms, believe it or not in 2 days..

amitoj · 22nd March 2006, 09:45

Excellent updates McLaren!
Keep em coming.
So wot u gonna do about that khatak sound? When is the tyre upgrade happening?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hari_rama

WOW 7 adults & 2 kids in a baleno?? u sure that its not 2 adults & 7 kids

Hari, u havent seen McL, have u?

mclaren1885 · 22nd March 2006, 09:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj

Excellent updates McLaren!
Keep em coming.
So wot u gonna do about that khatak sound? When is the tyre upgrade happening?

Well i have left that khatak sound to Psycho .. The tyre upgrade will happen once we decide on the dates to take the car into the workshop ..

Quote:

Hari, u havent seen McL, have u?

.. Well no words , actually ..

typeOnegative · 22nd March 2006, 10:10

Well, McLaren. All I can say is that you and your car are surely going places. LOL

Nice report. I particularly agree with the looks evaluation as I have never found the Baleno to be the ugly car it is made out to be. The side profile is awesome. The back I find okay too though not very thrilling. Your FE figures are simply amazing.

Regarding the underside scraping or whatever, please see if you can get a stone guard fitted. My Petra came fitted with one. It is a plastic part that protects most of the undercarriage. And yeah, upgrade those tyres. 13's on the Baleno suck.

Congrats on a wonderful purchase.

prabuddhadg · 22nd March 2006, 11:36

Mclaren, I just read this thread right from your first post: that report. And I used to think I drove a lot! While I must say I felt jealous reading about your drive. I just love highway driving.
My first proper drive was in a Morris 8 (1948), with wooden floor boards and a body of sheet metal as thick as a pressure cooker. It was heavy and responded to the accelerator with something like a three second lag.
Amby with its old engine was next. It was a lot better, except that it was even heavier and the brakes needed you to wedge yourself back into your seat.
A Fiat 1100 was next and felt just about the same, only smaller and easier to navigate in the unruly Calcutta traffic.
Now I am in Bombay and drive a Maruti 800, and the first time I drove it, I felt like I had stepped out of knee deep muck onto marble flooring. That's how easy this car was to manoeuvre after all the old warhorses.
But whatever the steed, the ride was something I always enjoyed. So, when I read your report, and it was obvious how much you enjoyed the ride, it felt good.
About the whistling sound, have you checked if its the wind going past the mirror?
The "khatak' too is probably what you suspect. When I drive with four passengers over one of those tiny first gear speed breakers, the front wheel mud flaps catch the breakers.
So, Happy Driving, and happy modifying.

shuvc · 22nd March 2006, 12:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

3. Stock headlamps with MGA fogs are adequate for some nice night driving ..

4. Seatbelts get stuck at times , a problem with all marutis i guess .. Used to happen on my zen too ...

Went to the dealer to check out the fogs. 12.5 K for the pair. They are actually not marked as MGA. They are imported SGA - Suzuki Genuine Accessories. Stanley make.

Haven't had problems with the seatbelt in 2 months of use.
Used to happen a lot in the Indica, specially if the car was parked at a tilted angle - say at the edge of a road.

jkdas · 22nd March 2006, 12:46

4000k in 13days? What next?

shuvc · 22nd March 2006, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

4000k in 13days? What next?

Some rest as he himself has suggested. By rough estimates, he's already run up a 12/13K fuel bill this month

mclaren1885 · 22nd March 2006, 19:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by shuvc

Went to the dealer to check out the fogs. 12.5 K for the pair. They are actually not marked as MGA. They are imported SGA - Suzuki Genuine Accessories. Stanley make.

Haven't had problems with the seatbelt in 2 months of use.
Used to happen a lot in the Indica, specially if the car was parked at a tilted angle - say at the edge of a road.

Yes most of the parts like the fogs , power retractable side mirrors , spoilers etc are not MGA but SGA (Suzuki Genuine Accessories) .. That explains why are they are so exhorbitantly priced .. Yes shuvc , stanley makes items not only for suzuki but also for honda .. Look at the brake lamp on the OHC VTEC spoiler and u can see stanley written on it .. I guess stanley is a OE supplier for a lot of these manufacturers ..

Regarding the seat belts , its not such a big pain after all .. It does eventually come out after 2 tries ..

Quote:

By rough estimates, he's already run up a 12/13K fuel bill this month

For that amount i could have gotten myself a proper work on the suspension
setup .. Too bad that i had but no choice , family commitments u see ..

Quote:

4000k in 13days? What next?

Well it was actually less than 13 days , remember the car was in for service for 1 full day , then 1 day went in getting the car registered .. After coming back from track day i gave the car a good 2 days rest .. So minus the 4 days and u have 9 days

!!!

black12rr · 22nd March 2006, 19:43

Mclaren great writeup and post writeups...just went through all the three pages ....any one after reading these 3 pages would blindly go for baleno blindfoldedly if he had to buy a car ...

keep it up..

hari_rama · 22nd March 2006, 21:38

Seriously Mclaren this is the best Baleno report i have ever read.upz to you.Like black12rr said reading this report would make one a real fan of baleno .

is power retractable mirrors an optional accessory in Baleno?any idea how much it would cost

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Yes most of the parts like the fogs , power retractable side mirrors , spoilers etc are not MGA but SGA (Suzuki Genuine Accessories) .. That explains why are they are so exhorbitantly priced .. Yes shuvc , stanley makes items not only for suzuki but also for honda .. Look at the brake lamp on the OHC VTEC spoiler and u can see stanley written on it .. I guess stanley is a OE supplier for a lot of these manufacturers ..

Regarding the seat belts , its not such a big pain after all .. It does eventually come out after 2 tries ..

For that amount i could have gotten myself a proper work on the suspension
setup .. Too bad that i had but no choice , family commitments u see ..

Well it was actually less than 13 days , remember the car was in for service for 1 full day , then 1 day went in getting the car registered .. After coming back from track day i gave the car a good 2 days rest .. So minus the 4 days and u have 9 days

!!!

kb100 · 22nd March 2006, 21:39

Man!!.... you sure have been bitten by the bug uh!!... All those kms... must be saddle-sore!

mclaren1885 · 22nd March 2006, 22:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by hari_rama

is power retractable mirrors an optional accessory in Baleno?any idea how much it would cost

Well they come standard on both the Vxi and Lxi .. Dont know the present cost , but at one point they costed 16k not sure though .. Shall look it up for u and let u know ..

shuvc · 23rd March 2006, 12:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Well they come standard on both the Vxi and Lxi .. Dont know the present cost , but at one point they costed 16k not sure though .. Shall look it up for u and let u know ..

Is @hari referring to fully retractable mirrors + casing ? 'Coz that does not come standard. Standard fitment is internal+electrical adjustment of the mirror angles, not the whole console.

Were power retractable mirrors ever an option ?

mclaren1885 · 23rd March 2006, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by shuvc

Is @hari referring to fully retractable mirrors + casing ? 'Coz that does not come standard. Standard fitment is internal+electrical adjustment of the mirror angles, not the whole console.

Were power retractable mirrors ever an option ?

My my !!! Forgive me for the confusion ..

Hari it is just the electrical adjustment of the side mirrors as in only the mirror moves with the touch of a button on the drivers side .. The entire casing was never power retractable , not even an option on the accessories list ..

hari_rama · 23rd March 2006, 23:19

By power retractable mirrors i meant those ones on honda crvs, bmws & all those big ones.These mirrors can be folded at the toggle of a button also can it be adjusted clectrically.
SAd to know its not an option in baleno :(

I somewhere read in the forum tht someone is redesigning the rear tail lamp cluster of a baleno?? any news or any pics on it?seriously i think if the tail lamps were modded the baleno will be a more looker

22nd March 2006, 10:10	#33
typeOnegative Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai, India Posts: 1,503 Thanked: 27 Times	Well, McLaren. All I can say is that you and your car are surely going places. LOL Nice report. I particularly agree with the looks evaluation as I have never found the Baleno to be the ugly car it is made out to be. The side profile is awesome. The back I find okay too though not very thrilling. Your FE figures are simply amazing. Regarding the underside scraping or whatever, please see if you can get a stone guard fitted. My Petra came fitted with one. It is a plastic part that protects most of the undercarriage. And yeah, upgrade those tyres. 13's on the Baleno suck. Congrats on a wonderful purchase.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2006, 11:36	#34
prabuddhadg BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 812 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	Mclaren, I just read this thread right from your first post: that report. And I used to think I drove a lot! While I must say I felt jealous reading about your drive. I just love highway driving. My first proper drive was in a Morris 8 (1948), with wooden floor boards and a body of sheet metal as thick as a pressure cooker. It was heavy and responded to the accelerator with something like a three second lag. Amby with its old engine was next. It was a lot better, except that it was even heavier and the brakes needed you to wedge yourself back into your seat. A Fiat 1100 was next and felt just about the same, only smaller and easier to navigate in the unruly Calcutta traffic. Now I am in Bombay and drive a Maruti 800, and the first time I drove it, I felt like I had stepped out of knee deep muck onto marble flooring. That's how easy this car was to manoeuvre after all the old warhorses. But whatever the steed, the ride was something I always enjoyed. So, when I read your report, and it was obvious how much you enjoyed the ride, it felt good. About the whistling sound, have you checked if its the wind going past the mirror? The "khatak' too is probably what you suspect. When I drive with four passengers over one of those tiny first gear speed breakers, the front wheel mud flaps catch the breakers. So, Happy Driving, and happy modifying.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2006, 12:46	#36
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	4000k in 13days? What next?
	() Thanks

22nd March 2006, 19:43	#39
black12rr Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ridin earth now Posts: 1,278 Thanked: 339 Times	Mclaren great writeup and post writeups...just went through all the three pages ....any one after reading these 3 pages would blindly go for baleno blindfoldedly if he had to buy a car ... keep it up..
	() Thanks

22nd March 2006, 21:39	#41
kb100 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangy Boy! Posts: 1,555 Thanked: 21 Times	Man!!.... you sure have been bitten by the bug uh!!... All those kms... must be saddle-sore!
	() Thanks

23rd March 2006, 23:19	#45
hari_rama BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Trichur Posts: 270 Thanked: 16 Times View My Garage	By power retractable mirrors i meant those ones on honda crvs, bmws & all those big ones.These mirrors can be folded at the toggle of a button also can it be adjusted clectrically. SAd to know its not an option in baleno :( I somewhere read in the forum tht someone is redesigning the rear tail lamp cluster of a baleno?? any news or any pics on it?seriously i think if the tail lamps were modded the baleno will be a more looker Last edited by hari_rama : 23rd March 2006 at 23:22.
	() Thanks