[govigov]

@n_aditya, how was the comfort level when compared to esteem. fatigue / pains et al?
When you go above speeds of 130, FE drops drastically, best is to keep the engine just below 2100-2200 rpm in the fifth gear. This way when you want to overtake, you have more than enough turbo boost available on tap.

@schoudry, are you sure about the head lamp upgrade not causing warranty issues?

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by govigov

@schoudry, are you sure about the head lamp upgrade not causing warranty issues?

Yes upgrading to 90/100w bulbs doesn't void your warranty that I can assure you . But if any issue comes up because of this 90/100 bulbs, which is highly unlikely ,then they may not come under warranty claims .
Anyways , just upgrading to 90/100 bulb with proper relay will never ever cause any issues .

People even said upgrading to 15" tyre will void your warranty , which is absolutely not true.
I had some issues with the suspension and stuff were replaced under warranty, no questions were asked . I am not sure about other brand , but Maruti doesn't make any fuss about these things.

Hope it helps
Cheers

[chncar]

Originally Posted by chncar

I have a question on the right tyre pressure for the 185/70 R14 tyres on the Ritz, perhaps you can help since these are the stock tyres on your car. What are the manufacturer recommended tyre pressures for the Ritz ZDi?

Hi Aditya,

Please help with this query if possible, thanks!

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Yes. The esteem is much lower and one would feel like he or she is sitting on the road and driving. The esteem also has a lot of body roll and at high speeds it tends to feel like it is lifting off the ground. IMO, the Ritz is definitely better in terms of cornering and has significantly lesser body roll compared to the esteem.

I'm not sure if this is because of the higher weight of the diesel or the better tyred Z variant or a combination of both, but I'm far more comfortable taking a corner on my 800 than my Ritz Lxi. If I take a corner at 40 kmph on my 800, I'd slow down to atleast 30 kmph if not lesser on the Ritz. Tall boy + short wheelbase is not a good combination for corner carving. It's a very practical hatch with good build quality(by Maruti standards) but not one I'd call fun to drive. Can't comment on the diesel variant though as I haven't driven one.

Also at speeds above 110 kmph there is a lot of wind noise on the Ritz so I stick to a max of 90-100 kmph on good open highways. Moreover the steering feedback at speeds above 100 is not very confidence inspiring. With respect to steering feedback Ford takes the cake.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by theMAG

When I had last upgraded to 90/100 on my Swift, Narva ruled the roost. Currently, Osram Nightbreakers are said to be at the top-of-the-charts. Avoid Bosch - lot of fakes around. Philips is average.

Thanks Mahesh. I checked the Osram website and the Nightbreakers are only showing 55/60W. Are they available in 90/100W as well?

Originally Posted by theMAG

On another note - after 10K kms, methinks you should definitely consider a remap or an RD box for your car!

On my highway drive i was wondering how it would feel to drive with a remap or an RD box. Will definitely consider this after a year or so.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The problem is nothing do with OEM's it's to do with the drivers. The only reason you will feel your headlights are not good is when you are blinded by drivers using high beams from oncoming traffic. 90/100 will basically help with illumination and you will effectively be blinding that guy even more.

Originally Posted by no_boundaries

I know i've asked the same question before, how was the driving comfort and did you feel any fatigue at all. I'm asking this specifically with respect to the wrist and ankle pain and the lower back pain if any.

Initially when the car was new and when i was driving to work and back i used to experience pain in my ankles due to constant pressing of the clutch. It took a while to get used to the hydraulic clutch and i adjusted the seat height and the problem vanished.

I took only 2 breaks on my drive from Chennai to Blore and had no complaints whatsoever. No pain from my ankles or my wrist.

Of course, an arm rest would have added more comfort to the driving experience.

Originally Posted by govigov

@n_aditya, how was the comfort level when compared to esteem. fatigue / pains et al?

I feel the Ritz is a lot more comfortable and less strenuous since the seating is higher and the front visibility is excellent. The esteem was comfy too, don't get me wrong but this takes the comfort levels up a few notches higher.

The brakes on the esteem felt inadequate at high speeds. Also after a long drive i used to feel a bit tired in the esteem but with the Ritz i did not feel the stress of driving 350 kms at a stretch.

Originally Posted by chncar

I have a question on the right tyre pressure for the 185/70 R14 tyres on the Ritz, perhaps you can help since these are the stock tyres on your car. What are the manufacturer recommended tyre pressures for the Ritz ZDi?

Recommended cold tire pressures for the ZDi with 185 section tires are 32 psi in the front and 29 psi at the rear.

[crazyfordriving]

Congratulations Aditya, the color just looks awesome. Loved the carbon finishing on B pillars, that is gonna be the first thing I'm gonna do with my Ritz after it comes back here.
Wish you lots and lots of miles.

I wasn't a member when you bought the car, so a bit late reply.

[n_aditya]

Drove down to Chennai on tue evening for a function and this time i was better prepared for the night drive.

I bought the Osram Nightbreaker Plus bulbs in the stock rating from a distributor in Wilson Garden, Blore. I bought a set of headlight bulbs (H4) and a set of fog lamp bulbs (H8) and these cost me 2200 bucks. Got these installed at the Mandovi Motors service center in the same area for 50 bucks. Took less than 15 mins for the mechanic to install the bulbs.

Earlier, the fog lamps were hardly of any use and functioned more like a set of DRL's but after the bulb switch/upgrade, i must say that the fog's are super bright and i don't need the headlights in the city at all. Not even the low beam.

Before the switch to the Osram's, I had to crane my neck and see if the fog's were working but now they are very bright and light up the road immediately in front of the car without the need for low beam lights inside the city limits.

I highly recommend that existing Ritz owners who are looking for better lighting go in for such an install, instead of planning for 90/100 W bulbs and fitting a relay which involves load on the electrical system and a possible warranty lapse.

These bulbs are brilliant and significantly better than the stock bulbs. Miles ahead and a world of difference I would say.

On my earlier trip, around 2 weeks back, i was struggling to cross the 80kph mark due to limited visibility from the stock headlights but this time i comfortably managed to touch 130kph on some wide and open stretches where traffic was sparse.

I cruised between 100 and 120 kays and i recall I covered 97 kms in one hour in the late evening (around 9pm).

Big thanks to our friendly moderator, Vidyut (vid6639) for suggesting me these bulbs.

I dont have comparo pics of stock vs. the Osram's but these pics will indicate how bright these osrams are.

These were shot in my parking lot using my phone camera. Earlier i had to switch on the tube light just above my parking spot since the corner slot gets very dark even in the daytime but now the fog's are more than enough.

Hope these pics help interested members in making the right decision.

Fog lamps:





Low Beams + Fog's:



High Beams + Fog's:



Fog lamps:



Low Beams + Fog's:



High Beams + Fog's:



Only disadvantage of installing these bulbs was lower FE, due to higher speeds.

I got an average of 18.5kmpl to and fro from chennai with a/c.

On the drive to Chennai, I got 21.5 kmpl. I have measured the FE by tankful to tankful method and there is only a 0.5 kmpl variance between this and the MID indicator for FE.

In 2.5 months, the odo has crossed 4000 kms.

[crazyfordriving]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

I bought the Osram Nightbreaker Plus bulbs in the stock rating from a distributor in Wilson Garden, Blore.

Dealer details please. How are these compared to 100/90?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by crazyfordriving

Dealer details please. How are these compared to 100/90?

This is a distributor (M/S Kolleenal) in Wilson Garden, Blore who also stocks Formula1 and Mobil1 products.

Contact person - Mr. Rajesh - 09742-33-22-55.

GPS coordinates - 12.948452, 77.59753

No clue on the comparo with 100/90 since i did not want to install high power bulbs which could lead to reflector dullness, extreme heat causing sockets and other parts getting affected and any warranty issues.

IMHO, these are more than enough and negate the need for anything more powerful unless you plan on off roading in pitch dark places. For the highways these are more than adequate. The difference between these and stock bulbs are evident once you switch on the lights on the highway.

[guyfrmblr]

I got the Osram Nightbreaker Plus installed on my i20 yesterday. I'm extremely satisfied with the low beam but somehow not able to notice a huge difference in the high beam. How are you finding the high beam compared to your stock bulbs? Maybe I should check the alignment of the headlamps or should take it to a highway to see the actual effect.

I have uploaded the pics of the new installation in my ownership thread.

[n_aditya]

This last weekend, I drove down to Mysore and back with family.

A visit to the Nimishamba temple (link) was on the cards for a few months so we planned the trip on Sat morning.

We also visited the palace, first visit for my wife and for me it was after some 20 years or so. IMHO, the palace visit was just about OK. I guess we were expecting too much. A lot of areas were cordoned off and we were frankly disappointed. I vaguely remember seeing a lot more of the palace some 20 yrs back.

We also paid a visit to the zoo which my son was eagerly looking forward to. I love wildlife so i spent quite a bit of time observing the magnificent tigers and the majestic lions.

On the way back, we encountered some pretty heavy rainfall. I guess it caught most of the vehicle users off guard as I noticed a busa, R1 and some other SBK's puttering along in the rain on the wet roads.

The car delivered an average FE of around 20 kmpl with a/c.

The odo reads some 4,800 odd kms in just 2.5 months.

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

I got the Osram Nightbreaker Plus installed on my i20 yesterday. I'm extremely satisfied with the low beam but somehow not able to notice a huge difference in the high beam. How are you finding the high beam compared to your stock bulbs? Maybe I should check the alignment of the headlamps or should take it to a highway to see the actual effect.

The high beams are not that evident inside the city due to the powerful sodium vapor lamps. But on the highway, it lights up very well and I was able to comfortable cruise at triple digits. It lights up the road for almost a couple of kms ahead.

[nkrishnap]

How were the osram night breakers in the rain assuming that the rainfall was after dark? Does the light sort of gets absorbed when there is on coming traffic?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

How were the osram night breakers in the rain assuming that the rainfall was after dark? Does the light sort of gets absorbed when there is on coming traffic?

Well, it was raining pretty hard and with the wipers on full speed, i had to reduce speed drastically to double digits since immediate visibility in front of the car was a concern. This however was not related to the headlights.

After the rain eased out, i had no major issues in visibility but noticed a slight difference in the lighting when the roads are wet.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

The odo reads some 4,800 odd kms in just 2.5 months.
It lights up the road for almost a couple of kms ahead.

Looks like you are enjoying your time with the Ritz to the T, pretty good figures for a diesel car

Originally Posted by n_aditya

On my highway drive i was wondering how it would feel to drive with a remap or an RD box. Will definitely consider this after a year or so.

Recommended cold tire pressures for the ZDi with 185 section tires are 32 psi in the front and 29 psi at the rear.

Ahh you were wondering on breaking your warranty with the 90/100 bulbs and appears that you are planning to upgrade for a RD box. However it is a very good upgrade and the vehicle delivers excellent pickup (for a 1300 CC) with little or no impact on the mileage. Having driven a car with RD Setup and K&N Air filter the car does breathe in more freely making the Low End more hassle free.

What are the specifications of the H8 Bulbs that you have put on? Am mightily impressed with the fog lamps but 2200 seems to be a bit of an overkill for a poor guy like me :(

Thought that Maruti suggests 36 for the front and 33 for the rear? Can you please check with the sticker on the door panel and confirm?

Just for my understanding as for my Swift I put 36 for the front & 33 for the rear. (do not see much of a difference between the Swift & Ritz as they are nearly identical with their body weights except that Ritz is a bit more taller)

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Ahh you were wondering on breaking your warranty with the 90/100 bulbs and appears that you are planning to upgrade for a RD box.

It was just a thought on the RD box sir, just for a minute or so. Not planning on it as yet.

Originally Posted by ku69rd

What are the specifications of the H8 Bulbs that you have put on? Am mightily impressed with the fog lamps but 2200 seems to be a bit of an overkill for a poor guy like me :(

The bulbs are the same specs as stock. 12v 55/60w.

For 2 headlight bulbs and 2 fog lamp bulbs i paid 2200 bucks. Works out to 550 bucks per bulb which is very reasonable. Significantly cheaper than buying higher watt bulbs, a relay/wiring harness and ceramic holders.

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Thought that Maruti suggests 36 for the front and 33 for the rear? Can you please check with the sticker on the door panel and confirm?

Confirmed sir. The sticker on the door panel recommends 32psi at the front and 29 psi for the rear tires, this for the 185 section tires which are shod on the ZDi variant.