[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

You are still using the old glass type reflector headlamps, thought about upgrading to the clear ones?

Yep, had given them a thought once. But didn't implement as it had some issues:

1. I somehow like the Type 2 look. Specially the TL part of the Type 3 800 looks weird to me. And I wouldn't look my car to look like a mix and match of different models(Read Type 3 from front and Type 2 from rear).

2. Secondly and most importantly, the front section on which the lamp sits(Lamp support) needs some extensive modifications like cutting and drilling, and I am not a big fan of modification of the chassis structure in anyway. If you notice closely, all my mods are completely reversible in nature. Even the wiper mod can be reversed easily by replacing the hatch.

Lamp support is welded to the apron, and I wouldn't like to touch it.

3. Quality of Type 3 lamps is very bad. They tend to fade easily and needs lot of upkeep. No such issue with glass ones. They are 19 year old and still look clean. Even the throw of Type 3 HL is very poor, despite being clear lens.

Regards,
Shashi

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

A photo of similar wheels on my Alto. These were OEM Santro wheels which I painted and put the Suzuki Centre.

Can you share the part number of the Suzuki Centre cap which you used for these alloys?

Regards,
Shashi

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Can you share the part number of the Suzuki Centre cap which you used for these alloys?

Regards,
Shashi

Let me check my hard disk for photos of the wrapper. I'm sure I clicked some pics.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Let me check my hard disk for photos of the wrapper. I'm sure I clicked some pics.

Any luck with the part number of those caps?

Regards,
Shashi

[Leoshashi]

Mission Alloy Wheels: Since the day this thread was created, people always asked me one thing: When am I getting alloys for my baby. Some of the comments I remember are:

Originally Posted by Sheel

While I am all about keeping the car as mint as I can, I just can't resist to suggest you to think about adding alloy wheels for your M-800.

Originally Posted by anoopash

Any plans on getting new set of Alloys?

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

I would suggest you if possible add a good set of pretty wheels on your car as it does make the car standout.

To which my reply was:

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

No sir, unfortunately not. My requirements are simple:

1. MGA/MGP or from a known manufacturer
2. No Multi PCD alloys(hate multiple hole designs).

Most of the OEM offerings including that on the Zen carbon/steel were from Aura wheels, which doesn't make alloy wheels anymore. I got some alloys from manufacturers like Plati & Neo, but either they had discontinued offerings for Zen/800 with 114.3 PCD, or offered multi-PCD designs.

I did try using Zen's wheelcaps on Black rims, and some of the folks were pretty vocal about it, and I am grateful to them for their love. They spoke out their mind because they love GG. I too didn't like the wheelcaps as much as I had imagined.

Originally Posted by Viju

Dear Shashi,If at all you want a change in the looks, please see if you can source a set of MGA alloy wheels for the 800.

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Putting in wheels that don't belong with the car and with those awful looking wheel covers will spoil the efforts you have been putting in till now.

Wheels are a major part of the personality of a car and tells you within seconds whether a car is an original or not.

Reasons for looking for alloys:

More than the looks, I wanted alloys since:

1. Steel rims add up to the weight. The alloys are much lighter.

2. Mount any steel rim on a balancing machine and some degree of eccentricity is always noticeable. Even on new ones. This induced some degree of wobble at some speed(mostly low).

3. Better cooling of brakes.

4. Looks!

But yes, I had certain strict requirements in mind, which took me so long to find them.


1. No Multi PCD alloys. I hate the aftermarket looks, with 4 empty holes. Also, common sense says that they should be structurally weaker near the hubs. While I am yet to see any failure, I came across this post by Late Behram Dhabar Sir, which was firmly engraved in my mind, and I had no reason not to believe him:




2. Should be from a reputed manufacturer. No chinese alloys!

3. Should be of the exact same specs as my factory rim. No offset/PCD/hub centering issues. I am not someone who would flaunt protruding wheels while killing the wheel arch.

Needless to say, it was impossible to fulfill all these conditions, hence GG happily remained without alloys for all these years.

How I got these alloys: Maruti did sell MGA alloy wheels for Maruti 800, before 2008. They were made by Hindalco aka Aura Wheels and were of awesome quality. After Aura wheels shut down, there was no decent option for M800. Recently, I came to know that there was 1 alloy wheel in stock in Coimbatore, and 5 in Pune. These were the only stocks left in India, 6 of them. All of them are made between 2005 to 2008, so it was pretty dead stock with those dealers!

While DBHPian Graaja and Mr. Maheshwaran of Coimbatore MGP store helped me with that single alloy, DBHPian R2D2 was troubled for the 5 pieces in Pune. It was nearly a month long operation, with me planning every single thing which can be a problem.

It was important that those BHPians should have the least troubles, so I took these steps:

1. The alloy was packed and dropped to DBHPian Graaja's house and was picked by Gati courier from the doorstep. I am glad he wasn't troubled much. Special thanks to Coimbatore MGP's owner Mr. Maheshwaran for all the pain he took. More details: Thread (Rajkrishna Aditya Auto: How an unknown brother went out of the way to help me out!)

2. The alloys at Pune were lying at a Dealer showroom. But the chap warned me that those alloys were defective and they wont fit any Maruti. I knew what the issue was, the PCDs were of M800(114.3) while they were trying to install in Alto(100). Thanks to this goof up, they never sold those alloys and had marked as Defective. I had an old wheel hub with me, which I sent to DBHPian R2D2 so that he could check before finalising. This turned out to be a masterstroke, as they had mixed similar looking alloys of Alto and M800. DBHPian R2D2 brought the alloys to his place. I had ordered packing materials from Amazon to his place, and he packed everything. Again, GATI courier came to rescue and picked up all 5 wheels from his place.

Mechanic getting the old hub prepped up, for sending to R2D2 Sir.



Needless to say, some of them had minor scratches which wasn't serious. All the dealers were happy to offer me a 10% discount since I was picking up their decade old stock.

After they reached me, I found out that they were immensely dirty. Gave them a nice wash and today took them to my MASS for getting Painter's opinion. He said all scratches were on clear coat, and that we shouldn't touch the base coat. He wet sanded all the scratches, and gave them a fresh coat of clear coat which was specifically used for wheels.

Result:









The newest one: September 2008 make


The Oldest one: August 2005 make. These beauties waited for more than a decade before meeting GG



Regards,
Shashi

[R2D2]

Awesome! Those wheels look as if they were delivered from the factory! What a difference. Now I await GG being adorned with these wheels. Please get it done ASAP.

[V.Narayan]

This must be, without a doubt, the best maintained, most cared for and most thoroughly spoilt 20-year old Maruti 800 in India

[graaja]

Wheels look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing them fixed to the car.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Now I await GG being adorned with these wheels. Please get it done ASAP.

Originally Posted by graaja

Wheels look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing them fixed to the car.

Thanks a lot, Dear Sirs. This wouldn't have been successful without your support. I am eyeing next weekend for the installation, as the TPMS sensors/Valves are expected to reach on Friday.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

This must be, without a doubt, the best maintained, most cared for and most thoroughly spoilt 20-year old Maruti 800 in India

Thanks a lot Sir. She is indeed my baby.

Regards,
Shashi

[sid_hilldriver]

Hi Shashi. Is the Maruti 800 viz KL 7 V 819 known to you? I wanted to know the tyre size that is being used on its alloy wheels. Can you please oblige?

Thanks.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by sid_hilldriver

Hi Shashi. Is the Maruti 800 viz KL 7 V 819 known to you? I wanted to know the tyre size that is being used on its alloy wheels. Can you please oblige?

Thanks.

Hey Buddy, Sorry I am not in touch with anyone in the M800 group or community. Blame it on my absence from any social media except Whatsapp.

Regards,
Shashi

[Leoshashi]

Just realised, the Alloy wheel centre cap which my alloys use, is shared with some other Marutis.
-M800 MGA Alloy
-Maruti Alto MGA Alloy
-Maruti Esteem Alloy
-Maruti Baleno Sedan
-Maruti Zen Carbon/Steel
-Maruti WagonR Primea

These alloys use a bit wider centre bore compared to the current Maruti alloys. Their construction is a bit different and is made of Acrylic type of Material. Its very fragile and is easy to break. Posting the part numbers, incase it helps people looking for centre cap for the above mentioned alloys.



Regards,
Shashi

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Now I await GG being adorned with these wheels. Please get it done ASAP.

Originally Posted by graaja

Wheels look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing them fixed to the car.

Installed!

Old vs New



Interestingly, the alloys are a bit heavier than the old steel rims





Sticker weights:



Torquing them to 55Nm



Closeup:





Different angle shots:













Regards,
Shashi

[Latheesh]

Come on, we deserve a proper side view shot of the car.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Installed! Old vs New

Fantastic! I doubt there's a prettier and more pampered M800 anywhere else in this country.

And that weight comparison is a nice eye opener - most people assume steel wheels are heavier. Not necessarily so, it all depends on the gauge of steel used I suppose.