[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Maruti has to wake up and improve the plastic quality.
2. Driver side door pad cloth came off
Attachment 1905258

Door pad is not available as a part, I will get the old cloth fixed again or get some custom fabric / leather.

My suggestion is to use some good grey/ black art leather in (not PU) for the door pads. They are prone to getting very dirty.

Any car upholstery guy can use the same pad and build custom art leather on it.

[Ujjwal Bakshi]

Using a Baleno CVT 2016 model. My wife drove it for the first two years without noticing issues with suspension and steering. And then it was brought under my care. Result: Suspension replaced under warranty. Followed by steering column. Both had major issues and made the car drive like and autorickshaw. Had to haggle the service centre in both instance despite knowing that the both suspension and steering were under silent recall for the chassis number of this Baleno with me. The car drives very smooth now

Question for good folks on the forum, can CVT be remapped? I have had less than satisfactory experience having remapped by Grand i10 diesel, and not sure what to expect out of a remapped CVT petrol :/

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Ujjwal Bakshi

Question for good folks on the forum, can CVT be remapped?

Yes, it is possible. But, do not expect huge gains from 1.2 NA petrol.

I have had less than satisfactory experience having remapped by Grand i10 diesel

Curious to know who did the remap. Mind sharing ?

[Dr.Naren]

Tyre Burst

I was driving very slowly and heard a loud sound from rear. There was sidewall tear in rear right tyre, mostly I hit something..but I didn't notice anything on road. This is the 2nd tyre burst ( Alnac 4G ) in my Baleno.



Put the spare 15 inch MRF


Plan is upgrade all 4 tyres to Michelin Pilot Sports 4 in 205/50 R16 size once the front 2 BluEarth tires are done.

I have one extra Alnac 4G used tyre at kasaragod home, will put it for now.

[Dr.Naren]

Family Mode Baleno leaves home....


And comes back bitten by Cobra


Yes, Cobra Netherlands Lowering Springs installed!

This is a very practical setup from Cobra. Front springs are linear type while the rear springs are "progressive" type. This offers best balance between ride and handling. Initial impressions are very good.





The rear spring are longer than OE springs as shown in pics above while they are not compressed. Still there is good drop because of progressive nature.

1. Front is slightly stiffer at very low speeds on bad roads.

2. Rear feels better than even OE springs on bad roads. All thanks to progressive type springs.

3. The ride is very mature after 80 kmph. It's just flat.

4. Good difference in handling.

5. Steering feels better and nose dive under hard braking is minimal.

Acid test coming soon, when I drive the car to Kasaragod. The road is in very bad state.

Price: 23k
Seller: AM Racing Delhi

[Prodigy07]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Yes, Cobra Netherlands Lowering Springs installed!


This is a very practical setup from Cobra. Front springs are linear type while the rear springs are "progressive" type. This offers best balance between ride and handling. Initial impressions are very good.

Thanks for the initial feedback Naren

Yes, the stock suspension is still "Hard" with revised suspension and the rear tends to get little bouncy when driven slightly fast over speed breakers.

I have the OEM Baleno RS front coil springs. At low speeds, the drive gets little uneasy at the front.

You have now kindled my desire to get the Cobra lowering springs.

I shall await for your detailed review on these springs, then take a plunge and get them by Q4 2019.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

I shall await for your detailed review on these springs, then take a plunge and get them by Q4 2019.

I drive alone most of the times, didn't face any issues on bad roads today. But, I will see how it performs under full load too. The drop is not too much , hopefully it should do good

[Dr.Naren]

Update on Cobra Springs:

I drove the car with front passenger and 2 guys in rear seat. Posting the observations:

1. No underbody hit on any speed breaker / pothole.

2. The car doesn't lower down much even after 4 people in car. Thanks to progressive spring design.

3. Ride quality at low speeds on bad roads is bouncy when the car is loaded. It feels like shocks are fully compressed and the action is minimal. This is the only drawback faced till now, but it's not very bad.

4. High speed stability is excellent.

5. Handling has also improved by big margin. There is minimal body roll.

Conclusion:

1. Overall, I am happy with the lowering springs.

2. I need to check if this would affect the life of OE shocks on long run.

3. Cobra lowering springs offer good balance between ride and handling. I have driven few other cars with Eibach, Triple S springs, they were more stiffer. Anyways it's not a proper comparison with Cobra ( read different cars ).

Mahindra First Choice service, Udupi

I got the lowering springs installed at MFC. They are equipped with all professional tools and skilled staff. Attention to detail was impressive, for example the mechanic cut rubber pieces and placed it on springs while using the spring compressor so that the red powder coating doesn't get damaged.

He also pointed out that front stabilizer link rods are weak. They did not have it in stock. I will get them replaced at Maruti during the routine service.

AC cooling was low, got the top up done.


The cooling is effective now. If it leaks again, need to check the evaporator coil.

Front bumper has a tear due to stone hit. Both Maruti and MFC had advised to get new bumper + painting. I decided to go with MFC as the rates were cheaper. I gave them the tow cap for paint matching. I will visit them and get the new bumper installed when it's ready .

[Dr.Naren]

I drove to Kasaragod today. Cobra lowering springs are really impressive. I feel the car is going 20-30 kmph slower, masks the speed well. No underbody hits even on great roads of God's own country

Clicked few pics after a quick wash

[Dr.Naren]

Xenon Planet Mini Super V2 : Feedback after 3 years!

I will list down all the issues faced and the solutions.

1. The hot spot was not at the cut-off area, it was way off. There was massive bowing of the beam at edges.

I got both the bulbs and one projector replaced for free by Mr. Shyam. But, I did visit couple of times to get it fixed.

2. There is moisture / water seepage issues during rains.

No fix, living with it.

3. HID relay went kaput.

XP shipped me a new relay free of cost, it doesn't cost much though..hardly 600-700 bucks

4. Right side ballast stopped working. It was the so called "premium" fast start ballast. I sent a message to XP and there was no response.

I can't afford to drive with one headlight, contacted Blaze India. Very fast response and the product was shipped within an hour after payment. I have ordered TCX quick start 55W ballast

Conclusion:

XP products are nothing exclusive, all are Chinese products but with decent quality. The price is double when you buy from XP though . The so called professional installation charge is a big time loot, many BHPians have already shared it on the forum.

Suggestion:

Do a quick search on Aliexpress, you will find the product. Blaze India Delhi is also very competitive when it comes to pricing and the customer support / response times are appreciable. Do keep one spare hid bulb and ballast. We never know when these products would give up

[Dr.Naren]

I got new bumper and painting done at Mahindra first choice. It was slightly cheaper compared to Maruti, happy with the colour matching.





Bumper: 1750
Painting + installation : 3250
Total: 5000

[Dr.Naren]

Got TCX 55W ballast from Blaze India



Installed it myself, took hardly 5 minutes

800 Km trip is coming up next week, S-Cross 1.6 was always my choice for long drives..but the recent upgrade in handling department of Baleno has spoilt me

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I drove to Kasaragod today. Cobra lowering springs are really impressive. I feel the car is going 20-30 kmph slower, masks the speed well. No underbody hits even on great roads of God's own country

Clicked few pics after a quick wash

That looks impressive. The stance have totally changed and looks much better than stock. Any specific ground clearance drop numbers? I guess anything less than 140mm would be very difficult in our conditions. Good to know the initial impressions are good, though I will wait for your long term review before getting these on my RS. I do go with 5 on board at times and am worried about the ground clearance. Seeing some speed breakers in Bangalore, I do think it was good not to upgrade the springs because I could have scrapped the under-body. A friend of mine had done the same and went back to stock after he found that the scrapping was bad when 5 on board. So I will eagerly wait for you long term review. Happy miles.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Xaos636

Any specific ground clearance drop numbers?

The drop is ~40 mm between wheel centre to fender.

A friend of mine had done the same and went back to stock after he found that the scrapping was bad when 5 on board. So I will eagerly wait for you long term review.

There's no significant difference in GC when driving alone or with 5 people after Cobra springs. I shall post a video to demonstrate the same , let me find the load ( people ) .

[Dr.Naren]

TCX 55W Ballast

1. The ballast is working fine.

2. The build is good.

3. The start up time is similar to the one supplied by XP.

4. XP ballast has more wattage for sure. There is colour difference, the colour shift is more with XP ballast. Not sure if XP ballast has more than 55W or TCX has less than 55W in real, though both are rated at 55W.

Front stabiliser link rods

I am not sure who is the supplier to Maruti, but the quality is just average. I have seen early wear of link rods in many Maruti cars. I have placed an order on Boodmo for Monroe link rods, it's in back order as of now. Hope I receive it soon.

Wolf Map

The new map feels better to drive, but I have not timed the car. Rajiv says he has one more update for my car..I love these free unlimited updates. Appreciate the Wolf team for customer support.

Cobra Springs

Finally a long drive is coming up, 900 to 1000 kms. Looking forward . As of now I am very happy with the setup, totally transformed the looks and handling.

Brake Pads

They are almost done, hope it survives during this trip. Planning to go with EBC, they have Ultimax 2.

BMC Filter

It's very dirty. I need to order the washing kit and get the filter regenerated.

Steering Column

No news from the dealer, the part is in back order. The car will be out of warranty soon, but Maruti has extended the warranty for steering column up to 5 years from date of purchase. The VIN number of my car is on the list, so I need not worry.

Any More Mods ?

How about 1.2 to 1.4 conversion ?