[Harry1981]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Update : Repairs done

What was done?

1. Lower gear synchroniser rings are replaced

2. Oil sump packing leakage fixed by bonding

3. Rear bumper dent removal and painting

4. New gear knob from Ciaz

Total bill was 10,500 Rs.

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Hello Team,
I have run 1.01 lakhs now. There was oil leak in left front and rear shock absorbers. Today I changed all 4 shock absorbers. I had bought TRW shocks online. I got it installed from MASS. Car feels more stiffer now and handling is slightly improved with little compromise on low speed ride quality.

Also I noticed very minor wheel bearing noise. It turned out to be rear left bearing. To my shock, bearing is integrated with hub and ABS sensors which comes as an unit and costs 13k. I have postponed wheel bearing replacement for now.

Rear wheel bearing assembly
Attachment 1490102

Hi DrNaren, I have been following your ownership for quite a while now. Now I need your guidance.
I have an SX4 ZDI 2011 that I purchased in 2016. Car now needing front suspension overhaul and car has run about 80K. I could see oil leakage in one shock only for now.

If I choose Talbros arms and TRE shocks. Should it suffice well as SGP arm is way to expensive. 6K. ? How was your experience with the above set-up. Should I stick to change the whole set-up for smooth feel or change only 01 shock for now ?

Also, can I go for Swift lower arms and SX4 MGP shocks that could be economical affair.

Please enlighten on spring set change also.

I like the idea of CIAZ gearknob. Will get it done soon.


Car was lifted few days back at MASS they mentioned slight crack in engine mount toward the underbody ?

Twice MGP has fixed my gear box seepage but it’s back again. Any advise on this front ?

Front Seat-belts are not retracting back completely. Any suggestions on increasing the lubrication.

There is slight rust building on spare tyre box in the boot. Car’s underbodyhas been done recently with 3 coats.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Harry1981

I have an SX4 ZDI 2011 that I purchased in 2016. Car now needing front suspension overhaul and car has run about 80K. I could see oil leakage in one shock only for now.

Please change the shock which is leaking. Go with OE shock itself. I think they are Gabriel make.

If I choose Talbros arms and TRE shocks. Should it suffice well as SGP arm is way to expensive. 6K. ? How was your experience with the above set-up. Should I stick to change the whole set-up for smooth feel or change only 01 shock for now ?

SGP lower arm for SX4 is too expensive. I have installed Talbros and happy with it. But I am not happy with TRW shocks, they started leaking within 10k kms. I would say stick to OE shocks.

I like the idea of CIAZ gearknob. Will get it done soon.

Nice. It's an easy fit.

Twice MGP has fixed my gear box seepage but it’s back again. Any advise on this front ?

I too have leak from gearbox. It has been fixed temporarily by applying M seal.

[scorpian]

Can swift lower arms be fitted on sx4? I am not very sure as they do look visually different, if someone has done this and can confirm then it would be best and economical way.
I have also replaced my gear-knob with the one that comes in ciaz, during syncro ring change the knob got cracked while trying to open and was not in stock so it was replaced with ciaz knob and it looks great too.
@Harry 1981
For the boot rust if its not too much the best would be to scrape and repaint, or you can use rust converter directly and paint over it. Recently i opened the plastic housing near the wipers and i found a lot of debris and rust, due to limited access, i have applied two coats of rust converter, then sprayed it with red oxide, and finally sprayed black paint.I used can type spray paints as the place was having limited access and with the pressure in the can i could cover entire portion well.I would suggest you look in to this area as well as it is prone to rust. I would follow the same route for the spare wheel boot area this weekend.

[sibot]

Thanks for the wonderful updates Naren! I am planning to buy a second hand SX4, probably a 2010 ZXi model with 69k on the odo. My mechanic is advising me against it since in his opinion, apart from the spares being expensive, they aren't readily available and need to be ordered at times.

I've always felt that Maruti spares, no matter the sales of the car, have always been made available. I wanted to get your opinion on the ready availability of spares and whether they are relatively expensive to comparably models or not.

Thanks!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by sibot

I am planning to buy a second hand SX4, probably a 2010 ZXi model with 69k on the odo. My mechanic is advising me against it since in his opinion, apart from the spares being expensive, they aren't readily available and need to be ordered at times.

Spares availability is not an issue in Maruti. Few parts in SX4 are SGP, those might take some time and are expensive.

[Dr.Naren]

The car was not at all driven since last few months. I did not get time to fix lower gear synchronizer rings. I believe that toque is too much (pushed beyond safety limits in remap). When I get time, I would revert to stock map and get the gearbox fixed.

As of now, SX4 has got new alloys (swapped from S-Cross)

Out of all 7 cars in my garage, I love the front of SX4 the most

[Dr.Naren]

I got to drive SX4 after long time. It was around 150 km drive. As mentioned before there is synchroniser ring problem. I have observed that it is impossible to slot into 2nd gear from higher gears, but I can slot into 1st and then to 2nd. Using this method I did not face any problem during the entire drive.

Tyre noise, steering feel, ride comfort, braking, grip and everything are much better with Continental MC5 tyres. The car is also pretty fast with remap. My remapped SX4 1.3 could beat stock S-Cross 1.6 easily till 120 KMPH .

I would be shifting to Manipal for next 3 years. Hope to fix all the issues by this month end.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I would be shifting to Manipal for next 3 years. Hope to fix all the issues by this month end.

Congratulations. Which subject you have picked up? I might be in Manipal in September for a couple of days. Can catch up then.

[Dr.Naren]

My daily driving is 20 km on weekdays and 200 km on weekends. It is around 300 km per week. I used to switch cars every week. Dad wanted S-Cross to be at Kasaragod home and asked me to take any other car .

I decided to stick to SX4 for next 1 year. How could I neglect the 2nd fastest car in my garage, 0-100 in 10.8 seconds .

I have driven SX4 the max out of all cars in my garage. I am so used to the car and can drive with full peace of mind. I have got the car to Manipal now. There are many things which needs attention. I will fix all of them soon.

1. Service :

Need to change engine oil, all filters, coolant, brake fluid etc. I will be using Mobil Super 5W40 oil along with Ceratec. I have to replace the lower gear synchronizer rings again, will get new clutch and flywheel too. Injectors should be serviced / cleaned.

2. Tyres :

As mentioned earlier, I have put used Continental MC5 tyres from S-Cross. One of the tyre has been repaired with hot patch which is holding good till date. But, it is not fully safe to do high speeds. Planning to change all 4 tyres to Yokohama BluEarth.

3. Wolf Remap :

I am running with Tune O Tronics remap now. Power is really good. The car has nil lag and pulls like a train. But I have been opening up the gearbox every 5k kms to replace lower synchronizer rings, it looks like TOT pushed my car above the limits to make it faster than my previous Wolf map which has been turning out to be very heavy on my pocket.

My SX4 has experienced remaps from 3 different tuners. Rajiv from Wolf Moto has agreed to retune my car back to Wolf for free because I was running on Wolf remap before, I had paid then. This won't be the same map, I would be getting their latest map which is supposed to be much better. Power might be little lesser than my present TOT map, but it should be smoking less and also not damage my gearbox.

4. Lighting :

I have been running with AES Bixenon projectors which has given lot of troubles. The output has also diminished. I do not want to open the headlights again. I would be getting IPHCAR Fog projectors from Blaze India which is very VFM at Rs. 6900.

5. Brake pads :

I will order Dixcel Extra Speed brake pads from AM Racing Delhi or EBC Green Stuff pads from KS Motorsports Mumbai.

6. Full car repaint :

This will be done after all the above works. There is huge mismatch in paint work done after the accident. Half car has different shade of silver. There are minor dents too. I will get this done at Maruti, their painting charges are very competitive.

[Dr.Naren]

Outside Manipal House :

Bengre Beach


SX4 days are back!!!!!!!!!!

[Dr.Naren]

I was driving back to Manipal from Kasaragod today. Weather was turning really good while I was nearing Manipal.

The mood was to drive more, called few friends and we ended up here .

Agumbe :



It was fun in remapped SX4. Car performed really well. I did not face any problem because of synchroniser ring issue as I have learnt to fool the gb like shifting to 1st and then slot to 2nd. It worked perfectly. I can live with this haha. I would do the works / repairs done in phases.

These things would be done in next few days.

1. Engine oil change (5W40 fully synthetic, will decide the brand soon)

2. All filters change

3. Coolant & Brake fluid change

4. Liqui moly engine oil flush

5. Liqui moly Ceratec

[Dr.Naren]

I used to get the interior germkleen treatment from 3M store. This used to remove all the stains and bad odour in the car. I wanted to do something econicmal on my own.

Gave this product a try


I got it for Rs. 750 from Amazon India. The bottle was empty after using it on all seats. The spray has dual action. Press it faster for general cleaning and slower for removal of deep stains.


As per the instructions we need to wait for few seconds after applying the foam and agitate the area with towel /brush. Attaching before and after pics.

Front passenger seat : Before

Front passenger seat : After

Rear seats : Before

Rear seats : After

I am satisfied with the results. Most of the stains are gone except for old deep stains which has become only lighter in colour. Planning to use something else to remove them .

[Dr.Naren]

Tune O Tronics Map Out, Wolf Map In

I have retuned to Wolf Moto finally!!

Wolf team had come to Mangalore to remap couple of cars. I badly wanted a retune from TOT. Why?

1. Lot of black smoke
2. Opening up of gearbox and changing synchronizer rings every 10k kms
3. Lack of support from TOT (Experienced this in case of S-Cross already)

But, I was happy with the performance in TOT map. It WAS also the fastest 1.3 MJD documented online in India (0-100 : 10.8 seconds). I had told Rajiv about this and he had told me clearly not to expect him to beat this timing, make more power etc. The aim was to flash a safer map with lesser smoke.

Met Wolf team, somewhere in Mangalore

SX4 waiting to get Wolfed

WIP

I tested few maps from Rajiv. All were more linear than TOT, but it was powerful. 0-100 Timing was similar to TOT map, but with much lesser smoke. It was raining all day in Mangalore, it was hard to find good roads to time the car.

I waited for the rains to stop. I made Rajiv sit on back seat and tailor one more map for me .

We decided this would be final. I don't know what he did, let's call it "Wolf Secret". I think he finally decided to push the car more. I took the car for testing and it was insane. Smoother engine, revvs very quick to 5000 rpm, lesser smoke and what not. I was not able to time 0-100 properly as I couldn't put the power down, thank to lot of water on roads.

I waited for next day morning and timed the car on not so wet roads. It did 0-100 in 9 seconds on speedo, perfect.

https://youtu.be/KDhdyQ_HcN4

A day well spent with Wolf Moto.

P.S : Got to drive Wolf tuned New Figo diesel of a fellow BHPian in Mangalore, that thing is very very quick!

[scorpian]

Dr Naren,
Glad to see you back with wolf. Do keep us updated with the wolf secret remap as that's what I would want to flash on mine if all is well.
Sreekanth had called me but unfortunately I had to attend a few meetings in mumbai and missed the chance to remap my sx4.

Do keep this thread updated.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Dr Naren,
Glad to see you back with wolf.

Haha!! My SX4 has got remaps from Pete's, Wolf, TOT and now back to Wolf .

Do keep us updated with the wolf secret remap as that's what I would want to flash on mine if all is well.

Sure buddy. I will do it .

I would say go for a map little lower than mine. As per Wolf, this is the max they have given for SX4 diesel. If you are OK with little more smoke under full throttle, go for it.