[rayjaycleoful]

Very well written and brilliantly kept car
Have the same car and agree on the shortcomings and strengths. Except the XUV 500 I am yet to find a seat which comes close to the same comfort.

Since mine is an SMT I have been planning on adding fog
lamps but can't find the right resources.
Alloys is also on the list once Covid ends

[souvikjana83]

Probably the only car today whose owners still don't want to sell it even after more than 10 yrs of ownership. The 3rd gen Honda City is such a gem of a car that if the 15 yrs rule isn't in place, no one would sell it. Even today, its hard to find a car to replace it.

While the SUV boom has taken away the demand of Sedans and Honda being the only company which refused to ride this bandwagon, one would expect the next generation of City would be superior. Unfortunately that's not the case.

[evil_grin]

Headlight upgrade

I liked the headlights. They were an eye soothing yellow halogens in reflectors. They worked well in the city and on the highways I took the Octavia that had way better BiXenon projectors.

But the Octavia's suspension is sensitive to load. When dropping in laws and their luggage at the Vikarabad railway station (easier than going to Secunderabad) at night, it'd be stable. And while coming back, it'd bounce around. The city doesn't care how much luggage it has. It's suspension performs the same regardless.

But the road to Vikarabad has 1+1 lane highways and oncoming cars's high beams vapourise the city's headlights. I could go at a max of 40 kmph in the City as opposed to 80 kmph in the Octavia. So I had to upgrade the City's headlights.

Light upgrades are like sound upgrades, they're not always simple and they can go wrong easily. That's where expert counsel comes in handy. And trustworthy expert counsel is hard to come by.

Fortunately, those in Hyderabad have Shree Krishna amongst us in a Team BHPian Avataar (Auto Lighting Hub +91 86881 18922). He told me that projector fog lights will give the best results but my version of the city couldn't fit 3 inch ones because the cutouts are oval shaped. 2 inches high and 3 inches wide. The next option was LEDs in stock reflectors. I expressed concerns over using them for high beams, which he cleared.

So I got these fixed:
Novsight 75w 12k lumens 6K kelvin H4 LED headlights - 6000 rupees a pair
2 T10 bulbs for parking light - 240 rupees a pair
LED cabin light + car washer and coolant check and refill + labour - 500 rupees

The lights are now white and are about 50% brighter. Turns out the previous owner had upgraded from 55/60 to 95/100 halogens with a relay and all.

It's not evident in the pics because I forgot to keep the dashboard lights in the frame. Now I'm able to go at 80 kmph against opposing high beams. Next step is to remove minor scratches from the wind screen.

Before:

[evil_grin]

I should take pics of how it looks against oncoming high beams. That'll give a better picture.

After:

[evil_grin]

I hadn't done any waxing or detailing on it for two years. And after getting the Octavia detailed, the minor scratches and swirl marks on the city parked right beside it looked ungainly. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it so decided to try gomechanic.

They charged just under 3k for rubbing and polishing. They did an ok job. The minor scratches were gone and so were much of the wall paint stains. But a few areas were not properly buffed. And the deeper scratches looked more prominent now that the rest of the car was shiny. Those will need repainting.

[WhiteKnight]

You have an amazingly funny writing style. I loved the portion where you mentioned about GTO's advice vs your wife's on eating inside the car. Some may consider this as being biased against women, but those who are married know the truth!

Originally Posted by evil_grin

A few more things:

I also dampened the doors during the audio upgrade for 10k rs. It resulted in

And while the stock City can confidently go till 100 km/hr, mine with Teins suspensions and wider tyres can go to 120 with the same confidence.

Two best upgrades for the City. These would considerably lift the experience of Owning and enjoying it.

Btw, This generation City automatic came with Paddle shifters. Pity, not many bought it at that time.

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

You have an amazingly funny writing style. I loved the portion where you mentioned about GTO's advice vs your wife's on eating inside the car. Some may consider this as being biased against women, but those who are married know the truth!

Two best upgrades for the City. These would considerably lift the experience of Owning and enjoying it.

Thank you for noticing the humour. My humour tends to either go unnoticed or ends up offending people. I was half afraid GTO might run after me with a stick or his old jeep for that comment, but thankfully, he didn't.

Not just for the city, I feel that any enthusiast buying a C segment or below car should definitely get damping and suspension upgrades done. It'll make the car feel like from a segment above. It took me way too long to realise this.

[shobhit.shri]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

any enthusiast buying a C segment or below car should definitely get damping and suspension upgrades done.

I am upgrading the suspension on your recommendation . I would see if I can get Tein or equivalent here in Bangalore. Do I need to change all fours, and the subcomponents too?

What all is covered in damping? I am afraid that it can mean different things in different shops. What exactly was done in your case?

You see, I basically need as many details as possible!

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

I am upgrading the suspension on your recommendation . I would see if I can get Tein or equivalent here in Bangalore. Do I need to change all fours, and the subcomponents too?

What all is covered in damping? I am afraid that it can mean different things in different shops. What exactly was done in your case?

You see, I basically need as many details as possible!

Glad to hear you're upgrading!

Changing all four are recommended. Other components of the suspension only need to be changed if damaged or worn out.

Noise damping sheets were stuck inside the doors.

[BNG-motorhead]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

Glad to hear you're upgrading!

Changing all four are recommended. Other components of the suspension only need to be changed if damaged or worn out.

Noise damping sheets were stuck inside the doors.

If not tiens, what would you recommend as the closest cheaper option?

Planning to do dampening as DIY, in my mind its not very technical, do you think thats a fair assumption?

[BNG-motorhead]

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

I am upgrading the suspension on your recommendation . I would see if I can get Tein or equivalent here in Bangalore. Do I need to change all fours, and the subcomponents too?

What all is covered in damping? I am afraid that it can mean different things in different shops. What exactly was done in your case?

You see, I basically need as many details as possible!

Did you find something good in bangalore? Same boat bro.

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by BNG-motorhead

If not tiens, what would you recommend as the closest cheaper option?

Planning to do dampening as DIY, in my mind its not very technical, do you think thats a fair assumption?

I don't have any experience with other brands. Don't cheap out on suspensions. They will do more to your ride quality and handling than any other mod. It's one of the most underrated mods in my opinion.

Yes you can DIY the dampening.

[BNG-motorhead]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

I don't have any experience with other brands. Don't cheap out on suspensions. They will do more to your ride quality and handling than any other mod. It's one of the most underrated mods in my opinion.

Yes you can DIY the dampening.

Makes sense, just wondering what should be the best way to source them and get them installed in Bangalore.

[shobhit.shri]

Originally Posted by BNG-motorhead

Did you find something good in bangalore? Same boat bro.

I couldn't source the tien suspensions. I got the suspension overhaul done with Honda's OEM parts, but I am not happy with it. I would suggest you to put some more effort and get it done properly.

[BNG-motorhead]

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

I couldn't source the tien suspensions. I got the suspension overhaul done with Honda's OEM parts, but I am not happy with it. I would suggest you to put some more effort and get it done properly.

that’s a bummer, properly you mean tien suspension? Or something else you found