[condor]

Unni, Grenhorn, Amartya : Thanks.
Benny : you caught me there. Was trying to complete the updates & needed the pic. Didnt want to wait till the wash.

unni.ak Maybe you should also consider doing something for the doors. Looks too bland now.
Amartya : If those are too expensive, the first generation Indica had a similar side rubbing strip, it was inexpensive and looked good too.
benbsb29 : I suggested he use the normal Ikon side stips, and get them painted body color ..

Long story, that. Feel a touch of chrome will liven up things there, more than the trademark Ikon side strips from Ford. Have even explored using the Optra's sidestrips, but the front set is a little too long. This is one accessory that I will possibly stick to OE stuff. The generic ones available are not good enough.

Amartya : Anyway, the recently drove the car and came away mighty impressed. It's fantastic value for money. Not sure why people are going for the butt-ugly swift dezire.

Atleast two reasons where it is better than Ford : better service network & more power & torque.

[condor]

Horn setup beefed up : swapped the single OE horn with the two OE units from the Sumo. Much better now.

The garage did a bad job, and had put both units on the left itself. Moved one unit to the right, and it's sounding much much better.


Meanwhile, a shot taken yesterday:

[2theMax]

Condor .. What about the headlamps ? any thoughts to beef them up ? Iam having a Nightmare with those weaklings on the highway.

[Mpower]

Long mudflaps sober down the looks quite a bit. Probably thats the reason car co s dont do it.

Originally Posted by unni.ak

Great DIYs there. Maybe you should also consider doing something for the doors. Looks too bland now.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

try blackening the bar that runs across the grille , and holds the number plate , like in the 1.6S

Good one! In addition I propose going body colour on the door handles and mirrors like all the upmarket cars.

[condor]

2theMax : Condor .. What about the headlamps ? any thoughts to beef them up ?

Havent seen any problems with the lights, so no plans as of now. Should be able to test it out later this week,

Mpower : Long mudflaps sober down the looks quite a bit. Probably thats the reason car co s dont do it.

Doubt it. Looks over a basic function like this one ? We are not talking about high cost, FE vs Power kind of features.

Mpower : In addition I propose going body colour on the door handles and mirrors like all the upmarket cars.

Body color door handles - debated, yet to decide : black paint or body-color.

[2theMax]

Originally Posted by condor

Havent seen any problems with the lights, so no plans as of now. Should be able to test it out later this week,

Where does your Leveller sits when driving Solo ? Maybe somethings wrong with my headlamps. Even the Fog lamps appears to be brighter than the LB's

[bullboy]

head lamps are to weak . Horns : i put a pair of roots megasonic with a relay and change over switch which keeping all other originals in tact.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by 2theMax

Condor .. What about the headlamps ? any thoughts to beef them up ? Iam having a Nightmare with those weaklings on the highway.

Why dont you try upgrading them to 90/100s with a relay? Should cost you about Rs950/-, including fitting. Unless ofcourse, its the reflectors which are the problem here. The headlights on the previous version were just about ok, if not great.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Long mudflaps sober down the looks quite a bit. Probably thats the reason car co s dont do it.

Mpower, rally cars have longer mudflaps, but that doesnt take away from the looks department.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Good one! In addition I propose going body colour on the door handles and mirrors like all the upmarket cars.

Originally Posted by condor

Body color door handles - debated, yet to decide : black paint or body-color.

I've been campaigning for the body colored handles as well.

Originally Posted by bullboy

head lamps are to weak . Horns : i put a pair of roots megasonic with a relay and change over switch which keeping all other originals in tact.

Bullboy, mind putting up some pics of the setup? Did it involve cutting of any wires? I'm asking since the person i had contacted told me there would be cutting of wires involved for installing a switch, and asked me to wait till i was out of the Extended Warranty.

[bullboy]

Bullboy, mind putting up some pics of the setup? Did it involve cutting of any wires? I'm asking since the person i had contacted told me there would be cutting of wires involved for installing a switch, and asked me to wait till i was out of the Extended Warranty.

No wires were cut .But it was difficult to fix the two horns on both side as space is not that great for such big horns. The guy installed it with custom clamps.the connection to the new horn was taken from the original with a relay in between and two way switch.It is very difficult to take the pics of wiring as there hardly any space in engine bay.the swithc is place in the holes of fuse box just above the pedals.

[2theMax]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Why dont you try upgrading them to 90/100s with a relay? Should cost you about Rs950/-, including fitting. Unless ofcourse, its the reflectors which are the problem here. The headlights on the previous version were just about ok, if not great.

Bullboy, mind putting up some pics of the setup? Did it involve cutting of any wires? I'm asking since the person i had contacted told me there would be cutting of wires involved for installing a switch, and asked me to wait till i was out of the Extended Warranty.

Yup ! I have Philips Xtreme in my other cars. the Ford guys are real fussy about upgrading the lights, they have even send me a Customer advise slip asking the Hella Horns to be removed as it is likely to affect the performance of the car. ???

[condor]

Will decide on the head-light upgrade possibly after this week. So far, in city, the headlights have been sufficient.

2theMax : .. .. they have even send me a Customer advise slip asking the Hella Horns to be removed as it is likely to affect the performance of the car. ???

So how come Ford (dealers) offer a horn upgrade as an accessory ? Contradicting themselves ...

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by 2theMax

Yup ! I have Philips Xtreme in my other cars. the Ford guys are real fussy about upgrading the lights, they have even send me a Customer advise slip asking the Hella Horns to be removed as it is likely to affect the performance of the car. ???

Wow! Inadequate horns in the first place, and now this?!

As for the lights, use the relay and make sure its tucked away nicely. They wouldnt know.

[condor]

Originally Posted by condor

Will decide on the head-light upgrade possibly after this week. So far, in city, the headlights have been sufficient.

Could not test the headlights at night/highway. Did try at night, & find them quite good. Will wait some more before doing anything about it.



Response is good till about 100-110. Post that, the noise - engine / road

But kept searching for the 6th ! The car's very comfortable on the highway.

[d_payne]

Have you tried insulating the bonnet with some kind of fibre lining? Most diesel cars have this insulation to deaden engine noise and bring about more refinement and better NVH levels. Please do let me know if its possible.

This is one of the cars on my radar and if it can be a bit more refined, it could be an even better deal. Might do a TD sometime this weekend.

Congrats on the purchase btw, its a beauty now!
Payne

[condor]

@Payne, thanks.

d_payne : Have you tried insulating the bonnet with some kind of fibre lining? Most diesel cars have this insulation to deaden engine noise and bring about more refinement and better NVH levels. Please do let me know if its possible.

Check post #120 onwards in this thread. I did try the lining, but it does not help. The lining seems to be useful more to keep the bonnet cooler than for noise deadening. The in-cabin noise did not reduce, and neither did it reduce outside the cabin.