[rishie]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I don't think handling is an issue by just replacing the OE steering with a little thicker steering wheel. There is a better grip due to its thickness and 3 spoke design also makes it easy to access the horn from any position on the steering wheel.

Thanks for the update, could not make it out last week, been busy with some last minute tasks. probably will go this week.

[rishie]

Got the Steering wheel changed yesterday to the new 3-spoke one. Being a bit small(I just compared with the older one, could be around one or half centimeter smaller in diameter), the hold of the new wheel is good. I also felt that the grip is very good and quick during the turns.

Got this changed at MASS near my house, asked the supervisor to get the nitrogen topped up and then requested him to get the wheel changed with the one I bought. He initially denied saying retrofitments are not allowed, they will not have stock etc, but agreed when I told him that only wheel has to be changed, and I had bought the whole kit required.

Costed me a total of 944/- at Essar.

Thanks @paragsachania for pointing me to Essar and for the updates.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Steering Wheel:
Old rim like stock steering wheel replaced with the 3 spoke wheel of the current WagonR.

Originally Posted by rishie

Got the Steering wheel changed yesterday to the new 3-spoke one.

Can you post pictures please?

Being the owner of a 2004 model myself, I am very interested in going for this mod. The 3 spoke wheel looks much better compared to the old 2 spoke steering!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Can you post pictures please?

Being the owner of a 2004 model myself, I am very interested in going for this mod. The 3 spoke wheel looks much better compared to the old 2 spoke steering!

Here you go:

[ownerofazkaban]

Congratulations on 100K. Welcome to the Club!!!

[Rajesh K R]

Hi, Congrats on 1 Lakh kms on your Wagon-R. I also own a Wagon-R Vxi (new type) and have done 19k kms in 2 years (less na !!).

I want to share my experience and get some gyan from you. The gear shifting from 3rd to 2nd & from 4th to 5th and the reverse all seem to be a little hard and sometimes the gear changes do not come off easily. Is it due to underuse ? How do you address the problem of tightness in the gears ?

Otherwise it is a VFM car and i am happy with it right now. I have stock rims & MRF ZVTS 155/70 R 13 tyres. Can the ride quality / suspension improve if i upgrade to alloys and a wider tyre ?

I also felt the car to be sluggish with AC on and when overtaking.

[Nishant B]

Well although your query was directed elsewhere, but I will take the liberty to clear your doubt regarding improvement in ride quality after wheel change / upgrade

I recently changed my front 2 tyres (damaged due to towing) and replaced them with yokohama A drives 165/65 R13. Although the tyre upsize guide does not identify this as the right upgrade (w.r.t size), I found the improvement in ride quality to be AMAZING.

The bumpiness is all gone now. Earlier I could create an exact contour map of the roads due to all undulations being transferred to the drivers and passengers. Now after changing only the front 2 tyres ( rear are still stock), I am simply amazed at the reduction in noise, increase in smoothness and braking. The only Con is that steering becomes a bit heavy but its a small price to pay for the tremendous increase in the ride quality.

Hope this allays any concern that you might have regarding the tyre change.

[Rajesh K R]

Thanx Nishant !!!

But, the norm is to change all the 5 tyres at one go, isn't it ?? You mean to say that you are driving with 2 wider tyres in the front, and the rear stock ones are not as wide as the front ones. right ?

But, you have underlined the difference in ride quality after changing just 2 front tyres. So, it must make a huge difference if you change all the 4 tyres.

[paragsachania]

Yoga mats came in handy through a friend of mine and hence damped all the doors today. Here are the pics:

1.The Yoga Mat



2. The marking and then the cutting of the mats





3. The adhesive was applied on both the door panels as well the mats



4. The Pasting and then cutting various sections to accomodate door lock mechanism. (Front and Rear door)





Would take her for a drive in a while from now and review the difference.

Also, Since I am happy with my current ICE with a HU (Pioneer DEH 4750) that comes 'Aux Input Ready', A few team-bhp links helped me get the pin diagram to create my own connector for AUX Input.

Here are the pictures:

1. Connection at the rear was made using a four motherboard LED pins that would fit in very well in such a small area. Four wires L+ L- and R+ R- according to the connection diagram I had searched in Team-Bhp.



2. Two pairs of RCAs that come out from those 4 wires.



3. The HU Playing in AUX Mode.



4. These RCAs get connected to another set of RCA which has a standard 3.5mm jack on the other end that goes in directly to a compatible player.



5. The MP3 Player connected to the 3.5mm jack

[paragsachania]

4 years and 8 months and my Waggy’s ODO displayed something hard enough to ignore on day before and I captured it from my Cellphone camera – 123456!!

Indeed a very long number in a short period of time and she still loves to go miles over miles as I drive her in the city and over the highways.

Here are a few updates for my ride as on date:



Will I ever think of selling her?

Never and there is just one reason for me not to sell and that is because I admire my car for the way it has delivered without making a noise.
It met my requirement perfectly in 2006 when there were very less choices for my budget.

I am 6’ 3” and I fit in very well on the driver’s seat with still about 8 Inches of head-room left above my head.
The reclining rear seats is the best comfort I can give the rear passengers on a long drive even today.
The splitting rear seats that completely folded provided with option to make the seats a flatbed is just awesome and can only be a boon to this Model of WagonR only (Type1 and 2).
The generous bootspace and the fact that folding the rear seats completely can create a huge room to shift a house (I have done it twice so far) talks about its "Practicality" which no other hatch can match.

Away from the critics’ opinions on referring to this car only for city commute, I have mostly driven it on highways with my Wife and parents and now drive along with my new born daughter as well. And It hasn’t given me any scary moments while changing lanes at good speeds or braking for an emergency situation or taking turns are relatively faster speeds since I know the limitations of a tallboy like him and where I need to draw a line. Hence, I normally restrict to respond to many such posts that talk about its handling abilities or its Boxy looks since it is mostly a waste of time to argue on a subject that is subjective enough!!

The Engine after 124000Kms as of today is excellent and doesn’t show any signs of ageing. It is evident when the car is in Idle and I can sense no vibrations and same is the case when I rev it hard. My regular service advisors at MASS while taking the reading of the ODO for the Jobcard during service are amused that the car even after a lakh kilometers is smooth as new and I have always relished and rejoiced at this compliment from them all the times. The Drive shaft too doesn’t make any noise when turns are taken at full lock of the steering wheel.

Few Pics taken today on my way to work to complement the long-term ownership report:

(I was planning to wash the car thoroughly ensuring that the alloys shine but I was back from a trip to Belur yesterday and it was raning most of the places on the way back.)

Odometer reading today:


Shots from the side to showcase the new alloys



Front with the DIY Mesh grill. See that it still needs some finishing.


Some pictures of the Interiors that show the seat covers(redone about 4 months back), the floor mats and the condition of the plastics and dash after using them for over a lakh Kilometers and close to 5 years:

The Dashboard Including the 3 spoke steering wheel


The front seats



Rear seats from the front


The rear seats that also shows the DIY'd floor mat


The generous boot with custom made detachable speaker boxes


The rear



Top speed recorded so far:


(This was somewhere in November 2009 On the way back from Mumbai on the expressway to Pune)

[bj96]

Great going and nice review Parag. Mine is half as much (~55k) in about twice the years (~9years).

Yes, love the rear split seats. However, I have pretty much retired it with a rear parcel tray at the back. But, sometime back when I tried to make the passenger seat "full flat", it would foul with the rear LHS seat and I was not successful. Can you pls upload a pic with passenger side full flat. Maybe I am missing something?

I am also thinking of alloys now after so many years and my wife thinks I am crazy. How can I convince her...

-BJ

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Nishant B

165/65 R13. Although the tyre upsize guide does not identify this as the right upgrade (w.r.t size), I found the improvement in ride quality to be AMAZING.

Interesting. I might try this as well for the next tyre change. My WagonR is at 68k mark, and i might go for a tyre change around 75k mark.

Any negatives noticed for using 165/65 R13? Any big difference in mileage?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

123456!!

Congrats!

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Front with the DIY Mesh grill. See that it still needs some finishing.

Nice work!

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The Dashboard Including the 3 spoke steering wheel

I completely forgot about this mod! Need to ask about this one during the 70k service!

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The rear seats that also shows the DIY'd floor mat

Looking neat! Whats the material used?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Top speed recorded so far:

Mine is just about 140+.

Some days, i feel like upgrading the car. And some days, it makes me think- why upgrade? Overall, mine has also been a fantastic ownership experience!

Only niggling factor- I somehow dont like the way the front left suspension tackles road irregularities. Transmits a drummy sound into the cabin. Need to damping. Where to get yogamats, and how much of it is needed for all roads?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by bj96

Great going and nice review Parag. Mine is half as much (~55k) in about twice the years (~9years).

Thanks BJ!

Originally Posted by bj96

Can you pls upload a pic with passenger side full flat. Maybe I am missing something?

Here you go. I had removed the art leather seat covers (First fitment) and then the service center folks in the name of cleaning the seats with a solution made it look this way with those spots.



The photo shows all 4 seats with the headrest removed and the front seats pulled completely forward else the front backrests wont fold fully flat. The rear back rests wont fold completely flat as you can see but still it forms an almost flat bed.

Originally Posted by bj96

I am also thinking of alloys now after so many years and my wife thinks I am crazy. How can I convince her...
-BJ

Well, Initially my wife was also apprehensive about the idea of alloy wheels but gave up on me knowing that fact that how much I have been driving this car and the liking I have it and also for the reason that she too has travelled long distances with me most of the times.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Interesting. I might try this as well for the next tyre change. My WagonR is at 68k mark, and i might go for a tyre change around 75k mark.

Any negatives noticed for using 165/65 R13? Any big difference in mileage?

The best options are 155/65-13 and 165/60-13. The reason I say this is because I had them for about a fornight and never realised that they brush against the wheel arches with 4 passengers on board. You may not notice this unless you take them on Highways and pass over a few undulations or potholes. I strongly suggest to stick to the first two sizes mentioned. (I later got them changed to 155/65-13, thanks to Nikhil from Madhus, Bangalore) and everything is fine now.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Nice work!

Thanks mate! But like I said, I am personally not satisfied with the quality of work I executed and hence would look forward to give it a final finishing job.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I completely forgot about this mod! Need to ask about this one during the 70k service!

MASS may not take this Mod positively but you can convince them. Best option is to buy it from MGP Counter (Steering + The cover with the Suzuki Monogram would cost about 1000INR all inclusive) and get them fitted from a garage which is about 5 minute job.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Looking neat! Whats the material used?

This material resembles the carpetting stuff typically used for flooring offices of IT companies available in plain colors and with designs as well which I then cut to shape.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Some days, i feel like upgrading the car. And some days, it makes me think- why upgrade? Overall, mine has also been a fantastic ownership experience!

Exactly my thoughts too. We are a family of 5 including my wife, parents and my little daughter who is 9 months old. Unless she grows big enough to make her the 5th passenger I may not upgrade and even if I do, I have decided that It will be an SUV and not a sedan.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Only niggling factor- I somehow dont like the way the front left suspension tackles road irregularities. Transmits a drummy sound into the cabin. Need to damping. Where to get yogamats, and how much of it is needed for all roads?

Not sure when you refer to only the left suspension and the drummy sound. I too had this thud-thud noise over potholes and then MASS diagnosed it to the brake calipers and greased it and the noise eliminated. You may want to get it checked too.

Myself and another Bhpian abhinavj01 who also owns a WagonR carried out the damping job at my house and he helped me in getting these Yoga mats from Hyderabad. IIRC, You will require 4 mats to damp all the 4 doors.

[Pushkarm]

I have a Wagon R Vxi, 2009 model which has done about 22000kms. I have had to replace the front brakes, discs and pads since they had apparently worn out according to Bimal Service Center! Also I have been asked to replace the clutch since the gear shift is much harder than before and the pick up is not great. The fuel guage stopped working after a recent move from Gurgaon to Bangalore and had to replace the whole assembly losing the ODO readings as well. It got reset to "0".
My questions are:
1) Can the brakes wear out so soon? If yes, what could have been the reason.
2) What can I do with the clutch issue? It does feel hard but is there a way to check with someone else before I get it replaced if required.
3) With the original readings gone on the ODO, how does it impact the resale value etc.?
4) Finally, the car was perfect on 12th Nov, 2010 when I handed over to the movers. However, on the 20th Nov, 2010 when I picked up the car in Bangalore, all of these issues cropped up. Is it possible someone misused my car while keeping the ODO static?
Thanks

[bj96]

Originally Posted by Pushkarm

...pick up is not great. ...
1) Can the brakes wear out so soon? If yes, what could have been the reason....Is it possible someone misused my car while keeping the ODO static?

Brakes usually do not wear so fast. Since, you say pickup is also retarded, the brakes might be holding the disc rotors and not freeing up completely. Pls check your front wheels rotate freely when you release brake.

It is easy to disconnect ODO cable. Your mover most probably used your car without your knowledge.

-BJ