[solly]

Guys

At last bought my first car, It's an orange color used GTX 4year old and done around 26k kms for 2.3l. Please I don't want to hear stories about guys who bought a similar car for 1.xxl!! Thanks to Satish (TeamBHP) who helped me with inspecting the car @ the fiat showroom. The car is in great shape, well cared for and the max the previous owner had touched was 130kmph!! Have to do couple of things to the car to get it to my liking. As a start I'm replacing 4 tires with 195/60R14 Good Year Eagle NCT5 (OE alloys are 5.5J), looking for good compromise b/n ride and grip and cost. Its got a Blaupunkt cassette player with two speakers on the door and two Blaupunkt ovals on the rear pad. Its got a CD man Jack in the glove box. I have connected my Ipod to that and quiet satisfied with the output and bass, but the front is completely dominated by the rear. Have to put 100/90 for the headlight, suggestions plz. Next on card is leather seat covers and finally a paint job, thinking of putting two black stripes la Dodge Viper, ur input plz.

Regarding the drive, it really pulls in 2nd and 3rd gear, I'm not going very fast till I get the tires changed and I get used to the car. The sound from the engine is amazing and Handling is superb with stiff suspension. Ride quality is pretty bad though I believe it will improve once I put tubeless. Ergonomics is great and steering feel is just right and gear shift is very good. Regarding the gripes other than the bad ride, all-round visibility is bad. Haven't checked the FE yet but the previous owner said 11.5 a.c off gentle driving in city. Long mail, have to get back into my car.

Chao
Solly

[bhp]

congrats dude on your purchase . you indeed have the fastest available hatch in india . some pics of ur beauty would be appreciated . drive safe

[revtech]

hey dude firstly congrats on your purchase.thats a really good car !!

Originally Posted by solly

Guys
Its got a Blaupunkt cassette player with two speakers on the door and two Blaupunkt ovals on the rear pad. Its got a CD man Jack in the glove box. I have connected my Ipod to that and quiet satisfied with the output and bass, but the front is completely dominated by the rear.

you sure about that ?? because unless they are good 5/6 components theres no way they can dominate a 6 X 9 inch oval speaker !! i say check the fader options.mess around with it and should give you a good balance

Originally Posted by solly

Have to put 100/90 for the headlight, suggestions plz. Next on card is leather seat covers and finally a paint job, thinking of putting two black stripes la Dodge Viper, ur input plz.

about your head lights.the 100/90 bulbs are the best but dont forget the relay.ifeel the two black stripes are very common specially on a orange palio and no offence but if the orange looks old and faded its looks sad.


Drive safe
Rev

[Harrie]

Welcome to the club buddy

My suggestion would be to stay away from teh decals. I personally feel the car looks great when its neat.

[buzzin_hornets]

11.5 avg!! wow.. n mine gives arnd 5-6! newayz buddy congrats on buying a gr8 car.. it really is a gr8 car except for the mileage! :(

[Floyd de Souza]

Solly...congrats on your "new" car. It is no doubt a great car. It will be very difficult to drive the car to get max FE..such is its character. I have an S10 and in the worst of traffic conditions I have never gone below 7 kpl with a/c on. My long term avg is around 8 kpl in Mumbai city and have got upto 15 kpl on one highway run. Just upchange in the meat of the power band i.e starting arount 2 krpm and you will get fantastic drive and decent FE. I would suggest 185/60 instead of 195/60 in the interest of FE and steering weight. If speedo/odo error is not an issue, 185/65 will give the best balance between ride and grip. I would'nt recommend 100/90 bulbs. The stock ones are pretty good. If the headlamps have faded...then wait some time and go in for new headlamps instead. The car is definitely not as well put together as the Jap cars but it is solid and built to last. The only cars which give the same level of excitement are the Ikon and OHC. Take care of your baby well and you won't regret your decision. Where did you pick it up from?

[VtecDeGr8]

Hey Solly,

GTX is a good car in fact it’s the best car for that kind of money.
BTW about the add-on to your car, I would suggest you to wait for some time.

Ensure the show stoppers (major problems) are addressed first; like the tyre's, battery, head lights, brakes...Some problems would popup after YOUR first service.

Now you can do the ornamentations; Black strips would go very well if you had good body paint. Plus – it would be great if you could modify the exhaust. End result would be a more aggressive looking AND performing car.

If your performance oriented - Go for a K&N & modified exhaust. I guess these things are the most easily accessible and viable stuff.

[airfoil]

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

I recommend you check out Bridgestone Potenza GIII as well. They are probably a couple of hundred more per tyre than the NCT5 but well worth it in my opinion. I paid Rs. 3600 a pop a couple of months ago for the Potenzas. 195/60 R14 is the right upsize for a GTX.

The Potenzas offer amazing grip, low road noise and seem to wear out a little slower than the NCT5s.

As for the headlights, I recommend you stick with the stock setup for a while, stock lighting on a Palio is excellent and you may never feel the need to upgrade. Leather seats sound like a good idea, but I'm personally not too interested in decals. IMO, if you do take the cosmetic mods route, you should probably go the distance and deck up the car a la Autopysche.

[prkothan]

cool.... GTX is a great choice. You will never regrett for buying it. My Palio 1.2 old version gives not less than 10 in city. And in highway amazing 16-18 kmpl.

I feel very sorry for buzzin_hornets for his car's poor mileage. I really don't understand why it gives so less for you.

[khaadu75]

Hey, CONGRATS !! welcome aboard the GTX club .. its the HOTTEST hatch in India and if treated well gives u a pleasure that no other car gives .. I feel all u need to get done after the tyres is the K&N filter and the free flow !! My car gives me an avg from 8-9 with a/c in city to 15+ on Delhi-Kotgarh drive inspite of red lining it most of the time .. TRUST ME -- no b**ls****ing !!!!

cheers

[rapideffect]

Congrats,

Good car for a long term. Treat her well and she will treat you very well in return.

[5u3zEr0]

Welcome to the club and Congratulations!

For the tyres I think i should stick to 185/60, thats the same I have in my car. I changed my tyres about 6 months back and before changing had consulted with senior people who know a lot about cars. They asked me to stick to 185/60 as anything wider was unnecassary and would affect FE.

My car has been consistently returning around 9kmpl.

[nitrous]

I agree with 5u3zero on that. This hatchback is a very stable car and doesnt need too wide tyres. But, if u're very keen on 195s, then do what ur heart tells!

[lamborghini]

Hey Solly,
congrats on the car.
Waiting for some pics. If you are upgrading, gt 185/65R14 Potenza GIII's but the speedo read will be affected (In ours, the diff. is 0.4km every km in comparision to the corolla).
Also for leather, get either art. leather or Stanleys which retail at 3K and 14K respectively.
Also mess around with the deck settings for the speakers.
Ride Quality is bad because the car has a stiffer suspension for better handling and stability.
Don't go with the stripes and if possible, spend that money on a KnN filter and a MP3 Player.
Enjoy your car.
P.S. It sounds amazing whenyou totally floor the gas pedal between 1.5 - 2.5K rpm. It'll guzzle more fuel but.

[satish_appasani]

Solly Congrats once again.

I wished I was with you when you took the car. Had to go to office to take some interviews.