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So the best alternative to a tire upsize for the zen is using the esteem,s stock wheels right ?

Hello Everyone,

I'm a newbie to this website, so I hope you guys will go easy on me and my question/request.

I own a black 2005 Zen-lxi (my first car) and it is in very good condition to this day. Absolutely no issues what so ever. But, I think after 10 years a few upgrades/changes needs to be made. Below, I'll list some of the things of that I want to upgrade in my car and I would very appreciate some input from you guys with regards to this. You guys are certainly far more learned with regards to this and any help would be much appreciated. I have looked at other threads with regards to this, but 2009/10 was the last thread that had useful information. The prices and places/shops to make these changes have definitely changed.

List of changes:

1. Upgrading the seats:

I wanted to keep my current seat configuration and change the seat type to leather. I don't want to make it too sporty as this car is still a family car and comfort matter.

2. New filters:

Not sure which type of filter would be good: oil based or dry gauze filters

3. ICE:

I right now have just Sony xplod rear speakers in the car and a Sony HU. Bought when I bought the car (10 years ago) and didn't really have a clue about ICEs. Plus the speakers are attached right behind the rear number plate. This has made the rear hatch heavy and the struts are unable to support the hatch any more. Even new ones last a couple of months and then stop working. I like the speakers, though and would like to keep them. Will reattach to the rear doors. So if anyone could suggest any good HUs and front speakers? I'm not looking for anything fancy and have a budget of approx. 7-8K for this. Would this budget be sufficient for a good setup?

4. Alloy wheels and better tyres:

I'm a complete noob with regards to this, but I was wondering if alloys which an inch bigger than the current wheels be a good idea? I just don't want to lose the balance in the car and any suggestions with reagrds to this will be helpful.

5. The air-con unit:

I think it is quite well known that air-con unit in a Zen, isn't the best. Anyway I can improve the performance of the air-con? Do I replace the entire unit? Can I use a unit from another car?

Any helpful suggestion will be much appreciated. It'll be nice if someone could tell me how long it would take to make all these changes (a week or two?) and a place in Bangalore where I can make these upgrades. It'll be awesome if there was one place I could get all this one. :)

Again, I'm a newbie (stupid:). So please be kind to me.

Sujay

Sold my 14 year old 2001 MPFI zen which had run 190000 kms for 115000 rs. The main reason I sold it was did not want to deal with the corrupt RTO when the time for FC renewal came.

Only regret I had decided sometime last year to keep it for another 5 years so did a compression test found engine to be in perfect conditon so started with overhauling Suspension, Steering wheel,Clutch spend around 23k in the last one year. Was finally looking around for someone good to repaint the whole car when RNS/ Suraksha etc quoted around 35k for the job.

Never once in the entire time it broke down even once. Was lots of fun to drive, Had covered 36000 kms in the first year reached 86k in 2004 when the 3 years warranty was over.

After getting my second car dzire the zen has not run much maybe 600kms a month or so for the last 3 years.
TrueValue valued it at 80k + exchange bonus sold to a private party for 115000. now looking for a small car to replace in city.

I truly believe if maruti relaunches this car with the same engine and same body shape but a little stronger body it would easily manage a 4 figure monthly sales even now.
Always Serviced at MASS I would rate as
1) Mandovi double road (Excellent except for location in bangalore traffic)
2) Suraksha bommanahalli (Excellent to avg exp depends on supervisor)
3) RNS Hosur road (poor)

Finally parting pics.

I have bought an almost identical car as the above one (albeit cheaper and in not that good a shape, ran less kms though).

Now the door panels are quite different from the above car (although it is also 2001 vxi), its got fabric inserts and are looks to be made out of some type of cardboard (like the old 800s). They are also in a very bad state.

I wonder if I can replace them with door panels (including PW switches, which I think are different) from the type two zen ?

Changed dashboard illumination -
I had been trying to get a change from the usual green backlit display but never saw any mod for the zen on this. Infact all I'd read was the futility of any such attempt due to difficulty in opening the speedo console and still not being able to get the desired results due to the pre painted green dials.
Looks a bit scratchy but I think I've managed to change the look. Any comments to improve further are welcome.

Looks brilliant. clap:

Can you please elaborate the process of this mod?? Or may be a dedicated DIY thread will be even more helpful.

Thanks. For now I've just opened the speedo and painted the numbers (after scratching out the green layer from the underside) & bulbs red. However, this way everything looks reddish. Have also tried with bright white T5 SMD LEDs and the same red painted dial - here only the speedo digits look red while the mileage numbers remain bright white. However due to a single SMD LED, the light throw was not even all over. I need to try to overcome this with 5 SMD LEDs or conventional LED bulbs and see the difference.

Here's a quick look at the overall result.
1.Stock filament bulb in airflow selector with green back panel erased out. (T5 SMD LED tried here but light throw needs to be from the side, rather than tip)
2. White T5 LED in blower speed knob. (Good light throw)
3. Stock bulbs (red painted) with speed markings scratched out and repainted in red. (Need to separate white and red - using multiple SMD LED having side-on illumination).

After the red monotony, here is today's attempt at more colourful speedo dials. Having learnt from the previous attempt, the temperature & fuel gauge turned out nicely. However, having previously scratched out the speedo dial (amateurishly), I could not give that a crisp look. Regarding the backlights, I tried various options - white LED, white LED with a blue & red filter (separately), stock filament bulb & filament bulb coloured red. This was the best result obtained with stock (yellow) bulb; the LEDs do not scatter light uniformly, hence quite a few areas on the dial appear dark.
It would be helpful if I can get a new speedo dial, so that I can carefully scratch it out! Any suggestions?

Will the 2003 model's door trims fit my 2002 MPI LX? My trims are worn out with age, the rexine layer has bulged and separated from the cardboard backing in a few places. MGA does not stock these parts anymore, but the plastic trims of the 2003 model are available on order. Thanks!

Maruti Zen 2003 repainted

The job looks nicely done. Please post some more pictures!
I think that black door handles still go well with the Zen; of course that is subjective. Post some interior shots too.

Neet Help.

Our family owns a 2004 Maruti Zen LX model. It has done just over 50,000 original kms. Now we are having major issues with the air conditioning. I have a feeling the compressor has given up. So just wanted to ask. Is the AC compressor for the Old model zen still available with Maruti Genuine parts? If not then can a compressor from another Maruti model be used in our Zen? Any info would be of great help.

New compressor for Zen is available at MASS. You may even get it directly from Subros. However, it will be expensive.

If you have a trusted FNG, they may source a good old working compressor. My cousin brother, who just sold his 2005 Zen got the entire AC system including the compressor sourced by an FNG and trust me, he did a fantastic job. It was a chiller even at the back seat. You may take this route and it wil incur you a reasonable expense.

Regards.

Thank you for the quick response. I have a budget of about 13,000 Rs to buy the compressor if its new. Will I get it in that budget? We live in a relatively small city so a reliable and competent FNG is a bit scarce. One mechanic offered to repair our old one. We accepted and 4,000 Rs later we are still without a working ac. So I have decided to bite the bullet and just get a new one this time round.