[Abhi_abarth]

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

It's something very hard to get. When I had the Baleno, driven on open highways at a consistent speed of 70-80, with minimal braking, it is indeed possible to get a FE of ~25. But then, the right foot automatically becomes heavier on that sort of empty highways.

The trick is to anticipate future braking needs and taking your foot off the accelerator, letting the engine braking do its thing. Helped my FE by 2 points easily.

I am a sedate driver won't exceed 80. Very light on throttle and that's how I am able to squeeze that mileage. I even managed to get 30 at the beginning where I was treating her like my new girl friend.

Originally Posted by amvj

What are the puddle lamp and boot lamp specifications for Baleno? I want to install something brighter and LED based.

Attaching the spec sheet from the manual.

Originally Posted by amvj

Please change the tyres asap. You don’t want a sudden tyre burst. Mine is Oct 2017 and the tyres are not as bad as yours. That said, every 4 months or so, I spray generous amount of tyre protection / tyre dresser to stop them from drying out.

Any tyre recommendations ? I love Michelin but they don't last that long. I hate MRF. I am inclined between Continental and Good year. I am looking at a grippy and low noise ride.

I am having a 3M tyre dresser but not regularly used thinking it was only to bring that gloss look

[Agarwal_Aayush]

Originally Posted by Abhi_abarth

Am surprised on the tyres condition. My friend's i20 tyres (same brand) were changed at 75k 7 years and I hardly have completed 4 years.

There are many reasons that can lead to these cracks, for one is car standing in the open, the polish that the service center guys apply on the tyres, they tend to over apply it which runs onto the outer sides of the tyres. Cars standing for a long time with less pressure also leads to theses cracks as well.

Can you confirm if it is the oil filter or Air filter ? Will check today on the service invoice.

Its the oil filter. The correct oil filter part no is: 16510M68K00, however they put 16510M68K10 during servicing. The later is has 6 holes and the former has 8 holes.

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

It's something very hard to get. When I had the Baleno, driven on open highways at a consistent speed of 70-80, with minimal braking, it is indeed possible to get a FE of ~25. But then, the right foot automatically becomes heavier on that sort of empty highways

I have been a sedate driver most of the time and specially now after we had our daughter 2 years back. This average I could have imagined in a diesel engine, but for petrol its really commendable.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Abhi_abarth

Any tyre recommendations ? I love Michelin but they don't last that long. I hate MRF. I am inclined between Continental and Good year. I am looking at a grippy and low noise ride.

I am surprised at your experience with tyre mileage of Michelin. I used a set of Michelins on my Baleno and they lasted almost 70,000 kilometers. It's the most i have got out of any brand so far. Used Primacy ST3.

Give it a try. I think a lot of folks have similar experiences with Michelin lasting long.

Drive on,
Shibu

[amvj]

Originally Posted by Abhi_abarth

Any tyre recommendations ? I love Michelin but they don't last that long. I hate MRF. I am inclined between Continental and Good year. I am looking at a grippy and low noise ride.

I am having a 3M tyre dresser but not regularly used thinking it was only to bring that gloss look

I am not an expert, but for my car I am thinking about going for 205 55 R16 (stock 195 55 R16) - either MRF Perfinza or Michelin XM2 or Pilot sport 4 (very expensive and short life but grippy).

I see some good reviews for Perfinza here in Team bhp. It is not like regular budget MRFs. Shashi said 205 tyres can be fitted on Baleno which similar to Ertiga or SX4. I want good braking performance and don’t care about speed or mileage.

[Abhi_abarth]

Originally Posted by shibujp

I am surprised at your experience with tyre mileage of Michelin. I used a set of Michelins on my Baleno and they lasted almost 70,000 kilometers. It's the most i have got out of any brand so far. Used Primacy ST3.

Give it a try. I think a lot of folks have similar experiences with Michelin lasting long.

Drive on,
Shibu

I have no experience with Michelins 4 wheeler tyres but made that statement because I read they are made of soft compound and don't last long while Apollo and MRFs are made of hard compound and last longer. In fact Michelin is my favourite brand as I had excellent experience with my honda unicorn. I surely will evaluate them too.

[Researcher]

Originally Posted by Abhi_abarth

Could you please share your experience with this oil. I will mostly switch to this one in the coming days but your feedback will really influence my decision.

So far, it has been a good experience. I have used this oil thrice now, most recent fill being last week when I went for the 30k/36 month service. Our car has run 13k in 3 years, owing to limited but daily city use and 3-4 highway trips in these years. Barring 1-2k, the rest has been primarily driven in the sub-40kph city traffic by my mother, who is a very sedate and patient driver, getting 15-16 kpl consistently in traffic in an automatic, despite taking almost the same time to reach her destination compared to my 'enthusiastic' driving which gives 13-14.

For our annual usage of 3-4k, I feel almost no difference in engine performance, but I am yet to do an oil analysis which may paint a better picture. For our limited use, any oil should be a good oil, but I have to stick to this oil due to the leftover from the previous change (3.1 litres required vs. 3.5 litres pack, so 1.2 litres with me now accumulated over 3 years). I also personally prefer Idemitsu for Maruti petrols (our Jap scooters always get Idemitsu, my SX4 uses their only 5W-30 synthetic) and this is the best Idemitsu I could get my hands-on when the dealer did not have any stock for 0W-20 fully synthetic oil before my first oil change. So, if you can splurge, I see no harm, yet.

[amvj]

In the last few days, my Tincan was struggling to start at the first crank. I regularly fill distill water so I believe it was due to normal deterioration. Since the car is completing 4 years next month and I have some outstation trips planned during the coming weekend, I don't want to get stranded. I have changed the stock Exide battery to Amaron.

The technician at the shop checked the battery volt during the crank, it was less than 9v. He suggested me to change it.

The price of the Amaron is Rs: 5024. Since I given the Exide, I got it for Rs: 4300.

Stock Exide 32AH
Amaron 35AH

This battery change resets few settings like clock, floor lighting, range etc. I need to fully check and change it back.

Odometer reading: 45372KM






Please excuse the dirty engine bay


Protective petroleum jelly dripped around the battery and hence the dirty look:


Battery compartment had lots of sediment (Acid drip I think). It was washed a bit:




This is the place where I changed it. At Erode, TN:


Edit:
I just noticed it is much cheaper to order it online

[Abhi_abarth]

Originally Posted by Researcher

For our annual usage of 3-4k, I feel almost no difference in engine performance, but I am yet to do an oil analysis which may paint a better picture. For our limited use, any oil should be a good oil, but I have to stick to this oil due to the leftover from the previous change (3.1 litres required vs. 3.5 litres pack, so 1.2 litres with me now accumulated over 3 years). I also personally prefer Idemitsu for Maruti petrols (our Jap scooters always get Idemitsu, my SX4 uses their only 5W-30 synthetic) and this is the best Idemitsu I could get my hands-on when the dealer did not have any stock for 0W-20 fully synthetic oil before my first oil change. So, if you can splurge, I see no harm, yet.

Given it is a fully synthetic oil I am hoping it should have a significant difference in the performance. The stock mineral oils from Maruti are worst and age soon.

As the pack comes in 3.5 litres is it ok to fill entire volume ?

[Researcher]

Originally Posted by Abhi_abarth

Given it is a fully synthetic oil I am hoping it should have a significant difference in the performance. The stock mineral oils from Maruti are worst and age soon.

As the pack comes in 3.5 litres is it ok to fill entire volume ?

If you're an enthusiastic driver and drive with a heavy foot, you should feel the engine to rev slightly easier, especially in the higher rpm after a few kms. I experienced the same with the SX4 when I made the switch, but the Baleno has been on synthetic always.

Also, I will suggest to stick to the manual for the volumes, as my mechanic once said higher volumes may result in leaking of seals in the longer run. You can use the remaining quantity in the next service. I always have a can each of 5W-30 and 0W-20 with some leftover oil since day 1 of oil change for both the cars. It did bother me initially but I got used to it. Ok, not completely but still better than earlier.

[Varun_G]

My Dad owns a 2017 Baleno (P) Alpha and is looking for a new battery asap. The existing battery is an Amaron manufactured unit and has started giving a lot of troubles. A couple of days ago he was stuck mid-way due to battery problems. Can someone suggest which is the best replacement for the current battery and the best place to buy it? He is traveling again in the next 4 days so will need to do it within a couple of days.

Also, planning to install an internal TPMS system for the car as he usually takes it out for a spin on long journeys and TPMS is quite helpful. Came across the below product on Amazon which has decent reviews:

https://www.amazon.in/Vantro-Pressur...=1&ext_vrnc=hi

Anyone who has done it before on their Baleno can share their experience. I was previously planning to suggest Sensairy to him but the HUD isn't available for the next few months and it's a pain to track everything via mobile app for him.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Varun_G

My Dad owns a 2017 Baleno (P) Alpha and is looking for a new battery asap. The existing battery is an Amaron manufactured unit and has started giving a lot of troubles. A couple of days ago he was stuck mid-way due to battery problems. Can someone suggest which is the best replacement for the current battery and the best place to buy it? He is traveling again in the next 4 days so will need to do it within a couple of days.

Well finding the nearest Amaron/Exide dealer via Google is the easiest and best bet for a quick fix. If you want - you can also try batterybhai.com for a competitive price and possibly doorstep service.

Originally Posted by Varun_G

Anyone who has done it before on their Baleno can share their experience. I was previously planning to suggest Sensairy to him but the HUD isn't available for the next few months and it's a pain to track everything via mobile app for him.

Does the Alpha 2017 support Android Auto (I believe it does?) and does your father use an Android phone? If the answer is YES - get Sensairy and ask their support team to provide the APK for AndroidAuto compatible app. It works like a charm and you get the easy to read view within AndroidAuto with 1 touch on the screen. I use it this way and is excellent. No need of an HUD at all.

Also - if you set the low and high pressure alerts to correct thresholds in the app for each tyre - you never have to actually open the app to check pressure. It gives instant audio alerts and on-screen warnings when the threshold is reached. Hardly ever do I actually open the app on phone or in AndroidAuto to check the pressures. In the single app - I have added the kits for both my cars. Its very convenient. In case you get the kit for bike/scooter as well - it can be added in the same app login as well.

[Varun_G]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Well finding the nearest Amaron/Exide dealer via Google is the easiest and best bet for a quick fix. If you want - you can also try batterybhai.com for a competitive price and possibly doorstep service.

Do we have to take care of any specifications while ordering a battery or just search for Baleno car battery and order one? Also, which brand is more recommended - Amaron or Exide?

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Does the Alpha 2017 support Android Auto (I believe it does?) and does your father use an Android phone? If the answer is YES - get Sensairy and ask their support team to provide the APK for AndroidAuto compatible app. It works like a charm and you get the easy to read view within AndroidAuto with 1 touch on the screen. I use it this way and is excellent. No need of an HUD at all.

Baleno does support Android Auto but it is very buggy. The app doesn't work seamlessly at times and has to be reconnected via cable multiple times before it shows a successful connection. My Dad wouldn't have the patience to do that due to which I am searching for a TPMS with an HUD.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Varun_G

Do we have to take care of any specifications while ordering a battery or just search for Baleno car battery and order one? Also, which brand is more recommended - Amaron or Exide?

The jury is still out on that Amaron-Exide battle. TBHP members consistently vote that Amaron is the best out there. Contrary to that statistic, I have always used Exide and never faced a premature failure / defect in 16 years of car ownership. So I keep using Exide in cars and bikes both even today.

As for the specification - Batterybhai selects the correct matching battery automatically for all popular models. Easier way is - check the DIN number on the existing battery's sticker (it will be like 40DIN, 50DIN, 55DIN etc) OR open the owner's manual and navigate to the battery details section. The specifications will be clearly mentioned.

[amvj]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Does the Alpha 2017 support Android Auto (I believe it does?) and does your father use an Android phone? If the answer is YES - get Sensairy and ask their support team to provide the APK for AndroidAuto compatible app. It works like a charm and you get the easy to read view within AndroidAuto with 1 touch on the screen. I use it this way and is excellent. No need of an HUD at all.

This is quite intriguing. How to install app on the car’s touch screen ?
Mine is 2017 Alpha model and that comes with Andriod auto and Apple CarPlay.

Do I need to use this app ?

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by amvj

This is quite intriguing. How to install app on the car’s touch screen ?
Mine is 2017 Alpha model and that comes with Andriod auto and Apple CarPlay.
Do I need to use this app ?

No, not the SmartPlay app. The Sensairy display will come as an app "within" AndroidAuto - so along with VLC/Spotify/PrimeMusic/GoogleMaps etc. once you enter AndroidAuto App drawer on the screen.

You need to first install the regular Sensairy app from play store (not needed if your phone is rooted already). Then manually install the custom APK with AndroidAuto compatibility. Afterwards enter the "Customize launcher/app drawer" (something like that) option in AndroidAuto settings on the phone - and add the Sensairy app into the list using a check-box (if not already added automatically).