[charthom]

Hi Sridhar,

Sorry for being late-but hearty congrats!! Nice review-plenty of photos.Excellent and informative.

A few curiosities-How do you find the rear seats?Is the body roll prominent now too?What FE are you getting now?

Enjoy the great feeling and keep posting. Cheers,charthom.

[shridhar.s.i]

Hello Everyone,
I had kept silent on the detail ownership thread for sometime now as i wanted to wait and see how the car behaves over a duration of atleast 8-9 months, i have also added a bunch of accessories and will be providing an update on my ownership shortly including Fuel efficiency figures,

Thanks for being patient

[shridhar.s.i]

Hello All,
Here are a few updates
KMS on ODO : 6000

Number of Servicings done: 2

Technical problems faced : None

Trips Done
5 Trips to Mumbai
1 trip to Kolhapur
2 Trips to Lavasa

Now comes the main question, what is the fuel efficiency
In City
Without AC: 18 kmpl
With AC: 16 Kmpl

Highways
Without AC: 19 kmpl
With AC: 18 Kmpl
As you can see, in highway the AC factor has not made much of a difference

Summers in Pune reach close to 42* C but the AC is doing a decent job

Engine: The main reason i selected this car and it has not let me down, even with full load, i am able to climb ghats at 2/3rd gear with AC which was never possible in my Estate

Ride and Handling:
Pros
Electronic Steering works very well though it does feel a little dead but since car has low NVH levels i can forgive this
Cruising at speeds of 120 on highways is not at all a problem in this car (I urge to follow speed limits wherever advised)

Cons
Eminent Body Roll
Hard suspension helps in better handling but adversely affects ride quality

Accessories fitted
Pioneer HU DEH 4390 UB
Front Pioneer Coaxial
Reat Pioneer TS A934 3 Way Speakers
Genuine MGA fogs
Centre Armrest
Front Parking Sensors

I Would also request Advice on the following
I am planning to fit a rear spoiler wing, i would like to know whether it would really help me with better downforce or is it just show
I also want to change the fog lamp bulbs to fit a HID kit instead, they are asking around Rs 9000 for this, how much does phillips HID kit cost
I also want to install couple of Hella Fog's and Hella DRL Kit,
Any ideas where i can source them in Pune
I want to change my front speakers to components, put a 4 way amp and a subwoofer as well, but i dont want to waste the existing 2 speakers, can i put them in my rear door so that my front door housing can have the components and hence i can have a six speaker setup

I am a Pioneer fan and hence will be looking for a Pioneer based setup, any ideas on rough pricing for this

Please advise

[Amey]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

Hello All,

I Would also request Advice on the following
I am planning to fit a rear spoiler wing, i would like to know whether it would really help me with better downforce or is it just show
I also want to change the fog lamp bulbs to fit a HID kit instead, they are asking around Rs 9000 for this, how much does phillips HID kit cost
I also want to install couple of Hella Fog's and Hella DRL Kit,
Any ideas where i can source them in Pune
I want to change my front speakers to components, put a 4 way amp and a subwoofer as well, but i dont want to waste the existing 2 speakers, can i put them in my rear door so that my front door housing can have the components and hence i can have a six speaker setup

I am a Pioneer fan and hence will be looking for a Pioneer based setup, any ideas on rough pricing for this

Please advise

I am planning to fit a rear spoiler wing, i would like to know whether it would really help me with better downforce or is it just show - You can install it purely for cosmetic reasons. You aren't going to be driving at such high speeds that a spoiler is needed. My personal opinion though.

I also want to change the fog lamp bulbs to fit a HID kit instead, they are asking around Rs 9000 for this, how much does phillips HID kit cost - If I were you, I wouldnt fiddle with the HID for Fog lamps. First of all the fog lamp is a reflector based assembly and not projectors. In really foggy conditions, all you will experience is light scattering everywhere and not cutting through the fog which is what you actually need. Infact the HID in fog will make your visibility even worse.
The cost depends on what type of bulb is required. I guess standard H4 ones cost around 6-8k maybe ?

I also want to install couple of Hella Fog's and Hella DRL Kit,
Any ideas where i can source them in Pune
- The DRLs available these days are from Philips right ? or am I mistaken ?
You can get them at Poona Motors in Camp and various other known shops in Pune.


I want to change my front speakers to components, put a 4 way amp and a subwoofer as well, but i dont want to waste the existing 2 speakers, can i put them in my rear door so that my front door housing can have the components and hence i can have a six speaker setup - Swift has both front and rear 6" speaker provision so yes you can remove current front speakers and install them in the rear.Power them with the HU. As for Components, well Pio isnt really known for their sets as such. You could look into Infinity,Hertz,Bull Audio,Illusion Audio,JBL,Focal and much more.Choice is yours in the end. As for the Amp, depends on what is your budget for it. You can get a 4 Ch amp for as less as 10-12k and then there is no end to the upper limit.
Assuming you want to a good bang for the buck, would highly recommend Focal Solid 4, excellent Amp for the price.

Six speakers ? Oh you mean 2 x tweeters + 2 x mid bass drivers + 2 x co axials am I right ?

[shridhar.s.i]

@Amey, Thanks for the honest opinions, i really appreciate it,
Okay lets take it point by point
1. so I will give the Rear wing a miss as you are right, for 100 Kmph we dont need a wing
2. The Maruti stock fogs i am not sure will be that effective, this is my personal experience hence was strongly considering an HID kit, the Poona motors guy said he has an H7 halogen option fro Osram, but increase would be nominal 20% but the cost is 600 per bulb hence not worth it, i am keen on HID as i have installed it in my Apache and it is doing a pretty good job there,
Now, is it possible that i change the H7 holder to H4 in fog assembly and put by 100/90 rally bulbs there and then install HID with projector and Angel eye for the main headlamp assembly

3. Hella has recently launched DRL's and i was suprised that they cost $300 , hence would enquire for Philips

4. I am a Noob at ICE, let me rephrase it as
2 x tweeters + 2 x mid bass drivers + 4 x co axials

[Amey]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

@Amey, Thanks for the honest opinions, i really appreciate it,
Okay lets take it point by point
1. so I will give the Rear wing a miss as you are right, for 100 Kmph we dont need a wing
2. The Maruti stock fogs i am not sure will be that effective, this is my personal experience hence was strongly considering an HID kit, the Poona motors guy said he has an H7 halogen option fro Osram, but increase would be nominal 20% but the cost is 600 per bulb hence not worth it, i am keen on HID as i have installed it in my Apache and it is doing a pretty good job there,
Now, is it possible that i change the H7 holder to H4 in fog assembly and put by 100/90 rally bulbs there and then install HID with projector and Angel eye for the main headlamp assembly

3. Hella has recently launched DRL's and i was suprised that they cost $300 , hence would enquire for Philips

4. I am a Noob at ICE, let me rephrase it as
2 x tweeters + 2 x mid bass drivers + 4 x co axials

Well unless you modify that entire fog lamp assembly, I don't think you would be able to replace the H7 holder with H4. Also remember, H7 is a single beam whereas the H4 is double beam filament and therefore the wiring would be different.
Honestly speaking, I wouldnt bother too much with all these things, if the Fogs are H7 then I would just replace the bulb with Osram Night Breaker and be happy.
Multiple advantages of going this route,
1. stock assembly and wiring retained
2. thanks to the nightbreakers, you won't need to install a relay/cut out because they are rated at stock 60/55W.
3. you get much more brighter and longer throw while retaining stock wiring and assembly.
In my opinion win-win situation.

Here is a link to Osram Nightbreaker Part No. - NIGHT BREAKER PLUS 64210NBP

[shridhar.s.i]

@Amey, i had enquired about Osram Nighbreakers at Pune motors and he said they are no longer available
Any other source you can recommend in Pune where i may get it

[shridhar.s.i]

Well it was a usual day with a usual start, i use Dark Angel for commuting to office ad so i left for office, reached destination to find that parking was already full (An expected result for latecomers) hence i decided to use the Pay 'n' Park facility besides my office, i parked my car and then promptly locked it and went to my office, Now you may ask what's wrong with this whole scene ? and my answer would be - read on

I was working late that day and left office at around 11 PM IST, reached my car, used my remote to unlock the car, "nothing happened", i was both surprised and disappointed, usually it would welcome my command and presence with a "Click Click", but not today, no response from the car, i tried multiple times but the Angel just refused to unlock

I thought maybe the battery on the remote must have gone kaput as this has happened in my other car once since the battery provided with the bundle is usually local make and we cant expect it to last an eternity anyways, so i thought to myself that what could be done next, then came an idea , i had read in many emails how you can unlock the car remotely if you have an alternate remote at home and a cellphone, well i had both so i called home and asked my mother to use the alternate remote and press unlock, meanwhile i was imagining the signal frequency traveling via cellphone right into my car's receptor, She tried multiple times but again nothing happened - well at-least to the car, but yes something else did happen, my mother thought i have lost my mind and i had decided to kick the person who sent me that mail

Then i remembered something else, my remote also has my car key, my car has a manual lock, put the key into the lock and car will open (When you are in a crisis the brain seems to break up the sequence of tasks into simple steps), i thought it would start the alarm but i could always shut it off once i crank the engine, so i swiftly did the above step and voila - the car door opened, but i was missing something - No Alarm sound ! i wondered if my autocop security system has gone Kaput (In a year) but then i felt "Why is it so dark in here", i saw that the indoor lamp which should get lit when i open the door was not working either, now it occurred to me "BATTERY DOWN"

The next possible action was to check what caused it and i quickly found out that i had left my headlamps + fogs on, with 100 / 90 in headlamp and 55 W fogs, my car would have drained battery in less than couple of hours, i felt terrible for what suffering i had caused to the car and felt that now it was my turn to suffer; I had wasted almost 45 minutes in this activity and my watch showed the time as 11.45 PM

Suddenly i remembered about on road assistance, i always carry an LED torch in my car and it came in very handy, i scanned thru the vehicle papers and found the number, one thing funny happened while i was doing this - Now imagine a guy sitting in a car with a torch scanning through glove box, how would it appear to you from outside, yes a gentleman came to me and asked if i was stealing the car (How polite of him, i don't know how he would react if i said YES) I told him that my car had broken down and i am a corporate employee (flashing my I Card), he left the scene with silence

I gave a call to the number and thankfully it was not that menu driven answering system which drives you to a deadlock, i got connected to a lady and she quickly noted down the details, she asked me not to panic and help will be here soon , somehow it inspired confidence in me, i got a message confirming the request in next 5 minutes, within next 5 minutes i got another message confirming the name of the dealer who will be attending to my failure, and then i got a call after 10 minutes, here was the flaw, i got a call from Wonder cars Pimpri, while i was in Yerwada, Pune, it appears by default the system routes the request to dealer who sold the car, i told them i needed urgent help and then in next 5 minutes i got another message confirming the new dealership, it was Kothari Maruti service, i got a call and he said he will reach the place in 30 minutes as he was on a call in Hadapsar, i said OK and waited patiently (what option did i have)

The folks arrived in a Maruti omni which had "MOS" written all over it, i asked them for their Identity cards and they showed me the same (You cannot be too careful but with crime rate going up, better safe then sorry) they quickly asked me what was wrong, once i told them the problem they moved their car next to mine, attached the cables and got it jump started, requested me not to let the car engine stop on my way home and keep the revs a bit high

They charged me Rs 250, for which i got the bill as well and then they quickly left the scene, it was all over in a matter of 20 minutes, the clock showed the time as 1 AM IST and i was able to drive home

Inference
1. When you are in trouble and own a car(my mother was worried at home, it was late and we don't carry a spare CAR Battery), Rs 250 is an amount you can live with for the above service given

2. The service is prompt and well organized (though routing the requests needs improvement)

I also learnt from them that these cars cannot be Push - Started as it might blow away the ECU due to spike, i don't know how much of it is true but i am not interested in testing it out

In next 2 days, i got a feedback call from Kothari Maruti and I rated it 9 (I could have given it a 8 for wrong routing of request, but help arrived in time hence a 9)

[shridhar.s.i]

Finally, the last piece of the ICE jigsaw puzzle is in place,
OK folks, before you think of it as a very cool ICE setup etc, i would like to say "Spoiler Alert", it is a basic update and hence i did not even bother creating a separate theread in ICE Show-off page as it will not provide a lot of information

Every Dasara i do something for my car, suddenly it struck me - Hey what about those components i was dreaming about? , i did a little research and had shortlisted only 2 brands, Focal and JBL, one of my friends had purchased a Scorpio recently so i helped him with his ICE, when i listened to JBL GTO series,i loved it

Hence it was final, JBL GTO components, a good Value for Money offering, an AMP from them as well would be fine , For woofer again a JBL was OK, so I went to get a quote from my Poona Motors guy, he is a honest guy, i also told him about my plans to fit a CNG kit in this car soon, so following were 3 simple statements he made
1, Dont Go for Woofer as u will have no space left after CNG kit is fitted
2. Once Woofer is not in, to power the front components alone, you will not need an AMP as the HU itself has a decent output (Please refer to my previous post for details on HU and Coax) and must be able to take it, install the components and check it out, if you still feel u need more, we can go for the AMP else it is waste of money (Never heard any other shop owner say this)
3. The pair would cost 5k with installation including spacers and cabling - It was GTO 609 series

I was happy, got the car, and he did the installation in 1 hr flat, i was not very happy with quality of cable as it was unbranded but the overall installation was neat with front speakers not sticking out due to spacers

When he drilled holes into car body, i felt a bit sad but then had to control my emotions for the car, more holes for the Tweeters just made it worse for me, but watched calmly

Once the installation was done, heard the audio difference and it was bliss, I now knew I was using my deck only to its 50% potential till date, even at 20 the sound is a bit high for my taste, but the vocals are now clear, base is a bit deeper and no distortion till volume is pushed to 38 (The Coax gives up at that point i think so and starts jarring)

Overall good experience and i cant expect more from a small car as my personal belief is that you dont need a Big woofer for such a small interior You need it in SUV / MUV where the interior room is more
But indeed clarity matters so i leave it at that

Thanks for reading

[shridhar.s.i]

Hello Folks,
It is close to 1.5 years since i got the car and as of today it has done 13K KM
There has been no major problems faced so far but there was a little rattle noticed from the boot door
My car had a puncture recently and i somehow did not pay much attention leading to the car being driven under low air pressure in the left rear tyre for almost 500 kms , this was a terrible mistake and cost my Dark Angel's alignment dearly
As a consequence the car suspension was having a bit of trouble adjusting to concrete roads and even the steering started acting up and hence the car started loosing the handling which it is known for
Took the car for service to Wonder Cars Service in PCMC at 10 AM IST and reported all the problems, the service guy listened to all the problems carefully and noted them down
I was told that as a routine the AC vents will be cleaned and also wheel rotation and alignment will be done, a total estimate of Rs 2300 was given to me, i was OK with it
Got the call in the evening at 5 PM IST that the car was ready, went there and there she was, the Angel had a glow and i could feel as if it had gone thru some Nirvana
Took the car for a test drive and boy it was back to its original performance, turning at flick of steering and responding to my every gear shift precisely, I came back with a smile on my face
Thanked the service guy for sorting out the problems in the car well and paid the bill of Rs 2410

Regarding the service center,
Overall it was a very good experience, something you come to expect of a Maruti, and I was told by the sales guy proudly that Wonder Cars service now has the Asia's biggest car service workshop, cant find evidence to back it up but yes I have never seen such a big service outlet

Thanks for reading

[shridhar.s.i]

Finally, the inevitable happened
Got the first dent on this car and also the first ever in my car driving experience
A dent on car equals a dent on my heart and eventually a dent to my pocket

A usual day and a usual routine, took the car to office and was about to park my car but due to the poor lighting, i did not see a protection bar (painted in black) which was installed to prevent damage to the AC Vent Ducts
Steered a car bit too much to the right and "THUD", that moment i knew it that car has a dent now,
Parked the car and then came out to find that the side fairing was pushed inside, but what worried me more that the impact was not only to the side fairing, it had also misaligned the Headlamp assembly and also the Front Bumper was also dislodged a bit

[shridhar.s.i]

Looks like it has been really long since I updated this ownership thread
Well with a heavy heart I will be letting go of the "Dark Angel" as a new elite i20 will be joining our family soon

To summarize the overall ownership experience
1. A totally niggle free ownership experience
2. At times, the maintenance cost was equal or even less that of my royal enfields. The same also goes for servicing cost as well
3. Being the base trim, i did realize over time that there were a lot of missing features that I did need in a car during my daily chores
4. The Aircon did become a little weak over time and family members started complaining about it more frequently
5. The driving comfort was not as good as that of the Hyundai's atleast in my case
6. Rattles creeped into the cabin as early as second year of ownership, this was expected but not at such an early stage.
7. Maruti service still remains a benchmark that Hyundai and other manufacturers have to beat.
8. The K12B engine is a really refined motor and combined with a good clutch,gearbox,brakes and precise EPS, this car was the best driver's package i could ask for as a learner.

[APV]

Hi Sridhar
Congratulations on the new Elite I20. I too owned a Swift VXI - same colour - I suppose it is called Azure Grey in MSIL terminology.

I ran it only for about 35000KMS before I let it go. I did so because I relocated to TN and the car was bought in Bangalore when I lived there. I also needed a diesel car then due to the increase in difference between petrol & Diesel price - this was back in 2011-12.

Yes Swift is always fun to drive and trouble free car with solid backing of Maruti service network.

Wish you many more happy miles with your new acquisition

[sajo]

shridhar, totally agree with your observations on the Swift. Its a great car to own, demands very little maintenance, great to drive and economical to run as well.
Just curious, how much do you have on the odo of the Swift now ? What are you being offered for it ?