[jp2u]

Hi Everyone,

After a big dilemma for more than a year i have finally got a used Alto LXI and how i decided to it is discussed in this thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...-alto-k10.html

Ok i finally got ALTO

here are some specs

Model: ALTO Lxi
Year: 2009 july
kms done: 13700

Bought from: My friend

Buying Price: 1.96L

Color: Black


Buying date: May 2011

Reason for delayed thread: Busy playing with my Black dog alto

Now here are some pics of the my Alto.










where ever i go, it follows

More details and pics coming soon

Damm the two smiley limitation :(

Mods done by me

Done body color bumper painting -- Rs2500
Changed Roots horn -- Rs1300 (the car came with pre fitted music changer for horn)
Fancy Wheel Cover -- Rs 500
Ambi Pure --- Rs160
Pioneer DEH-5250SD -- around 9k could not remember the actual cost
JBL 3 way 300watts rear speaker -- Rs3200
Pioneer front speakers -- Rs1200



Ok now here comes the experience of owning it .....

its been more than 3 years i had driven a car, and Chennai traffic has just become worse due to the construction of various bridges and other things on road. So drove with L board on for 10 days for safety reasons. I must admit it that, its very very easy for driving this small car in city traffic.

The car was in perfect condition, everything was smooth.the vehicle is totally a pleasure. The A/C is quite powerful considering the size of the vehicle. Alto can be more powerful while the AC is switched off. The Cons I have seen so far is drop in pickup with AC on..If I have to overtake a vehicle going over 80 Kms per hour I need to switch off my AC, overtake the vehicle and switch on the AC again. Otherwise there is no other complaint about the car.

Current FE is 13.5 with 100% AC in city traffic, hope this improves gradually.

Currently am driving with nitrogen in tyre's.... but friends tell me that nitrogen is only for highway use and for city use, normal air is more than enough for car tyre's. please comment on this.

I love my car and I think it is a vehicle affordable by middle class people. I have to spend very little on its maintainance. The pick- up is very good. After any signal , I would be almost at the front of all vehicles and this gives me a lot of high. The vehicle is very much in my control

The alTO has done 1000 kms after i got it. and planning to add more kms to the odo.

For any of the long-drives i don't need to bother about anything, just stuff in the luggage, fill the tank, check the tyres and say "Let’s Go!! ALTO" and the next thing is we have reached the destination pretty comfortably...

Would definitely recommend it as best beginner’s car for everyone.

To add to my short review, i need to ask u guys a simple and a possibly silly question. and that is "How do u people drive on an inclined place?" i find it difficult to drive in lots of over bridges in chennai so taking the long route for now

Where ever i go, the ALTO follows .

[jp2u]

Went on a short trip to Tiruporur temple in OMR in chennai. Its a 1hour drive from Chennai but i reached the place in 40mins, thanks to Alto.

The black dog behaved extremly well in the highway, i was cruising in 80 - 100km and there was no vibration or anything like that.

but my mind was full of the nitrogen in the tyre's. i was always worried about that.

The car was packed with four well built people and it went effortlessly and proved to my family that, i had made a nice decision of buying this car.

Few Questions:

Guys can some Please clarify about the nitrogen usage

The clutch Slip is needed to be adjusted, as its in half clutch by its earlier user and i find it difficult in bumper to bumper traffic


Is Xenos remote lock good, because once the remote lock stopped responding and i had to tap the lock few times to make it work again

Which make of Tyre's are good for Alto ?

Rainy season coming, any advice for that !




Here are some latest pics took today morning

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Reports forum. Thanks for sharing, mate!

[souravc]

Congrats on the shiny beauty mate , the pictures look great !
On the nitrogen use , I am a bit skeptical about it - IMO you would be no worse off using normal air . For tyre change I think you can use bridgestone , I had used them on my M800 and was pretty happy with the ride and grip ( talking about my experience around 7 years back ! )
Clutch slippage can eat into your mileage and half clutch usage really kills the plates , you should change it - well worth it .
Reduction in pull when AC switches on is very natural , happens in most cars - you should not be worried about it as long as cooling is fine.
Wish you many miles of happiness
Cheers !

[callvvijay]

Originally Posted by jp2u

The black dog behaved extremly well in the highway, i was cruising in 80 - 100km and there was no vibration or anything like that.
The car was packed with four well built people and it went effortlessly and proved to my family that, i had made a nice decision of buying this car.

Originally Posted by jp2u

Few Questions:

Guys can some Please clarify about the nitrogen usage

The clutch Slip is needed to be adjusted, as its in half clutch by its earlier user and i find it difficult in bumper to bumper traffic


Is Xenos remote lock good, because once the remote lock stopped responding and i had to tap the lock few times to make it work again

Which make of Tyre's are good for Alto ?

Congratulations on your purchase. The car looks so clean and well-maintained.

I have been driving an Alto (color: Silky Silver) for past 3+ years and I know how easy it is to drive this in the ever increasing Chennai traffic. I have taken it through many narrow streets and lanes without much of difficulty. And parking - man, I love this car for the ease with which I can park it.

Coming to your questions

1. When driving up an incline, accelerate with half-clutch till the car gets some momentum. And if the incline is too steep, use the hand-brake. Release the hand-brake very slowly and accelerate with the cluch depressed. Once you get some momentum - by which time, you would have released the hand-brake completely - release the clutch too and you are on the go! I have used this technique quite a few times when ascending from my office parking (in Basement-2). When ascending the ramp which has a left turn, cars used to come in the opposite direction and I would have to make a stop and start in the ramp.

2. Rectify your clutch as it would eat up the mileage. And it will also be difficult to drive - especially in the slopes. However, you say that you get a mileage of 13.5kmpl in the city with 100% AC, which to me looks to be fine. So, are you sure about the clutch slip issue?

3. Xenos remote lock - I too have the same and its been working perfectly fine for me for all these years. The battery might have drained out in the remote lock. Once I even had a loose contact in it which I got rectified.

4. Tyres - I have MRF ZVTS -this is the one that was given to me by Maruti and I haven't changed it yet. Its been 34K kms and still goes fine.

5. Vibration & long drives: I have made 3 Chennai-Bangalore-Chennai and 2 Chennai-Pondy/Kadalur-Chennai trips in my Alto of which 3-4 trips were with 4 passengers on board. The car behaves really well in highways. However, when going with 4 people, the pickup will be terribly killing. Secondly, touch 100-110kmph and you will feel a lot of vibration. But when going with just 1 passenger (2 people onboard), I could sense the vibration only at 120-125kmph.

6. Nitrogen usage: I have been filling only normal air all this time and I don't feel any pinch even in the highways.

Oops.. Such a big essay!! Anyways, I hope to have cleared or at least tried to clear some doubts for you. Happy Alto-ing! Lets go!


Cheers!

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by jp2u

The car was in perfect condition, everything was smooth.the vehicle is totally a pleasure. The A/C is quite powerful considering the size of the vehicle. Alto can be more powerful while the AC is switched off. The Cons I have seen so far is drop in pickup with AC on..If I have to overtake a vehicle going over 80 Kms per hour I need to switch off my AC, overtake the vehicle and switch on the AC again. Otherwise there is no other complaint about the car.

Since you're a new driver, I wouldn't suggest any advanced practices. While A/C is on, try to upshift into a higher gear later . For eg.

1st-2nd- at 20 km/h
2nd-3rd- at 35-40 km/h
3rd-4th- at 45-50km/h & so on.

The engine will roar, but it will not impact fuel efficiency or acceleration as much as when you shift into a higher gear soon & lug the engine.

Best tyres are the MRF ZVTS. Rock solid, durable at speeds <80km/h. They provide average grip and are loooong lasting.

Air contains 78% nitrogen. By filling direct nitrogen, you are effectively making the tyres retain the pressure for a longer time as other gases present in regular air are not there. This is why you don't need to fill up your tyres as frequently as on air. Nitrogen in tyres is completely safe as long as you fill upto a reasonable limit & not overfill it. Don't ever fill up more than 32-33 psi as the comfort level will go down.

[charthom]

jp2u,

Good snaps and very good review.You look like a very satisfied owner.

Your steering cover has started to wrinkle out-I can see.Did you not try the tying type?It would have been more robust and lasting.

Nitrogen can be used in city too.If you are attending your car regularly and driving frequently the ordinary air is enough. Either N2 or air please keep the recommended tyre pressure.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Interior photos-more please??

[bluevolt]

Congratulations jp2u for your Maruti Alto. It is a lovely car best driven in City. It is so effortless to drive Alto in the City traffic. I have driven my sister's Alto many times and found it perfect for City use. It is much easy to maneuver Alto than WagonR.

Please do update the thread with more snaps.

Wishing you happy and safe driving.

[AvonA7]

Originally Posted by jp2u

Hi Everyone,
After a big dilemma for more than a year i have finally got a used Alto LXI Ok i finally got ALTO
here are some specs

Model: ALTO Lxi
Year: 2009 july
kms done: 13700

Bought from: My friend

Buying Price: 1.96L

Color: Black

Buying date: May 2011

Congratulations, wishing you many many happy miles. BTW, you got it at a reasonable price for an Alto with only 13700 kms, not sure about Chennai prices though.

Originally Posted by jp2u

To add to my short review, i need to ask u guys a simple and a possibly silly question. and that is "How do u people drive on an inclined place?" i find it difficult to drive in lots of over bridges in chennai so taking the long route for now

This is strange as the flyovers/shopping mall parking or office parking lots even though may be sometimes a steep climb but not that "Black Dog" cannot climb.

Try with lowest gear possible (1st/2nd) it should climb comfortably even with full load. Still if you are hesitant, always ensure hand-brake is on (that will give you peace of mind, in case engine is stalled or car slips backwards), slowly remove your left leg from clutch and press the accelerator releasing the hand-brake at the same time (you`ll notice a mild jerk in the car and that is when you need to press accelerator releasing clutch and handbrake).

Try this few times early morning in any steep climb (preferably shopping malls/office parking when traffic is negligible), after that you`ll be an expert on this

[jp2u]

Thank you all for the advice on the inclined plane, practicing it in my office parking lot daily

clutch slip is now adjusted to be normal by my mechanic friend.

Originally Posted by charthom

jp2u,

Your steering cover has started to wrinkle out-I can see.Did you not try the tying type?It would have been more robust and lasting.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Interior photos-more please??

Steering cover is actually new, but the boy in GP road who stitched the cover, got it all messed up. so left it like that for time beign

Am currently using O2 in my tyre's

Switched to shell petrol opposite to my office in Porur

More snaps as soon as i get them

Just loving the drive in chennai rains

[Reinhard]

Hey Congratulations on your new ride. As for nitrogen, don't fill it. Its for racing purposes, not worth for day to day rides in our city cars. As JustCause has very correctly mentioned earlier, natural air already is 78% Nitrogen. Why pay hundreds of rupees more for a mere 22% additional? Its just a way to fool people thats all.

And what do you mean by this - "Am currently using O2 in my tyre's" ? I got a bit confused...

Any difference felt with Shell? Fill it only if you really get better performance/mileage. No real sense filling Shell just for the sake of it either. Of course there are BP/HP/IOC pumps which don't provide really good pure fuel. But there are good ones too. In fact I find the diesel from my current BP pump to give better mileage and smoother engine compared to Shell Diesel which also costs a hell lot more.

[jp2u]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Hey Congratulations on your new ride. As for nitrogen, don't fill it. Its for racing purposes, not worth for day to day rides in our city cars. As JustCause has very correctly mentioned earlier, natural air already is 78% Nitrogen. Why pay hundreds of rupees more for a mere 22% additional? Its just a way to fool people thats all.

And what do you mean by this - "Am currently using O2 in my tyre's" ? I got a bit confused...

Any difference felt with Shell? Fill it only if you really get better performance/mileage. No real sense filling Shell just for the sake of it either. Of course there are BP/HP/IOC pumps which don't provide really good pure fuel. But there are good ones too. In fact I find the diesel from my current BP pump to give better mileage and smoother engine compared to Shell Diesel which also costs a hell lot more.

Thanks for the tip on nitro again

by O2 i ment natural air, sorry if i confused. my bad.

filled up with shell just now, so will let you know if i find any improvement at all

[jp2u]

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Try with lowest gear possible (1st/2nd) it should climb comfortably even with full load. Still if you are hesitant, always ensure hand-brake is on (that will give you peace of mind, in case engine is stalled or car slips backwards), slowly remove your left leg from clutch and press the accelerator releasing the hand-brake at the same time (you`ll notice a mild jerk in the car and that is when you need to press accelerator releasing clutch and handbrake).

Try this few times early morning in any steep climb (preferably shopping malls/office parking when traffic is negligible), after that you`ll be an expert on this

Practicing it in my office

but am getting nervous to climb a bridge in a fear that, i might roll my car and hit someone behind. the fear still lurks

[Dry Ice]

Congrats jp2u for the Black Dog. Care to reveal the inspiration?

Anyways, about the incline part, I think vinay above has mentioned it quite well too. Here is what I used to do when I was learning.

When stopped on an incline pull up your handbrake. While starting, start normally like you would on normal roads. As the rear would just 'rise' a bit, let go of the handbrake. Car won't move back. Practice it a few times and you would get a hang of it.

Initially you might stall the engine before letting the handbrake go but slowly you'll get it. And over time you'll be able to move off without slipping and using handbrake.

EDIT:
And, oh yes, do paint your rims black in case you wish to keep the wheel caps, will give a cleaner look!

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by JustCause

Best tyres are the MRF ZVTS. Rock solid, durable at speeds <80km/h. They provide average grip and are loooong lasting.

I changed the tyres last month on my Alto. The OE were MRF ZVTS, which covered 55K till i changed to Apollo Amazer XL.
These are really great tyres, better then MRF. I wanted to go for Michelins but the cost factor ruled them out.