[seedyk]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Not for a couple of months to be honest. I've had a very good experience with the Race Dynamics chip on my Swift-D, so they're a definite contender. More research will be done over the next couple of months to see what's the best option.

That is why i thought you might chip the RD box in her.
Neway i guess you'd want to enjoy the raw power in her for some months before you take the plunge.

Do keep updating this thread with all the miniscule details, we are very much interested.
And once again, your ride looks stunning.

Btw, have you considered chaging the grille to an aluminium (not sure of the material) one ? have seen one at carters, and it surely looks great. Not too flashy and adds a point to the classy quotient. pretty neat !

Will surely click a pic and post it when i spot her next time.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by seedyk

That is why i thought you might chip the RD box in her. Neway i guess you'd want to enjoy the raw power in her for some months before you take the plunge.
Do keep updating this thread with all the miniscule details, we are very much interested. And once again, your ride looks stunning.

Thanks very much Seedy. New pics will come this weekend with minor updates (tints). I'll also report on the FE by this weekend.

Originally Posted by seedyk

Btw, have you considered chaging the grille to an aluminium (not sure of the material) one ? have seen one at carters, and it surely looks great. Not too flashy and adds a point to the classy quotient. pretty neat !
Will surely click a pic and post it when i spot her next time.

I've seen it on a few Cruzes and that would be the only exterior mod I would consider. I think it adds a nice bit of zing to the front and since my alloys are hypersilver maybe it would go nicely. Lets see

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Thanks very much Seedy. New pics will come this weekend with minor updates (tints). I'll also report on the FE by this weekend.


I've seen it on a few Cruzes and that would be the only exterior mod I would consider. I think it adds a nice bit of zing to the front and since my alloys are hypersilver maybe it would go nicely. Lets see

Thats what im talking off.
The one on which i checked this was over a white cruze. Was hot ! Silver doesn't do justice to the grille.
Guess your black beast would do more than justice to the grille and would surely complement the sick alloys

PS : Keeping the black mesh grille clean would be a pain in the *** rather in the sense that dust would be more prominent & would rather be taking away the aesthetics for sure.

--
This is what im talking off. The exact one i checkd out. The earlier one posted by you is the fine mesh one. Anyway, both look classy.
http://www.autoamenity.com/Chrome-Gr...hevy-Cruze.htm

[gurudutt]

Congrats ghostrider, thats one nice machine. I was just wondering about the profile of the rubber under her. Isn't it a lill low for Indian (potholed) roads?

[ktnaseem]

ghost rider the car looks fab alloys and the tyres do justice to ure mean machine, have u considerd stickering your chevy emblem...probably black would look gr8 :-)

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by ktnaseem

ghost rider the car looks fab alloys and the tyres do justice to ure mean machine, have u considerd stickering your chevy emblem...probably black would look gr8 :-)

Thanks a lot ktnaseem. I'm enjoying that little bit of bling on the car at the moment... it's the only thing that's not black or silver and provides a nice contrast. Yours looks pretty neat though... how did you do it?

Originally Posted by gurudutt

Congrats ghostrider, thats one nice machine. I was just wondering about the profile of the rubber under her. Isn't it a lill low for Indian (potholed) roads?

Thanks a lot guru. Sometimes I feel we worry too much about upsizing - I've always maintained that one upsize is absolutely fine. My last three cars (Swift-D, Ikon 1.6) all had +1 upsizes and I've never had suspension issues (4+ years on all cars and more than 48,000 km). My Cruze is on 225/50 as compared to 205/60... it translates to a 10 mm difference in sidewall height and to be honest I haven't noticed any difference in the ride.
On the other hand... too much of an upsize will give you a problem. A friend upsized his Swift to 17" rims on ultra-low profile rubber and needed a suspension overhaul at 22,000 km.
If you don't go overboard you'll never have an issue... you also need to stay within the +/- 3% limits of the stock size.

[ghostrider]

Minor update:

Got the Vkool tints done today. I would've loved to have gotten the K14 shade but I really don't want hassles with the cops. As a compromise, I chose the T35 because I liked the slight metallic tint to the film.

Pics to follow.

[darthvader]

Originally Posted by seedyk

Thats what im talking off.
The one on which i checked this was over a white cruze. Was hot ! Silver doesn't do justice to the grille.
Guess your black beast would do more than justice to the grille and would surely complement the sick alloys

PS : Keeping the black mesh grille clean would be a pain in the *** rather in the sense that dust would be more prominent & would rather be taking away the aesthetics for sure.

--
This is what im talking off. The exact one i checkd out. The earlier one posted by you is the fine mesh one. Anyway, both look classy.
GI-100 Chevy Cruze Chrome Grill Inserts, Custom Look, Great Prices, AutoAmenity.com

From personal experience, one problem with the plastic grill is that it requires a lot of cleaning, and cleaning it with hands is very difficult as you really need to get your fingers with a cloth, into those holes and wipe them all out. Workshops use a pressure wash and manage to clean most of the grill even with water.

I'd look for a coated metallic grill which is black, to replace the OEM one. Just a matter of personal preference, but the black grill looks way better than the silvered one.

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by darthvader

From personal experience, one problem with the plastic grill is that it requires a lot of cleaning, and cleaning it with hands is very difficult as you really need to get your fingers with a cloth, into those holes and wipe them all out. Workshops use a pressure wash and manage to clean most of the grill even with water.

I'd look for a coated metallic grill which is black, to replace the OEM one. Just a matter of personal preference, but the black grill looks way better than the silvered one.

The exact thing i was trying to point out.
The swift too has a similar grille and is a pain to maintain.

Regarding the metallic grille, it all comes upto our personal choice.
I would anyday prefer the metallic one over the cruze. Plus it wouldn't show signs of dirt as much as the black one. So all in all, its a win-win.

[darthvader]

Originally Posted by seedyk

The exact thing i was trying to point out.
The swift too has a similar grille and is a pain to maintain.

Regarding the metallic grille, it all comes upto our personal choice.
I would anyday prefer the metallic one over the cruze. Plus it wouldn't show signs of dirt as much as the black one. So all in all, its a win-win.

The metallic grill shouldn't rust with time, so the paint coating on it should also preferably have a layer of paint protection polish. Somehow, I see this increasing the cost tremendously.

If you guys find a black metallic Cruze grill which is less than 5 grand to replace, please do post all the details here as I too will be interested

[seedyk]

Originally Posted by darthvader

The metallic grill shouldn't rust with time, so the paint coating on it should also preferably have a layer of paint protection polish. Somehow, I see this increasing the cost tremendously.

If you guys find a black metallic Cruze grill which is less than 5 grand to replace, please do post all the details here as I too will be interested

The metallic grille is a stainless steel one (i suppose). So the question of rusting doesn't arise. I may be wrong.

As for the black metallic one, the only option is to get a normal metallic grille painted to black.

Now mainting this would be a hassle as you would at some point of time would face issues like paint chipping off.

Do let us know if you get this done. Would love to see how aesthetic it looks

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Minor update:

Got the Vkool tints done today. I would've loved to have gotten the K14 shade but I really don't want hassles with the cops. As a compromise, I chose the T35 because I liked the slight metallic tint to the film.

Pics to follow.

Waiting to see how she looks now.

[Whaateva]

Congratulations on the Cruze, it looks fantastic on those Lensos and Caviar Black indeed in my opinion is the best color for it.

Could you share some info on the deal you got from the dealer on the new car ( Discount, Goodies etc).

[sameer_tangri]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

I've only done about 200km or so and the MID is reporting 10.8 km/l as the average so far. Its too early to determine what the FE is, I'll post after the first refill.
Black is a dust and fingerprint magnet! My white Swift (sold it today to a very close friend :( ) managed to look shiny clean all year-round except in the monsoons.

Hi.

I own a Cruze LTZ AT purchased in Jan-2011.
Been a year+ and have run it 12,500 kms as of today.

I am getting a consistent fuel efficiency of 10.5 to 10.9 kms in Pune City, with AC on all the time.
Recent test on Pune-Mumbai expressway showed the mileage at 15 kmpl.

[sameer_tangri]

@ghostrider,

In my opinion, the best thing you have done is changing the Tyres. I didn't do it and am still ruing this fact till date. The stock JK tyres are simply pathetic and shoddy. Toooooo much road-noise and they give absolutely no confidence on turns. In fact it's scary. The tyre compound is just too hard :-(
But now I am stuck with these till at least 30,000 kms unless I feel rich one of these days ;-)

Regd the maintenance of the Black colour...It is indeed a tough task! I have recently spent approximately 8.5k at 3M Car Care in Pune in which I got the Interior Cleaning (cost about 2.4k) and Exterior Treatment for car > 6 months old (cost about 5.2k).
It has definitely improved the look of the car.

Other than this, I am planning to go for 3M foam wash every 6 months as now that I have tried the 3M agency here in Wanowrie, Pune, I am quite happy with their service.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by Whaateva

Congratulations on the Cruze, it looks fantastic on those Lensos and Caviar Black indeed in my opinion is the best color for it.

Could you share some info on the deal you got from the dealer on the new car ( Discount, Goodies etc).

Thanks very much. Dealer discounts worked out to approximately 50k PLUS teflon coating, mudflaps, and some nice premiumi matting. I realize I haven't put up many pics of the interior, and I'll rectify this latest by this weekend.

Originally Posted by sameer_tangri

Hi.

I own a Cruze LTZ AT purchased in Jan-2011.
Been a year+ and have run it 12,500 kms as of today. I am getting a consistent fuel efficiency of 10.5 to 10.9 kms in Pune City, with AC on all the time. Recent test on Pune-Mumbai expressway showed the mileage at 15 kmpl.

That's fantastic for a 2-liter turbocharged 1.5-ton car with an AT. So far my MID's reporting 12.1 as the average KPL and I'm almost done with the first tank. I'll fill up this evening or tomorrow and post the actual figures. My AC's on all the time too.

Originally Posted by sameer_tangri

@ghostrider,

In my opinion, the best thing you have done is changing the Tyres. I didn't do it and am still ruing this fact till date. The stock JK tyres are simply pathetic and shoddy. Toooooo much road-noise and they give absolutely no confidence on turns. In fact it's scary. The tyre compound is just too hard :-(
But now I am stuck with these till at least 30,000 kms unless I feel rich one of these days ;-)

Yup. I wanted to change the alloys too and it took me a while to find the right wheels. For the first week or so I barely drove the car because I didn't want to drive too much - it would've affected my buyback on the stock rims and tyres. The Advan Sports are great.

Originally Posted by sameer_tangri

Regd the maintenance of the Black colour...It is indeed a tough task! I have recently spent approximately 8.5k at 3M Car Care in Pune in which I got the Interior Cleaning (cost about 2.4k) and Exterior Treatment for car > 6 months old (cost about 5.2k). It has definitely improved the look of the car.
Other than this, I am planning to go for 3M foam wash every 6 months as now that I have tried the 3M agency here in Wanowrie, Pune, I am quite happy with their service.

Thanks for posting details. I'm a little lucky because I have basement parking both at home and at work, so dirt and scratches etc are somewhat mitigated.
I'd advise buying the Jopasu duster if you haven't already. It's perfect for getting the dust off and considering your car's black, you'll also mitigate the swirls and minor scratches you'd get from a regular cloth.