[shibujp]

Originally Posted by MalluDude

Hey Shibu, congratulations on your new ride!! And that 800 still looks well-kept.
How are the wheels/tyres holding up on broken roads?

Thanks Nitin! Yeah the 800 has been well kept by the current owner. No scratches or scapes. The paint is holding up well too.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Congrats on the new car mate! Does the car feel its weight? What I mean is does it feels safe or safe enough when compared to your Polo?

Thanks! The RS cannot match the high speed (triple digits) composure of the Polo. The RS is a light car but that is one of the reasons it's fast as well. The advantages of weight that the Polo has does not come with the RS. I can drive fast alright but I need to adapt my driving to the weight of the RS or rather the lack of it. And a stiffer suspension tune would go a long way in improving the feel at speed too.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Congrats once again Shibu for this acquisition. I really never imagined a Silver Car can be made to look that good bro!!
.

Thanks! You should try out the RS. Rev it up well and it's a fun drive. We diesel drivers have a habit of surfing the torque. This car loves to rev.

Originally Posted by jhaji

I agree. Thanks for your review. I had been waiting for it, because your test drive reports in the official review thread had helped me decide on my choice of Baleno RS. I too chose premium silver colour and have received many compliments for the same.

A bit more from you on the upgraded tyre size and the change in drive compared to the original tyres would be helpful. For now I am satisfied with the OEM tyres.

Thanks man! Glad I could be of help.

Will be creating a separated post on the alloys in a bit. But in short I have used 205/55 R16 tyres on HRS 7.5J alloys (H758). 7.5J is a bit too wide. The handling is better with lesser roll. There is a little bit of loss is ride quality on the really rough stretches and sharper potholes.

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

Congrats on the RS shibhujp

Quick question - Isn't 205/50 R16 the right upsize?

Thanks! Well actually as per the chart the best size is 215/50 R16 but I think that would be too wide. The 205/50 R16 is 1.53% too small and the 205/55 R16 1.77% bigger. The wheel wells are quite big and a smaller diameter wheel would look small. This and in the interests of gaining a little bit of clearance I decided to go for 205/55 R16. Perhaps an upgrade to 17 inches would give more options.



Drive on,
Shibu.

[Dr.Naren]

Congrats . Nice review!

Maruti had detuned the engine for India. I am just curious to know the difference with 97 octane petrol. If possible, do try it. The results were good in many turbo charged petrol cars.

[supremeBaleno]

Congrats on the BalenoRS, shibujp !!!

That's a nice car & a very detailed review. 👍

Originally Posted by shibujp

A belt change was imminent in the next 20k or so and I did not want to let the car go just after spending 20k odd on a timing belt change.

Just curious. Why would a timing-belt change cost 20K odd ? I had changed the belt on my Baleno1.6 some months ago & I think it cost 3K odd IIRC.

[abhinav.s]

Congrats on a very well written review Shibujp! It was very good to read the practical perspective and your view about the shift from the torquey German diesel to Japanese petrol motor. Wishing you lot of happy miles with the RS!!

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Congrats . Nice review!

Thanks! I am not sure about the availability of Speed 97 here in Trivandrum but will try it out when I get the chance. I guess it makes sense to fill it up in an almost empty tank right?

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Congrats on the BalenoRS, shibujp !!!

That's a nice car & a very detailed review. ��

Just curious. Why would a timing-belt change cost 20K odd ? I had changed the belt on my Baleno1.6 some months ago & I think it cost 3K odd IIRC.

Thanks a lot! The OEM Polo belt costs around 4K or so. Additionally replacement of tensioner pulley and water pump is recommended as well which means a part cost between 10 -15K depending on where you source the parts from. Using an FNG garage reduces the amount by 4/5K. In addition, the 120K change interval is for the first factory fitted belt. After that the interval is around 50K. Not sure about the logic behind that.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

It was very good to read the practical perspective and your view about the shift from the torquey German diesel to Japanese petrol motor.

Thanks! Couldn't have summarised it better.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[car.lover]

Congrats Shibu on the new car and thanks for the great post

One Q - What were the Pros / Cons of the RS vis-a-vis the Ford Figo Sport in your opinion?

[ShubhamGhute]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Thanks.

I haven't had any issues with the GC so far. The only aspect that I have been taking extra care of is the chin spoiler, having scraped the chin of both my Swift and Polo occasionally. But even that has fared quite well with only an especially stepped difference between the road and the entrance to a house catching me out.

Does you friend have clearance issues in the middle of the car or at the front?

No difference in build quality from regular Balenos that I could make out. It's pretty much the same IMHO.

Drive on,
Shibu.

He had issue with front bumper lip. His appartment entrance has a incline and front lip used to always scrap. He has now installed rogerabs suspension spacers and takes extra care on that particular spot. This has greatly reduced lip scrapping.

[megazoid]

Congrats Shibu on the peppy acquisition!
A set of good coilovers will do the job in case the stock setup is found wanting.

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Likes

- Excellent ride quality both on good highways and unevenly surfaced roads as well.
Drive on,
Shibu.

Hi Shibu,
I was quite surprised to read this about the ride quality. Have Maruti made any changes to the suspension since the Baleno was first launched? I took delivery of a friend's Baleno Alfa in December 2015 (I think) and have driven it quite a bit since then. The suspension is awful to put it mildly. The car bounces over the slightest undulation in the road and bangs and crashes through potholes. He is so tired of it that he wants to sell the car.
Regards,
SS

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Shibu,
I was quite surprised to read this about the ride quality. Have Maruti made any changes to the suspension since the Baleno was first launched? I took delivery of a friend's Baleno Alfa in December 2015 (I think) and have driven it quite a bit since then. The suspension is awful to put it mildly. The car bounces over the slightest undulation in the road and bangs and crashes through potholes. He is so tired of it that he wants to sell the car.
Regards,
SS

Yes Baleno's suspension setting has been altered from the 2015 models. RS gets much more sorted suspension setup(may be because of weight).

Regards,
Shashi

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Yes Baleno's suspension setting has been altered from the 2015 models. RS gets much more sorted suspension setup(may be because of weight).

Regards,
Shashi

Hi Leo,

Was there by any chance a recall issued for the same? Surely if they made a mistake on the suspension settings and realized it later they should make the necessary changes on previous model cars as well? Or is it only the RS that has a better suspension?

Regards,
Ss

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Leo,

Was there by any chance a recall issued for the same? Surely if they made a mistake on the suspension settings and realized it later they should make the necessary changes on previous model cars as well? Or is it only the RS that has a better suspension?

Regards,
Ss

There was a recall where complaining customers got updated suspension FoC.

Here is the link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-warranty.html

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by car.lover

Congrats Shibu on the new car and thanks for the great post

One Q - What were the Pros / Cons of the RS vis-a-vis the Ford Figo Sport in your opinion?

Thanks! I was actually prepared to consider cars at a higher price point if going in for a diesel option. While the suspension was a draw there was little else that stood out enough for me to drop the RS. Space too was and size down on the Baleno and Ford ASS has it's own share of gremlins. Lastly my desire for a petrol option.

Originally Posted by megazoid

Congrats Shibu on the peppy acquisition!
A set of good coilovers will do the job in case the stock setup is found wanting.

Thanks Hari! If have been doing some research on this, but unsure about the parameters to consider to figure whether a particular set of dampers would match the Baleno. As of now, the Bilstien and Koni catalogs do not list any options for the Baleno BoosterJet.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Shibu,
I was quite surprised to read this about the ride quality. Have Maruti made any changes to the suspension since the Baleno was first launched? I took delivery of a friend's Baleno Alfa in December 2015 (I think) and have driven it quite a bit since then. The suspension is awful to put it mildly. The car bounces over the slightest undulation in the road and bangs and crashes through potholes. He is so tired of it that he wants to sell the car.
Regards,
SS

As Leo confirmed the RS get's stiffer suspension and there has been a suspension upgrade for the regular Balenos. A friend of mine who got a Baleno Delta a month back is very happy with the ride quality so the upgrade should be effective.

Drive on,
Shibu

[gunsho]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Shibu,
I was quite surprised to read this about the ride quality. Have Maruti made any changes to the suspension since the Baleno was first launched? I took delivery of a friend's Baleno Alfa in December 2015 (I think) and have driven it quite a bit since then. The suspension is awful to put it mildly. The car bounces over the slightest undulation in the road and bangs and crashes through potholes. He is so tired of it that he wants to sell the car.
Regards,
SS

Just curious, assuming, we love/enjoy everything except the suspension part, what are the challenges in going for a good after market suspension? anyone have thought about it. Advantages are pretty clear, we get a car that we like along with smooth ride. Disadvantages? Anything else apart from cost? Thanks.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by gunsho

Just curious, assuming, we love/enjoy everything except the suspension part, what are the challenges in going for a good after market suspension? anyone have thought about it. Advantages are pretty clear, we get a car that we like along with smooth ride. Disadvantages? Anything else apart from cost? Thanks.

Well the need of a suspension upgrade is primarily for making the handling sportier. The ride of the stock suspension is very good. The potential disadvantages of getting aftermarket suspensions are:
1. loss of warranty
2. a certain amount of compromise on the ride comfort on not so good roads.
3. If not tuned well you may not end up with a setup that you do enjoy.

Drive on,
Shibu