[BeemerBug_06]

I just completed another 250km drive last Sunday with 1513 and must say that it was smooth and flawless. Since, it had been a while since the previous long drive I did in May, a couple of friends and I decided to make use of the free time we had and drive up to Khandala. The weather in the morning was nice and breezy, driving along the expressway with the windows down whilst fresh air filled the cabin was pure bliss.

As we climbed up the ghat, the weather became even cooler. On reaching Lonavala, the roads and surroundings were swallowed by a thick layer of fog. I must admit the fog did make me feel a bit vulnerable in the Zen considering I couldn't see much at all and cars and people from the opposite direction seemed to be appearing and disappearing in thin air. Nonetheless, we completed the drive up to Khandala easily and safely. As for the car, it showed no signs of trouble and threw no tantrums. It climbed up the ghats and twisties rather flawlessly without me having to downshift constantly. I suppose that is the new carburetor and correct tuning work doing its job there.

The roads were still good barring a few spots that were riddled with potholes and were a challenge to cross. The descent from Khandala was even more fun and it was an absolute hoot driving the car along the twisties and then back onto the expressway. The heavy steering paired with the tyres made driving down all the more enjoyable and involving.

As for the fuel economy I managed to churn out, at the end of the journey post calculation, it turned out that I had received 17 km/litre. I suppose that is a good figure and am impressed with it. Do note that I drove more sedately this time around, mainly cruised along in 5th gear and AC usage was minimal due to the pleasant weather.

The drive was enjoyable and it genuinely felt good to get away for a bit. Of course, what better source of Nirvana for an enthusiast than to get behind the wheel of a car with empty roads in sight?
Onwards and upwards from here to many more such drives

Now for the pictures


Tanking up at 6AM


Palm Beach Road is an absolute delight at 6.30 AM on a Sunday!




At a friend's complex in Panvel


Onto the Expressway yet again!








A few non-car images to appreciate the beauty of nature














A friend's recently acquired Alto 1.1 which joined 1513 for the drive. This little one is another brilliant car.







And that's the end of a brilliant fun-filled 250km journey. To conclude, age is just a number for cars like these, enjoy them while you can!

[Mohanprasath]

That was a great drive!

BTW-What is the size of alloy and tyre?

Definitely zen is a good driver's car. Mine has done 2.4 Lac Kms and my uncle's zen has done 2.6 Lac Kms. One major issue which we are facing is driving zen over pothole and patch filled roads (that too after sun set). If I'm driving it for 200 kms in a day on these roads, at the end of the day, I'm getting very tired along with back pain.

Are there any mods that we could do to get better ride quality and increased high speed stability?

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by Mohanprasath

That was a great drive!

BTW-What is the size of alloy and tyre?

Definitely zen is a good driver's car. Mine has done 2.4 Lac Kms and my uncle's zen has done 2.6 Lac Kms. One major issue which we are facing is driving zen over pothole and patch filled roads (that too after sun set). If I'm driving it for 200 kms in a day on these roads, at the end of the day, I'm getting very tired along with back pain.

Are there any mods that we could do to get better ride quality and increased high speed stability?

Hey man, the alloys happen to be made by a now-defunct company called as EMR. An interesting trivia is that they were brought down to India in the 90s for a Zen itself and then saw a few other cars before eventually coming to 1513. They are 5.5J wheels and sit perfectly. As for the tyres, I decided to go for a slightly lower and wider profile i.e 155/65 R13.

I put Bridgestone B290 tyres and about 12k km post the tyre change I must say that it has been an overall good experience, apart from a puncture that I had twice in the rear LHS tyre.

My suggestion for driving over potholes would be to upsize the tyres to 155/65 section. They not only provide better stance and handling to the car but will also improve your ride quality by leaps and bounds. Another unpopular thing that I have seen a few Zen owners do is raise the rear suspension of the car, although I'm not a big fan of that.

The upsized tyres will give you good stability at high speeds. Also it is important to ensure all your suspension components are in good shape. If not you should get them changed immediately to ensure a smooth and planted ride.

[Mohanprasath]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Hey man, the alloys happen to be made by a now-defunct company called as EMR.
=====
If not you should get them changed immediately to ensure a smooth and planted ride.

Thanks for the info. Mine is with 5.5 JJ alloys from Hijoin and Bridgestone B280 145/70 R13. I feel that the high speed stability is less with B280 in comparison with Bridgestone S322 145/70.

Yes, I think it's time to replace the rear suspension. I've changed front struts just before 5K kms.

Here is another info required from you, what's the effect of upsizing on the FE, acceleration and lower end torque?

Thanks,
Mohan

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by Mohanprasath

Thanks for the info. Mine is with 5.5 JJ alloys from Hijoin and Bridgestone B280 145/70 R13. I feel that the high speed stability is less with B280 in comparison with Bridgestone S322 145/70.

Yes, I think it's time to replace the rear suspension. I've changed front struts just before 5K kms.

Here is another info required from you, what's the effect of upsizing on the FE, acceleration and lower end torque?

Thanks,
Mohan

I would suggest you to overhaul all the suspension components at once, instead of doing it bit by bit. Also wrt the FE received, I haven't really had any major difference after the changing the tyres. Perhaps there is Unnis-Bis ka farak as they say, but I usually get about 12-13 in city driving and 16-17 on highway. But yes, the ride quality, handling and braking did indeed improve by leaps and bounds

[BeemerBug_06]

The Inevitable

Living and driving in an overcrowded city with bumper-to-bumper traffic at every other junction with almost no one obeying traffic rules results in..well, accidents. Thankfully, in my 5 years of driving, I have never met with any bad accidents although I have had several near misses like several others here would have had. Yesterday could have changed a lot of things.

So it was about 3PM in the afternoon, I was headed to Worli for some work in the Zen. The road was not entirely full as it was afternoon and there were few cars as compared to rush hour time. A Santro Kaali-Peeli taxi was driving in front of me at a distance of a good few meters and a scooterist was riding alongside the taxi on the left. As we approached, the junction signal near the KIA showroom, the scooterist all of a sudden in a matter of nanoseconds decided to swerve from the left to the extreme right and sped off into the lane on the right. He cut the taxi which was going straight causing the driver to panic brake. The taxi did not have working brake lights and my reaction time too was a bit slow, I'll admit it. I was driving at about 50-55 odd kmph when the taxi abruptly braked and by the time I could apply the brakes successfully, the Zen's front end bumped into the taxi's rear bumper making a loud THUD noise.

The impact was harsh, people on the pavement stopped in their tracks, and others came out of their shops to see what had happened. The taxi sped off as I sat there aghast.

It all happened so fast and suddenly, almost like a flash. I felt a bit dazed. Thankfully, not a thing happened to me. I was wearing my seatbelt and was safe of any sort of whiplash or impact. Once I made sense of what had happened, a crowd gathered to help, so I parked the car on the side of the road and got down to see what had happened.

Due to the intensity of the impact, I expected the front end of the car to have crumpled like tissue paper, but I was astonished to see that it had had nothing there except for a minor fender bender. The radiator, condenser, battery, and cross member were all absolutely unscathed. It was rather miraculous. I then sat back in and drove off to finish my chores, with mixed thoughts about the situation.











The damage caused was very minor. The car had taken the impact extremely well. I cannot imagine how it would have done if it was a new age Maruti. The side light, headlight on the left had gone loose due to a broken bracket, the bumper had come down from one side due to a disloged clip and the bonnet was a bit misaligned from one side, but apart from that it was all good. Miracles do happen. The grill had gone loose too, so I took it off temporarily. Nothing was broken.


A little later on I realised that the car was pulling to the left, most likely due to the accident. So I drove straight to my wheel alignment shop and got it sorted.

This happens to be my first big bad bump. I hope it is the first and last. I'm grateful to whatever superior force is out there as it ensured I didn't get hurt and that the car too got away with minor damage. The car did a brilliant job in taking the impact. I would also once again want to stress on the fact that our roads are filled with bad drivers so its best to be alert at all times. Also Please Please ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS AND HELMETS. I cannot even fathom to imagine what would have happened had I not been belted in when the incident happened.

Safety first !

[BeemerBug_06]

The car was luckily not affected mechanically due to the accident and I could drive it around normally. However just having to look at it in that ugly condition, without a grill and a crooked headlight frustrated me. I'd rather not use the car than drive it in that condition, I thought.

Thankfully, I had enough on me to pay for repairs. So earlier today I drove to CRK automobiles, a well-reputed FNG in my neighborhood which recently restored our Toyota Corolla, to get the issue fixed. An hour's job helped 1513 look all neat and happy again














If there's anything that the accident taught me. It is that accidents happen, its best to be careful at all times and take the sweet with the sour and then move on to better things

Ride and Drive Safe !
BeemerBug.

[Blue Vitriol]

Man, I'm glad that you're as well as your ride are safe! I just adore this generation of the Maruti Suzuki Zen and I really was drooling at the great alloys you've got for it, it suits it so perfectly! Also totally agree that modern cars aren't built in the same way but will also argue in the same breath that they're built for better crumpling so that they absorb the impact and not transfer it to you or the poor human who came in the path.

On the side note, kindly let me know a bit about the alloys.

[Prateek_999]

Great that you are safe and your ride did not take much impact. Those marutiis had a completely different vibe altogether . even i had a situation where an Altroz at a signal rolled back and hit my car. I did maintain a good distance seeing the "L" sign but still that person ended up hitting me. I had no room to reverse as a truck was tail gating me. I put the reverse gear, and cud hear my sensors scream. Fortunately the altroz driver realized and stopped, els i wud have ended up getting sandwiched. Alertness is the key to save ourselves from such instances

[BeemerBug_06]

My continuous and rigorous usage of the car had resulted in it becoming rather filthy—both internally and externally. The interior was full of mold, thanks to the damp and humid weather conditions around, and externally the car appeared more yellow than white. Of course, it was being washed every now and then by the car cleaner that comes over in the morning but it did not look like its usual self.

Yesterday, I finally had some time to spare. So I booked a service wash appointment for 1513 at the trusted Cadell Auto petrol pump in my neighborhood where our cars often go to get cleaned up. The pump fellas did a great job as usual and the car looked properly white once again ! It came back squeaky clean. Feels to good to have a clean car again haha !

PS :- Just as I was exiting the pump, an elderly man on a scooter came and began to chat with me about the car at the signal. The last words he spoke before speeding off when the signal changed were, "You've got a beautiful car, please don't ever sell it". I sure won't

Enjoy these images of the car being made Chaka Chak !

[BeemerBug_06]

IT'S TIME !!

Hello again!
Most of you would recount that during the initial ownership phase of 1513, I was adamant about leaving the car bone stock because I felt it was just too nice to meddle with. Almost 4 years down the line, I still think the car is too nice to meddle with. However, I do like subtle modifications, especially those reminiscent of a bygone era.

In October 2020, I got the mag wheels installed for the car. Post that, I still felt it needed a nice subtle exhaust. An exhaust and a nice set of alloy wheels in my opinion are the only modifications one should do for a ZEN, which will complete the car.

So after much contemplation and introspection. I finally did it.

Here are some images from D-DAY (5th Novemember , 2022)









The work was done at the one and only Automech Exhausts at Lower Parel in Mumbai. Automech requires no introduction and they are very highly reputed. I'd like to give a special thanks to the staff and Mr. Vivek Bhatt of Automech for doing a brilliant job and creating the perfect exhaust for 1513.

Mind you , I have gone in for a very subtle tone exhaust. I hate obnoxiously loud exhausts which are nothing but noisemakers. Hence, went in for a subtle sounding one which only amplifies the sweet engine noise at high RPMs, else it is barely heard. Also, I did not go in for a full free flow exhaust from the headers to the tailpipe. Instead I had a custom mid-pipe, expansion chamber and muffler put for the car , along with an automech tip.

The entire job cost me around 3.5k rupees which was both reasonable and worthy. As for the fuel economy, it remains the same as it was previously with no noticeable change

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

The entire job cost me around 3.5k rupees which was both reasonable and worthy.

How many kms did you drive till you noticed the exhaust sound you wanted? Doesn't the exhaust also require running-in before you get to hear the original sound it is supposed to emit?

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

How many kms did you drive till you noticed the exhaust sound you wanted? Doesn't the exhaust also require running-in before you get to hear the original sound it is supposed to emit?

Sir, at present I've driven the car about 300 km since I changed the exhaust. So I think the car has gotten a decent run. I had had the exhaust work done on 5th of November. The car gets used daily so that has acted as fair run-in method for the exhaust, hence my statement about achieving the desired sound

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Sir, at present I've driven the car about 300 km since I changed the exhaust. So I think the car has gotten a decent run. I had had the exhaust work done on 5th of November. The car gets used daily so that has acted as fair run-in method for the exhaust, hence my statement about achieving the desired sound

The car looks wonderful.
Can we request if possible a video / audio of that growly exhaust?

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The car looks wonderful.
Can we request if possible a video / audio of that growly exhaust?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p2WagI1VVeU

As promised