[Big Smoke]

Congratulations on completing one blissful year with the XL-6!

Please share some tips on how to clean the engine and the engine bay.
My Ford Aspire also doesn't come with an engine cover, and I'm very fearful of bathing the engine with buckets of water; can't even think of pressurized hosed water on the engine. That's why I don't even let the detailer do much to the engine, as he tends to put water. As a result, my car's engine bay hasn't really had a proper cleaning in the last 2.5 years.

[amit_2025]

Congratulations on completing the milestone Shashi and well celebrated :-)

It's a lot of car for the price and I am happy to see more and more of these on the streets. Your thread will only help cement the decision for a lot of people who are on the fence

Happy to hear the positive impact it has had on Aunty's travel and that is one of the biggest USP's of this Car

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by MadTiger

With Petrol breaching the Rs. 100/ltr mark, I did get a bit apprehensive about the FE, with little disappointment the average XL6 returned was 15.8 KMPL.

Indeed the fuel prices are skyrocketing and a good fuel efficient car is the need of the hour. It hurts spending 4-5k for every tankful.

If it's any solace, our Innova MT returns 14kmpl tops while driving in eco mode like a saint. So your XL6 didn't fair too badly.

I missed the barricade which got too close to the left side of the car and brushed it.

Ouch, that hurts!

Really nifty and compact design.

Congratulations. This is a handy piece of kit you bought. Just a piece of advice, be very gentle with these MGA inflators, if handled well, they last a really long time. But are fragile and won't endure any rough handling.

My XL6 is closing almost 10k kms. Preparing for an ownership review soon.

Eagerly waiting for it.

Originally Posted by VKumar

As soon as I saw the picture of XL-6 on home page, immediately clicked it to see if the signature pic has been clicked again or not.

Haha, thanks! A lot of people loved the pic and hence it had to happen, with the newly restored Priya joining in too.

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Shashi - Congratulations for completing 1 year of ownership!!

Great to see the Priya joining the party as well.

Thanks

Originally Posted by abhi9044

Congratulations on completing 1 year with the XL6

Thanks.

On a different note, where did you procure those Suzuki Shell Helix stickers under the hood? I remember that they are present in your GG as well.

Boodmo, part number: 11988-80J00

Was used in Export model 800s, and being a big fan of Shell lubes, I've pasted it so that MASS doesn't dare to argue about putting Servo/Craptrol etc.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

Congrats on the XL6 turning a year old ! Your cars are lucky to have you

Thanks

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Congratulations on completing one blissful year with the XL-6!

Please share some tips on how to clean the engine and the engine bay.
My Ford Aspire also doesn't come with an engine cover, and I'm very fearful of bathing the engine with buckets of water; can't even think of pressurized hosed water on the engine. That's why I don't even let the detailer do much to the engine, as he tends to put water. As a result, my car's engine bay hasn't really had a proper cleaning in the last 2.5 years.

It's fairly simple, disconnect the negative terminal first and blow away the loose dirt, using a brush to simultaneously loosen the dirt. Then use garden hose to wet the surface. Don't use pressure washer in engine bay ever, or if you use, use it from a good distance.

I then use APC in a sprayer and generously spray over each component. Then using a brush, agitate the surface and take your time to touch everything you can. Make sure it results in a good froth.

I then use garden hose to wash away all APC residue.

Then use blower in medium settings(not too harsh) and blow away all water droplets. Then wipe the surface clean with microfiber.

I then use a water based dressing like PERL/Megs Hyper Dressing over plastic/rubber components. Work into the trims with a brush and wipe off the excess using a microfiber. Connect the battery terminals after preferably an hour or two.

As long as you are using garden hose, you cannot do any damage.

Originally Posted by amit_2025

Congratulations on completing the milestone Shashi and well celebrated :-)

It's a lot of car for the price and I am happy to see more and more of these on the streets. Your thread will only help cement the decision for a lot of people who are on the fence

Happy to hear the positive impact it has had on Aunty's travel and that is one of the biggest USP's of this Car

Thanks.

After the Birthday, I didn't want to take out the XL6, mainly due to the reason that our Crysta was in town, and it had to be parked near the shutter, and it was too much work to take out the Crysta first, take out the XL6, park Crysta again and the same drama needs to be repeated when I come back. Hence Crysta is my drive for the next few days.

This is how the parking looks:

While I loved the seats and support, mom absolutely hated the soft seats of the Crysta(it is a base model with fabric seats) and she had minor back ache in the 35 km drive we had yesterday. Due to her condition, she prefers stiff cushioning and lower floor height which the XL6 has. I'm not sure how different seats feel on the top variant of Crysta, but if that issue is sorted, I'd love to make Crysta my highway car when travelling with mom. The ride quality on bad roads at good speeds is simply awesome, it irons out everything and the body feels virtually indestructible.

Regards,
Shashi

[Balamsd07]

Dear LeoShashy Bhai, your XL6 looks class ! It's a workhorse indeed and I really look forward to Maruti plonking in the new 1.5 D with additional airbags and few more safety features ! It'll be an unavoidable choice then !

[tacho9000]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The XL turns 1: Getting the likes and dislikes out of the way first.

Likes:



Who loves this car the most: While dad is happy with the comfort offered, he is physically fit and hence not too concerned about the vehicle he is being driven in. Mom on the other hand is suffering from Sciatica and till now, the only mode of transport she considered was flight or trains. Road trips were a strict no-no for her, since she couldn’t sit for more than 1 hour at a stretch in ANY car. That has changed drastically with the XL6, and this is the reason mom loves this car the most. She is now able to enjoy road trips, which were earlier a nuisance for her. Seats which are firm, placed at the right height and enough feeling of space ensures that she enjoys the trips to the fullest now. Recently she also tried to drive it, and was surprised by the ease of driving. She loved the light clutch, smooth gearshift and ergonomically sorted seating and this is the first time she drove a manual in last 9 years.

For me, this car will be special since it’s my first car, and the affinity mom has developed, makes it even more special.

Efficiency, Kitna Deti hai: Depends a lot on the driving conditions and style, and by tankful to tankful methods, the best I've got till now is around 20kmpl, while the worst stands at around 14.8kmpl when I was gunning the engine and did Varanasi-Ranchi in flat 6.5 hours. I don't pay much attention to FE these days, but it always remains between 17-19kmpl.

My maintenance regime: Strictly following the Owner's manual, except for few things:

1. I'll be sticking to 5k oil change intervals. Agreed it may be overkill, but the oil is cheap(~Rs. 1300 per 3.5L can), and it degrades heavily around the 7-8k mark. Will be doing this at home, DIY.

2. I plan to change the filters proactively at half the recommended mark. For example, replacement of fuel and air filter is recommended at 40k service. I intend to do it at 20k. 40k for fuel filter will be too much, given the quality of fuel in my area. Again DIY since I doubt MASS will agree to this.

3. I clean the air filters myself every 2000 km, or whenever I get time.

4. Tyre rotation every 5k kms, Balancing and Alignment as per need.

5. One thing I noticed was that the Exide battery had it's electrolyte level below the minimum mark during first service. May be this is why the OEM batteries doesn't last long. Since then I've made it a point to visually check the level frequently and top up with Exide Distillo Distilled water whenever needed. I'll prefer that MASS mechanics don't touch this because they tend to overfill the battery, which then causes all kinds of spillage and corrosion.

6. My other maintenance practices include frequently lubing the locks, hinges, Window channel etc. Twice a year is enough I believe.

How much on the Odo: The car has run close to 12,800 kms in past 1 year. My annual running remained around 10k with other cars, but due to COVID scene, I'm preferring my own transport rather than opting for public means. Hence the slightly higher running.

Attachment 2179258

Birthday drive: My good friend Dr. Mukund planned a highway drive and breakfast. For the first time I was the co-driver in my own car. The roads were awesome and the scenes were equally breathtaking. Also got the car cleaned inside out the previous day. Some pics:


Regards,
Shashi

So Happy 1st Birthday to XL6. And I'd love to give you an earful for using the Crysta. Use the XL6, that car deserves to be loved more and given more attention albeit not as much as GG. And keep enjoying the XL6 more. As and when I will drop by at Ranchi, I'll grab your XL6 first

Regards,
Subhra

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The XL turns 1: Getting the likes and dislikes out of the way first.

Happy birthday to the XL6, wishing that Shashi will continue to take care of the XL6 for a long time . The subtle modifications have made this one of a kind XL6, I especially liked the Auto IRVM modification. Next up I would like to see some upgrades related to ICE (nothing from MGA this time), a nice set of speakers for starters.

[sramanat]

What? It's been just a year? Your XL6 is the go-to thread here for XL6 for a lot of us here, it feels like you have been owning the car forever.

An excellent car, paired to an equally excellent owner. Though I didn't end up buying the XL6, I plan to be at least half good as you when it comes to car care!

[shancz]

Apologies for a belated birthday wish but wishing the XL the very best of drives and safety from all that/those who are envious of how smashing it looks, both land based and aerial

The XL6 doesn't enjoy a special place like the M800 does but your posts have brought another level of respect for the XL, all credits to you. For this reason, IMHO, your posts on the XL rank higher than GG.

Thanks and Kudos for your fantastic efforts and wishing you and your drives the very best

[Leoshashi]

Minor Update: The XL completed 13,000 km today.

Also had a scary experience today when thanks to an overenthusiastic co-passenger, I managed to land in a street which is slowly crossed by Autos and Tuk-Tuks, let alone cars. The XL luckily crossed it without a scratch!

Regards,
Shashi

[lxskllr]

Happy Belated Birthday to the XL6! Wishing you many more happy miles together!

Awaiting your post on NVH! Will take inspiration from the same for my Baleno!

[MAKMADDY17]

Happy Birthday to one of a kind XL6 (Even MSIL should read the thread of upgrades) which has inspired many folks around for purchasing it. Hope we will be talking about it even after 14 years from now similar to its senior counter part Maruti 800. ����

I have a small request to Shashi Ji, can we have personal names for them for admirers like me ? instead of taking the manufacturer names ��

My Best Wishes Again, Keep Rolling Keep Rocking ��

[PYSO]

Originally Posted by MadTiger

With Petrol breaching the Rs. 100/ltr mark, I did get a bit apprehensive about the FE, with little disappointment the average XL6 returned was 15.8 KMPL. This was with 2 adults, 2 kids and weekend luggage. Had 29 Psi all around.

I have had no difficulties with getting more than 20 kmpl on highways with sedate driving.

When I drive aggressively, I still get upwards of 15.5 kmpl on highways.

My XL6 has finished 6000 kms, and the second free service. Hopefully fuel efficiency will improve after the third free service, which is when they change the engine oil, oil filter, etc. I inflate the tyres to 32 psi (used to inflate to 29 psi - but stopped doing that after one tyre burst, and another tyre had a puncture). The first thing I do after turning on the ignition is to disable the auto start stop - so no contribution to the fuel efficiency from that feature.


Congratulations to Shashi on completing one year. It's a pleasure to read the updates on this thread.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Shashi, get a louder horn. Something which can alert fools like this.

Upgraded stock horns: While it wasn't a near miss, still I felt the need of better horns for the highways. The stock ones didn't get the respect a car should get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb00D2N440w

I was wary of opening bumper etc since it's a pain in the XL6 and I have seen fit and finish going down the drain when opened. Thankfully, Maruti has designed a superb location for the horn. It's located behind the grill. The grill itself is designed brilliantly and is a two part setup. The top part is easily removable and that gives enough access to the horns.

I first tried Crysta's horn set since it's too irritating and gets the attention immediately. However DBHPian Parag convinced me that Hella Chrome trumpets should do the job even better and that I should try it. Placed an order on Amazon yesterday and was delivered today.

Crysta's horns are so easily accessible:

Hellas:

I used to envy Crysta owners since the horn is so easily accessible for them, and irony is that their horn is so good that they rarely change it. However it's not too bad in the XL6 too, thankfully. We just need to remove the few plastic clips, 4 bolts and first the rear cover comes out and then the grill can be pulled out by holding the chrome bar firmly.

This is the schematic diagram, if it helps:

Brilliant placement of the stock horns :

Replaced:

I had planned to ensure the opening faces downwards, but the Hellas were a tight fit. Hence opening is facing sideward. But since the location is well sealed from all directions, possibility of water ingress is low.

Since the mod was done late at night, I didn't sound the horn and hence couldn't record the output. Will post shortly.

A video with new horn output:

https://youtu.be/0-jeZAC_R0I

Regards,
Shashi

PS: The Glaco coating is working great, here is a video when car is stationary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqmcEGkozoo

[govigov]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

I then use APC in a sprayer and generously spray over each component.

Hello Leo,

Can you give some recommendations on APC? It looks like a jungle out there and not sure which ones are safe and which ones are not.

Thanks!

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by govigov

Hello Leo,

Can you give some recommendations on APC? It looks like a jungle out there and not sure which ones are safe and which ones are not.

Thanks!

I use Meguiar's APC. Costs around Rs. 1700 for a gallon pack. Pic from Google:

Other Brands which do a decent job are Jopasu, Wavex etc. If you need something specifically for engine then you may try Waxpol Engine cleaner too. However Don't use it on other areas/parts as it's too strong.

Regards,
Shashi