[ashwinprakas]

Hey everyone, she's crossed the 5k Mark a few days before completing her 2 month anniversary!



This happened while we were on a Weekend JoyDrive to Kumarakom yesterday;

















Here's a snap of me in deep contemplation whether I should continue maintaining warranty or just not give a crap about it and DIY maintain the car;



I was serious about the contemplation to the point that it woke me up quite early in the morning and that's when I'd finally decided to back out from maintaining warranty hence the following DIY Oil Change was done;



While undoing the drain bolt I realized that the idiots at the ASC had used superhuman strength to tighten the drain bolt such that I had to improvise;



The car actually went up a bit before I was able to break the bolt loose with the help of the ring-spanner and car-jack. This is a 750+ kg's car, that'd give you a rough idea of how tight the bolt was.

Anyways, a pointer to note is that the Oil and Filter change cost me just Rs.605/- in total as I'd purchased Mobil Delvac Super 1400 15W40 on Offer from Amazon.



And I know many of you might be skeptical about using a HDEO in a Petrol Car but I prefer it this way not only cause its cheap but also because the Suzuki F8 Still uses flat tappets and since HDEO's are known for better ZDDP Content I was leaning towards opting for them even before the cost benefit registered.

Speaking of cost, here's the cost of Ownership for this month, so far;



Yes, I did break the manufacturer claimed FE a couple of days ago.

So to conclude, I still am enjoying every bit of owning and driving the Alto!

Cheers,
A.P.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Suzuki F8DN, it is not what it used to be even on its BS4 or earlier variants, it now kinda reminds me of how it used to run on the SS80, don’t get me wrong it doesn’t match the outright kick in pants feel of the SS80 but where it feels similar is in being able to carry itself quite well, something it didn’t do that well in its earlier iterations. Most obvious difference being the absolute lack of AC Lag, the difference is also felt when on the highways, she pulls to a 100kmph without breaking a sweat

Drove a friend's recently acquired Alto and I completely agree with you on the powertrain. It's shocking what MSIL has done with the BS6 F8D. It now feels more like a K series motor, K8 if I may. Outright acceleration, may be not, but the refinement and overall finesse is just mind boggling. Gone is the jerkiness and underpowered feel of the old Alto. Instead what we get is a more matured engine feel which is enough for all practical needs. Engine will never be a deal breaker in this one, like it was in the past.

His car is top of the line Alto with Smartplay studio HU. Do notice the arrangement for voice commands.

Regards,
Shashi

[JediKnight]

Recently travelled in a Alto 800 taxi quite a bit in the inner roads of Shimla. Was blown by the ride quality and the suspension of the car. The effect was heightened by the fact that I least expected it in a car this inexpensive. With the risk of offending the elites I would say it rode better than my 4th Gen Honda City. One more highlight was the ability of the little car to take up gradients. Climbed the steepest slopes with élan with full load.

[sushil_n79]

Hi Ashwin Prakash

Hearty Congratulations on the new alto and sharing your experiences with us. Its definitely a lesson for all of us not to trust the authorized service stations.

I had read through the thread and loved the detailed posts with the pictures, especially the backwaters if Kerala is something that is very close to my heart and had been there long back.

I own a 2012 Alto lxi which has completed 42900kms till today and I stopped going to the authorized service center after the day, when i had left it for service and they messed up the power steering system. This happened sometime in 2015 or 2016.Till the time I gave it to them the power steering was working fine. But I don't know what they did, the SA told me that the power steering light is on and we need to replace the entire steering assembly. They gave an estimate of 48000/-. I was so pissed off with them, that I just asked them to finish the service and let me have my car back.

After that they started harassing by all those reminder calls to get the car repaired or service and all those calls were ignored by me.

I was so pissed off that I decided to disconnect the power steering sensor and use the car as a normal car for a few days, at least i wont be stressed looking at the power steering light which came on the speedometer console.

I used the vehicle like this for close to 3 months but was also looked out for solutions. Since I am kind of a DIY person, and like to do it most of the times, when the risk is minimal, decided to open and remove the PS sensor and inspect it myself. I was strange that I found that one of the points had a black coat on the circuit, like one solder point was burnt.

I cleaned the circuit board out of dust with IP alcohol and made sure it became bone dry before it was fixed back.

I turned the steering left and right once after fixing it and started the car and voila the PS light disappeared and till this date it has not come back its closed to 5 years that I had been using the car since then.

Since then I had been getting the car serviced at FNG and oil changes every 7500kms as against the 10000kms mark mentioned by the manual.

Last time the oil was changed at 39100kms still waiting for it to clock 7500kms. Of late I have noticed that some of the authorized service centers do a shoddy job so that the vehicle starts performing badly so that the owner is forced to change the car after 5 years. Also they dont pay attention to entry level hatchbacks like the alto as compared to the bigger cars which come for service.

In my next service am planning to try wheelswisdom.com as suggested by team bhp as have heard many positive reviews about them.

Thanks for your time to read this. Wish you many more miles of smiles.
Take care and stay safe.
Regards
Sushil Narayanan

[ashwinprakas]

10,000 KM's Done!



Surprisingly spare availability was a pain, but with the help of fellow enthusiast Mr. Kurup and his brother I was able to source the Oil Filter and Crush Washer, which is now copper instead of steel.



Fellow enthusiast Sarin was able to source the air filter but the filter was for the older model Alto,



Fortunately the guys at MGP were cool enough to let me swap it for the right part even though I didn't have the bill with me, they easily recalled Sarin as he was the only one who went to get a part with the part number i.e the Cabin filter as my Alto uses the unit from the Wagon R, which the MGP personnel was kind enough to track at an outlet at Trivandrum, it'd be changed at the 15k mark though changing once every 10k is a good choice.



Coming back to the Air Filter, it's doing its job pretty well and the interval seems optimum as the throttle body is spotless.



Didn't take any pictures of the oil change as it was basically the same as what I'd done last time i.e. Drive the car over the spare and change the oil and filter, oil used was the one recommend by Sashi.



Did a 200kms+ drive with the family and I noticed that the FE had instantly shot up which made itself evident as I'd hit close to 300kms at the half tank marker which was surprising considering I'd done a couple of 120+kmph midnight runs a few nights ago, the steering does get uneasily light at those speeds but the car is still rock solid when changing lanes which was a surprise considering the category of car this is.

All that said, will share more updates when available.

Cheers,
A.P.

[ashwinprakas]

5,000 KM's Clocked on the Bolero!



Oil Capacity is 6 Litres for the mHawk D75, grade used is 15W40.

Drain Bolt required a 22mm Ring/Box spanner for removal and installation, the Brass Crush Washer needs to ve replaced as well and costs Rs.20/- per piece.



These were the two universal Oil Filter Wrenches I had with me and both couldn't help me undo the Bolero's Oil Filter, during the latest iteration they'd cramped up so many things inside the the bay that even the traditional waistbelt and plier couldn't get the job done.



Here's a snap of the Oil Filter installed;





The above snap shows the new filter in place, do make a note of it cause you'd know why down the line.

Coming back to point, Team Automobiles, Kollam came to my rescue, when I'd told them that my tools were no good they let me use their new workspace along with their complete array of tools.

I used the below, as an assortment of filter cup sockets they had simply kept slipping, I had my doubts but this really did get the job done.



Now coming to the puzzling part.

The oil filter on the Left is the OE Replacement filter I got(Rs. 200/- a pop!) and the one on the Right is the one that came from Factory.



I not only double but tripple checked and the relatively larger filter is the recommended part for the mHawk Bolero, even the D75.

Hence the puzzle why the filter that came with the car is puny and the OE Replacement (Not OEM, OE!) Is quite huge in comparison.

I checked with a fellow enthusiast who works for Mahindra and got the information that the new filter is what comes on 3 Cylinder engines from factory and the larger one is what came with 4 Cylinder engines from factory but since both filters have the same M20 Thread and cross compatible seating the larger one is what's commonly stocked.

I was glad that the car didn't throw any low oil pressure warning even on first start-up after the oil change.

I was in a hurry hence couldn't get many pictures, but the process is pretty straightforward if you have the 3 legged filter wrench.

Unlike the Alto you need not lift the car or anything courtesy the ground clearance.

With the exception of my wrenches not working and me having to reach out to friends for support everything else is easier than even the Alto, only point of consideration is you need a larger drain pan due to the 6L sump size.

Almost forgot, here's the oil I used;



Motul DSM is what it's called, first time hearing and using as I was in a hurry and due diligence was the last thing on my mind, anyhow it cost a total of 1.7k for 6 Litres (3*2).

So that's about it folks!

Regards,
A.P.

[ashwinprakas]

Odo stands at over 12k, don't recall the exact reading.

Did a 1.7k+ drive from Trivandrum to Mumbai.

Navigation was taken care by HVK Sir's RoutO Maps which is the reason for our higher average speed, it was a seamless experience since every minor detal was called out by the map even details such as expressway speeds and need to retain toll tickets till exit where applicable. It is a must have for those travelling interstate especially if a first time driver like myself.

Here's a snapshot to give an idea of the places we covered;



Stats below;

Trivandrum to Mumbai by Alto

Distance: 1724 KM's
Time: 28 Hours
Average Speed: 61.57 kmph
Fuel: 13283.81/- (17.03 kmpl Avg FE)
Toll: 1835/- (26 No's)

The above time taken and distance covered are from the GPS Log, here's what the Trip Meter had to say;



From experience both Bajaj and Maruti vehicles have an average error of +5kmph consistently over the whole range, the Alto is no different.

The car performed brilliantly and maintained 100~120kmph on the interstate wherever possible.

Only thing that caught me by surprise was the Toll Fees as being a biker I totally missed it and recharged my FastTag only after crossing my first toll.

That's all for now folks!

Regards,
A.P.

[gpbs11]

Hi... Excellent and knowledge review/info regarding the humble Alto.Wanted to know your experience after using the semi synthetic 5W30? My FIL has a 2017 Alto.His running is now increased to 1500km/month.During last service 5W30 Shell mineral oil was used.Was planning to use synthetic during next service.So wanted your feedback regarding the semi synthetic.
Thanks