[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

Mod 10 : Remap (Update)

Good to see that Wolf Moto is very supportive. I have also tried many maps from Rajiv and did not have to pay anything extra .

I am planning to get a new map with more top end. I don't mind pushing the car to it's limits. As of now my car is doing 0-100 in 7.87 seconds ,Yes very close to BMW 320D!

[grease.monkey]

Dixcel ES Front Brake Pads Update : Extreme damage in just 15,xxx kms!

After hearing good reviews about Dixcel Japan, I decided to give them a try. The buying experience from the Indian distributor was good. Since the car had done only ~23k kms at the time of the upgrade, I had the rotors resurfaced, instead of going for new rotors and made sure the pads were properly run in. Compared to OE, these pads provided much better braking and brake fade was considerably less. After getting my positive feedback, a good friend bought the same for his S-Cross 1.6. More on that later.

Post around 15k kms, I felt the braking wasn't as good as it used to be and I suspected the rotors. Soon, I got the pads and rotors checked and was shocked to see the condition of the pads. One pad had crumbled and there were uneven wear on the others. The pads lasted only for ~15k kms.

The rotors had deep grooves on them. The pads were aggressive on the stock rotors, which is acceptable, as it was mentioned by Dixcel in advance. Plus I don't think stock rotors coming in the car are of the best quality.

I took pictures and forwarded them to the folks at Dixcel India. They were also shocked to see the condition of the pads. According to them, this was a one-off case and said they'll get in touch with Dixcel Japan and revert, to which I agreed.

After some delay, they got back to me and the response from Dixcel Japan was limited and not justifying. It was mentioned that the damages were due to hard and rough braking. I pamper my car and I know that the pads shouldn't fail so fast by the way I drive! I go easy on the brakes and use more engine braking to slow down. The car has never been used in any motorsport or on the track. As per Dixcel India, there are track cars running on ES pads, which are prone to more hard, aggressive braking and haven't faced any issues.

The authorized Indian dealer has agreed to take the matter seriously with Dixcel Japan and try to get a set of replacement pads, if possible. But I don't think Dixcel Japan has been able to come up with a solution for it yet.

Coming to my friend's case, he's a spirited driver. From the ES pads, he later upgraded to Dixcel slotted rotors and the more expensive Dixcel M Type pads. The M Type pads were done in just 2.5k kms. As per mentioned on the Dixcel brochure, M Type Pads have more life than ES. The response from Dixcel for the very low life of these pads was unsatisfactory too!

I invested extra money on the pads as I felt the car could use better stopping power and it would add to the safety. If I hadn't checked and was still running on the worn out and crumbled pads, there could have been a brake failure!!!

I wish Dixcel Japan made concrete measures to address my problem and improve the customer support to India.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

Dixcel ES Front Brake Pads Update : Extreme damage in just within 15,xxx kms!

It's shocking to see the condition of your brake pads. Extra Speed pads are advertised for fast road use.

My overall experience with Dixcel was just average. The Indian dealer ( AM Racing ) keeps on assuring that he will take it up with Dixcel and nothing much happens. The premium M type pads were done in just 2500 kms in my car, the pads for sure were defective. Dixcel Japan reply was just hilarious. Quoting the same.

We say M type is like White leather shoes, Z is running shoes and ES maybe sneakers. Leather shoes cost some money but not for running or jumping, for driving cleanly and gently.

If their pads are like leather shoes, why advertise them for performance / high speed braking ?

I do lot of high speed braking, so I do not blame the low life of brake pads. But there were multiple issues like shim cover melting, cracks on pad, high dust, abnormal noise etc. Not sure if they are selling JDM reject parts / poor quality stuff in India.

I have tried Dixcel slotted rotors, M type , ES type and EC type. I am happy with the rotors, but the pads are below average in terms of quality. I would never recommend Dixcel pads to anyone.

Dixcel even offers limited warranty, but they won't even replace the defective products. Poor customer support indeed.


I had already posted about my experience with Dixcel products in my ownership thread. Presently I am using EBC pads and they are much better .

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

If their pads are like leather shoes, why advertise them for performance / high speed braking ?

Exactly my concern.

I do lot of high speed braking, so I do not blame the low life of brake pads.

True, but it shouldn't get over in just 2.5k kms!

I have tried Dixcel slotted rotors, M type , ES type and EC type. I am happy with the rotors, but the pads are below average in terms of quality.

I was planning to go for M/Z-Type pads as the next upgrade, with better rotors, after noticing the initial improvement in braking. Seeing the conditions of the pads and poor support from Dixcel Japan, I think it would be wise to consider other options.

Dixcel even offers limited warranty, but they won't even replace the defective products. Poor customer support indeed.
Attachment 1905696

I just came to know about it! Anyway, I don't have the confidence to use their products again.

[grease.monkey]

Mod 11 : Steering Wrap


My car is less than 3 years old and the leather(?) steering wrap had already started to peel off! Couple of other S-Cross owners have also faced the same issue. More on that has been covered by Dr.Naren in the following thread :
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...-steering.html (Maruti S-Cross : Poor quality leather wrapped steering!)

Few of us affected owners got custom steering wrap from AliExpress. The buying experience was good and I got the product in 2 weeks.


How I had it customized :

Perforated Leather : I hold the steering at 9 & 3 position. Also, my palms tend to sweat a lot on long drives. So figured perforated would be ideal here. It is nice to hold and has decent grip.

Suede Leather : Suede was chosen for the remaining part, where I usually don't hold the steering. Extra care needs to be taken, as it can easily get dirty! It looks really good and has good grip.

Thread : Dark grey thread was chosen.


Installation :

All the materials required for installation were provided, along with the wrap.

The stock steering leather was retained and the customized leather was wrapped on it, as instructed by the seller. Installation was done in less than 2 hours, at Galaxy Kochi and the final result turned out to be great!



Before




After

[ike]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

Mod 11 : Steering Wrap

The stock steering leather was retained and the customized leather was wrapped on it, as instructed by the seller. Installation was done in less than 2 hours, at Galaxy Kochi and the final result turned out to be great!

Your steering looks fantastic!
Did you procure the leather on your own and get it installed in Cochin or did you buy the leather as well from Galaxy? How much was the cost in total?
I have been thinking about getting my steering wrapped and looking for options.

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by ike

Your steering looks fantastic!
Did you procure the leather on your own and get it installed in Cochin or did you buy the leather as well from Galaxy? How much was the cost in total?
I have been thinking about getting my steering wrapped and looking for options.

I bought the leather, on my own, from AliExpress and had it installed at Galaxy.

The link to the product : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3291...28854c4dlkY92d

[grease.monkey]

Mod 12 : D5S Headlight Bulb Upgrade


The stock headlight output of the pre-FL S-Cross Alpha variant is extremely poor, thanks to it's projector design with 25W bulbs. I was looking for an upgrade ever since I bought the car!


Possible upgrade options :

1) Projector and Bulb : Morimoto D2S 5.0 Projector, with better bulb, is the best upgrade IMO. A S-Cross owner has carried out this mod by himself and the output is amazing.

The link to the detailed DIY S-Cross projector upgrade thread :
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...bi-xenons.html (DIY: S-Cross Headlight Upgrade to Morimoto Mini D2S Stage III Bi-Xenons)

I eventually will be going for this. Was considering other options, due to limited budget.

2) Bulb : Upgraded bulb would only make around 30% difference because of the stock projector design. Also, D5S has very limited options and Morimoto 35W bulb is the best option available at the moment. They were quite expensive and I didn't want to invest so much on bulbs alone, without upgrading the projectors.

Few weeks back, I came across a 35W D5S option on AliExpress, with good reviews. It fell in the budget I had in mind, hence decided to try these out and ordered a pair of 5500K bulbs. Attaching the link to it below :

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3291...28ec4c4dFdkZkP



The difference in output isn't as much as advertised on the box, but definitely better than stock


35W D5S (left) & Stock Philips 25W D5S (Right)



Dim : 35W D5S (left) & Stock Philips 25W D5S (Right)



Bright : 35W D5S (left) & Stock Philips 25W D5S (Right)

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

Mod 12 : D5S Headlight Bulb Upgrade



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3291...28ec4c4dFdkZkP

How are the 35W D5S bulbs holding up?
I bought the same and awaiting delivery. Hope they will perform better than the OEM Philips ones.

[grease.monkey]

Originally Posted by Prakritij

How are the 35W D5S bulbs holding up?
I bought the same and awaiting delivery. Hope they will perform better than the OEM Philips ones.

They're holding up well, so far.

Yes, they're better than the OE ones. That said, please don't expect major difference. The throw is more or less the same as stock, but brighter.

[Prakritij]

Thanks. The bulbs arrived and as you said, it's slightly brighter. I ordered them in 4300k and I could feel it's worth in the rains.

[grease.monkey]

It's been long since I've updated this thread. I've further added to the performance, which has already been covered by BHPian Dr.Naren in another thread.

The stock S-Cross 1.6 DDiS intake end pipe sits just above the radiator. I had it re-routed, few years back.

I approached BHPian swiftboost for advice regarding the intercooler plumbing on my car (it was revised elsewhere during intercooler upgrade); I felt the design could be made better. He heard me out and was happy to help.

When I got the car, I was completely amazed by the quality of his work, ideas and also had an unexpected surprise. He also worked on my already revised intake and made it better without any shape transition (previously had circular to rectangular transition). The new intake channel looks just like an OEM product!!!

The car drives much better now and the engine bay looks like the car doesn't have any performance upgrades done! This is exactly what I wanted

Stock Maruti Suzuki S-Cross 1.6 DDiS Engine Bay


First Intake Revision


Engine Bay With New Intake Revision

[aargee]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

The perfect key-chain

Just stumbled on this thread & sharing the coincidence or a perfectly apt keychain made for this wonderful car?

[grease.monkey]

This car being my daily, working on it's drawbacks and making it better however possible, is the goal. Focused, few more upgrades were done on my Panda step wise, over the past few months.

Headlight Projector Upgrade :

Around 2 years back, I had upgraded the stock headlight bulbs to 35W bulbs (sourced from AliExpress). With the new bulbs, the throw didn't get any better, just got brighter. For the price paid and considering the poor stock projector design, it wouldn't be right to expect more.

Finally I decided to upgrade the headlight projector and approached Reflectionz, Kochi. The same person had smoked the headlights few years back and his work is top notch!

Hella type D2S projector was the primary choice. But the projector which Reflectionz had in stock weren't bolt on, space for the new projector was limited, making new brackets to accommodate them were difficult and time consuming. Since I wanted the car as soon as possible, AES H1 projector with 55W 4200K bulbs were chosen, which were easier to install. The throw has improved by a very good margin. Night drives are much more easier and stress free now!



Low Beam (without foglights)


High Beam (without foglights)


Short video clip of the output (without foglights) :

https://youtu.be/TePFk05aEwU

Price : 28,000/- (inclusive of headlight restoration)

Few other S-Cross Alpha owners upgraded to Hella type D2S projectors (done elsewhere), the output on their cars is even better.

Dr. Nano Coil Springs Upgrade :

The ride comfort on the S-Cross at slow speeds is horrible, especially at the rear! It is extremely bumpy, wobbles a lot and the 50 profile tyres made it worse on my car. During the recent tyre change, I downsized from 225 / 50 R17 to 215 / 55 R17 Pirelli Cinturato P7. The ride quality got better, but yet wasn't comfortable. It was still difficult for passengers, especially for older people.

While on a recent visit to Manipal, I got to check out BHPian Dr.Naren's S-Cross which had Eibach progressive lowering springs. This lowered car was far more comfortable than a stock car!

I dabbled with the lowering springs idea in my head for a long time. Most of the roads in my area at Coorg are horrible. Driving a lowered car here would be very difficult and patience testing. The bad roads, car's exposed oil sump and the rear tyres rubbing the fender even with stock springs (because of the rear wheel spacer) were deal breakers and the plan was eventually dropped.

Dr. Nano has stiffer linear springs for the S-Cross, which also increase the height by few mm. I wasn't sure how these springs would improve my car. Desperate for a solution, I decided to go for them. I was told that springs were made on order basis and would take around 2-3 weeks. The order was placed and as promised, the springs were delivered in 2 weeks. The installation was done at Mahindra First Choice.











Price : 16,500/- (for all 4 springs)

Feedback after driving for around 1,500 KMs :

- Ride comfort has improved by a very good margin, it's more flat and composed now. More or less similar to Dr.Naren's car with Eibach progressive lowering springs.
- Wobbling at slow speeds has reduced drastically.
- Body roll is very well controlled and minimal.
- Steering feedback is much better.
- Much lesser nose dive.
- Before, the rear wheels used to hit the rear fender very often, because of the spacer. It doesn't rub any more.
- The car used to fish-tail on speed rumblers. Had tested at different speeds, there's absolutely no drama now post the upgrade.
- Looks like the ride height has increased by few mm.

After the new upgrades, I'm completely in love with my car all over again! Long drives are much more easier, comfortable and lesser tiring now!

[govigov]

Originally Posted by grease.monkey

T
https://Youtu.be/TePFk05aEwU

can you explain a little bit more about those two pod mounted gauges, what are they and how did you install them?