[Hells Bells]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Just a quick glimpse of my car post detailing by SunnyBoi

Nikhil,

You got the Miyabi Coat or ISM Coat? I presume you applied Over Coat over either of them? What is the cost of the treatment here in India? I understand it stays on for 18-24 months.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Nikhil, I see a positive and negative aspect to this job:

Negative:

It looks so special now that you just cannot afford to get into the car for a casual drive. You better be dressed well, and probably may go as far as charging the fellow passengers just for a spin in this Czech missile


Positive:
Considering the 'Negative' aspect, you don't need a dressing table or mirror anymore. Just that gloss on your RS can be used as a make-shift mirror now

Hahahahaha!

I am always dressed casually. I hate dressing up. So, I guess the car will make up for it now!

Originally Posted by Hells Bells

Nikhil,

You got the Miyabi Coat or ISM Coat? I presume you applied Over Coat over either of them? What is the cost of the treatment here in India? I understand it stays on for 18-24 months.

I had ordered the Kamikaze stuff around a year back (to be precise around 10-11 months back) to be used on my Dad's car. However, it arrived late so my dad's car got coated wth Koch Chemie by Keystone Enterprises.

The Kamikaze stuff was lying with Sunny since then and now I used it on my car. I do not remember exactly how much I paid but I think it was around $250- $275.

We applied two coats of Miyabi and one coat of ISM. And the pics are without Overcoat. Overcoat was sprayed after we took the pictures.

I will try to take some more photos with Overcoat and post it, but it doesnt look that much different.

[Nikhilb2008]

I was supposed to go to on the TBHP Overnighter to Chettinad this weekend but unfortunately I couldnt.

So, decided to do some driving on NICE road on Saturday to compensate the lack of kilometres.

Also, a picture taking in the early morning light showing the car at it's best. It looks like I've edited the picture, but believe me, I have not!

[Nikhilb2008]

Are you scared of low fuel economy figures? Do you track the price of fuel on a daily basis? Do you plan a trip across a grid-locked city with the precision of a nation planning a military strike?

If you've answered yes to one or all of the above questions, please do not read further or think of the vRS as a daily driver!

As for me, I have been conditioned thanks to the abysmal fuel economy of the Turbo Civic.

At least the vRS gives me double digits easily on the highways. The range is very broad for the vRS. 4-5 in the worst of traffic but 13-14 when I am in cruise mode.

[Hells Bells]

RS and fuel sipping intent will make strange bedfellows so I doubt anyone looking at RS will be in this dilemma. However, your latest numbers do validate what was always known about RS though I had seriously started doubting those going by your previous mileage postings

[Krish Karkera]

Hey nikhil,congrats on the RS,its a killer in blue.
I got myself a steel grey last week, was just curious about the oil temperature once operating temperatures have been achieved.
My car shows 108-111deg Celcius,could you please have a peek at your readout the next time your driving and let me know.
Thanks,
Krish

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Krish Karkera

Hey nikhil,congrats on the RS,its a killer in blue.
I got myself a steel grey last week, was just curious about the oil temperature once operating temperatures have been achieved.
My car shows 108-111deg Celcius,could you please have a peek at your readout the next time your driving and let me know.
Thanks,
Krish

Yes the oil temperature is in the range of 110-115 and even a little higher depending on how its pushed. It is a bit on the higher side, but its normal for the vRS.

[AbelAFC]

I spotted you outside Christ Uni on Thursday afternoon. I was in the black WagonR shamelessly gawking at your car. Its a beautiful shade, that Race Blue. I think seeing your ride has gotten my friend thinking about picking up one himself.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Krish Karkera

Hey nikhil,congrats on the RS,its a killer in blue.
I got myself a steel grey last week, was just curious about the oil temperature once operating temperatures have been achieved.
My car shows 108-111deg Celcius,could you please have a peek at your readout the next time your driving and let me know.
Thanks,
Krish

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Yes the oil temperature is in the range of 110-115 and even a little higher depending on how its pushed. It is a bit on the higher side, but its normal for the vRS.

Yes, 108-115 is what I always observe. At cruising speed it's closer to 108-110.

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

I spotted you outside Christ Uni on Thursday afternoon. I was in the black WagonR shamelessly gawking at your car. Its a beautiful shade, that Race Blue. I think seeing your ride has gotten my friend thinking about picking up one himself.

Hahaha! I wish I had noticed! Would have loved to say Hi! If your friend is serious, he better hurry.

[shovan]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Hahaha! I wish I had noticed! Would have loved to say Hi! If your friend is serious, he better hurry.

Are any cars still available? Last I heard new deliveries starting January

[Hells Bells]

Nope, cars will be available only in Jan.

[Nikhilb2008]

A month and a day. 31 days. 4234 kms.

I got my permanent registration only late in the night on the 30th. So, I've made full use of my temporary registration.

The 29th was Ayudha Pooja and it was the first time we were performing the pooja to this car. Some pictures.

I still cant get over how amazing the car looks post detailing.











After the pooja, it was time to rest. Both, the car and the owner!

The next day, a couple of friends and me drove some 300 kms for lunch! We went to this small "restaurant" run by an elderly couple in rural Tamil Nadu, near Erode.

The meal itself cost just 550 rupees per person, but what a meal it was! They are famous for a large number of non veg preparations and we were not disappointed.

We faced heavy traffic on the way to this place thanks to it being a long weekend.

However, our return journey was even worse as Salem was blocked and we had to divert through some narrow roads that were not capable of handling the volume of traffic that was present. It was quite a painful drive till we got back to the main National Highway. After that, the rest of the journey was completed in double quick time, with appropriate Bio-breaks and fuel breaks.

As you can see, the fuel economy was very poor mainly because of the heavy traffic. The traffic itself might have helped pump up the numbers, but then to get make up for time, every small stretch of open road was despatched in Sports mode or Manual mode ensuring that the fuel economy was badly affected.








On the 1st, I didnt have any plans of driving, but a BMW owning friend called late in the evening and said he was stranded in the middle of nowhere with a damaged tyre and was unable to move. So, another friend and I picked up a space saver tyre, a jack, the tool kit and an air compressor and rushed to help him out. Left my house at 9:30 pm, got stuck in a huge jam between Dharmapuri and Thoppu for 50 minutes, then reached my stranded friend at 2:20 am. Showed off my tyre changing skills for 40 minutes and departed at 3:00 am and reached home at 6:30 am.



The car performed flawlessly. Me on the other hand.... I was a wreck by the time I got home. My friend thankfully took over driving duties for some time in the middle while I caught up on some sleep.

The lights on this car are really really good in complete darkness. It was quite easy to drive at triple digit speeds with the lights on and on empty sections, the high beam lit up the entire road and the signs ahead of us very well.

Yes, we were quite tired and exhausted but the car didnt put a foot wrong and it was a pleasure to drive to the location. The return journey is pretty much a blur as both my friend and I were just focused on driving safely and ensuring we listen to our bodies and dont over-reach.

[Nikhilb2008]

The update I posted here on this thread has been split off into a separate thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...nsporting.html

I want this post to be here to show how after all the good dealing done by TAFE, they have been let down by Skoda India itself.

I spoke to Mr Jose Mathew, a senior person in TAFE and he confirmed that Skoda itself didnt inform the dealership about the suspension spacers.

I will have to hold Skoda India responsible for this mess. How in heaven's name can they miss out this critical piece of information?

[azeemhafiz]

Congratulations on a very, very fine and special car, Nikhil.

I am HUGE fan of the vRS moniker. The subtle touches and niche differentiations have always brought a smile to my face.

This is a brilliant, brilliant car. Enjoy her for many many wonderful journeys thats ahead.

While some of the quirks are to be expected with the brand, a few spirited, pedal to the metal drives and you tend to forgive the brand almost entirely. Me and a few of my comrades are guilty of this.

I would strongly recommend that at some point you get a remap done on the car. The transformation of these VW engines post remap is remarkable.

Once again, I wish you the very best and enjoy the fantastic car!

[Nikhilb2008]

An epic drive from Calicut to Bombay. 1253 kms, 17 hours. Avg Fuel Economy: 11.5kmpl.

Some pictures. First couple of pictures were taken just after Mysore. Near Bandipur National Park. You can see how clean the car is and how the paint is glistening in the sun shine!




The most beautiful pictures with fog and the mountains were of course taken in my favourite Indian state: God's Own Country!







At the end of the drive! Phew!






I also hit an odo reading of 5,000 kms somewhere on the drive from Calicut to Bombay.



Nearing my hotel in Bandra, I noticed that the slow, peaceful drive from Kolhapur onwards(where I last filled up petrol) had taken it's toll on the fuel economy readings. This included a very leisurely drive on the Mumbai Pune Expressway. I know this expressway is a haven of speed freaks, but I am terrified of the reputation of this road. Especially at night. Also, the fact that I had been on the road for over 14 hours. So, I decided not to be a hero and drive safely. I used Cruise Control for certain stretches of the expressway and I'm sure it helped return such high FE figures.

See the below pics taken at 10:29-10:30pm last night as I was driving within Bombay to reach my hotel.







Avg fuel economy: 15.6kmpl.
Distance covered: 342 km!
Range: 570!

Effectively a range of over 900 kms on a 2.0 Turbo Petrol!




Of course, why someone with such a car would drive like an old man (or in my case, a young man, but tired after a tiring drive!)

However, the numbers dont do justice to this drive. From Calicut to Hiriyur, where I joined the main 4-laned National Highway 4(Dont care what it's named now, for me it will always be NH4!), the roads were dual carriageway all along. With lots of speed breakers, village traffic, cows, goats, etc! And the drive till Gundlupet from Calicut goes through Bandipur Tiger Reserve where there is a speed breaker every 300 metres!

I left Calicut at 5:00 am, reached Srirangapatna by 9:00, took the turn-off to Bellur Cross - Hiriyur and hit the NH4 at 12:00 noon. After that, the drive was peaceful but slow thanks to usual trucks and heavy traffic. Nothing noteworthy though.

However, NH4 too is a mess nowadays. Lots of potholes in places where you would least expect it! I had a couple of very hard hits on the car and I'm certain one or more of my alloy wheels are bent.


Driving experience:

The car of course insulated me from the noise outside very well. It just munches miles like no one's business. Covering ground in this car is a piece of cake.

The car picks up speed very quickly and can hold such speeds forever. The suspension and the chassis work very well to ensure you dont have to slow down for things like curves and corners!

After removing the suspension blocks detailed in my other thread, I can say that my car is now even better. On the roads I drove yesterday, if I had to drive with the suspension blocks, my back would have taken a serious beating. However, the ride is now perfectly cushioned. It's still harder/firmer than the stock TSI (I think... I havent driven a regular 1.8 TSI for a long time). However, the sharp ruts in the road which caused the suspension to pretty much throw the car in the air, now cause no trouble. There is a very nice damped feel to the suspension now.

The drive through the narrow, twisty but nicely surfaced roads of Kerala early in the morning really showed me what my car can do. It remains totally flat through the corners and I feel the turn in is very very tight. Skoda markets the XDS+ software which is an E-Differential as a Limited Slip Differential. It is supposed to brake the inner wheel when the lateral G exceeds 0.15G. It could be the XDS+ working well, but I really enjoyed throwing my car around the twisty bits of the roads.

The gearbox is really quick and downshifts in a flash when you need power urgently for an overtaking manoeuvre. This was especially useful on the smaller roads in Kerala and rural Karnataka.

However, I believed the hype earlier and though it was instantaneous. It isnt. There is a perceptible gap between me putting my foot hard down and the car downshifting. However, at the end of the day, it's very fast and way way faster than I would take if I had to downshift a manual transmission car.

Overall, I'm very happy with the car. Pretty decent fuel economy and it's as fast as I could want in a regular daily driven car.

A parting shot.... Wondering when I'll get a chance to come back to such a beautiful place!