[anandpadhye]

I can't describe how happy I am .

Not counting the 850 km return journey from Bangalore (as the turbo and pipe were leaking), I have covered 500 km after the remap + turbo rebuild. Mostly in city, with short 5/10 km bursts on the NH4. The Tuc feels as light as a butterfly. As they say @LG, life if good .

Note: I am closely monitoring the oil level as well as smoke situation and will update on both (+ the detailed remap story).

[anandpadhye]

OK, ODO reads 116165, it's been @800 km since remap + turbo rebuild.
No visible oil leakage, oil level at the dip-stick intact.
The low fuel warning lamp came up at @620 km! A good 80/100 km earlier than normal. I will do a tankful tonight to see how much diesel goes in and what's the FE, but looks like it has taken a slight hit. (Another indication that remap is working ). Of course, this whole 800 km was full of idle testing, traffic, some high speed highway runs and spirited driving to test the acceleration and smoke.

Hose and pipe replacement still pending. Tonight I will try some premium diesel (BPCL). Shell diesel is out of stock in Pune, expected to be available after a month. The BPCL, HPCL, IOC pumps around Hinjewadi also have no stock of the premium diesel. I wonder what's going on...

Keep revvin...

[Digital Vampire]

There is no real need to try premium diesels unless the normal diesels you receive is of lower quality (more adulteration). Even a premium diesel would be adulterated and I'd trust Shell here since they have better mechanisms in place to reduce adulteration and pilferage.

[anandpadhye]

Anyway, filled the BPCL high-speed diesel @Rs.71/L :-)
65.7 L went in after covering 656 KM, so FE stood at around 10kmpl...not bad. This is what I was predominantly getting over first 3 years. Only last year or so I was seeing in the range of 11kmpl (not sure what had caused it). To see the figures being quoted by Yeti and XUV owners (>15kmpl), either we have to drive in the family mode(!) or add a 6'th gear. It's unfair to keep revving the diesel engine beyond 3500 RPM all the day and still expect stellar FE...

Anoop,
I have an interesting photo from the Sunday drive, I will send via email, please forward to Kash as well - he can use it to verify the top speed of our Tuc....

Once again, I am ready to invest the time, money and effort, provided you help me - let's upgrade to a 6-speed GB. I am telling you it will be worth it. Hope the photo convinces you.

Cheers!

[K a s h]

Yes the 6-speed GB from the 2007 UK spec Xenith Edition will be great. I have been eyeing this for sometime now :-)
Following is the comparo between the stock 5-speed, the xenith 6-speed and the auto box DV has in the customs warehouse.

[anandpadhye]

While searching for the 6 speed manual GB for the Tuc, I bumped into this:
http://thekoreancarblog.com/2011/09/...-gearbox-2014/

Quite an old news, but looks like a step in the right direction . My conviction to source a 6-speed MT is further strengthened. I contacted a few UK and Korea part suppilers to see if they can source this and ship to India and what will be the cost. Let's see. It can be expensive, but if done well, it will be a lifetime investment.

Can any BHPean help? Please.

[anandpadhye]

BTW, just saw the Ford EcoSport launch pictures thread. Now I will hold on to the Tuc even more fondly.

As they say: "They don't make them like that anymore..."

[anandpadhye]

OK, so consumed one full tank of the premium diesel. 695 km covered in 67L (10.3 kmpl). This was regular city driving + a 200 km return trip on NH4 and around 100 km of driving in the interior village roads of Satara.

After this, I filled regular diesel (Rs.55/L) and drove in the "debuda" style, or I should say "debuda+" style (as I could not keep to a strict 70 kmph, but managed to remain in 80-100kmph range with very occassionally going beyond to overtake). This was on the expressway. Wanted to check the FE right before entering Mumbai, but could not stop for refueling until on the way back to Pune. So ended up covering 226km (Pune to Kalamboli on the E way at steady 80-100 kmph, followed by the slow speeds + stop and go traffic - on and off until Goregaon, then a relaxed steady state 80-100kmph out of Mumbai the next day, all the way to first Toll naka on the E-way, where I refueled). 16.83L went in. so FE stood at 13.4 kmpl. This is the best I have ever seen! It could have been a bit higher if I could have checked it right before Mumbai. But anyway, this is practically the career best for the Tuc so far.

After the refueling, I relieved myself from the measurements and drove "freely", even touched 4K+ RPM in 5'th a couple of times - thanks to the fantastic remap!!!


Cheers!

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

After the refueling, I relieved myself from the measurements and drove "freely", even touched 4K+ RPM in 5'th a couple of times - thanks to the fantastic remap!!!


Cheers!

Congrats on the brain surgery of your Tuc, can you provide details on the gains and which maps were used for the remap? By maps I meant were european maps used or the original stock ones were edited in house? Also from which company was this remap done? Sorry for the n number of questions, just curiosity killing the cat.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Congrats on the brain surgery of your Tuc, can you provide details on the gains and which maps were used for the remap?

Thanks @motomaverick. "brain surgery" - well put .
The Tuc wasn't aware of it's potential - for 7 long years!!!

Yes, the remap story is pending for some time, I will post the details soon. But to answer the immediate questions - fellow member "Digital Vampire" from Bangalore got it done for me. He owns a Tuc himself and had gotten the surgery done more than a year ago on his vehicle. The original map was read and tweaked. The mastermind was an Austria based tuner that DV works with. I see that you are in Bangalore so it will be easy for you to meet DV. I wish I was in Bangalore too...

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Thanks @motomaverick. "brain surgery" - well put .
The Tuc wasn't aware of it's potential - for 7 long years!!!

Yes, the remap story is pending for some time, I will post the details soon. But to answer the immediate questions - fellow member "Digital Vampire" from Bangalore got it done for me. He owns a Tuc himself and had gotten the surgery done more than a year ago on his vehicle. The original map was read and tweaked. The mastermind was an Austria based tuner that DV works with. I see that you are in Bangalore so it will be easy for you to meet DV. I wish I was in Bangalore too...

Thanks for the reply, I have already remapped my Manza from Tune-O-Tronics , the questions were actually for a friend who has a Tuc himself and was looking for some performance mods. I will wait for your detailed story of the remap.

[debuda]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

OK, so consumed one full tank of the premium diesel. 695 km covered in 67L (10.3 kmpl). This was regular city driving + a 200 km return trip on NH4 and around 100 km of driving in the interior village roads of Satara.

After this, I filled regular diesel (Rs.55/L) and drove in the "debuda" style, or I should say "debuda+" style (as I could not keep to a strict 70 kmph, but managed to remain in 80-100kmph range with very occassionally going beyond to overtake).

Premium Vs Regular diesel : I had experimented with premium diesel in my Swift VDi for a few thousand KM but did not find any perceptible difference either in the mileage or anything else. Anyway, Maruti recommends regular diesel for the Swift and I stuck to it throughout my ownership. I have never put premium diesel in my XUV.

The 'Debuda' style of driving : I didn't know that my style of driving had become so famous on TBHP! But I need to clarify that though I call myself a safe and sedate driver, I don't always restrict myself to 70 KMPH on highways. When the road is straight and conditions favourable, I often go up to 120 KMPH or so. I touched 160 on my Swift on a couple of occasions on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. In the XUV, there is an alarm chime which rings when one touches 150. I have heard the sweet music of that chime about half a dozen times during my 4 months of XUV ownership.

The main reasons why I manage to extract better than average mileage out of any car are :

1. Gradual acceleration and deceleration.
2. Minimal use of brakes.
3. Use of higher gears whenever possible (my need for gradual acceleration facilitates this).
4. Remaining in a speed band of 70 to 120 KMPH on highways with about 80% of the distance being driven at less than 100 KMPH.

I have extracted around 15.8 KMPL from my XUV over 10,000 KM!

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by debuda

The 'Debuda' style of driving

It's a term that I fondly coined after our recent discussions .

Premium diesel - I did it in order to clean the tank/injectors a little bit - in case the premium diesel was a bit cleaner (he he he). I do that once in while, but this time it was to see if engine has become more sensitive to fuel quality after the remap, no conclusions yet, I will repeat the dose after a couple of refills.

I think the overall weight (1700 kg, if I remember correctly?), the AWD and "less than optimal gearing (by today's standards)" may put a ceiling on the efficiency of the Tuc. Nevertheless, 10 to 13 kmpl is decent for the sure footed handling and the torque and speeds on the offer. BTW, my SA himself reminded me today on the 6 speed GB. He is really excited about it. He said he can help source it if I can find the part number. Hope we get to do it one day...

[debuda]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I think the overall weight (1700 kg, if I remember correctly?), the AWD and "less than optimal gearing (by today's standards)" may put a ceiling on the efficiency of the Tuc. Nevertheless, 10 to 13 kmpl is decent for the sure footed handling and the torque and speeds on the offer. BTW, my SA himself reminded me today on the 6 speed GB. He is really excited about it. He said he can help source it if I can find the part number. Hope we get to do it one day...

The kerb weight of your Tuc is around 1640 kg whereas the XUV is heavier at around 1800 kg. Despite the higher weight and greater power / torque, the XUV is much more fuel efficient primarily because of newer technology, IMHO.

I'm not sure how much incremental benefits would be obtained by changing your gearbox to a 6-speed one. The GB certainly would cost quite a bit. Considering the age of your Tuc, would it be a worthwhile investment? Of course, cost-benefit analysis becomes meaningless if you are 'married' to your Tuc and intend keeping it for ever. But if you plan to sell it off sometime in the future, the new GB is unlikely to increase its resale value.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by debuda

XUV is much more fuel efficient primarily because of newer technology, IMHO.

I'm not sure how much incremental benefits would be obtained by changing your gearbox to a 6-speed one. The GB certainly would cost quite a bit. Considering the age of your Tuc, would it be a worthwhile investment? Of course, cost-benefit analysis becomes meaningless if you are 'married' to your Tuc and intend keeping it for ever. But if you plan to sell it off sometime in the future, the new GB is unlikely to increase its resale value.

Yes, the 6-speed GB is going to be expensive and more importantly it can be a real headache to source all required parts and get it right. But it will be fun, if it could be done. And right, it won't make any difference to resale value. But that's not the focus - at least as of now.

The new technology - that's exactly what I have been discussing with Anoop. I want to learn what all has changed in last 7 years, so we can use the Yeti and XUV as reference to list all the improvements on the 3 important fronts: power, FE and emissions.

Some basic things I have learnt are:

1. Injectors: Tuc uses mechanical injectors whereas current gen (Santa Fe) uses ultrasonic injectors, which are better in terms of efficiency, NVH, reliability, longavity. I guess Yeti/XUV both use ultrasonic ones?

2. DPF: Does a lot of good to emissions, but not sure any Indian vehicles have this. of course, Tuc does not.

3. VGT: of course, of course:-) Tuc uses FGT/WGT.

4. Timing chain: Tuc uses belts, but it may not be relevant to power/FE/emissions.

5. 6-speed GB: Tuc uses 5 speed and the ratios are not chosen very wisely :-(

6. DMF: Tuc uses single mass flywheel. Again, I don't know if this impacts power/FE. it may just do some good to the clutch and driver's left knee (the sole reason that it may have been worth it, but it's expensive to replace). Interestingly, Terracan had DMF (and also a proper low ratio GB). Tuc was concieved as a cost optimized SUV, I think.

7. Electronics: The current generation surely will have better, faster ECUs, more sensors (e.g. EGTs, etc), and better algorithms.

8. What else?

Cheers!