[Manuuj]

Road Trip!!

A while ago i was readin a copy of Top Gear magazine and it had an article called "Roads to drive before you die". This particular article featured the State Highway 11 that featured from Sainj to Aut in Himachal Pradesh enroute to Kullu.

Ever since reading this article i had a hankering to go there in the Fortuner and try out the road.

It was a 1300 kms round trip and the Fortuner returned a healthy 12 kmpl even though it was driven a lot in first gear and second gear for miles at a stretch.

The only problem i perceived was a burning smell (clutch slip?) when i had to reverse up a steep road with the Low range and Lock (LL) engaged so a Bus coming up the same narrow and slippery road could pass by.

Other than that the vehicle performed admirably and seemed almost to revel in the inhospitable conditions at times.

I shall now shut up and post the pictures that speak a thousand words

Since i cannot fathom how to insert text between the pics you may simply roll over the cursor on each pic and a brief description will appear. Maybe the Team-BHP Support can intervene and fix this for me.

This set is from Delhi to Simla and then from Simla to Sainj Via Kufri, Fagu, and Narkanda.

The stretch of NH 22 between Kufri and Narkanda is really bad with the car being driven in only 1st or at best 2nd gear for miles.

Things get better as you approach Narkanda and from there its all good till you turn off for State Highway 11 to Aut via Luhri, Behana, Kumarsain, Kingal, Ani, Jalori Pass, Shoja, Banjar and then Aut where you rejoin the main National Highway 21 onwards to Manali via Kullu.

[Manuuj]

Onwards from Sainj onto Aut via Jalori pass the road is narrow and you have to watch out for trucks and bus drivers that seem oblivious to your presence and hurtle towards you as though you are just another mirage and shall soon disappear from sight as they bear down upon you.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Road Trip!!

Lovely snaps and pithy write up ! Journey of a lifetime eh ?
One observation - The Fortuner appears to be slightly yellowish in the snaps ? Or is it my eye ?
Effect of hard Sunday hide rubs perhaps...

And yes - remember smelling the clutch on the demo TFort when the FNSM tried reversing up the sharp incline of the parking bay, which now has been smoothened for Admiral !

[Manuuj]

Then you start a climb up to Jalori Pass and the road breaks up again on the climb up and is nothing short of a slippery muddy trail on the way down..

[Manuuj]

The Road down from Jalori Pass..

[Manuuj]

The next day was spent exploring Manali and the Road that goes upto Rohtang Pass. Sadly it was shut less than halfway up due to snow drifts at a place called Palchan.

All the same it was a great drive, the scenery was beautiful, the air was fresh the Maggi was hot and the Beer was cold!

[Manuuj]

The road from Manali to Rohtang pass.

[Manuuj]

The next day we left for Kasol via Naggar and Kullu...

[Manuuj]

On the last day we left for Delhi from Kasol via Kullu, Aut, Mandi, Sundernagar, Bilaspur, Swarghat, Kiratpur, Roopnagar, Kharar, Banur, Ambala and Panipat.

It was a 9 hour journey we left pretty early even before the birds began to sing to avoid Traffic on the way which we did successfully till Bilaspur after which it was the routine humdrum of Traffic on the National Highway.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Lovely snaps and pithy write up ! Journey of a lifetime eh ?
One observation - The Fortuner appears to be slightly yellowish in the snaps ? Or is it my eye ?
Effect of hard Sunday hide rubs perhaps...

And yes - remember smelling the clutch on the demo TFort when the FNSM tried reversing up the sharp incline of the parking bay, which now has been smoothened for Admiral !

That is right Guderian. The Fortuner seems yellowish but that is due to the dust that settled on it due to the broken up roads between Kufri and Narkanda. I can assure you that it is back to its usual gleaming white as I write this.

The lack of a write up is due to the tons of work that i need to catch up with due to the weekend off in the hills

I hope the pictures will make up for that which is lacking in the writing department.

[Dragonov]

Nice snaps Manuuj. Reminded me of my trip to the same places in 2008. One thing I noticed is that the state of the road at Jalori pass has not changed much, but anyway that road has always been a challenge for both man and machine especially in the winters.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

That is right Guderian. The Fortuner seems yellowish but that is due to the dust that settled on it due to the broken up roads between Kufri and Narkanda. I can assure you that it is back to its usual gleaming white as I write this.

The lack of a write up is due to the tons of work that i need to catch up with due to the weekend off in the hills

I hope the pictures will make up for that which is lacking in the writing department.

Hey Manuuj, The later photographs are truly scenic and so refreshing to the eye. Lovely, just lovely ! Go on, go on if you have more of them...
And pithy is just the way I love reports. Keep reporting every little bit on The Fortuner.

[nilanjanray]

Lovely pictures, Manuuj!

Did you have to use HL or LL anywhere else e.g. during impulsive offroading - say, driving down the steep hill to the steam below to talk to the beautiful damsel who was collecting water?

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Lovely pictures, Manuuj!

Did you have to use HL or LL anywhere else e.g. during impulsive offroading - say, driving down the steep hill to the steam below to talk to the beautiful damsel who was collecting water?

Thanks Nilanjan! Glad you liked the pics, means a lot coming from such an acclaimed photographer as yourself.

The only time I used LL was when i had to reverse up a steep slippery incline as a bus was coming up the other direction and in LL mode i must say the Fortuner behaved like a tractor! It easily reversed up without any wheel slip or fuss at all. I was very pleased for two reasons: one, that i had finally used the LL and two that it exceeded my expectations.

I had thought the situation to be a bit sticky but the ease at which the Fortuner handled it left me patting its steering wheel in delight!

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hey Manuuj, The later photographs are truly scenic and so refreshing to the eye. Lovely, just lovely ! Go on, go on if you have more of them...
And pithy is just the way I love reports. Keep reporting every little bit on The Fortuner.

Thanks HG glad you liked the pics. I have some news on the clutch burn smell I experienced while reversing up the steep incline mentioned above on which i shall elucidate in my post below.

30,000 and Smooth as Silk

I took the Fortuner in for its 30,000 kilometers service at the 30,030 kms mark on the 7th of May 2011.

This time i had two issues to report:

1) Clutch burn smell while reversing up in LL mode on a slippery and steep slope at Jalori Pass on a recent excursion.

2) Vehicle felt a bit sluggish and noisier than before.

I discussed point number 1 with the technical manager at Galaxy Toyota.
He patiently heard me out and asked me to re-enact the exact sequence i had followed at Jalori pass.

He noticed that i had put the car in LL mode for reversing which he said was not required as reverse gear already has a lot of torque in it but the real reason for the clutch burn smell was the "half-clutching" i had done in order to keep my ascent slow and gradual.

In his view this was the wrong way to go about it and was the reason that the clutch slipped and caused the burning smell due to the friction material (typically leather) of the clutch face coming in contact with the fly wheel and slipping.

I agree to this point and shall be careful in the future..Mea Culpa.

To my second point he told me that over time the Air Filter gets choked and even though it is cleaned regularly at every 5000 kms it loses its efficacy and needs to be replaced at the 30,000 kms mark. This is SOP for Fortuner servicing.

This increases Air flow to the engine which because is breathing better improves the combustion which results in improved pick up and greater fuel efficiency also.

Apart from this the Fuel filters are also replaced along with the Engine Oil, Oil Filter and HVAC filter.

This results in cleaner diesel being fed to the vehicle and the harsh engine note also drops away along with a marked improvement in smoothness of pick up.

This to is Standard Operating Procedure for Fortuners at 30,000 kms Service

All of the above was carried out along with the Tyre Rotation, Wheel Alignment and Balancing, refilling of the wiper wash and battery water, brakes adjust and fluid top ups if required.

Besides this the vehicle was given a thorough under body and top shampoo and wash, interior vacuum and cleaning, engine bay and tyre dressing which is the norm at Toyota.

It is a pleasure to watch the "Vanar Sena" as i lovingly refer to the 8-9 boys cleaning away the Fortuner furiously and systematically till satisfaction is achieved both by them and the client.

The total expenditure was Rs. 6420/- This is my largest single bill for the Fortuner since i got it in December 2009 (if you do not count the 29,000/- spent replacing the pilfered Wing Mirrors)

The results put a smile on my face the moment i drove away. The vehicle felt undeniably Quieter, Quicker and Smoother. I am very familiar with every nuance of my Fortuners performance and the difference in performance and smoothness was palpable.

I am going to seriously consider the after market and more expensive K&N filter for it after about another 10,000 kms more.

All in all i left satisfied and happy once again that the car of my dreams was once again performing like a dream (if not better)

[nilanjanray]

Great to know that everything is fine, as usual.

Seems your Galaxy folks have a better service orientation that the guys at Nandi here in Bangalore.

Btw, during the offroading bootcamp, the instructor said never to use halfclutch in the LL mode.

How would you compare your Fortuner ownership experience with your other SUVs'?