[LithiumSunset]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Thanks a lot for the info !
For this service, i'll go ahead with normal mineral oil ... will switch over once it crosses 20K mark.

I have noticed a change in engine noise when a switchover happens from Petrol to CNG .. engine clatter is more audible and pronounced. Should I get this checked, or is this normal ?

And, it's not late, as I'll be getting this serviced once I am back from Shimla yet again this extended weekend (take couple of leaves, add weekend, and holiday coming up on Monday - ) - though this would mean getting late by a week or so.

You are welcome.

Have you noticed it now? I mean is a recent change in the pitch?

Otherwise it is normal. There is definite clatter as opposed to a petrol thrum, not as bad as a diesel, but it is more obvious only at standstill in quieter surroundings, I don't notice it on the road.

I am envious of your frequent Shimla trips, do you own a house/ cottage/ hotel there or what?

Have a great trip and getting late by a week for the service should not matter.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by LithiumSunset

You are welcome.

Have you noticed it now? I mean is a recent change in the pitch?

Otherwise it is normal. There is definite clatter as opposed to a petrol thrum, not as bad as a diesel, but it is more obvious only at standstill in quieter surroundings, I don't notice it on the road.

I am envious of your frequent Shimla trips, do you own a house/ cottage/ hotel there or what?

Have a great trip and getting late by a week for the service should not matter.

No, it's from starting I think - I just never noticed it till now. And yes, its more than petrol, less than diesel - I'll get this checked on my next service. Got to check the car's belt too - been making shrieking noise early morning now.

Yes, its a small getaway house on a hill some 40 odd kms before Shimla ... a nice way to regenerate your senses to fight back in office for another month

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Utopian

The indicator on the ORVM looks more like an aftermarket fitment rather than OE. Are you really sure that MSIL has started offering it as standard?

With the new SX4 featuring indicators on side ORVMs, I too was hopeful that MSIL will offer them on older variants. But it looks like they don't. I called my regular service advisor - Mandovi Motors in JP Nagar, Bangalore and he said - they don't. Moreover since it needs different switches and overall wiring to be replaced for the indicators, and older SX4 don't have place to fit additional switches that MSIL allows, this is NOT possible. I was really looking for after market fitment but then due to lack of known/ trusted garage other than this MSIL dealer workshop, i dropped the idea.

Let me know if you had any luck with any other MASSs!

[LithiumSunset]

For what its worth, an update.

The car clocked 30,000 km and it was time for the periodic service. My fifth visit for this work.

I was at Fairdeal Sahibabad early enough to be amongst the first cars in the washing line. My usual SA Satish was also around who quickly noted what had to be done. He agreed that this time I was not going to be duped into the engine wash scam. As earlier, the workshop people don't mind my presence on the floor. Its more for my satisfaction than anything else. But I did manage to get a few 'extra' things done. The spark plugs ought to have been changed in the 4th (20k) service, so I got new ones put in, the regular MGA kind. The low pressure CNG filter should also be changed every 20k. The SA warned me of the 1400 rupee price tag saying that this not done by anybody, I said never mind put it in. There are six cells in the battery, one is always under the clamp, I had to insist on the SE going the extra mile and opening that one up too to top up the distilled water. One last item on my list was cleaning/ replacing the AC pollen filter. Turns out Maruti Suzuki scrimps on a 300 rupee part when assembling their most expensive car! (They don't sell Kizashi anymore and who is buying the Vitara, tell me?)

So all the trouble of the morning set me back by about 9k after getting that free service discount and this time managing to redeem some 500 odd rupees on that Auto Card that they slip in for some 300 Rs. when you are excitedly buying the car and sort of overlook the price when one is parting with 8 really big ones!

The ride seems better and smoother but I wasn't complaining earlier either. There are no rattles and everything works, so far. Except for a couple of times when the left front power window motor got stuck halfway in rain. Maybe it's the battery, in it's third year, but it works fine in dry weather. I could not replicate the behaviour inside the workshop. It doesn't really rain that much in Delhi, does it. This year being the exception.

A couple of items in the bill certainly seem to cost a lot more than what they are actually worth. One was 300 + rupee greasing and the second was 650 odd charge for throttle body cleaning. What they exactly do for these sums is a bit too quick to warrant that much money. I consoled myself that I had finally redeemed that Fairdeal Scheme which I had bought for Rs.500 several months ago which gave me a discount on the labour charges for the first service. Since my first three free services were done at Fairdeal, the fourth was free too, and thus the fifth too became free! There are a few other coupons that I can redeem, like washing etc., but the location of the workshop comes in the way of me using them up.

I promised myself to get Leh'd this year. Dutifully joining in the list of hopefuls when Motomaverick (Hirak) started that group. I'm sure everybody agrees that they had an interesting time from what I read in the travelogue. The timing of the trip just did not work for me this year and so net result, I didn't get Leh'd, yet again. We did ferry our respective siblings and their families to two trips to the hills, one to Ramgarh and the other to Narkanda - Sarahan. Thus apart from my 'epic' (every piddly little drive is epic, isn't it?) Delhi - Udaipur - Bombay - Poona - Aurangabad - Ajmer - Delhi 3500 km trip, the car has seen me navigate moderately long distances successfully. I think that the Indian highway experience has become better, but there are still a few unexpected scares. On our way to Narkanda, I took the picturesque but narrower Chhail route. One young scooterist almost committed suicide while trying to impress his young female pillion rider by taking a blind turn at a rather good speed on the wrong side of the two lane road. Fortunately my reflexes were sharp enough and he too managed to brake, swerve and avoid the unthinkable. My strident honk disturbing the tranquility of the serene hills.

I took this diversion to show my extended family one of the rare views of a traditional Himachali temple in a small nondescript village. To my utter dismay ugly modernisation has caught up and smothered the old here too. I'll let a few pictures taken just two years apart make my point.

In our November 2011 trip we couldn't help but stop and visit this beautiful village.




It was early morning and this temple that stands above the surrounding village houses perched on the highest point and rightfully so, was soon bathed in the perfect rising sunlight.





But horror of horrors, this is what will greet you now..





I am not against new or glass or concrete but can't we do it in a manner such that it adds to the beauty rather than become an eyesore? But that is a different lament for a different forum altogether. A far better example is what you get to see at Tanni Jubbad.



All of what has been done here is new, yet keeps the essence of the old in steel and concrete. I wish they had the money and/or the resources to use timber and stone. The new Hatu Temple is also not a bad example, if you ignore the Rajashtani granite in the steps.


And now the fuel stats:

I made my 204th trip to the Gas station recently. That's roughly one every 5 days. About 1230 Kg. of CNG worth close to Rs. 44000. The petrol I filled, surprisingly, is also worth 44k for about 650 odd liters. So the net fuel cost per KM is about Rs.2.67. My average service costs add another 75 paise to the figure. Insurance accounts for another Rs.1.65 per Km to round off the total cost of running the car 11000 km per year to Rs.5 per Km. Worth it? Probably yes, till now.

CNG prices continue to register 22 to 23% inflation as opposed to Petrol which despite everybody's alarm is a measly 8%. Diesel inflation which used to languish even below petrol is now about 10%. By my calculations I managed to recover the additional 65k that I paid for the Green variant in about two and half years. Now of course, I on my way to the bank albeit on a tortoise but smiling if not laughing all the way!

My spread sheet tells me that today, it makes no sense to buy a new CNG variant if your yearly mileage is low. I just about made the cut when 'I bought a car that no one was buying', in end of 2010.

Cheers.

[amitpunjani]

Hi LithiumSunset,

This is one thread in T-Bhp, i am always looking for update, or more so of the reason, i too own sibling of your car, mine is Sx4 (D).

In your report, i just admire, even the smallest details are covered.

Could you pls. stress upon CNG filter, never heard of it? A snapshot will be good, if possible.

BR

Amit

[LithiumSunset]

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

Hi LithiumSunset,

This is one thread in T-Bhp, i am always looking for update, or more so of the reason, i too own sibling of your car, mine is Sx4 (D).

In your report, i just admire, even the smallest details are covered.

Could you pls. stress upon CNG filter, never heard of it? A snapshot will be good, if possible.

BR

Amit

Thanks for the appreciation Amit. I do wonder why a Diesel Head has interest in the CNG sibling!

The Low pressure filter looks like this:



Doesn't look worth 1400 rupees does it?

It is housed in a clamp in between the battery and the pressure gauge.

[amitpunjani]

[quote=LithiumSunset;3266514]Thanks for the appreciation Amit. I do wonder why a Diesel Head has interest in the CNG sibling!

The Low pressure filter looks like this:

Hi Lithium Sunset,

Appreciate your quick response for the pics! Honestly, i did spend sleepless night contemplating b/w Sx4 CNG or Diesel. It was sure Sx4 is THE car for me, but the fuel option was one thing, i wasn't able to drill down. Then finally i got a good deal of Diesel version. Also, there is one CNG Santro in my garage, its an aftermarket fitment, but doesn't have CNG filter.

I am honestly quite surprised to see this CNG filter and curious to know what is the purpose of this filter, which cost INR 1,400.

Just wanted to seek your opinion & experience do you also find Sx4 ride stiff, i sometimes feel during bumpy ride some vibrations on steering.

BR

Amit

[LithiumSunset]

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

Hi Lithium Sunset,

Appreciate your quick response for the pics! Honestly, i did spend sleepless night contemplating b/w Sx4 CNG or Diesel. It was sure Sx4 is THE car for me, but the fuel option was one thing, i wasn't able to drill down. Then finally i got a good deal of Diesel version. Also, there is one CNG Santro in my garage, its an aftermarket fitment, but doesn't have CNG filter.

I am honestly quite surprised to see this CNG filter and curious to know what is the purpose of this filter, which cost INR 1,400.

Just wanted to seek your opinion & experience do you also find Sx4 ride stiff, i sometimes feel during bumpy ride some vibrations on steering.

BR

Amit

Amit,

I am sticking to the service manual to the T. If it says 'yeh badlo' to badalna hai! I am sure the part could have lasted longer but I think these expenditures do not matter in the overall picture. I did notice that the switchover from Petrol to CNG is smoother and quicker but that could be due to anything, the (so called) throttle body cleaning, the new spark plugs or this filter or a combination of all of the above.

As far as the ride quality is concerned, I have limited experience in the cars I've driven. The first one was a Premier Padmini (I think about 50K), then an Maruti Van (another 50K), then the Wagon R (still running at 110K) and for some time even a 800 DX as a second car (about 35K). The SX4 is way above all of these in terms of comfort and ride quality. I don't think the ride is stiff, but I must be biased.

I relay an opinion of some one who is usually driven in CRVs, City, now an Audi and Fortuner and that person on sitting in my car said that it has a very comfortable ride.

Have you found all SX4s similar or is it only your car?

[ptaneja]

[quote=amitpunjani;3266519]

Originally Posted by LithiumSunset

Thanks for the appreciation Amit. I do wonder why a Diesel Head has interest in the CNG sibling!

The Low pressure filter looks like this:

Hi Lithium Sunset,

Appreciate your quick response for the pics! Honestly, i did spend sleepless night contemplating b/w Sx4 CNG or Diesel. It was sure Sx4 is THE car for me, but the fuel option was one thing, i wasn't able to drill down. Then finally i got a good deal of Diesel version. Also, there is one CNG Santro in my garage, its an aftermarket fitment, but doesn't have CNG filter.

I am honestly quite surprised to see this CNG filter and curious to know what is the purpose of this filter, which cost INR 1,400.

Just wanted to seek your opinion & experience do you also find Sx4 ride stiff, i sometimes feel during bumpy ride some vibrations on steering.

BR

Amit

The filter I think is a part of Sequential Kit - I have one too - but on an aftermarket kit.

And Lithium, hats off for detailed update
I'll have to go for my 20K servicing in a week or so .... anything special out of the ordinary I have to mention ?

[LithiumSunset]

[quote=ptaneja;3266551]

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

The filter I think is a part of Sequential Kit - I have one too - but on an aftermarket kit.

And Lithium, hats off for detailed update
I'll have to go for my 20K servicing in a week or so .... anything special out of the ordinary I have to mention ?

Puneet, you call it detailed even if I left out 13 of the 16 items on the bill? Thanks!

I am sure you know your car in and out, but at 20K you are supposed to change the spark plugs and the filter. I was late by 10K thanks to the SA.

You must have switched over to the synthetic oil last time (10K service). There is however no mention of the throttle body cleaning in the manuals. So its your call on that.

[ptaneja]

Bringing this thread alive again - CNG prices slashed by 15rs in Delhi !

Old Price / KG = 50rs
New Price / KG = 35rs

(by the way, Gurgaon was dispensing CNG at 40rs all this while - 10rs cheaper than Delhi! )

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/economy/...=home-rightnow

[LithiumSunset]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Bringing this thread alive again - CNG prices slashed by 15rs in Delhi !

Old Price / KG = 50rs
New Price / KG = 35rs

(by the way, Gurgaon was dispensing CNG at 40rs all this while - 10rs cheaper than Delhi! )

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/economy/...=home-rightnow

Good times are here again Puneet, but who knows for how long. I read somewhere that once the new pricing of domestic gas kicks-in in March (or is it April) the price should go up by at least 11 rupees. But they did set the clock back on this for sure.

It is sad that politics decides these things and not economics or even fairness to all Indians irrespective of which party is in power in your state. In this case the center's hand was forced to act once Gujarat won that case for a completely justified claim to cheaper domestic gas.

So any reduction in Gurgaon price of CNG?

[LithiumSunset]

I got Leh'd. Yeah.

Had a great time, though blue skies eluded us for almost half the trip. But that meant we saw a tough landscape in even more difficult conditions. The bleakness of Rangdum hits you even more once you spend a cold, damp and rainy night in flimsy tents after an arduous 70km. of no road drive. We were supposed to go up to Padum but couldn't.

The SX4 took it all. The road conditions varied from class 1 tarmacs to long stretches of no roads. There were water crossings and roads strewn with boulders of various sizes that come down the fragile mountains. The trip is tough both on the body and the car. You get hit, period. The first one hurts the most but one has to get used to it. It teaches you to drive better and instills a quiet admiration for the toughness that has been built into your car. The plastic engine guard (it hardly covers the engine though) took the maximum brunt and had to be replaced.

What surprised me was the mileage that the car returned. The SX4 is not frugal, everybody knows that. While my first day CNG run gave me an astounding 28 km per kg., only the first 255 km of the 3100 km trip were on non-liquid fuels. The drive in the plains, to and fro, was a consistent 14.93 km. to a liter. My fellow travelers were warning me of a drop to 6 to 8 km per liter in the hills, particularly Ladakh, but it was interesting to see their reactions when I told them the actual number. The worst was 12.87 to a best of 13.96, yes km. per liter.

The overcast skies did finally clear up revealing that deep blue sky but the rain calamity that had unfolded in the Kashmir valley had made us skip the Pangong Tso leg of our trip. But that means only one thing, I got to get Leh'd again!

A very happy Divali to you all.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by LithiumSunset

I got Leh'd. Yeah.

Had a great time, though blue skies eluded us for almost half the trip. But that meant we saw a tough landscape in even more difficult conditions. The bleakness of Rangdum hits you even more once you spend a cold, damp and rainy night in flimsy tents after an arduous 70km. of no road drive. We were supposed to go up to Padum but couldn't.

The SX4 took it all. The road conditions varied from class 1 tarmacs to long stretches of no roads. There were water crossings and roads strewn with boulders of various sizes that come down the fragile mountains. The trip is tough both on the body and the car. You get hit, period. The first one hurts the most but one has to get used to it. It teaches you to drive better and instills a quiet admiration for the toughness that has been built into your car. The plastic engine guard (it hardly covers the engine though) took the maximum brunt and had to be replaced.

What surprised me was the mileage that the car returned. The SX4 is not frugal, everybody knows that. While my first day CNG run gave me an astounding 28 km per kg., only the first 255 km of the 3100 km trip were on non-liquid fuels. The drive in the plains, to and fro, was a consistent 14.93 km. to a liter. My fellow travelers were warning me of a drop to 6 to 8 km per liter in the hills, particularly Ladakh, but it was interesting to see their reactions when I told them the actual number. The worst was 12.87 to a best of 13.96, yes km. per liter.

The overcast skies did finally clear up revealing that deep blue sky but the rain calamity that had unfolded in the Kashmir valley had made us skip the Pangong Tso leg of our trip. But that means only one thing, I got to get Leh'd again!

A very happy Divali to you all.

Excellent !! I have been planning and planning since couple of years, and every year it gets delayed by something or other.
Where are the pictures !!?
And for Leh, was it via Kashmir, or Manali ?

[rajneeesh]

Lithium Sunset,
The SX4 is nowhere as thirsty as most people ( who do not own it) claim it to be. I have done over 67 K in my car and have always managed more than 11KPL (with 100 % A.C). On highwys where the speeds are seldom below 100KPH, I manage 14-15 KPL.

I did Ladakh trip earleir in June this year. The mileage never dipped below 11KPL ( with A/C) . This for a fully loaded car ( 4 people and a trunk full of luggage). The overall average on the 3500 KM trip was closer to 13.5 KPL

BTW my plastic engine guard is in tatters. How much did the new one cost you?