[Guderian]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Guderian and Manuuj,

Why don't we all meet up in Nagpur + one national park for an extended weekend? Equidistant for all of us...and we can have some Black + Silver + White photoshoots in the midst of nature.

Fantastic thought......how about the long weekend of Good Friday ? April 22nd, I believe ?

[amitwlele]

Eventhough i would not be part of it but i am still excited at this prospect. We would be treated some wonderful snaps of the 3 beasts or should i say (3 Admirals - 1 se bhale 3) in some rugged terrain along with wildlife photography.

Hope you guys are able to make it. All the best. Sorry for bumping in, but as have been following this thread from beginning thought should give my best wishes.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Eventhough i would not be part of it but i am still excited at this prospect. We would be treated some wonderful snaps of the 3 beasts or should i say (3 Admirals - 1 se bhale 3) in some rugged terrain along with wildlife photography.

Hope you guys are able to make it. All the best. Sorry for bumping in, but as have been following this thread from beginning thought should give my best wishes.

Hi Amit, Those are indeed words of warm wishes for the tiny band of TForts - Bison, The Fortuner and Admiral. I too hope the drive and photo op fructifies and soon.
And thank you indeed.

Manuuj & Nilanjan - Shall we start the tic tacing on this ? Shall PM you both tomorrow. Please be on that radio frequency !

[chncar]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi, Typical top up for me - I do it weekly or at worst once a fortnight - is 0.5 PSI or max 1.0 PSI. That takes about 10 seconds of compressor run per tyre. Your 4-6 PSI should take about 40 seconds I reckon.
Do you top up the pressure once a month ? Doing it weekly would be rather ideal. And if you indeed are doing a weekly or fortnightly top up loss of 4-6 PSI is too high and may have to check for valve leaks or a puncture if it is a tubeless one. If tubed check the valve.

Thanks for the advice. BTW, your thread has been really fun to read, you have a great writing style and a good sense of humor to match.

[mdsaab]

3 fortuners, mud, slush, dirt, grime, man that would be one photoshoot i wouldnt want to miss. looks like its time to test drive a fortuner. really wish toyota had an AT option. would instantly grab it.

[Guderian]

On a lazy Saturday morning realised that it's been one month since we got home Fleet Admiral Togo Heihachiro.

And what a month it has been !

And so to celebrate how about a quick report full of photographs and facts ?

Coming up......

Hang on ! To celebrate I took the Admiral to the nearby Rethibunder (local lingo for sand port) hoping to test out his HL & LL ranges of the 4X4 in the sand and slush. Have never exercised those limbs of the Admiral. So never a better day for that than today - or so I thought.

The Bunder was quite empty thanks to the Mumbai HC's and gov't's orders to halt all sand mining. Yet a few chaps were at it, illegally though. And when I started taking snaps they were a little worried, I thought. And I was a little worried whether the Sand Mafia would chase me across the dunes typical filmi ishtyle.

Then it occurred to me that with the T-Fort I was the Sand Mafia ! And my looks complimented it perfectly as well.
So then like Alfred E Neuman would say - What me worry ?

Rise of the Fleet Admiral:



Spirit of the Admiral:




Cost of Purchase: (Why now ? Because some folks asked for it !)
(All figures in INR - not that they would have accepted any other currency !)
Ex Showroom: 20,95,520/-

Reg + Octroi: 2,01,833/-
(Thane)
Insurance: 76,494/- - No claim bonus being claimed now.
Handling: 4,500/-
Accessories: 42,261/-
(Listed earlier)

Total: 24,20,608/-
(Help me each time I write this I faint !)

Booking Advance: Rs. 1 Lakh.

No discounts (Toyota - Discounts ? What's that ? You pay us HG san ?), no freebies (Toyota - Of course we give you free excesso air in the tyres - 48 PSI ! Wanto more ?), no nothing (Toyota - Of course we adjusto/give backo advance ! No ?).

A view of the venue of the shoot:


Admiral has gravel for breakfast:




Expenses so far:

As of now have gone only for one service.
Paid Rs 298/-.
That was one bottle of coolant purchased as a standby victual for the long trip. Rs 205/-.
4 nut screws to additionally bolster the front bumper Rs. 80.
And the rest - taxes. Quite a bit of taxes innit ? Yeah, that's life.

Chewed up a few and looking for more tough sand dunes:



Odo Reading:

As of now the Odo reads - exactly 3725 KMs.


Bored of the dunes - The Admiral suddenly wanted to take a skinny dip !






FE Figures: (Based on tankful to tankful method)

Best - 13.51 KMPL - Running in period - highway.
City Best Av - Current: 12.1 KMPL.
Next Best City Av - 11.94 KMPL.
Worst Highway Av - 8.11 KMPL.

One can get a FE figure as high as 14.5 KMPL on the highway at a sedate 80-100 KMPH. But how does one run this behemoth at 100 KMPH on the highway ?!!

Bored of dunes The Admiral scoots off to flats:



And a Cormorant takes interest in the proceedings:

So why are you guys sniggering ? I know, I know the only wild life shot of mine is nowhere close to Nilanjan's. But I'll get there you'll see and then I'll wipe that silly grin off your faces.
OK, I confess, I have lousy photogrphic skills. But I am learning !

Other Points to Report:
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Getting to learn little things in the vehicle. Yes but there are just little things in the vehicle. Nothing fancy at all.
And it is almost the first vehicle I've owned other than the Zen where there have been no niggles at all. None at all ! What I thought were niggles initially just evaporated as something of my imagination or fearful past life.

Boats & Ghats:







And a rapidly vanishing mangrove !



On the way back The Admiral ran into another toughie - this from the Indian Air Force !


And the Admiral just keeps going on and on.

And yes even today I was not able to deploy the HL or LL range. The normal permanent AWD was more than enough.
And I swear I could hear the Admiral chuckling at my frustration !

And that's the way it is: Saturday, March 26, 2011. (with due credit to Walter Cronkite !)

PS: Shall be delighted to answer Q's (related to Admiral !). Please shoot !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by chncar

Thanks for the advice. BTW, your thread has been really fun to read, you have a great writing style and a good sense of humor to match.

Thanks Chncar ! Believe me, I have great fun putting it up too.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

3 fortuners, mud, slush, dirt, grime, man that would be one photoshoot i wouldnt want to miss. looks like its time to test drive a fortuner. really wish toyota had an AT option. would instantly grab it.

Your'e right. I wouldn't miss it too for anything in the world !

[mdsaab]

Hey there are very few vehicles where you can still enjoy the view from underneath. Very nice angle. Some great photography there. Also wanted to say that the bumper goatee looks good. Gives a very mature colonel look. Yeah the price makes me faint too. Needed a sip of chai to calm down again, but nevertheless worth every cent. Great mileage for such a heavy 4x4.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Hey there are very few vehicles where you can still enjoy the view from underneath. Very nice angle. Some great photography there. Also wanted to say that the bumper goatee looks good. Gives a very mature colonel look. Yeah the price makes me faint too. Needed a sip of chai to calm down again, but nevertheless worth every cent. Great mileage for such a heavy 4x4.

Thank you mdsaab ! You bet - while the very thought of the price makes me passout but all the other pleasures truly act as smelling salts. And yes the FE is truly a surprise.

[dot]

T Fort. does not come in AT? What a surprise. Really? Why?

[amitwlele]

@Guderian - That was a good summary of the Admiral also you chose a unique destination for the saturday drive. I don't have any questions as have been following the Admiral right from the beginning (i dared to do that ) and all the questions and more have been answered by you before being asked.

The best snap of this post was the attempt at wildlife photography.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dot

T Fort. does not come in AT? What a surprise. Really? Why?

Hi Dot, I don't know as to why it doesn't come in that configuration. But I can tell you only one thing that I wouldn't have bought one in the AT config. Reason being there is a lot of power loss thanks to the torque converter and an AT SUV is very sluggish compared to its MT avtar. And many people I know & who are genuine off roaders generally don't prefer an AT. A friend of mine who had a Scorpio AT 4X4, had it for just a few months, sold it in desperation and went right back for a 4X4 Scoprio. B & moaned about its sluggishness and FE etc. I know one can't talk about the Scorp and the revered TFort in the same breath but I was just drawing a parellel just for a comparision. May be herein lies the answer ? Possibly sensing this boffins at Toyota decided not introduce it here ? Or the higher price factor ? Not sure.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

@Guderian - That was a good summary of the Admiral also you chose a unique destination for the saturday drive. I don't have any questions as have been following the Admiral right from the beginning (i dared to do that ) and all the questions and more have been answered by you before being asked.

The best snap of this post was the attempt at wildlife photography.

Hi Amit, Thanks for the compliments. And thanks for being around all this while. And continue to be around - the journey's just begun I can assure you.
And about the photo bit. Listen, the leg cannot extend any further - so stop pulling it - you are wasting your time !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Also wanted to say that the bumper goatee looks good. Gives a very mature colonel look.

PS:
Oh ! Like Col Harland Sanders of KFC ?Hmmm.....if you see Fleet Admiral Togo's original snaps he too had a goatee.
Anyway coming back to what Toyota calls a grill guard - I am not very happy with it. I think I mentioned it before - it is rather flimsy. I am looking for something more substantial. Have talked to a fabricator for a full size steel epoxy or powder coated black bull bar. Let's see if he is able to get something going. That would give the Admiral a fierce moustache !

[dot]

Originally Posted by Guderian

But I can tell you only one thing i wouldn't have bought one in the AT config. Reason being there is a lot of power loss thanks to the torque converter and an AT SUV is very sluggish compared to its MT avtar. And many people I know & who are genuine off roaders generally don't prefer an AT.

While having dinner, I was thinking about the T Fort. tranny. Which is better, AT or without AT. Felt that a real off-roader will not prefer an AT perhaps. And lo, I see your note saying the same thing.

Having said that, Prado and LC has AT options only. Saw the website to make sure. And Prado has the same engine too! (Sorry, I dont visit TBHP 4x4 threads so very little knowledge on SUVs). Maybe Toyota felt that Prado and LC customers will not take the 60L-1C vehicles in a slush muck too often, but a T Fort. customer will.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dot

While having dinner, I was thinking about the T Fort. tranny. Which is better, AT or without AT. Felt that a real off-roader will not prefer an AT perhaps. And lo, I see your note saying the same thing.

Having said that, Prado and LC has AT options only. Saw the website to make sure. And Prado has the same engine too! (Sorry, I dont visit TBHP 4x4 threads so very little knowledge on SUVs). Maybe Toyota felt that Prado and LC customers will not take the 60L-1C vehicles in a slush muck too often, but a T Fort. customer will.

Wonder whether your dinner was spiked... such lucid thoughts.
And quite true about the owners of the upper end Toyota relatives of the poor old TFort ! In fact in Thailand etc the TFort is an almost agrarian workhorse !