[Guderian]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Hey General,

While on the topic of meets, there is a new thread on a Pune - Mumbai meet on 11th June.

Hi Amit, Thanks for the information. As of now that meet looks like a bridge too far as evening meets, for me, are a little difficult due to the return drive etc. However can't say I am ruling it out - but dekhenge.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Indeed noticed that the mods have moved your posts into that thread. It was not intended to be done that way. I thought we would have four stories on the meet posted on each ones thread. Since i dont have a proper thread for chicca as yet i created a new one just for the meet.

Hi mdsaab, Yeah, that would have been nice indeed.

Say now, why haven't you created an ownership report for Chicca yet ? Would be really interested in that thread.
For a very simple reason - all the technical Civic AT related Qs that dot asks me (and I certainly have no blinking idea about any of them !), I can post on Chicca's thread, receive the responses & relay it to dot and continue to pretend to be an expert.

So my sincere advice dear Sir - please do start that ownership thread at the earliest.
If not for anything else - at least for my sake !

[mdsaab]

Now that's a plan, two birds with the same stone. or shall we make it pigeons?
Along with dot's problems, your problem with the pigeons could be sorted out too.
I certainly hope to start her thread soon, along with the immense pleasure of doing so, we shall help maintain your AT technical expertise reputation.

[dot]

Originally Posted by Guderian

For a very simple reason - all the technical Civic AT related Qs that dot asks me (and I certainly have no blinking idea about any of them !), I can post on Chicca's thread, receive the responses & relay it to dot and continue to pretend to be an expert.

Ha. The dot has drawn dotted lines to several threads and more. So such unethical practices wont work. Thats why you need good human resources. Fortunately there are some.

But seriously, all we need is our five senses coupled with common sense and solve car issues, whether it is a 4AWD beast or a supercar. I realized that in the last few days.

[dkaile]

@guderian
- so which bank did you break to finance the fortuner or did the FIL oblige.. lolz.. just joking; did you get it financed or total cash down payment? also what was the on road price for you?
- you didnt answer my question on total maintenance cost till date (servicing etc.) and your latest odometer reading as on date

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Now that's a plan, two birds with the same stone. or shall we make it pigeons?
Along with dot's problems, your problem with the pigeons could be sorted out too.
I certainly hope to start her thread soon, along with the immense pleasure of doing so, we shall help maintain your AT technical expertise reputation.

Ha ha.
That would certainly come as a big relief ! Besides would help me to really understand something about ATs and their torque converters !

Originally Posted by dot

But seriously, all we need is our five senses coupled with common sense and solve car issues, whether it is a 4AWD beast or a supercar. I realized that in the last few days.

That is so true. I too realised it when I moved from the Scorp to the TF and was initially worried about the difference in tech and layout etc till common sense and OK...couple of other senses came to the rescue !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dkaile

1. so which bank did you break to finance the fortuner or did the FIL oblige...
2. also what was the on road price for you?
3. you didnt answer my question on total maintenance cost till date (servicing etc.) and your latest odometer reading as on date

Hi dkaile,
1. Don't joke or go around lolzing - the F-i-L did finance and I am breaking my back and working my A** off now to repay him. My pleas of soft loans, bank terms etc seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

2. This was also mentioned in great detail/itemised in the initial pages - on road it was 24.20 L initially but after I got my NCB refund the effective cost dropped to 23.90 L.

3. Of course I did answer. Want to lay a wager ? I asked you read through the pages etc and that you'll find all details etc, remember ? In one of the sheets have given the cost incurred as yet on servicing. Anyway for your joy - I have spent Rs 298 ( to buy a bottle of coolant before a long trip, if you please. Coolant for the Admiral, not me.) and nothing else. Touchwood !

Latest odo meter reading as it stands below in my office parking space is 7160 KMs, as of this morning, when I parked it there. Now I am not sure if Admiral has moved a few millimeters due to wind, settling into its gear groove etc. If it has, then that reading would change.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Hey General,

While on the topic of meets, there is a new thread on a Pune - Mumbai meet on 11th June. Posting the link below for the reference of the broadcaster and all the subscribers of the TOGO channel.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...11th-june.html

Amit -Have confirmed my participation in this event. Thanks for the tip off.

All - Hoping to meet all of you at Pune at the 'do' !

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Amit -Have confirmed my participation in this event. Thanks for the tip off.

Great. Humble civilian eagerly waiting to salute the Admiral at the meet. Let the countdown begin

[Off Roadie]

Hello general saab,
Your valuable comments on my review which has finally seen the light of day would be highly appreciated, though the narration is no match for the Togo channel, have tried to keep it interesting.
Here is the link
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...r-scorpio.html
Thanks,
Rohan

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Off Roadie

Hello general saab,
Your valuable comments on my review which has finally seen the light of day would be highly appreciated, though the narration is no match for the Togo channel, have tried to keep it interesting.
Here is the link
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...r-scorpio.html
Thanks,
Rohan

Hi Rohan, Honoured to be doing so. I am on my way to your thread as soon as I put down the pen here.
Well done and about time too - great news indeed.

[manmohanmaan]

Hey Goody Saar,
good to see that your thread is still the brightest star in the ownership threads, must be cos you are good at this I guess..
As promised I am here to give my two bit to this gathering mountain of information on the Fortunner.
Have completed about 7,000 Kms in three short bursts driving across Karnataka. Drove across NH 4 and NH 7 as well as interior North and Central Karnataka over all sorts of road.
The Fortunner handles it all with no strain to the passengers. In Gulbarga District it touched 46 in the afternoons and we were absolutely insulated from the dust and heat. Super Insulation and AC. We rode up the Western Ghats from Karwar to Belgaum and again from Murdeshwar to Shimoga just superb both on surfaced road and on roads that were last laid before independence.
I have only one incident to relate, on very hard braking on NH 4 due to a tractor on the wrong side of the road, the vehicle sank its chin down hard and took me back to High School Physics and Sinusoidal wave forms and the wheels squealed hard, that was shocking!! I thought the ABS would be more effective, but that was just that once.
And please some-one suggest how to up the low beam power, I do not want additional lamps on a bull-bar, there must be some way of making the head-lamps more effective. Its pure hell driving in the nights on the two track inter-town roads, the High Beam makes the opposite vehicle return the favour and the low beam is just non-existent.
One last observation, I got a pretty low mileage of less than 10, however the difference between my calculations and the MID was only in the second decimal, it was pretty accurate.
The rest of the experience was similar to everyone else here.
cheers.
Manmohan.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Hey Goody Saar,
1. good to see that your thread is still the brightest star in the ownership threads, must be cos you are good at this I guess..
2. As promised I am here to give my two bit to this gathering mountain of information on the Fortunner.

3. Have completed about 7,000 Kms in three short bursts driving across Karnataka. Drove across NH 4 and NH 7 as well as interior North and Central Karnataka over all sorts of road.

4. The Fortunner handles it all with no strain to the passengers. In Gulbarga District it touched 46 in the afternoons and we were absolutely insulated from the dust and heat. Super Insulation and AC.

5. I have only one incident to relate, on very hard braking on NH 4 due to a tractor on the wrong side of the road, the vehicle sank its chin down hard and took me back to High School Physics and Sinusoidal wave forms and the wheels squealed hard, that was shocking!! I thought the ABS would be more effective, but that was just that once.

6. And please some-one suggest how to up the low beam power, I do not want additional lamps on a bull-bar, there must be some way of making the head-lamps more effective. Its pure hell driving in the nights on the two track inter-town roads, the High Beam makes the opposite vehicle return the favour and the low beam is just non-existent.

7. One last observation, I got a pretty low mileage of less than 10, however the difference between my calculations and the MID was only in the second decimal, it was pretty accurate.

Manmohan.

Shri Manmohanji !
Welcome back. I am sure this place looks rather strange on returning here after so many years. Almost like our other Manmohanji (arre, apne - 7, Race Course Road Walleh...) returning to his Village in Gah Begal, Zilla Chakwal, Pakistan after 60 years.
Chalo, wapas to aagaye ! Shukar hai khuda ka.

1. Now there you go, causing me to blush pink needlessly. This channel is what it is, all because of the contributions from everyone here. Right, that sounds nice and modest.

2. Great. Steadfast in your approach not to start your own channel/ thread eh ? Feel free here as ususal and we can always have multiple sub-threads.

3. That is indeed some serious running. In how many months did you say ?!! Yes and the TFort is seriously meant to do that. Not keep running around some namby pamby metropolitan roads like we all keep doing.

4. Couldn't agree with you more - was the climate control (Auto) running well or were you on the manual mode normally ?

5. Brakes - But with such a high nose and springy suspension that would happen. However whenever the ABS kicks in hard in the Admiral, I hear the unholy sound of a wild boar being slaughtered for about 5-7 odd seconds. Something very 'grindingish' before the dead halt. Squealing - not much. I have had this hard braking events a few times now. I think it would also have to do with the quality of the surface. You'd possibly hear quite a bit noise if the surface is loose and gravelly. Or some amount of sand on the tarmac etc. However since you mention that the tractor was coming on the opposite side I presume it was on the NH 4 ?

6. Lights. No clue. Some of the light gurus - Nilanjan/Manuuj could...err...throw some light on it, cast a beam or whatever.

7. What speeds were you driving at ? Like I mentioned earlier the TFort is, I guess, happiest in the 80-100KMPH range, but then we drivers aren't; 100-120 KMPH is also fine, guess you should get FE returns in the range of 11.5-12 KMPL over long distances; but anything above that and coupled with the AWD would be sheer murder on the FE figures.

OT:

Say, if I am not sounding too inquisitive (which currently I am !) what were you doing in Gulbarga (or Kalburgi as the locals call it) ?

Reason is - decades ago, fresh out of my MBA misdemeanours and as a result of campus placement, I landed up in ACC Wadi, Gulbarga, as a rookie Pesonnel Officer after almost a year as a Management Trainee at Mumbai, then Bombay. Hated that place for the first fortnight - almost ran away, but then discovered the charms of that stark, desolate landscape and that huge cement factory. Eventually stayed there for 5 years as a carefree bachelor. Had a ball should I dare say ?
And whatever I picked up in those first few years of tough professional days of the career is still serving me well I must say.

And Gulbarga town was frequented every week, thanks to it being the district HQs. And the state of roads - you are quite right about that phrase, which we freely used too. That nothing had changed in that forlorn district since independence. Not that anything much happened before that - but used to hear local villagers, when I used to visit the nearby villages, mention how good the life was under the Nizams of the yore.

The distance from the factory at Wadi to Gulbarga was about 40 KMs - used to take about 3 hours to traverse, one way, in a 4X4 jeep on bright, sunny days and during rains - anybody's guess. Roads/tracks used to merge with fields and vice versa.

Been wanting for long to drive back to that place and visit the factory and look around the area. Will do that some day soon.

So many fond memories ! Thanks for the nostalgic walk down the memory lane my friend.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

And please some-one suggest how to up the low beam power, I do not want additional lamps on a bull-bar, there must be some way of making the head-lamps more effective. Its pure hell driving in the nights on the two track inter-town roads, the High Beam makes the opposite vehicle return the favour and the low beam is just non-existent.

Hi Manmohan,

Low beam is generally a problem with most CBU/CKD vehicles. These vehicles are generally designed for markets that are more developed than that and roads that are much better developed than ours. In most developed nations 99 percent of your driving is done in low beam. High beam is used only in very rural unlit roads. Hence most CBU/CKD will have a projector beam headlight for the low beam and halogen bulb for the high beam. This is the case with the Fortuner also. There is not much you can do with the existing light set up. You will have to good quality auxiliary lights.

In my case, I have added a pair of 100 watt Hella 9000 Eurobeam driving lights which is connected to my high beam with an extra switch. When the switch is on the hellas will come on with the high beam and go off when I put low beam. I found this combination gives a lot of respect even from the intercity night buses. For the most part, I can actually see inside the cabins of the buses and lorries. These lights actually even make the laziest and inconsiderate driver reach for the low beam switch.

[manmohanmaan]

Hey Goody Saar, Good Morning!
Thanks for the reply, The T-Fort is about three months old, but as I have said earlier because of ongoing and interminable repairs at home, is parked in a friends place, so the actual usage is only out of town and was done in three trips altogether of about twenty days.
Yes the Climate Control was on Auto and was at full blast the whole day going down only in the late evenings. Regarding the high noise of the vented air (that you mentioned in this thread earlier) I have observed that it is substantially lower if the vents are fully open and the air stream directed straight out. In this setting however the stream of air hits you directly, its OK for a short period but if you have walked in after a sweaty hot day is something that I am uncomfortable with. In the usual setting the vents are pointed away from the seats and the stream of air specially from the central vents tends to hit the central console (the wood like plastic panels) that's the source of most of the noise.
Regarding the hard braking incident, yes I was on NH 4 and the road was clear good tarmac, you think the squealing was the ABS? sounded like partially locked tyres to me..
You are right, the last time to Kalburgi (its now officially changed from Gulbarga) I went up to Jadcherla on NH 7 and turned in to Mahbubnagar, Korangal, Tandur and Sedam. Started at 7.30am from Hebbal and reached the Jadcherla turn off at 1.30pm. then took three and half hours to do the 150 odd Kms to Gulbarga. (Guess I did better timing then you) So the low mileage I would guess, first half almost all the time above 120kmph and the last bit in second gear.
I have been to Wadi too, you are right stark and desolate landscape and multiple railway tracks with trees of the blackest bark i have ever seen. Sedam is the new happening place for Cement factories these days. From Mumbai to Wadi wow must have been a shock!!
Well I do the Outdoor Media thing so the travelling across the State.
Gulbarga is growing too like all tier 1 & 2 towns in the Country though parts of it still resemble a wild west town, there are only facades of buildings on the main road (Station Road) to the rear is just empty lands.
Manmohan.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Hi Manmohan,

Low beam is generally a problem with most CBU/CKD vehicles. These vehicles are generally designed for markets that are more developed than that and roads that are much better developed than ours. In most developed nations 99 percent of your driving is done in low beam. High beam is used only in very rural unlit roads. Hence most CBU/CKD will have a projector beam headlight for the low beam and halogen bulb for the high beam. This is the case with the Fortuner also. There is not much you can do with the existing light set up. You will have to good quality auxiliary lights.

In my case, I have added a pair of 100 watt Hella 9000 Eurobeam driving lights which is connected to my high beam with an extra switch. When the switch is on the hellas will come on with the high beam and go off when I put low beam. I found this combination gives a lot of respect even from the intercity night buses. For the most part, I can actually see inside the cabins of the buses and lorries. These lights actually even make the laziest and inconsiderate driver reach for the low beam switch.

Hey There,

Guess you have offered the only quick and simple solution possible, However I am not very comfortable with extra Halogen lights in the front. Would it not be possible to change the set up in the OEM headlamps ? Are there not higher rating 'projector beam headlamps' available ? Or is it not possible to raise this same beam a little higher ?
Manmohan.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

1. ...was done in three trips altogether of about twenty days.
2. I have observed that it is substantially lower if the vents are fully open and the air stream directed straight out.
3. you think the squealing was the ABS? sounded like partially locked tyres to me.
4. Sedam is the new happening place for Cement factories these days.

Hi MM,
Thanks for the response.
1. Serious travelling indeed. Just a Q here - no issues getting decent diesel in those parts these days ?

2. Thanks.Shall try that out with the level director pointing to the roof and the outer vents pointing straight. Let's see if that reduces the noise at L5.

3. The ABS sound is a high, dull grinding sound. The other sound also comes if the ground/tarmac has some sand or debris on it. Yes once in a rare way I've heard the squealing but before the ABS kicks in. But haven't ever experienced a skid.

4. Sedam even those days had more cement joints. Like Vasvadatta and Rajshri cements both Birla types, facing each other across a dust track (must be a road now!). Have more come up now ?

Thanks for all the info about those areas. One never forgets the first job and first love...right ?!!

Will PM you sometime next week to get some more dope on those areas.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Hi Manmohan,
Low beam is generally a problem with most CBU/CKD vehicles.

Hi 4X4Addict, Thanks for the clarification.
MM's Q was also my Q - as to whether a 'better' set of bulbs, as in more powerful, can be put in for low beams ? For practical reasons - space and exterior projection, I may not be able to put in additional lights.
Roof lights would be of course illegal and frowned at by the cops. Besides a real pain to install I guess - wouldn't like to mess around with the original setting and wiring either.