[stormerider]

Originally Posted by sunit5

Thanks Abhinav, nothing major found.

Now drive is again pleasurable and Nitin attended me very well, good experience,

Good to know that nothing was off and your safari is running good again. I found attitude of Roshan Motors better than Kamal & Co., during my initial days of ownership. Hence suggested you to try them. Also warranty replacements are hassle free with Roshan.

[sasi405]

Ok; for those of you with the LX, here's a small discovery regarding the rear ac vents. If you want more air flow in them, please turn the knob on the dash to 'face and feet' mode. It increases air flow into the rear vents quite substantially. Of course, it reduces the 'face' airflow in front, but you wouldn't want to annoy the missus and baby, right? And I suppose if you turn it to 'feet only' mode, the airflow might increase further. (So what if you're sweating? The missus will be happier, right?)

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by sasi405

Ok; for those of you with the LX, here's a small discovery regarding the rear ac vents.

You discovered that now?
This function is there since the times of 3.0l dicor safari, don't know about the earlier safari. But I prefer to turn the blower to speed 4 and centre vents directed to rear passengers, this helps in cooling faster. Once the desired temperature is attained you can use the foot vents.

[sasi405]

Originally Posted by stormerider

You discovered that now?
This function is there since the times of 3.0l dicor safari, don't know about the earlier safari. But I prefer to turn the blower to speed 4 and centre vents directed to rear passengers, this helps in cooling faster. Once the desired temperature is attained you can use the foot vents.

Hahaha! Yes, slow in the uptake... Actually, I have the roof vents in my Storme, so never paid attention to the floor vents. Then one fine day, while it was on the other mode, I realized that there is more air flow!
BTW, in the past couple of long distance trips with a full board (2+2 adults and the baby strapped in her seat in the rear middle), the floor vents don't end up being of any use. Mostly, that area is already filled with various bags (baby stuff, snacks for the road etc). In my usual drive, I rarely use the blower at 3, let alone 4. Mostly, it is between 1 and 2, and again on Econ mode. When there are passengers at the back, then I switch on the rear ac. Only on very hot days do I use the full ac (blue) mode and that too is changed to econ mode once the desired temperature is reached. I don't like my cars to be freezing, so maybe that's why.

[YGarg]

Slowly discovering the features of a machine is satisfying.. I just discovered that if only blower is operating and I divert air flow to windshield, AC becomes on automatically! what a neat thought!
Of course the feature might have been in existence for ages.

[sasi405]

Originally Posted by YGarg

Slowly discovering the features of a machine is satisfying.. I just discovered that if only blower is operating and I divert air flow to windshield, AC becomes on automatically! what a neat thought!
Of course the feature might have been in existence for ages.

Yes, its a very neat thing indeed. In fact, if you're running on Econ mode and turn the knob to windshield, then also the AC switches to normal (blue) mode.

Another great feature that I've been enjoying very much is the 4-speed intermittent wiper mode. Sometimes, the rain is just very minimal, and you don't want the intermittent mode to work the blades dry and make noise. That's when you can slow it down. Also, sometimes when on a wet highway, the fine spray from the vehicles ahead can create a haze on the windscreen, that can easily be removed with the intermittent mode working on a slow speed. I've been very happy with this feature. Also, the rear wiper in intermittent mode starts with 3 swipes first, before settling down to intermittent single swipes.

The illumination on the headlamp switch remains on all the time, so that when it's dark, you can easily spot it while driving.

Small, but thoughtful features indeed!

[BlackPearl]

I recently drove the Safari Storme and it makes a lot of sense to buy the 4x4 VX at 10 lacs less than the Fortuner. Wish Tata could provide a manual 4wd shifter instead of the electronic one as well as 4x4 option in the LX trim.

[lazybrain]

Guys, have a query on wheel alignment/balancing. From day 1 my storme had that infamous left pulling issues (slight though). I always believed in getting the alignment/balancing done outside since I never believed A.S.S that they will do a good job. Within few days of buying storme took it to Madhu's tyre service, got the alignment done, nitrogen filled in all tyres. The slight left pulling issue completely disappeared after that. But I didn't get wheel balancing done that time since I thought it was too early (500 kms on ODO).

Got my second service done recently from TASC and when I enquired about balancing/alignment SA mentioned that it is not required until you complete 15000 kms (even mentioned in the manual)

Now my query - going to soon complete 7000 kms (4 months old storme now). Should I wait for 15000 kms for wheel balancing and tyre rotation or get it done immediately? I know the alignment should be done SOS and since my car does not have any pulling issues to the left, I will prefer to wait till I complete 15000 kms. Is it advisable to do the same for tyre rotation and balancing as well? Please advice

[ACM]

Originally Posted by maglev

1. Front left brake disc has developed lines on the inside and needs to be replaced. It looks perfect from the outside
2. Both rear shock absorbers are leaking, the one on the left has a minor leak but the one on the right is leaking heavily
3. Both rear tyres are completely worn-out on the inside, however they look pretty decent from the outside
4. The fuel tank has a leak somewhere and was almost completely covered in a thick layer of diesel and dirt
5. Front suspension seemed fine and they attribute the steering vibrations at 100 KMPH to incorrect wheel balancing and alignment
6. The Airbag Light Issue could not be resolved using their OBD scanning apparatus. It would require removing and inspecting the airbags; as per TASS mechanics at the very least it could be a minor issue or a major one wherein they would be replacing the airbags. They would be calling the airbag vendor to check/inspect the issue

Observations made from the past service record:

1. Odometer reading is genuine
2. The car has come for a windshield replacement (the owner did not tell me about it)
3. The CAM/Fuse issue was a fuse replacement

All of this seems to indicate substantial
abuse during usage and insufficient maintenance to match it.
Don't blame TATA for it but the user.
Thankfully all these issues can be sorted out at low cost in warranty.
Am surprised the owner did not get this stuff corrected before putting the car up for sale.

[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by lazybrain

Guys, have a query on wheel alignment/balancing. From day 1 my storme had that infamous left pulling issues (slight though). I always believed in getting the alignment/balancing done outside since I never believed A.S.S that they will do a good job. Within few days of buying storme took it to Madhu's tyre service, got the alignment done, nitrogen filled in all tyres. The slight left pulling issue completely disappeared after that. But I didn't get wheel balancing done that time since I thought it was too early (500 kms on ODO).

Got my second service done recently from TASC and when I enquired about balancing/alignment SA mentioned that it is not required until you complete 15000 kms (even mentioned in the manual)

Now my query - going to soon complete 7000 kms (4 months old storme now). Should I wait for 15000 kms for wheel balancing and tyre rotation or get it done immediately? I know the alignment should be done SOS and since my car does not have any pulling issues to the left, I will prefer to wait till I complete 15000 kms. Is it advisable to do the same for tyre rotation and balancing as well? Please advice

Wheel alignment is a more serious issue, which with mis aligned tyre will make un even wear of tyres and reduce thier life. Wheel balancing is about the uniform weight distribution of the individual wheels about thier axis. Tyres with un even weight distribution will reduce the life of the bearing.
So if you balance wheels any time it will not result in any alignment error. So you can do them any time you wish without bothering to redo wheel alignment. Also as tata would have done it at factory I think you may wait till 15k run.

[condor]

Originally Posted by lazybrain

Should I wait for 15000 kms for wheel balancing and tyre rotation or get it done immediately?

@Lazybrain:
Suggest rotation + balancing at each service (15k). Balancing in between two rotation's.

maglev:

1. Front left brake disc has developed lines on the inside and needs to be replaced. It looks perfect from the outside
2. Both rear shock absorbers are leaking, the one on the left has a minor leak but the one on the right is leaking heavily
3. Both rear tyres are completely worn-out on the inside, however they look pretty decent from the outside
4. Front suspension seemed fine and they attribute the steering vibrations at 100 KMPH to incorrect wheel balancing and alignment

1. Gravel/sand stuck in between disc & pad ?
Check for thickness to see for abnormal usage (again, go back to ACM's point about abuse/ heavy rough usage)

2. Can be replaced under warranty. TML has replaced quite a few shock absorbers that were leaking

3. These tyres were possibly in the front, indicating in-sufficient attention to alignment. (Refer to #5)



* Gear knob leather wear-out - normal. This has been reported in TD vehicles with just 5k on the odo. At 23k, even I have a mild wear-out. Get it done outside.

[psurelia]

Originally Posted by lazybrain

Guys, have a query on wheel alignment/balancing. From day 1 my storme had that infamous left pulling issues (slight though). I always believed in getting the alignment/balancing done outside since I never believed A.S.S that they will do a good job. Within few days of buying storme took it to Madhu's tyre service, got the alignment done, nitrogen filled in all tyres. The slight left pulling issue completely disappeared after that. But I didn't get wheel balancing done that time since I thought it was too early (500 kms on ODO).

Got my second service done recently from TASC and when I enquired about balancing/alignment SA mentioned that it is not required until you complete 15000 kms (even mentioned in the manual)

Now my query - going to soon complete 7000 kms (4 months old storme now). Should I wait for 15000 kms for wheel balancing and tyre rotation or get it done immediately? I know the alignment should be done SOS and since my car does not have any pulling issues to the left, I will prefer to wait till I complete 15000 kms. Is it advisable to do the same for tyre rotation and balancing as well? Please advice

@lazybrain: I also was upset about the left pulling issue. I asked SA to fix it during first and second services. But the issue persisted. It is then I consulted my brother-in-law about it. He is a senior engineer at Tata Motors. He told me that it is by design and not an alignment issue. So, fixing the pull actually results in misaligned wheels. Please check out the link below to find the rationale behind such a design

http://www.drive.com.au/tips-and-adv...823-2sfrw.html

Please note that the website is an Australian forum. This is actually an international automobile design practice that right hand drive cars pull slightly to the left and left hand drive cars pull slightly to the right. Therefore, as long as it is only a slight pull to the left, your vehicle is absolutely fine and complies to international safety practices.

[condor]

Originally Posted by psurelia

.. that it is by design and not an alignment issue.

What kind of design is that ?

And how much of such pull is normal for a LHD / RHD car ?

[lazybrain]

Originally Posted by condor

What kind of design is that ?

And how much of such pull is normal for a LHD / RHD car ?

+1 i was also typing the same. IMO slight pull and more pull is subjective and if the car has alignment issues for real, it will show the same symptoms i.e pulling to the left. How do we differentiate in that case?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by lazybrain

+1 i was also typing the same. IMO slight pull and more pull is subjective and if the car has alignment issues for real, it will show the same symptoms i.e pulling to the left. How do we differentiate in that case?

Its easy. Measure camber caster and toe. If its out of the limits, its an alignment issue.
Now doing this is not trivial.
Go to an alignment ship which Bolero/Innova Taxi guys use.
Check whether they use "threads" to double check machine values.

If they do, then thats the shop.

Now whats wrong with a super expensive time travel 3D machine? Well any tool is as good as the weakest link in the chain.

When the wheel attachment is fixed, even a slight misalignment in fixing the thing can result in error values. So you may be doing misalignment, rather than alignment.

The guys who work here are usually not very good at this. Add to that imperfections in your wheel like bent lip and stuff. And the problem is compounded.

Last but not the least, the leading cause of pulling is camber.
So take a thread, and tie a bold to its end. Hang it along the wheel. Gravity, string and bolt will tell you the camber. If its out, get it fixed.