Team-BHP - 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by for_cars1 (Post 4272543)

If the car is being serviced once every six months as per Honda's guidelines, you don't need to check anything under the hood before going on the trip.

Just do a quick glance at the wiper fluid levels, engine oil level using dipstick and you should be fine.

I had done the same stretch and you can refer my travelogue in the travelogues section.
Since it was a loaded car, I had filled 33 PSI for the trip.

Thanks. In fact it will complete 6 months on 24th September :) and will undergo 3rd free service 4 days before the trip.

Glad to see the mileage figure of your iDtec. The iVtec has shown ~16KM/L on an average in my last highway runs. Hope to see better figures post oil change, fresh filters during 3rd service. lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suryendu87 (Post 4272533)

However, the best practices board that I saw was also from a reputed tire manufacturer and had specifically mentioned "Long Highway Trips". Hence wanted to have a second opinion. It does seem logical enough as window sill of a car also mentions two separate tire pressures for separate speeds.

Exactly. What I was saying is that you stick to the car manufacturers recommendations. If it's mentioned on the car at some place, that means it's recommended by the car manufacturer. So that's the same thing.

I would be a little vary of tyre manufacturer recommendations because they are generic and can't be car specific. Because every car tends to have a different brand of tyre even from the same batch sometimes, leave alone model. So I'd rather stick to the car specific details than a particular tyre specific detail. Though that seems to be a small detail, it could have big consequences.

That said, I feel having 1-2 PSI above the mentioned level is ok, but anything above that is ones personal choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixantz (Post 4272746)

Some factors to consider.

Have you upsized tyres?
Have you fitted addons like rogerab?
Have you tried different tyre pressures?

For me, the answer is Yes to all. Finally, i found that 30.5 in the front and 28.5 is the most comfortable and without any drop in fuel efficiency for my upsized 195/60 R15 Michelin Primacy 3ST tyres both in City and Highway. Getting an FE of 12 to 13 in City and 15 to 21 kms/l depending on traffic on my VX CVT IVTEC. I have a very high opinion for these tyres. Ofcourse, need to inflate higher if speed is planned to be above the unlikely 160 km/h.

As mentioned above, it is best to have tyre pressure checked while cold. For this to perfectly happen, have a portable air compressor. However, portable air compressors are not entirely accurate and may over inflate. There is a tyre pressure monitor manufactured from Accutire which is rated very high for its accuracy from consumerreports.org. This can be used to check the pressure accurately and also expel air if required in case it's over inflated.

I use both of the above in conjunction and is really yielding good results. Else, make sure that tyre pressures are checked within 1 to 3 kms of driving sedately while the tyres are cold.

Happy driving. 😀

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaviprem (Post 4272541)

I too have the City i-Vtec [2015 model]. I never went beyond 140 Kmph. This itself is for a small stretch. I am sure, 160+ is near to suicidal. ..

Prem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvijayakrishnan (Post 4272766)

... I fill up to 32 psi in all wheels. I don't drive more than 120 kmph even in highways. Is it really needed to fill different pressures in front and back?

Quote:

Originally Posted by adarsh76 (Post 4272781)

... Ofcourse, need to inflate higher if speed is planned to be above the unlikely 160 km/h.

In the early period I had touched 150 kmph on a very empty 4 lane stretch for a minute or two just to get the feel. The engine (iDtec) is able to reach these speeds quickly and the stability is good.

However, during the last 50K+ KMs, the peak speed has been between under 110 kmph (and lesser most of the time) on 4 lane clear roads and about 70 to 80 kmph on undivided highways. I've found these to be the safe limits.

The grip levels drastically reduce beyond 110 kmph and the stopping distance also is significantly more. I've found 120 kmph on the riskier side because the wheels don't hold well on sudden braking and tends to get skittish (with squeals).

The problem (not specific to any car) is the stopping part. The speed has to be slow enough so that it can be stopped quickly or controlled without drama in any situation.

When the car is being driven in the city with an empty boot and front passengers only, the load on the rear wheels is low, maintaining 1 to 2 psi lower at the back gives a plusher ride (Eg: 33 psi in the front and 31 at the rear).
On a fully loaded car on highways (4 to 5 passengers + full boot), its good to maintain the same pressure on all the 4 wheels. I've been maintaining 33 psi, but i'm more inclined to reduce it to 32psi for better grip.

I am getting confused!

Are we concluding, a little lower psi [say 2 less than the recommended] would give us better mileage? If so, what would be the reason for manufacturer to recommend this little higher psi? would there be a reason like braking distance, etc.?

Me too running with 195/60/R15 from Yoko Earth and am always with the manufacturer's psi. I haven't tried any lower to compare the ride quality.

Prem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaviprem (Post 4274242)

Manufacturer recommended PSI is 32 and 30 (F & R) for 175/15 R15 tyres. Once you up size 32 and 30 psi is not any more manufacturer recommended. Ideally we should lower the PSI max by 2 depending on the tyre size and may be the brand of the tyre as well.

It's all about try and test. I tried 32 and 30 with the up sized tyres found the ride bumpy and also lesser grip. 31 and 29 was still bumpy however lesser and grip was still not satisfactory. 30 and 28 was perfect but as I did not want lose psi beyond this during running, maintained 0.5 psi more. So with 30.5 and 28.5 I am quite happy. But let me remind you, since I have installed Rogerab on all 4 springs, that may be the reason I am finding these pressures overall comfortable. Without Rogerab, can be a different experience.

One very pronounced disadvantage on increasing PSI is that if the drive is includes rougher roads, shocks can get damaged as well as the tyres can get bulged. This happened to my stock tyres (Goodyear GT3). At 32000 kms it was found quite bulged. I used to tyre pressures of 33 and 31 and even higher up to 35 and 33. The tyre dealer told me higher PSI can cause these kind of bulges. Thankfully there were no damages to the shocks.

Got my 3rd free service done at Whitefield Honda body shop yesterday. Had a bitter sweet experience.

The sweet part first :

The SA was attentive, had a talk with manager as well, he was courteous enough. Had regular oil change(3.6L synthetic oil) and was charged 1587 rupees. The car was cleaned up pretty good as well.

Now the bitter part

While receiving the car, I found the 64GB SD card(Samsung EVO plus) missing from my VIOFO dash cam. :Frustrati This undone all the good impression built up earlier. Upon inquiry, the SA cited ignorance that he is unaware of any such mischief. He went on to add that, it is the first time they are seeing such a camera in their career which I found hard to believe.

Later received a call from manager stating he will look into the matter and provide me an update by Monday(25th September). If they are unable to locate, he has assured of providing me a new one. I am starting for a BLR-BBS trip on 27th Morning and a dashcam without SD card is the last thing on my checklist. :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by adarsh76 (Post 4274324)

One very pronounced disadvantage on increasing PSI is that if the drive is includes rougher roads, shocks can get damaged as well as the tyres can get bulged. This happened to my stock tyres (Goodyear GT3). At 32000 kms it was found quite bulged. I used to tyre pressures of 33 and 31 and even higher up to 35 and 33. The tyre dealer told me higher PSI can cause these kind of bulges. Thankfully there were no damages to the shocks.

I think this is quite true. Even I had such an experience twice. I used to keep tyre pressure at 34 and 32 PSI at the front and at the rare respectively. On adulterated roads with moderate speeds, left front tyre developed a bulge. Replaced that with spare wheel. After 4 to 6 months, under similar conditions, front right tyre developed a small bulge. Now plan to switch the tyres between rare and front so that front tyres are in good shape (car mostly has occupants at front seats plus the load under the bonnet).

Couple of things learnt -

1. Keep tyre pressure to acceptable minimum specially when riding on adulterated roads - 32, 30 PSI or 31, 29 PSI
2. Be extra careful with speeds while riding on adulterated roads

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvijayakrishnan (Post 4272766)

Is it really needed to fill different pressures in front and back?

Yes. Manufacturers also specify it for a reason. Since the front axle also carries the load of the engine along with other components in Engine bay (for most cars), it is recommended to have higher air pressure in the front wheels. Always advisable to see the manufacturer recommended air pressures though as some cars may have engines mounted on the rare axle.