[vvb8530]

Originally Posted by dicor

Hey buddy, so it's been a year now. Did you face any challenges with the refitting of the hard top?

I've seen some videos on YouTube of people complaining about water seepage in their HT and commenters think that their HT was removed and refitted.

Hey!

Sorry I seem to have missed your message to me earlier. I have not had any water seepage issues yet after almost two seasons of rains.

VVB

[batish]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

This is the shoddiest thing most SVCs in India do for cars with Pb-Acid battery. AGMs are a different story altogether. Unlike home inverter batteries the car batteries don't have any fluid level indicator. So the MASS depends on 'assumption' and 'visual level observation'. I still fail to understand why a 10-month-old so-called maintenance-free battery needed a top-up.

They don't even check the fluid before dumping down the water bottle.

And yes, you are never sure which kind of distilled water they used for the top-up.

I have seen ASS topping up pre filled, pre mixed coolant with water. I have also seen one person topping up coolant with 'distilled' water and then drinking the left over water from the same bottle.

The cheap ones available in electrical shops are simple RO water with TDS hovering around 25-30.

Still better than the regular tap water they usually tend to fill it with.

Absolute 0 TDS water is really costly. I don't think they used the latter; even a customer isn't even expected to carry a TDS meter while he is unaware of what exactly is being done with his vehicle in the MASS!

I don't even think they care for what happens to car after it leaves their premises. Usually there is one or another problem which arises because of shoddy workmanship.

2. The highly corrosive nature of the electrolyte has started the onset of corrosion in neighbouring metal parts.

Will update the outcome after approaching MASS but yes, acid did spill to metal parts. I found it while cleaning spilled acid on battery and neighbouring areas.

3. You are yet to assess the extent of damage to other peripherals.

Didn't find anything major yet but yes, acid spilling on metal will definitely accelerate corrosion. Will get it fixed as soon as I get some time.

4. Mental peace of owning a new car!

This is the case with most of the brands in India. Mechanics are not trained well or they are not paid/motivated enough to do their work with diligence. I'd add unnecessary expenses too here. I have experienced new tyres giving up in 13-14k kms because of shoddy alignment at ASS and this company sells the most automobiles in India. 35k unnecessary expense because the mechanic didn't know how to do his job.

BTW, what is the objective value of the hydrometer reading? It is generally within 1.28 to 1.2 for a good battery.

The one with which that person checked showed 1.275 to 1.300 as Good.

[jubingoel]

Does anyone know of any Arka Motorsports authorized dealer in Gujarat?

[strawmUnkey]

I recently had my windows down while I engaged 4H on tarmac for an incline. The 4H was very noisy. I never heard this earlier with the windows rolled up. Is this normal?

[Blooming Flower]

Originally Posted by strawmUnkey

I recently had my windows down while I engaged 4H on tarmac for an incline. The 4H was very noisy. I never heard this earlier with the windows rolled up. Is this normal?

What advantage do you have in 4H on tarmac road?

[geekyengineer]

Originally Posted by techfreak

Came across the below ICE upgrade specifically for Thar 2020.
Has anyone installed this?
Is it a plug and play thing or needs cutting wires etc?
Does it retain all functionalities of the stock OEM System (like Adv Statistics etc)?

This is the link ��
https://ownsilent.international/prod...lay-navigation

Would be worthwhile to look at OEM system instead of spending 43K on this is what I feel.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by strawmUnkey

I recently had my windows down while I engaged 4H on tarmac for an incline. The 4H was very noisy. I never heard this earlier with the windows rolled up. Is this normal?

Please DO NOT engage 4H on tarmac in the Thar. It is a part time 4wd and engaging 4H (or 4L) on a surface that does not allow wheel slip will mess your drivetrain up.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by strawmUnkey

I recently had my windows down while I engaged 4H on tarmac for an incline. The 4H was very noisy. I never heard this earlier with the windows rolled up. Is this normal?

Been away from the forum for a while due to travel / work etc but Thar is still sold with part time 4x4 - not recommended to be used on tarmac, it will cause noise from the tires as they have to 'skid' and rub on the tarmac a bit due to the lack of a center differential.

I have to admit one thing though - a vehicle of our own was driven by someone in 4H at highway speeds for a few 100 kms , including much the same distance through the city, complained to me that vehicle is not accelerating all that well

It needed a good wash afterwards, that's about it.

[kutts]

Originally Posted by batish

Any accessory installed on that line? Anything which takes power from the same fuse line? Although it doesn't make much sense but check battery connections on terminals too.

Nope. No accessories. Terminals are good too. Went to the service centre at Trivandrum and they did not see any diagnostic errors. They ran the OBD scan twice to confirm and have reported the matter to Mahindra.

Interestingly one of the fog lamp filament blew. I asked if that could be related to the same sequence of events - like a surge. But they did not think so.

[kutts]

Originally Posted by batish

Any accessory installed on that line? Anything which takes power from the same fuse line? Although it doesn't make much sense but check battery connections on terminals too.

Did a review again. There is a front bumper edge sensor that was installed by the dealer as an official accessory. Though it was not in the same line, I have now disconnected it just to be sure.

[strawmUnkey]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

What advantage do you have in 4H on tarmac road?

I assumed that 4H would make it easier to climb a steep road by allowing the front wheel to engage with the road. (> 20deg).

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Please DO NOT engage 4H on tarmac in the Thar. It is a part time 4wd and engaging 4H (or 4L) on a surface that does not allow wheel slip will mess your drivetrain up.

Understood.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Been away from the forum for a while due to travel / work etc but Thar is still sold with part time 4x4 - not recommended to be used on tarmac, it will cause noise from the tires as they have to 'skid' and rub on the tarmac a bit due to the lack of a center differential.

The noise was more metallic grinding / clanking than anything from the wheels.

[Blooming Flower]

Originally Posted by strawmUnkey

I assumed that 4H would make it easier to climb a steep road by allowing the front wheel to engage with the road. (> 20deg).

The noise was more metallic grinding/clanking than anything from the wheels.

The transmission system doesn't produce any extra torque at the wheels with the same engine RPM and gearing in 4H mode. You can momentarily use 4L in a 'straight' tarmac road to leverage the extra torque in negotiating the incline. Even that's not recommended if you have to turn the steering much.

From the noise signature, as you described, it's evident that the entire drivetrain was under much stress and there seems to be an 'onset of transmission wind-up'. Hope, you didn't drive longer in 4H and everything is okay. Apart from causing irreversible damage to the entire drivetrain, the probability of frying a clutch also exists to handle a steep gradient on a good-traction road from a standstill in 4H mode.

I would like to suggest you to go through the complete owner's manual once. Although it's not exhaustive to enlighten you on all the technicalities of the vehicle it can help you decide what to use where and how.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by strawmUnkey

I recently had my windows down while I engaged 4H on tarmac for an incline. The 4H was very noisy.

I hope you have got your extended warranty. If you continue to do this, you will most likely need a Transfer Case and differential replacement.

In extreme inclines, if you feel the vehicle is struggling to climb you can consider this, provided you are going up in a straight line and your wheels are not turned at all. As long as you are going in a straight line, you won't have any issues. But the moment you turn the wheels and then you will cause issues for your 4WD components.

[strawmUnkey]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

The transmission system doesn't produce any extra torque at the wheels with the same engine RPM and gearing in 4H mode. You can momentarily use 4L in a 'straight' tarmac road to leverage the extra torque in negotiating the incline. Even that's not recommended if you have to turn the steering much.

From the noise signature, as you described, it's evident that the entire drivetrain was under much stress and there seems to be an 'onset of transmission wind-up'. Hope, you didn't drive longer in 4H and everything is okay. Apart from causing irreversible damage to the entire drivetrain, the probability of frying a clutch also exists to handle a steep gradient on a good-traction road from a standstill in 4H mode.

Drove for about 50m including 1 curve using 4H. Went back to 2H upon hearing the noise.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I hope you have got your extended warranty. If you continue to do this, you will most likely need a Transfer Case and differential replacement.

In extreme inclines, if you feel the vehicle is struggling to climb you can consider this, provided you are going up in a straight line and your wheels are not turned at all. As long as you are going in a straight line, you won't have any issues. But the moment you turn the wheels and then you will cause issues for your 4WD components.

This was the first time I did this on tarmac.


I'm hoping I haven't caused too much damage to my vehicle. Thank you for the explanation @BloomingFlower & @4x4addict. Will read the manual next time.

[bairagi_virus]

Originally Posted by Auto70

I am planning on upgrading my lights which as many have pointed out earlier, are insufficient. Have gone through several threads dedicated to lights available on this excellent platform regarding upgrading to (i) 100w Halogens with relay, (ii) expensive LEDs and (iii) LED fog projectors and I believe that given my budget, LED Fog Projectors (AES Q8 or IPH 617) would be the best option. I am planning on purchasing them from Blaze India given their reputation as many have pointed out before.

I am running Diesel HT AT 4x4 since Oct 2022 and clocked 17k+ with stock headlamps and Philips H4 Xtreme Vision Pro 150 bulbs (got them installed within a week of purchasing the suv). Throw is decent and I did not faced any issue with them. But recently during night drive and rain spell on Rohtak-Gurgaon highway I found the headlight+fog lamp setup ineffective. The tarmac is wet and I couldn't see anything with stock headlamps even after upgrading the bulbs. Situation is worse in case of incoming vehicles with high beams. Few times I had to stop the vehicle to avoid any unpleasant situation. What I discovered that yellow light is somehow not sufficient when road is wet during night drives. Black tarmac absorbs all of yellow light.

The need arises due to poorly lit wet tarmac and absence of street lights. The stock headlamp assembly and fog lamps were of no use. I am strictly against the white projector LED headlamps that blinds the incoming vehicles plus couldn't find any better options with brands available in India to upgrade my headlamps.

So I decided to upgrade the fog lamp setup with Aozoom AF-04 dual LED projector fog lamps. This product has dual beam setup and throw is very good and I am satisfied with the performance so far. However, I am running only low beam setup and didn't get the wiring done for high beam just to avoid inconvenience for other vehicles on road. I use them only on highways or whenever required on city roads. Overall setup costed me around 18K with installation and relay is included in the box.

I got them installed from Motorgarages.Com Workshop in Sec-37, Gurgaon. Mr Ravin (9999469924) is very professional and runs a customization garage here, specifically for pickup-trucks. But he was kind enough to source the Aozoom setup for me.

I also got my Angry bird grill installed from him couple of months ago. You can upgrade the fog lamps if you are not fond of wasting money on chinese led headlamps, currently available everywhere. Throw will be much better and will be easy on eyes for incoming traffic as well.