[Jignesh]

Hello Parag,

Firstly let me congratualate you on reaching magical figure of 2,00,000 kms on your beloved 7 year old WagonR. We generally advice used car buyers to avoid cars that have already crossed 40,000 kms, but here we have you & your car demonstrating that if a Car is well maintained ODO meter figures are just another number.

Also just read in your earlier post that the last leg (1250 kms) of your journey took almost 19 hours (from 1330 Hours on 11th May 2012 to 0830 Hours on 12th May 2012). Hats off to you, driving continuously for 19 hours is not an easy task. By the way were you struck in traffic somewhere? Because 19 hours for 1250 kms seems to be on higher side, given the great conditions of roads in these states.

Thanks,

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Hello Parag,

Firstly let me congratualate you on reaching magical figure of 2,00,000 kms on your beloved 7 year old WagonR. We generally advice used car buyers to avoid cars that have already crossed 40,000 kms, but here we have you & your car demonstrating that if a Car is well maintained ODO meter figures are just another number.

Thanks Jignesh. Any automobile taken care with utmost importance will last long, really long and contrary to the popular myth, this remains my Highway star that gobbles up much luggage than expected and comes with the reclining rear seats for additional comfort too!

Also just read in your earlier post that the last leg (1250 kms) of your journey took almost 19 hours (from 1330 Hours on 11th May 2012 to 0830 Hours on 12th May 2012). Hats off to you, driving continuously for 19 hours is not an easy task. By the way were you struck in traffic somewhere? Because 19 hours for 1250 kms seems to be on higher side, given the great conditions of roads in these states.

Thanks,

We started from Vizag Hotel around 1:30pm in the afternoon further to which we took good time to get out of the City traffic. We were also struck near the Steel plant for 30-45 minutes due to an earth-mover equipment blocking a lane (Pics coming up in my subsequent updates).

After this, we spent amazing time at a Andhra Dhaba relishing some proper Andhra meals.

The other reasons for spending more time in this section was due to the 6 lane work in Progress in this part of the GQ. Most of the times, there were many diversions that slowed down our pace.

Additionally, crossing the cities of Rajamundhry & Vijayawada happened in peak evening traffic (since we had left from at 1:30pm) and the GQ does have a couple of long traffic signals passing these cities too.

Then we easily spent around 30 minutes at around 3am in Chennai meeting a good friend and a BHPian "aargee" who helped us get out of Chennai to Bangalore highway.

Finally, we literally crawled at 10kmph in various sections from Krishnagiri till Hosur due to truck traffic blocking all lanes. Passing Hosur at peak hours in morning (Hosur has loads of Industries) also added to the delay.

And not to forget the fact that my House is located on the extreme North Bangalore area for which I easily took 1.5 from Hosur on a Saturday morning that usually doesn't see much traffic in Bangalore.

[roamingrao]

Parag, thank you for sharing a wonderful travelogue with us. Your style of narration is 'gripping' and made sure we came along with you !

The most important momentos of the drive, the toll tickets, hope you have preserved them !!

Congratulations and thanks again..

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

Parag, thank you for sharing a wonderful travelogue with us. Your style of narration is 'gripping' and made sure we came along with you !

Thank you roamingrao. I am glad the simple flow has ensured the desired levels of interest among the readers. I had to close my eyes, visualize most of the things that happened during the day and write it down here. That's the reason I guess for the flow I guess.

The most important momentos of the drive, the toll tickets, hope you have preserved them !!

Congratulations and thanks again..

When we came home and took out all the toll receipts and arranged first according to dates and then started to enter the details/amounts in the excel sheet I was preparing for expenses, I thought why not preserve them as a souvenir for the trip driven but already a few receipts were barely readable & faded letters that I realised it may not be worth to preserve them over a long run. However, I have "e-preserved" the toll amount we paid along with booth name and dates in a excel sheet.

Along with this, around 600 Photos and those videos from Dash DVR will always remind me of this trip too.

[paragsachania]

Day 7: Continues....

So here we are on the last leg of our journey on the Golden Quadrilateral wanting to reach home may be in wee hours next day and rejoice - “we did it”.

On a hot Friday noon, Vizag was full of activities and Business as usual. Traffic was not thick to bother us and soon we started to follow MMI to get out of the city.

A few pictures from the beautiful city of Vizag:






As we passed by a particular traffic signal, we could see a couple of banners on Road Safety that made a very valid point “Commuters Jeopardize Road Safety” and how pedestrians are also a major reason for Traffic snarls in the city.


Somewhere ahead, we see disciplined motorists stopping exactly at the White line, something that the so called Metros must learn:


The MMI Is ready to take us all the way to Bangalore now.


Then we approach this famous landmark in Vizag – Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant





An Earth mover equipment was finding it real hard to pass through a narrow section of a road at an intersection near the steel plant that it resulted in a huge traffic jam due to diverting of traffic onto the opposite lanes.


Soon after we cross the jam, it was time to refill Petrol which would take for another 450-500 kms.

Getting out of the City, we continue to drive south towards Rajamundry. We are hungry now since it is already 2PM and would love to stop soon to fill our bellies.




The road condition was excellent with nothing much to complain about with very less miscellaneous traffic on a hot May afternoon:





The last train that the camera could capture:



It was May & synonymous to this month were Mango stalls dotted all along the shoulder most of the times:


The next major town was 60 kms ahead:


Then the rear passenger manages to capture this beautiful looking monster from the TATA stable:


We overtook the this truck and drove for about 10 minutes and pulled over into a roadside “ODISHA DHABA” and capture this truck again that passed us:


Yes, we stopped at this Dhaba for lunch in Andhra Pradesh to order Andhra meals.


Without a wait, we check with the attendants if they served Andhra meals and when the nod was assertive, we order it right away. The meals tasted typically spicy with pappu and more spicier pepper rasam along with steaming hot rice.. We ordered few aerated colas to complement the hot climate under the hot roofing.

With our stomachs filled to brim, we continue our journey again knowing that we will now only stop for some tea later in the evening.


I don't think even once all of compromised on eating adequately during each meal of the day. Till date, irrespective of whether it is driving during the day or night, I have never been choosy on a particular type of food. All I need is a filled stomach that gives me enough calories to burn when I continue to drive.

(..............continues)

[MorePower]

Amazing! Hats off to you Parag, to your dad and cousin for this trip. Isn't it such a joy when your family shares your enthusiasm for a road trip, that too for one which is as long as this one?

I'm inspired by this travelogue of yours and I'm not just saying this. Infact my colleagues have also read it and we have all decided to embark on this circuit soon.

We plan to do this sometime in august so that we can club some holidays together. Will trouble you then for guidance.

Till then, cheers. Waiting for your next post

[Drivethru]

Parag truly amazing effort to put together all the minute details with snaps. Have very regularly checked this travelogue for updates. Happy to read the latest part of the travelogue. Await the last part of the travelogue keenly.

[suzuki san]

Hi Parag,

First of all - Congratulations on a very well maintained car.
I am also a Wagon R freak and will be starting a thread on this car soon.

This is an absolutely amazing travelogue and I have to say you are extremely brave to do this in a Wagon R. I have also done fairly long trips but chose the Gypsy / Gypsy King instead. I am also a Wagon R owner - and have been for the last 11 and a half years. I owned the Type 1 Vxi from 2002 to 2008. Exchanged with Maruti for the Type 3 in Feb 2008. Have just sold that a couple of days ago (sadly because of an accident) and will take delivery of a new "Blue Eyed Boy" - Vxi with ABS and airbags today.
I would like your advice on one matter. When I changed the wheels on my last Waggie and fitted alloys, the tyres (especially the back ones when fully loaded) used to touch the sides of the body and cause damage. I tried tapping in the sharp edge inside the wheel well at a body shop but it did not solve the problem. Finally, I had to change to a smaller size which then affected ride comfort.
What I want to know is :
(1) Where did you get your alloys from and what make. They look really great. The "Neo's" I had started corroding after just one year so I won't be buying those again.
(2) Do you think I will have the same problem with the new car? The wheels of the Vxi are 14 inch but if I fit alloys will the tyres touch the body again? You mentioned spacers in your thread. I don't understand how spacers would solve the problem. I would have thought they would have made it worse. Please clarify.

Keep up the great work with the Waggie.

Kind Regards,
SS

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

I would like your advice on one matter. When I changed the wheels on my last Waggie and fitted alloys, the tyres (especially the back ones when fully loaded) used to touch the sides of the body and cause damage. I tried tapping in the sharp edge inside the wheel well at a body shop but it did not solve the problem. Finally, I had to change to a smaller size which then affected ride comfort.

This is common problem not just with the WagonR but also the Alto and the Estilo. There is not just enough space near the wheel arches for fitting after market alloys and they invariably scrape the arches on full load and roads with lot of undulations or passing over uneven culverts.

The OE Rim for the WagonR is 4J. Most of the alloys that you get today in 13 and 14 inches are 4.5J (Wider).

AFAIK, only AURA was the make that even MSIL used to give as OE alloys for their limited edition versions like Primea, etc which came in 4J size.

(1) Where did you get your alloys from and what make. They look really great. The "Neo's" I had started corroding after just one year so I won't be buying those again.

What I have installed is Plati though the size is 13X4.5j and my WagonR also has undergone the fender bending job plus a set of spacers at the rear for the problem what you have faced. I usually travel long distances with full passenger and luggage load and after installation of spacers (to increase the height/space by an inch) the scrapping has reduced by 90% and I face the problem only where I the road is very uneven. Otherwise, its perfectly fine.

(2) Do you think I will have the same problem with the new car? The wheels of the Vxi are 14 inch but if I fit alloys will the tyres touch the body again? You mentioned spacers in your thread. I don't understand how spacers would solve the problem. I would have thought they would have made it worse.

The new car also will give you same problems with after market alloys. I have a close relative who bought a used K10 WagonR Vxi which already had after market alloys and he too had to go for the spacers option to get rid of the scrapping.

Spacers are essentially rings that are installed just above the outer coil springs of the rear suspension which increases the suspension height by an inch. This will create additional space (by an inch) between the Tire Surface and the wheel arches, thus reducing the scrapping my a "significant" amount.

Many say it affects the ride quality and handling but so far, I haven't noticed any changes in the ride quality or the handling. Moreover, when you are fully loaded during travel, the rear suspension will anyway get compressed by 1-2 inches and wont let the car sit low when you have these spacers.

From my experience of driving more than 90k kms on the Alloys and spacers along with full passenger load and luggage in boot (the old WagonR can eat up more luggage than the new), I am fully satisfied with the spacer solution. Scrapping though not completely vanished does affect the silence on highways when the road is very uneven and you are doing some good speeds.Apart from this, no issues at all.

Hence, you may want to take a call based upon these inputs.

[suzuki san]

Hi Parag,
Many thanks for the prompt response.
Understand perfectly now what spacers you are talking about.
I don't think it would be a good idea to start making alterations like this on a brand new car. Basically, if I don't get the 4J size then I will just stick to the original wheels.
Sadly there are no original alloys available from Maruti - completely out of stock, even at the ridiculous price they sell them at!!

Actually, I can understand why you have kept your car for so long. I miss my original Waggie more than the last one. That engine was superb and the pick up amazing. I touched 155 once but chickened out after that unlike you who have touched 165!!! Sadly the rust had set in deep and I had to sell it or replace the entire firewall.

Many thanks again.

Kind Regards,
SS

[paragsachania]

I have been totally occupied with work off late. I also drove 2500 kms 10 days before covering MH, DD and a bit of GJ and the Western Ghats of KA a few weeks before which stole the precious time on weekends to finish my Travelogue which is in its last stage. Nevertheless, I am sure that I would complete this whenever I got time.

Day 7: Part 2

A lazy Friday afternoon post lunch and we begin to clock more at our usually steady pace of 90-100-110kmph. Traffic was lean, thick or otherwise haphazard as we crossed many major towns and intersections on the highway. 6 lane work in this section of the GQ made me work more on the steering, gears and brakes at the diversions which otherwise was a steady drive before.

Spot the mistake:

• He is riding without a Helmet
• He has not Turned his headlights on

........Oh wait, He is riding on the wrong direction of traffic!!

Here’s another typical scene I have noticed mostly in AP alone. BHPians from this part of the country should let me know.
I see many such new cars on AP roads with a Black Number plate:


We had tanked up in Vizag and looking at the Fuel needle, I assume we were ~225kms since we started from Vizag:


We would be crossing Vijayawada within the next 3 hours:


Heavy Metal – Chained:


Resting in “Piece”:


The magnificent river Godavari atop from the Bridge:


Typically dotted with these trees most of the stretches as we passed by:


Law abiding truckers. Even the truck being towed has a cleaner/assistant to make those confusing hand gestures:


Next DIY in the making – A rear wiper with washer spray:


An almost complete stretch sans lane markings:


The roads wherever there was no construction remained in excellent shape and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of driving as usual:



Perhaps the last Sunset that we capture as we cover the next 15 hours to reach our final destination to complete the circuit





Leaving behind the footprints- Objects in the rear are slower than they appear:


This one 8 GB Creative MP3 Player was our companion for whole GQ Drive. The absence of USB in my HU and the resulting DIY for a AUX-In port ensured we utilized it to our fullest benefit then:


The last leg of Day 7 is when I meet a good friend, a fellow BHPian and an ardent Biker in Chennai before we munch the next 350kms for breakfast to complete the GQ Drive.

..............................Day 7....Part 3...Continues

[subbaramu]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Next DIY in the making – A rear wiper with washer spray:

Hi Parag,

I have been reading this golden quadrilateral thread right from the beginning. I would be interested to know about the DIY rear wiper with washer spray that you are planning. I hope you will also post it when it is done. Eagerly awaiting those details.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

...The last leg of Day 7 is when I meet a good friend, a fellow BHPian and an ardent Biker in Chennai before we munch the next 350kms for breakfast to complete the GQ Drive.

..............................Day 7....Part 3...Continues

Great travelogue! Its been an amazing journey Paragbhai! looking forward to the last part.

Your T/l's & DiY's are a class apart.

[alokgunhal]

OT: Considering that you are driving close to the coast and humidity factor is there any special preparations or precautions one must take for the car? Will the humidity affect the brakes, air intake and any other vital components?

[sushrutha]

Amazing.. Just amazing
You are just incredible.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Almost all of the buildings had no plastering done for the outer wall.
Attachment 1076179
Attachment 1076180
(Can somebody tell me the reason?)

This is because, the buildings will be attached with walls of adjacent buildings when they are built, it's like common wall, it doesn't make sense to plaster/paint.
If you notice, most of buildings which are built over there doesn't have side windows either.