[SuMo]

After the trip to Ambajogai , I had been to Pune again in December 07 last week on the Mumbai - Pune Expressway. Upto now I had taken up my Victa upto 140 KMPH . This time I wanted to try her max speed after gaining confidence of 140 KMPH. So did that . She went up to 160 KMPH. At ease , No problems , AC On , Speedo was at its max. Maintained the same for about 2 to 3 mins. Was very smooth and steady. No problem at all. Ha !! came back to my normal 100 KMPH and continued.......

[condor]

SuMo : She went up to 160 KMPH.

The TCIC engine's rated top speed is only 125 kmph. The top speed for the NA Sumo engine is only 115 kmph (may be 110 kmph).

[condor]

Servicing at 35K done yesterday at Prerana.

* Schedule servicing.
* Oil & filters changed (It has been 6 months since last oil change at 30k).
* 5 wheel rotation, balancing & alignment.

Bill : 3.6k


While at the TASS, checked out a newly delivered Victa Di GX. A little disappointed with that version:
* Turbo Di engine - the classic 3L mill. Lots of clatter.
* 185/80 R-16 wheels (the GX turbo has 215/75 R-15)
* No tacho
* No utility box between the front seats. Nice place to plonk in a sub, a-la Zak.

[SuMo]

Hi all,
carried out 40K servicing at Worli Tata workshop. Bill came to 6K plus.
Engine oil , differential oil , gear box oil changed , also front brake pads changed. all items as per 40K service were attended. First time I gave 10 points to all the questions on after service survey of the tata Shop.
This vehicle is truely good and a big time value for money. very satisfying indeed. I use it mainly in Mumbai for daily office going and on weekends out of Mumbai and this vehicle has proved to be most reliable indeed. A real and a true buddy for sure.
Was happy at the gross improvement in service at Tata workshop at Worli. I have been going there now regularly for 2 years plus and I tell u , there is a marked difference on all fronts there.
Can some one tell me if I can get a KN filter for Sumo Victa?

[condor]

Minor additions:
* Bosch wiper blades.
* Hella Red Grill.

Looking for : the air-filter casing from the Safari Dicor. Should be with anyone who's changed their Dicor's air-filter to a K&N / Green / HKS. (Even a loaner will do).

SuMo : Can some one tell me if I can get a KN filter for Sumo Victa?

SuMo, yes - you can. 4500/- is the list price for the stock replacement filter. Same as that for the TCIC Safari.

[SuMo]

Thanks Condor for your reply. I checked with couple of dealers noted from the K&n site but none of them seem to know about it. Can you possibly give me the part number of the filter , then I can try again or order online or something.

Await yours
SuMo

[condor]

Is is possible to adjust the speed of the wiper action (Front) ?

Either a 3 speed unit, or atleast a little more speed on the intermittent setting ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------
p.s : SuMo, will check for the K&N model details.

[condor]

I am all set to head home after the day's work. Start the engine, but a normally crisp engine has suddenly become dull. Found out the cause very quickly when I was alerted of a flat rear right.

Almost 39k in 2.5+ years before I had to change a wheel. The jacks' good - though the jack-rod extends to almost a meter. Had to push the jack from the rear, to below the rear axle. Lucky there still was light, so positioning was not too difficult. Need to carry a small torch in the truck for such situations, since the placement of the jack w.r.t the support points is not as visible / obvious as with a car.

Had briefly thought of picking up a (hydraulic ? ) jack from Metro, but after today's experience, I guess the 2-tonner comes sufficiently equipped in this department.

[condor]

Routine stuff : the two belts replaced. Usual service items & 2 bulbs meant a material + labor bill of Rs. 1800/-

Oil change not done this time, but will be done at the 45k service.
A near 6 month gap between the 30k & the 35k servicing meant that I had had to change the oil during the previous servicing itself.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by condor

Looking for : the air-filter casing from the Safari Dicor. Should be with anyone who's changed their Dicor's air-filter to a K&N / Green / HKS. (Even a loaner will do).

I owe you this one - its just that I havent been in my own house for quite a while now.

[condor]

Steer, thanks. Will wait .. I know that you're currently away, & will do it next chance you get.

[condor]

Update @ 42200 : Clutch master cylinder replaced. Charges : 1500/-

Clutch pedal got stuck while driving home y'day evening. Belts were new, so that couldnt have been the problem (brakes & steering were not affected either). Pulled the pedal by hand, and clutch started working again.

Was at the T.A.S.S today morning to get it bled. But found oil leaking from behind the pedal. Changed the MC.

Had done a full interior job on sunday, and there was no oil anywhere below the pedal. Seems to have been a sudden development. Clutch did feel a little soft since y'day evening.

Currently, there is a little play in the pedal, which was not there earlier. Wonder if it is normal after a MC change.

Service advisor says pressure plate will have to be changed soon since the pedal is not springing back as much as it should.

[condor]

October through December, the truck did another 2500 km and went in for servicing with the odo at 44750.



Many tasks from the 40k servicing were due, like the gear box & differential oil changes. This was not a slip-up, but more a mis-communication. The Engine oil had been changed at 35k, so wanted to skip only that, but what happened was none of the oils were changed. All this was duly completed, and cost me about 4.8k. Quite par for the job, I feel.

A notable change is the price of Castrol GTX. There's an increase of 50/- per liter since April 2008, from 191/- to 241/-. The truck takes an official 7.7 liters, and the price change for just the oil has increased the bill by almost 400/-. Prices of other items - filters etc are the same as before.

There was also some rusting in the frame of the rear door, inside the beading. Got this fixed along with the servicing.



Other minor problems inlcuded a Headlamp holder change. The stock holder has lasted more than 2 years of use with the upgraded 90/100W bulbs.


After returning from servicing, the truck was lying idle for almost a month when the Ikon took center stage. Resumed using the truck in Jan end, and found a few changes compared to pre-servicing behaviour. Handling (including steering) seemed to have gone off kilter, and also braking & power. Was hoping that I didnt have to go back to the TASS.

The problems were else where, actually - inconsistent pressure in the tyres. And back to some Iftex System-D (had not been used after the servicing). Both these did take care of a lot of problems. But the steering still felt very soft. Not a confidence booster when the vehicle is a two tonner being navigated by a hydraulic power steering setup. The culprit was a rubber bush at the bottom of the steering column. A part worth 5/- in retail cost about 125/- in labor. But was worth it.

Initial Pick-up & power still feels a little below par. Got to try again after adding some Bardahl / STP.

[condor]

Once upon a time, there was a truck. And like every truck needs ICE, so did this one get some. An Alpine 9826 HU, a pair of nice Alpine SPS-170's 6" co-axials at the back and a pair of 4" Hertz Dieci DCX-100's on the dash. All set in stock locations, and playing their tune, oblivious to the world outside. To the beautiful ICE'y world that was there to be discovered.

TBHP was discovered, and life went on. No drag-strip style dash to change anything. The miles went by and the truck found itself in Silent Valley, in the company of a couple of other trucks, and a few others. Like an Elantra, for example. The 'content' trucker even showed-off his (cold) ICE set-up to a mad mullah who indulgingly 'approved' the set-up. But that mad mullah also did enough to start a slow change. Something that was not very notice able then, though.

Things actually started to change more than a year later (the delay being due to other reasons). The change did happen, and how !


Stock location of rear-speakers :




The speakers in their stock location are at a double dis-advantage. Apart from being partly hidden behind the jump seats, these speakers are also 'hidden' from the front half of the cabin. The middle seat acts like a barrier for the output of the rear speakers.

Alternate locations were explored. While Satya has been helping me with the actual work, I had been talking with an Old Fox by the name Aniruddha. Options that Aniruddha gave included having a roof-mount at the back end of the roof, a-la the yellow board Tempo Travellers. Another option was to use a 3 way setup of components on the dash, the current 6" co-axials at the back, and the DCX-100's doing their bit too. I was not sure how this can be set-up, so kept this option for later exploration.

What I wanted something in-conspicuous, with minimal modification work. I also did not wnat to have additional speaker boxes on the floor, as this would take up cargo / passenger space.

And it helped to have a carpenter doing some work at home. Mulled things over, and things began to fall into place & shape with the help of the carpenter.

The solution : Custom made speaker boxes, aligned to the inside of the D-pillars. And mounted to points readily available in the frame of the truck body.

The location :




A close-up of the location, this on on the left D-pillar:




The speaker boxes :





Note: both boxes are not identical. Each had to be made separately.

The part used join these two rear pieces is actually very thick. In hind-sight, I should have used a metal bracket instead.

The speaker boxes are fixed to the D-pillar at two points :
1. The lower point is through a metal bracket, to the same point as the support for the rear seat's back rest
2. The upper mount point was trickier. A socket was already there in the frame of the body, but this needs an odd-size bolt. Tried in many places before my SA at my TASS came to my rescue with the crucial 11mm bolts:



It did take quite some time & patience to get the alignment right. Esp for things like size & alingment of the components of the boxes, the holes that needed to be drilled to precisely align with the mount points .. Doubt I could have got this kind of a setup done outside. Satya had even got a box done from his supplier, but that did not work out.

The speaker box mounted :



Note the box being held by the 11 mm bolt. And the metal bracket below.


The speaker box with the speaker:




And the end result of the effort :




While all this was being done, twp parts of the upgrade had been completed at the very begining : a GT5-604 & front components. Had added the amp trying to see if a sub could be avoided. Having the amp itself meant that adding a sub later was going to be that much easier.

The 4" co-axials on the dash have now been replaced by Boston S50's - 5.25" component speakers. Nice sounding set, kind of laid back, nothing harsh.

The 604 has been placed Below the middle seat : there's just enough space there for the amp, and for movement of air. And nicely out of the way too.



From the front of the Amp:



Routing of the wires has been done inside the body shell for most part.



And finally, adding some PUNCH :

The thought process continued to the sub-woofer too. The box had to be stow-able, to be placed in a way that it did not intrude much into passenger space at the back. Not that I have passengers in the truck, but the idea was to be prepared for any situation.



The requirements meant a small box. Meaning, a small sub. Had thought of a 8" bass tube, but none available in India.

Options for 8" subs I had were either RF or Polk Audio. I took the RF. Recommended volumes for a sealed box was upto 0.3 cu.ft. The box is 9" x 10.5" x 12" on the outside. Total internal volume inside works out to about 0.35 cu.ft.



This one is the smaller of the available subs, but it packs a sufficient punch of bass. Just right for what I was looking for.


Another change that was not intended was the HU. Was looking for the Kenwood 6039U for the Ikon, but when I went to get it fitted, found that it was not available. I had to either shift-down or move away from Kenwood, or go for the 6539. Ended up with the 6539 for the Ikon.

The 6539 has a different interface, something that I am not sure about giving to the hands of a driver ( the Ikon will be driven by a driver). Also additional features that made it more suitable to this set-up than the plain-jane HU-Component Front- Coax Rear setup that the Ikon has. So the one way out was to swap the HU's : and the 6539 ended up in the Sumo, while the Apline 9826 went to the Ikon.

Approx cost : 17k. All items through Satya, and most of the work at his place - apart from the obvious ones like the stuff done at home.

Another forced cost was 1.8k for the D-pillar panels which got damaged during prepartion. Plan was to use art-leather covering on top of the panels, but this didnot work & the panels also became un-usable. Had to get new panels from TASS

There is a sea change in the sound-stage now. It has taken time & effort, a lot of DIY, and a lot of Design-I-Y too. With generous help & inputs from fellow TBHP-ians. Talking to Satya, DerAlte & B&T has not made me an expert - they are way up there ... But I was able to learn a little more about ICE. And an ICE setup that I'm enjoying.

Thanks again: Satya, Aniruddha & Ajay ! And a mad Mullah & his Toyota.

[speedzak]

My god!
Look who got bit??

Congratulations, Parvath!
That's some good things done to your truck. Now, I want to go for a drive in it again.
Your post is very good. Nicely detailed and well worded.

Keep it up!