Advise needed from Santro AT long term owners

[deesapa]

Hi - I recently purchased a second hand Santro AT (2003, 40K). Wanted to know some tips from existing Santro AT owners on how best to get the best of the Santro AT.

1. What fuel make and type is giving maximum FE ? I am yet to completely empty the first fill up after I bought it but it seems that it will be around 270-300KM range with HP normal.

2. Any specific tips on increasing FE other than using Neutral on long stops or traffic signal and keep off the" OD OFF" indicator.

3. Any specific advise to use any additives like BARDAHL Auto Additives Special Injector Klene that I came across on a blog (claims a 2 km improvement )

4. Any other general or specific tips on servicing to get the best of the Santro A/T.

Thanks

[V-16]

Originally Posted by deesapa

Hi - I recently purchased a second hand Santro AT (2003, 40K). Wanted to know some tips from existing Santro AT owners on how best to get the best of the Santro AT.

1. What fuel make and type is giving maximum FE ? I am yet to completely empty the first fill up after I bought it but it seems that it will be around 270-300KM range with HP normal.

Hi Deesapa, congrats on getting the rioght car for Mumbai daily driving, more over an A/T.
I have had an A/T Santro Zing for a whikle now. The range you will cadly discover is between the 225-255 range maybe a few kms here or there, assuming you drive in heavy traffic. Not a shade more. If you are pedal happy expect no more than 240 to a tankful.

Originally Posted by deesapa

2. Any specific tips on increasing FE other than using Neutral on long stops or traffic signal and keep off the" OD OFF" indicator.

Just dont be pedal happy. Ease off the pedal when on a straight road to down shift faster besides what you have mentioned above, not that keeping the shift on D will use more gas. Also very important to fill the correct tyre pressures at all times. Thats all.

Originally Posted by deesapa

3. Any specific advise to use any additives like BARDAHL Auto Additives Special Injector Klene that I came across on a blog (claims a 2 km improvement )

Not really, if you are using speed but if you are not then Id advise putting in additives (like injector cleaners) in every 5 tankfuls

Originally Posted by deesapa

4. Any other general or specific tips on servicing to get the best of the Santro A/T.

Always service at an authorised service centre and keep the oil and filter changes as recommended by the company. Mine has crossed 57,000 kms and is running strong. Quite a peppy little thing na, and great fun to drive.

[Samurai]

My Santro AT is 4.5 years old now, it is around 26K now. Highest highway milege I ever got was 15.2Kmpl on Shell petrol. During city runs I get about only 8-9Kmpl.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...-n-effect.html

[deesapa]

Hi V16 - Thanks for the wishes, it sure is fun to drive.

Can you please elaborate or further explain your easing off pedal point, sorry I am not that savy on auto lingo.

I read on this forum one top of "future of automatics" where members are claiming higher #s than 8-9 kmpl on the Santro A/T. Could the traffic conditions be the reason for the difference then ?

Thanks

[niv26]

Originally Posted by deesapa

.

I read on this forum one top of "future of automatics" where members are claiming higher #s than 8-9 kmpl on the Santro A/T. Could the traffic conditions be the reason for the difference then ?

Thanks

In Hyderabad, daily traffic, I get around 9-10 kmpl 100% city with 50% AC on. It saves me lot of trouble on begumpet flyover where it takes 30 mins to cross 2 kms.

[GeekSrik]

deesapa

though i dont own an automatic i still prefer to reply to this thread since I love automatics too. I myself was on the lookout for a santro AT and I chanced across a second hand one which was giving 6kmpl !! The reason then I found out was that the person owning it never used to move it to neutral even while stopping which was just a criminal waste of fuel.

That aside, there are two types of santro ATs that i have noticed, while one lot gives 8-9kmpl, the other lot gives marginally higher at 10-11kmpl. Personally I think you have ended up with the former lot!

Coming to your query on pedal happy - in lay man's terms it means you are a person who loves to press the pedal hard to zoom off by revving it too high. While I do that with my swift, during overtaking manouvres, the rest of the times I hardly press my pedal more than the required amount. In two wheeler terms its like idling with the throttle, that is you move the vehicle to speeds in higher of 70 and leave it there until it naturally comes down when you need to do it all over again.

So in your car too it works that way, that the car retains the speed for a marginal while before it starts to slow down due to inertia. So simple rule in automatics is never pressurize the car to gain speed by stepping on the pedal, take it through naturally (can i say "glide" it through?)

I dont see your car giving anything more than 10kmpl if at all you can achieve it. Otherwise, you should get accustomed to seeing more of 9kmpl. But you can atleast feel happy that in a place like mine, while autos charge Rs.6 per km, and taxis double that Rs.12 per km, the santro AT manages 9 kmpl for Rs.55 which works out to more or less the auto amount with much greater comfort and feel.

An alternative I would suggest for you is to just hang on there until the honda jazz is out and go for it (the auto version) and you must then be relieved that it would give more than 14kmpl atleast it being a hatchback. But during those times if the fuel prices have touched Rs.60 or Rs.70 even per litre, you can expect the per km cost to be about 4.5 to 5 rupees per km which is similar to the current Rs.6 per km.

Finally to end this post, I d like to tell you that I owned (and even sold) a Palio which was giving me 10kmpl (manual tranny) no matter how I drove it. So some cars would not budge from those kinds of mileage figures no matter how you drive it. My best advice for you is to wait for the toyota or honda automatics and go for them once and for all!

cheers
srik

[Prithvi]

Even I have a 2006 Santro AT and I get anywhere between 8-10KMPL in town and about 15 KMPL on the highway.

A pleasure to drive in Blore's horrible traffic, but need to get the driver's seat shifted back by atleast 2-3 inches, as being 6.3" tall its very cramped.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

deesapa

though i dont own an automatic i still prefer to reply to this thread since I love automatics too. I myself was on the lookout for a santro AT and I chanced across a second hand one which was giving 6kmpl !!

Finally to end this post, I d like to tell you that I owned (and even sold) a Palio which was giving me 10kmpl (manual tranny) no matter how I drove it. So some cars would not budge from those kinds of mileage figures no matter how you drive it. My best advice for you is to wait for the toyota or honda automatics and go for them once and for all!

cheers
srik

Good one there Srik. What you say on the mileage is true. I consider myself very frugal while driving..(Never go beyond 2250 RPM when shifting, drive in as optimum gear as possible, avoid clutch usage unless changing gears, switch off at signals) still my diesel indica used to give me 14 to 14.5 kpl at the most.. I used to wonder how the others can extract 16-18 kpl in the city..

Now my NHC with similar driving habits (I never press the accelerator more than required) gave me close to 12.5-13 with AC. I know of people who consistently claim 14-16 kpl on the NHC in city driving conditions. Ive never reached that though. The Honda CVT engine is a winner amongst the Auto Trannys and gives hands down savings compared to a regular Auto tranny. It doe smake sense watching out for the jazz. in a years time.

[deesapa]

Thanks for the detailed reply Srik. I intend to go for one of the newer compact AT cars in the next 1-2 years hence I settled for a used Santro for now due to lack of options

I feel it hard to believe the 2 groups of ATs of 8/9 and 10/11 average unless there is a technical change in the car. IMHO assuming there is no technical change the other factors could affect FE would be fuel type or driving aspects or commute env (highway, traffic etc)

I am really trying to understand this from those who have owned the Santro AT for a long time on what has worked for them in terms FE, service to get the best of their Santro AT.

Thanks

[sgiitk]

I have a Santro Auto, August 2005, approx. 20k. Before this I had a 1999 Zen Auto (no FI). The Satrro does about 10kpl (little less with AC and a shade more without). Just keep your lead boots at home. Also, keep tin OD light off. It looks like it was a 3-speed transmission which was later upgraded to a 4-speed, and the OD switch is just to enable/disable this gear. I did find that at 65kph or so even the slightest throttle pressure engages third, so you may need to be be a bit careful if you do not want the gearbox flipping all the time.

Just one more thing, which is true for most (all) Autos. Unless you are in a low setting (1 or 2) the engine is disconnected during braking etc. So if you are descending a longish distance make sure the car is in a low range, otherwise you risk brakes overheating and fading. I recall this happening with a rented Peugeot Automatic in the 70's when descending from an alpine hill in France. Fortunately, we spotted a mountain road going up in time, otherwise the brakes were gone, and after stopping we found the drums very-very hot. Once cooled down things were Ok again. We were not aware of this brake overheating problem.

[vasudeva]

Perhaps the FE difference was because of the `new and improved erlx' launched in 2005. Owners and company sales claim that it gives better FE. Good thing about Hyundai is that they launched an AT for the small car segment, which is perhaps `better' than Suzuki's. But bad thing is that it is obsolete, not upgraded, and gives low FE. Even my Corolla AT has given 10.7 over 15000 km of driving. City CVT can give 13 in reasonable traffic. That means that Hyundai AT is considerate (for small car AT lovers) but unconcerned about improvements. Even i10 was advertised as having an AT option, but is it in the market yet.

[sgiitk]

Having owned both the small ATs (Maruti & Hyundai) I can safely state that the latter is ages ahead, only kickdown is almost non-existent.

The tragedy is that after WagonR or Santro 9and shortly i10) the next Auto box is the City, nothing in between.

Incidentally, the mileage figures are totally in town as I do not go out of town in the Santro, preferring my Accent. I took the Santro out of town only once when it had less that 500km on the odometer. I got about 13 kpl so 15 should definitely be possible now.