20,000 KM on the DICOR EX 4WD

[jyobeb]

My Safari has just completed its 20K service and is back after all the retrofits. My dealer is ARAS.PVPV Motors in Madurai.
My service cost me 1600 bucks and the car came back in excellent nick. As for the retrofits, well my clutch cover assembly was changed which has made the clutch extremely light, an additional vacuum tank for the brakes was fitted right behind the right front wheel. Brakes are now much better modulated.
My Power steering pump was changed to a 118 psi system which has removed the gremlins in the system and made the steering much smoother.
The EGR modulator has been re-routed from close to the radiator, which, I believe was the reason why they used to fail earlier.
Starter motor changed to reduction gear type.
The air filter assembly has been changed which has a resonance at certain RPM's which can be irritating with the windows rolled down.
The front part of the ladder chassis has been welded at certain stress points, which have been known to fail on abused vehicles.
The gear shift rod has been changed. This has made the shift lever easily accessible and also allows us to use the ash tray while the car is in 5th gear.
The cogged belt on the power steering has been changed and I am told that this is for better grip on the pulleys.
My fuel efficiency is a very steady 8 KMPL inside the city, which is really not so bad for a 2.25 tonne 4WD vehicle. My older TCIC Safari used to manage only 6.5KMPL.
My last trip to Chennai where I was driving at about 90KMPH to 100 KMPH gave me an average of 13.5 KMPL and my drive back where I touched 150 KMPH at times gave me an average og 10.5 KMPL.
Am I happy with the DICIOR. Well I love it.
I also need to add that at 150 KMPH (indicated), the vehicle felt Rock Steady.
Will I recommend a Dicor to others?
If you can get over the size, the mileage and the fact that you have only 1500 RPM (Between 1500 RPM and 3000 RPM) to play with, go for it.
For those in Madurai, I would recommend ARAS.PVPV as a very reliable dealer. Talk to Mr. Vasu, the M.D., a very knowledgeable and customer friendly person.

[Mpower]

Thanks for the review.

The one good thing about TATA is that they continiously improve their products and provide updated parts to customers at no cost. Rarely do you see OEMs doing that.

[suman]

Jyobeb, that was a good review, read it much earlier but was late in giving my two cents !

I'd like to know from recent Dicor owners about the retrofits; I remember reading very recently (but can't find the thread lol!) about someone who had a three week old one that was called in for changing the air cleaner element or something. Now, there seems to be some confusion about what is to be retrofitted and which batch qualifies for this.

To give an example, one of the Helpline guys told me that the brake boosters and air cleaner elements would probably be changed. But when I called the guy in charge of this, he asked me my chassis no (its a JTZ series) and on being told, he informed me that these were already the latest ones that were fitted so I didn't need any retrofits.

I wonder who would give accurate information on this? Steer, any ideas, who would be a relaible information source?

Ranjit, any retrofits on your car? Rahulk76, can you check out with your dealer and let me know what they have to say?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by suman

But when I called the guy in charge of this, he asked me my chassis no (its a JTZ series) and on being told, he informed me that these were already the latest ones that were fitted so I didn't need any retrofits.

Hes probably right - the retrofits are improvements in the new vehicles that have to be carried out only on the older ones. If he went by chassis number he would know which series needs what retrofits.

[rajismine]

Hi Suman.

I have a JTZ series Dicor and has got all the upgrades in it. However There was one issue with the JTZ series. The Air Filter has not been upgraded in JTZ and rest all things are. So go ahead and get a new Lumax air filter assembly

[suman]

Originally Posted by rajismine

Hi Suman.

I have a JTZ series Dicor and has got all the upgrades in it. However There was one issue with the JTZ series. The Air Filter has not been upgraded in JTZ and rest all things are. So go ahead and get a new Lumax air filter assembly

Thanks Rajesh, that puts things in the right perspective....will follow up with these guys & get it done

[rajismine]

I drove it at 150 KMPH on Belgaum-Kohlapur Express highway and believe me, it was a wonder that the car was rock steady and felt so safe.

Amazingingly it gave me a mileage of 13 KMPL even though its not gone for the first service yet.

Rajeev

[Proxima]

What is this JTZ series DICOR? Is it different from the standard one?

Can somebody please explain?

[Steeroid]

The new Air Filter has made a big difference - it has almost completely removed the intake boom that used to be prominent between 1800~2000 rpm. Fantastic job, but in the end you realize that all that noise was just because of a badly designed airfilter. Or was it the airfilter designed for the TCIC engine that was just carried forward to Dicor?