Indica Turbo DLS (10k)

[deep_bang]

Deciding on Indica DLS Turbo
-----------------------------
I decided to buy the Indica DLS in Oct 06. The reason of choosing Indica was, operational cost. I had read many reviews and finally decided that Indica Diesel would fit the bill and is not as bad as the "typical diesel" that i usually associated diesels with.
Also, the car would be in name of company, so wanted to have a car with decent resale value also. I had to buy it before december and hence could not even think of Swift diesel. Till now, i dont regret this .
The other options were DLG, and the non-turbo. I figured that non-turbo was definitely not for me, since I am moving from a Santro, and expected some decent power. Diesels are a little sluggish and i felt the turbo would help a lot in this case.
I did not get the DLG because i planned to fit aftermarket power windows anyways.

Buying experience
------------------
Decided on Manipal motors, SAnkey road as they gave a good quote, 10K corp discount and the basic accessories + remote lock free. They dont seem to be aware of the processes for company owned cars and i had to intervene many times to get the right documents between my company and the dealer. Booked a cherry red Indica. They made me wait for almost a month and there was a fire at the tata motors factory also. The net result was Cherry red is out of production (Or thats what the dealer told me). Wifey and me had 3 color options and the only other that matched between us is the smoked metal (dark grey in normal language).
Got the car in Nov. Everything was good including a Priest who was ready to do pooja right at the delivery time. There was a pathetic scent bottle which really was normal scent diluted a few times - hardly any effect. I dont understand why they cut the costs in these small things.

Running the first 5k kms
------------------------
This is the first diesel that i own and it is fun. The sound was not really bothering me as i was prepared for it. But what i was surprised was how smooth the engine was once warmed up. The turbo is fun: at first i could not really make out the turbo swithing on. But later i could feel it at aroung 1800 - 2000rpm. The 1st 2k kms ran on regular diesel from IOC bunk in St marks rd. SWitched over to Shell later. Mileage between 14 to 16.
The 5k service is actually a cleaning service . Nothing much done except verification that all are ok. Got the left RVM fixed for Rs 900. The service was done at Prerana on Old Mds. Rd, after feedback from Tsk and others.

Running till 10k
--------------------
I knew my car much better now. May be that also helped in increasing the mileage to about 16 on an avg. Made a few long trips. Usually i got around 20 with AC usage about 20%. Got power windows and an new set of front speakers (Blaupunkt).
On one occation noticed a crack on one of the tyres. This was visible only when the cracked part of the tyre was at the bottom - so the weight of the engine was on it. In the 10K service, got this to the spare tyre and i am planning to claim a replacement from Bridgstone. The crack does not seem to be because of any external impact - but lets see what Bridgestone says.
Also got Wheel alignment and balancing done at 10k. Bardhal engine oil additive also was used when the engine oil was changed at 10k. Engine definitely seems smoother than before, but i cant say if it is because of this additive.
Wifey is taking some time to "learn" driving this. She was comfy with Santro, but she says this is a little bulkier and needs changing gears at the "right" time, else it just does not move.

WHat I liked:
-------------
I liked some features in this car that is not there in many higher-priced cars. I liked the adjustment of the console light brightness. I liked the fact that wiring was already done to the speaker points - easy installation of sterio. Really good Seats - back support and thigh support(I had some back pain issues in my 2000 Santro, and i was actually keeping a small pillow at my lower back). Great back seats, although i dont use it that much. Paint finish is great.

What I would like Tata to improve
---------------------------------
The plastic wheel arches seem very cosmetic. Looks ok, but delicate. Incidentally, it helps keep the lower part of the car cleaner in Rainy season. Large panel gaps.
The engine definitely has room to improve - considering the refinement of Swift diesel. But need to wait and see how Indica Dicor will be.
The plastics are just about ok, and definitely has room to improve. The inbuilt radio antenna can be better and somehow i feel an external antenna was better. The steering position could have been a little lower. The hub caps provided was very very bad. One by one, they dropped off the car. They are really bad for a company fitted accessory.
All in all, happy with the car right now.

[Zappo]

Good that you are enjoying your car. Indica is a very understated car but definitely manages to keep its owners happy.

However a few notes,
* People buy the DLG Turbo over the DLS Turbo, not just for the PW. You get 14 inchers for footwear, an Intercooler that boosts up the power output by another 6 bhp (does make a difference, believe me), Rear defoggers besides the other goodies like an extremely powerful fog lamp set, left ORVM, fabric inserts in the interior etc. When you add the costs of all these you find the DLG is an extremely VFM buy and in fact should qualify as the best buy in the Indi stable.

* You would have done better to take the tire to Bridgestone the day you noticed the crack. If they agree to replace it under warranty the earlier you take it better realization you will get. They will deduct a depreciation on the tire's cost. And this increases with kms/time.

* Your hub caps dropped off? What hub caps? I thought they give wheel covers with the Turbo! Hub caps are only for the NA DLE (the ones with non-painted wheel arches and bumpers) models IMO. Rest all get plastic wheel covers.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by Zappo

* Your hub caps dropped off? What hub caps? I thought they give wheel covers with the Turbo! Hub caps are only for the NA DLE (the ones with non-painted wheel arches and bumpers) models IMO. Rest all get plastic wheel covers.

Zappo: I meant the wheel covers. Not the hub caps!

I do agree that DLG is a good buy. But looking at the price difference, and what I would be using (car mostly in city, in Bangalore), I preferred the DLS.

I also agree about the tires. I noticed it around 9k kms, and thought i could get it done during the 10k service. I thought TASC would take care of the replacements. But only now i got to know that TASC just gives an inspection report, and i need to take it to Bridgestone. .

So need to go Hosur road for that!

[deep_bang]

The car has done 12k now.

Last week she had the first rim-bend when the passenger side front wheel went into a deep pot hole. I tried to avoid it, but managed only to get the back wheel out of danger. The front one went right into the pothole.

Saw the damage later and the rim was bent a little bit. Went to Sun Wheel alignment at MahalakshmiLayout (Bangalore) and got the bend removed with a machine. So, this process was new to me, and was very intrested to know how simple it is with the machine. All he does is to remove the tyre/tube from the rim, place just the rim on the machine, adjust the side roller (which will roll the bend back into shape) and start the machine. 10 minutes is all it takes.

Did the wheel balancing after that. Looks as good as new.

As of now the wheel balancing is done only for that one wheel. Do i have to do the alignment also? Any thoughts and Suggestions? Or should i just get it done during the 15k service?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Would suggest that you get alignment checked. A jolt like that could easily have put it out. Best to get the whole thing looked over, if you haven't already; a seal may be damaged or something else bent or dislodged.

[k36]

What happened to your cracked tyre? Did Bridgestone give you a replacement?

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by k36

What happened to your cracked tyre? Did Bridgestone give you a replacement?

Nope. According to Bridgestone the crack on the sidewall was due to an impact on the road and not a manufacturing defect. I actually talked to everyone at the bridge stone center at lalbagh Load office and they showed many photos of different types of damage.
Well, basically, even I am not 100% sure it is a manufacturing defect, but what i am so surprised is the way they inspect the tyres and reject the claim. The guy who inspected the tyre just saw it and said it is not a manufacturing defect. He did not even remove the tube to check the tyre. So, thats what got me irritated to argue with many others there - but to no avail. I just left it because i was also not absolutely sure that the damage has happenned due to my driving or the tyre was weak.

[deep_bang]

Hi guys,
In the past one week, i am hearing some scraping sound when i go over a bump a little fast (say 30kmph). This does not happen when i go slow. Also this is only from the passenger side wheel. The hump was not a very big one, and although going fast means compressing the shocks more, this has never happenned to me in the last one year of ownership of this car.

Any thoughts?

[tsk1979]

Best case scenario : The plastic guard under the fender has come loose. You can hit your hand under the wheel well to confirm this
Worst case scenarios : Suspension issue(Coil spring/tie rod inspection needed), or the brake pads.

To me it looks like the pastic guard. It is prone to debris damage.

[deep_bang]

So had gone to Prerana for this thing. It looks like there was some rod hitting the upper inside edge of the wheel arch. I dont know what this rod is called, but i saw it when the car was hoisted up.

I dont know why this happenned, but it could be because the same wheel had gone into a huge pothole about a month back. It was huge enough to cause a bend in the rim.

[phamilyman]

how about a 15kreport now mate?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

how about a 15kreport now mate?

Hmmm, sounds like a good idea

[deep_bang]

Done about 13k now. A little more time - and i should be ready with a 15k report.

[deep_bang]

As promised, here is the 15 report:

The first 10k kms were covered mostly on Shell. After this, i wanted to experiment with other fuels, so tried BP for about 2.5 kms. Somehow was not satisfied - either the bunk or the fuel. The mileage 'seemed' to be lesser. Finally have settled on the Indian Oil on Old madras road (near 100ft Road).

Engine:
At 15k, the engine seems as smooth as new. The Bhardhal engine oil additive (added after 10k service) seems to have smoothened the clatter - but this is only during the cold engine. After warm up, there is no noticible difference.
After running this for 15k, i am a little addicted to the torque that comes in around 2k rpm and the feel of the engine pulling the car. The roar of the engine is also something i like. (I know - Most would like less engine noise, but somehow this noise is different).

Accessories:
Added my old Sony MP3 system from my santro + Blau speakers at front and rear. Working very well.
Aftermarket Power windows are working fine. They do have a noticable lack of refinement compared to the factory fitted one.

Tyres/suspension:
One significant thing that happenned was that there have been 2 rim bends in this time. One of them was in the city when the car went into a deep pothole and the other on a highway pothole.

The suspensions are pretty good, taking bad roads very well. I especially appreciate this when we went to a place called Mullayangiri near Chikmagalur to which there was almost no tar road for about 8kms.

Fuel Efficiency:
In city the FE varies between 14.5 to 16.5 (10% AC). This is with normal driving, upshifting at slightly more than 2k rpm in Bangalore traffic (Which is not bad I would think). Highway mileage is around 20kmpl with about 30% AC.

Low usage for next year:
I am going out of the country for a year. The car will be used by my parents with a driver once in 15 or 20 days. Wat do you guys suggest I do to take extra care during this time? Since this is the service time, i can get it serviced now and after i come back, i plan to re-check the vital parts like engine oil etc.

Scratches:
This deserves special mention since a couple of scratches have come up. Almost all of them have happenned while it was parked. This made me think i need to be much more careful in choosing parking spots. I have not repaired any of them as yet.

[TrueDreamer]

Good write up. Did you buy the extra spare tire ? If yes what brand at what cost ?