Toyota Innova Diesel 30,000 Kms Report + Pete's box review

[Innovabuff]

Thanks Akshay for your prompt reply. Viper can you help me with the details of the projector headlamps kit for Innova as Akshay has pointed out. Wiah you folks a Great 2008 ahead. Thanks

[Armyman]

Hello akshay1234,
After reading your review I have also petefied my Innova yesterday and also added the Green filter. I have a couple of observations which I wanted to confirm from you.
1. I noticed that my gear shift is happening earlier, is this expected?
2. I observed after 2000 rpm the car gives a kind of jery when pickup also increases, is this normal?
3. In 3rd gear after 2000 rpm there is a kind of humming sound which increases with speed (something like an aircraft picking up speed before take off), I am not sure if it is because of the green filter or petes box. Is this normal?
4. Since the petes box is fixed inside the engine compartment can I wash the car like a normal car wash or do I have to remove the petes box before washing the engine compartment or do I have to take any other precaution?

Thanks in advance.

[akshay1234]

finally!!! another peted innova on the forum.

1. your gear shift isnt happening earlier, the car is accelerating faster.

2. yes, not really a jerk but it does get a big boost from there right till 3500rpm.

3.that would be from the filter. just speak to peter or matthew and theyll tell you how to position the filter so that the noise stops. will you post a pic of your enginebay?

4. you can wash it like normal just dont throw or use high pressure water on the petes box or the ecu. just wipe them with a wet cloth.

[Armyman]

I am no expert on vehicles nor very good at writing but have been following this site very closely and whatever little I know about vehicles is from this site. I can say this group rocks!
I kept following the site and eventually landed buying an Innova, ever since I was keen to get the Pete's box for my car. Once it was launched for Innova I was not very sure if I should go for it and I kept following some threads. It was only when I read the entire thread from Akshay1234 that I decided to go for it. Finally I got my petes box and the greeen filter this month and then I was waiting for doing a long drive before I can actually share my experience.
The first day after putting the petes box I could not go for a spin and went straight back home, next day when I drove it I felt the vehicle drove differently, I could feel that there was an appreciable surge in almost all gears but the power delivery after 2000 rpm was very significant and the 3rd and 4th gears are just too good. I could drive the car in 3rd gear even at very low speeds, I noticed that the 1st gear was just not required (except for the initial move from a stand still), even in bumper to bumper traffic I could drive in 2nd gear comfortably.
I was craving to go for a long drive hence last weekend we decided to go to Mangalore for a short break (and a long drive.... ), we left on saturday and came back on Monday spending a day at Mangalore and Udipi.
We took the NICE corridor to Neelamangla and then took NH48 all the way to Mangalore. 90% of the road was very good except a patch of 25 kms in between which was hellish....but since I knew about it I was mentally prepared. Now this is not a travelogue so I will restrict myself to the car experience.
I have done several long drives in Innova but this time I felt that the car was behaving differently on the highway. The powe I was getting in 4th and 5th gears was just awesome. While on my way to Mangalore I started following a Pajero and theat guy was driving very well. I could feel that following him was just a piece of cake for me and my overtaking other vehicles was just effortless and I never fell short of power to overtake. I was wondering where all this power was coming from?
Although I can't comment on the top speed but I touched 145 effortlessly but could not tale it further since the road ran out, but I am sure it could have gone upto 165 easily.
My wife also drive my Innova on long drives so I get some rest in between, this time even she felt a change. While she is a good driver but she is not very confident in overtaking at high speeds, but this time she felt very confident in overtaking since she knew she does not have to down shift to 4th gear to overtake.
Enroute I encountered another Innova trying to overtake a truck but could not, as soon as I got some space I just took off overtaking that Innova and the truck and zoomed away. I could see that look on that drivers face when he saw me overtaking him, he must be wondering where the heck was I going but he must be amazed at the way I took off.

Net net I think it was a wise decision to go for the Petes box and I am very happy with my decision. I am enjoying every bit of it. Its a great product and a must for all Innova owners. Folks, just drive a peted Innova once to feel the difference and I am sure you will get addicted to it.....

Happy motoring!!!!

[GhettoMAX]

KUDOS to both Akshay and Armyman.

I like everyday family vehicles being modded, the ultimate sleepers!

Sports cars are meant to be fast, but its something else to see the look on someones face having OWNED them in a family vehicle.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Congrats Akki bhai on your peted innova. so is this mostly driven by your dad? if so i think with such driveability and torque he will be addicted to it and once again congrats on your mod and thoroughly enjoy it.

[nsbhagwat]

Armyman,

What is the improvment in fuel consumption after Pete'ing?

Nikhil

[akshay1234]

thanks vj and ghetto.

nikhil - the fuel consumption is the same. largely because it is pushed alot now. otherwise it would have gone up.

[akshay1234]

We got this car towards the end of December in 2006. So in one year it has done 25k kms. this car is used a lot 90% of the times in the city. It is a G4 model with the captains chairs in the middle and the 3 row ac.Its colour is champagne mica metallic.

Accessories

We got this car from dsk toyota in pune. they gave us a decent discount and parking sensors, a muffler cutter(chrome cover on the exhaust tip), and 90/100w bulbs. the very next day i got the tyres changed from bridgestone b-390s to potenza g3s in the stock size which is 205/65 r15. the rims were the same steel rims. i paid all of Rs.5k for all 5 tyres combined.

A few days later i went to bharat audio in worli and got some ice put in. 4 6"co-ax speakers 1 in each door. a 4 channel amp and a 12" sub. all of these were alpine and so was the head unit. along with these i got 3m tints on all the glasses besides the front. all of this took about 5 hours and i was very happy with the sound of the music system in the end. these 2 things together cost some Rs. 40k. (yes, alpine is overpriced)

After about 3 weeks i decided to get alloy wheels and so i went and put on Plati py-509 rims. i continued using the same potenza g3 tyres on these. i decided on these rims after waiting for a month for some other rims to come in a gunmetal finish since i didnt like the hyper silver finish. so i got these rims in black machine finish. they suited the car just perfectly and they still shine like new even now.

Then in april when the weather was becoming hot a lot of heat used to come in through the front windscreen owing to its size. this could get irritating. so off i went back to bharat audio and got 3m sunfilm installed for the front windscreen. that made it so much better. barely any heat started coming in through the windscreen and the car felt much cooler.

A few months later i decided to get HIDs for this car. ordered a set of ebay which reached me in a week. one of the bulbs was broken so the seller sent me another bulb which was different fron the first set. so obviously it didnt fit the ballast of the first set. after this i got no replies from a seller so i just decided to go and fit them. viper ji recommended car touch in shivaji park. i went there and got the HIDs installed for some Rs.300 i think. The mechanic used some jugaad to connect the other bulb to the ballast but it works fine now. the HIDs cost $200 and are 6000k. surprisingly they are pretty focused and not spread all over the place. probably due to the shape of the innova reflectors. hopefully i should get projectors for the car.

Then came my favourite. the petes box and the green air filter. got these from viper for 39k. with these the car became FAST!. it would take, keep up and beat many sedans from the traffic light drags . Read more on it in my review in the review section for accessories.

Maintainence

This car has been pretty trouble free since the day we got her. we have been sending her only for the regular services at 5000k kms intervals. now if you want to know what part was changed at what service, well, i dont know that..

At 10,000kms the car started giving out black smoke even on idle. so we sent it to toyota who changed some small parts of the turbo and did an exhaust flush all under warranty. the smoke completely dissapeared even at 4k rpm.

Then at 20,000 kms the smoke problem started again though it didnt come out on idle. there was also a slight tak-tak noise from the turbo. again and exhaust flush and changing a few small turbo parts under warranty solved it.

In the middle the car had got hit by cabbies on both sides (bloody cabbies i tell you) so we had to send it to toyota for painting. the painted the full body and sent it back. within a week the paint on some parts started peeling off. we waited a few more weeks until the weather dried up a bit then sent it for paint again. touch wood there hasnt been any peeling till now.

We have also been getting suspension work done on the car every time we give it for a service. bombays roads mess it up a bit. sometimes it squeeks a little bit. this had become a bit irritating when we went to a place called shirota where there were no roads. only rocks and stones. the suspension suffered a beating.

The Car

Well as most of you know the car has a lot of space inside. Im not saying its big since its really not. The car is pretty easy to drive in city conditions and is very comfortable. you dont even feel cramped up in a traffic jam like you do in a sedan. The engine was a tad bit underpowered until i got the petes box. but it still was reasonably quick and had adequate torque for city driving and highway overtaking.

the cars build quality is superb. not even a single rattle from any part of the car till now. the interior is also nice though it does get dirty fast due to its beige colour. the quality is plastics is good. the space is just awesome. i can sit in the 3rd row comfortable and im 6'3"+. it has lots of cup holders (9 i think) and cubby holes for everything.

the cars handling is very good for its size and there is minimal body roll even while cornering. at speeds its very stable and you dont feel the speed. i cant say anything about the suspension or the car eating up potholes because frankly, i like to drive around them and not through them .

the nvh is good. it cuts out outside noises very well. the diesel engine is refined and only gets noisy when pushed hard or above 130kmph.


So far this car has been great and with toyotas reliability it should continue like this for a while. no regrets about this this. Thanks you for reading my long post. all the specs are in my gallery.


By akshay1234


By akshay1234

[GTO - Touring]

Great report, and a lot of add-ons! I just borrowed someone's Innova this morning to pick my folks from the airport (6 huge bags), and as always....the Innova impressed with its sheer balance between utility and comfort. How about adding a detailed comment on the ride quality as well?

I am pretty surprised that Toyota hasn't managed to solve the smoking problem yet, complaints have been coming in from the early days.

[BUSA]

Nice review with good pics. Your Innova looks very good, add a spoiler and it will look better.

This car has been pretty trouble free since the day we got her. we have been sending her only for the regular services at 5000k kms intervals.

What 500000 kms mein regular service, haha i know you meant 5000 kms.

the cars handling is very good for its size and there is minimal body roll even while cornering. at speeds its very stable and you dont feel the speed.

Get the 225s and see the improvement in cornering and stability.

Please post a pic of the boot with the ICE, i guess you have placed your sub in the boot?

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Great report, and a lot of add-ons! I just borrowed someone's Innova this morning to pick my folks from the airport (6 huge bags), and as always....the Innova impressed with its sheer balance between utility and comfort. How about adding a detailed comment on the ride quality as well?

I am pretty surprised that Toyota hasn't managed to solve the smoking problem yet, complaints have been coming in from the early days.

thanks. it seems ill just have to get an exhaust flush every 10,000 kms for the smoking problem. its not that bad though and now we just use normal diesel and its even less.


about the ride quality. its pretty good. it easily goes over bumps without you feeling it. in a sedan you would have to slow down considerably for the same bumps. the ride is a bit stiff owing to the potenza g3s. after i get michelins it should improve quite a bit. its ride is better than most sedans under 15l. i found the safaris ride over bad roads to be better. also the gc is very good. even with a full load of 7 people + light baggage it hasnt scraped its under body even on bad roads.

Originally Posted by BUSA

Nice review with good pics. Your Innova looks very good, add a spoiler and it will look better.
Get the 225s and see the improvement in cornering and stability.

Please post a pic of the boot with the ICE, i guess you have placed your sub in the boot?

what spoiler yaar? next upgrade is bilsteins. the 225 mxv8s will come by arouns 30k kms. will post a pic of the boot.

[ravibhat]

Thats good report and happy customer. Enjoy your family mover! Nice ICE setup as well, all the best!

Regards,

Ravi.

[filcord]

great report, makes me feel like an Innova for my next..
What are service costs like? An what do you do re Pete's box before the service?

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by filcord

great report, makes me feel like an Innova for my next..
What are service costs like? An what do you do re Pete's box before the service?

i just take the petes box off before service. it takes 10 mins.