Bangalore Goa Road Trip- Possible in 800?

[arindambasu13]

Hey guys,

AM planning to do a Bangalore to Goa road trip in my 2006 M800 during the last part of December 08.

1. Do you think the 650 odd kms can be done on an 800 without much hassle? I do think the 800 is a hardy enough machine, but given the road conditions, is it feasible?
2. ANy particular precautions/things/pointers to be kept in mind when undertaking this trip?

People who have done this trip(a large number on this forum), please pitch in with your tips, so that I can plan well in advance.

Thanks!!

[Sankar]

Oh yeah, you can take your 800 to Goa 650km is nothing actually! Just do all the necessary checks, top ups, replacements etc.. on the car at least a week before you intend to start.

Keep in mind the fact that the 800 is the smallest car on the highway and drive safely. It's a hardy car and can tolerate much abuse than you think it can withstand!

[s0uljah]

Of course man!! Thats sort of like an insult... to any vehicle. Heh heh.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by s0uljah

Of course man!! Thats sort of like an insult... to any vehicle. Heh heh.

Well was just concerned about the road conditions, not really about the long distance tenacity/stamina of the car, which I know is good. Have a lot of respect for the 800 that ways!!

Just worried whether it can take the bad roads, and how to handle that aspect of the trip!

THanks for the thumbs up tho!

[snaronikar]

Of course, you can take it. We have done it in Alto and 800 is no big deal. Just remember that it can't go speeder than the sedan and its counterparts like Alto. You need to give way to bigger vehicles and drive carefully. There are some bad patches starting from C'durga upto Haveri, you need to be careful. The pot holes are so huge that it will scrape the bottom of your car as this has a low GC.

[aarcee]

No problem at all. I have travelled from Delhi to Vadodara and back (1000+ kms one way) a couple of times in my M800 in peak summer. The AC was very effective and we had very smooth ride. Of course, the roads here on GQ are superb and the maximum speed I could attain was 120 kmph.
Raji

[MaserQ]

So long as you resist going into race mode, you will do just fine. Check road conditions with someone who has done the route recently. For peace of mind, keep maruti service station numbers at hand and get a checkup done before you leave.

[Peter]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Hey guys,

AM planning to do a Bangalore to Goa road trip in my 2006 M800 during the last part of December 08.

1. Do you think the 650 odd kms can be done on an 800 without much hassle? I do think the 800 is a hardy enough machine, but given the road conditions, is it feasible?
2. ANy particular precautions/things/pointers to be kept in mind when undertaking this trip?

People who have done this trip(a large number on this forum), please pitch in with your tips, so that I can plan well in advance.

Thanks!!

Hey Arindam,

Making a long distance trip in your M800 is no problem at all as it has a very robust engine just like any other car , I have made more then 10 trips between Mumbai to Goa in a M800 and back prior to upgrading to a Sedan.

The only thing is that you cannot drive it at very high speeds as its not meant for high speed driving anyways and due to its engine limitations its not advisable to push it beyond its limits.

Please ensure that :

Your Car engine is in a very good running condition prior to the long journey ahead of you.

Ensure that the Car tyres are in a roadworthy condition and also should have the correct pressure ( Normally its recommended to maintain the tyre pressure 2 PSI higher then normal for long distance highway drives)

Ensure that your car battery is healthy

Get your brakes checked /serviced.

Get all the basic Car components checked at your authorised service station prior to your journey and you should be good.

PS: Driving during the Day is much more safer then during the night..my personal experience. ( Depends on individual )

Have a safe journey.

Cheers

Peter.

[prashanthyr]

Me and a friend have done Bangalore - Goa in Aug 04 (June 03 model 800) using this route: Bangalore - Kukke - Dharmastala - Mangalore - Udipi - Goa - Ankola - Hubli - Bangalore. About 1600 kms, with AC on 50% of the time. The car performed like a dream and returned about 20 km per litre average, considering that we did not exceed 80 KMPH most of the time.

1. Car was serviced about a month prior to this trip, so all we checked before starting was tire pressures!
2. As Peter has pointed out, most of the driving was done during the day - the scenery is spectacular and you'll miss it if you drive at night
3. We took a 10 minute break every 2 hours or so to change drivers and stretch our legs a bit.
4. Seat belt worn 100% of the drive
5. Make sure you top up at Goa - the place has cheap petrol!! I remember back then Bangalore/Karnataka had petrol at Rs 43 and Goa price was Rs 36!!

Enjoy your trip!!

[aaggoswami]

We did Mahabaleshwar to Vadodara in one day. It took us around 15 hours.
We started from Mahabaleshwar at sharp 5:30 am and reached home at around 10:30 pm. It is managable.

We have done trips to upto Goa in Maruti 800. And recently due to compulsion we did 900 kms in Maruti 800.
Right now our car is around 90K Kms. Model is 1992 Carb version.

A few things:
1) Rrotate the passengers. For example, after around 1 hour of driving, let the person in the front co-passenger seat go to back seat and someone from back seat must come to front seat. We did this in all our long trips in Maruti 800. Actually when we did these Goa and Mahabaleshwar trips, my father was only driver and I was not even 14 years old. But still this rotation is required. But dont do it moving vehicle.

2) Carry an extensive tool kit with you. It can become useful at times.

3) Have an extra set of headlamps, timing belt with you.

4) All the check ups should be done.

[arindambasu13]

Thanks Peter and all else, heartening to hear that all of you think the trip is very doable.
Peter, slightly off topic, but just curious as to why we should maintain tyre pressure 2 psi more than recommended? From what I know, dont tyres heat up during extended highway driving and therefore shouldnt the pressure inside automatically increase due to heating of the air? If yes, isnt it better that one keeps the pressure lower rather than higher?

[PAVAN KADAM]

Wow, need i say anything more.

Basu i feel you've got all your queries answered.

If your tyres are Radials 29 psi is suitable, if its crossply 2 psi's lower than recommended.

BTW, if your M800 is on the leaf spring suspension (REAR) i would suggest you to get another mini leaf spring added on to it. OR if its on a coil spring, get one spacer added on both the sides.

This will ensure that the rear does'nt sag too much and end result having a broken blade or busted shocks.

Rest, the M800 is one hell of a car. Happy motoring

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Thanks Peter and all else, heartening to hear that all of you think the trip is very doable.
Peter, slightly off topic, but just curious as to why we should maintain tyre pressure 2 psi more than recommended? From what I know, dont tyres heat up during extended highway driving and therefore shouldnt the pressure inside automatically increase due to heating of the air? If yes, isnt it better that one keeps the pressure lower rather than higher?

It is always better to maintain a bit of hgher pressure during long trips or with full load conditions. The car tyres will absorb the extra shocks that will be generated during the journey. Also it will take most of the load during journey.

[Peter]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Thanks Peter and all else, heartening to hear that all of you think the trip is very doable.
Peter, slightly off topic, but just curious as to why we should maintain tyre pressure 2 psi more than recommended? From what I know, dont tyres heat up during extended highway driving and therefore shouldnt the pressure inside automatically increase due to heating of the air? If yes, isnt it better that one keeps the pressure lower rather than higher?

Hey Arindam,

Its always better to maintain a higher tyre pressure for highway driving as the tyres are subjected to higher speeds for longer durations on the highways unlike City driving.....also the higher tyre pressure prevents the tyre walls from flexing less then normal which further prevents the tyres from producing extra heat due to sidewall flexing...and we need to avoid that extra heat generation ...and this is one of the ways we can.

Cheers

Peter.

[filcord]

Yes, I second what peter says about tyre pressures. make sure that you are measuring pressures when the tyres are cold, i.e, after they have rested overnight. Keep them 2 psi above normal, soft tyres are the principal cause of tyre blow-outs on expressways. The constant flexing of a soft tyre causes stress to the rubber,generates heat which leads to tyre bursts.
On an 800 no problem from Bangalore to Goa. However since you should not make speeds higher then 90 kph, you will need an early start - leave by 5 am and you'll be downing a cold one in Goa by 6 pm! That too with plenty of stops.