Hopeless suspension in Indica

[akash_m]

Hi Guys! My due apologies to all the Indica owners out here, but this thing all of you must have noticed. Whenever I am behind an Indica, i always see the rear two wheels poking outwards from below, sometimes to an extent that looks as if the entire rim would come out. I ahve spoken to many of my Indica owner friends who say that Indica does have a major suspension problem.

The tyres seem to last only 20-25 k kms in an Indica... I think the terms like tow-in, tow-out, caster, camber are all not there in Indica's dictionary. The TATA guys have revamped the entire suspension system in an Indica but still it remains flawless only in initial months. Please correct me if I am wrong in saying all this..

[abhilash_iv]

I have driven an Indica for more than 80K kms, and my OEM tyres worn out around 40K kms only. The front suspensions where changed around 75K kms.

[ravibhat]

When I travelled in India ride was really good much better than my Swift. Only thing I agree about Indica is parts life time is less compared to other
premium cars but again indica is cheap to other cars as well

Ravi.

[Zappo]

Where did you get this info I do not know but you are generalizing something rare. In fact, that brings me to another issue. This issue has already been dealt with in the forum earlier. You should have done a search before opening the thread.

Having said that, I agree you would have seen this thing once in a while. However that is mostly seen in Indicabs. The reason is the kind of loading those vehicles are put up to. Over a period of time they suffer the "rickety legs syndrome". And if any other car were to be subjected to that kind of treatment (as those cabs) they will also meet the same fate. So it is nothing special really.

Now, about personal Indicas, I have two in my family with a combined experience of 6 years. The older one is now 4+ years old and crossed 45000kms. It has no such syndrome. In acquaintances we have Indicas that are more than 70000kms old. They have never shown this problem. Heck, our dear mod Tsk has one which will complete the 1lakh mark soon. That has never had this problem.

So you get the drift? If you load a car to the gills and then drive like a maniac over every pothole and crater then you can not expect a mint fresh car.

[akash_m]

well I guess Zappo is right that the rough use of Indicas as cabs might be the culprit..

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by akash_m

Hi Guys! My due apologies to all the Indica owners out here, but this thing all of you must have noticed. Whenever I am behind an Indica, i always see the rear two wheels poking outwards from below, sometimes to an extent that looks as if the entire rim would come out. I ahve spoken to many of my Indica owner friends who say that Indica does have a major suspension problem.

The tyres seem to last only 20-25 k kms in an Indica... I think the terms like tow-in, tow-out, caster, camber are all not there in Indica's dictionary. The TATA guys have revamped the entire suspension system in an Indica but still it remains flawless only in initial months. Please correct me if I am wrong in saying all this..

Hey Akash, from my personal experience I'd well and truly beg to differ from what you have written! My Indica's done almost 1 Lac Km and I have never faced any suspension related issues. I have had to change my set of tires (all 5 of them) only once until now, and maybe will need to after another 5K Km. Also the rear shocks been changed once at 80K Km. I think the car's been a real wallet friendly vehicle until now and (touch wood) would be in the future.

[wolfinstein]

So far so good @ 17,000 KM- Suspension is great !

Had to replaced Rear shocker arm just after delivery apparently the rubber bush was squeeking, so had it replaced.

Other than That...She holds well.

Could be the way the car is driven, Now a Taxi will have a different driver mindset and this can cause Premature wearing of parts and tyres. But surely not at the Reading you have said.

Next time we have a meet in Delhi, Do check the XETA out at 17,000 KM at least it should show 50 % Tyre wearout, if Your Collected Data is correct.

[kkr2k2]

We changed the OEM tyres at 57,000 km after 4 years on the odo. The tyre guys said the tread is good enough another 10,000 kms, but we were skeptical that the rubber might have become hard, and thats not advisable so changed the tyres.(though kept one the good tyres as the stepney)

raj.

[nikkibike]

Dude.... I too have noticed what you have mentioned about rear wheels of Indica! Well... But I have used an Indica for 3 yrs and never noticed 'that' thingy in my car!! Infact, I have wondered why mine doesn't have that trouble when many indicas on the road had the same problem. Also, my company fitted JK tornado's lasted for 45k and later MRF ZVTS lasted for 55+k!!! This is without a single job/replacement on suspension!!
I think you guys overload the car quite often!! I've seen 'that' problem mostly in taxi cabs!!

[1100D]

Many of the hire Indica's have their original tyres sold off and run on second hand used tyres (for obvious reasons).

However I have seen a Marina in our office (not a hire car) that has the inner tread completely gone on one of its rear wheels.

[2fast4u]

hi
i dont own an indica but i have seen the testing for an indica, safari at tatas done on Instron simulating machine.

the torture the vehicle is put to is what the indica would not get in 5 yrs of rough driving its quite extreme. also the suspension is so strong that on the simulating machine the rim got bent due to the g forces.

I dont know much about its tyre wear, suspension wear, ride quality but it is built quite tough for a hatch type.

[.anshuman]

i have a indica which has run more than 1,35,000kms and its still running stock suspension and is still running fine.Uneven tire wear has never been a issue,average tyre life at around 35-40K kms.