[x-o-b]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Just a few thoughts,
1. Volume of air is directly proportional to either the size of the particulate holes in the filter or the size of the filter itself. Considering that the BMC filter has to fit where the stock filter fits, the latter is void. Therefore the particulate hole size must be bigger to justify more air.

Not necessarily. The air discharge depends on air pressure, and that's the very idea behind "turbochargers". Picture a small orifice of an LPG barrel that discharges huge volume of gas at pressure, despite the small hole. The stock paper/foam filter is restrictive in nature. During the intake stroke, high suction pressure (vacuum) is created at the air filter. The AM filters are optimally designed (by using better filter materials, better molding, reinforcements, pleats, etc.) to be less restrictive, have more surface area, do not bend with suction pressure unlike paper/foam filters, etc., and hence for the same orifice size the volume of air that passes through is greater.

Gosh, I regret dropping out of high school early on in my life. Stupidity got onto me. Also, there was "life" and "circumstances" that ejected me out of schooling. I would have been better equipped to tackle your air-pressure-volume-physics otherwise.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Much reading on 4x4 forums in south africa and australia suggest that such filters are best avoided in dusty/offroad conditions...which is the entire surface area of India.

Are you sure you aren't confusing this with a CIA (Cold Air Intake)? It's related but an entirely different filter thing.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

This means I can buy 16 OEM filters for the price of one BMC.

Agreed, but I will look at it this way. Why would the AM filter cost 16 times the OEM filter? What justifies their pricing? I will let you dig deeper yourself from this perspective. It's a personal choice to either replace or clean the filter. I enjoy working on my vehicles myself, as I stated earlier - my vehicle has never seen an ASS or any other repairperson's hands since 2017. For me, the trouble of cleaning an air filter by myself balances out the trouble of getting to an automotive store/repairperson and swapping the filters.

At the end of the day, the question is about trade-offs and I admit that it's a highly debatable topic. Mind it, I haven't - yet - installed these expensive filters and I'm, like you, weighing in on the swap.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I thoroughly enjoyed your DIY over the last few posts. Looking forward to your drive report after the ECU update..initial feedback seems encouraging.

Thanks for you kind words. I will surely update the thread with my concise report later. Cheers

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by x-o-b

Not necessarily. The air discharge depends on air pressure, and that's the very idea behind "turbochargers". Picture a small orifice of an LPG barrel that discharges huge volume of gas at pressure, despite the small hole.

Thanks for you kind words. I will surely update the thread with my concise report later. Cheers

You could also look at a made in India option: schorl.in

Texting them on WhatsApp, and they will offer to make one custom for your Thar at retail price.

[x-o-b]

Last evening, I took my Thar out for an unforgiving drive of about 100 kilometers. The trip included short bursts of metalled road, narrow single lane switchbacks mostly, fraught with potholes. The max speed was about 80 kmph in the whole trip. The average speed could be around 35 kmph. It included about 500 meters (both ways) of extreme off road track with a hairpin bend of more than 50 degrees slope at one section of about 60 meters length. Another short (10 meters) was total slushy red mud swamp-like road where the wheel sunk until the leaf spring U-Bolts. Driving past this section was the most perilous, since the slushy red mud provided zero traction to my brand new AT tyres and the section was very narrow with about 3 feet margin for error - spinning the wheels recklessly here meant I could easily slip off the edge and fall down into the gorge several feet deep to be discovered only next morning, if lucky, by a local shepherd. I wish I should have taken pictures but it was dark and I was driving alone. The rest was the usual hilly track - which is to say - it was like all other roads here - skeletal remains of a bullock-cart path left to rot after leeching and sucking off at the bone-marrow level by our honorable and highly admirable politicians.

I will try to cover as much ground as possible whilst keeping this post as concise as possible.

To refresh our memory, I had the following carried out on my 2017 F/L Thar CRDe:-

1. Stage 1 ECU remap
2. EGR Delete using a blanking plate at the intake manifold
3. PCV System cleaning
4. Air Mass Sensor cleaning

In addition, I had the brake cylinders changed to the correct 25.4 mm bore sized ones (the existing ones were of smaller bore size). I also had the LSPV replaced with a brand new one and the whole brake system flushed by fresh new DOT 3 oil (Had initially decided to use DOT 4 which, although has a higher boiling point, is more hygroscopic and has borate that may damage "some" rubber seals - hence fell back to DOT 3).

There has been "very noticeable" performance improvements after the remap and egr delete:-

1. The engine cranks in less than a second, even when cold and when the measured battery voltage is just about 12.2 Volts (yes, my battery needs maintenance, and I will get to that in a few days)
2. The throttle response is very nice, and the turbo kicks in at around 1800 RPM with a great blip.
3. The vehicle now yearns to simply wade through thick and thin tracks with ease. At places, on 2nd gear in particular, the vehicle simply pulled away without any throttle action.
4. The low end torque has definitely improved (it is so very noticeable) by a significant margin.
5. Overtaking felt effortless now, and was actually scary at times. I realize why a brake upgrade is "sold" after the remap. This is due to the fact that the vehicle sometimes gives you the feeling that perhaps it may have become "unstoppable". The stock brakes, however, felt adequate for me.
6. Overall, I am glad that I bit the bullet and did the remap. It definitely justifies the premium pricing attached to it.

Next up, I strive to improve the ride quality on this beast so that it becomes - sort of - a complete vehicle for me. I seek that last satisfaction.

Some homework on the subject made me think about installing "comfort shackles" aka "G-Shackles" aka "double shackles" aka "Janniah Leaf Springs". Neither custom/composite leaf springs nor custom shock absorbers impressed me much.

The "physics" of the comfort shackles appeased me. Check out the following video to see it in action, and it made sense to me. However, I request you all to point out the "cons" which I may have missed about these. Thanks so very much for reading this far.

https://youtu.be/t4hqp0XO0CQ?t=8

[Red Liner]

Which AT tyres and size did you drop onto the Thar?

I was evaluating jannaih leaf springs aa well. Reviews on this forum say only good things. In the meantime, I added a small load of sandbags over the rear axle. Vast improvement in ride. I will increase that weight further and observe.

Jannaih leaf springs are 20k and shipped out of Hyderabad.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by x-o-b

.
The "physics" of the comfort shackles appeased me. Check out the following video to see it in action, and it made sense to me. However, I request you all to point out the "cons" which I may have missed about these. Thanks so very much for reading this far.

CRDe is easily beaten by a Bajaj RE in the comfort department but that's something to be expected

Rear end does not have anti roll bars or Panhard rod etc, the entire thing sits on the shackles and the leafsprings. Any sort of 'give' in the shackles/bushes will be felt on the steering.

Since you have put the vehicle in 'Sport+' mode by hacking the ECU, any kind of softening of rear end will result in unpleasant steering behavior as you accelerate.

You will certain do as you please but now you know what you are getting into.

PS : Bolero XL has anti roll bars in the back. If you soften the rear end of CRDe, you will have to install those here as well.

[Red Liner]

Here is a long discussion on comfort shackles: https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...mfort-shackles

Bluegarage sells one for the Isuzu
https://bluegarage.in/Automobile-Sto...lift)?PId=1537

And bonus

https://youtu.be/CHLIsS2L31A?si=3JuDOqpAd63bnbSY

[DirtyDan]

I have put a lot of 500 kilometer days on my Thar. Yeah, one part of my anatomy complained a bit....but it's doable. I would be inclined to put in new seats, e.g. out of a Fortuner, Innova or other up-market wreck and/or install plushly padded seat covers, before I would try these shackles,
shackles that look like they may catch big rocks or hang up on ruts and holes. Of course, you could do both.

There are other answers, too. Some have stacked packs of springs vertically so as to telescope into each other as they are compressed. They made great, great claims for ride improvement...I am skeptical until shown first hand proof.

[x-o-b]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Which AT tyres and size did you drop onto the Thar?

Bridgestone Dueler AT002 235/70 R16

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Jannaih leaf springs are 20k and shipped out of Hyderabad.

Do you have their contact number?

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

There are other answers, too. Some have stacked packs of springs vertically so as to telescope into each other as they are compressed. They made great, great claims for ride improvement...I am skeptical until shown first hand proof.

Interesting. Would you by chance have dealer details for these?

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Rear end does not have anti roll bars or Panhard rod etc, the entire thing sits on the shackles and the leafsprings. Any sort of 'give' in the shackles/bushes will be felt on the steering.

Exactly. The bumpy ride has gotten in my nerves now. Even a slow glide over a pothole feels like riding a see-saw. This lack-of-comfort really needs to be addressed.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Bolero XL has anti roll bars in the back

Will the Bolero XL's rear stabilizer bar fit on our Thar CRDe?

Guys, you may remember that this Thar of mine is a fairly new acquisition and post ECU remap and other tweaks, I am in love with what it is now capable of both on-road and off-road.

I am thinking of the double-shackle setup with a pair of "good" rear shocks and a rear stabilizer bar. What do you guys think?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by x-o-b

Bridgestone Dueler AT002 235/70 R16



Do you have their contact number?


Interesting. Would you by chance have dealer details for these?


Exactly. The bumpy ride has gotten in my nerves now. Even a slow glide over a pothole feels like riding a see-saw. This lack-of-comfort really needs to be addressed.



What do you guys think?

Re tyres Why didn't you upsize a bit? Did something stop you?

Mars enterprises: Prabhu +91 98669 94455

I was driving around with about 40 kgs of gravel stacked in the back. Ride had improved a bit. I doubled that to 80kgs and with the addition of tools, camping chairs, and other knick knacks, the weight is likely a bit over 100kgs now. Short drive in the city and the expansion joints on flyovers no long unsettle the Thar like they used to (jiggly wiggly if you know what I mean). Also seated inside, I can distinctly feel a rear ward bias in weight, like the rear has squatted a bit and the front shock absorbers have released a trifle. Tyres are 28 psi and that is the RIGHT pressure for this Thar.

A longish drive out to a trail is due, but after excessive reading on this topic online bordering on lunacy, I think this might be the ticket.

Many thanks to this thread and the other on making the thar more comfortable, sometimes the fixes can be very simple and genius.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Tyres are 28 psi and that is the RIGHT pressure for this Thar.

I have experienced that going below 32psi makes the handling woolly and boat like. At 32psi, you can do double lane changes with full confidence at speeds of 80+ kmph.
But that's my observation. Mine is stock size on stock rims with Geolander ATs.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I have experienced that going below 32psi makes the handling woolly and boat like. At 32psi, you can do double lane changes with full confidence at speeds of 80+ kmph.
But that's my observation. Mine is stock size on stock rims with Geolander ATs.

This is true , best handling is with 34 psi and the ride is firm but manageable. I tried a few other make tyres and then went back to D689 which I felt had the best balance of all qualities needed for that vehicle.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I have experienced that going below 32psi makes the handling woolly and boat like. At 32psi, you can do double lane changes with full confidence at speeds of 80+ kmph.
But that's my observation. Mine is stock size on stock rims with Geolander ATs.

I am on stock alloys with stock tyres...and I have no such problems! Have done a LOT of highway miles now at different pressures (started at 32/33 and gradually reduced every trip) to also understand economy numbers. Approx 6000 kms on my watch. Tyre tread seems good.

At 32 psi I felt the ride very very harsh amd with the rear hopping like a pogo stick over every little bump it was getting ridiculous. I had no intention of continuing this way.

28 psi gives me great driveability and comfort. Now with this ballast added I am way more confident with quick lane changes. Ballast makes a significant difference. Economy remains between 10-12 kmpl across mixed usage.

This may be a very personal thing too... I dialled things down to the way I drive and I couldn't be happier.
Ps: I range between 80 and 100 on the highway depending on the enforced speed limits. I also drive this jeep like a jeep and not like a car, maybe that helps too.