[krishnaprasadgg]

Congrats sirjokhi on the purchase and a wonderful thread, always glad to see the Thar getting down and dirty in the mud.

Now, I do have a question, I hope you could help. A friend was looking into getting a Thar for some time now. And we happened to look into a specific 2015 model Thar CRDE 4x4 model. It was not stock, had custom wheels with upsized beefy A/T tires on them. The car in itself was in good shape, clean and properly coated underbody and exhaust, smooth engine (cold start and progressive revs, did not drive the car), did a head to toe visual inspection ourselves but there was something that caught my eye, I am hoping if anybody could chip in.

I found these cuts on the thick metal plate with vertical cuts and bends in a very weird way just in front of the steering knuckle(I think this is the right term). This was the case on both sides, but the cuts are in no way uniform on both sides.

Location:



Now I have no idea why it is, also no idea if this came in from the factory like this or was done as part of a mod job because of getting bigger tires and possibly a slight lift(ride height did not seem stock). Either way seemed like a very haphazard type of job.

Attaching pictures for better reference.





Any inputs would be appreciated.

Cheers
Krishna

[samwagon]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Congrats sirjokhi on the purchase and a wonderful thread, always glad to see the Thar getting down and dirty in the mud.

Now, I do have a question, I hope you could help. A friend was looking into getting a Thar for some time now. And we happened to look into a specific 2015 model Thar CRDE 4x4 model. It was not stock, had custom wheels with upsized beefy A/T tires on them. The car in itself was in good shape, clean and properly coated underbody and exhaust, smooth engine (cold start and progressive revs, did not drive the car), did a head to toe visual inspection ourselves but there was something that caught my eye, I am hoping if anybody could chip in.

I found these cuts on the thick metal plate with vertical cuts and bends in a very weird way just in front of the steering knuckle(I think this is the right term). This was the case on both sides, but the cuts are in no way uniform on both sides.

Location:

Attachment 2006890

Now I have no idea why it is, also no idea if this came in from the factory like this or was done as part of a mod job because of getting bigger tires and possibly a slight lift(ride height did not seem stock). Either way seemed like a very haphazard type of job.

Attaching pictures for better reference.

Attachment 2006892

Attachment 2006891

Any inputs would be appreciated.

Cheers
Krishna

Dear Krishna,
These rubber flaps are fitted from the factory and are common to all generation of Thars and also to IFS Boleros. These are kind of a localized solution (from the factory) for the problem of fitting an independent suspension setup on a MM540 series body fenders originally designed for solid leaf sprung suspension. The metal fenders had to be cut to accommodate the movement of Independent suspension arms and the cut is covered up by these rubber flaps to prevent ingress of dirt and grit from the wheel well into the engine bay.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by samwagon

Dear Krishna,
The metal fenders had to be cut to accommodate the movement of Independent suspension arms and the cut is covered up by these rubber flaps to prevent ingress of dirt and grit from the wheel well into the engine bay.

Oh, Ok. Honestly, It did not feel like rubber at all. I tried to flex it a bit but was rock solid and very cold to the touch, you know like touching a metal bit.

Anyways, Thanks for the info

Cheers
Krishna

[sirjokhi]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Oh, Ok. Honestly, It did not feel like rubber at all. I tried to flex it a bit but was rock solid and very cold to the touch, you know like touching a metal bit.

Anyways, Thanks for the info

Cheers
Krishna

Hello Krishna, I don't have much info on your question but i feel the info provided by samwagon is correct. My car has the same flaps and your description of them being a bit on the harder side matches. So please don't worry about it as it is genuinely from the factory. Hope this helps.
Regards.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by sirjokhi

Hello Krishna, I don't have much info on your question but i feel the info provided by samwagon is correct. My car has the same flaps and your description of them being a bit on the harder side matches. So please don't worry about it as it is genuinely from the factory. Hope this helps.
Regards.

I appreciate the help. Thanks to both you and samwagon.

Once again. Wishing you many more happy miles with the Thar. And ofcourse do post more pics of future offroad drives you do.

Cheers
Krishna

[sirjokhi]

Hello to all,
After a long time, me and my buddies went for an adventure session. Nothing extreme but had a few good moments. One of my employees is aware of my obsession with off-roading as I often do some antics even when I'm on the site. So he asked me to join him and check out a place near his village on Friday which was around 40 mins drive away. I agreed excitedly and after reaching there, the scenic view and the mountains along with the weather at the time made me come back on the weekend for an adventure with my buddies. Only two cars were present.
We started it slow with nothing extreme. A small trail with a few rocks going up a hill. A bit of traction issue but nothing Thar couldn't handle and it climbed the trail without breaking a sweat. Then Yazadbhai (friend mentioned in the thread) asked me to climb a track with good inclination. This is where things got a little scary. While starting off I gathered a lot of momentum and both the front wheels were in the air. When they gained traction the car slid sideways and I didn't counter steer resulting in the car going almost sideways. It stopped at a rock thankfully with my front left tyre in the air. We had to winch the car up because anything we did was only making things worse. In the second attempt the same thing happened though not at the same level. The car just lost traction and i came down. I accepted defeat and yazadbhai climbed the same obstacle in my car easily. So it was definitely not the car. All me.

Next we followed a trail into the forest and boy was it worth it. It rained heavily for 15 mins making way for a muddy adventure. We crossed small streams. A lot of climbs on the way. Some rocky terrains and ofcourse me getting stuck again. This time in mud. I was strictly told by Yazadbhai that I had to get out of the situation myself and no winch would be available as backup. After numerous attempts I got through. Unfortunately don't have any pictures of the trail through forest as we were all just enjoying the moment. I will be attaching a few pics nonetheless. The wiper stopped working at an odd position and not going down manually either. The rear foot step is damaged and i observed a small dent in the diesel tank. Other than that it was a day filled with excitement and nervousness. Definitely worth it. I'm sure a lot of people are missing such freedom since lockdown. Boy, does it feel good.

[ralto]

Hi sirjokhi,
Wonderful machine there and you are making it do what it is meant for.

Few questions for you as I am on a similar path as yours.

Originally Posted by sirjokhi

2. Ordered Jti pro fender shock absorbers from Bimbra

How has been the on-road performance of the shock absorbers? Any significant improvements in ride quality? I do more touring than off-roading so looking for something which makes the ride a bit more compliant for the co-passenger.

Underbody Protection kit from Bimbra

How much change has it made to the ground clearance?

Thanks

[sirjokhi]

Originally Posted by ralto

Hi sirjokhi,
Wonderful machine there and you are making it do what it is meant for.

Few questions for you as I am on a similar path as yours.



How has been the on-road performance of the shock absorbers? Any significant improvements in ride quality? I do more touring than off-roading so looking for something which makes the ride a bit more compliant for the co-passenger.


How much change has it made to the ground clearance?

Thanks

Hi Ralto, thank you for your kind words. After changing the shocks, the ride is noticeably better but not what i would call comfortable. I think nothing you do can change this aspect of thar. But it’s better than before for sure. The underbody kit did reduce the ground clearance though not by much. It does usually hit big rocks while approaching but the quality is very good. And it takes damage and protects the vehicle properly.

Regards
Neil

[ralto]

Thanks for the feedback Neil.
Hopefully, I will be going ahead with these two upgrades sometime soon.
Cheers.