[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by condor

Each one I have checked out has been better than the previous one. But not there yet.

Pal. You will never know what a ‘good’ gypsy is like until you drive a clean bone stock example with genuine low mileage on it.
Believe me, your whole perspective will change, as will the bar you have set for yourself.
And I speak with authority on this, since my present Gypsy is the 5th one I ve owned in the last 25 years.

[condor]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Pal. You will never know what a ‘good’ gypsy is like until you drive a clean bone stock example with genuine low mileage on it.

Of course, Shankar - will definitely come, and soon. Looking at the bad/not-so-good ones helps one appreciate the good one. But need to drive a good one to know what a good one is like.

Btw, another one checked today, and rejected too. The search has to be done, there are no short-cuts.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by condor

As FFE on it, plus AC & a celerio PS unit installed..

In my humble opinion FFE etc is over the top. It makes too loud a noise. Irritating and disturbing to animals, children and elders. And honestly its a bit ‘wannabe’.

A better thing is to do if you want a mild ‘Executive Growl’ to your exhaust, is what I did to my previous Green Gypsy which is now sitting with Bibendum.
Put a K&N conical air filter with a nice stainless steel intake pipe. Nothing visible outside. And make some changes to the exhaust pipe and the half end can and its core and resonators and you will achieve a light growl. Then have the exhaust pipe come out from the side of the vehicle just before the rear wheel. This makes it less prone to damage while off roading and all.

[condor]

Shankar, good to meet you again - and thanks so much for letting me drive your beautiful Gypsy. Just got home and was looking at the ads again - now most of these are looking like over-priced pieces of near-junk. Looks like it's going to be a long search.

You spoilt my search

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by condor

Shankar, good to meet you again - l:

Great to catch up again for sure!
In rhe Gypsy world, there is nothing quite like a brand new factory spec ex showroom one, or if that isn't possible, then the only other alternative is a bone stock civilian, low mileage, lightly used one.
I guess this goes for any vehicle.

[shankar.balan]

Small and essential add on for any Gypsy. A pair of good quality Hella Comet 500 FF Foglamps.
Cleanly and competently installed at a local auto accessories shop with the out of the box relay, earthing and internal switch. Just two holes drllled in the metal bumper and the clamps bolted on strongly.
And then a good solid car wash to get the Gypsy nice and clean. Other than these foglamps, I have only added on the mild steel fuel tank guard.

[SJ410]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Small and essential add on for any Gypsy. A pair of good quality Hella Comet 500 FF Foglamps.
.

The military versions come with factory fitted lamps which are much smaller and fitted closer to the edges. Are these adequate?

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by SJ410

The military versions come with factory fitted lamps which are much smaller and fitted closer to the edges. Are these adequate?

I decided to mount two large 140 watt Australian "Light Force" lights from Bimbra, Gurgaon. I am careful to point them slightly to the left and out of the eyes of on-coming traffic. I turn them off all together if a vehicle comes. They are for use in the mountains at night.

Nothing really helps you see thru fog, NOTHING! But these truly light up a clear black night in the boonies. If you just want to be seen by others e.g. in fog, or as daylight running lights, then smaller good quality lights will help, and LEDs will be okay for that IMHO and they are easier on your electrical system than my big ones.

[SJ410]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

I decided to mount two large 140 watt Australian "Light Force" lights from Bimbra, Gurgaon. I am careful to point them slightly to the left and out of the eyes of on-coming traffic. I turn them off all together if a vehicle comes. They are for use in the mountains at night.

Nothing really helps you see thru fog, NOTHING! But these truly light up a clear black night in the boonies. If you just want to be seen by others e.g. in fog, or as daylight running lights, then smaller good quality lights will help, and LEDs will be okay for that IMHO and they are easier on your electrical system than my big ones.

Wow! 140W is massive. I used to use 120W bulbs in my enfield and the throw of that was amazing on dark roads. Truck drivers would flash when on high beam. I changed that to the regular 65W ones as it was heavy on the electricals and mechanics were not sure what to do when there was a problem.

I was posted in Assam for 2 years and the fog is thick and suddenly comes down on you. Lights were useless and the safest thing to do was to switch on the blinkers to get noticed.

When does one need extra head lamps on a vehicle? I remember doing a night drive in heavy rain on Chorla Ghat in the gypsy. Visibility was very poor and the existing headlights just about lighted the road ahead. Not sure if extra head lamps would add significantly higher value. Maybe headlamps mounted on the bonnet at arms length from the driver and co-passengers side would be more useful.

[condor]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

I am careful to point them slightly to the left and out of the eyes of on-coming traffic..

Good point ! Thank you.

Originally Posted by SJ410

Not sure if extra head lamps would add significantly higher value. .

Doubtful, IMO. Just like the moisture droplets in fog can disperse regular light, so would rain drops absorb, deflect and disperse any light falling on them. Guess you would have had a brighter near area with those extra lights, but not much effective/useable light further away.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by SJ410

... the safest thing to do was to switch on the blinkers to get noticed.

When does one need extra head lamps on a vehicle? ... Maybe headlamps mounted on the bonnet at arms length from the driver and co-passengers side would be more useful.

Yeah, blinkers get people's attention. As Condor said, fog dissipates light and it doesn't matter much what color you try, e.g. yellow lights don't cut fog any better than normal lights. They just look cool.
And, if you up the wattage, fog will dissipate that, too, pretty much.

It also depends on where you mount them. If you mount them low, you might many times get more benefit because there often is less fog close to the ground. You may also cause more shadow from holes and rocks, making those more visible. But, if you do that, then you risk damaging your lights by hitting low obstacles, cows, mother-in-laws, speed bumps and such like.

I would not buy big ones like I have again. They aren't that useful.

Auxilliary lights do help you to be seen by others, though, and given the ability of the average Indian white board driver, that's not a small thing.

When I come to a particularly black, nasty patch of mountain road, I switch my big lights on to make sure of whats in front of me. Once assured, I turn them off again. I rarely have them on for more than 6 seconds. There is no need. I tend to keep them off. It cuts down on the UFO reports.

[SnakemanJohny]

Originally Posted by SJ410

Secondly, does the position of the fog lamps affect the ram cooling for the vehicle? You may not face this problem but I stay in Chennai and use the gypsy as a daily drive. In traffic the engine heats up and cools down by the ram effect of driving on a relatively open road.

Not much, I would say, as it is not pure ram cooling, but the fan also pulls air from behind the radiator. Gypsy engines are prone to overheating at slow speeds, on city roads.

When I complained to Daga Autolec, Chowringhee Road, Calcutta (who had fitted the AC on my MG413W ) about overheating, the proprietor pointed to the two flood lamps, one spot, and two fog lamps I had on the lightbar in front of the radiator grill. So I removed them all and drove for some days, but there was no difference.
I reinstalled the lights, and now keep a close eye on the gauge inside the city, but it rarely goes above the halfway mark.

[condor]

Originally Posted by SnakemanJohny

. Gypsy engines are prone to overheating at slow speeds, on city roads.

Noob question: how does the engine behave in such situations, and what does one do when it happens ?

[SJ410]

Originally Posted by SnakemanJohny

Not much, I would say, as it is not pure ram cooling, but the fan also pulls air from behind the radiator. Gypsy engines are prone to overheating at slow speeds, on city roads..

I have installed an electric fan in front of the radiator which helps to cool the engine to a great degree. The temperature gauge does not go higher than the 25% mark with the ac on. The fan fits in very snugly.

Originally Posted by condor

Noob question: how does the engine behave in such situations, and what does one do when it happens ?

I have not allowed the engine to over heat so far. Maximum heat the engine has reached is about 75% of the maximum mark. This generally happens in slow moving traffic so change in engine behaviour is not discernible.

This is apparently an 'accepted' feature as the metal plates under the gear stick and the handbrake come factory clad with some heat resistant material. The hand brake does get warm when the engine heats up and that is a signal for me in case the temperature gauge malfunctions.

A small electric fan in front of the radiator helps to cool the engine in traffic. Prior to installing this I used to use the 'heater' function in the Gypsy which diverts engine heat into the cabin. It does help to reduce the temperature by probably creating a flow inside the engine bay. More useful in cooler climes and definitely not advisable in Chennai!

[condor]

Had my first proper (city + semi-city) drive in a Gypsy yesterday. Coming from a Storme, it was pretty easy to get used to, though still trying to used to the clutch behaviour of the petrol engine.

One nice thing I noticed was that when driving thru water, the water splashes outside. It's a boon since windows are open, and hence this water doesnt come inside on to the driver/passenger. (Tyres were 215/75/15).

For a vehicle that's not really big, it seems to have a deceptively bigger turning radius. Did not get the courage to do a full turn and instead opted for a 3-pointer.

One query: The left side is a big blind spot in a hardtop. How does one manage that ?