[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Bump-Stop

"Iceberg" after some upgrades - enjoying her new winch and bumper...

Still such a damn good looking Jeep eh?
I ve always loved the Gypsy. I guess I always will.

[petrolhead_neel]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Friends, I have recently joined Team BHP. I`m enclosing a few pictures of my newly acquired 2016 Gypsy King HT.

These pictures were taken a couple of months ago at the time of taking delivery & a couple shortly after that. I have a few upgrades planned & will post the pictures when these upgrades are complete during my next trip to India.

Welcome on board. Have a nice stay.

Congrats on the Gypsy! Please share some details like waiting period, OTR price, color choice etc. And please, please do consider writing a detailed ownership report. That'd help a LOT of BHPians and guests tremendously.

After all, it's not everyday that someone buys a *new* Gypsy.

Neel

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

Welcome on board. Have a nice stay.

Congrats on the Gypsy! Please share some details like waiting period, OTR price, color choice etc. And please, please do consider writing a detailed ownership report. That'd help a LOT of BHPians and guests tremendously.

After all, it's not everyday that someone buys a *new* Gypsy.

Neel

Thank you Neel.

I had called up a number of dealerships in Chandigarh, Delhi & Gurgaon around December 2015 & was told that the waiting time ranged from 6 to 9 months.

I paid Rs. 6,35,000 ex showroom & by the time I was done with registration, road tax & insurance the total amount was approx. Rs. 6,98,000. I believe the HT version is now priced at Rs. 6,56,000 after the price hike post 2016 budget. I did not explore the option of other colours as I wanted white (as there's a 9 month waiting period I know a lot of folks would settle for any colour as long as they can lay their hands on one though red, dark blue & silver colours are offered however I have personally never seen a silver Gypsy).

I barely had a chance to drive the vehicle for 250 odd kilometers & by that time my vacation ended & had to fly home. I want to put together a detailed ownership document however I believe that in order for me to do justice to it I would need to put in at least a couple of thousand kilometers on the clock and for that I will have to wait for my next trip back home.

I have a long history behind my desire to own a brand new Gypsy; please take a few minutes to go through my post under "4X4 Vehicles" thread. I hope you'll find it somewhat interesting & may even find some sentiments that resonate with yourself as well.

Take care.

[Bump-Stop]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Still such a damn good looking Jeep eh?
I ve always loved the Gypsy. I guess I always will.

Many thanks for the compliment Mr. Balan...indeed I do think each and every one of our rides hold a special place in our hearts....

Brgds
Ronnie

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Friends, I have recently joined Team BHP. I`m enclosing a few pictures of my newly acquired 2016 Gypsy King HT.

These pictures were taken a couple of months ago at the time of taking delivery & a couple shortly after that. I have a few upgrades planned & will post the pictures when these upgrades are complete during my next trip to India.

Congrats! Enjoy your new Gypsy

[shreedharan]

Vikram, awesome man. We both took delivery of our New Gypsy King, on the same day. 14.1.2016. Congrats.

Please post on upgrades planned. I have installed fog lamps and an additional horn. Installed side footsteps only on Saturday. Need rear footsteps. (anyone in Bangalore can help me on this?)

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by shreedharan

Vikram, awesome man. We both took delivery of our New Gypsy King, on the same day. 14.1.2016

Congrats Shreedharan! Please post some pics of your new toy!

[shreedharan]

Thanks Cool_dube. Will take a few pics & post. I know it's pending for quite sometime, but will do this week.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by shreedharan

Vikram, awesome man. We both took delivery of our New Gypsy King, on the same day. 14.1.2016. Congrats.

Please post on upgrades planned. I have installed fog lamps and an additional horn. Installed side footsteps only on Saturday. Need rear footsteps. (anyone in Bangalore can help me on this?)

Thank you Shreedharan & many congratulations to you as well; it is a pleasant coincidence indeed.

I have planned following upgrades:

1. AISIN free wheel hubs FHS -002 (New not reconditioned)
2. Dual Surface (Ceramic) Replacement Clutch kit (to be done around 30,000 kms mark)
3. Yokohama Geolanders A/T-S 215/75 R15 (Completed)
4. An upgraded alternator (make/amperage not yet decided)
5. ARB differential locks (having second thoughts on this)
6. NGK ignition wire set (SE 76)
7. NGK Iridium spark plugs (BKR6EIX)
8. Hella Twin Supertone horn
9. Closed lug & lock nuts
10. Auxiliary lights
a. IPF 968 (Windshield mount)
b. Hella Rallye 3000 Blue (Bumper mount)
11. Better quality door mounted rear view mirrors

I would like to mention here one thing about the tires though as I have replaced the stock MRF F78-15-4 PR cross ply tires with Yokohama Geolanders 215/75 R15 (OD – 27.9”). The correct up-size would have been a 215/70 R15 (OD – 26.9”) as that would have helped in keeping the overall rolling diameter of the replacement tire within 2.5% of the OD of the stock tires (26.5”) which is recommended tolerance but unfortunately this tire size is not offered by Yokohama in India.

Thanks & take care.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

1. AISIN free wheel hubs FHS -002 (New not reconditioned)

11. Better quality door mounted rear view mirrors

I would like to mention here one thing about the tires though as I have replaced the stock MRF F78-15-4 PR cross ply tires with Yokohama Geolanders 215/75 R15 (OD – 27.9”). The correct up-size would have been a 215/70 R15 (OD – 26.9”) as that would have helped in keeping the overall rolling diameter of the replacement tire within 2.5% of the OD of the stock tires (26.5”) which is recommended tolerance but unfortunately this tire size is not offered by Yokohama in India.

Thanks & take care.

The only modification I did on my new Gypsy bought in 2009 was the yoko tyres - the Geolandars are excellent tyres and last for a long time - being made in Japan may be helping.

I used the Bolero mirrors and got rid of the stock single that is very inadequate.

Why do you want to install the free wheel hubs? I see that an extra complication over stock and another step to get down from the car and lock them if you want to move to 4x4.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

The only modification I did on my new Gypsy bought in 2009 was the yoko tyres - the Geolandars are excellent tyres and last for a long time - being made in Japan may be helping.

I used the Bolero mirrors and got rid of the stock single that is very inadequate.

Why do you want to install the free wheel hubs? I see that an extra complication over stock and another step to get down from the car and lock them if you want to move to 4x4.

Sawyer, that is precisely the reason that I want to install the manual locking hubs as I would be using the 4 wheel drive very sparingly. I don’t want to cause unnecessary wear on my crown, pinion & front drive shafts.

Disengaging the front hubs also improves fuel efficiency as the front drive line components do not cause unnecessary drag on the rest of the drive train. Most of the SUVs that employ a part time 4 wheel drive system have a centre differential that allows the driver to disengage the front driveline; Gypsy on the other hand has the front driveline permanent engaged that results in unnecessary component wear.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Disengaging the front hubs also improves fuel efficiency as the front drive line components do not cause unnecessary drag on the rest of the drive train. Most of the SUVs that employ a part time 4 wheel drive system have a centre differential that allows the driver to disengage the front driveline; Gypsy on the other hand has the front driveline permanent engaged that results in unnecessary component wear.

I am not sure that this is a big issue in the Gypsy when it is being used in 2W mode. I have a sense that people install these because it is the cool thing to do.

I get the standard 12 km/litre on highway driving, I am not sure how much the engaged hubs are using. After all, the front wheels are disconnected upstream of the hubs in 2W mode; they have to be, for the engine drive not to be connected to them. And after 25000 kms I am seeing no perceived related component wear. Based on this, I am not sure the addition is value for money.

And you want to be sure that installing after market adds isn't affecting long term reliability at all; I take your point that since you don't see much 4x4 use so the question of having to get down from the car every time you want to switch to 4x4 isn't a big deal.

[Sawyer]

On free wheeling hubs see:
http://pitstop.oncourse4wd.com/2004/...wheeling-hubs/

And a quote from this:
"In theory, when you have the hubs in the free position and the vehicle in 2wd, it takes less force to move the vehicle over the ground. This is because the front wheels are only being pushed around and not the rest of the front half of the drive train. Also, in theory, you are supposed to get less tyre wear because you are decreasing the drag on the front wheels and decreased wear on the moving parts in the front drive train.
In practice then, through my experience, it doesn’t really make a lot of difference. In fact, if you read through the manufacturer’s handbook they will tell you to engage it to the lock position and drive the vehicle around. This should be done every month to ensure adequate splash lubrication to the moving parts to ensure that they do not wear out prematurely!"

You will probably find contrary advice also on the net if you look for it!

My philosophy in such matters is KISS - Keep It Simple, -). And in this case, simple means not adding anything to the stock car unless it is clearly a benefit.

YMMV.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I am not sure that this is a big issue in the Gypsy when it is being used in 2W mode. I have a sense that people install these because it is the cool thing to do.

I get the standard 12 km/litre on highway driving, I am not sure how much the engaged hubs are using. After all, the front wheels are disconnected upstream of the hubs in 2W mode; they have to be, for the engine drive not to be connected to them. And after 25000 kms I am seeing no perceived related component wear. Based on this, I am not sure the addition is value for money.

And you want to be sure that installing after market adds isn't affecting long term reliability at all; I take your point that since you don't see much 4x4 use so the question of having to get down from the car every time you want to switch to 4x4 isn't a big deal.

Thanks for your input Sawyer.

You’re right; yes the front wheels are disengaged in 2WD mode but the front drive shafts, crown & pinion of the front differential are constantly moving as the front hubs are permanently locked (front wheels are driving all these components).

While I agree with your KISS theory (you must have noticed that there are no unnecessary add ons but only enhanced replacements in my list of planned upgrades; I have decided not to install the ARB lockers for now) I do believe manual locking hubs will be beneficial in the long term. You’re also quite correct in that the incremental fuel efficiency benefit might be miniscule however I believe that componentry will see wear in the long term in addition to a lighter steering effort and less wear on steering rack as well.

You might recall that Maruti used to offer these hubs as standard till a few years ago & discontinued these thereafter on account of either cost considerations or realised the fact that 99% of Gypsys never leave pavement & thereby never see these hubs being used (it is quite likely that some owners were actually driving on the pavement with the hubs in semi-locked position thereby causing damage inadvertently). It is almost akin to manufacturers not offering a full size spare tire but a donut for most of the cars on sale today out here in North America using the logic that spare tires are seldom used however in the 4X4 world that is sacrilege.

The hubs I plan on installing are made by AISIN & are made in Japan; AISIN was the same OEM that supplied manual locking hubs to Maruti/Suzuki for Gypsy/Samurai till these were discontinued a few years ago. I’m a Mechanical Engineer & do not always rely on internet advice but go by what is corroborated by hard empirical/scientific evidence. It is like using API SF/SH spec mineral engine oil that I see being peddled in the Indian market (in this day & age when the current API spec is SN) or an inferior replacement part; of course you will not see a catastrophic failure immediately/in the short term but the life of the concerned applications will get impacted in the long term. To a majority of end users this will not be an issue as they will consider it as a result of routine wear & tear. I intend to keep the Gypsy for a long time & will walk an extra mile to make sure that it is preserved in a good shape.

[antihero]

No mods just a plain jane 20 year old 1996 MG410W in its natural habitat.

[ankan]

Originally Posted by Bump-Stop

"Iceberg" after some upgrades - enjoying her new winch and bumper...

You have a very handsome gypsy! I am also looking for a good hard top gypsy. If you know of any good gypsy's for sale around Guwahati please forward the same to me. Thanks