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Thanks madhuperiasamy. A seperate thread will be great if you could give more frequent updates. We could leave this as generic and the owner ship thread for information very specific to your buses.

New recipe engines are with increased oil change intervals.
For brakes do check for following:
- How is the brake drum heating - Normal / abnormal?
- Is the braking linear or gets reduced after few trips?If there is abnormal heating, look for brake binding.
- are you planning for tubeless tyres? If so this can to an extent reduce the brake drum heating and eventually giving better braking.
- If nothing seems to be ok, then you should go still deeper, looking at the brake chamber. Plz note wider brake lining(I guess this is 8" at front and rear) will not solve until other wise its getting correct pressure from brake chamber to brake.

Issue is while sudden braking, drivers feel that it takes time to respond.
Tyres were changed to tubeless as soon as the bus was deployed in the route. Photo attached for your reference, Photo Courtesy: Dhandapani.

Also, now the bus is equipped with fuel flow meter DFM to monitor fuel consumption along with vehicle tracking system. Now we are able to track the vehicle online with information such as actual fuel consumption, vehicle running time, etc.
I think Dr. Madhu is the first bus operator (atleast in our district) to try this monitoring system, will post the actual unit pictures later.

Couple of pictures showing the DFM installed.

Dear Madhu/ Vikram

Couple of queries about the unit.

How expensive is the DFM unit? is it practical enough for all operators to use this as a standard equipment?
Is this a non contact type meter ?
Do you get to see real time data in a remote location via a gsm/ cdma enabled transmission from the DFM or is it that you can see the readings physically on the vehicle at the end of the day.?
Is the driver aware of the same and is it possible for him to tamper with the same?

btw Ashley's observation is right on the higher drain intervals. Pls check your manuals for all buses on oil specs whether it is CI 4 + or CH 4. Also in semi Moffusil conditions, like your bus where it is a mix of city plus highway the drain interval may be slightly less than that of highway trucks due to idling/ slow movement. If at all you want to avoid confusion between the oils, standardize on CI 4 + as it is much superior to CH 4

.

Initial cost is approximate Rs 32,000 (along with Tracking system). It should be practical and a welcome addition for all operators if standardized and that would bring down the price.

I'm not sure what a contact meter is, you will have to give me more information on that.

Yes, we get to see the real time data (changes every 10 or 15 seconds) through a GSM unit and it is stored as well for future reference on the website.

We are considering installing a screen for the driver to know the consumption and mileage in real time. Low tech tampering has not been tried upto now but will keep you informed if any attempt is made.:)

Yes we had already zeroed in on CI 4 grade oil and I have posted that report on the forum

Thanks Ashley2,
There was a complaint of Brake grab earlier to the extent of spotting my tires. The fault was with a quick release valve which has since been corrected.
How do I find out if the pressure from the brake chamber to the brake is sufficient? All others have been checked but no particular fault has been found.
As said by vikram the problem is only during sudden braking when the drivers feel that it is not enough and that the vehicle keeps moving despite your best effort. Could it have anything to do with the linings? Another operator who faced a similar problem told me that it was corrected by changing the Dual Brake valve.

Dear Madhu /Vikram

Sorry for the query again. Is this part of any telematics unit which you have installed? or a unit from some standalone supplier?
A normal telematics unit is also likely to have GPS and gives many more other parameters real time to the fleet owner like the Fuel Consumption, Avg speed etc. Since you had not mentioned GPS in specificity, i had this stupid doubt.

Would you mind sharing the make of the equipment and where it is available so that this can be recommended to others as it will be a boon to many bus owners.

Yes this is part of a telematics unit as you call it. It has a GPS tracker which logs the route, speed, stops, rpm, and any other parameter from the dash. These standalone supplier units however need to be caliberated. These units can also be connected to the CAN Bus in the newer models and remotely monitor all parameters.
We would love to share the contact of the installer of this unit but beg some time to check for any issues before we recommend the same to others.

Since this happens during running, better check the complete system.
- Excess clearance between drum and lining.
-Glazed lining / drum
- Push rod fork standout
-Diaphram leakage
-Slack adjuster slip
-sticky operation of dual brake valve.

any issues in any of these can bring this problem.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...ml#post2396120
Spotted these 2 nos Unregistered ACGL built TATA Starbus ULF buses of Bird Worldwide Flight Services (BWFS) at CIAL Nedumbassery working for SpiceJet[SG] ground handling services while waiting for my DXB Flight.
The buses had TATA's KA Dealer PRERANA logo. These are 12m variants.




The ACGL built Starbus used in other airports are the SLF variants and they are sub 11m, this one is ULE

My bus after dropping me near my flight SG-17

An older TATA Starbus sub 11m SLF of Jet Airways

They are not ULF, might be ULE. But this is the first time I am seeing a ACGL built ULE. The only ULF available in India as on today will be AL - Avion.

These SLF are very rare RE - two step entry buses. This type of buses are completely cannibalised by FE SLF, after their introduction.

Me too seeing ACGL built 12m buses for the first time.
This was the exact seating layout in the bus.

TATA website shows the diesel airport tarmac buses with Marcopolo body, 245hp, BS4, ALLISON AT and I was surprised to see an ACGL one. I don't recollect whether the Transmission was auto/manual. Is this built on a BS3 model 1618c or 1624c?
A similar bus was posted earlier by Transsenger

Are you sure of the variant (CNG or Diesel)?
In case of Diesel, there are chances for it being some older stock.
If it's CNG powered, then it's the same mentioned in their website.

Yes Its a diesel one, you can note that the CNG tanks are absent in all the 3 buses. Here are some pics of the old ACGL built DIESEL and CNG Starbus ULF/ LF buses.
1. Starbus CNG ULF AC Tarmac Coach [LPO1623]

2. DTC Starbus ULF CNG Non Ac



3. BEST Starbus ULF Diesel Non AC[12m]



4. TMT Starbus LF Non Ac [LPO1610/11.2m]


Moreover the CNG buses mentioned in their website are LPO 1623 BS III/BS IV CNG with ALLISON's AT- here also ACGL built bus is shown and layout diagram is given for Marcopolo built one.

ULE does'nt come with Manual and it should be only AT

I think the bus spotted by Transsenger and the running are one and the same.