[i74js]

Originally Posted by kshivaa

hi,

The owner's manual for Swift VDI and the Thar CRDe state 1 minute of idling time before turning off the engine, as well as before pressing the throttle after turning on the engine. so the idling is a must. Surely your VW manual should have the idle time for your vehicle...

regards
Siva

Does this mean no switching off of diesel motors at stop signals !!! This goes against the PCRA advertisements and general awareness drive of oil companies wherein it is advised to switch off at stop lights and the duration of halts at signals is almost equal to the idling time required in the manuals as discussed here in the forum !

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by i74js

Does this mean no switching off of diesel motors at stop signals !!! This goes against the PCRA advertisements and general awareness drive of oil companies wherein it is advised to switch off at stop lights and the duration of halts at signals is almost equal to the idling time required in the manuals as discussed here in the forum !

Nothing to do with Diesels or all Diesels, this is applicable to any engine which is turbo charged. So only in the cars with a Turbo you need to idle the car for around a minute before switching off.

Hope this clears

[OffDaBeemer]

Originally Posted by imjimmy

Diverging just a little bit from the topic.

Can anyone plz tell me if the tyre pressure shd be overinflated or underinflated ( viz a viz the normal air pressure in the city) when we go for a long drive in the highways in summer. ( greater than 250Km)

Always used to keep my tyres 2-3 pounds Underinflated on highways in the summer coz i thought that the tyres wud heat up and expand.

Recently, however, i was told that it's better to keep them a little over the normal city air pressure.

I recently read the official manual of Maruti Ritz petrol and per this manual, for continuous long drive on highway all the tires should have 5psi more than the standard inflation specifications shown on the car!!

[rockyb]

If temperature is a concern switch to Nitrogen. It really helps. It also increase the interval of tyre pressure checks

Originally Posted by arun_josie

During long drives, is there a limit for non-stop driving or recommended distance to travel before stopping the car to cool the tyres? Mine are tubeless tyres.

[venkat_partha]

Greetings Everyone, I have driven some distances on indian roads. For me these things work fine. 1. Having your car serviced is very important. You reduce the risk of breakdown during your journey. 2. Nitrogen (where ever available, now on Highways too IOC bunks) is better than normal air for long distances. 3. If you feel sleepy, have a small amount of salty biscuit or snack (haldirams is generally available) to keep you awake. One side effect of this is you might get thirsty, so have some extra water. 4. Listen to your body. If you feel sleepy, sleep. Do not depend on atrificial stimulants. My 2p worth. Regards, venkat

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by i74js

Does this mean no switching off of diesel motors at stop signals !!! This goes against the PCRA advertisements and general awareness drive of oil companies wherein it is advised to switch off at stop lights and the duration of halts at signals is almost equal to the idling time required in the manuals as discussed here in the forum !

Hi
My 2 cents on this - yes its a good idea to let the engine idle for some time (approx 30 seconds should be enough)...this allows the oil to flow around the turbo bearings helping it cool and lubricate it.
But again this treatment of idling applies only if the engine has been subjected to some intense, high rpm, long duration running (like a highway run or something).
If you have been driving to the neighbourhood square, then idling is not required.
Anyways, engine idling is really more relative phenomenon - once you are done with the highway run, you would anyways coast along, reduce your speed and then gradually stop - this is also considered ok for the turbo to settle.

[behaln]

Great write up and would be a real help for the 1st time riders , we all know these things but do need to keep a copy of this write up handy so that not to regret later on a long ,lonely strech of road .
I would like to add to that list .
1. Make sure you have all the car's documents including , RC , insurance and pollution.
2. A list of all the authorised service centres and workshops enroute( your vehicle's booklet would have them but that may be old and probably their phones numbers would have changed or there would havre been new additions to the list , its just prudent to check the car manufacturer's website for teh updated list.)

Hope the above helps

[adi_sun]

Nice thread, some things that I keep handy in my car in addition to other things mentioned earlier :
1. M Seal - Best known fix to broken things !
2. Electric Tape and Duct Tape - Duct tape is really useful in places that you have not even thought.
3. Brake fuild
4. Roughly 10 meters of electric wire.
5. Match box and lighters.
6. Bungee cords.

Hope this helps, drive safe.

[bj96]

Not sure, if this has been posted here before- if you drive on highways, retain the toll tickets till the end of journey. In addition to usual benefits (e.g. proof of travel) it has the emergency helpline numbers usually printed (or stamped) at the back .




Edit: masked vehicle#

[venuraja]

I did long drives of 700 km many times during night and day.

A driver must drink plenty of water. This is a must if you do not want to get tired. If it is a diesel car, you need not stop the engine, if you are stopping for nature calls etc., for a short period of time.

Stopping and eating break fast, lunch and dinner at the exact timings you follow at home also is very important. Relax and drive.

A relaxed driver who is not prone to get angry at other drivers would not make mistakes.

Do not race along if some tries to overtake you. Many people do not believe this but slowing down a little so that the other one , can overtake in a comfortable manner is good for us. This will avoid , unexpected slow mover on the left and an unexpected event that may lead to a horrible crash.

1) surveys proved that truck drivers are victims rather than perpetrators of road rage, rogue driving etc.,

2) drunken driving , even if it were only one peg of alchohol can slow down your reaction time and hence a great chance of accident.

3) Looking away from the road, even for a few seconds , even on the best highways of India can cause accidents because of road dividers. There would be a high chance of your four wheeler , going over the road divider.

4) do not surprise other drivers under any circumstances ,give a horn and be clear about what you are doing when you are overtaking a slow mover perticularly from his left.

5) Sports bikes with high accelaration power must be treated equal to other cars. I did a 9000 km journey of Hyderabad to Laddhak and back on a sports bike very recently and I am very clear about this. A sports bike like my own Ninja 250cc can accelarate to 100 kmph in 5.5 seconds while many cars would take 15 seconds. So the biker may suddenly accelerate while you are overtaking from HIS left , very close to him ( many stupid car drivers do that to scare him ) leading to unforseen emergency and danger.

[bhappyharsha]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Preparations Before The Journey
-------------------------------------

1) Vehicle Check up:I will skip the regular check tyre pressure, engine tune up, electricals check up stuff which all of us know.

Techno

Hi,

I am going for a long drive (long for me approx. 700 kms round the trip) the next weekend and I want to make sure my car is in the right condition.

I have a Ford Figo (2010 Dec purchased) Odo shows 28K Kms and is due for 3rd service in another 1000 kms. I am thinking to get a full service done before going for the drive. I have mostly driven it in the city to and from my office.

Also, I have one question. I know it might be a stupid question for you but can you please throw some more light on what Engine tune up means? Can I do it myself or should I take it to service to get it done?

Also,

[ashlyak]

Lot of good tips, and they cover most of the stuffs that I have. However, would like to add just one point, based on my experience :

If your car is just serviced, (ie : fresh out of service centre), wait for couple of days and drive in your city for those days. There might be surprises. I faced this kind of issues two times. So now i ensure to drive min 50km locally, before I hit the highway.

[iVento]

In recent months, I have done few long trips, the longest being 2000KM (to & fro). I follow some good points that I have actually grabbed from this thread;

My drive is a Wagon R Vxi K-Series.

• Vehicle is serviced at the Company Service Center atleast 10 days it around my neck like a long chain.
• I've tied the duplicate key to a good quality nylon thread. I carry this around my neck during the journeys, like a chain. This is well concealed under my dress.
• I carry a set of COLOR PHOTOCOPY of all documents in addition to the original (including RC Card). If demanded, produce the photo copies first. In most cases, this will satisfy the authorities. At least this has worked good for me in the city.
• Sygic Navigation is my best friend during long journeys.
• No over speeding. Occasionally, I have touched 120KM on my Waggy. Normally I cruise between 70-90KMH
• I take regular breaks, once in 2 hours, only near toll plazas.
• I carry lots of water. I put lots of ice cubes in my travel flask along with water. This give me continues supply of cold water during the journey.
• Tires are Nitrogen filled.
• I make sure to refill the fuel tank once I reach half tank.
• I carry a nylon rope, a flashlight, a Swiss knife, puncture kit etc. (I need to get few more items here.)
• I log my trips at various points.
• I do not listen to sober/sad songs during the journey.
• I carry the service booklet & manual in addition to the telephone numbers of service center guys.
• Not very important: A point & shoot camera in addition to the SLR. My wife operates it. We use this camera for video capture the journey & for some "urgent" shots during the journey.

[andyonwheels]

Come December '13 and we embark on our epic 5k+, 16nights and 17 days roadtrip, Bangalore-Rajasthan-Ajanta Caves-Bangalore. A drive i have been looking forward to for months. We will be driving in our new Linea Tjet (she arrived a 10 days ago).

The situation:
My wife has given me an ultimatum to find ways to keep our kids (10 year son and 6 year daughter) involved and entertained, so they don't fight and scream. Everytime they have this brother-sister fight in our short city drives, my wife throws her arms up in the air and snares at me and i start seeing the trip elude away.

Now its a given that there will be those one-off fights in a trip this long - however, am looking for ways to keep the kids involved and entertained in such long journeys - especially as they are not much used to sight-seeing historical places. Anything that can keep them occupied and not get bored during the drive will be a huge input.


So am in the process of making a stock of options I can use on different days -

• My wife and I have been mentally preparing our kids of whats in store in a drive this long - they are excited and hope it remains like-so through the trip.
• What verbal in-car family games can played?
  • We enjoy playing word games, where one person builds off the last letter of a city or animal etc. Ex- Delhi> Indore> England etc.
  • Am thinking of getting magnet-based games as well, so they can play in the car.
• Is getting a tablet loaded w/ movies good idea?
  • Can i plug this into the car audio-system?
  • Will it be distracting for the driver (me)?
  • Is there a way to strap / mount the tablet so it's fastened and secure?
• Has anyone managed to convert the rear-seating of a sedan to a full-blow flat bed by keep luggage in the leg-room area? And then covering it with a soft-foldable-bed?
• Planning on getting a reading-light for the back-seat. Is there any other accessory I should be considering?
• Am also thinking of asking them to create a project based on their observations on places they visit. Like a diary or something. Any general ideas here?
• My son loves to navigate me looking at the GPS and maps. So that will keep him busy at times.

Would love to hear of similar experiences from fellow bhp-ians so am better prepared and more importantly, so the kids have a good time.

[jkdas]

An excellent site I found which helps plan your trip. Places are limited and I hope that do add more soon.

http://plnnr.com