[tsk1979]

In sub zero to start a truck, the drivers burn fire below the fuel tank.
Once i read in an auto india(maybe it was autocar) the process they went through to start their safari in sub zero
Put ignition to on, glow plugs came on, switch off. Turn on again, 5 second glow plug.
After 3 such glow plug on(15 sec of glowplug) the diesel was pretty much frozen. So they put hot water on engine compartment and then gave 10 sec of glowplug, the vehicle started.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

Really? Somehow I don't think so.

Whether you believe it or not, it is actually true;

Drass, the town near Cargil, has become famous as the second coldest inhabited place in the world. Winter temperature is sometimes known to plummet to less than minus 40 degrees.

The catch here is "inhabited place". So there might be (uninhabited) places in Siberia which are much colder than Drass. But then, they wont be going for Siberian expeditions in a Marina, right?

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

Whether you believe it or not, it is actually true; .....
The catch here is "inhabited place". So there might be (uninhabited) places in Siberia which are much colder than Drass. But then, they wont be going for Siberian expeditions in a Marina, right?

I did not know that. But do they drive cars in Dras? On a regular basis?

[sandeepmdas]

Well I cannot answer that question first-hand (never been there) but I think they do. As long as they have cars, fuel and roads what prevents them from driving, except those Bandh days?

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

Well I cannot answer that question first-hand (never been there) but I think they do. As long as they have cars, fuel and roads what prevents them from driving, except those Bandh days?

I was always under the impression that Dras is that remote outpost where the only inhabitants are the Army and sheepherders. And Sandeep, you missed out Pakistani shelling. LOL

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

I did not know that. But do they drive cars in Dras? On a regular basis?

TATA has also been selling trucks to the military, so they should know a thing or two about starting in sub-zero temps. Military specifications are much more severe than commercial.

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by Mpower

TATA has also been selling trucks to the military, so they should know a thing or two about starting in sub-zero temps. Military specifications are much more severe than commercial.

If you realize, the Indian Army does very little fighting in sub-zero temperatures. In such conditions such as Siachen, trucks are not used. Besides we are talking cars here not trucks.

[Mpower]

Indica engine was derived from the 483DL, which is a engine used in their pickup trucks.

[ananthkamath]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

If you realize, the Indian Army does very little fighting in sub-zero temperatures. In such conditions such as Siachen, trucks are not used. Besides we are talking cars here not trucks.

Even if they don't actually use them in Siachen, they have severe specifications for lowest and highest service condition temperatures. They also have certain specs like footprint pressure which civilians, even performance-minded ones, don't even consider. So its safe to say that since Tata's been supplying to the army, they would know a thing or two about extreme-condition operation.

[Mpower]

Regardless of whether its a car or truck. the stratgies used to enhance cold starts are the same.

Synthetic oils
Changing starter pinion/flywheel ring gear ratio
Higher Kw starters
Battery with higher CCA (cold cranking amps)
Upsized glow plugs
Electric Block heaters
Compression release mechanisms

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by ananthkamath

Even if they don't actually use them in Siachen, they have severe specifications for lowest and highest service condition temperatures. They also have certain specs like footprint pressure which civilians, even performance-minded ones, don't even consider. So its safe to say that since Tata's been supplying to the army, they would know a thing or two about extreme-condition operation.

I know. But there is a difference between a one off operation in a military environment and the application of technology to civilian use. Army trucks are used in very bad conditions, I agree. But those are trucks. This means they have liberty of space for housing any extra equipment and also the Army does not need to check fuel economy as much as we do. We are talking about cars here.

I do not doubt Tata's technical pedigree, and my question was purely academic. I just wanted to know if Tata has provided for the extremely harsh conditions of Russian winters. Do remember that the Germans, who would have pretty bad conditions on a more constant basis than us, lost the war to the Russians because their vehicles just were not capable of handling the Russian winter. And the Germans are far ahead of us when it comes to engineering cars or any other vehicle for that matter.

All in all I hope Tata does a good job of capturing the Russian market.

[Stratos]

Well Tata must have definately thought about the temperatures before launching the car there. Its not just a handshake and "you have our cars in your country" thingy. Loooads of things are taken care of. So Dont worry people

[Anupam]

Note from Mod: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the board experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Tata Motors is planning to introduce the indigo in russia. Initially the vehicles will be imported from India, but the plan is to go to assembly soon and then 100% localisation. Hope it does better than indica in UK. The competition is Nexia, Accent and Logan.
http://www.indiacar.net/news/n12885.htm

Any idea of how it is doing there? In seven years they must have chalked up decent numbers one hopes.

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by wilful

Any idea of how it is doing there? In seven years they must have chalked up decent numbers one hopes.

Definitely better than the Lada I hope