The Grey Torquedo - My Optra Magnum - The Next Level!

[blueorchid]

Originally Posted by keyur

The Brake Pad replacement DIY has been put up here

Can't see this link!

Also, can't see your projector thread anymore... am looking forward to the Optra makeover

[keyur]

Originally Posted by blueorchid

Can't see this link!

Also, can't see your projector thread anymore... am looking forward to the Optra makeover

The BrakePad thread is in Assembly.

The Projector thread has been deleted.

[Tornado]

Dear Optra Bros,

Thanks to all, I purchased 2012 Optra Magnum D -Sandrift Grey LT from Trident Chevrolet and got delivery on 29th February.
You can usually find me driving between Ecospace (bellandur) and Madiwala- KA01 with 7064 number.

Done 6000K+ till now but found an issue when I checked my bills after 5K service.
When i checked the bill of service i found that they have metioned " ELF petrol engine oil" . I checked with Naveen the service manager and his reply was petrol engine oil is used in Optra Magnum D.
The grade mentioned was good as it was 15 W 40. But the chemistry of petrol engine oil and diesel one can be different.

I am finding it diffcult to convince myslef with Service manager's answer. I am planning to reach out to GM's leadership with my complain.

Please let me know if you have any idea or any experiece like this with Optra Magnum D's service

Please ring me on 99722-38993 if you have any inputs for me.
Thanks in advance.

Regards
Denny

Originally Posted by keyur

Thanks. The beast has prowled over 15000 kms and is due for the third service. This is the first paid service and probably the one that will give an actual idea about the costs of servicing.
You are most welcome to 'trouble' me - happy to help!


Thanks!



Good going! Ideally, the Magnum should be the last car to be test driven. You test drive the other cars, spend a lot of time deciding amongst them, compare the finer points etc..... Then... you drive the Magnum, and all of a sudden, the tsunami washes over all other comparisons, and all you see is the Magnum!!



Although I had a lot of issues with my stock tyres (Apollos), I would say that they should suffice. Softer tyres on the Magnum are not of much help. If you put road safety and durability over road noise, harder tyres are better (bridgestones or mrfs). Or you can keep the stock tyres at 32+ and you should be OK. I keep mine at 33 for front and 32 for rear.
The lights - you should definitely change. I went in for the Philips Xtreme Visions as you can see in my thread. They are good for reach and brightness and do not require any wiring modifications (read harness, relay etc). They are direct plug and play, so should be the best bet for a new car where you want to play safe with warranty and mods. Also, the reach is enough to avoid running out of visible road.

Rear parking sensors could be helpful (especially if you are upgrading from a hatch)

My next mod is to get bi-xenon projectors fitted into my Magnum. Work is in progress and will update soon.




After the 1.9D, only the Magnum can take you a step beyond! Good choice, and one that you should not regret!

The discounts all around are more or less the same. It's either free insurance + few accessories or a cash discount from 30-40K. Take a look at the discounts, ask for a few freebies and try to haggle it out with more than 1 dealer by pitting them against each other. Ask for a quote from some online car dealer or broker and add his rates into the fray - eventually, you will reach a stalemate with all the dealers giving similar prices - then buy from the one with the best service station

Ensure that even if you have to wait, you get a car fresh from the oven (check the VIN and the month of manufacture on the placard near the left from door bottom). (But, you may get a deal on a car which has been sitting in the stock yard, if you are not crazy about a particular colour).
Do a detailed PDI before delivery.


Thanks DeKay.

The creaking noise is pretty much resolved. There is a slight noise sometimes, but it might be the door or the trims this time. The noise is slight, and I am extra sensitive to sounds (I tend to catch the sounds and get irritated by the slight tinkle of zippers on bags), so do not worry too much about my creak rants!

All the best with your purchase!

[keyur]

Originally Posted by Tornado

Dear Optra Bros,

Thanks to all, I purchased 2012 Optra Magnum D -Sandrift Grey LT from Trident Chevrolet and got delivery on 29th February.
You can usually find me driving between Ecospace (bellandur) and Madiwala- KA01 with 7064 number.

Done 6000K+ till now but found an issue when I checked my bills after 5K service.
When i checked the bill of service i found that they have metioned " ELF petrol engine oil" . I checked with Naveen the service manager and his reply was petrol engine oil is used in Optra Magnum D.
The grade mentioned was good as it was 15 W 40. But the chemistry of petrol engine oil and diesel one can be different.

I am finding it diffcult to convince myslef with Service manager's answer. I am planning to reach out to GM's leadership with my complain.

Please let me know if you have any idea or any experiece like this with Optra Magnum D's service

Please ring me on 99722-38993 if you have any inputs for me.
Thanks in advance.

Regards
Denny

Hi Denny,

The oil grade is what matters. 15 W 40
The oil used is Elf (or Total - same brand). GM stations throughout India use either Elf or Total. I have been using the same oil for abt 22K now and no issues. The oil is not different for Petrol and Diesel - it's just Motor Oil (though the quantity for Diesel is more).

Don't worry - the service managers have no clue about the oil grades, so no point discussing!

Check this post and the photo here!

[Tornado]

Thanks for the reply.
My Optra has covered more than 17.5K KM in 11 months. I feel more comfortable and relaxed as a driver when compared to my driving experience with Innova which I owned for more than 1.5 years.
Now i am looking out for upgrading my OE tyre ( apollo) to 205 * 60 * 15.
I have shortlisted brdgestone MY02 and YOKO DB 550.
Do you guys have any other suggestions which may be cheaper but good.
Regards

[sibu]

try continental... it's real good....

[keyur]

Originally Posted by Tornado

Thanks for the reply.
My Optra has covered more than 17.5K KM in 11 months. I feel more comfortable and relaxed as a driver when compared to my driving experience with Innova which I owned for more than 1.5 years.
Now i am looking out for upgrading my OE tyre ( apollo) to 205 * 60 * 15.
I have shortlisted brdgestone MY02 and YOKO DB 550.
Do you guys have any other suggestions which may be cheaper but good.
Regards

Michelin / YOKOs are soft. Have a more flat profile. Due to heavy front, you could have tyre burst issues ( I had a couple till I started inflating the fronts harder).

Bridgestone will be a bit harder - increased road noise, but more durable.

You can also check Pirelli or Apollos for that matter. Do update us on your choice!

[Tornado]

Dear Keyur,

thanks for the inputs.

I had only the choice of yoko es 100 and apollo in the profile of 205 - 60 - 15.
I changed it to apollo and the next day i found that those tyres were of 2010 batch and i asked the dealer to replace it as those are old.

The feel of apollos were very good , the steering surprisingly become light ( usually it should become harder with wider tyre) and grip and comfortreally increased.

Next day i went to dealer and he told me that all apollos he has is older stock. He was telling that this is an odd profile and there is very low demand so choices are not there. ( I was surprised as they are a tyre store chain across India.)
Now i had no other choice and i changed to Yoko AVS ES 100.
I think Apollos were better.
I really suggest an upsize of atleast 205 * 60 * 15 to all Optra Magnum owners.
Also always check the year of manufacture of tyes :-)
I will post my experiences later.

Originally Posted by keyur

Michelin / YOKOs are soft. Have a more flat profile. Due to heavy front, you could have tyre burst issues ( I had a couple till I started inflating the fronts harder).

Bridgestone will be a bit harder - increased road noise, but more durable.

You can also check Pirelli or Apollos for that matter. Do update us on your choice!

[keyur]

Originally Posted by Tornado

Dear Keyur,

thanks for the inputs.

I really suggest an upsize of atleast 205 * 60 * 15 to all Optra Magnum owners.

Upsizing the tyre will affect speedometer and odometer readings. Here is the comparison :


Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumfe Revs/km Difference
195/60-15 117mm 308mm 615mm 1932mm 518 0.0%
205/60-15 123mm 314mm 627mm 1970mm 508 2.0%

[sylvan]

My magnum is almost 3.5 years old and has run about 40k kms and she is butter smooth. I will be away for next 2 years and dont want to sell it. Will it make sense to put her to a 2yr hibernation? Is there a to-do list before you leave a diesel car quiet for that long?

[Torquedo]

Originally Posted by sylvan

My magnum is almost 3.5 years old and has run about 40k kms and she is butter smooth. I will be away for next 2 years and dont want to sell it. Will it make sense to put her to a 2yr hibernation? Is there a to-do list before you leave a diesel car quiet for that long?

An Optra owner would never want to sell this beast

I was in a similar fix, I had bought one in Oct 11 and left overseas in Oct 12 with only 7355 Kms on it.

I have decided not to sell this beauty as -

1) You would receive a very depreciated price in the market.
2) By the time you come back the prices of these puny 1.3 would have sky rocketed, the ZDi in Banglore costs as much as my Optra LS in Delhi.

Ok now the ways to maintain it while you are gone -

1) Have a driven by someone very very close to you, once in 3 weeks, 15-20 odd kms.
2) During the drive get the tyre pressures checked.
3) Ask the person follow the idling rule.
4) Clearly instruct that once the fuel tank shows half empty get it filled up again.
5) Not to speed beyond 70 KMPH in the 5th gear.


I initially had a friend doing it for me, now my dad's driver does it.

If you happen to visit India after 12 months, get it fully serviced and it'll good for another year. This is what I plan.

Hope that helps !

Happy Motoring.

[sylvan]

Originally Posted by Torquedo

1) Have a driven by someone very very close to you, once in 3 weeks, 15-20 odd kms.
2) During the drive get the tyre pressures checked.
3) Ask the person follow the idling rule.
4) Clearly instruct that once the fuel tank shows half empty get it filled up again.
5) Not to speed beyond 70 KMPH in the 5th gear.

I have to leave it with my dad and none of the seniors I know drive a car. The best my dad can do is get a call driver and take the magnum out once in a month for 40+ kms which i really dont want. I was curious to know the condition in which a car should be left if not touched for months together. I can visit once in 6 months and take her for a drive.

[sylvan]

Originally Posted by Torquedo

By the time you come back the prices of these puny 1.3 would have sky rocketed, the ZDi in Banglore costs as much as my Optra LS in Delhi.

This is precisely one of the reasons why I dont want to buy any of the new ones. The cars that are rolled out these days have small engines and wafer thin body and carries a ridiculously high price tag. Be it Amaze or Sunny or Vento. These just dont match.

[keyur]

Originally Posted by sylvan

My magnum is almost 3.5 years old and has run about 40k kms and she is butter smooth. I will be away for next 2 years and dont want to sell it. Will it make sense to put her to a 2yr hibernation? Is there a to-do list before you leave a diesel car quiet for that long?

The best would be to have someone drive it regularly as Torquey said.

Originally Posted by Torquedo

An Optra owner would never want to sell this beast

Long time torquey!!

Originally Posted by sylvan

I have to leave it with my dad and none of the seniors I know drive a car. The best my dad can do is get a call driver and take the magnum out once in a month for 40+ kms which i really dont want. I was curious to know the condition in which a car should be left if not touched for months together. I can visit once in 6 months and take her for a drive.

It is better to let the car sit for a long duration than having it driven for a short time periodically. This is because the engine does not get warmed up enough to benefit anyone!

To store your car :
1. Get it thoroughly serviced.
2. Change the oil and filter.
3. Put the AC on off and internal circulation (to close the HVAC entry)
4. Place some charcoal and dry bricks in the car (to absorb moisture and odours)
5. Fully charge and disconnect the battery. Remove from car if possible
6. Inflate the tyres to about 5 psi less. Then, if possible, support the car from the bottom near the suspension (not the jacking points) so that load on the wheels is reduced to prevent tyre wear or damage or cracks, but to ensure that the suspension is still loaded.
7. Oil and grease thoroughly (lubricate whatever possible)
8. Remove any old fuel and fill to the brim with new fuel (drive a bit after that)
9. Empty the wiper wash
10. Wax your car
11. Remove the wiper blades
12. Pack the air intake and exhaust pipe with plastic bags.
13. Cover the car
14. Park in shade.

This is all that I remember as of now. Will update if I remember anything else.

[sylvan]

Originally Posted by keyur

This is all that I remember as of now. Will update if I remember anything else.

Thats a good set of steps before one leaves a car untouched for long. Will follow them.