[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by RohanDheman

Santosh, just a quick question. Where did you get the error free white DRLs? I have the DRLs activated on my TDi, but dont really like the look of the yellow bulbs and have been wanting to change them, but without any luck! Need your help with this!

Also, does the extra steering grip help? What i mean to state is doesnt the steering feel too thick? I feel that the stock steering grip of the Laura is absolutely spot on!

Congrats on 3 lovely years with the beast!

Cheers
Rohan

Hi Rohan, I got the LED DRLs from here http://www.superskoda.com/Skoda/OCTA...ht-system-KI-R . Do check out my below post for more details http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post3345020.

I actually bought the steering grip for my ol Santro. Just wanted to see how it felt on the Laura so tried it on. It felt good so it has stayed on. Its a size small actually. I had to use all my muscle power to put it on. It feels nice and sporty to hold . The leather wrap used by Skoda is a bit slippery. I am planning on getting the same grip in a slightly bigger size so that it covers the whole rim properly.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I actually bought the steering grip for my ol Santro. Just wanted to see how it felt on the Laura so tried it on. It felt good so it has stayed on. Its a size small actually. I had to use all my muscle power to put it on. It feels nice and sporty to hold . The leather wrap used by Skoda is a bit slippery. I am planning on getting the same grip in a slightly bigger size so that it covers the whole rim properly.

Santosh its time for a vRS steering with controls. It isn't half as slippery as the normal steering, I can vouch for that.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Santosh its time for a vRS steering with controls. It isn't half as slippery as the normal steering, I can vouch for that.

I actually bought the grip as the texture reminded me of the VRS steering . The VRS steering is thicker and the dia is also smaller than the regular steering. Feels great to hold too. . How I wish the VRS was available back in 2011.

[Santoshbhat]

Had a brilliant drive through some state roads of Karnataka. I must say the roads in the state are in a fantastic shape right now. With rains around, the picture is G R E E N and the beautiful weather just adds to the pleasure of driving.

The combination of the sweet engine, tight suspension, responsive steering and slick gear box on the smooth winding roads is just awesome. Just felt that the car is too high on occasions and I wished I could lower it on the go. I do have the option of lowering the car with lowering springs etc.., but I will be giving up on the practicality aspect if I did that. There have been so many times where the good ground clearance has been very very useful. One good thing about the bilstiens is that even when I load the car to its gills, the rear does dot squat so much. You really don't feel like you are driving a 'heavy' car when going over road undulations etc...

I don't thing there is any car on sale right now in India that delivers a better combination of fun and practicality than the Laura TSI/ VRS.

Will be hitting 60k kms very soon.

[nkrishnap]

Beautiful roads and driving your TSI would have been immensely satisfying.

By the way, I believe this road is the stretch between Shimoga and Sagara.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Beautiful roads and driving your TSI would have been immensely satisfying.

By the way, I believe this road is the stretch between Shimoga and Sagara.

You are absolutely right! This was in the morning when I drove from Sirsi to Shimoga. I drove back to Sirsi in the evening and the rain was pelting down. The stretch from Talguppa to Sirsi also is super.

[TheTeacher]

Sirsi to Shimoga is an awesome drive. The tarmac is absolutely perfect, no speed breakers, hardly any other vehicles, very beautiful scenery. "Live to Drive" is a truism on that stretch...

[ketla2411]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Attachment 1251669

Attachment 1251670

Had a brilliant drive through some state roads of Karnataka. I must say the roads in the state are in a fantastic shape right now. With rains around, the picture is G R E E N and the beautiful weather just adds to the pleasure of driving.

The combination of the sweet engine, tight suspension, responsive steering and slick gear box on the smooth winding roads is just awesome. Just felt that the car is too high on occasions and I wished I could lower it on the go. I do have the option of lowering the car with lowering springs etc.., but I will be giving up on the practicality aspect if I did that. There have been so many times where the good ground clearance has been very very useful. One good thing about the bilstiens is that even when I load the car to its gills, the rear does dot squat so much. You really don't feel like you are driving a 'heavy' car when going over road undulations etc...

I don't thing there is any car on sale right now in India that delivers a better combination of fun and practicality than the Laura TSI/ VRS.

Will be hitting 60k kms very soon.

Hi Santosh, have been reading your posts to keep abreast. Its good to know that your TSi has clocked 60k on upteen long and enjoyable drives.
I vouch for your fact that the Laura TSi is the best affordable and entertaining drivers car to have in India.
Keep that ODOmeter right on clicking

[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat;

[ATTACH

1251670[/ATTACH]

.

Santosh, those roads look both tempting and fantastic and on a car like the TSi with the suspension upgrade the drive must have been super fun. I am now seriously tempted to go in for a remap and the beilstein. Will be consulting you shortly on both!

On the looks front, may I suggest a small thing. Wrap or paint the chrome part on the grille black. Looks menacing up front. Attaching a pic of my Laura for reference.



Cheers
Rohan

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by RohanDheman

Santosh, those roads look both tempting and fantastic and on a car like the TSi with the suspension upgrade the drive must have been super fun. I am now seriously tempted to go in for a remap and the beilstein. Will be consulting you shortly on both!

On the looks front, may I suggest a small thing. Wrap or paint the chrome part on the grille black. Looks menacing up front. Attaching a pic of my Laura for reference.

Attachment 1256853

Cheers
Rohan

Yes Rohan, some of these roads down south are fantastic to drive on. The population density is low and hence vehicular density is also very low. The smooth tarmac and the natural beauty all around is so rejuvenating. I jump at any opportunity to take my car to these places.

The Bilstiens are the best investment I've made on my car if you ask me. The stock Laura is already a good handling car, but the Bilstiens just take it to another level. Only thing is that you need to careful while driving on bad and potholed roads. The increased damping force makes the car thud through large potholes and there is a risk of damaging tyres. I've had the Bilstiens for anout 20K kms now and so far I haven't damaged any tyres. I scan the road very carefully and baby it on bad roads.

I am guessing yours is a TDI MT. A remap makes a lot of sense as the 110 hp tune is the bare minimum state of tune for this engine. Even a conservative remap will take it up to 160 hp easily. And if you are thinking of Bilstiens also, then I would strongly recommend a tyre and rim upgrade to 16 or 17 inchers depending on the kind of surfaces you drive on. You'll need more grip than 195 15s that you are riding on right now.

PS : The black grill surround is a bit too loud for my taste. I like the sleeper look my car has got.

[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I am guessing yours is a TDI MT. A remap makes a lot of sense as the 110 hp tune is the bare minimum state of tune for this engine. Even a conservative remap will take it up to 160 hp easily. And if you are thinking of Bilstiens also, then I would strongly recommend a tyre and rim upgrade to 16 or 17 inchers depending on the kind of surfaces you drive on. You'll need more grip than 195 15s that you are riding on right now.

PS : The black grill surround is a bit too loud for my taste. I like the sleeper look my car has got.

Mine is the AT in the 140bhp 320nm guise. I am looking for a conservative map which take the power around 190bhp and 380-400nm of torque. Plan is to move to 16inch- 215 profile along with the Bilstiens.

The car is mostly driven on butter smooth NCR roads with 2 hill trips in a year (i baby her like anything on the hills) so my guess is 16 should be fine.

Unfortunately, unlike you lucky souls, we dont have too many good workshops in Delhi for the mods. So i am reading up as much as i can before taking the plunge!

Rohan

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by RohanDheman

Mine is the AT in the 140bhp 320nm guise. I am looking for a conservative map which take the power around 190bhp and 380-400nm of torque. Plan is to move to 16inch- 215 profile along with the Bilstiens.

The car is mostly driven on butter smooth NCR roads with 2 hill trips in a year (i baby her like anything on the hills) so my guess is 16 should be fine.

Unfortunately, unlike you lucky souls, we dont have too many good workshops in Delhi for the mods. So i am reading up as much as i can before taking the plunge!

Rohan

Before you remap, find out what is the max torque the DSG can handle . That will your limiting factor. Preferably 10% less than the max torque !

[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Before you remap, find out what is the max torque the DSG can handle . That will your limiting factor. Preferably 10% less than the max torque !

Hi Sagar

The gearbox can handle a maximum of 420nm of torque. Thats my sole reason to look for a map between 380-400 nm max and hope that it also improves the in city drivability specially in the first 2 gears. I am the last person to push the car to its limit but i do like my cars to drive well. So will have to find the right tuner with the right map.

Cheers
Rohan

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by RohanDheman

Hi Sagar

The gearbox can handle a maximum of 420nm of torque. Thats my sole reason to look for a map between 380-400 nm max and hope that it also improves the in city drivability specially in the first 2 gears. I am the last person to push the car to its limit but i do like my cars to drive well. So will have to find the right tuner with the right map.

Cheers
Rohan

Check out this post from bhpian lamborghini's thread (if you haven't already) http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...#post3370442.m He has remapped his Laura DSG 140.

[Santoshbhat]

62,000 Kms - Fifth Service Update

Got the car back today after getting it serviced for the fifth time at Vinayak Skoda Okalipuram. Apart from a busted front fog lamp had no issues to report. The car is performing absolutely flawlessly and continues to impress. I have been using the car quite heavily for visits out of town on work and she has never let me down.

Apart from replishnment of engine oil and standard set of filters, I got the spark plugs replaced as well.

TOtal cost of service was ₹ 13,842.00
The busted halogen fog lamp bulb costed me ₹ 750/- + ₹100/- labour!
Set of four spark plugs came to ₹ 2,207/- + ₹450/- labour.

Some of these labour charges are on the higher side, but I am very happy with the overall maintenance and ownership costs.

The TSI engine despite all the power has been very frugal. The highway figures are particularly pleasing. Even when driven hard it does not drop to single figures. The smoothness and refinement of this engine still blows me away everytime I come back to driving the Laura after driving the i10 for a while, whose engine is quite refined in its own right.

Some quick stats

• Car age : 3 yrs 2 months
• Kms done : 61,600 kms (pre remap 39,000, post remap 22,600)
• City/ highway usage ratio : 1:5
• Average FE : City : 8.5 kmpl / Highway : 12 kmpl
• The car is running on original battery, original wipers, original set of brake discs and original clutch.
• The car is running on second set of tyres and second set of front and rear brake pads.
• First set of tyres lasted 43k kms. Second set has a good 20k kms of life left.
• The brake discs look really good and could last another 20k kms min.
• Front brake pads changed at 35k kms, current set looks good for another 10k kms. Rears pads changed at 48k kms, current set good for another 30k kms.
• I have suffered just 2 punctures in the entire 62k kms so far.
• Total of all service bills paid to Vinayak Skoda so far is about ₹ 71,000/- , which roughly translates to about ₹ 1.15 per km.

The service experience at Vinayak has been very good so far. I've never had any problems and have only good things to say about them. I've built up a good rapport with the guys over there and have been well taken care of. I love the fact that I've been attended to promptly without having to wait in long queues which was not the case with over crowded Toyota service centres.