[guyfrmblr]

I was in no mood to come back to Bangalore from Pandavapura through the dreaded SH-17. Hence I decided to take a U-Turn towards Nagamangala at SH-19. Again the SH-19 was in great condition between Pandavapura - Nagamangala. Traffic was very thin and encountered few speed breakers near villages.

Pandavapura - Nagamangala - Bellur Cross (SH-19):














After reaching Nagamangala, I planned to take the SH-85 through Huliyurdurga - Magadi to reach Bangalore. I was not certain about the road conditions of this route. It was not so great when I had taken it two years back. I had taken daily pass at Nelligere and Nelamangala toll booths and also had to reach a relative's place at Mahalakshmi Layout for lunch. So I decided to proceed towards Bellur Cross in SH-19.

Empty toll booth:


Somewhere at NH-48:


The route (link: https://goo.gl/maps/QPMgd):

[guyfrmblr]

All this while, I had completely forgotten the main intention of this solo drive - calculation of fuel efficiency. I was busy exploring the routes and enjoying the drive. I remembered about it only after crossing the Bellur Cross toll booth on the return journey. I immediately started the Bosch Fun To Drive App and started capturing the ECU readings.

This was the FE calculated between Bellur Cross - Bangalore:


It was a while since I did a long solo drive. Long drives in the recent past were always accompanied by 4 passengers and boot full of load. I got to test some of the parameters of the car in this drive. The car behaved as though its just out of the showroom . The mileage hasn't dropped, engine response is great, suspension is holding well and there are absolutely no rattles from any part of the car. I thoroughly enjoyed this 510 km drive in the beautiful state highways.

[guyfrmblr]

The odometer stands at 1,17,775 km. No issues to report.

I was jobless at home last noon and was just lazing around. I thought of a short drive and asked my wife if she is willing to join for which the answer was positive. Planned this route:

Bangalore - Bellur Cross - Turuvekere - Huliyar - Hiriyur - Sira - Madhugiri - Gowribidanur - Chikkaballapur - Shidlaghatta - Chintamani - Srinivasapura - Mulabagal - Kolar - Bangalore.

Started from Mahalakshmi layout at 1:30 PM and took a good 45 minutes to cross Goruguntepalya signal and clear the Tumkur road elevated highway toll booth. The NH-48 was deserted. Took a right at Bellur Cross and continued on SH-19 towards Turuvekere. The SH-19 has fantastic tarmac upto Chikkanayakanahalli. CN Halli to Huliyar has some patchy stretches and few speed breakers which are difficult to spot. The roads are wide until Nagamangala division after which it's a bit narrow until K.B.Cross (NH-206 junction).

Fantastic SH-19:





Just before entering Huliyar, we came across a board which directed towards right to reach Sira. I opened the maps and identified it as NH-234. There was no one around to ask the condition of the road. Got down from the car and this was the sight which greeted me:


We decided to ditch the SH and decided to take the NH to reach Sira. Distance from Huliyar to Sira was 45 km through this route.

The NH-234 passes through beautiful countryside:


We had driven for around 7-8 km and started encountering huge pot holes. Again there was not a single soul around to ask the route conditions. We decided to continue hoping for the road conditions to improve.

Somewhere inside Bukkapattana reserve forest:








The road condition further deteriorated after crossing Bukkapattana:


One of the numerous bridges on NH-234. The panchayat roads have better and wider bridges. Whoever have named this as a NH should be whipped:


The roads now turned so narrow that only one car could pass at a time. Fortunately there was absolutely no traffic on this so called NH:


We finally managed to reach Sira after 2 hours and 40 km of torture. We didn't spot any vehicles on this road except for couple of tractors and a private bus. I didn't want to take any chances by continuing in NH-234 towards Madhugiri and hence decided to go back to Bangalore through GQ. Reached Bangalore at 8 PM. I had been to Madhugiri couple of years back for a TBHP drive and the roads were in shambles around Madhugiri. Not sure about the present condition.

It was a good drive except for the dreaded stretch of NH-234. I don't see any sort of development activities at NH-234. Even if they start, it would atleast take around 10 years to develop this NH. It's in such a terrible state.

The route which we took (https://goo.gl/maps/QIasu). Total distance - 340 km:


Moral of the drive: Don't always ditch State Highways for the sake of National Highways

[ampere]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Moral of the drive: Don't always ditch State Highways for the sake of National Highways

NH234 is a recently converted SH to NH. It was always a SH. No money has gone in to improve the condition of this road. But however NH234 between Chikkaballapur to Mulbagal is fantastic. Its narrow, but during one of the seasons, was beautifully green.

Sh19 is a good SH. As we discussed earlier, its now the arterial road from NH4 to Mysore and KA interiors. Its also now been changed to NH50, courtesy the outgoing govt.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...cle5983238.ece

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by ampere

NH234 is a recently converted SH to NH. It was always a SH. No money has gone in to improve the condition of this road. But however NH234 between Chikkaballapur to Mulbagal is fantastic. Its narrow, but during one of the seasons, was beautifully green.

How is the condition between Sira - Chikkaballapur? Yes, it's recently converted to NH. The boards still indicate it's SH-58. But atleast they should do some homework before announcing it as a NH

[ampere]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

How is the condition between Sira - Chikkaballapur? Yes, it's recently converted to NH. The boards still indicate it's SH-58. But atleast they should do some homework before announcing it as a NH

No idea on that section. I have been on it in bits and pieces and hence cannot comment fully. But as per what I knew a couple of years back, it was bad. Dont know how its today. Also I dont think its worth exploring. Of course all roads are worth exploring !I mean from the view of a good country side view. Its quite dry around these regions. While Chikkaballapur-Mulbagal is considerably greener.

[guyfrmblr]

It's 3 years and 9 months since I bought the car and has almost completed 1.2 lakh km. No issues to report. I'm traveling to United States for a long term assignment from my company. The car won't be used by anyone at home as there is another beater car which is being used by my parents. Since it's not a good idea to keep the diesel car idle for a long period, many suggested to sell it before traveling. I was against selling it for two reasons:

1. It's my first car and have some special sentiments attached with it.
2. The car is running absolutely fine without any issues even though it has run for 1.2L km.

Hence I decided to hand over the car to my cousin at my native near Mangalore. He can take care of my car better than me. He owns a Manza and an Omni and my car will be sharing the garage with them. Dropped the car at his place last evening. The further updates on my car will be provided by him which I'll be sharing here. It won't be a mile cruncher anymore. The running will be limited and hence the updates will be less frequent. The car will be serviced at Advaith Hyundai, Kuntikana, Mangalore until I return.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

It's 3 years and 9 months since I bought the car and has almost completed 1.2 lakh km. No issues to report. I'm traveling to United States for a long term assignment from my company.

I'm getting the impression that you haven't sold it to your cousin? He's merely taking care of it till you get back?

I don't think that's a good idea. Since you mention that you're going to be in the USA for a long assignment, it's probably best to let her go now. She is less than 4 years old, and you'll still get a decent price for her.

Sell it off and:

1. Use the money to buy a nice car in the States. The market there is heaven for pre-owned car enthusiasts.

2. Invest the money and use the appreciated $$$ to buy a nice car when you get back to India. Maybe you could get yourself a pristine pre-worshipped Elite i20 then .

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm getting the impression that you haven't sold it to your cousin? He's merely taking care of it till you get back?

I don't think that's a good idea. Since you mention that you're going to be in the USA for a long assignment, it's probably best to let her go now. She is less than 4 years old, and you'll still get a decent price for her.

Thanks for the valuable inputs.

Yes, I haven't sold it. He'll be just taking care of it. There is a beater car at home i.e., a 12 year old Omni which is being used by my parents. My plan is to replace Omni with i20 as the beater car. My dad has some leg pain and will be unable to drive for some months and hence I have asked my cousin to look after the car. Once my dad recovers, the i20 will be brought back to my home and dad will start using it. He is reluctant to use i20 and insists on retaining Omni since he is comfortable with it. I'm now forcing him to dispose Omni and start using i20.

1. Use the money to buy a nice car in the States. The market there is heaven for pre-owned car enthusiasts.

I have started hunting for the same

[guyfrmblr]

Got an update from my cousin. The car has now got a new roof over it's head. Well, it's getting more attention than what I used to give

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Got an update from my cousin. The car has now got a new roof over it's head. Well, it's getting more attention than what I used to give

Wow the background scenery looks beautiful. Your i20 will enjoy the beautiful weather of coastal area.

Only thing you have to worry is the detailing of it. You will miss it 😀. Sonus ion still holding well?

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Wow the background scenery looks beautiful. Your i20 will enjoy the beautiful weather of coastal area.

Yes, it'll enjoy the pollution free weather of Dakshina Kannada. But its not the right place for detailers. The red soil which is seen in the pic can be found everywhere and it turns quite nasty in rainy seasons. It's very difficult to clean that sticky mud.

Only thing you have to worry is the detailing of it. You will miss it ?de00. Sonus ion still holding well?

Yes, will miss detailing. But my cousin is a bigger detailing buff than me . He usually tries to experiment with desi products. I have given all my detailing products to him along with the car. Once his exams get over, there will be a detailing session planned by him.

Sonus ion is holding well. I had checked the water beading before coming here and it was good.

[guyfrmblr]

My cousin experienced some starting issues with the car recently. The battery was suspected and it turned out to be true when checked. He got it changed from his reliable battery guy at Sullia. The Exide battery performed well for 4 years. He went with Amaron this time.

[guyfrmblr]

Looks like my car is missing me a lot back at home. While the battery gave up earlier this month, my cousin updated me last evening that the check engine light is ON.

The issues which he is facing after the engine check light turned ON:
1. RPM decreases during idling.
2. Takes some effort to crank the car (2-3 times).
3. It requires more effort to get the car moving.

He has booked an appointment with Advaith Hyundai, Kuntikana, Mangalore for tomorrow. Need to wait and watch. He has a OBD II BT dongle but it's not pairing with his phone.

Edit: He is now able to connect to the OBD dongle. The error shown is "P0088: Fuel Rail/System Pressure - Too High".

[quadbike]

It looks like a problem with the High Pressure (CRDI) pump. Hopefully it won't cost you a bomb to fix it.