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-   -   A thin line between genius and insanity - Fiat Grande Punto 90HP - 2,00,000 km up! Edit: Sold (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/119206-thin-line-between-genius-insanity-fiat-grande-punto-90hp-2-00-000-km-up-edit-sold-38.html)

Looks in pristine condition even after clocking so many kms. Just curious- what is this rinseless wash? Is this something that can be done by oneself, or is professional assistance required ? Can you shed some more light on this?

I'm currently using this product as a trial, but there are better products available in the market from brands like Optimum.

https://paytm.com/shop/p/proklear-ra...T311061321F169

Basically, the concentrate forms a layer binding the dirt so that you can just wipe it off with a microfiber cloth smoothly without inducing swirls. Useful in apartments (like mine where I need to carry two buckets of water down the stairs) where full wash is a pain, when the car is too dirty for Jopasu treatment, but doesn't require a full wash.

I use it with a spray bottle. Spray one portion at a time, and then wipe it off with a clean microfiber cloth. Leaves a decent shine as well.

They did agree and gave me 50% off, so I got it replaced and it is all good now. Same issue it was due to AC vent moisture.

Thanks Again.

Hi CD,

How's the mobile holder working?

BTW being the impatient guy that I am, I went ahead and purchased it. :D

Did they give any assurance that the issue will not occur again?

Nice. Its been doing a perfect job till now. No complaints from my end. Cost is less and I just love the small dimensions.

Noticed in another thread that BHP'ians are using decibel meters in the smart phones to measure the noise levels inside the cabin. Decided to try it out myself.

Below readings were taken with "Sound Meter" Android app for the journey from home to office, over 15kms and 31 mins starting 5:07pm till 5:38pm.

The average noise level recorded inside the cabin was 58db, with the lowest being 48db at the parking lot with the engine at idle, and the highest being 77db when message tone was played by the audio system which was otherwise switched off.



The levels are on the lower side. And while I'm happy about it, will also try out a few combinations and see if it's really accurate or not.

1,25,000 kms update -

Crossed 1.25L kms on the odo while negotiating the Salem bypass enroute Trivandrum from Bangalore. This was one of the craziest drives I've taken up and the Punto helped me not to end up looking like an idiot in front of everyone else. :D


CrAzY drive. Bangalore - Trivandrum - Bangalore.

Free weekends are extremely hard to come by these days, with myself working alternate weekends and my wife having dance classes to attend. However, both of us were free last weekend and wanted to go for a short drive. No decisions were made though!


Woke up Friday morning by 8:00am and went for an audio install for the car (details to be mentioned later). Work was carried out from 12pm till 5:30pm, and I had to rush to office directly from there. It was almost near the end of my shift at 2:30am that I came to know that we could work from home (Or any place with good connectivity) on Monday, being Independence Day. Dropped a message to wife, who was awake, and she replied asking if we could visit my hometown for the weekend.

Its extremely rare of a wife to request visiting her in-laws. So I just had to take up the opportunity despite the body already feeling drained with only 4 hours of sleep the previous day and almost 6-7 hours of standing near the audio installation. Infact, legs were cramping as well. Decided to give it a chance anyways. Came home, took bath and took off by 4am. Reached Trivandrum after 12 hours of travel by evening around 4:30 pm.


If that wasn't CrAzY enough, the return plan had to be even more complicated. Monday was a working day from evening 5:30pm till 2:30am. Logged out by 2:30am and was back in the driver's seat by 3am. Reached Bangalore by 3:15pm and back in office by 5:30pm. Most colleagues didn't have a clue of this madness and to those friends whom I told of the story dismissed it as insanity and asked for proof. lol:


Note on Comfort and Ergonomics

There is no denying the fact that the seating position of the Punto is far from perfect. Under thigh support is non existent, the clutch lever is in a raised position and the steering wheel is close for comfort. All these factors take the fun out of test drives, but as I have mentioned earlier, you get used to the seating position. And once done, you get to admire the excellent lower back support and the firm seats.

I think the mere fact that I was working 9 hours on Monday till 2:30am, driving for the next 12 hours on Tuesday and working the next 9 hours - only to be compiling this post again after 6 hours of sleep, with zero body pain to show for it - is a testament for the highway munching abilities of the Punto. And these were not miserable, but fun 24 hours behind the wheel - with music playing a huge role here.

Will post the recent updates to the music system in the next post.

Puncture -

Disaster struck when I tried to take my car out of office parking at 2:30am on Thursday morning. Realized that the front left tyre is flat. Switched to the spare tyre which was keen to come out of the boot for only the second time in its 1.25L kms spare tyre career. It is not a pleasant experience changing a tyre at 3AM in the morning, but it did make me laugh my heart out to see that the spare tyre in the boot is shining with tyre polish. Not sure which FIAT service center is so dedicated in their work to polish the spare tyre as well. lol:


What was puzzling though - there was no puncture found at the tyre shop. The best explanation they could give was that the nozzle might not have sat properly when i checked air earlier in the day. Changed the nose and used the oppurtunity to do wheel balancing and alignment as well.


ICE Upgrades -

Detailed updates posted here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-en...ml#post4037406

Here's a sneak peak -


Windshield Rain Water Repellant Coating -

Had ordered Proklear Windshield Rain Water Repellant Coating for using in the Xcent back home, but ended it testing it on the Punto as well. Did not last more than two weeks as I've already been warned by a fellow BHP'ian who is into advanced detailing - but to its credit - it did help me during the two weeks of heavy rain that Bangalore witnessed last month.

And also presented some photo opportunites like this -

Probably would'nt it using it again as the effort required is more as compared to the period for which the protection would last.

So i had pretty heavy running year (by my standards so far) and covered 17k since i posted here last August. Brought up 100k on my odo about a week back! Yayyy! Am sure you're closing in on 150k as well :D

Congrats buddy. clap: It's such a nice feeling to see the 100k figure come up on the odo, ain't it? :D

Mine is only about to reach the 130k mark though, and it's currently under house arrest. Made the mistake of not changing the registration number to KA inspite of paying KA road tax already.

So I've to wait it out till all the tension gets resolved.

It sure is! I actually stopped the car for a while when i hit the mark and just stared at the odo reading, letting the 100k number sink in!stupid:

Sad to hear about the house arrest though, must be painful to see your ride parked there not being able to take her out. But yeah better safe than sorry, so just wait it out a few more days.

Will wait to hear about the 150k from you soon enough! :)

Quote:

Windshield Rain Water Repellant Coating -

Wondering, if Punto (EVO) now comes with factory fitted rain water repellent windscreens ? Mine's windscreen shows same water beading effect. clap: and on the move, the rain water beadings climbs up and out of windscreen.

Battery changed to Amaron Flo, once again. Previous one died on me close to 64k on the odo, and the current one again changed after another 64k kms coincidentally.

The car remained largely unused since the 10th where I parked it at the airport for three days for outstation travel, and the whole of last week it was parked at home thanks to concerns around the cauvery conflicts. Realized on Sunday morning that the battery is dead, and got it changed on Monday. Didn't try to charge and push my luck since I mostly use the car for odd time commute, and I'm already running a heavier load of 100W bulbs and two power hungry amplifiers.

Hi, I suggest you not to use the car for few more days as TN registered cars and buses are being targeted here. This can happen anytime of the day or night. So, please be safe.

CD,

A query. Is there any way to prevent inside windshield fogging while driving through rains with circulation mode on Fresh air? Presently if I used the windshield defogger (front), defogging happens at a mush faster way. If I continuously keep the AC on, it gets chilled inside the cabin (have this issue with the ears, Tinnitus. The ears gets blocked soon). Any other way out?