Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold!

puchoo · 20th October 2013, 16:07

No problem , hope you had a good trip!!

While i get the photos from my trip a bit organized , here is what i decided to do on a Sunday afternoon , reflective tape on the front T-Jet badge , idea credit to KarthikK from his thread.

Rough around the images , but this was the first attempt. Did it with the logo plate still attached to the car which made it a bit difficult to cut and shape to the right dimensions but will take a look and see how it looks at night and if i like it will do it again sometime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Yes; the Lead Mechanic told me that there is a way for rats to do exactly this.

Sorry for the delay in responding; just got back from my very first trip with the T-Jet (~ 1,600 km),

puchoo · 28th October 2013, 12:03

Trip Report
Delhi to Shimla
Total distance covered : Approximately 900 Km's

Time taken while going : 9 Hours including stops
Time taken on return : 7 hours including stops

FE from Delhi to Shimla : 14.2 Kmpl
FE from Shimla to Delhi : 14.9 Kmpl

FE between Delhi and Chandigarh : 16.2 Kmpl

Managed to make another trip far quicker than expected home again earlier this month. As one can read from the fuel economy perspective , absolutely nothing to complain about. This was recorded with significantly fast speeds in the plains - as much as 130 Kmph on certain stretches , and lots of 3500-4000 RPM's hits on the hills.

I am only going touch upon aspects which i brought up post the last trip for discussions rather than going into everything :-

No complaints about the car feeling heavy going up this time around. I was ready for the "behavioral change" in terms of gear shifts the minute we hit the mountains and as many have commented she was a true mountain goat.

Roads were slightly better in condition this time allowing for fast corners and not once did she move out of line.

Very comfortable drive , not tired at all , seating perfect. There were a couple of squeaks in the car before i started out which i was pleased to find did not re-appear post a healthy dose of WD-40 on them prior to leaving.

The AC was on for the entire drive up and worked without any problems or complaints keeping the car at a comfortable 25 the entire time.

The mats were a real pain ,with my sole getting stuck in the lining which is present for the heel , these are going to get thrown out in the coming weeks and 3D ones bought , while i have the T-Jet branded mats i will keep those for the back only.

Car has crossed 4000 Km's now and i can take her for servicing. No real problems as such except for squealing brakes which has been around since a few weeks after getting her. Will get the entire oil changed as well.

Tyre noise was more pronounced this time around , or i noticed it much more at any rate and am fairly clear that while the Goodyears do their job well and are sufficient for me , reducing road noise would enhance driving experience with this car sufficiently and i will now start budgeting for some new shoes for her.

A few pictures from the trip

Panoramic view from a little below the house

Drive in the area

Drive in the Area

Parked with mother nature

Its only 4 PM but cold enough for condensate to start building. The car looks pretty weird when enough condensate builds up thanks to the noise reduction pad - the condensate takes the shape of that. If you look closely you can make out the shapes starting to appear

Long winding roads and smooth fast corners!!

Have a few more absolutely gorgeous photos of the wheels with the sunlight making them appear to have some effect on them , will put those up in a while as well.

puchoo · 30th October 2013, 17:06

Alloy pictures , apologies for posting them so much later than planned. Ownership aside these have to be one of the best looking ones in the Indian market today. No special effects , just the effect of sunlight and them having been recently cleaned.

Grr7 · 30th October 2013, 19:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by puchoo

Alloy pictures , apologies for posting them so much later than planned. Ownership aside these have to be one of the best looking ones in the Indian market today. No special effects , just the effect of sunlight and them having been recently cleaned.

Completely agree with you on the alloys part. These are my fav OEM alloys, sans the ones that comes in fiat Punto.

OT: Sent you a PM some time back, please revert in case you missed it somehow.

Regards

puchoo · 30th October 2013, 20:29

Fair enough!
Did not get any PM ..... please send again whenever possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grr7

Completely agree with you on the alloys part. These are my fav OEM alloys, sans the ones that comes in fiat Punto.

OT: Sent you a PM some time back, please revert in case you missed it somehow.

Regards

TheTeacher · 1st November 2013, 15:23

Awesome pics, Puchoo! And fantastic mileage too! What pressure are you keeping in the tyres, front/rear?

puchoo · 5th November 2013, 14:17

I go with 32 psi on all 4 90% of the times , KarthikK suggested i try this and i find it to be the best pressure in terms of reduced ride stiffness as well , but i do go higher if i know that i am going to be carrying a lot of weight on a long drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Awesome pics, Puchoo! And fantastic mileage too! What pressure are you keeping in the tyres, front/rear?

TheTeacher · 14th November 2013, 19:41

I keep higher pressure and get lower mileage, so that rules out low tyre pressure as the cause. How long one way is your typical commute?

Biraj · 14th November 2013, 20:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by puchoo

Trip Report
FE from Delhi to Shimla : 14.2 Kmpl
FE from Shimla to Delhi : 14.9 Kmpl

FE between Delhi and Chandigarh : 16.2 Kmpl

Lovely pics.

That's really good efficiency. On the same stretch (Delhi-Shimla), I managed 11.2 KMPL

The best I have ever seen on highways is 17.1 from Himalayan Expressway till Karnal. Floored it after Karnal and reached home with 12.4 KMPL

puchoo · 15th November 2013, 10:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

I keep higher pressure and get lower mileage, so that rules out low tyre pressure as the cause. How long one way is your typical commute?

Hi , daily office commute is about 7-8 Kms in each direction , so total i drive is abut 14-16 Kms a day. This is through the heart of Delhi so traffic is sometimes ok but sometimes really really bad. The last week average has worked out to 10.1 KMPL as of today morning , it was at about 11.2 yesterday morning but then there was a massive 20 minute jam which got it down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biraj

Lovely pics.

That's really good efficiency. On the same stretch (Delhi-Shimla), I managed 11.2 KMPL

The best I have ever seen on highways is 17.1 from Himalayan Expressway till Karnal. Floored it after Karnal and reached home with 12.4 KMPL

You floored it after Karnal?

The opposite for me these days when i go because the stretch from Karnal to Panipat at any rate is definitely bad. But 17 is fantastic.

Going again , last minute trip , this weekend. Expect a slightly better performance overall because there will be no AC usage at all given the weather now

TheTeacher · 15th November 2013, 21:02

Thanks Puchoo. One last question to bug you (then I'm out of ideas). What's your Odo reading now?

puchoo · 19th November 2013, 23:37

Out of ideas - not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing!

Odo stands at almost 5000 thanks to a last minute trip i made over the last few days which covered another 900 KM's , trip report up tomorrow. The trip has got the Jet upto her first servicing interval.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Thanks Puchoo. One last question to bug you (then I'm out of ideas). What's your Odo reading now?

puchoo · 21st November 2013, 14:23

So a last minute drive up happened again , no pictures this time thought they would have been more or less identical to what i posted last time.

Each time i take the jet out i have more and more fun with her and an absolute pleasure to drive. I am absolutely delighted with the decision to get her instead of any other car.

Total distance covered was about 800 Km's and road conditions were much the same as described last time. Every time i drive her on the hills now i manage to do it faster and faster shaving off nearly 30 minutes off a 3 hour drive. Perfectly balanced and composed she is a mountain goat in all respects!

Fuel economy while driving up worked to to 15 , back down to Delhi it was a 15.2 after driving around in the city for 30 minutes , was closer to 16 before i entered Delhi.

No problems whatsoever , there is a bit of a "squeek squeek" sound coming when i turn the car towards the left a bit , coming from outside , assuming servicing should take car of that.

The ODO stands at over 5000 now and she will be going to the workshop either this weekend or next weekend , any tips in terms of instructions or supervising the staff there would be most welcome!

puchoo · 28th November 2013, 14:55

For months i have been delaying getting my HSRP plates done thanks to a factor of little time , laziness on weekends and the fact that the center i got is a good 20 Km's away from my place. Add to it generic apprehension of crowds and "babu" processes and i have had the receipt tucked away with me for over 4 months.

Yesterday however i decided to be a bit active and go across and get it done. With news about it being implemented aggressively post December decided i might as well bite the bullet and get it done. A few photos and details of the process in case it helps anyone.

As one can see from the above route map i pretty much had to go from one end of Delhi to the other. This one is located in Timarpur New Delhi , one of the furthest ones i could have possibly got in Delhi.

However , call it luck i managed to get there in about 40 minutes only . My SA from fiat had told me to try and arrive well before 1 PM as they break for lunch post that , and lunch breaks can stem from the official 1 hour to 3 hours depending!! Also post 230 PM there is an increased inflow in terms of the crowd and the process would take longer. I managed to get there a little after 12 PM.

The above photo is of the center. Its located in a very empty and shady looking market , the corners of which are filled with school kids smoking and trying to woo the many school girls around as well. The center as you can see is pretty deserted with only 2 people standing outside it. Rather unimpressive and unkempt as well. Inside there are 3 computers with a lot of number plates lying around and a few operators who think they are the cats whiskers because they know how to use a computer. The supervisor spends most of his time strolling outside and making runs to the "paan shop" . The male operator thinks even more highly of himself because he appears to know how to use MS powerpoint as well , something his lady colleague seems to be mesmerized and impressed with.

The dear lady has nothing to do with the center - although looking at the photograph one might think she owns it , better yet owns the company but she is the local vegetable seller whose kitty funnily seems to comprise of carrots and potatoes only. However she is most interested in the process and gets up and takes a close look at all the cars coming there. For a minute i thought that in order to facilitate my plates i might have to buy some vegetables from her and appease the supervisor in the process but fortunately that was not the case.

One point i would like to mention - look at the receipt you would have got from your car dealership and ensure that the RTO as well as the showroom stamps are present. Mine did not have the showroom stamp present , the SA simply had not put it on and i was none the wiser about needing it. Its once i submitted my papers that the supervisor between his spitting requirements told me they will not process me without the showroom stamp ,a few calls were made and the SA yelled at , a favor called in and thankfully it went under processing.

They asked me to fill in a small one page form which basically acknowledges that i have got the plates and what the car details were.

Then it all starts....

The old plates are taken off. In the picture above you can see a blue milk carton , that's the tool box !! After every screw removed the person used to strike a pose as can be seen above ............... apparently not only is it tiring to remove a screw , you can also flaunt it.

The new number plates then start getting put on. They use a drill to drill into the bumper at 2 points post visually lining up the plates on both ends of the car. It is seemingly a very immersive and mentally relaxing / stimulating process as the person sat there like that with my plate for about 5 minutes. I did walk around to see if he had fallen off to sleep but fortunately (for me) he was awake. I said nothing for fear of disturbing his thought process and getting possibly a not so straight plate.

After about 5 minutes he yelled for someone to come and hold one end of the plate so he could drill into the other end , i offered to help but was turned down. It appears that i am not qualified for such a job and could possibly screw up the perfection that he was striving for............... never mind that its my car.

Post the holes he put in 2 rivets and went to get the rear ones done. This is what the rivets look like. Basically long cylindrical tubes which go into the holes. They have currently just been placed to hold the plate in place ( and you can see what a good job is being done on that front!! )

After both plates have been put - did i mention they ran out of widgets and 15 minutes were spent going through the milk carton and then the office to find some more - this chap shows up. He is the muscle man of the market , much of that reputation comes from the tool he uses to tighten and break off the extra length of the rivets as is being done above. Fortunately this only took about 30 seconds for both plates.

The last task was putting another sticker on the inside of my windshield which has the license number and some car details on it. I actually honestly did not know that this was required as well. On inquiring as to why this was needed given the plates and the fact that all these details are mentioned in the RC book along with other documents of the car i was promptly , in a roaring voice , told " To prevent theft" - i could not help but tease a bit and asked him that if the sticker was all that it took to stop my car getting stolen , they should have just put stickers in the first place to being with and ignored the plates..... i did not get a response as he walked away to get a fresh Paan.

All in all it took me about 60-70 minutes to get all of this done. The actual time spent working was only 15 minutes , the rest of the time went in basically doing nothing. The overall experience was far better than i had imagined in terms of time as well as there not being a crowd but if this is the pace they work with , i am sure when they have 5-6 cars parked it will take much longer.

No payment was made since it had already been done by the dealership to the RTO.

puchoo · 2nd January 2014, 14:16

And the dream run continues with Tizze in 2014 as well!! Overdue for a servicing , clocked about 5800 Kms and will get to experience Fiat's servicing capabilities and experience in a few days. No problems with the car whatsoever , nothing new has developed.

Got the first puncture a few days ago , ended up driving on it for a few kilometers because the car simply did not provide any feedback that there was something wrong. Small injury , fixed easily.

Mileage even stronger now with the AC being off completely , 11-12 normal without any effort.

Squeaking noise continues but has not increase or grown in any manner , will be sorting it out in the servicing.

28th October 2013, 12:03	#212
puchoo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Delhi / Shimla Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 773 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! Trip Report Delhi to Shimla Total distance covered : Approximately 900 Km's Time taken while going : 9 Hours including stops Time taken on return : 7 hours including stops FE from Delhi to Shimla : 14.2 Kmpl FE from Shimla to Delhi : 14.9 Kmpl FE between Delhi and Chandigarh : 16.2 Kmpl Managed to make another trip far quicker than expected home again earlier this month. As one can read from the fuel economy perspective , absolutely nothing to complain about. This was recorded with significantly fast speeds in the plains - as much as 130 Kmph on certain stretches , and lots of 3500-4000 RPM's hits on the hills. I am only going touch upon aspects which i brought up post the last trip for discussions rather than going into everything :- No complaints about the car feeling heavy going up this time around. I was ready for the "behavioral change" in terms of gear shifts the minute we hit the mountains and as many have commented she was a true mountain goat. Roads were slightly better in condition this time allowing for fast corners and not once did she move out of line. Very comfortable drive , not tired at all , seating perfect. There were a couple of squeaks in the car before i started out which i was pleased to find did not re-appear post a healthy dose of WD-40 on them prior to leaving. The AC was on for the entire drive up and worked without any problems or complaints keeping the car at a comfortable 25 the entire time. The mats were a real pain ,with my sole getting stuck in the lining which is present for the heel , these are going to get thrown out in the coming weeks and 3D ones bought , while i have the T-Jet branded mats i will keep those for the back only. Car has crossed 4000 Km's now and i can take her for servicing. No real problems as such except for squealing brakes which has been around since a few weeks after getting her. Will get the entire oil changed as well. Tyre noise was more pronounced this time around , or i noticed it much more at any rate and am fairly clear that while the Goodyears do their job well and are sufficient for me , reducing road noise would enhance driving experience with this car sufficiently and i will now start budgeting for some new shoes for her. A few pictures from the trip Panoramic view from a little below the house Drive in the area Drive in the Area Parked with mother nature Its only 4 PM but cold enough for condensate to start building. The car looks pretty weird when enough condensate builds up thanks to the noise reduction pad - the condensate takes the shape of that. If you look closely you can make out the shapes starting to appear Long winding roads and smooth fast corners!! Have a few more absolutely gorgeous photos of the wheels with the sunlight making them appear to have some effect on them , will put those up in a while as well.
	(4) Thanks

30th October 2013, 17:06	#213
puchoo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Delhi / Shimla Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 773 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! Alloy pictures , apologies for posting them so much later than planned. Ownership aside these have to be one of the best looking ones in the Indian market today. No special effects , just the effect of sunlight and them having been recently cleaned. Attached Thumbnails
	(5) Thanks

1st November 2013, 15:23	#216
TheTeacher BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Space-Time Posts: 484 Thanked: 342 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! Awesome pics, Puchoo! And fantastic mileage too! What pressure are you keeping in the tyres, front/rear?
	() Thanks

14th November 2013, 19:41	#218
TheTeacher BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Space-Time Posts: 484 Thanked: 342 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! I keep higher pressure and get lower mileage, so that rules out low tyre pressure as the cause. How long one way is your typical commute?
	() Thanks

15th November 2013, 21:02	#221
TheTeacher BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Space-Time Posts: 484 Thanked: 342 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! Thanks Puchoo. One last question to bug you (then I'm out of ideas). What's your Odo reading now?
	() Thanks

21st November 2013, 14:23	#223
puchoo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Delhi / Shimla Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 773 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! So a last minute drive up happened again , no pictures this time thought they would have been more or less identical to what i posted last time. Each time i take the jet out i have more and more fun with her and an absolute pleasure to drive. I am absolutely delighted with the decision to get her instead of any other car. Total distance covered was about 800 Km's and road conditions were much the same as described last time. Every time i drive her on the hills now i manage to do it faster and faster shaving off nearly 30 minutes off a 3 hour drive. Perfectly balanced and composed she is a mountain goat in all respects! Fuel economy while driving up worked to to 15 , back down to Delhi it was a 15.2 after driving around in the city for 30 minutes , was closer to 16 before i entered Delhi. No problems whatsoever , there is a bit of a "squeek squeek" sound coming when i turn the car towards the left a bit , coming from outside , assuming servicing should take car of that. The ODO stands at over 5000 now and she will be going to the workshop either this weekend or next weekend , any tips in terms of instructions or supervising the staff there would be most welcome! Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

28th November 2013, 14:55	#224
puchoo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Delhi / Shimla Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 773 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! For months i have been delaying getting my HSRP plates done thanks to a factor of little time , laziness on weekends and the fact that the center i got is a good 20 Km's away from my place. Add to it generic apprehension of crowds and "babu" processes and i have had the receipt tucked away with me for over 4 months. Yesterday however i decided to be a bit active and go across and get it done. With news about it being implemented aggressively post December decided i might as well bite the bullet and get it done. A few photos and details of the process in case it helps anyone. As one can see from the above route map i pretty much had to go from one end of Delhi to the other. This one is located in Timarpur New Delhi , one of the furthest ones i could have possibly got in Delhi. However , call it luck i managed to get there in about 40 minutes only . My SA from fiat had told me to try and arrive well before 1 PM as they break for lunch post that , and lunch breaks can stem from the official 1 hour to 3 hours depending!! Also post 230 PM there is an increased inflow in terms of the crowd and the process would take longer. I managed to get there a little after 12 PM. The above photo is of the center. Its located in a very empty and shady looking market , the corners of which are filled with school kids smoking and trying to woo the many school girls around as well. The center as you can see is pretty deserted with only 2 people standing outside it. Rather unimpressive and unkempt as well. Inside there are 3 computers with a lot of number plates lying around and a few operators who think they are the cats whiskers because they know how to use a computer. The supervisor spends most of his time strolling outside and making runs to the "paan shop" . The male operator thinks even more highly of himself because he appears to know how to use MS powerpoint as well , something his lady colleague seems to be mesmerized and impressed with. The dear lady has nothing to do with the center - although looking at the photograph one might think she owns it , better yet owns the company but she is the local vegetable seller whose kitty funnily seems to comprise of carrots and potatoes only. However she is most interested in the process and gets up and takes a close look at all the cars coming there. For a minute i thought that in order to facilitate my plates i might have to buy some vegetables from her and appease the supervisor in the process but fortunately that was not the case. One point i would like to mention - look at the receipt you would have got from your car dealership and ensure that the RTO as well as the showroom stamps are present. Mine did not have the showroom stamp present , the SA simply had not put it on and i was none the wiser about needing it. Its once i submitted my papers that the supervisor between his spitting requirements told me they will not process me without the showroom stamp ,a few calls were made and the SA yelled at , a favor called in and thankfully it went under processing. They asked me to fill in a small one page form which basically acknowledges that i have got the plates and what the car details were. Then it all starts.... The old plates are taken off. In the picture above you can see a blue milk carton , that's the tool box !! After every screw removed the person used to strike a pose as can be seen above ............... apparently not only is it tiring to remove a screw , you can also flaunt it. The new number plates then start getting put on. They use a drill to drill into the bumper at 2 points post visually lining up the plates on both ends of the car. It is seemingly a very immersive and mentally relaxing / stimulating process as the person sat there like that with my plate for about 5 minutes. I did walk around to see if he had fallen off to sleep but fortunately (for me) he was awake. I said nothing for fear of disturbing his thought process and getting possibly a not so straight plate. After about 5 minutes he yelled for someone to come and hold one end of the plate so he could drill into the other end , i offered to help but was turned down. It appears that i am not qualified for such a job and could possibly screw up the perfection that he was striving for............... never mind that its my car. Post the holes he put in 2 rivets and went to get the rear ones done. This is what the rivets look like. Basically long cylindrical tubes which go into the holes. They have currently just been placed to hold the plate in place ( and you can see what a good job is being done on that front!! ) After both plates have been put - did i mention they ran out of widgets and 15 minutes were spent going through the milk carton and then the office to find some more - this chap shows up. He is the muscle man of the market , much of that reputation comes from the tool he uses to tighten and break off the extra length of the rivets as is being done above. Fortunately this only took about 30 seconds for both plates. The last task was putting another sticker on the inside of my windshield which has the license number and some car details on it. I actually honestly did not know that this was required as well. On inquiring as to why this was needed given the plates and the fact that all these details are mentioned in the RC book along with other documents of the car i was promptly , in a roaring voice , told " To prevent theft" - i could not help but tease a bit and asked him that if the sticker was all that it took to stop my car getting stolen , they should have just put stickers in the first place to being with and ignored the plates..... i did not get a response as he walked away to get a fresh Paan. All in all it took me about 60-70 minutes to get all of this done. The actual time spent working was only 15 minutes , the rest of the time went in basically doing nothing. The overall experience was far better than i had imagined in terms of time as well as there not being a crowd but if this is the pace they work with , i am sure when they have 5-6 cars parked it will take much longer. No payment was made since it had already been done by the dealership to the RTO. Last edited by puchoo : 28th November 2013 at 15:12.
	(5) Thanks

2nd January 2014, 14:16	#225
puchoo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Delhi / Shimla Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 773 Times	re: Tizze Lands Home: The Fiat Linea T-Jet 2013 EDIT: Sold! And the dream run continues with Tizze in 2014 as well!! Overdue for a servicing , clocked about 5800 Kms and will get to experience Fiat's servicing capabilities and experience in a few days. No problems with the car whatsoever , nothing new has developed. Got the first puncture a few days ago , ended up driving on it for a few kilometers because the car simply did not provide any feedback that there was something wrong. Small injury , fixed easily. Mileage even stronger now with the AC being off completely , 11-12 normal without any effort. Squeaking noise continues but has not increase or grown in any manner , will be sorting it out in the servicing.
	(1) Thanks