[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

1st Anniversary update:

Crossed 1 year on July 29th and it's been an awesome 15500 odd kms.

Many congratulations Naveen on the first anniversary and reaching that 15.5K kms milestone on the odo. Lovely droolworthy pictures of the Creta in the ghats, where the roads are lost in the clouds. The road with the hair-pin bends is just "vow". Which road/ghat is this?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Many congratulations Naveen on the first anniversary and reaching that 15.5K kms milestone on the odo. Lovely droolworthy pictures of the Creta in the ghats, where the roads are lost in the clouds. The road with the hair-pin bends is just "vow". Which road/ghat is this?

Thanks dude. The ghat section is Wayanad and the tea plantation is Munnar. Few more pictures coming up in a day or two .

[naveen.raju]

Weekend Drive:

Completed a 400 km weekend drive to Varkala. Took a different route this time.

Vyttila - Ettumanoor - Manarcad - Puthuppally - Karukachal - Mallapally - Kozhencherry - Adoor - Kottarakkara - Chadayamangalam - Parippally - Varkala

Road was good throughout but narrow at some sections. Ladies didnt appreciate the winding roads though.

My last drive to Varkala consumed 25% of the tank but this time it gulped 50% (the entire trip). A bit longer and not an arrow straight highway like the usual route.

Here are some pictures.























And one quick wash to get rid of the salt deposits

[jrchhabra]

Greetings Sir, I have a Creta SX(O) which has covered about 9300kms and is due for its second free service. The estimate the representative gave me was around 7-8k, which I found slightly weird as my friends diesel Verna SX had its third free service at 18000kms a week ago at the same dealership, which cost him approximately 2.5k. The estimate I got was without an inspection.
Also, has the Garware film brought you any trouble with the cops ? Which is the exact variant you are using and after your experience with it would you prefer something else ?
I really loved the interior light modifications you have done and will be inquiring locally about the same.
Thank you in advance.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by jrchhabra

Greetings Sir, I have a Creta SX(O) which has covered about 9300kms and is due for its second free service. The estimate the representative gave me was around 7-8k, which I found slightly weird as my friends diesel Verna SX had its third free service at 18000kms a week ago at the same dealership, which cost him approximately 2.5k. The estimate I got was without an inspection.
Also, has the Garware film brought you any trouble with the cops ? Which is the exact variant you are using and after your experience with it would you prefer something else ?
I really loved the interior light modifications you have done and will be inquiring locally about the same.
Thank you in advance.

Mine came around 2400 for the 10k km service. No way it's going to cost 7-8k unless there's any major work outside the regular 10k service checklist. Moreover, labor is free. So it will be below 3k.

Think it's Garware Silver 70. These are the entry level films. No issues with cops so far and it's doing a decent job. Of course, I would love to install darker films one day.

[jrchhabra]

Thank you so much. Will ask them for detailed breakdown of the approximate they had given me. I remember he had included wheel alignment and diesel filter in the approximate before inspecting the car.
Thinking of changing the yellow halogens in the projector to a pair of OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimiteds. In my humble opinion, atleast the SX(O) should have come with white halogens or HIDs. Your opinion ?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by jrchhabra

Thank you so much. Will ask them for detailed breakdown of the approximate they had given me. I remember he had included wheel alignment and diesel filter in the approximate before inspecting the car.
Thinking of changing the yellow halogens in the projector to a pair of OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimiteds. In my humble opinion, atleast the SX(O) should have come with white halogens or HIDs. Your opinion ?

I always skip alignment, balancing and wash. It's better to get it done outside. I found the headlights to be pretty good although I do have plans of installing HIDs. Yes, they should have provided HIDs when S Cross and Baleno have it.

[jrchhabra]

Had inquired about philips diamond vision halogens for the car. They were available for around 1400. The shop owner however, could not find the exact replacement and was confused about which bulb to use. He said that the model number written was different and could not figure out what the 'L + K' after 9005 was. Any suggestions?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by jrchhabra

Had inquired about philips diamond vision halogens for the car. They were available for around 1400. The shop owner however, could not find the exact replacement and was confused about which bulb to use. He said that the model number written was different and could not figure out what the 'L + K' after 9005 was. Any suggestions? Attachment 1551947

HB3 is the bulb to be used. It usually comes in a single filament 60 or 65w. Ask him to source HB3 bulbs.

[jrchhabra]

As far as i know, doesn't the creta sx(o) have low beam and high beam in the same halogen (via the same projector) ? So wouldn't a halogen with double filaments be required ?
With reference to your interior light mods, do the plastic enclosures heat up more than they did previously ?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by jrchhabra

As far as i know, doesn't the creta sx(o) have low beam and high beam in the same halogen (via the same projector) ? So wouldn't a halogen with double filaments be required ?
With reference to your interior light mods, do the plastic enclosures heat up more than they did previously ?

Yes, SX(O) and the base model will work on the same principle ie, single bulb for both low and high beam. Since the projectors have a different base, it will fit only HB3 bulbs. The base model which is having the reflector type headlights should accept H4 bulbs (not sure on this but H4 is most commonly used in other cars with single bulb configuration).

I had installed 16 SMD LED which was shown in the update picture. That was way too bright and the enclosure used to heat up a bit when switched on for sometime. Now I use 3 SMD LED which is less bright and no heat. Another reason was that the 16 SMD LED didnt fit perfectly in the slot. Since the 3 SMD LED is a festoon type, it fits perfectly. Go for this 3 SMD LED's. Should be a good upgrade from the yellow stock lights.

[naveen.raju]

300 km Weekend Drive:

Did a 325 km drive to Vagamon with DBHPian Deetjohn and family. The route and the resort was finalized in August, soon after our Varkala drive so the entire trip was hassle free. The reason why we booked this place.



The only “not so good” comment was the road to the resort and the ordinary food. And it turned out to be true. The staff, hospitality/service was excellent. The owner was there for the weekend and he too personally took care of us. Wonderful to see such amazing service. Expect us to be see our faces again.

This is the road that we took.

Vytilla – Pala – Erattupetta – Vagamon – Resort



Stopped at Eden gardens, Kanjiramattom for breakfast. The place looked pretty new and it was pretty good though expensive. Highly recommended for food, ambience. Service is a bit slow.



Source - Google Images

Reached the resort by 1pm. The approach road wasn’t all that bad and I should say, they have invested a lot. The entrance road was a bit rocky but then it was good all the way up to the resort. There were 5 hairpin turns and it was clearly marked with boards, reflectors (along the entire stretch) and a safety convex mirror at each blind curves. Appreciate the owner for doing it.

Some pictures of the resort and the road.















Reception and BBQ area



Our home for the weekend and a dedicated parking for both our cars



View from balcony



Deetjohn’s Fiesta



The next day took us to Mottakkunnu, Suicide point and Kuttikanam. Decided to skip Pine forest as it was crowded. Some pictures

































(contd)

[naveen.raju]

(contd from above)



Our return drive was through Muttom – Thodupuzha which was amazing.



Here are some pictures of the route.













And like always, few parting shots







Odo - Close to 16700 kms

[wilful]

Thanks for sharing those wonderful pics. Stunning, some of them!
That place in Kanjiramattom looks pretty upmarket. Never knew of its existence.
Did you stay inside Vaghamon Estate? I thought I spotted the remains of an old tea factory in one of the pics. Used to drive up to Elappara that route very frequently in the late 90s ie Erattupetta/Vaghamon/Elappara.
It's sad that so many of the tea estates in the area have closed down. Some of those mottakunnus were full of tea bushes some years ago.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by wilful

Thanks for sharing those wonderful pics. Stunning, some of them!
That place in Kanjiramattom looks pretty upmarket. Never knew of its existence.
Did you stay inside Vaghamon Estate? I thought I spotted the remains of an old tea factory in one of the pics. Used to drive up to Elappara that route very frequently in the late 90s ie Erattupetta/Vaghamon/Elappara.
It's sad that so many of the tea estates in the area have closed down. Some of those mottakunnus were full of tea bushes some years ago.

Yes. It's got that premium look. It's got a food court outside in a separate building and a premium Chinese restaurant "Mainland Shanghai" .

It wasnt inside Vagamon estates although it was inside a tea plantation. We did see many abandoned building which I think is part of the tea estate. Looked like there's one group "Aban" operating the tea estate. Other than that most of the plantations are not maintained.