[graaja]

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

Nice read. This is definitely a 'one of a kind' GT...

Thank you so much for the kind words.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

The multiple brake pad replacements coupled with rare disc replacement gets my imaginative mind running and lets me believe that you often follow the 'acceleration-braking-deacceleration' cycle and that 'engine-braking' is a distant alternative. Correct me if I am wrong here.

You are correct.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

The iDrive feature: quick drop in KM left for brake pad replacement from '10000 KM left' to '2000 KM left' (assumption) in the space of a day or two seems quirky!

Correct. The iDrive prediction on brake pad life is completely useless and can put you in a spot in times. This is one of the quirks I have accepted with the car.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

The suspension upgrade that has been performed on the car during its early days may have provided you the benefit of a stiffened suspension. However, it is my assumption that this move in itself may have been contributing to the bend alloy issue that you have been facing.

I don't think the bent alloys are because of the suspension. Even the MSport suspension is quite supple and is not too harsh. I think it is a combination of the stiff sidewalls of the RFTs, lower profile with the 18" wheels and weak alloys that resulted in this. I had 3 bent alloys around 30k kilometers and the bend was significant. After this, I have driven 50K kilometers on the BBS alloys and tubeless tires and only one of them bent enough to warrant a replacement. The other that I replaced was mainly to replace them in pairs. It is still very much usable. So it is just one BBS alloy bent in 50K kilometers vs. 3 OE alloys bent in 30K kilometers.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

If the brake pads need replacement then they should have gone ahead with that job first before inadvertently coupling it with disc replacement. I understand that both were worn out. However, they didn't have the discs in stock, but they did have the brake pads. Then they should have gone ahead with brake pad replacement. "Their denying you that service because they brought up a 'dependency' which they say comes up under their BSI+ policy": this argument seems to be on a slippery ground.

Yes. BSI definitely has some inconveniences. They have some rules on when a part can be changed and many times, this leads to multiple service center visits. This is another quirk I have accepted with the package. There are a couple of instances when BSI worked against me.

One was during the Munnar drive incident when I had to drive on worn pads because of disc dependency. But they asked me to drive only after removing the pads and inspecting them to be evenly worn and can easily last for the distance.

The other was during my Arunachal drive. But this time there was really a lot of life left in the pads and I consider it fair that they were not willing to change it under BSI.

I have not been put under any severe inconvenience yet by BSI. Maybe if I face such a situation in the next one year (before the 6 year package expires), I may switch to pay on demand service for the freedom.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

Another question to you: What is the condition of engine mounts, transmission mounts?

I have not inspected the mounts. So I do not know the exact condition. I only mentioned that there was some vibration when the engine is started that lasts for a minute or two and they said engine mount needs replacement.

[graaja]

Roofbox installation and Nadugani trip

Roofbox Installation:

One of my hobbies is Astrophotography. I sometimes travel to places with low light pollution to do some astrophotography. These times, I have to carry lot of equipment in the car. Usually, I can accomodate all the equipment in the car by folding down the rear seats. But on occasions when I have 3 passengers, the available space is limited and I have to drop one of the equipment. I have been planning to add a roofbox to the car for some time. As I have another astrophotography trip to Coorg coming up later this month, decided to get this done.

Thule roof boxes were very expensive costing more than a lakh. A friend of mine in Coimbatore had installed a roof box from a company called Pentair and it was quite good in quality. The only issue was the clamps had very coarse fixing dimensions and would not fit the fixed cross bar installation on the GT. Thanks to TBHPian "itwasntme", I got introduced to another company called Farad and their roof boxes also were of very good quality. They also had quick release clamps with slots that can accomodate a wide range of cross bar spacing. Went ahead and ordered the Farad Marlin 400 Liter roof box. Earlier, I had the Thule wingbars with Proride bike rack. Since I quit triathlons and cycling a couple of years back, I had removed this setup from the car and had stored it. Decided to use the same Thule cross bars and fix the Farad box.

Unboxing the roof box.






The complete kit - Thule wing bars, Thule footkit for F34, Farad roof box and clamps.


The box opened.

These clamps are quick release. Just pull the top leaver and the clamps open up to be released from the cross bar. Press the lever and the clamps close and tighten on the cross bar. With this quick release design, it takes about 5 minutes to mount and unmount the box.


Fixing the feet (base for the bars) to the roof.


Fixed the Thule wing bars.


The box installed.


Nadugani Drive:

I joined the TBHP group from Bangalore in the Nadugani overnight TBHP meet organised by RSUDARSANAN. I drove from Coimbatore through Kotagiri and Ooty and joined everyone in Nadugani, spent a night in a cozy little resort and returned back the next day. I will share more pictures in the Nadugani drive thread. Sharing a few pictures of the GT here.

A few pictures of the GT during the onward journey. Drove through some beautiful hill roads with mist.

















To avoid the heavy weekend tourist traffic in Ooty, returned through Kerala. Took the Nilambur -> Mannarkad -> Palakkad -> Coimbatore route. I, TBHPian 500CountryCruiser in his CLA and Brraj in his Getz drove together during this return journey. A few pictures from this journey.







That's all folks, I have for now.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by graaja

Roofbox installation and Nadugani trip

Thanks to TBHPian "itwasntme", I got introduced to another company called Farad and their roof boxes also were of very good quality.

Looks fabulous and quintessentially Euro. Glad I could help in some way; pretty sure I'll also pick one up shortly to make up for that pathetic excuse of a boot on my 330i.

Couple of queries: how's the wind noise & turbulence? Overpowering or acceptable and what is the speed ceiling with it on? Further, any noticeable ride and/or handling deviations?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Looks fabulous and quintessentially Euro. Glad I could help in some way; pretty sure I'll also pick one up shortly to make up for that pathetic excuse of a boot on my 330i.

Couple of queries: how's the wind noise & turbulence? Overpowering or acceptable and what is the speed ceiling with it on? Further, any noticeable ride and/or handling deviations?

Thank you for the kind words!

I don't hear much wind noise inside the cabin and I did not feel anything different regarding turbulence etc. But I was not doing any great speeds during my trip to Nadugani. The top speed I did was 100 between Walayar and Coimbatore on the 4 lane highway and I did not feel anything different. I am sure the box can withstand highway speeds without any issue. But with the roof box on, need to be careful while cornering in the curves. Too much high cornering speeds can put pressure on the mounting points on the roof.

[bottle]

Is your BSI/BRI valid for 6 years? Unfortunately I chose 5 years and seems BMW has discontinued 6th year BRI now due to frequent claims.

As few others were asking, last week they identified left lower arm and link rod needing replacement. Even though it is recommended to change both sides together they only replaced the worn side in BRI

[graaja]

A Few Updates

The GT crossed 88K kilometers.


The next oil service is due in 3K kilometers and I plan to get it done mostly in March. Will get the engine mount changed during this service.

During the last wash, noticed a problem. The door beading had come off loose from the surface in one of the rear doors. Will get this checked as well during the next oil service.


Also, got the insurance renewed from Tata AIG for 63K. This is the 6th year insurance and have taken the complete package with zero dep and engine cover.

Astrophotography Trips to Coorg

Did a couple of Astrophotography trips to Coorg. These events were organized by Bangalore Astronomical Society (BAS). In the first trip in last week of December, took all the astrophotography equipment and my two daughters. In the second trip in January, went solo, but took the bigger telescope. The roof box came in handy in both these trips. A few pictures from these trips, and a few collages of the celestial objects that I managed to capture.

The payload!






A beautiful sunrise!






The smaller telescope setup in December.


The bigger telescope setup in January.


The gear in action.


At the event.




The group.


Collages of the pictures shot during the events.






I have written a detailed report on the trip in the below thread.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ery-coorg.html (Coorg Star Party - An Astrophotography / Visual Observation Trip to Talacauvery, Coorg)

That's all folks, I have for now.

[HammerHead]

I have been checking this thread regularly and I must say that you have been literally 'using' every inch of your 3GT! While we all talk about practical aspects of the car, using it for real practical purpose is another thing altogether. Kudos to you.

Thanks for sharing those amazing pics.

Any thoughts on black rims? Since you now have black front grill

[dagger8]

Thank you for showing how these cars should be used. Truly appreciate the post and for the inspiration.

[brraj]

Originally Posted by graaja

To avoid the heavy weekend tourist traffic in Ooty, returned through Kerala. Took the Nilambur -> Mannarkad -> Palakkad -> Coimbatore route. I, TBHPian 500CountryCruiser in his CLA and Brraj in his Getz drove together during this return journey. A few pictures from this journey.

I never did this trip with you

By the way wonderful Astro pictures.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

I have been checking this thread regularly and I must say that you have been literally 'using' every inch of your 3GT!
...
Any thoughts on black rims? Since you now have black front grill

Thank you so much for the kind words. I have not thought about going for black rims. Happy with the current ones. And most of the time, they do sport a black look from all the brake dust

Originally Posted by dagger8

Thank you for showing how these cars should be used. Truly appreciate the post and for the inspiration.

Thank you for the kind words!

Originally Posted by brraj

I never did this trip with you

By the way wonderful Astro pictures.

Ah. That was a typo. It was "KRRaj".

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[RJ2285]

Hi Graaja,

Is this the camera angle or some issue with the DRL?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Hi Graaja,

Is this the camera angle or some issue with the DRL?

Hi, the DRL is fine. This is just the shutter speed sync with the DRL’s drive frequency.