[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by livetodrive

Thanks Arun for sharing the story on TBHP. It was nice meeting you. Enjoyed the chat with you on the way to river walk and a sumptuous lunch

Yes, it was nice meeting you and we had some nice discussions :-). And you got a nice teambhp handle!

Originally Posted by yashg

So cool. Are there such clubs for other cars? I don't think owners of a Dzire or Creta would bother to form clubs and go on drives together.

Facebook groups will be there but yes maynot be very active for those cars.

[Rookie_Jeeper]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Independence Day Drive with 80 Jeeps:

This was a short drive organized by the Bangalore Jeep Club(group of Jeep owners)

This looks great Arun.

Another question I had is around Xtragreen diesel from IOCL. Have you or you know anyone who has tried this? Curious to know if there are any benefits of the higher cetane rating. Also, any diesel additive that you recommend for the compass? Thanks as always!

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Rookie_Jeeper

This looks great Arun.

Another question I had is around Xtragreen diesel from IOCL. Have you or you know anyone who has tried this? Curious to know if there are any benefits of the higher cetane rating. Also, any diesel additive that you recommend for the compass? Thanks as always!

I have not tried Xtragreen and I am not aware of anyone using it for Compass.

I am using Liqui moly diesel additive since 76K Kms, you can find my update in the below post,

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ml#post5290750

[Rookie_Jeeper]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I am using Liqui moly diesel additive since 76K Kms

Thanks Arun, this is useful. Not sure if the same improvements will be applicable for BS6 engines as well though. I'll probably take my time to research a bit more before taking the plunge on my BS6 Compass.

[arun_josie]

A short drive to a hillock (Mutturayaswamy Temple) off the Kanakapura road:

I came across this location when I was looking for potential short drives to a good view point. This is around 30Kms from my home and it goes via the Bannerghatta forest area. Another option to reach this place is via the Kanakapura road.

We had an unusual Saturday with no plans or commitments. So, we decided to go on a drive and checkout this place. Started around 10am and took the route via Bannerghatta road. It passes via some nice twisty roads, narrow single lane roads and some bad roads via small villages as well. The last 2-3 kms is narrow and has some concrete road stretches mixed with mud roads and at one point google stops navigating and says “You have arrived!”. The temple is beyond this point atop the summit. After this point, one must do a bit of off-roading and it’s a concrete stretch till the top of this hill. The last 1 KM is a very steep climb and I just stuck to the first gear, in fact it didn’t give me any opportunity to slot the 2nd gear. Once we reached the top, you see a nice viewpoint.

This location is remote with no crowd at all but there is a temple on the top. We spent some time clicking pictures and then started our return. Overall, its a nice picnic spot, perfect for a visit on a cloudy day. There are some trees under which you can enjoy some shade. Its also a good trekking trail to go as a gang. There is a nice rocky terrain but since we were alone, I didn’t want to take any risk

Here are some pics

Nice view behind









During the return





Later in the day when I was having a casual discussion with my friends, I shared information about this location. A last-minute plan was hatched for the next day to drive to this spot just for fun. This time along with my Compass, a Trailhawk , a Honda City and an Ather joined in too.

We expected the climate to be cool and breezy but by the time we reached the top, it was very hot. Since more people were there, I and my friend in Trailhawk decided to do the last-mile climb on the rocky terrain. This rocky terrain is very uneven with huge humps at some places along the outer edge of the hill, making it tricky to navigate. So, a very cautious approach was required. Since we were a gang, my friends guided me on the terrain while I maneuvered the Jeep. Once we reached the top, turning back was tricky with few sharp stones on the sides. But we were able to take the turn without any issues.

Overall, the Trailhawk needed less guidance due to its better approach angle and ground clearance. Another challenge was to avoid any tyre cuts as there were some sharp stone edges on this rocky terrain, but we were able to overcome this without any issues.

Ather also did this off-roading bit without any sweat.

After reaching the top, we stomped around the place, exploring the terrain for some time and then returned. Kids enjoyed this trip too.

Here are some more pics,

The Jeeps just before taking the rocky terrain



Scarlett on top of her game



Along with the Trailhawk



And the Ather too



Trying to get the parking right



Both together on top of the world











After a nice workout and just before the return





Good workout for the Ather too



Some random pics of the location

Kids had some nice time too









During the return the ODO crossed 96,000 Kms.

[gururajrv]

Sir, this is a nice place to visit with family for a short getaway types. Do you think Brezza can reach atop or should we park somewhere close by and do the trekking to get to the top of the rocky hill?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by gururajrv

Sir, this is a nice place to visit with family for a short getaway types. Do you think Brezza can reach atop or should we park somewhere close by and do the trekking to get to the top of the rocky hill?

You can go till the top in Brezza, the last climb is narrow and steep so it will be little tricky when there is opposite traffic. But as I had mentioned this place is not much crowded. And yes its a nice location for a short drive with family and friends.

Here is the clipping of the last 2 Kms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W17k-R11Xo

[bullitt1]

A short drive to a hillock (Mutturayaswamy Temple) off the Kanakapura road:

Very nice place, on my list to explore. Thanks for sharing. There are indeed lots of such places around Kanakapura. Red beauties look stunning.

[Dieseltuned]

curious about the Honda city , how far did it go ?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by bullitt1

A short drive to a hillock (Mutturayaswamy Temple) off the Kanakapura road:

Very nice place, on my list to explore. Thanks for sharing. There are indeed lots of such places around Kanakapura. Red beauties look stunning.

Yes, there are many nice places around Bannerghatta forest and Kanakapura area.

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

curious about the Honda city , how far did it go ?

Yes, it came till the top but didn't take rocky terrain.

[arun_josie]

ODO @ 98,589 Kms:



A drive to Nagercoil after a long time. It was an uneventful one with a late start during the onward journey. I started around 2:00 PM and reached Nagercoil by 11:00 PM. There was a huge traffic jam at Electronic city and truck traffic was heavy till Salem. Also, the Dindigul – Madurai stretch was crowded with two-wheelers.

I got stuck in a 15-20mins traffic jam at the Thoppur ghat due to a truck which toppled on one of the curves.



I returned after a week and this time it was a late start in the morning. Had to go till Tuticorin and hence took a detour from Tirunelveli. The lunch stop was at Dindigul. As usual, the traffic was heavy after Krishnagiri.

During a quick stop



Yummy mutton biryani @ Dindigul



Here is the overall trip details



After a week, there was another drive to Chennai. It was business as usual till few Kms after Arcot. Beyond that, its full of diversions due to the road widening and flyover works. Since we started at 4:00 AM in the morning, we could reach our destination at Adyar by 8:30 AM. A late start will affect the duration big time.

During the return, we started after lunch and crossed Hosur around 6:30 PM, so the traffic was heavy.

Good thing to note is, the Covid checking counters just before the attibele toll has been removed. This was creating a bottleneck at this spot.

Here is the overall trip details, this also includes around 100 Kms of drive within Chennai.



Tyres:

I could feel that the tyres have become very hard. So, I will get this replaced within a week or two. This has lasted for about 45K Kms.

Apart from this, there is an intermittent issue with the head light switch. When I turn this ON randomly either left or right doesn’t turn ON. But when turn OFF and turn it ON again, both come up fine. It’s a very random issue. I will get this checked at service center some time soon.

A pic after a car wash :-)

[arun_josie]

A drive to Mysore and back. Under normal circumstances, I would have avoided a drive to Mysore during Dasara season. But this time I had to attend an event in the family there and I couldn’t avoid this trip. And since the expressway is partially open for traffic, I was not very concerned about traffic this time.

But just when we were getting ready to start from home, I noticed a puncture on the rear left tyre. When I checked the pressure, it was 10psi. So, I inflated the tyre using the inflator and started the drive with an eye on the tpms reading. Since I didn’t see any drop in pressure, we drove non-stop to Mysore.

The 6 lane stretches are very good, however the traffic at diversions were bad, Despite this traffic, we were able to cover the distance in 2 hours and 30 mins (door to door).



I got the puncture fixed in Mysore. The tyre had two punctures and both were slow leaks.



We did a short drive around the city see the Dasara lightings, it was awesome.



A random pic



Return was planned for the next day. It was a Sunday and we started by 10:00 AM. The traffic was less towards Bangalore however the traffic towards Mysore was horrible. We saw mile long jams towards Mysore.

Mandya bypass is open but one needs to take a diversion just before entering Mandya. Easy to miss this board. I think most of the cars around me missed this diversion board and hence it was only me and another car which took this bypass. It was fun to drive with no traffic on the bypass.



During the return it took 1hour and 40min from Manipal hospital(formerly Columbia Asia) junction to NICE road junction on the Mysore road. But the traffic is horrible during the peak hours of morning(towards Mysore) and evening (toward Bangalore).

The ODO at 99,000 and inching towards the 6 figure mark.

[arun_josie]

New Tyres - GoodYear Wrangler AT SilentTrac 225/60 R17

I got the tyres replaced after using the Yokohoma Earth1 for 48K Kms. As mentioned earlier, these tyres became hard and noisier after 25-30K Kms. So, even though it had little bit of tread life left, I decided to get it replaced.

With very less options on stock size, it was a no-brainer to try the GoodYear Wrangler AT. I didn’t want to go back to Firestones or Earth1 again. Also, based on reviews available, this AT is more of AT + HT than a core AT tyre. So, compared to HT tyres, these will be better when taken for any off-roading.

I got this replaced at Millivision Tyres and paid 43K.

Here is my observation after driving it on Highway and some ghat section for 800 Kms.

• These tyres look meaty as is the norm for AT Typres
• They fill the alloys nicely
• They look very sturdy and kind of changes the look of the Jeep. Makes it look more rugged.
• AT tyres are said to be noisy on the highways but during my first highway drive on these tyres I didn’t feel it being noisier. The speed I maintained was in the range of 100-120 Kmph. So, not sure on how they will behave at higher speeds.
• These tyres are better than the HT tyres on bad terrain, the thud sound or the hard feel which I have observed in my previous HT tyres have disappeared.
• Braking distance has increased a bit and I need to get used to this. At least on two occasions when I braked for speed breakers, it stopped/slowed down a bit late when compared to the HT tyres. This is expected and it is more about getting used to it and brake/drive accordingly.
• Grip level on the twisty sections is not same as the previous HT tyres, especially if you are faster.
• These are expected to fare better than HT when taken off-roading

Overall, I am happy with this purchase.

The old ones did a good job for 48,000 Kms.



The meaty AT tyres



I got this replaced at Millivision Tyres









Had to go to Kasaragod for a day for some personal work. So, I got a chance to test these tyres immediately on the highway and ghats with some bad stretches as well. It was a pleasant experience driving on these. Sneaked a quick visit to the beach and enjoyed the yummy Mangalorean cuisine for lunch before returning back to Bangalore.

Yummy Fish Biryani and Fish fry









Overall trip details

[shikha_roy]

Congratulations on your new shoes!! Wish you many more adventurous kms!! Keep Inspiring..

Am still drooling over the fish fry though

[GSMINC]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

New Tyres - GoodYear Wrangler AT SilentTrac 225/60 R17

Had to go to Kasaragod for a day for some personal work. So, I got a chance to test these tyres immediately on the highway and ghats with some bad stretches as well. It was a pleasant experience driving on these. Sneaked a quick visit to the beach and enjoyed the yummy Mangalorean cuisine for lunch before returning back to Bangalore.

Yummy Fish Biryani and Fish fry

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Overall trip details

Attachment 2366010

Looks like Viceroy Restaurant Kasaragod