[Blooming Flower]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Attachment 2430167

ECU remap update:
Got the 3507 remapped with Stage 1 tune from T8 performance. Over the years the slow low end torque had gotten onto the nerves and hence decided the bite the bait.

Fantastic intangible addition which aids in the tangible delight of the driver. Over the years, I was thinking to add a piggyback unit, but somehow the idea wasn't executed in reality. The reported number of injectors and turbo-charger failures in CRDe engines played a massive deterrent to the execution. I would look forward to your long-term review of this permanent remap. If nothing goes wrong with the pertinent peripherals in the long run it's a boon for the old Thar owners, no doubt.

Also, please share the comparison of FE figures of stock vs. remapped condition.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

Fantastic intangible addition which aids in the tangible delight of the driver. Over the years, I was thinking to add a piggyback unit, but somehow the idea wasn't executed in reality. The reported number of injectors and turbo-charger failures in CRDe engines played a massive deterrent to the execution. I would look forward to your long-term review of this permanent remap. If nothing goes wrong with the pertinent peripherals in the long run it's a boon for the old Thar owners, no doubt.

Also, please share the comparison of FE figures of stock vs. remapped condition.

I had been gathering information on this for a considerable time and ultimately felt that going for a remap is a more sorted option.

Regarding FE, prior to remap during city driving I used to get around 11-12 Kmpl, on highways it depends on the driving style, I have listed it as below:

1) 70-80 Kmph: 14.5-15 Kmpl
2) 80-90 Kmph: 13-14 kmpl
3) 100-110 Kmph: 11-12 Kmpl
4) 120+ Kmph: 9-10 Kmpl

The FE figures have remained unchanged thus far after remap, primary reason could be because its a CRDe engine and designed to perform better in the mid range, hence, the RPM range of 2000-2200 RPM is the sweet spot to extract the best output, however, the more you floor the throttle it starts guzzling fuel like anything.

[abhikb]

60,000 Kms Update:



Clocked 60,000 Kms with the 3507 a few days back, it still running smooth and just like new albeit a few running repairs here and there.

Remap usage update:

The Stage 1 remap done by T8 Performance is working good and the cruising on highway is much more enjoyable now. Have clocked 7000 Kms in last 3 months since the remap was done, haven't faced any downside or troubles till now, rather the engine is now more responsive at lower RPMs which ultimately results into more kms getting covered in a hour event at my regular cruising speeds of 90-100 Kmph. This is primarily due to the fact that once you brake for some reason on the highway and speed drops, it gains back the cruising speed much faster.

60,000 Service update:

This one was a comprehensive one, to start off with

a) The left hub was making noise on left turns hence got the same replaced with a lesser used hub from a friend's Thar CRDe. It was also not engaging properly as observed during one of the recent OTRs.

b) The rear portion was making absurd noise when driven over bumps and potholes and the noise rose to a level where it started coming out even while getting in and out of the Thar. Hence, had to replace the bushing of the rear suspension along-with slight servicing of the leafs at the rear.

c) Apart from this, it was routine oil changes and general servicing, got the Engine Oil, Oil filter, diesel filter, coolant replaced, didn't change the Gear and Transfer case oils since it was done at 52k after a water wading session.

Total Cost of Servicing came to Rs. 13, 898 /- (Phew, highest till date). Mahindra ASCs are highly occupied also the cost of replacing spare parts and labor has gone high, hence, I get the running repairs done at a FNG based in Shah Alam (3 generations of Jeep builders and repairers) and routine servicing at Mahindra ASC. Other than the aforementioned reasons I have no complains with Mahindra ASC since they do their job well.

Usage Pattern

Off-late it has been a mile munching year for 3507, the last 11 months has seen over 20k Kms of running which included city and highway usage both. FE has been more or less consistent ranging from 11-15 Kmpl starting from City to Highway usage. (Refer to last post for more details)

Next month will be driving to the mountains for a 10 days road trip, also with my new work profile coming up post May-2023, the monthly usage will be easily 2500-3000 Kms per month. Will be retaining 3507 for as long as the Government norms allows, however, might get a 4x4 tourer probably at the end of the year to share the garage with 3507. The 3507 shall then be used primarily for City and Off-road purpose, the highway runs will be taken care by the new entrant, Let's see how and what turns out.

Below is the graph showing Time taken to complete for every 10k Kms:



Answering a few questions that I get asked frequently,

Any regrets in these 60k Kms: Not at All,
Is it difficult to use: Not for me,
Is it comfortable to drive: Does the Job for me, "Comfort is a state of mind and Sky is the limit"
How many hours you have driven in a single day: 16-17 hours a day
Your family enjoys the road trips in Thar: Yes they do, the rear portion is converted into a bed where my daughter plays and sleeps while road tripping, good for a small family, not good for elders or 4 adults to travel in it.

At the end I will only post the last verse of the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"

[zalaps]

Congratulations on 60K

I must say you are literally pampering thar. That car must be happy in your garage. Wish you many more miles.

[sushan]

Many congratulations on 60K kilometres with your black beauty. The commmitment to documenting your journey with the car is impressive. May you have many many more happy miles with the car fueling your sense of adventure!

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by zalaps

Congratulations on 60K

I must say you are literally pampering thar. That car must be happy in your garage. Wish you many more miles.

Hello Zala Saheb,

Just taking care of the routine repairs and servicing, doing this is ensuring it’s in best of health both on road and off road .

Originally Posted by sushan

Many congratulations on 60K kilometres with your black beauty. The commmitment to documenting your journey with the car is impressive. May you have many many more happy miles with the car fueling your sense of adventure!

Thanks Sushan, all I can say is there’s nothing like it, there might be more downside than the positives but at the end of the day it’s something that you drive with big grin on your face.

[abhikb]

Himalayan Trip update:



We hit the final frontier with the 3507 last summer as we did a 4000 Kms road trip to the mountains, the drive started from Ahmedabad and went straight upto Adi Kailash (Chota Kailash Mansarovar).

The ODO is currently little short of 68k Kms, few key pointers with respect to the trip is as follows:

a) Statistics:

1) Total Distance covered: 4018 Kms
2) No. of days driving: 16
3) FE on the highways: 14-14.5 Kmpl
4) FE on the hills: 7-8 Kmpl
5) Max driving on plains in a single day:
- Ahmedabad-Gurgaon : 950 Kms/14 hours with food and loo breaks
Start time/end time: 2am/4:15pm
- Almora to Ahmedabad: 1420 Kms/25 hours with food and loo breaks
Start time/end time: 1pm/2:30pm

b) Prior to remap, I had to continuously juggle between 2nd and 3rd on the hills, whereas now it is able to do the same speed at 3rd/4th gear, best to slot into 3rd and drive all the way.
c) Engine braking on downhill as usual remains the top point of the CRDe motor.
d) Apart from the last 10 kms at Adi Kailash, at none of the places had to engage 4x4 even though the terrain was such.
e) Adi Kailash climb was also managed in 4H at most places barring couple of places which were slushy and black ice where 4L had to be engaged.
f) Had stuffed in 6 bags and a full sized trolley at the back for myself, wife and little one.
e) The bags were stuffed into the leg space at the back, used a foam bed over it to convert it into a comfortable rear bed, the little one slept like a bunny most of the time there.
h) Took the NE4 from Dausa to Sonna, cruised at 110-120 kmph, missed having a cruise control feature for the first time in my life, FE dropped to 10.5 kmpl here.

This drive was undertaken by 16 4X4s under our TCOG Adventure and Expedition’s Himalayan Quest event, (detailed trip report will be uploaded separately).

The drive didn’t feel tiring at all, we were comfortably cruising all along and the Thar was working tirelessly keeping up with the modern cars.

The temperature at night time would drop to -7/-8 deg c, yet it would start in half a crank everyday.

With my new work profile, the 3507’s daily run has gone up, it’s an average 70-80 Kms drive a day these days, with the ODO already 2k short of 70k Kms, by next year it will cross 1 Lakh kms.

Rest it still runs like a charm and loving every bit on it.

Sharing photos of the drive:

[Kosfactor]

I'm thinking the Jeep is a few months older than your child or almost the same age, nevertheless they both are growing up well, experiencing the sights and sounds of this big and beautiful country.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

I'm thinking the Jeep is a few months older than your child or almost the same age, nevertheless they both are growing up well, experiencing the sights and sounds of this big and beautiful country.

Yes you are right, Jeep was bought in August-2019 and Ayona was born in October-2019, both are growing together, as of now she’s fond of it and keeps saying “babba when I grow up, I will drive and you show me the way”.

Hence, planning to retain it as long as some new norms like the ones in Delhi NCR is imposed in Ahmedabad.

Best memory till date with both

[abhikb]

70,000 Kms Update:



This would probably be the quickest 10,000 Kms leap with 3507, mainly contributed by the Himalayan Trip (4100 Kms) followed with my new venture which demands a monthly run of 3000 Kms.

The 3507 has been doing its daily run of 80-100 kms a day resulting into north of 3000 Kms every month consumption, the ownership period has been thus far without any troubles.

With my sedate driving style and a mix of Highway & City driving I am able to churn out a Fuel efficiency of 14+ Kmpl consistently. (See image below).



Due to the current usage pattern, the monthly usage has significantly gone up, as against an average usage 1500-1800 kms a month it is now north of 3000 kms a month, Below is the graph showing the number of days taken for every 10,000 Kms:



The Thar is now couple of weeks short of its 4th birthday, I expect the ODO to close somewhere around 71,000 Kms. This would also imply that it has seen the highest yearly consumption this time around. (approx. 25k Kms)

Issues rectified during the 70,000 Kms service

Engine Overheating:

Well I had been ghosted by the Engine overheating trouble ever since we came back from the Himalayas, occurred thrice since then and the needle would subside below 50% mark once you stall for 10-15 minutes. During the 70K Kms service at Mahindra ASC, they tapped the issue with a coolant hose leaking at two places, this was also evident from the fact that the coolant reserve tank would go empty within 24 hours of filling.

The overheating issue hasn't cropped since then even with full blast AC and doing speeds of 100 Kmph on the highway.

Front Suspension noise

The front suspension was making a metal rubbing noise while making a turn over potholes, the issue was diagnosed to be a loose suspension link rod and was addressed by tightening. Can't complain much on this since it has taken a lot of abuse during Himalayan trip followed with a couple OTR excursions on Sundays.

Handbrake cable snapped:

Post one of OTR sessions the handbrake cable had snapped, got the same replaced during the service.

ABS Sensor replacement:

The ABS sensor warning was continuously flashing, turns out the Front RH sensor had gone kaput, took some time to get the parts arranged but got it replaced during the service. Learnt that its the same sensor that's used in Bolero, a handy information since Bolero being a popular product the parts will be easily available.

The 70K Kms service was undertaken at Mahindra ASC and total service bill came around Rs. 7016 /-. Since, I had got all the fluids changed during the last service

So the 3507 is doing its duty as a daily drive and is munching miles, however, I am on the look out for a pre-owned 4x4 SUV to take on the monthly work related usage as well as serve as a tourer. This will give some much needed time to turn the 3507 into a lifestyle car and reap its benefit for the lifetime.

Signing off with a pic depicting its true aura

[Phantom 510]

Torquey common rail diesel with four wheel drive capability , great efficiency and no hasles of dpf. Nothing gets better IMO!

[Neil Roy]

14 KMPL. That's really great mileage. My Thar returns only10-11 in highways. Truth be told, Speeds are always in triple digits thanks to the EGR block and Rhino suspension combined with customised fibre body hard top. Mine is also the 2019 model thar 700 edition. I have crossed 67000 kms and really enjoying every minute of it.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by Phantom 510

Torquey common rail diesel with four wheel drive capability , great efficiency and no hasles of dpf. Nothing gets better IMO!

Probably that’s the best part of having a BS4 vehicles, really pains to see the DPF hassles being faced by BS6 owners at times.

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

14 KMPL. That's really great mileage. My Thar returns only10-11 in highways. Truth be told, Speeds are always in triple digits thanks to the EGR block and Rhino suspension combined with customised fibre body hard top. Mine is also the 2019 model thar 700 edition. I have crossed 67000 kms and really enjoying every minute of it.

That’s an issue with all CRDe engineS, they are good in providing FE till you drive it in the peak torque range, anything at continuous 3 digit speeds the mileage takes a hit. I get around 9-10 kmpl when doing continuous 110-120 kmph, have even got worse when driving at speeds higher than 120 kmph.

Mahindra products are known to evolve better with time and this one being the last of the lot, there’s hardly any issues to deal with. There’s nothing like the old gen thar, no matter how crude and bone stock it be, user experience is always top notch.

[zalaps]

Great going! Looks as new as it can be. Six digits in sight now.
Any major maintenances?

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by zalaps

Great going! Looks as new as it can be. Six digits in sight now.
Any major maintenances?

Major maintenance so far has been replacement of bushing and jumpers at the Front (Rs. 12,000), rear suspension greasing and bush replacement (Rs. 3500), the front suspension works was done at a FNG since Mahindra ASC had quoted 4x cost and for the rear, since it's a leaf spring setup, got it done at a highway side garage who are specialist in repairing truck leaf spring suspension. Apart from this ABS sensor has been replaced twice each time costing around Rs. 1800 each.

These repairs came in post 50k, however, since buying it has been serving 3 aspects i.e. daily drive, road trips, weekend off roading, so can't complain much as otherwise it has been a fuss free ownership.

But all I can say is, you can't rely 100% on Mahindra ASC, they at times are unable to resolve a simple issue, a simple wheel alignment job is messed up Everytime, I get it done outside near High court these days every 5k kms, post alignment and balancing it doesn't move a inch here and there. Same is the case with running repairs hence get the repair works done at my trusted FNG.