[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sudev

Both front wheels were good on traction. With 4H mode with one wheel off the ground none of the other wheels were moving.

Yes, this makes sense. But in the locked mode, all the torque should have gone to the front wheels unless they were spinning too.

[Jaggu]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but since this is "THE" GV thread of the forum thought of introducing the new kid on the block that i picked a month back. This is a 2010 specimen running 2.4 Liter engine run 47,000 kms and an Automatic. Have given it a once over service with fluids, pads all around etc. Surakshaa Electronic city helped me get all the minor things sorted out quickly and car is now running like new, apart from some minor rattle which i am not going to bother for now.

Some interior clean up, colouring and a body polish later.... introducing the V-Tara

(Hint: Check the rear badge and you will get why the name).

[sudev]

@Jaggu - Welcome to V Tara group. Just curious at what value?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by sudev

@Jaggu - Welcome to V Tara group. Just curious at what value?

Thank you sirji. Being a rare combo of specs, low mileage, single owner and fact that it was with a dealer, i had to pay a slight premium of 6.2 Lakhs (5.5 to 5.75 would have been sweet spot). Was well within my budget of Thar sale money, so went for it and have transferred it to my native address since it is a KL vehicle.

[wanderernomad]

Great Jaggu, you found the 2.4. Had to settle for the 2.0 AT after the search for 2.4 yielded no result. Am waiting for the suspension parts to be delivered for the GV to become ship shape. Hopefully one day soon.

[sridhar-v]

Welcome to the gang Jaggu. Do post your observations on the driving experience of the 2.4L engine mated to the AT box. The rest of us have to be content with 2L+AT combos.

[spgv]

Welcome to the club Jaggu.
GV looks more muscular in Black. Also nice touch on the Alloys and Brake calipers.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by spgv

Welcome to the club Jaggu.
GV looks more muscular in Black. Also nice touch on the Alloys and Brake calipers.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Great Jaggu, you found the 2.4. Had to settle for the 2.0 AT after the search for 2.4 yielded no result.

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

Welcome to the gang Jaggu. Do post your observations on the driving experience of the 2.4L engine mated to the AT box. The rest of us have to be content with 2L+AT combos.

Thank you guys! I guess i was lucky and was looking at the right website and at the right time lol

I have driven the car from Calicut to Bangalore which is about 350 kms plus another 200 odd kms in city. The calicut run was before any mechanical work and the car was kinda parked for sometime at the dealer. But at the initial drive itself, Tara proved to be quiet powerful. The abundance of low end torque helps the gearbox keep low revs overall, shifts are quiet seamless and happen at around 2000 to 2300 rpm. I had also not discovered the power mode which can keep the shifts at high rpm then. The car is quiet effortless this way and is a hoot to point and dart even under tight situations. If i have to crib it would be the slight lag from the box, which can be well managed if you are used to automatic boxes.

With a gentle foot it gave about 10.5 kmpl tankful method for this long drive. We were cruising below 100 with some short runs to 120 kmph, plus some major crawling up the Thamarasery ghat and traffic blocks for 5 kms after mandya towards bangalore (due to the unexpected flooding on mysore road). The fuel average came down to 6 kmpl in city with quiet a lot of daily crawl in peak traffic, many test drives by friends / family, all the workshop visits and idling for flushing etc.

I have now got all the oils flushed and changed (except auto box which needs a change only at 1.6 lakh kms). Have added liquimoli fuel injector cleaner also and realistically i feel it should give about 7 kmpl in average BLR runs. Atleast that is what the indicator shows and it was always within 0.5 kmpl Vs tankfull calculations so far.

Hopefully i would get sometime in the coming weekends for small runs to stretch her legs and then i can comment how the overall feel has changed after all the service jobs.

Quick summary of work done so far:

- Full fluid flush and renewal. Engine, front and back axle, transfer case, radiator, brake fluid etc
- Cleaned filters for now.
- History showed plugs were new.
- Replaced all brake pads and skimmed the disks. Car had shown minor juddering at speeds above 100 and had scars on the disk, so thought its best to skim em while replacing the pads. One of the rear cylinders got stuck, which needed caliper piston to be cleaned and put back. Hopefully it holds and doesn't surprise me with a leak later.
- Suspension link rods replaced along with tightening of all suspension parts.
- Complete wheel balancing and alignment done at Madhu's langford road.
- New door weather strips (exterior bit that had cracked being exposed to elements) and an antenna rubber piece were also replaced.
- Full inside outside detailing, alloy painting and those minor decal coloring was also done.
- Added 3M noodle mat to keep the insides clean.

I think i am almost done with the hanky panky and it's time to enjoy the car...

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I think i am almost done with the hanky panky and it's time to enjoy the car...

And i spoke too soon! Vijay from Swastik Fab pinged me and offered a great deal which i couldn't resist and i went ahead and took the plunge with lift kit. Picked up Ironman kit along with camber adjustment bolt (front), GV rear has adjustment provisions for camber from factory itself. Zac from Ironman spoke to me in detail and explained me what i should expect and what i should not be.

My requirement was clear, as much lift as possible with absolute mechanical reliability. Coming from a Thar i was ok with compromising ride, and this is what Zac was repeating to set the expectations right.

Made the customary call to Lokesh at Surakshaa, he was sweet enough to book me a slot saturday morning and even helped me with collecting the parts. So after few hours on Saturday morning, this is how Tara looks.









And some before lift pictures for rough reference. I have taken measurements from the OE stance and will update details once i take the same after the lift. For now am allowing suspension to settle down.





Drove straight to Madhu's and big thanks to Nikhil for accommodating me with such a short notice on a crazy work day for them. Unfortunately one of the rear camber bolt (OE ones) OR the arms are stuck and will have to again spend sometime this weekend to free it up and do a final alignment.

First impression it is awesome and i got what i wanted. Yes it is stiff compared to OE, but is bothersome only till about 20-30 kmph speeds. Once the speeds climb it just smoothers imperfections, and i have been doing some aggressive run in for the suspension before i do a final correction of alignment next week.

[vigsom]

^^Excellent ride that you've acquired, Jaggu.The alloys look stunning and tastefully done.

Wish you many many happy miles !!

My only suggestion is to get the red off the SUZUKI on the spare wheel cover, S emblem and the bonnet vents. Silver/chrome would look much better. Next best would be ivory.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Only difference I see are that the road is concretized and there are telephone poles.

Your white beauty looks no different from what she was in 2007.

Kudos on the upkeep.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

And i spoke too soon! Vijay from Swastik Fab pinged me and offered a great deal which i couldn't resist and i went ahead and took the plunge with lift kit. Picked up Ironman kit along with camber adjustment bolt (front), GV rear has adjustment provisions for camber from factory itself. Zac from Ironman spoke to me in detail and explained me what i should expect and what i should not be.

....

Jaggu,
I saw your car a while ago on the electronics city flyover. I was thinking that this car looks familiar... when I remembered that it was yours! It looks like your car is already a minor celebrity!

Your car looks really good and has a very good presence on the road. Muscular but not hulking. Congrats on the great buy and the mods!

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Jaggu,
I saw your car a while ago on the electronics city flyover.

Thank you! had been to Surakshaa to get that rear alignment bolt loosened, finished it early and was returning to city. Which car you were in?

And it was choco block towards EC by the time i returned.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

"thewhiteknight' seems to be too busy to post. I found some pictures of the OME install.

My OME kit will be arriving next week. I had a question about the camber bolts. Did thewhiteknight replace the OE camber bolts in the front to accommodate the extra 20mm lift? I see Jaggu had to replace the front camber bolts to accommodate the 40mm lift.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Thank you! had been to Surakshaa to get that rear alignment bolt loosened, finished it early and was returning to city. Which car you were in?

And it was choco block towards EC by the time i returned.

I was on my bike. I commute by bike to keep myself sane as I negotiate traffic everyday. I recently tried commuting by car for a week because of the rains and I was miserable! A car might be more comfortable but what's the point if you're not moving?

[Tanmay K]

Some photos of the Vitara from a recent off-roading drive to the Jaisalmer sand dunes. Also present on the trip were .anshuman, Ace F355 and mustysekhon among others.