[Samurai]

I am ordering new tyres in Udupi. Decided to go with Michelin LTX AT2 235/70R16. This time I have asked for extra spec, the tyre has to be not older than Dec 2015.

Oldies of this thread know why.

Alright, here is why.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I am ordering new tyres in Udupi. Decided to go with Michelin LTX AT2 235/70R16. This time I have asked for extra spec, the tyre has to be not older than Dec 2015.

Oldies of this thread know why.

Alright, here is why.

Read through the tyre related thread.

So the old tyres lasted for almost 7 years, which is good. But did they ever give up any issues during the time?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

So the old tyres lasted for almost 7 years, which is good. But did they ever give up any issues during the time?

You never know how they are stored. In the small town where I am, they don't have much demand for AT tyres. So I don't know how long they have spent in the inventory. I am playing safe this time.

Edit: They only had September 2015 tyres, which is good enough for my peace of mind. Taking it.

[joshiviv]

Ha. You seem to have gone in the opposite direction than me. I sold my Civic AT for a 2.4 MT Vitara. Loved the Civic so much, that still kept it with me for a year even after getting the Vitara. After getting the battery charged every month due to non-use finally/reluctantly had to let it go, after making sure it ended up in good hands. Each one is a lovely car, enjoy your time with it. Civic did give me close to 16kmpl on the highway. Vitara does 12-13. In city both are about the same. I do find Vitara easier to drive in the city and Civic on the highway. Each one of them handle bad roads like anything.

Originally Posted by KaandBaaz

Firstly congrats on your pre-loved Grand Vitara. Do post the pictures of the car. Is it the 2.0 or 2.4? Also M/T or A/T.

And now for my case, I have put the thought of buying a GV on hold. For now have picked up a 2008 Civic M/T wit 81k on ODO.

[sridhar-v]

For the past 2 Sundays I have been exploring the backwaters of dams around Pune. The roads are in bad shape, with lots of potholes and only gravel in places.

I have noticed a peculiar noise coming out of the rear suspension when going over these patches in speeds exceeding 40kmph. It sounds like a stone rattling in a steel can and the noise seems to dance from side to side. On smooth roads there is absolutely no noise.

There has been no change in ride quality or handling. After the first outing I got the suspension checked by the MASS. They could not find anything amiss.

What could be the cause of the problem?

You could say that one should drive slowly on such roads, but the vehicle just begs to be driven hard on rough stretches. Mid turn large potholes do not throw it off course and steering is totally neutral - no under or over-steer. It is more comfortable for the passengers also. Though I would speed up only when I could see the road ahead of the turns.

Today I checked the suspension heights to see if there is any obvious reason. I measured the height from ground to the bottom of the wheel well at the centre line of the wheel. Found it to be 790mm for both front and rear. I am on 225/70 R16 tyres.

Could anybody check what heights they are getting on their Grand Vitaras?

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

sounds like a stone rattling in a steel can and the noise seems to dance from side to side. On smooth roads there is absolutely no noise

Although I haven't faced any such noise in my GV , here are some pointers

1.rear door rattling - have experienced this and it sounds quite similar

2.Do you have skid plates?Some stone/equivalent has made its way into that zone.

3.One of the rear shock absorbers is weak and the cap over the shock absorber is rattling.

4.Check your tool kit in the boot ;maybe the Jack/spanner has fallen loose.

[vigsom]

Posting a few pics of my self detailed GV.

It has been a pleasure owning this machine for 2 years.Keeping the chrome EVD alloys in good shape is quite painstaking.The spare wheel is OE.

Leather seats are from Stanley.

The Azure grey is a real shiner of a shade and the best view one gets is the car against the white lights at the Chennai Airport parking;poor pic quality in low light =no pictures.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

peculiar noise when going over these patches in speeds exceeding 40kmph. It sounds like a stone rattling in a steel can and the noise seems to dance from side to side.

Hi Sridhar,

Could you zero in on the culprit?

I thought of another possibility - did this noise start just after a bout if offroading?If yes , I strongly feel a stone has infiltrated the rear suspension (arm?)

[sridhar-v]

Thanks ofr your feedback Sorry for the delay in replying. My observation are in bold:-

Originally Posted by vigsom

Although I haven't faced any such noise in my GV , here are some pointers

1.rear door rattling - have experienced this and it sounds quite similar
I drove with my windows rolled down. The sound is definitely from the suspension area.

2.Do you have skid plates?Some stone/equivalent has made its way into that zone.
Skid plates are still on my to do list.

3.One of the rear shock absorbers is weak and the cap over the shock absorber is rattling.
The shock absorber is one of the likely culprits. Unfortunately the noise could not be replicated at the MASS as I need to travel over 40 kmph over very bad roads/trail and though the roads are bad speed is not possible in the city

4.Check your tool kit in the boot ;maybe the Jack/spanner has fallen loose.
That is a noise well known to me. Currently it is not in action (fortunately).

Originally Posted by vigsom

Hi Sridhar,

Could you zero in on the culprit?

I thought of another possibility - did this noise start just after a bout if offroading?If yes , I strongly feel a stone has infiltrated the rear suspension (arm?)

Yes the noise did start after about 4 hours of bad roading. And the engine check light also came on too. The next day morning engine check light was not there. Took the vehicle to MASS for a scan & check. OBD scan did not show any errors. So I cannot know if it was due to the shaking to the ECU or some connector momentarily loosing contact.
MASS lifted the vehicle on a 4 post and checked the suspension. I specifically asked them to check for stones in the lower arms. Nothing was found. Also they said all suspension components were tight.
I was advised to observe the vehicle for some days. So I promptly took the vehicle for a drive the next Sunday. "thewhiteknight" aka Akhilesh joined in his GV. We encountered quite a bit of gravel tracks and extremely bad roads. The suspension noise repeated but fortunately engine warnings did not appear.
I feel that either there is some problem with the shock absorbers or a stone has got into the subframe.
Akhilesh felt that visually my suspension seemed to be sagging. That is why I have taken the measurements and want to crosscheck with other Grand Vitaras.

[vigsom]

Dear Sridhar,

Here are some observations underlined.

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

cannot know if it was due to the shaking to the ECU or some connector momentarily loosing contact.

The ECU is mounted right there behind the washer fluid neck - can be checked for loose mounting.Please don't disturb the two wiring couplers.

The loose contact could be from the exhaust sensor.I doubt if any of the others could have a contact issue.

I feel that either there is some problem with the shock absorbers or a stone has got into the subframe.

Stone in the sub frame looks more like the cause.

Akhilesh felt that visually my suspension seemed to be sagging. That is why I have taken the measurements and want to crosscheck with other Grand Vitaras.

In my view the only way you can see sagging in this car is lower pressure in one of the tyres .Let me check - if there is a coil spring around the shock absorbers , then there is no way even a weak shock absorber will cause sagging(as the coil spring will still be ship shape).

[sridhar-v]

I agree re the coil springs determining the height. That is why I want to crosscheck with others.

In all likelihood it is a stone that has got into the sub-frame. I can literally hear the noise travel from one side to another. That would not be the case with the shocks. Guess one will have to use compressed air to try and blow it out.

I am posting a photo to link names and faces. Your truly is with the sparse white hair. Akhilesh is with the ample hair.

[sridhar-v]

Found some details of a person, on suzuki-forums.com, who had done suspension heights measurements before and after lifting his suspension.

His vehicle was a swb model, so I have used only the front heights for comparison.

He is on 235/70R16 tyres. After a 40mm lift with new shocks and springs the front height was measured as 360mm.



My vehicle measures 295mm at the same point. (The photo is not giving the correct position & height as I was holding the tape in one hand while clicking with the mobile in the other. It is 295 mm when measured properly!!)



Adjusting for 40mm lift & 7.5mm difference due to tyres one comes to the conclusion that my front suspension has sagged by 17.5mm.
The rear height should be 20mm more that the front. My car's height reads 318mm against the required 332.5mm. That gives a sag at the rear of 14.5mm.

I know this is a bit of a rough and ready comparison. However it does make it very clear that I need to change my springs and shocks. I will go in for a mild 20mm lift at the time of doing this.

[Samurai]

Recently I have been stealing ideas from this thread.

First, I finally have a Bluetooth enabled TPMS that plugs-in directly into the power outlet.





And the reverse opening umbrella.

[thewhiteknight]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Recently I have been stealing ideas--

First, I finally have a Bluetooth enabled TPMS that plugs-in directly into the power outlet.

And the reverse opening umbrella.

Interesting developments Samurai, I have been looking for a TPMS and ordered a solar powered internal sensor product from aliexpress. Unfortunately the seller balked and decided not the send it, a week after the order!! Since then, I've been researching a similar round monitor to mount in the empty ESP space but have been trying to figure out the best approach here. Question: Why did you go for an external based sensor, given that it is extremely easy to steal/break/etc? i know the battery/range effectiveness and potential issues but wouldn't the internal sensor based unit be more effective, overall? Also, where on Earth did you find the reverse opening umbrella? That is so interesting!

Additionally, couple of other planned mods are a OME lift kit (25 mm) with Ironman skid plates and bumper, along with a carrier rack and awning. Bit difficult to find the last 2 bits because of lack of knowledge at the supplier end, thanks to the flush mount on the GV. But we must prevail, as usual.

lastly, I am resorting to LED bars for close flood and far spot lighting--were you able to find any solution to your fog lamps? I recently received a 120W 12 inch combo bar, will put up pictures of it once I have it on for testing.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by thewhiteknight

Question: Why did you go for an external based sensor, given that it is extremely easy to steal/break/etc? i know the battery/range effectiveness and potential issues but wouldn't the internal sensor based unit be more effective, overall?

The sensors have a theft-proof reverse nut, it is very hard to remove it without the right tool. Also, I rarely ever park my car on streets. It is parked in gated area most of the time.

Besides, I didn't buy the same item as Tejas. I looked for a very popular TPMS system in Amazon.com, with great reviews, then ordered the same item from Aliexpress.

Originally Posted by thewhiteknight

Also, where on Earth did you find the reverse opening umbrella? That is so interesting!

As I said before, found it from Tejas's thread. It is on snapdeal.

Originally Posted by thewhiteknight

lastly, I am resorting to LED bars for close flood and far spot lighting--were you able to find any solution to your fog lamps? I recently received a 120W 12 inch combo bar, will put up pictures of it once I have it on for testing.

I have learned to be happy with the stock fog lamps, they are pretty good actually.