[kutlee]

Avi, have you noticed the exhaust smoke levels yet? last drive i think it was smoking when you were accelerating. It's better if you change the air filter soon as a necessity. Pete box fiddles with a/f ratio and stock filter might not be able to supply the air that it needs.

[dadu]

It will smoke at high speeds, I have even seen the peted Elantra's smoking here in our bangalore meet. You've already guessed the reasons, even with a new filter it might not help much.

Originally Posted by kutlee

Avi, have you noticed the exhaust smoke levels yet? last drive i think it was smoking when you were accelerating. It's better if you change the air filter soon as a necessity. Pete box fiddles with a/f ratio and stock filter might not be able to supply the air that it needs.

[kutlee]

correct dadu, the 'high speeds' are arbitary values. what i am saying is about a 100 or so (i am not sure but!). it was smoking not at high speeds but in the process of attaining. starts very early.

[rider60]

alright bhai, now i need the news and updates on all the services you are getting at the newly discovered workshop of yours!

[mobike008]

I feel darn sad and have admonished myself myself for unable to keep this thread updated. There was too much happening on the meets front, with innumberable meets at Hyderabad ( we have atleast 3-4 in a month)and another car came into the stable and this thread was just ignored. Well, i am fast approaching 40K kms ( 39,750kms) and it suddenly dawned on me that my red beast needs a revival and give the credit its due for letting me enjoy it for the past 2.5 years.

I'll briefly highlight my journey from begining till now covering the important points like joy,pain-points,etc to give as much fair picture as its possible. Here is a short diary of events to commemorate my journey with my red beast till 40,000kms

Outlined below are some approximate prices of the additions made to the car since it was purchased :-

Interiors
ICE
HU: Pioneer 6850
Rear Fill : JBL GTO 937 Co-Axial Speakers
Front Stage: Blaupunkt Component Speaker
Sony 554 ( 4-Channel) Amplifier- 2 Channels bridged powering front comps and Rear Speakers,
JBL 300.1 Monobloc powering the JBL 1000 Watt Sub-Woofer
Damping

Approximate cost : Rs.60,000

Seat Covers: Light Beige Leather Wrinkle Effect Leather Seats : Rs.6,000
Exteriors
3 Coats of high gloss Teflon coating : FREE
2 Coats of under body Anti-rust treatment: FREE
Prestige 13" Alloy Wheels : FREE

Modifications
Installed Pete's Box in Aug'08 : Rs.19,000
Installed Green Cotton Replacement Air Filter: Rs.4,200

Miscellenous
1. Phillips Headlamps ( 90W/100W) : Rs.1400

2. Changed the horn to Roots and they work perfectly except whenever it rains heavily,due to loose wiring and water seepage, one horn goes kaput. But, with a simple wire fix, its back to work again. Rs.600

3. Tyres Upgrade : Michelin XM1+ ( 195/60/R14) with new alloys : Rs.21,000 after exchange of old alloys and tyres.

4. Brake Pads : Changed them at 36,00kms and it costed Rs.1700

5. Total Services done : 6 ( including the first 3 free services). Each paid service averaged Rs.2500 so if i do a simple math, till date amount spent on general service has not exceeded Rs.12,000. If I include the wheel balance and alignment cost,it should be roughly Rs.16,000.

A short feedback covering almost all important aspects of the car :-

1) Engine: After Pete's Box, there is no way you can drive a stock Accent CRDi. Difference is just phenomenal and considerable improvements in torque coming in at lower bands and increase in PSI. Each day, i pat myself on the back for buying this engine.

2) Fuel efficiency: I get about 13-14kmpl in city and about 17kmpl on long drives with always a heavy foot. Best FE was during the initial days when I got about 20kmpl and till date could never acheive that feat again. Worst FE in city and highway was 13kmpl and 15kmpl. In city i use about 80% AC and on highways its 100% AC.

3) Ride: Very good ride quality for a car priced in this bracket. With stock tyres, ride wasn't that good but after changing to Michelins XM1+, its an altogether different story now, it just glides over pot holes and bad roads as if they dont exist.

5) Looks: Even after 2.5 years, i still love how it looks. IMO, it looks better than a Verna.

6) NVH: As mentioned in my initial onwership report, when you start the car, it's equivalent to an earthquake and within a couple of kilometers with the engine warmed up, you can hardly make-out that it's diesel except for the light humming sound.Now come on, if i was that particular, i wouldnt have bought it in the first place. Strangely, now i love that slight hum sound.

7) Space: This is where i am not happy at all about this car, it's practically a 3-member car. As i am 6ft.1in tall, my seat goes all the way back and space behind me is good only for a puny guy or a kid. From exterior it looks quite lengthy, but inside space is not that great. I reckon the bonnet which is exceedingly long, takes up most of the car's length.

8) Handling: After tyre change, the handling has improved by leaps and bounds.Otherwise, over 120kmph, it used to feel as if airborne and quite dangerous in corners. Now, speeds do not matter as the grip,handling and braking aspect has phenomenally improved. In a recent highway drive in the night, it was raining heavily, under those conditions a Civic and Skoda had a tough time keeping up with my car and it was not that they were driving sedately, which says a lot about the difference the tyres and the new brake pads made.

9) Customer Support: I have owned 3 Hyundai cars in last 6 years, i have formed a good relationship with a few service associates and they treat me like i was the only guy with a Hyundai car. Otherwise,also their service and customer support is second to none. Service and spare part costs are ridiculously low for a car of this segment and as you can see from my serivice cost outlines, its been really peaceful driving and maintaining this car. However, for the 6th service, thanks to my new car insurance ( TATA AIG), i have moved from Hyundai A.S.S to another fabulous service center ( Mazda Motors) they are turning out to be better than Hyundai service. Owners of this place attend to you in minutes and request your presence when key changes are happening ( Oil, Oil Filter,Fuel Filter etc) which is done within the 1st one hour of you reaching their garage.

Some minor issues faced recently :

Losing Power: I have experienced this problem exactly twice in the last one year. When your start the car from cold, when you accelarate, nothing happens, then i quickly change to higher gear the car lurches forward. I keep doing this gimmick for 3-4 kms and then this situation automatically disappears. This goes on for 3-4 days and strangely, it never re-appears ( it did a few weeks ago after 1 year).

Excessive smoking : Due to Pete's Box and Green Cotton Air-filter, i have noticed the amount of smoke emission has increased considerably. In fact, last month instead of driving, i kept checking the ORVM since I was concerned of how much the car was smoking. It was little embarrasing. After taking some inputs from TBHP, i cleaned the filter with compressed air,oil and lubes and voila, the smoke emission almost disappeared. Except that it still smokes once in while under hard accelaration and especially with AC switched on. Need to find what is this connection with AC, except that it puts more load on the engine.

Each day when i drive it 50kms-60kms to work and back home, it never fails to put a big grin on my face. There is no way,i am going to replace this car till I drive it to 6 figure kms.

I am scheduled for my 7th service in the next 1000-1500kms and will keep this thread updated after it's done.

Now for some pictures of my car, posting it in sequence of oldest to newest.

EDIT : Btw, you can read the Initial ownership report of Accent Viva :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...km-report.html

[himanshugoswami]

beeeyooootiful! one of the best accent viva's I have ever seen. Avi, you need to get a pair of fogs lamps for your front bumper ASAP.

O.T. one thing i noticed in the pics- as teh size of your car's tyres grew, so did your tyres!!!! LOL!!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

beeeyooootiful! one of the best accent viva's I have ever seen. Avi, you need to get a pair of fogs lamps for your front bumper ASAP.

O.T. one thing i noticed in the pics- as teh size of your car's tyres grew, so did your tyres!!!! LOL!!

Yo Himanshu thanks, I knew that was certainly coming since the difference is quite visible. Need to get back to that pre-2.5yr shape ( but, you guys keep initiating so many meets, so how can i?)

[zen91]

Avi Bhai, excellent review and very well written. The car looks even better in all your photos with all that gloss on it. The alloys and the new tyres have added a graceful stance to it and they look dashing.

Your experience with Mazda Motors looks good, guess I should also check it out..hope they do Ford cars also.

[vnabhi]

Hey Avi,
That is a good update---as I'd mentioned earlier, your car looks swell, despite being more than 2 years old!
I agree that the Viva looks far superior to the Verna---it looks sporty compared to the slouchy looks of the later. Driving the Verna is a different ball game however.

[akroy]

Wonderful 40K update and nice pics too.
I see your bulbs charged you Rs1400 (I mean was that including relay as well)? Did you put Phillips Rally bulbs (Rs170/bulb) or something else?
I felt it is on higher side as in bangalore it generally cost around 800-900?

Abhi

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by akroy

Wonderful 40K update and nice pics too.
I see your bulbs charged you Rs1400 (I mean was that including relay as well)? Did you put Phillips Rally bulbs (Rs170/bulb) or something else?
I felt it is on higher side as in bangalore it generally cost around 800-900?

Abhi

Thanks Abhi. My bad actually, the cost includes the relay,wiring,installation etc. How can someone fleece a salesguy..huh?

[Ravveendrra]

I am surprised to learn that the Red Beast is more than 2 years old. I must say it hides its age well, thanks to all the elbow grease, spit and polish you put in.

Avi, a great informative write up and pics. I agree with Himanshu about the Fog lamps/auxillary driving lamps, you should get a pair ASAP.

Just as an experiment, try your stock bulbs with the relay etc. you will be surprised at the difference in light output that a relay and good holder make. Stock bulbs are normally good enough with the relays. Which Philips bulbs are these? Try the Philips Extreme Power or Osram Nightbreakers I have Nightbreakers in the GTX and they are wonderful at regular 55W. I hate what high wattage bulbs do to the wires in the long run.

As Brajesh has asked - give us more info on Mazda Motors. Do they do Fiat, Skoda, Ford etc.?

Cheers,

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by zen91

Your experience with Mazda Motors looks good, guess I should also check it out..hope they do Ford cars also.

Yes, the experience has been really well. I moved because Tata AIG has a special scheme with them something like:-

First Service, Labour Charge Free
Second Service, 50% off for Labour Charge and Free Wheel Alignment and Balance
Third Service, 25% off for LC,Free Wheel alightment and balance and polishing etc.

Arun knowing some people there also helped a lot. And, i think they do all cars, let me confirm that soon.

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

I am surprised to learn that the Red Beast is more than 2 years old. I must say it hides its age well, thanks to all the elbow grease, spit and polish you put in.

Avi, a great informative write up and pics. I agree with Himanshu about the Fog lamps/auxillary driving lamps, you should get a pair ASAP.

Just as an experiment, try your stock bulbs with the relay etc. you will be surprised at the difference in light output that a relay and good holder make. Stock bulbs are normally good enough with the relays. Which Philips bulbs are these? Try the Philips Extreme Power or Osram Nightbreakers I have Nightbreakers in the GTX and they are wonderful at regular 55W. I hate what high wattage bulbs do to the wires in the long run.

As Brajesh has asked - give us more info on Mazda Motors. Do they do Fiat, Skoda, Ford etc.?

Cheers,

Thanks Raavs. Well, that is the only area where i have refrained from spending, only god knows why. Infact, being a little influenced by Rider60, i was planning on getting the Hellas on the grille/bumper. What do you think? Hellas or regular fog lamps?

EDIT: In the first picture you can see Suren's Santro and behind me is Gautam ( Midlifecrisis). That was one of the earliest tbhp meets sometime in Dec'06, attended by me, suren,nosfreak,furiousphinx,midlifecrisis,rider60 and a couple of others at a dhaba in shamirpet

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Yes, the experience has been really well. I moved because Tata AIG has a special scheme with them something like:-
.........

Arun knowing some people there also helped a lot. And, i think they do all cars, let me confirm that soon.

......

Infact, being a little influenced by Rider60, i was planning on getting the Hellas on the grille/bumper. What do you think? Hellas or regular fog lamps?

Thanks for the info on Mazda. About the lights - the fog lamps inserted into their slot in the front bumper will add to the aesthetics of the car. The Hella/Lightforce on the bumper are a great source of focussed light for highways at night, make sure they are pencil beams. You can also look at the lightforce mounting bar which fits under the number-plate, the fitting is very good and the light will not bounce around as much. I am looking for one - maybe we can get a bulk deal. Perhaps you should get both the fogs and the Hellas.

Cheers,

Cheers,

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Some minor issues faced recently :

Losing Power: I have experienced this problem exactly twice in the last one year. When your start the car from cold, when you accelarate, nothing happens, then i quickly change to higher gear the car lurches forward. I keep doing this gimmick for 3-4 kms and then this situation automatically disappears. This goes on for 3-4 days and strangely, it never re-appears ( it did a few weeks ago after 1 year).

This problem re-surfaced back a couple of days ago and yesterday it was bad, when i step on the gas, the car just stops and when i release the accelarator pedal, it moves forward, it was so embarrasing in heavy traffic. Got some angry stares and decided that i cannot bear people looking at me like that so decided visit Laxmi Hyundai and meet my contact.

CS guy immediately took a test drive and within the first 50 meters he got the same problem, so he hooked up the scanner to check on the sensors and told me everything is fine. He asked me to leave the car for a day so they can identify the problem. Since i was on way to work, said will leave it in evening.

When i was driving away from workshop, noticed my ICE,dashboard clock,cabin light went dead. Also, noted that everytime i switch off the engine, trip meter comes back to 0.

Since the time i left the workshop till this minute, the problem didnt arise again, it just disappeared. It's totally weird.

But, since the others things still dont work,decided to pay them a visit again this morning to fix them. They checked all fuses and found everything alright. They even removed and reconnected the battery wires. No avail. As I was in a hurry mentioned will come back again a day or so.

Just dont know what is wrong and what i need to do to fix the trip meter resetting problem, Dead ICE and dashboard clock? Any ideas?