[dumdumdigadiga]

Thanks Sudevji and Samurai, appreciate your view. I also appreciate the correction about the OEM. So will Yoko's be ok or Hankook's? For example, which of these would be best for mostly on road partly off road. A selection is here: http://www.changemytyre.com/Tyres/Ca...ID=29&CityID=1

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

145K running in petrol . It must have cost a bit to run.

That is very old news. It has exceeded 240K by now. I have been requesting sudev to update the title.

Originally Posted by dumdumdigadiga

So will Yoko's be ok or Hankook's? For example, which of these would be best for mostly on road partly off road.

After the OE Geolandar HT got worn off in 17K kms, I switched to Michelin LTX AT2, which I used for 40K kms. Since then I am on MRF Wanderer AT, already completed 28K on it, still looks very good.

BTW, you don't have to stick to 225/70R16, which is a difficult size to procure. I moved on to 235/70R16 after the OE tyres. The only trouble is spare tyre cover won't fit.

[sudev]

MRF Wanderer are good.

Better grip not with standing only problem with 235's is that if the fifth tyre is also of same size you cannot use stepny cover. I got mine removed after first 30k when I changed to 235's

[dumdumdigadiga]

Originally Posted by sudev

Hankook OE issue? AFAIK it was Yoko HT 225/70/R16's

Ideally all four.

Practically if you are not going to use more few kilometers off road - AND out of that too few hundred meters in 4 H or L Lock - you can go in for two at a time.

Suggest you look at AT tread pattern so that you get best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by sudev

MRF Wanderer are good.

Better grip not with standing only problem with 235's is that if the fifth tyre is also of same size you cannot use stepny cover. I got mine removed after first 30k when I changed to 235's

Originally Posted by Samurai

That is very old news. It has exceeded 240K by now. I have been requesting sudev to update the title.

After the OE Geolandar HT got worn off in 17K kms, I switched to Michelin LTX AT2, which I used for 40K kms. Since then I am on MRF Wanderer AT, already completed 28K on it, still looks very good.

BTW, you don't have to stick to 225/70R16, which is a difficult size to procure. I moved on to 235/70R16 after the OE tyres. The only trouble is spare tyre cover won't fit.

Thanks Sudevji/Sumurai. I moved to Yoko 235/70/R16 yesterday. Changed all 4 and yes have one 225/70/R16 in the stepney. Got the change made in Star Wheels, Gurgaon opposite to Payal Cinema near Atul Kataria Chowk.

[sudev]

Samurai prodded me to update the tread and title so here goes.

Yesterday I drove with a friend in his Dezire to Alwar and realized what he meant when a few weeks back....

We had gone to Jaipur for Speed Sprint IX and after the event wound up I started back for Delhi/Faridabad from Jaipur at around 2030hrs. The car boot was filled with stuff. The third person could barely fit in in the rear seat with more stuff piled up on the rear seat as well. My friend who was also there for the event had started back more than half hour back thinking I am about to start in five minutes. We had agreed that if possible we should have dinner together some where around Behror about half way house. But due to one or the other thing I was started much later.
He decided to stop just before Behror for dinner and shared the location. I landed up at the dinner place around 1015hrs barely five minutes after him. No I was not driving all that fast but was able to maintain a steady 95~100kmph. He is no slouch either but in Dezire he had to slow down every so often for potholes and "bitumen" deformations (overloading woes...OT for now) and diversions dotting the NH8.
Post dinner we started together with me leading. Up to Behror we were together. Post Behror again diversions and poor roads started. By the time I crossed toll gate after Neemrana he had got left behind. At Gurgaon when I turned off for Faridabad, he was about half an hour behind.

I realized coming back in his car yesterday how easy it had been to fly over undulations and deformities in the GV and maintain constant speeds and easy road handling.

GV's odo is about 2,32,000 now and the suspension is needing an overhaul. I have been delaying the suspension bush kit change and new struts for some time - 10k plus kms - due to some personal reasons (availability is not an issue). I did service support for a team in Desert Storm in same state of suspension in February.

Apart from suspension the car needs a new set of brake rotors. While compression ration in region of 150~160 (against ideal of 180) means engine over haul the cars is not consuming mobile oil yet between 10k services and oil changes.

Steering rack leaks a bit of oil and in last 40k kms a top up of steering fluid has consumed 2 liters. I have been looking at repair of the rack as against replacement advised by MASS.

Problems attended to in the meanwhile:

1. At about 215k replaced fuel pump as integrated filter got choked. Entirely our fault as during Desert Storm some last moment purchase of storing high octane fuel for competing cars was not cleaned and some jelly like substance got transferred in to fuel tank. Not only my car but two other cars went out of competition due to this issue. I tried cleaning the integrated filter but it did not work. Only way out was either to cut out the filter or replace the entire pump. Cost 19k. Fortunately was able to source one from a damaged GV at half the price.

2. Coming back from Desert Storm banged the car - stupidity on my part to forget considering other driver as a sane lane driver - in to back of a mini bus. Damaged front fender, bonnet, left head lamp, radiator, and some more smaller parts. fortunately most of it covered with insurance.

3. Right now using Ceat 235/70/R16's

In last one year the car has been driven very less and barely covered 15k.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by sudev

- stupidity on my part to forget considering other driver as a sane lane driver -

Having written this in a hurry I did not construct the sentence properly. I meant to say that I normally always assume that the other drivers are not "lane sane" and proceed accordingly.

In this instance I proceeded to over take a mini bus at start of a narrow, though two lane, diversions. He started off on the outer slow lane but at last moment changed to the inner fast lane since ahead of him there were some pot holes. I braked but difference of speed was too much and there was not enough distance. Hence the mild bang.

Fortunately many other competitors and service crews were travelling back from Jaipur to Delhi around the same time. So within a few minutes was able get a tow all the way to Gurgaon.

My fault. No defense in stating that six seven days of hectic schedule as service coordinator for a team had left me tired.

Keeping this "other driver is a fool" attitude helps. This does not mean that I have to drive slow or drive over cautiously . All it means is that I keep a sharper look out even beyond the vehicle being over taken and be alert and ready for evasive action.

[rattanw]

Originally Posted by sudev

My fault. No defense in stating that six seven days of hectic schedule as service coordinator for a team had left me tired.

Keeping this "other driver is a fool" attitude helps. This does not mean that I have to drive slow or drive over cautiously . All it means is that I keep a sharper look out even beyond the vehicle being over taken and be alert and ready for evasive action.

Did the other driver give any sort of indication before changing lane? Its good to be sensible and own up moral responsibility, but I can vouch for the stupidity of many drivers equally on highways and within cities, especially those drivers who seem to have the "indestructible halo" for themselves and "couldnt care less" attitude for other's safety.

In the end I guess its all good since there was no damage of serious kind. As they say, everything teaches you something.

[TB16]

That's quite a lot of travelling you have done. Hope the GV just keeps on going like this.
Just wanted to ask, are all GV in india CBUs? Or were they even assembled in india?

[sudev]

CBU. All GV's were always that. Build quality is top and that is one primary reason I bought it.

[paragsachania]

Somehow I missed this thread till now. 232k in 7 years is some amazing driving over and above one's average.

Good to read about the reliability of the car and the fact that it is still serving you very well. Since I own a Petrol car that's no reaching the 220k mark in about 8+ years, its the reliability and solid engine even after so many kilometers that has made me retain it. There have been folks who said I have spent more than twice the price of the car drive so many kilometers and with the same money I may have bought another car !

How I wish, I too become someone who would want to only "own" a car and not "Drive" one!! I am glad, its not the case with me.

[TB16]

Originally Posted by sudev

CBU. All GV's were always that. Build quality is top and that is one primary reason I bought it.

Well that's comforting to hear as I also have a suzuki CBU (kizashi) & intend to keep it for long. I just hope the spares are easily available in times to come.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Samurai

But I want Bosch 4819 Evolution All-Season Bracketless Wiper Blade, which is highly rated on Amazon.

You could try Hella Dynaedge - available in India at most auto stores.

[sudev]

The GV throws two tantrums in quick succession on two successive Sundays!

Story is similar both times. I needed to explore areas around Sohna, about 20km south of Gurgaon, for a new rally track. The roads around Sohna are used by lots of overloaded dumper trucks bringing in material for stone crushers. In bid to reduce accidents all villages in the area have made huge speed breakers. These are car breakers and even in GV I had to crawl over few of the special ones. Others one just went over without a bother.

After one such fast jump over job the engine just died with no response to acceleration input. Stopping by side of a side road opened the bonnet and removed incoming fuel line and confirmed that with ignition on there was no fuel being pumped. Tank had been topped up both times just forty fifty kilometer before so there was more than plenty of fuel. All fuse were okay.

Arranged tow for the vehicle to garage. Which was an experience in itself with no power brakes and innumerable speed breakers to be crossed.

Fuel pump of GV is inside the tank. On ignition one could hear and feel the hum of pump activating but no fuel was being pumped out. To get to the pump one needs to first remove section of exhaust pipe then the prop shaft and then the tank itself has to be taken out. Of course both times fuel had to be siphoned out in jerry cans before removing the tank. Easily a hour plus procedure on a lift and few hours if you do not have post lifts in the garage. That is why I did not ask road side mechs to attempt this job or any smaller garages.

[sudev]

In my last update I had mentioned that fuel pump was replaced due to some gel clogging the filter. At that time the job was done by local garage close to my home. The guys there are competent and long long time back had hand in preparing my rally vehicles.
While replacing the pump they were missing OE flexible fuel lines. So they had used ordinary plastic tubing of about nine inches length to connect pump output at bottom of assembly to metal outlet pipe at top of assembly.

In the first instance when we opened the fuel pump this pipe had become adrift from top where it connected to metal outlet pipe. So while fuel pump was operational it was pumping fuel back to the tank!

That time a screw circlip was used to ensure flexible pipe remaining in place. And fuel pump tank propeller and exhaust put back. First start of ignition and engine was purring.

[sudev]

Sunday last again same thing happened. So I suspected shoddy workmanship, during last visit, in fixing clamp.
Put the car on lift, drained tank, removed exhaust, removed prop shaft and took out the tank. Unscrewed filter cum pump and took it out. Surprised to find flex tubing fully connected. So what was the problem? In hurry to open we did not check if pump was working. Reconnected wire harness and everything was fine. Realised that the wire harness was not properly connected and 'clicked' into place. The bump had made it come loose and result was no petrol flow.

The car is working fine for now.