[gowda79]

Srini, instead of the Safari pictures you have put up the nature's picture.

Good to hear that the tailgate problem is sorted out which is some distraction while driving.

Come on put some good pictures of The King.

[smsrini]

The dushera weekend saw us heading towards Mysore for a day trip to watch the Palace in all its glory lighted with 1 lakh bulbs.

On the return journey, Silverado ended up chasing the CM's convoy for about 1 hr, between Srirangapatna and Ramanagaram.

As we exited Srirangapatna, I saw a set of red light beacons flashing in the distance.. oh no looks like some accident, with police at the site.. but wait the beacons were moving, so some VIP.

With the Safari, it should not be a problem overtaking them.. but alas not to be.. as we neared the convoy, I counted 6 cars. A Pilot, A gypsy, an amby, a corolla, another amby, a Mahindra. with 2 Amby's doing a sedate 75kph. The last car in the convoy was the Mahindra, with explicit instructions NOT to allow any car to cross. So the Mahindra and the last Amby in the convoy, switched lanes to ensure that no other car could cross...

Once I figured out their game, I fell behind the convoy, doing a sedate 75-80kph, and watched the fun.

2 accents, a Santro, 2 swifts, a Corolla coming behind, tooted their horns, flashed their lights, and when I did not bugde, switched lanes crossed over only to have the Mahindra throw a lane-block. switch lanes, the Amby-Block..

After Mandya, I guess they entered a different jurisdiction, so a new set of Pilot and tail car joined the convoy with two cars exiting. This manouvre was executed with a precision that was both hair raising and awsome.. all without breaking speed!

New Pilot joins the adjacent lane, and speeds ahead, crosses lanes, take the lead, old pilot, moves left, and exits. New Tailcar takes the left lane, and comes parallel to the old one, both run together till the next median where the old tailcar does a perfect U and exits.. the mahindra blocks the rear, till the new tailcar takes position!

So what's the point of this post...

1) when you see such a convoy, enjoy the drive. You get un interrupted passage thru ALL intersections, all crossing, traffic lights. stick close to the last car, and act as if you're part of it! I wish he came upto Bangalore. I could have completed the Mysore-Bangalore drive in 1hr 30min flat!

2) Pray that the Govt upgrades to faster cars! I'm sure with a safari/scorp/newer sedans, the convoy can do better speeds, and cause less disruption to traffic.

3) A safari looks very much part of a politician's convoy with or without the beacon!

4) Kudos to the Police Drivers, for their driving skills. They do a risky job, protecting leaders of our state, putting their lives at stake sometimes..


Mods, not sure if this post is appropriate in this LTR forum..please delete as appropriate.

cheers!

[ACM]

Originally Posted by smsrini

what's the point of this post...

1) when you see such a convoy, enjoy the drive. You get un interrupted passage thru ALL intersections, all crossing, traffic lights. stick close to the last car, and act as if you're part of it! I wish he came upto Bangalore. I could have completed the Mysore-Bangalore drive in 1hr 30min flat!

2) Pray that the Govt upgrades to faster cars! I'm sure with a safari/scorp/newer sedans, the convoy can do better speeds, and cause less disruption to traffic.

3) A safari looks very much part of a politician's convoy with or without the beacon!

4) Kudos to the Police Drivers, for their driving skills. They do a risky job, protecting leaders of our state, putting their lives at stake sometimes..

cheers!

All very valid points, yep the police drivers to drive pretty much like dare devils. Once saw two Amby's with amber lights racing away as a team on the eastern express highway in Mumbai.

One of the two Ambys had an older under powered Diesel, and the other one had a newer better powered engine. Both stayed just ahead of my higher powered vehicle doing somewhat scary driving in a modest traffic road. The under powered older Amby was also able to keep up with the more powerfull one speaking for driver skills.

[smsrini]

Silverado got her ICE upgrade sometime in Dec'09 with the addition of the Philips tablet DVD players.



They're two individual players with headphones. can play movies, music

With the Aux in to the HU, you have a full fledged movie theatre on wheels -for one.

Though I had the players since aug'09, did not find a good guy to make the mounting pouches, till one fine day, I landed up at the neighbourhood seat wallah, who was enterprising enough to make them after some trial & error.

I've seen many Jeeps getting their seats done here, so if anyone's interested, then head to kachrakhanahalli on Hennur MainRoad. There's a bend in the road where there is a famous Mercedes repair shop. the seat wallah - Royal SeatCovers is bang opp.

Excellent workmanship I must say.

Looking out for those Headrest clamps which I can fit to the back of the covers, for a better viewing angle.

[smsrini]

Silverado went for 45k service on 30-jun. 2 days short of 1 year.

Last service was at 30k kms on 3-jul-09. I've done 3 Blr-hyd trips and 1 trip to chikamagalur-hassan-kudremukh in this 1 year, and she's held well. No major repairs or visits to the service center, except for a air filter change somewhere in Oct'09.

complaints:
- LHS ORVM to be replaced. Costed about 4500/- incl. painting.
- Suspension rattle. replaced antiroll bar bushes.
- EngineOil, PowerSteering Fluid,Gearbox Oil changed.
- Oil Filter and fuel filter changed.
- Coolant topup. found a leak in some hose near thermostat. Hose replaced.
- Hub greasing done.
- EngineFlush - Wurth done.
- Brakes adjusted.

Vehicle handles much better, and the body roll is very controlled.

the 45k service by itself costed around 6k and another 2k for other misc repairs.

Overall a relatively troublefree year with the car.

[smsrini]

56k update.

- Engine oil changed to Castrol Synthetic before the Nov/Dec Hyderabad runs. engine sounds smoother.

ICE upgrade.
Infinity reference 475a amp 4 channel amp.
JBL CS 1215 Subwoofer.
Kenwood 7046BT HU
Scosche wiring kit
Scosche accumat damping mats for the front door.

The GTO components have come alive with the upgrade. The gentle thump adds to the overall effect.

The rear co-axials are driven via the HU but dont seem to be audible. have to research the HU settings to see if this can be made to sound better.

Overall very happy with the upgrade.

cheers!

[smsrini]

Gosh that was a long gap. The last update in 2011..

She's now clocked 111186 Kim's, and still going strong. All she asks for is regular maintenance and two visits to the TASS every year on an average.

Major repairs done in 2014 include:

Injector refurbish. Costed around 8k, done by Concorde motors Kudlu gate. They send the injector to the Delphi service center which IIRC is Nayak diesels. Thank you Tata for waking up finally and doing injector service.

It helped get rid of the irritating clatter and the erratic idling problem.

Clutch overhaul. Clutch plate and full kit changed.

Rear brake pads change.

Engine oil change.

Suspension bushing change

The radiator hoses got brittle and started to leak, a slow leak, leading to the fan running continuously during even short drives in a cold December morning. TASS to the rescue asked me to topup with water, check if any visible leaks are seen, if not drive over.

Alternator gave up and had to be overhauled.

New battery.

Well that's all. Not bad for a 7yr old car. I count these as normal maintenance after 1lac Kms.

After the injector service, she purrs like a cat, and still manages to turn heads. The other day a gent on a bike pulls over at the signal, asks me to roll down the window, and asks "kitna deti hai?" And gives an appreciative once over... Enough to put a smile on my face...

Many a time I have contemplated replacing the safari but there is still no option that ticks all the boxes..