[ambujlal]

Originally Posted by indivic

having said that what has your experience been with your Indica - any rusting ?

My experience with the earlier Indica was, after few years even paint chipped of no reason (no dents, no accident). Just like that one fine morning I found that a 1.5 inch dia paint chipped off. And yes there was signs of rusting in underbelly. But I would not say it was alarming. So this time around I just wanted to be cautious.

Your experience with your Indica makes me think....

@hrag,

I have been using Shell petrol and my car runs super smooth. But the same car with other petrol (from HP, IOC etc), gives me lower performance. May be Shell fuel is purer!

[hrag]

Honestly I have not felt a big difference in Shell or any other brand, normal or premium. I go to Shell only because it is a pleasant experience overall.

[Danindica]

Underbody rust prevention
The Indicas have an epoxy coating done already(visible - just get under the car and you will see a scruffy coating that also help in sound deadening) on the underbody so no rusting of the metal there can happen. There is no real need whatsover of an underbody anti rust coating. The only thing that will rust is the silencer's muffler in about 2.5-3 years time and that rusts from the inside because of the water vapour produced as a result of hydrocarbon combustion inside the cylinders.

CH2O + O2 = CO2 + H2O (same basic equation but petrol engines more prone)

So keep all the "rust protection" money with you, it will come in handy for the silencer tube and muffler replacement.

High Octane Fuel

Please go to Why octane Value of Fuel is so important.

A higher octane value should always result in lesser knocking. Lesser knocking means more 'powered' piston down strokes. That means more bhp for the same number of revolutions and that translates into better mileage, efficiency, pick-up, smoothness and speed etc. Now, car owners do not decide the real octane value of the fuel they buy. That depends much more on the integrity of the companies retailing the fuel. But if there is a company that says their fuel is a certain octane level that my car's manual also says is the most optimum thing for my car - I would buy it and more importantly try it. Well, my car returns a minimum of 18kmpl in traffic and gave 23.64kmpl on two trips to Vizag and Chirala beach on high octane fuel.

Fuel Additives

There are two ways of keeping your MPFI fuel injectors clean. A. Keep getting them cleaned at regular service intervals. B. Use fuel additives that will dissolve the impurities and plaque settled on the injectors. In the long run, cleaner injectors mean better fuel supply and combustion and a cleaner fuel delivery system. The effect is:

Great, if the fuel you buy is relatively clean(the additive does its work)
Nil, if the fuel you buy is absolutely clean(the additive has no work to do)
Useless, if the fuel you buy is really dirty(the additive alone will not be sufficient)

Speed vs. ExtraPremium

Claims First
Speed(Bharat Petroleum): high octane fuel
Extra premium(Indian Oil): friction busters, better mileage and smoother drive etc

Even if one takes their claims at face value, one can see that they are promising different things. ExtraPremium simply claims to have a fuel additive like the IFTEXg in it. It is Speed that claims to be 'better burning capacity petrol' because of its higher octane value. So if I use IFTEXG and Speed then my car should get the best of both worlds - higher octane fuel and an injector cleaning additive.

Hope I answered some of your queries.

[ambujlal]

I read the following thread and was wondering how true this could be!

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ndigo-tdi.html

And yes it is very true! I was coming from tirupati (hot weather in Andhra), at arnd 2 in afternoon. Although I was driving at arnd 90-95kmph, my car's temp indicator was at half way mark and pick up was taking ages. At one point I almost smashed into a oncoming vehicle, due to miscalculated pickup to overtake! But as soon as I was nearing Bangalore, it was raining and cooler air and pickup was back to normal. So, whatever is described in the above mentioned thread is very true.

And for some information, for a round trip of 510 kms, I got a fuel efficieny of 17kmpl with ac on 80% of time.

[Danindica]

Dear Ambuj,

The reduction in power at high ambient temperatures is nearly always because of the rarer(less dense)air employed for the combustion. Unconfirmed, but the data says there is a reduction of nearly 2 bhp for every 10degree rise in temperature. This is what made engineers develop the CAI(cold air intake).

In the Indicas, the air intake inlet is right next to left front wheel well, which is the most ideal pace for it. The vertical intake angle also keeps the water out. In spite of all of it, the air cannot be prevented from getting hotter than its temp outside because a major stretch of the air intake(including the filter) is inside the engine compartment.

Your observation about the car accelerating faster when the it is cool outside is so true. You should feel the same during the monsoons. All said and done, it is a regular feature of all engines and the effect is the same or more pronounced in some other makes. Please do not try taking overtaking to nanosecond perfection. Thank God you are safe.

I was delighted to see those CAI inlets on either side of the Nano.

Another reason for the drop in power at high ENGINE temps could be detonation(knocking) which all engines are more prone to, at higher temps.

[ambujlal]

Thanks Dan for explaining the reason. Sometimes practicals are much more useful than theory :-). Next time around I would factor this also while overtaking.

[vijaythacker]

ambujlal, congrats on you indigo cl gls.surely VFM as indigo CS is said to be sedan at the price of hatchback.Share some cool pics of her.

[ambujlal]

It was raining yesterday evening in Bangalore; I though I would click few in rain!

[greenhorn]

ambujlal, does your car come with a light for the rear passengers?

would you mind posting a pic of the light assembly?

[ambujlal]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Does your car come with a light for the rear passengers?

Yes, it does come with reading lights for rear seats. Would post the pics tomorrow.

[ambujlal]

I got the CS GLS second service done today. Overall it was a good service experience at Concorde motors, Dairy Circle, Bangalore.

Since I forget things sometimes, I started preparing a list of my pain points for the car few days in advance. Took a printout of the list and reached Concorde at 9AM (time given to me).

Here is the list of things that I wanted to get fixed:

1. Rattling sound
2. Sound from rear suspension and chasis
3. Screeching sound from brakes
4. Tyre rotataion
5. Wiper not functioning in slow speed
6. Foul smell from AC when switched in morning
7. Slow pickup
8. Huge drop in power when AC is switched on
9. When brake hard, there is wobbling
10. Wheel balancing and alignment
11. Wheel cover
12. Fog lamp casing loose
13. Front LHS wheel cover missing

The service executive said "Sir, You are the first one has come prepared with such a list. It helps us". Anyways that was a nice complement to hear.

I was told the car would be ready by 6PM. Got a call at 5PM confirming that the car is ready to be picked up.

As per Rajesh's request:

Originally Posted by trrk

Hi,

Since the petrol models of Tata are rarer to be seen, it is always nice to see somebody who is happy with it.

If you could put up the service costs, it would be interesting to compare the costs with the diesel one.

Following is the list of things done for 2nd service:

1. Engine oil replacement - Castrol 10W40 Magnetec, 4 Ltrs
2. Oil Filter replaced
3. Wheel alignment done (5gm wheel weight added) - Qty- 10, Rate- 15.11rs - total = 151.11 Rupees.
4. Pivot Bush (Front Suspension) replaced - Warranty
5. Wheel cover (Front LHS) - 355.56 Rs.
6. All Door glasses checked for rattling sound - Fixed
7. Brake Pads cleaning done - No screeching sound now
8. Wheel rotation done.
9. Front Lower Wishbone (incl Bush replacement) - Warranty
10. Wiper switch changed - Warranty
11. Fog lamp casing tightened

Also, AC filter was cleaned. The effectiveness of AC has gone a notch up. Slow pickup and drop in speed when AC is switched on is taken care of.

They also did complementary polishing for Dashboard and other plastic areas.

Total cost = 2,103 Rupees.

@greenhorn,

I have not forgotten to post the rear reading light assembly snap. Didn't get time. Would do it ASAP.

[ambujlal]

Mileage update after 9704 Kms:

In Bangalore city traffic: 13.5 kmpl with AC on 80% of time
On Highway: 17Kmpl with AC always on, except during overtaking.

[ambujlal]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

ambujlal, does your car come with a light for the rear passengers?

would you mind posting a pic of the light assembly?

As per your request, posting the rear seat light assembly pic.

[ambujlal]

I stopped my vehicle at a traffic light and since it was a long wait, I switched off the car engine. To my horror when the traffic light went green, the engine didn't start in first crank, I cranked again but no luck. A third try and the engine came to life. Thank God! At least I could move. People were honking madly behind me.

But after I started the check engine light didn't go off. I was a bit scared of what could have gone wrong as the car was running normal and smooth. But to be on the safer side, I didn't switch off the engine at traffic lights till I reached home, a distance of about 7kms.

Came home and called up Concorde motors and told them about the problem. First response was, can you bring the vehicle to service station. I said no way! What if it stops moving in the middle of Bangalore traffic. Then they promptly sent a service guy (quality inspector at Tata) at my home. A response time of about 1.5 hrs (not bad ).

He also cranked the engine, the car started but the Check Engine Light didn't go off. He then called up the service station and was asked to take out the positive terminal wire of the battery for 2 mins. Did that and then cranked again. The Check engine light went off.

The problem he told me was, sometimes the ECU has a data overflow and it is not able to log anymore data. After taking of the power supply, it sort of resets the process. He asked me to take a test drive with him. Took a 7-8 km test drive and everything looked normal.

Had a talk with him during test drive and he said that he was working with Skoda earlier and quit job and joined Audi and from there to Tata 6 months ago. The reason for quitting skoda was lack of customer care at TAFE and reason for quitting Audi was only 7-8 vehicles come for service in a month, so no job satisfaction. At Tata his hands are more than full!

Anyways I am pretty impressed with Concorde motor's service and timely resolution of a problem.

Happy driving!

[Danindica]

Dear Ambuj,

Great description of Service#2. Congrats.
I have two questions (from my experience with the XETA).

1. The drop in power and speed on putting the AC on - did it really go away or is at least better than before?
2. Did they (the ***), prescribe any engine oil additive or flushing?

Thanks and regards,
Dan