[aks_karthik]

yes very good FE.
for me i've been getting 14 to 14.8kmpl continuously with 100% AC and City driving in peak traffic.
By using Shell Diesel,FE hovers about .5kmpl.
For last two fills,i used Shell Diesel.
But now the Shell has increased Diesel rate to 36.70 from 34.98
So planned to back to IOC Normal Diesel.

[firstguri]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

No tuning is done in 1st service. Only fluid levels are checked. However, the Air Filter is cleaned though

I am aware that only checks are made in the 3000 Km service, but I am surprised as this is a really big jump in FE. A difference of 2.5 Km over the same roads and in the same condition really points to something; something that I dont know!

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

yes very good FE.
for me i've been getting 14 to 14.8kmpl continuously with 100% AC and City driving in peak traffic.
By using Shell Diesel,FE hovers about .5kmpl.
For last two fills,i used Shell Diesel.
But now the Shell has increased Diesel rate to 36.70 from 34.98
So planned to back to IOC Normal Diesel.

Ok, but we dont get Shell here. And secondly doesn't Shell diesel have additives? The other thing is that Chandigarh/Mohali is still Euro II and so we only get cetane-48 here. The Manual states atleast cetane-51. Well, that wont be happening before April next year as that is when these cities have to shift to Euro III norms. Cetane no' is basically the ignition delay, higher the number shorter the delay. As an engineer I know that this difference in cetane number should affect the efficiency of the engine to some extent but not by much. However Linea's mill is state of the art and so I think the ECM along with the solenoid controlled injectors capable of multiple injections per stroke should be able counter the effect of a lower cetane number. But I would still like to see the difference with a cetane-51 diesel.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by firstguri

I am aware that only checks are made in the 3000 Km service, but I am surprised as this is a really big jump in FE. A difference of 2.5 Km over the same roads and in the same condition really points to something; something that I dont know!

Ok, but we dont get Shell here. And secondly doesn't Shell diesel have additives?

May be Air Filter cleaning made the difference. Or may be the avg speed, check avg speed. Because on the same route on the same timings of the day, I get 9-10 kmpl FE on weekdays (Heavy traffic- 16 kmph avg speed) & 16 kmph on Saturday (no traffic - 40-50 kmph avg speed)

[firstguri]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

May be Air Filter cleaning made the difference. Or may be the avg speed, check avg speed. Because on the same route on the same timings of the day, I get 9-10 kmpl FE on weekdays (Heavy traffic- 16 kmph avg speed) & 16 kmph on Saturday (no traffic - 40-50 kmph avg speed)

Maybe the air filter cleaning made a difference, maybe. But the engine still pulls with the same force which wouldn't have been the case if the air filter was dirty. Secondly, in that case we should have got 15 Km/l when the car was new as at that time the air filter would have been new.

And I agree that traffic conditions also affect the FE but we have no fixed timings to take out our car (as nobody at home has got a day job). Sometimes its in the mornings, somtimes in the afternoon etc so the driving conditions, well are pretty random so to say.

I'm not disagreeing with your views but they seem to be a little unlikely in our case.

[firstguri]

Ok I want to bring this issue into the light as there seems to be a lot of hoo-haa over it- Tyre noise.
Firstly my views- I haven't noticed any noise. Maybe my ears are full of wax, maybe others have got ears of a bat. But jokes apart the sound insulation of Linea is pretty good. I mean even loud horns sound like normal ones inside the car and you really dont hear much of the outside. With the windows closed, AC & ICE running I literally have strain to hear anything from the outside. Even while doing 100 k's and with only the AC on, I cant hear any noise from the tyres. Only the engine noise is what is audible.

Now the alternative- Primacy LC
Primacy LC is Michelin's economy model, for that matter even GT3 is of Goodyear. But Primacy LC's main purpose is less rolling resistance and noise. Performance is not its forte. Whereas GT3's main purpose is to offer performance at low cost. It is therfore a value for money performance tyre. Yes Primacy LC will reduce the noise and GT3 is comparitively louder, but for people like me who love to drive GT3 is a better bet. Anyway the noise is not so much that it irritates you or punctures your ear drum! So I cant understand why some owners are having trouble over such a trivial issue.

So some people like to compare this car with most expensive, thus the problem.

[coolboy007]

Well i have already posted this obs in Pragmites thread

Originally Posted by Vahanpujari

There is a 3rd sound though, at a speed above 130 kmph i.e. tyre/road noise. I do not like that!!

Originally Posted by Coolboy007

Amit, the Goodyears are very grippy tyres. Michelins are silent but read they sacrifice handling for no noise which i dont like. These tyres are noisy but grip is phenomenal. Would really like a 120-130 bhp Linea, the chasis and handling can easily take that.

Even if these tyre wear out after 30-40 k kms i might go for them again, MIchelins may not have the grip and provide me fun in twisties of Hills for which Linea is made.

[firstguri]

Originally Posted by Shivashara

So some people like to compare this car with most expensive, thus the problem.

It's not the comparisons with expensive car Shiv, its the misleading knowledge and comments from pseudo-experts on the forum!

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Well i have already posted this obs in Pragmites thread.
Even if these tyre wear out after 30-40 k kms i might go for them again, MIchelins may not have the grip and provide me fun in twisties of Hills for which Linea is made.

So you know and that's good to see. That's your choice but you also have knowledge about the issue.

If people blabber around over Linea's fabulous handling and then contemplate a tyre change for noise issues without actually understanding the dynamics and other technicalities of tyres then they are just being ignorant. Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone should blindly stick with GT3. But what I'm trying to say is that during these discussions Primacy LC is being made larger than life. This will mislead other people and not bring out the entire story. Primacy LC and GT3 both have their pros and cons and one should know them before downplaying GT3 and making Primacy LC the king of tyres.

[nkrishnap]

Just wondering why every body is talking about the Michelin LC, isn't there any other brands like yokohama, bridgestone which provides good performance with less noise?


Just curious to know

[Ferrari1976]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Just wondering why every body is talking about the Michelin LC, isn't there any other brands like yokohama, bridgestone which provides good performance with less noise?


Just curious to know

Same question here! Is there a better option which can reduce the noise and retain the same grip levels?

P.S - I have booked a Linea and am contemplating changing the tyres to Michelin LC, based on all the information on this Forum.

Regards
Ashish

[neotraveller]

nikhilb2008 would be the correct guy to answer it.
He owns a tyre shop in banglore and he gives advice regarding tyres options in the "tyres " section of TBHP.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Even if these tyre wear out after 30-40 k kms i might go for them again, MIchelins may not have the grip and provide me fun in twisties of Hills for which Linea is made.

Originally Posted by firstguri

If people blabber around over Linea's fabulous handling and then contemplate a tyre change for noise issues without actually understanding the dynamics and other technicalities of tyres then they are just being ignorant. Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone should blindly stick with GT3. But what I'm trying to say is that during these discussions Primacy LC is being made larger than life. This will mislead other people and not bring out the entire story. Primacy LC and GT3 both have their pros and cons and one should know them before downplaying GT3 and making Primacy LC the king of tyres.

Sounds logical. Have not changed the tyres in my Linea & using the stock tyres

Originally Posted by Ferrari1976

Same question here! Is there a better option which can reduce the noise and retain the same grip levels?

It seems better road grip means obvious noise. Less noise means less road grip. Combining both would be ideal & great. Is it possible?

[firstguri]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Just wondering why every body is talking about the Michelin LC, isn't there any other brands like yokohama, bridgestone which provides good performance with less noise?Just curious to know

Originally Posted by Ferrari1976

Same question here! Is there a better option which can reduce the noise and retain the same grip levels?
P.S - I have booked a Linea and am contemplating changing the tyres to Michelin LC, based on all the information on this Forum.
Regards
Ashish

I am sure that there are better performance tyres with low noise levels. They'll be equally pricey though. Goodyear, Michelin and Bridgestone all have these high performance tyres available off the shelf. But how silent they are vis-a-vis performance is something I dont have much information about.

Originally Posted by neotraveller

nikhilb2008 would be the correct guy to answer it.
He owns a tyre shop in banglore and he gives advice regarding tyres options in the "tyres " section of TBHP.

So we have a tyre expert here on Team-BHP. I guess then he's the guy to go to.

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

It seems better road grip means obvious noise. Less noise means less road grip. Combining both would be ideal & great. Is it possible?

Well I'll have to research on that to comment. But maybe what you are saying is correct as in this world almost everything is like two sides of the same coin.

[firstguri]

OK fellas, been a long time. Had gone for a small sailing. Our Linea is now 8500 km young. Some things that I wanted to point out:-

-> Fabulous handling and grip. I know that I've pointed this out before but I just had to bring it up again.
-> Good FE. We now get 15-16 km/l in 100% city driving. For a car that weighs 1300 kgs, those are some pretty good figures.
-> Driving position not exactly to my taste. The steering wheel is too far back. Even with the right seat height it almost touches my thighs. That makes it a little difficult to steer during tight turns as my hands keep on hitting my thighs. I would prefer the steering wheel closer to the body. I recall one review of some mag' which stated Linea's driving position suited the Italians- long armed and short legged.

I've been to Delhi once and I just enjoyed driving like never before. Thank you Fiat for giving such a great handling and stable car. I limited myself to 120 km/h max, never got a chance to go more. Going above that would have meant reckless driving, so I just kept on praying for an empty stretch but that was not to be. I think I got 20 km/l approx.

Dad hit the side of the front bumper on a footpath while parking. Just a minor impact. The bumper became a little loose, just a little loose. Was rectified by the service centre without any hassles. They just opened it and put it back in place.

Younger bro' reversed into a Zen. There is dent where the 'EMOTION' decals are but the good thing is that the decals are still there. There have been some reports that those decals have fallen off, but ours are still in place even after a kiss with a Zen! Good going. The Zen's taillights were totally smashed and my brother being a typical Indian just ran away from there.

A biker boy rammed his bike into the front left wheel at a traffic light and broke the wheel cap. Again the service centre was very apt in replacing it. No waiting and no buying the whole set. Costed us Rs. 334, Labour- Rs. 10!

The rear left door's handle (exterior) only opened the door when it was pulled right up. Got it checked; they rectified it without any hassles. Apparently the connections were a little loose from inside.

Engine oil and coolant level dropped to min' at around 8k kms. Got them topped up but the alarms had still not come.

Overall we've been throughly satisfied. We've had no problems with the service centre as well, although I've met other Fiat owners who are not happy with the same service centre. The car has behaved well till now and there have been no problems at all.

Some other things that I wanted to bring out:-
-> Plastics- I've read some posts stating that the plastics have improved! I dont know what was the posters were trying to imply. Firstly the dashboard plastics had never been bad.The issue was with only some 2-3 bits. I just checked new Linea's yesterday and everything is still the same. As good or as bad as it is in our car, and mind you our Linea is of Jan' batch.
-> Painting the grill black- IMO the silver grill gives an executive look, black gives a sporty look. Linea is such a classy car that it can never look sporty no matter what ever you do with it. Such an elegant car- it deserves a silver or chrome grill. But then again these are my views. If somebody wants to paint it black, by all means do so.


I remember that I had told you all that I'll post better pics later on. The previous ones were taken from a cellphone. My photography is not that good but I hope they're better than the last ones.

P.S. I had to get the clutch slave cylinder changed. I'll be posting the why's and how's of it later on. And in the mean time we bought a new Alto for daily running around. Linea is too big and elegant to be taken to the vegetable market.

[FastLove]

Congrats FirstGuri on your lovely possession

This is the First time i am seeing the storage space provided in a Linea on the dashboard ,where i have an Airbag (in my linea). Never , so far , knew such a space existed in any Linea. Thanks for that picture. Nobody, has so far shared this in the forum (as per my knowledge).

Call it my Utter ignorance but its just something i didnt know till today