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Old 8th June 2010, 11:34   #16
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Thanks for th info Spike. I will check my settings accordingly. My ASC is clueless about this value.

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Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR View Post
Hi Rocky,

Good to see you are enjoying your STORM.

I agree it is not rocket science adjusting the LSPV, but the correct value is obtained after lots of tests/trials. It is best you do not deviate from this. Anything +- can result in aggressive/poor braking characteristics. It is preferred to keep it within specification limits. For Bolero, this value happens to be 92.5 mm

Spike
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Old 8th June 2010, 17:07   #17
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Thanks for th info Spike. I will check my settings accordingly. My ASC is clueless about this value.
I hope they at least know what this value means to the braking system

Spike
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Old 8th June 2010, 17:35   #18
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I hope they at least know what this value means to the braking system

Spike
Prateesh, through my experience you should have known by now that most of the Technicians at the ASC are utterly useless. Sometimes even your COTECs are no better.
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Old 8th June 2010, 18:34   #19
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My woes with puncture continues...Is it a good idea with steel rims because I don't like alloys
I too used to have problems with punctures a couple of months back after I started filling Nitrogen. Somehow I have less of punctures now after I reduced the tyre pressure from 30 to 28psi. I plan to go for tubeless when I change the tyres next, without any change in the aspect ratios and of course without any alloys. I don't see any harm in driving on steel rims with tubeless tyres, but I'm open to enlightenment.

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Brakes still lock early in the morning and behaves itself after driving for 5 / 10 km. But locks in slippery surfaces. So have to be careful in the rains.
Same case with mine as well, it's so embarassing during those first few kilometres after start -- people behind you think you're some novice learning to drive!

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While returning from the road trip somewhere half way the front left wheel started making screeching noise.... and the hub was free / noiseless again.
Yeah that way a Bolero gives a lot of opportunity for people with 'creative hands'. I was getting some sounds from the damaged left footboard and so I shoved in some newspaper around the damaged part and presto! no more sound.

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FE returned is approx 11.2kmpl with AC on all the time and cruising at 110kmph and occasional 130kmph on onward journey and 70 - 80kmph (due to road condition) on return journey.
Yup! that sounds like the normal FE for that kind of driving. I get around 12-ish with AC when I drive in the 90-100kmph range.

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Finally planning to put sun film because on road trips in straight boring highways - sun rays can be very hot even with the AC working efficiently. Arms & legs tend to burn
Am thinking about sunfilm too, so I guess I'll wait for your review here before I fit them on mine.
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Old 8th June 2010, 18:50   #20
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Prateesh, through my experience you should have known by now that most of the Technicians at the ASC are utterly useless. Sometimes even your COTECs are no better.
i know Ani, do not have any answer for this one

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Old 14th June 2010, 16:52   #21
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Originally Posted by MudMover View Post
I too used to have problems with punctures a couple of months back after I started filling Nitrogen. Somehow I have less of punctures now after I reduced the tyre pressure from 30 to 28psi. I plan to go for tubeless when I change the tyres next, without any change in the aspect ratios and of course without any alloys. I don't see any harm in driving on steel rims with tubeless tyres, but I'm open to enlightenment.



.
I have used tubeless tyres on my bolero for the last two years on metal rims without any hassles. So I'm sure anyone can.

Regards,

Chaunfa
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Old 15th June 2010, 15:23   #22
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Thanx for the info Chanfa, Just curious, which one do you have? Any upsize or original?

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I have used tubeless tyres on my bolero for the last two years on metal rims without any hassles. So I'm sure anyone can.

Regards,

Chaunfa
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Old 18th June 2010, 11:34   #23
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Tubeless

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Thanx for the info Chanfa, Just curious, which one do you have? Any upsize or original?
I have used the original rims and the tyres the Bolero came with. I mean the new set I got is the same ole bridgetone dueller ht. Had had a brief affair with one Korean tyre set but found bridgestone duellers to be better. Everything was stock, just had the valve changed and put on. Works fine.


Regards,

Chaunfa
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Old 3rd October 2010, 17:13   #24
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hey rocky,

My Pirelli Scorpion tubeless tyres have done 50 K kms and still have a lot more left in them. So far, I probably have had four or five punctures in the last four years and they all became visible early in the morning...the air must have taken the entire night to come out.

As you know, I put the stock size tyres.
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Old 8th June 2011, 12:45   #25
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Bolero VLX Crde (Storm) - 24000 km update

Ok folks - time for another long term report. My Whitefeather has completed 24,000km. So far so good. The delay in the report is due to an unfortunate accident. It happened due to dangerous behaviour by not so knowledgeable and insensitive fellow road user , locking of brakes and bad rubber (tyres). Good news is we had my seat belts on and Bolero is a sturdy vehicle so nothing untoward happened.

What exactly happened: I was on the starting leg of my Bangalore - Aurangabad - Mumbai – Pune road trip. We started early morning at 4:30 am from Bangalore. We crossed Chitradurga (NH4) town at 7:30 am. At around 8 km away from town I started cruising again in the open highway. By open highway I mean no village, chai shop or bus stop (not even a tree). I usually slow down if I notice anything like that. I saw a goods auto rickshaw in the side most lane moving in slow speed. When I was just about to overtake, it suddenly turned towards my fast lane to cross over the median (U turn). I braked, avoided hitting him but hit the median. My brakes locked for a few seconds even when i released the pedal and car got pulled towards the median since the wheels were already pointed that way. Suddenly I realised they have removed few blocks from the median so that they can cross over to the other side instead of driving another 2/3 more km for proper U turn. My front and rear right side wheels hit the median. Brakes failed because the front right wheel brake pipe got smashed. Skidded for at least 50 metres till vehicle came to halt. Once I stepped outside I was shocked by the damage, didn't feel anything inside the vehicle while it was all happening. Whitefeather spoke "Please check the brake fluid level – its dangerously low". I was like Wow! Thank you technology.

Major damage was chassis (slight bend), right side both wheels, suspensions, foot board, wheel arches, power steering unit. Later on while analysing the situation I would point to two technical problems which could have helped me avoid or at least minimise the damage.
1. Locking of brakes and
2. Hard rubber tyres which offers no grip during braking (Apollo Amazer XL)

The locking of brakes problem was there right after I bought the vehicle as reported in my earlier postings. I complained many a times and Mahindra ASC use to “fix” it but after a week or so it use to re-appear. At slow speeds it was embarrassing. Moment I apply brake it use to screech. The problem was the complete braking setup. The drums, LSPV were introduced in Bolero Crde VLX model due to powerful and speedy engine. Powerful it was but bit too much. When I push the brake pedal it never use to slow down gradually but at one point it suddenly stop in the spot by locking the brakes. Moreover Bolero VLX does not have ABS. Along with it I feel the Apollo Amazer XL tyres were very bad combo.

I had to tow the vehicle to Bangalore (250+km). The 24 towing service from Bangalore was very satisfactory. Handed it over to ASC. Then my next ordeal began. The long wait of over 4 months. This was due to two reasons. The ASC was not able to keep their word on the delivery date and delay by RTO in giving me new chassis no. I did the RTO work through AASI and refused to pay any bribe hence the delay I guess. I connected Mahindra higher ups and I must say they are very helpful. Soon delivery dates promises were kept. I also got a new pair for rear brake set up – the entire set under warranty. The brakes do not lock anymore. According to M&M new Bolero VLX comes with these brakes. So I just hope new buyers don’t face this problem. Milecruncher & Mudmover had similar problems too. I wish M&M rectified this problem earlier. They did beta testing of the “all new powerful brakes with LSPV” on first few buyers like us.

I also changed the tyres to Bridgestone Dueler tube type – OEM tyres. Now Whitefeather got much better road manners. Have done over 3000km after the accident. Few niggling issues are there like AC going on / off, faster drying of coolant, sound from power steering when fully turned. Other than that Whitefeather feels good as new.

Suggest buyers to keep away from Apollo Amazer XL tyres for SUVs. Other than bad grip I also had lot of punctures - almost one every month. All of them due to nails of different size and shape. I am not sure what is the reason; bad quality of rubber or thread pattern.
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Old 8th June 2011, 13:08   #26
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Re: Bolero VLX Crde (Storm) - 24000 km update

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Originally Posted by rockyb View Post
I also got a new pair for rear brake set up – the entire set under warranty. The brakes do not lock anymore. According to M&M new Bolero VLX comes with these brakes. So I just hope new buyers don’t face this problem. Milecruncher & Mudmover had similar problems too. I wish M&M rectified this problem earlier. They did beta testing of the “all new powerful brakes with LSPV” on first few buyers like us.

I also changed the tyres to Bridgestone Dueler tube type – OEM tyres. Now Whitefeather got much better road manners. Have done over 3000km after the accident. Few niggling issues are there like AC going on / off, faster drying of coolant, sound from power steering when fully turned. Other than that Whitefeather feels good as new.
Sorry about the accident buddy and glad that the occupants are safe.

Many people say that the M&M A.S.S improved by leaps and bounds in the last one year. Good to see you experiencing it. However, I would appreciate it if this behavior is exhibited by the dealer instead of we writing to the higher ups and they start kicking dealers bu*s.

No more new Bolero Vlx

Cheers,
Rajesh
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Old 10th June 2011, 19:36   #27
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Re: Bolero VLX Crde (Storm) - 24000 km update

Glad to know all are safe. When I heard your story I shuddered, thinking about all those times when I'd driven the Bolero with my family in it and if something like this had happened... But definitely, throughout my 2 years of ownership, the Bridgestone Dueler tube type – OEM tyres took all abuse that I threw their way and never let me down. So that way your ride is wearing the correct shoes now. Besides that, I never used to rely on the brakes alone when travelling at high speeds and always used engine braking as well.

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Major damage was chassis (slight bend), right side both wheels, suspensions, foot board, wheel arches, power steering unit.
The repair must have cost a bomb?! Did you manage to get new foot boards and wheel arches? I was told these come in sets, so I never replaced my foot board and wheel arch & the vehicle was sold in that state.

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Few niggling issues are there like AC going on / off, faster drying of coolant
I had these issues till the very end. I never managed to get the AC issue looked into since it was not that frequent. When the AC goes on and off, is it accompanied by dimming of the headlights/dashboard indicator lights and a clicking sound from behind the dashboard console? I used to get it and it was very very strange!
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Old 13th June 2011, 10:54   #28
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Re: Bolero VLX Crde (Storm) - 24000 km update

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Originally Posted by MudMover View Post

The repair must have cost a bomb?! Did you manage to get new foot boards and wheel arches? I was told these come in sets, so I never replaced my foot board and wheel arch & the vehicle was sold in that state.


I had these issues till the very end. I never managed to get the AC issue looked into since it was not that frequent. When the AC goes on and off, is it accompanied by dimming of the headlights/dashboard indicator lights and a clicking sound from behind the dashboard console?


Yes it costed a bomb but it was diffused by the Insurance fellows. They were very helpful I must say.

Only the right side foot board and wheel arches were changed. I am not sure if it came as a set. By set do you mean pairs - as in 2 front arches / 2 rear ?

So you had similar AC problem without even having an accident? Mine started only after the accideant repair. Thankfully mine is not accompanied by any dimming of light
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Old 13th June 2011, 11:01   #29
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Re: Bolero VLX Crde (Storm) - 24000 km update

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Originally Posted by 2500cc View Post
Many people say that the M&M A.S.S improved by leaps and bounds in the last one year. Good to see you experiencing it. However, I would appreciate it if this behavior is exhibited by the dealer instead of we writing to the higher ups and they start kicking dealers bu*s.

No more new Bolero Vlx

Cheers,
Rajesh
Hi Rajesh

I agree that M&M A.S.S. is improving but there there is lot of scope for more. The overall attitude of all the workers / mechanics / managers have to change which I guess is asking for too much within a short span of time.

Other than that M&M themselves should be more aware / alert. For example if they sorted out the brake problem earlier I can assume I could have avoided or minimised this damage.
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Old 13th June 2011, 11:35   #30
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Re: 16,000km update

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Mebbe will try tubless. Is it a good idea with steel rims because I don't like alloys
If the rims are straight, i.e. if their edges are not deformed you can fit tubeless tyres on them. With tubeless tyres the air is sealed inside the tyre and not the tube. Therefore it's necessary to ensure the tyre beads well with the rim. So if there are any oddities on the rim edges where the tyre beads, tubeless tyres are out.
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