[Damu]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

...I did feel a better engine response etc, but could never really make out if it was just my mind playing tricks

Interestingly, the other day I went to a Shell pump where..the fellow claimed it was so pure I would keep coming back

Anywayz... the bottom line is, I have no negatives about System G but I wonder if it helps

Siddesh,

Same here, I never really knew whether it was doing good or not because I was always using it (from 2002 to Nov 2008). It was when I stopped using it (switched to Speed) that the engine was not as smooth as before. Now with the Bardahl, there has been a very noticeable improvement in smoothness and free revving up to 5 or 5.5 k rpm. Yes, Bardahl is not System G, but the effect is the same - I am experiencing the smoothness now that I recall from the earlier days.

I believe now that what it does is keep the fuel lines clean, and that is what makes the difference. Our petrol quality is notorious, and I'm sure the manufacturers have tested the usefulness before recommending it. No reason otherwise why, for eg Ford, should recommend some product that is not branded "Ford". My 2 cents,

But as far as FE is concerned, the smoothness has resulted in my unnecessarily doing higher rpm just for kicks and that has shown up as a lower FE this tank fill!

I have quite a few friends who are willing to travel extra few kms and 30 mins just to fill Shell. They say the fuel quality is better and their engines run smoother. I don't have a Shell anywhere near my routes so I've never tried it. I wouldn't mind paying a few rupees more for good quality fuel - if it prevents damage to my engine and fuel system.

Regards,
Damu

[sandeepmohan]

Dam....Shell is not more than 2km for you. It is on Old Madras Road. I am sure you have seen it. I used to be a regular with them till the last fuel price hike. I can't afford it anymore. Well I can but when I can fill Extra Premium fuel from a reliable Indian Oil bunk that is just a km from my house; I feel this is a better deal. However; there is simply no comparison between filling at Shell and other bunks. This is my personal experience. My regular Shell pump was on Whitefield Main Road, facing Hewlett Packard building. Quality, Service & Billing is in a different league.

The Indian Oil bunk I visit has excellent reputation for quality and consistency & is the one behind the club we used to visit on Wheelers Road. This bunk has a TUV certification too. I have been filling there for years, during my bike ONLY days. I switched to Shell the moment they opened their first outlet in Rajajinagar. There was no particular experience to speak off. I just liked the entire setup, billing system and I was never cheated.

You should try their Premium Fuel (Indian Oil). It works out cheaper that Shell Regular fuel. If you can afford Shell I would still suggest you fill there. It is the best.

[Damu]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Dam....Shell is not more than 2km for you. It is on Old Madras Road. I am sure you have seen it.

Hi Sandy! Rarely go down OMR as we turn off at NGEF and don't recall it. Sorry for being too lazy to find out myself, , but where exactly is this? Is this near Big Bazaar or RMZ?

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

The Indian Oil bunk I visit has excellent reputation for quality and consistency...You should try their Premium Fuel (Indian Oil). It works out cheaper that Shell Regular fuel. If you can afford Shell I would still suggest you fill there. It is the best.

Yes have filled up there couple of times. Never tried the Premium though.

But am due for fill now so I'll try the Shell this time. Thanks for pointing this out, never realised it was so near home! Although it's a misery to get there (OMR) and back :(

Regards,
Damu

[Damu]

Sunday I went to Shell on Old Madras Road, and yes, it's just a hop, skip and jump from my place! Felt a bit silly, not knowing it was so near Of course, in spite of it being so close, actually making the trip is no joke, what with the heavy traffic and as I have to cross over twice. But I guess I can plan the fills for Sundays.

This is the first time I've filled at Shell and I agree it's a different (read "better for the good") experience. It seemed to me that the type of cars filling up there too reflect this - there were two cars when I was filling up, a 2nd Gen Honda City and an Ikon 1.6. I guess careful owners don't mind paying more for good quality gas. The Honda was obviously the pride of its owner, very well maintained. The Ikon was an eye-catcher, a well maintained specimen, just like my Ikon, and I was very happy to see it! The owner wanted to show off his beauty I guess, and took off like a F1 car leaving the pits! I loved that!

I didn't know what grade to fill and filled the premium. It's pretty expensive. Is this necessary or can I fill the Regular? Any advice, folks?

Regards,

[condor]

@Damu, Regular is sufficient.

Why go premium with Shell ? On both counts - fuel quality & price ? Both are already high enough.

[Damu]

Thanks Condor, for the advice. Glad to hear you confirm that Shell quality is high.

I hope the Shell fuel quality helps in smooth running and clean fuel lines and injectors, which is more important to me than FE.

Regards,
Damu

[benbsb29]

Damu, i used to be a regular at Shell till the prices went through the roof. Then, i shifted to HP.

With Shell despite all the brainwashing the attendants try, go in for the regular. You dont really need the premium. which indeed comes at a premium you could do without.

[Damu]

Thanks Ben. No, the Shell attendant didn't try to bamboozle me! Just that I didn't know which to choose and plonked for Premium.

BTW, for my knowledge, what exactly is Shell Premium?

I was a regular HP user when we were living in Kalyan Nagar. Can't say if it was good or bad because I always filled there.

Do you find any performance difference now after shifting to HP?

I'm slightly paranoid about fuel quality, probably a throwback from my younger days when I have actually seen small bits of grass and muck and even water in the fuel dispensed. (often used to run out of gas in my Jawa when I was in college, and would buy some in a container and used to see this rubbish in it).
The explanation given by the bunk guys would be that their tank had corroded and was due for replacement.

Regards,
Damu

[Damu]

Finally after quite a few months, we were able to take the Ikon for a decent drive. We had heard about the Danish Port at Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) which lies about 130 kms south of Pondicherry. At short notice, we, (my wife and I), threw our stuff into the car and set off on Saturday 10th July morning.

And at the risk of being labelled "careless", I confess no checking of the car was done at all - my car is maintained in an "always ready" state!

I am writing a travelogue with all details, and will put that up shortly.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of my 'Milady' on her latest travel.

Bangalore - Tiruvanamalai - Pondicherry - Cuddalore - Chidambaram - Tharangambadi - (Night halt) - Pondicherry (Night halt) - Tindivanam - Chenglepet - Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Bangalore.

Total distance covered 998 kms, home to home.

Problems enroute:

1) Tyre sidewall cut by seriously sharp pothole at Sirukali, near Tranquebar. Had to buy a new tyre and tube at Pondy.
2) One fuse blew on the last leg - affected the 12v charger, electric boot release, and central locking. All okay after replacing fuse. I suspect the mobile charger caused the short.

No other problems, the Ikon was as magnificent as ever on the bad roads and highways.



Pic 1 Breakfast at Krishna Inn before Krishnagiri.




Pic 2 Pitstop near Gingee Fort



Pic 3 Reached Tranquebar by 5.30pm. Even after a hot, dusty trip, through some atrocious roads, she looks shiny and ready to set off again! See the left front tyre, that's the one that got cut, at this point, the air hasn't leaked out yet. It would be flat by next morning.



Pic 4 Evening sets in on the Danish Fort on the beach. No sooner we had checked in and had a wash, my other lady promptly set out for a walk on the beach!



Pic 5 Sunday morning, and we're getting ready to leave - airing out the car before starting. At this point checking the car, I noticed the flat tyre.



Pic 6 It's bye-bye to the Danish Port at Tranquebar. This is the entrance to the port seen from the inside.




Today, the odometer reads 74,920 kms. Tomorrow will be a landmark as she will cross 75,000 kms.

Regards

[Fordmanchau]

Hi Damu,
Wonderful pics here. So your Ikon finally gets to stretch it's leg. I see that 72K to 75k on the odo came after long.Good to see that the car is doing well. Your car has 14" rim? I was wondering if I can upgrade to 14 inchers on my 1.3!!
BTW what is this on the rear door. Have marked it in red in photo?

[Damu]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Hi Damu,
Wonderful pics here. So your Ikon finally gets to stretch it's leg. I see that 72K to 75k on the odo came after long.Good to see that the car is doing well.

FM, thanks! Yes, I am doing about 1000 kms a month. Yesterday have crossed 75k kms.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Your car has 14" rim? I was wondering if I can upgrade to 14 inchers on my 1.3!!

I think you can, but it might be advisable to check with your SA, especially as you have a good rapport with them.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

BTW what is this on the rear door. Have marked it in red in photo?

This the ashtray! Useful for sweet wrappers, etc, on a journey. Is it not on your car?


My travelogue is posted here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post1985534

Cheers!

[sandeepmohan]

Fill regular Shell fuel. No need for premium. The car runs well with normal gas itself. I can't afford it (Shell) anymore and have switched to Akar Service Station on Wheeler Road. They are now TUV certified however their dispensers are not up to the mark. I lost about Rs. 30 of premium gas as the auto cut off did not work the last I tanked up & I had to pay for it. It is not the most pleasant pump to fill gas but quality is first class. Been filling from Akar from my bike only days so the Yezdi, Jawa, Enfield and now my Ford are all tanked up from here.

My car is catching up with yours for odometer miles. Its just hit 74000km which is still very low for a 10 years old car. She runs like a dream. Forget performance; the engine is butter smooth. Now that the exhaust is stock everything is at peace. I still feel the K&N is doing some thing to cause a exhaust boom at certain Rpm's and there is now a very audible air intake noise from the filter. Makes you rev the car for nothing which explains why my fuel efficiency has not increased in spite of the exhaust now stock. The intake noise is addictive. The efficiency problem could also be due to the over size tires.

I was not very happy with my last service at Metro Ford. In spite of Harish at hand and the fact that I gave them a good 4 days to work on the car things were not perfect. I told Harish to take all the time he needs as the car was getting a major job done in the form of exhaust replacement & suspension over haul. They ran out of front strut springs so my front gas charged struts are new but the outer coil spring is old. The rear is all new coil spring and strut.

My brand new suspension started making springy noises in just a week. I had to go back, spend another 5 hours at the work shop to have to attend to it. It was painful as I had just come from the night shift from work.

The brakes were flushed with new brake fluid but this is still very weak. It feels spongy so I still take a lot of care when I drive hard. The master brake cylinder piston and brake lines still have a lot of old fluid running in them due to the ignorance of the previous owner never replacing the brake fluid so it will take a couple of flushes for the braking system to become effective and functioning to manufacturer specification.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Your car has 14" rim? I was wondering if I can upgrade to 14 inchers on my 1.3!!

The 1.6NXT came with 14"ers as standard. You can upgrade to 14"ers on the 1.3 as well, without any issues. Condor has had the 13"ers on his Ikon TDCi upgraded to 14"ers with alloys.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

BTW what is this on the rear door. Have marked it in red in photo?

Originally Posted by Damu

This the ashtray! Useful for sweet wrappers, etc, on a journey. Is it not on your car?

The ashtray on the rear doors has been omitted on the Flair. Similarly, even the cabin lights/reading lamps at the rear are not present on the 1.3 .

Damu, congrats on reaching the 75k mark.

[condor]

@FordManchau, I have upgraded from 13" steel rims to 14" alloys. Tyres upgraded From 175/70 R13 to 185/60 R14. No problems at all.

Of late, I dont remember seeing an ash tray in any of the new cars. IIRC, some cars dont even have the lighter.

[Damu]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Fill regular Shell fuel. No need for premium.

My brand new suspension started making springy noises in just a week. I had to go back, spend another 5 hours at the work shop to have to attend to it.

Sandy, been on regular on Ben's and Condor's advice.

BTW, see shazikon's tip above on diesel front suspension strut. I was seriously considering this if I don't upgrade my car soon.

Hope your problems are sorted out soon.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The ashtray on the rear doors has been omitted on the Flair. Similarly, even the cabin lights/reading lamps at the rear are not present on the 1.3 .

Leaving out the ashtray is okay, but I wish they hadn't dropped the reading lights, that is a very useful feature on my Ikon.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Damu, congrats on reaching the 75k mark.

Thanks Ben!

Originally Posted by condor

IIRC, some cars dont even have the lighter.

Does that mean there's no 12v charging point?