[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I'm not sure about GM cars, but the Ford Fiesta manual recommends system G for petrol cars, and System D for diesels.

Do they recommend on every fill-up or after certain intervals?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Do they recommend on every fill-up or after certain intervals?

The interval is not mentioned, but it can be inferred as every fill up. I remember it says something like 'using 91 Octane fuel with system G....."

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The interval is not mentioned, but it can be inferred as every fill up. I remember it says something like 'using 91 Octane fuel with system G....."

Without going too much OT, I would like to take this as non-serious nature of the manufacturer. When they know that India is a land of adulterated fuel and 87 Octane couldn't they have tweaked the engine appropriately rather than passing the onus and the cost on the owner. I never thought Ford would stoop to this.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Without going too much OT, I would like to take this as non-serious nature of the manufacturer. When they know that India is a land of adulterated fuel and 87 Octane couldn't they have tweaked the engine appropriately rather than passing the onus and the cost on the owner. I never thought Ford would stoop to this.

There was a thread on 91 Octane fuel availability, and I remember reading that the fuel in most metros and big cities like Hyd and BLR was 91 Octane.

Anyways, we are going OT

[Poitive]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Ideally yes, but for Hariya, Sys-D plus regular fuel gives me better results than premium fuel.

Thanks mate. Please introduce me to Hariya
(I presume it is what you call your drive)

What does the company recommend?

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Don't!

There is a major debate on TBHP and various other technical which have proved that additives don't help. As a matter of fact, no company personnel (not ASC) will give you in writing that they recommend any fuel additives. The same goes for Decarbonisation especially on any vehicle less than 5 years or 1Lakh Kms old. And especially if you are using synthetic oil. The present generation oils are highly capable of flushing out the carbon themselves and you don't extra decarb.

In general, I wonder why we try to outdo the R&D of car companies.

Unless our usage or expectations are very different from what the car company would have encompassed, I prefer to go by company guidelines (not the A$$, who often have vested interests).

One example has been of the Innova was introduced. Regular fuel was recommended for it. Being targeted as cross-country vehicle, it was (de)tuned to accept regular fuel available easily. A lot of people, in their own wisdom, used premium fuel which only lead to excessive white smoke and probably some deposits.

That said, when the engine gets old, it does seem fine to give it some life-support (with some additives).

Thanks for that info on the brake pads, @MC

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I'm not sure about GM cars, but the Ford Fiesta manual recommends system G for petrol cars, and System D for diesels.

Edit: Just noticed that there have been a few posts by MC and Vnabhi while I was writing this!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Poitive

Thanks mate. Please introduce me to Hariya
(I presume it is what you call your drive)

What does the company recommend?

Sure, Hariya is my Scorpio CRDe SLX born on 22nd Sept 2007 and has done around 70k kms till date.

Coming to Cos' recommendation, like most other half baked owner's manuals even the Scorpio's owner's manual advises against the use of additives and/or premium fuel while the dealer recommends Sys-D.

Talk of ironies.

[mobike008]

Talk of promptness and going an extra mile.

I got a call from Sampath Reddy today afternoon informing me that part (rear brake caliper dampner) has arrived and I can come anytime convenient to get it replaced.

I plan to visit them on saturday and get it fixed right in front of my eyes

P.S: He is also helping me sell my Hyundai i10. He got two customers home a couple of days back and gave me a good offer too. I am still in two minds of selling the White Angel.

[Cruzerman]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I got a call from Sampath Reddy today afternoon informing me that part (rear brake caliper dampner) has arrived and I can come anytime convenient to get it replaced.

I got rid of my car's noisy front brake caliper today. Chevy service guys replaced both the front calipers and the front brake discs (free replacements). The rates mentioned in the invoice are front brake discs (2 nos) -3825, calipers (2 nos) -19335, brake fluid -420. Total=23580. Phew! thank god those were free replacements. They even gave the car a free washing. Usually they charge 450 for the inside & outside washing/cleaning. This time they did not charge a single rupee.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

There was a thread on 91 Octane fuel availability, and I remember reading that the fuel in most metros and big cities like Hyd and BLR was 91 Octane.

(Apologies for continuing the OT drift)

That is correct.

BS-III mandated 91 RON petrol, so 91 RON petrol has been available for quite some time now. In fact, many people continue to buy premium petrol thinking regular isn't 91 RON. Premium only contains additives/detergents, and there's no difference in octane ratings between regular and premium fuel, unless it's premium denoted with a different number (such as "Speed 93").

Does this whole RON business apply to diesel as well in the same way, or does diesel follow a different octane numbering system? So the text in the Ford manual (recommending usage of System-G with 91 RON fuel (i.e. petrol)) may not apply 1-1 to diesels, perhaps.

Apologies once again for continuing the OT drift. I hope mobike008 doesn't mind.

Regards,
spadix

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Cruzerman

I got rid of my car's noisy front brake caliper today. Chevy service guys replaced both the front calipers and the front brake discs (free replacements). The rates mentioned in the invoice are front brake discs (2 nos) -3825, calipers (2 nos) -19335, brake fluid -420. Total=23580. Phew! thank god those were free replacements

Yesterday, I got my car's rear brake caliper dampner kit replaced. Seems like the dampner kit is costiler than the caliper itself? As against our initial thought its actually 23K for both rear wheels.

Total Bill Amount was Rs.33,000 ++ which included the brackets for both rear wheels too.

Sampath Reddy took my to their inventory room and showed me the kit which was ordered from factory and was delivered urgently by air. The parts are "Made in Sweden"

Gave the car at noon and got it back by 5pm with a grand total of Rs 0.

Now the brakes feel much more effective as play as reduced considerably and that light wheezing noise on reverse has vanished

And, they always throw in a free car wash and interior cleaning job and this time was no exception.

Here are some pictures of the part that they replaced and the invoice.

KUN continues to amaze me !!!

[Cruzerman]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Yesterday, I got my car's rear brake caliper dampner kit replaced. Seems like the dampner kit is costiler than the caliper itself? As against our initial thought its actually 23K for both rear wheels.

Total Bill Amount was Rs.33,000 ++ which included the brackets for both rear wheels too.

Sampath Reddy took my to their inventory room and showed me the kit which was ordered from factory and was delivered urgently by air. The parts are "Made in Sweden"

Good that Cruze comes with 3 yr warranty. Otherwise, we'd get ripped by the heavy bills. Btw, have you taken a extended warranty? (I'm not sure what they call it). Any idea how much would that cost? With such expensive parts, I guess we need one badly.

[Mpower]

Thanks Mobike. Although I cant make out much from the plastic cover. Trying to understand what this part exactly does.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Btw, I just realized "White Annihilator" has completed its 1-year last saturday and currently stands at an odo reading of 16,400kms. It has been an awesome experience owning this beast. Not a single moment of regret !!!!

I have to back Mobike up on this... mine's only done 800km so far in three weeks and I LOVE the car. It's a joy to drive and puts a smile on my face every time.

Originally Posted by mobike008

I agree the gears are slightly harder than most C segment cars. But, this was something that has never bothered me in my 1-year of ownership. With regards to the gears. Let me say, your the first one to say Cruze gears are hard. Never heard that one before. Cruze gearing is one of the best that i have seen in a car. It's short throw and has a lovely spring action and you can almost "feel" the slot.

In my original post on my Initial Ownership thread I though the gears were a little tight too, but (a) they've gotten smoother in the last couple of weeks, and (b) I've come to appreciate the feel of the Cruze shifter. The slots are precise and short-throw and when I now drive my wife's City I find something wrong with the way that car's gearshifts works in comparison.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Like I mentioned in my previous post, there are a few things like clutch and turbo lag that is being blown out of proportion.
Both are non-existent issues once you get used to the car. Besides, the upside is much much more than these simple supposedly downsides.

+1 to this. Yes, there's a little lag, but it's been blown wayyy out of proportion. The surge starts at about 1400rpm in my car and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. How much lower do people want the surge to start at???

Originally Posted by mobike008

Bluetooth phone pairing....well, this lack of feature has been a crib of many Cruze owners including self. I beileve the LTZ has it but, then you get only so many features for the price that you pay.

No bluetooth phone pairing on my new LTZ. What it does have is bluetooth pairing to a BT-enabled device to stream your music from your BT device through your speakers. I haven't tried this yet so I can't comment on the quality of the sound.

Originally Posted by mobike008

If you drive as much as 18,000kms a year on highways, it is a no brainer to buy the Cruze LT over the Verna which is absolutely not confidence inspiring on highways. Trust me, experiencing Cruze on a highway is an unexplainable feeling. It becomes a totally different machine on highways.

Absolutely right. If it's a good car in the city, it's fantastic on the highways... an absolutely effortless cruiser.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Which new Cruze you are referring to? The cosmetically lifted one or the one expected end-2011? If it's the former. There is no change to engine. It's exactly the same and only cosmetic upgradations have been done.
The new Cruze coming end-2011 will be an all new engine with 163BHP power and increase in torque to 356NM and will also have additional gizmos. Expect it to be priced 1 lakh dearer.
Hope this helps....

I think you meant end-2012, and yes it will be at least 1 lac more expensive because (a) the additional excise being levied on diesel cars and (b) they'll rise the price nominally. BUT....it's extremely unlikely they're going to have the new engine with 163BHP here. I've spoken to a friend who's an advisor to GM and he said that as of now they're sticking with the current 2.0 mill with 150BHP. All that will change on the new (2012) Cruze is minor feature and styling upgrades.

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

I've spoken to a friend who's an advisor to GM and he said that as of now they're sticking with the current 2.0 mill with 150BHP. All that will change on the new (2012) Cruze is minor feature and styling upgrades.

But I think I have read somewhere that the 2012 cruze will also be addressing the rear legroom issue which is a big headache in the current version.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by Repsol

But I think I have read somewhere that the 2012 cruze will also be addressing the rear legroom issue which is a big headache in the current version.

Yes I missed mentioning that. Rear legroom will also be addressed.