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-   -   Soldier of Fortune: Wanderings with a Trusty Toyota Fortuner - 150,000 kms up! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/89533-soldier-fortune-wanderings-trusty-toyota-fortuner-150-000-kms-up-30.html)

These are soft covers made of faux leather. Got them stitched at a nearby shop when I bought the LF spots.

These have lasted in sun and rain for over a year, so no complaints.

One of them got flicked by a monkey when I was at Dandeli - spent some time hunting for it and figuring out where it had taken it :)

Once again Nils...a fabulous set of snaps.
And a toast to Bison, the Fortuner, for taking you to all those lovely and not so lovely (read rough & tough, if you please) places which you wouldn't have dreamt of in an 'ordinary' set of wheels.
Can we have more snaps of the Bison in these sorroundings...or even perhaps chasing a squirrel ?!!

Thanks Guderian. A few pictures...1-2 might have been posted before on some other thread. Photos taken using my mobile phone camera.


Dandeli to Bangalore. Purposely took a longer route - state highway through forests. Single lane 'highway'.








Coonoor trail. You can see the two ladies above walking on the same trail in the evening (had to keep a sharp lookout for Gaurs and bears...not so much for leopards). And now a couple of pictures of the Bison on the same trail (between you and I, I don't really think that she is much of a lady - not dainty or sophisticated enough...too crass, loud and tough; but she can be relied upon)

I am getting a minor 'khant' sound when I brake while reversing. Wonder why.

No sounds when braking on any of the forward gears. Will get it checked when I go for 30000 km servicing. No issues with braking.

One thing I noticed, the FE goes for a toss over 120kmph. Drops significantly. To get decent FE, one would do well to cruise b/2 100-120kmph and not go beyond.

During the run to Coonoor over NH7, initially I was getting 12+. Then while coming back I drove the vehicle harder and also revved the vehicle more. I finished with FE of 10.6 kmpl.

For folks interested in knowing servicing costs of the Fortuner (and other Toyota vehicles), you will find these interesting. Pics taken using my mobile camera from a calendar at a Toyota ASC.

Prices/interval for Fortuner


Prices for misc Toyota vehicles


OT: for folks interested in wildlife: have posted a few more pictures recently at my jungle travelogue thread (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2731901). Had done offroading in the night in that trip. Pretty interesting experience. Saw Gaurs at a distance of 25 feet in the night when driving around. Sambars and Cheetals too. No night pictures since the track was pretty broken and uneven, visibility was not good, and was concentrating on driving.

Most likely an issue with rear brake shoe alignment inside the drum.

Cheers

Nilanjanray - Superb trip snaps.

Also the pricing detail snaps are quite informative. The service rates are quite reasonable expecially compared to the original cost of the car.

Yep I face the same fuel effeciency impact and kept observing that the Fortuner fuel effeciency values on most threads (mentioning outstation trips) were quite high compared to what I would get out of the Aria. (considering that both have similar weight) But the values that you have reported with speeds explain it all. I generally am beyond 100kmph for a substantial portion of most journeys even along the expressways within the city and beyond 120 for substantial bits of intercity trips. So recently when I made a specific attempt to drive slow (restricting myself to about 100) I got an effeciency of 13+ but with normal driving (for me) with speeds of 120+ this drops to 11 or so. (lowest was about 10.8).

With 120+ speeds the FE on the Fortuner would also be quite similar to what you are getting on your Aria i.e. around 11~12. At 100~110, it can extend upto 15.

Hi Nilanjanray,

I'm glad you're really enjoying your Fortuner! How I wish I could have such an experience! Maybe we should catchup sometime, so that I could have a glimpse of your Fortuner's performance.

Wishing you many more happy miles,


Nitin

Thanks. Yes, low OpEx is a plus point for the Fortuner.

Thanks Nitin. You have the Fortuner and you have the jungles in the South! What's stopping you? The vehicle shines in such places. Nothing special about my vehicle though - everything is plain stock :)

4H vs. 4HL:
Feedback from a recent drive: last Sunday I had driven to Galibore beside the Cauvery River. The dirt track near the JLR resort was sandy, and in some places I could feel the wheels slipping (don't think slippage would have occurred if I had reduced the tyre pressure, but I didn't bother). Slippage was more in slow speed. Once I put the vehicle in 4HL, slippage decreased significantly. While coming back, I didn't bother with 4HL and drove back much faster. Much less slippage.

I can see alot of modifications available for the Fortuner, among other vehicles, such as performance filters, piggyback ECUs, suspensions, brake pad upgrades etc. What would be your take on this? If the stock components are perfect/ideal for the vehicle, why would anybody want to upgrade to any of the above? I'm confused! :)

Finally, how good are the Fortuner tires for offroading? Would we require to replace these for proper off roading?

I try not to play around with stock stuff because reliability is of prime importance to me, given the kind of trips I do in the middle of nowhere - and often during nighttime. I am not fully confident that the modifiers here can do a great job - even the Toyota ASC people leave a lot to be desired. Also, I don't want the warranty to get affected.

Only thing I would be interested in is the upgraded brake pad. And perhaps upgraded suspension (not the Tein ones, but ones that improve offroadability as well as handling e.g. OME - but only after warranty is over).

Not interested in any performance mods, because the Fortuner is a body on frame tall SUV, and has inherent handling disadvantages. What would I do with 200 BHP if the handling or brakes or most importantly, our roads are not suitable to handle that kind of power? And in 4LL, Fortuner has humongous torque - 800+ NM (mentioned somewhere in this thread) - that is enough torque for my use.

The Dunlop AT tyres are a good compromise between highway and offroad (trail) use. I have had one puncture till date (due to a nail), inspite of going over all sorts of bad or no roads (keeping fingers crossed). So am satisfied. I don't want to go for a specialist tyre because my trips/drives often involve highway + offroading - so HT or MT won't be suitable. I haven't done any research on the tyres yet, frankly.

So do you mean to say its possible to upgrade the brake pads without the warranty / reliability getting affected? How about upgrading to different rotors, such as the ones shown here? Pete's Automotive Products Pvt Limited


Just notices my total posts = 343 which is the torque of the Fortuner :)

Not sure about the warranty getting affected for brake pads. If it gets affected, then I am not changing anything.

I still have some life left in the brakes after 28K kms, and have got used to them. But if there is a no risk option for upgradation, I am willing to explore. Will check with Toyota when I go for 30k service.

I don't have enough tech knowledge to have an opinion about various methods of upgradation - will need to check in the forum. I do remember that the Pete's upgrade was announced long time back. Don't know anyone who has done it though - so no 'before/after' first hand comparison info.

Do you know about the cost for Pete's kit for Fortuner? I believe they also announced suspension upgrades through a press release.

800+ NM? The specs mention the maximum torque to be 343NM!

Pete's do have the brake rotors and pads from Tarox. I'm also considering upgrading mine so that I could get better braking performance. Need to reconsider on the Pete's box though. Not sure of the price though.