[noopster]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Feedback forms!
Hmmm...as you said, it keeps the customer engaged... .

Originally Posted by .anshuman

After experiencing Fiat's feedback calls, i'd rather avoid any kind of feedback calls from manufacturers. What use are the feedback forms if they go into trashcans? They just make the car owners feel better(Atleast in case of Fiat).

My own feedback form is lying around: the other day my little one asked if she could make boats out of it.

Just clarifying, I was replying to a direct comment by Santoshbhat about whether Skoda has a formal feedback system in place. Appears that they do, from Swanand's experience.

The actual "engagement" process by all accounts is mediocre for VAG in general.

[vinj14]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

[*]A distant muted rattle from boot, again a generic issue with most Lauras. Status: It still exists on bad roads, audible with Stereo off and blower at low.

Thanks!! That faint rattle is something i also heard a few times with the a/c and the stereo off. Its weird because you sometimes go days without that rattle and it suddenly pops up. Wonder why this is? Anyways its too insignificant and occasional for it to be bothersome.


Just one question. When the engine hasnt warmed up yet (temp below 90) and i rev the engine i get a momentary rattle (somewhere from the bottom or near the rear end of the car..my guess). This lasts for about 5 mins every morning and once the engine has warmed up (temp 90) it completely dissappears. Do you have any idea why this is?

[VW2010]

The sound is always tuere is what i feel. Sound of the turbo may be. Check the rpm when the sound kicks in. Also is the sound more like a mix of bell like sound?

[vinj14]

Originally Posted by VW2010

The sound is always tuere is what i feel. Sound of the turbo may be. Check the rpm when the sound kicks in. Also is the sound more like a mix of bell like sound?

Exactly!! the sound is brief, usually when the rpm reaches around 2000. Yes, like a mix of bell clattering sound! This common?

[.anshuman]

Finally after delaying for months, my car gets better footwear. The Goodyear NCT5 tires that come as OE in the Laura are the weakest link considering the kinds of speeds this car can do, though my top priority always with tires is comfort. So i moved the NCT5 to my Punto, its a kind of upgrade for Punto too, since GT3 are even worse tires(but OK for kind of performance Punto has). I got Yokohama A-Drive 205/65 R15 for Laura, final cost was 5200/tire. I know this size is not the perfect upgrade from the stock size, the right upgrade size is 215/65 R15 but its not available with Yokohama and Michelin in India.

It's too early to say anything about grip but i have observed considerable improvement in Road noise, even on good roads. I felt a improvement in Ride quality too. Will update you more about the tires performance as i log on more miles.

Some Pics for now..




^ After cleaning the Interiors. Did you like the Daytime lights?








^ Light colored seats more comfortable than Leather but very hard to keep clean.








^ Sound system sounds great for OE in car of this price.


^ Formula 1 wax




^ Got 320nm too

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Finally after delaying for months, my car gets better footwear. The Goodyear NCT5 tires that come as OE in the Laura are the weakest link considering the kinds of speeds this car can do, though my top priority always with tires is comfort. So i moved the NCT5 to my Punto, its a kind of upgrade for Punto too, since GT3 are even worse tires(but OK for kind of performance Punto has). I got Yokohama A-Drive 205/65 R15 for Laura, final cost was 5200/tire. I know this size is not the perfect upgrade from the stock size, the right upgrade size is 215/65 R15 but its not available with Yokohama and Michelin in India.

It's too early to say anything about grip but i have observed considerable improvement in Road noise, even on good roads. I felt a improvement in Ride quality too. Will update you more about the tires performance as i log on more miles.

Any reason that you did not want to try C.Drive. Only place where A.Drive scores over them is longevity. Price is marginally higher.

See the tire positioning for Yokohama below :



and a small video about the two

A.drive & C.drive - YouTube

[.anshuman]

^ I have seen this brochure earlier. Yoko db is my favorite tire, i have worn out 2 pairs in my Elantra. This time i wanted to try something else, only 3 tires were available here in C Drive, so i picked A drive.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

^ I have seen this brochure earlier. Yoko db is my favorite tire, i have worn out 2 pairs in my Elantra. This time i wanted to try something else, only 3 tires were available here in C Drive, so i picked A drive.

I'm sorry anshuman but I don't think its the right choice getting A-Drives. They are much more of economy oriented tyres than the C drives or DB series, and will not offer you as much grip, silence, or comfort as the others. If possible you should have waited. Also the A drives IMO is meant for smaller, lighter cars. No offense intended buddy, just my opinion.

How is the Laura acceleration above 100kmph, say till 180? Seriously contemplating picking this in the L&K trim to replace the Innova.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I'm sorry anshuman but I don't think its the right choice getting A-Drives. They are much more of economy oriented tyres than the C drives or DB series, and will not offer you as much grip, silence, or comfort as the others. If possible you should have waited. Also the A drives IMO is meant for smaller, lighter cars. No offense intended buddy, just my opinion.

A Drive are not at all bad in terms of noise and comfort. Also it is a stronger tire than db, which is a bit too soft for my regular rural usage. Sadly my usage is not limited to just city traffic, the condition of roads on ceratin patches of my routes have gone from bad to worse, the reason i retained the 15" rims. Coming from Goodyear NCT 5 i have observed huge improvement in road noise, even comfort is noticeable.

How is the Laura acceleration above 100kmph, say till 180? Seriously contemplating picking this in the L&K trim to replace the Innova.

I love the way this car picks up pace without having to rev till redline everytime, this car can easily accelerate to serious speeds even with early upshifts and without burying the Accelerator pedal, and still get FE figures rivaling smaller Diesels. Skoda claimed top speed is 209kph, should show up around 220+ on speedo.

My FE for last ~1800kms is ~16kpl, with mixed 50:50 City and Highway usage.

[Behemoth]

Hi Anshuman,
Great to see good shoes now on your little beast. It really needed better tyres and the stock Goodyears are really bad - even on our Yeti's we are all suffering bad tyres.
Since you went in for different size tyres from OE for your Laura, did you check with Skoda on whether it would impact your warranty? I had checked with them and Giriraj motors said that it would affect my suspension warranty, if I changed the stock tyre size (I wanted to upgrade to 215/65 R16 in my Yeti from the 215/60 R16 Stock).
How long did the original Goodyear NCT5's last on your Laura - My Goodyear excellence are almost on half tread at 12k Kms!

Regards,
Behemoth

[n.devdath]

Congrats on the new tires Anshuman.

A few questions that I had:

What did the tires cost you? Did you sell your old tires, if yes, at what price since they were only 15k kms old and going by what I know about you, you seem to be a sedate driver so they would have had quite some life left in them still.

Wont putting seat covers save the OE seat material from wear and tear and getting stained? Is there a reason you have put seat covers?

I see that your car is pretty scratch free in spite of being driven around in Gurgaon, the land of sad looking, bumped and dented cars( heck, I ve seen a RR with scratches on its bumpers in Gurgaon). How do you manage to drive/remove scratches?

And lastly, I m most likely at Gurgaon tomorrow, do you think we could catch up for a few minutes?

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

I got Yokohama A-Drive 205/65 R15 for Laura, final cost was 5200/tire. I know this size is not the perfect upgrade from the stock size, the right upgrade size is 215/65 R15 but its not available with Yokohama and Michelin in India.

It's too early to say anything about grip but i have observed considerable improvement in Road noise, even on good roads. I felt a improvement in Ride quality too.

Anshuman

A Drives are pretty good VFM tyres. I had them on my Civic before I upgraded to 17". Boy, I loved the comfort and silence they offered and their behaviour despite the kind of torture they were put though in countryside Haryana roads was commandable. However, my experience with A Drives in rainy weather was not upto the mark. These tyres (although Yokohama adverts them to have pretty decent wet grip) aquaplane to dangerous extent. Just one piece of advice from my side, drive carefully in wet conditions and you should be happy for these tyres.

PS: Some good pics... I so badly want these stickers on my car too!

Mind clicking Hatch, Sadan and SUV alltogether through your piece of glass?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Hi Anshuman,
Great to see good shoes now on your little beast. It really needed better tyres and the stock Goodyears are really bad - even on our Yeti's we are all suffering bad tyres.

The OE tires in Yeti are pretty good compared to the NCT5 that come as OE in Laura.

Since you went in for different size tyres from OE for your Laura, did you check with Skoda on whether it would impact your warranty?

Going by my past experience, ASC guys normally do not have issues with such +1 sizes.

How long did the original Goodyear NCT5's last on your Laura - My Goodyear excellence are almost on half tread at 12k Kms!

At 15k the OE tires were in very good state, moved them to my Punto.
____________________________

Originally Posted by n.devdath

What did the tires cost you?

~5200 a piece

Did you sell your old tires?

Nope, moved them to my other car.

Wont putting seat covers save the OE seat material from wear and tear and getting stained? Is there a reason you have put seat covers?

I absolutely hate seat covers, they look bad and mess up the shape of the seat. I cannot live with fake Leather. If i ever get my seats done, it will be full leather job from a reputed brand.

I see that your car is pretty scratch free in spite of being driven around in Gurgaon, the land of sad looking, bumped and dented cars( heck, I ve seen a RR with scratches on its bumpers in Gurgaon). How do you manage to drive/remove scratches?

Defensive driving, parking at safer spots and usage of all the mirrors. I use Formula 1 wax and scratch remover. The scratch remover can only take care of light scratches and residual paint from other cars.

And lastly, I m most likely at Gurgaon tomorrow, do you think we could catch up for a few minutes?

I am travelling right now, will be back by day after tomorrow. Anytime after that.
__________________________

Originally Posted by Ace F355

A Drives are pretty good VFM tyres. I had them on my Civic before I upgraded to 17". Boy, I loved the comfort and silence they offered and their behaviour despite the kind of torture they were put though in countryside Haryana roads was commandable.

High speed noise is pretty well controlled on these tires. Just did a quick dash on NH10, anyone can tell the improvement over NCT5. I'd reserve my comments on Wet and Dry grip for now.

However, my experience with A Drives in rainy weather was not upto the mark. These tyres (although Yokohama adverts them to have pretty decent wet grip) aquaplane to dangerous extent. Just one piece of advice from my side, drive carefully in wet conditions and you should be happy for these tyres.

Thanks for the heads up, i will drive more cautiously on wet roads.

Mind clicking Hatch, Sadan and SUV alltogether through your piece of glass?

Surely sometime soon.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Anshuman, congrats on the new set of shoes for the Laura. I am pretty sure, they are better than those atrocious NCT5's. You said, you shifted them to the Punto. Did they fit?

Also, I see the soiled seats, and smile thinking, I am not the only one with such seats. Leather to be done pronto. DRL's look great. Like I mentioned last time, get some more things done, since your ASC does it phokat mein .

OT: Is that your house in the background? If so, lovely house!

[noopster]

Nice. Have been toying with the idea of getting new shoes for my Vento as well at around 15K but don't have any car to transfer the Aceleres to (Swift is 14" and has fairly new A drives), so will wait out another year or so

I noticed the house as well- really beautiful.

Slightly offtopic: I notice you've put T-BHP stickers across the defogger strips. Does this affect the performance of the defoggers? I have stuck LCLC on the right top corner of the rear windshield but would so love to put the LTD on the centre positioned as you have. Been holding back since someone told me it will mess with the defogger.