[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dot

1. With the volume of rain that Bombay normally gets, I am not surprised that you have a concern here. However I have a feeling that the stock wipers will sail through and wont wipe off that smile.

You bet dot. And I have not frankly had a happy life till now as far as wipers are concerned. The ones on the Scorp were Syndicate and they gave me quite a few troubles mainly streaking after just a few swipes as mentioned earlier. And while driving back from work in the night and in pouring rain those streaks used to cause a thousand, no make it a million, light rays from headlights of oncoming vehicles to penetrate the eyes and skull. It was sheer torture. And this after repeated changes and taking all the precautions of keeping the wiper rubber safe.
And may what say about Admiral's wipers come true ! In your mouth may there be clarified butter and sugar (OK, Hindi mein - Aapke muh mein ghee-shakkar !)...cholestrol and diabetes be damned !



2. Sada Bosch, DK Bosch, Aerotwins (reminds me of Douglas DC3 somehow). Just leave the stocks alone (sorry Roger Waters)
Sure - as you say. And won't turn Pink as Floyd if have to switch to Bosch later !
And yes, Dakotas. One of its variants, the C-47, was nicknamed the 'Gooney Bird'.
And how can I forget the Dakota ? It was from one of these, that I carried out my first Para jump as a shivering, NCC cadet, way back, while at college. Agra was the location of the Para Training School. The second jump too from a Dakota. The last three of the 5 jumps were from the C-82s, Fairchild Packets.
Memories.....!


3. OT:
Probably some unmet psychological defence mechanism (Was watching Shutter Island yesterday. Could not complete as son had to watch Penguins and Avatar).

Yes...may be wanting to convey that you other users of the road are all ordinary blokes...well I was born in...etc ! Or a regressed projection technique ?

Originally Posted by f1fan

Guderian,

1. I have been following your thread from day 1 but this is the first time I am writing here. It has been an excellent thread to read about your experience with the T-fort.

2. By any chance, where you driving on the EEH today. Noticed an silver colored MH-04 ET-XXXX T-fort at approx 7:50 AM near Godrej junction with a T-bhp sticker on the back. The only vehicle I could think was yours, hence posting here.

3. I also did take some snaps of the vehicle. Will post later (if it was you).

Cheers
f1fan

Hi f1fan,
1. Many thanks for the appreciation. Glad that you are a subscriber of the Togo Channel. Please do write in often.

2. Yes sir, that was me alright !

3. Would love to see those snaps. Do post them here at the earliest. Thanks.

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi f1fan,
1. Many thanks for the appreciation. Glad that you are a subscriber of the Togo Channel. Please do write in often.

2. Yes sir, that was me alright !

3. Would love to see those snaps. Do post them here at the earliest. Thanks.

My wife has clicked a couple of snaps. Would post them tonight (as USB ports are blocked at work).

When I saw your T-fort. I told my wife about this thread and was trying to sell her the idea of buying a T-fort as our next buy (she for some unknown reason is against buying SUV's and prefers sedans). I did quote her your Kundapur-Mumbai driving time of less than 12 hours as one of the USP's if we buy one.

We too have relatives in that region and travel that side

Cheers
f1fan

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by f1fan

1. My wife has clicked a couple of snaps. Would post them tonight (as USB ports are blocked at work).

2. When I saw your T-fort. I told my wife about this thread and was trying to sell her the idea of buying a T-fort as our next buy (she for some unknown reason is against buying SUV's and prefers sedans). I did quote her your Kundapur-Mumbai driving time of less than 12 hours as one of the USP's if we buy one.

We too have relatives in that region and travel that side

Cheers
f1fan

Hi f1f,
1. That would be nice indeed - shall keenly await the posting of the snaps.
2. Quite astute a method of selling the concept to the LoH, I must say ! Well if the T-Fort meets the majority of your needs - then why not ?

[mdsaab]

I think your wiper replacement plan seems to make perfect sense.
Plotted in a step by step action, slowly and steadily left ~ righting it's way to the Aerotwins.
To be honest i don't exactly know the full advantage of Aerotwins.
I was told by Joeseph the manager "Sir you try them, They are of extremely superior quality, you will not regret it."
Now considering the Matiz is used only as a second car i decided the Sada would do just fine, the previous Bosch Sada's doing a lengthy 3-4 years insured i was confident of their performance and durability. All this saving me quite a packet in the end. The Aerotwins are pricey indeed.
I think the twin part stands for the double price if you know what i mean
Anyways
Bottomline
the Sada are good enough and are durable and perform well ~ got to try them out today ~ Silent and swift operation with no streaking.

[Akshay1234]

Aerotwins are basically like the wipers on more expensive cars. Infact even the Punto has those types of wipers. Normal wipers have a steel frame and then the blade right? In these there is no frame. Just an attachment at the centre and thick rubber to the ends. So its kind of flexible and apparently wipes better.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

1.I think your wiper replacement plan seems to make perfect sense.
2. Plotted in a step by step action, slowly and steadily left ~ righting it's way to the Aerotwins.
3. I think the twin part stands for the double price if you know what i mean
4. Bottomline
the Sada are good enough and are durable and perform well ~ got to try them out today ~ Silent and swift operation with no streaking.

1. I guess I'll be going thataway. And slowly. But if the NWB's hold out then it's a 'halt and replace with original/stock NWBs' order. Wonder how much do the NWBs cost !

2. Nope - going by your description I think I'll stop at the sada Bosch, if at all - irrespective of what Joseph told Mary !

3. Aha ! M***** a trois ? Well, you seem to have hit all the right spots pretty early on in life eh ?

4. With almost a 3 year life or more the sada itself looks a dream wiper. Why go for the Aero, even if they are twins, at three times the price eh ? 'Sasta aur Tikau' is the mantra of the Indian consumer - right ?

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Aerotwins are basically like the wipers on more expensive cars. Infact even the Punto has those types of wipers. Normal wipers have a steel frame and then the blade right? In these there is no frame. Just an attachment at the centre and thick rubber to the ends. So its kind of flexible and apparently wipes better.

Hi Akshay, Thanks.
Explains the quality of the wipe/swipe.
I guess that also means that it, the Aerotwin/s, is exactly what is in the snap on top of this page in the Bosch advertisement.

[Guderian]

Shots from a Soggy Day !

Sharing a few snaps from the drive to office today - a real wet day in Mumbai in the morning. And now you'll know (as dot mentioned) why such intense thoughts about the wipers !





Of all days, today, one of the political parties decided have a tamasha (read rally) in the city, near Sion, leading to chaotic traffic.


Bunkering in the rains too is a pain. Some of the bunkers do not have a covering above the bunkering point - could lead to water getting/dripping into the tank. Always insist on a guy with an umbrella to carry out the operation.


Invaluable monsoon allies:

A brolly yes, no doubt - but it is only now I realise what a wise thing it was to have opted for a set of rubber Innova mats instead the cloth/woolish T-Fort mats. Those cloth mats would have been a soggy mess by now.

Say, with high waters around the corner, would like to know from the other TFort owners here - what is the wading depth of the TFort ? I reckon the T- Fort's WD should be about 700 mm . Is that correct ?
Not that everytime I see a flooded section, I am going to get down with a measuring scale and check and then proceed - but would be nice to know !

[mdsaab]

Cant comment on the wipers as yet, as on my android i cant really get a clear view of the same.
Bunkering tip very very... Extremely useful.
And a wise decision going in for the innova rubber mats. I feel for Indian conditions rubber is the way to go.
WD would be interested to know myself.
Was wading through some water myself in the Matiz yesterday, was a lot of fun.
Most will probably already know of this. But remember to hold the clutch at half slightly and keep the revs on so that water does not get into the tailpipe.
Have fun driving in the rain.
Drive Wet!
Drive Safe!

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Shots from a Soggy Day !


Of all days, today, one of the political parties decided have a tamasha (read rally) in the city, near Sion, leading to chaotic traffic.

You would not believe it, but this rally caused traffic jams in Pune as well. Today morning while going to office all i could see on the road was vehicles of all sizes starting from Alto to ST buses filled with people going for the rally. I was checking the number plates of the vehicles and people were driving down from different corners of Maharashtra for the meet. God knows what is achieved by doing this.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

1. I feel for Indian conditions rubber is the way to go.
2. WD would be interested to know myself.
Was wading through some water myself in the Matiz yesterday, was a lot of fun.
3. Have fun driving in the rain.

Hi mdsaab,
1. You meant that in more ways than one - right ? The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would love you for that statement - and possibly consider your name for Padma Vibhushan or something !

2. Checked the net for wading depths - it is indeed 700 mm. Pajero's is 600 mm. Surprisingly didn't find in the TFort manual or have to look at it more closely...

3. If you have the time and patience, rains can be fun to drive around even in the city ! But out in the wilds rains ? Ahh...bliss !

Originally Posted by amitwlele

You would not believe it, but this rally caused traffic jams in Pune as well. Today morning while going to office all i could see on the road was vehicles of all sizes starting from Alto to ST buses filled with people going for the rally. I was checking the number plates of the vehicles and people were driving down from different corners of Maharashtra for the meet. God knows what is achieved by doing this.

It was madness in the evening - shall put up a couple of snaps here shortly.
Achieve ? It is surely and archaic way of projecting power through displays of 'paid' popularity !
But wonder what happened to the implementation of the SC order banning bandhs and rallies which can throw public life out of gear ?!!

[Guderian]

Shots from a Soggy Day -2 !

Originally Posted by Guderian

Shots from a Soggy Day !

Sharing a few snaps from the drive to office today - a real wet day in Mumbai in the morning.
Of all days, today, one of the political parties decided have a tamasha (read rally) in the city, near Sion, leading to chaotic traffic.

And if morning was chaotic evening was worse. There was a mega-super duper - maha - (whatever the words, insert here) - traffic jam !

The drive that normally takes one hour and ten minutes took me two hours and forty five odd minutes in sheer traffic mayhem that tested man and machine. And all this in off and on showers.

Some shots:

Near Chembur on the flyover from Wadala. Traffic below coming in from Sion.
(Right in front is Admiral's country cousin who came in for the rally ! Admiral of course, turned up his nose and refused to recognise him. Asked him to return in better circumstances and with a better reason to visit the city !)


At Thane:



- The MID FE fell to a level of 10.0 KMPL at the end of the ride ! Not at all bad for the madness Admiral was put through.

- Brakes and clutch tested to the maximum. Held out well.

- Parted the traffic like nothing else. Creep up behind minnows and a toot of the horn was all it required to have the fellow ahead scampering for his/her life, however best he/she could even in the thick traffic. Don't exactly like doing it, but the evening's drive back was all about testing Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest. Also was a sinking/disgusting feeling that possibly the guy/s ahead thought that even Admiral had come for the rally. Admiral hated that thought. But even the hundreds of ST buses gayly caprisoned with political flags understood only that language of driving.
Phew what a jam.
Felt sorry for the folks in the small boats.
Driving fatigue was nil. Though at a point the constant, non stop clutching and braking was begining to make the legs feel like rubber.

- Wipers, f'd and stern, horns did their job well.

That's that then.

[noopster]

10 kmpl is amazing in that crawl. I get 3-4 when stuck in the Hinejwadi mess!

Nice pics. It must be amazing to ride the Admiral in the rains, looking down haughtily at all the (literally) lowly mortals scampering to avoid getting water in their engines. Sigh!

[F150]

General,
Which gears were the most used in such crawling traffic ? 1st and 2nd ? or 2nd and 3rd.

No comments on your legs feeling like rubber.

Originally Posted by noopster

10 kmpl is amazing in that crawl. I get 3-4 when stuck in the Hinejwadi mess!

Nice pics. It must be amazing to ride the Admiral in the rains, looking down haughtily at all the (literally) lowly mortals scampering to avoid getting water in their engines. Sigh!

Precisely what I thought when I read general's post about MID, immediately remembered your vento. But then admiral has a MT and fraulein has a AT.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

1. You meant that in more ways than one - right ? The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would love you for that statement - and possibly consider your name for Padma Vibhushan or something !

is what happened to me after reading this.

Originally Posted by Guderian

Shots from a Soggy Day -2 !

And if morning was chaotic evening was worse. There was a mega-super duper - maha - (whatever the words, insert here) - traffic jam !


Near Chembur on the flyover from Wadala. Traffic below coming in from Sion.
(Right in front is Admiral's country cousin who came in for the rally ! Admiral of course, turned up his nose and refused to recognise him. Asked him to return in better circumstances and with a better reason to visit the city !)

Similar ordeal was faced by me on my return leg in the evening. From Pashan Sus Road till the Praj Junction vehicles were crawling. It was partyly because of the rally drivers returning back and partly because of some accident.

Chembur/Suman Nagar junction has been the bottleneck ages now. What is the progress of the flyover that is being built at the junction?

[mdsaab]

@Guderian
First of all that had me rolling on the floor too(oh no here we go again) LOL!

To have a better WD than the Pajero speaks volumes about the T-Fort. Hugely capable. Now the Pajero has earned quite a name for being a mountain goat(No silly it's still an SUV) it would be really interesting if we could have an off road comparo between the Paj and the T-Fort. I have seen the pics of the recently held Bangalore T-Fort boot camp and boy can the T-Fort flex or what.
Indeed a lot of fun can be had in the rains even within the city, but some folks better learn that it's better to keep a safe distance in the wet. No i am not speaking of our team, but about those folks who end up rear ending due to the unsafe distance maintained.

Ok i had actually phrased that a little differently and then Backspaced that out of here. TOGO is a family channel you know. Plus with @Guderian around you better be careful of what you say and especially how you phrase it. LOL! Keeps you on your toes.

Drive Safe!