Team-BHP - Volkswagen Jetta : Test Drive & Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234 (Post 3398458)

Yes he certainly misinformed you. The light he was pointing to possibly took care of the cornering at low speed, so maybe the fogs do not do the low speed cornering in the Jetta.

You got it perfectly right. Found a video in youtube where the owner demonstrates the cornering lights. The light that the SA pointed to me is actually for low speed cornering, not the fog lamps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slDXoXw552I

BTW, pardon my persistence. Being an engineer, I don't get sleep till I get the complete answer to a question please:

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234 (Post 3398458)

The pattern does change, but its really not very noticeable. My vRS has AFS and I've thoroughly driven Superbs, etc with AFS2 and believe me noticing the beam change is difficult, its just so subtle.

Slightly OT, but is there any difference in the AFS setup of the new superb and the octavia ? Did not get a reply for this on the Superb thread . So incase you know , it would be helpful. The reason I ask is because when you turn on the high beam in the new superb a pair of halogens light up along with the xenons. So is it actually a bixenon setup?

Quote:

Originally Posted by me_navin (Post 3398598)

What is the trim of your Superb? IIRC, only the elegance trim has AFS.

Edit: checked the Skoda site. Only the elegance trim has bi xenons with AFS. The ambition only has halogen projectors with manual levelling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by me_navin (Post 3398598)

Let me try to explain this to you. The term Bi-Xenon is confusing. Bi-Xenon is basically marketing jargon for a projector headlight that activates a solenoid when the High beams are activated. The solenoid in the projector moves downwards, allowing for more light in the projector bowl to actually escape through the magnified glass. This basically provides a "high" beam even though it is still the same beam. This is how it is in the Superb and the new Octavia. AFAIK in the Laura & Jetta the Xenon works only for low beam.

A lot of cars have Halogen high beams to supplement the Xenon/HID or to act as the sole high beam (Laura/Jetta). Xenon/HIDs are not very suitable as separate high beams since they have a longer warm up time and flashing them drastically reduces their lifespan. A lot of cars also have a halogen beam to complement the HID/Xenon with a solenoid (aka bi-xenon as in the Superb).

Hope that clarifies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by graaja (Post 3398688)

I am talking about the elegance model. The website does say its a bixenon setup . The car I checked out was the test drive car . What confused me is that a pair of halogen lights next to the xenons turned on along with the xenons when in high beam . Any ideas?

Quote:

Originally Posted by me_navin (Post 3398708)

The Elegance is indeed BiXenon with AFS. The halogen you saw should be the low speed cornering lamp which gets activated when the steering wheel is turned. Check out the video I posted a few posts earlier.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3398535

Did you observe something like this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by graaja (Post 3398715)

I saw the video. Mayb they do work as cornering lights. But I saw them come on ( both the left and the right) when the car was stationary and the steering kept at centre and only when it was on high beam.

Quote:

Originally Posted by me_navin (Post 3398598)

The AFS is the same in both. Except like you mentioned the Superb has a pair of halogens too. So when the headlights are off, if you flash the lights only the halogens will come on. But when the headlights are on, the xenons go to high beam too and the halogens act as a filler (In Skoda terms).

Quote:

Requirements are good grip, low road noise and durability. What are my options?

Actually the stock tyres fit all that requirement. Mine has run around 32K and is sill going strong. The day when i hear it screeches while i take my office ramp i know its time to change them.

Very high speed noise will be there but at that speed noise is your last worry :)

Having said that check out the Michelin series 3ST. I was looking at this as my replacement tyres as well.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...hed-india.html

http://www.michelin.in/Home/Products...imacy%203%20ST

Use this for tyre size options while changing
http://www.wheel-size.com/size/volkswagen/jetta/

I wanted to get a 225,50,R16 profile but not really researching at this point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VW2010 (Post 3398974)

Having said that check out the Michelin series 3ST. I was looking at this as my replacement tyres as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iliketurtles (Post 3398957)

The Yokohama V550 AVS DB is what you're looking for since you'll want minimum road noise. I'm not sure how noisy the Michelin's are, but I wouldn't recommend my Pirelli P7's too since they can be slightly noisy at speed (in my opinion) and that would be a deal breaker for you.

Go for the Yokohama or Michelin, can't go wrong.

Thanks iliketurtles and VW2010. I will check the availability and pricing of Yokohama and Michelin 3ST with the local dealers and choose one of them. Hope they give me a life of at least 40K km.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VW2010 (Post 3398974)

Use this for tyre size options while changing
http://www.wheel-size.com/size/volkswagen/jetta/

I am not planning to upsize the tires as that would require some research time. For now, I am planning to stick to the stock size.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iliketurtles (Post 3396411)

Are you keeping the same tire size and profile?

In any case, I'd recommend the Michelin primacy LC and Pirelli P7's. You should get between 5600-6000 per tire if you trade them in straight away. The Pirelli's should cost about 8300 per tire and the Michelin's about 9300.

I went for the Pirelli's. They're a good choice, although road noise at high speeds is slightly loud for my taste, although it is well within acceptable limits. I'm told the longevity of these tires is good and I can vouch for the performance. I'd recommend them as much as I would the Michelin's.

Do trade them in straight away, you'll get the best valuation for your tires.

Got the tyres upgraded to Continental & kept the same size 205/55 R16 and they are no nonsense tyres, having nice road grip and less noise which was a screamer in the Goodyear Eagle NCT5.

Got a very good offer from our regular tyre dealers and he did a buyback of old tyres at Rs.5000/-

Would suggest anyone that do not take the Goodyear Eagle NCT5 as it is a Hard tyre and makes a hell a lot of noise on road.

Quote:

Originally Posted by graaja (Post 3399026)

Thanks iliketurtles and VW2010. I will check the availability and pricing of Yokohama and Michelin 3ST with the local dealers and choose one of them. Hope they give me a life of at least 40K km.

I am not planning to upsize the tires as that would require some research time. For now, I am planning to stick to the stock size.

Go for the Continentals 205/55R16 91V CONTI PREMIUM 2 and they are a very good tyres which will run atleast for 35K - 40,000kms as per your usage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowda79 (Post 3399450)

Go for the Continentals 205/55R16 91V CONTI PREMIUM 2 and they are a very good tyres which will run atleast for 35K - 40,000kms as per your usage.

Thanks for the suggestion. I checked the "change my tyre" website, but could not find Conti Premium 2 in the size 205/55 R16. Will check with the local tire guy.

Any other users using Continental tires please provide your inputs.