[A.R]

Couple of questions to XUV owners since I'm contemplating between W6 & W8 versions.

(1) How upgradable is the audio system? Can I plonk in a touch screen audio system from Pioneer or JVC ? Will the steering controls work?

(2) I plan to change the alloys anyways. Will this impact anything (electronics) ?

Other than these, I don't really seem to miss any other feature from W8 on W6.

[superbhikari]

Originally Posted by A.R

Couple of questions to XUV owners since I'm contemplating between W6 & W8 versions.

(1) How upgradable is the audio system? Can I plonk in a touch screen audio system from Pioneer or JVC ? Will the steering controls work?

(2) I plan to change the alloys anyways. Will this impact anything (electronics) ?

Other than these, I don't really seem to miss any other feature from W8 on W6.

1) I don't think the touchscreen is replaceable since there are more controls/info associated with it like tiretronics, AC info & others. though you may upgrade the speakers and/or add amps.

2) Alloys can be changed in both the W6 & W8 variants without any issue.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by AGwagon

...Also an update I did a day trip to Agra with wifey on Saturday and was under strict instructions to mind my speed, but at a point she asked me why is the car beeping (150kmph beep) when she felt we were may be doing 80. Also I did the majority of the expressway by using Cruise Control. Does anyone know what is the upper speed limit that the cruise control holds, I got 160. I also managed to take the car north of 185kmph, by my speedo

Sorry, but
1. The speedo is directly in front of the driver. So the driver of the car should be keeping a track of what speeds the vehicle is doing. Depending on the smoothness of the ride, the "perceptions" about speed could be quite different from the reality. When someone is continuously driving at high speed, the mind & sight gets used to that speed and "time slows down". As a result it feels like you are doing significantly slower speeds than what you are actually doing.
2. In Indian context, unless you have access to a race-track, speeds above 100-120 are extremely unsafe. Please don't be under the assumption that this being a large SUV with ABS, ESP and airbags would be able to save you. Believe me, it won't. Crash tests are done at 64kmph and even at that speed, the crash crumples the entire front end. At 100+, losing the integrity of the passenger cabin is near certain.

Sorry again. The intention is not to criticize, but to see you safe.

Originally Posted by ash_blore

The speedo usually has a lot of error and this error is magnified at speeds above 80Kmph.

Isn't the speedo mechanical? I always believed that speedo determines the speed by counting the number of revolutions of the wheel per second. So can't imagine why it would have an error beyond 80kmph.

Always use the built in GPS to determine your real speed. It is much more accurate than the speedo.
To read the speed, goto the MMI navigation and click on the GPS (green) signal (it is at the bottom of the screen in the centre). This will show you the number of satellites being used, longitude & latitude, speed, altitude etc.

The GPS "calculates" the speed indirectly, so there is a time-lag of a 1-2 seconds between the actual speed and the one shown by GPS. Also I am not sure if GPS uses 'distance' or 'displacement' to calculate the speed. If it uses the 'displacement', the speed calculation could be inaccurate especially on winding roads. Again, I have no clue about the internals. May be experts can comment.

Originally Posted by A.R

Couple of questions to XUV owners since I'm contemplating between W6 & W8 versions.

(1) How upgradable is the audio system? Can I plonk in a touch screen audio system from Pioneer or JVC ? Will the steering controls work?

(2) I plan to change the alloys anyways. Will this impact anything (electronics) ?

Other than these, I don't really seem to miss any other feature from W8 on W6.

1. Integrated systems always have challenges if you need to replace with a aftermarket one. Lot of 'jugaad' would be involved, if at all.

2. The alloys have TPMS sensors embedded in them. A change in alloys might mean loosing the TPMS functionality.

[rjstyles69]

No idea if this was posted earlier here this thread. However worth a look : http://www.cartoq.com/mahindra-xuv50...ke-pad-design/

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

No idea if this was posted earlier here this thread. However worth a look : http://www.cartoq.com/mahindra-xuv50...ke-pad-design/

This is a really great news. I had replaced the brake pads on my XUV a month back with the new one. I dont think it is the version mentioned in this article. Though the grinding noise is totally gone, the braking is still not up to mark and felt spongy. And I really felt the lack of brakes kicking in as expected during my trip to Goa. While doing 100-120km/hr speeds, the car would not stop as expected on sudden braking for like an invincible hump.

FundaG

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

This is a really great news. I had replaced the brake pads on my XUV a month back with the new one. I dont think it is the version mentioned in this article. Though the grinding noise is totally gone, the braking is still not up to mark and felt spongy. And I really felt the lack of brakes kicking in as expected during my trip to Goa. While doing 100-120km/hr speeds, the car would not stop as expected on sudden braking for like an invincible hump.

FundaG

Drove one for a few days which is from May 2012 last year. Was a bit surprised with the spongy brake and hence started looking around if there was any information and stumbled upon this article today.

I infact checked with M&M last week if there were any issues with the brakes and the answer was a negative. Will check with M&M again later this week to see if this news is true.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by SDP

Sorry, but Isn't the speedo mechanical? I always believed that speedo determines the speed by counting the number of revolutions of the wheel per second. So can't imagine why it would have an error beyond 80kmph.

All mechanical speedos have a % error (the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedometer provides some reasons). The error is likely to get amplified at higher speeds. The only accurate way to determine speed is to use speed = distance/time.
Again on winding roads as well with an fast GPS the reading will be accurate. The same article also mentions that GPS logs have been used to cancel speeding tickets.

Originally Posted by SDP

The GPS "calculates" the speed indirectly, so there is a time-lag of a 1-2 seconds between the actual speed and the one shown by GPS. Also I am not sure if GPS uses 'distance' or 'displacement' to calculate the speed. If it uses the 'displacement', the speed calculation could be inaccurate especially on winding roads. Again, I have no clue about the internals. May be experts can comment.

The GPS definitely has a 1sec lag. However, I believe it is definitely more accurate. The GPS needs only 4 satellites to get the coordinates. it uses the others to reduce the error% making the readings more accurate.

Even top gear Bugatti Veyron speed test used GPS rather than the built in mechanical speedo simply because the GPS based one is more accurate.

[debuda]

Originally Posted by SDP

Isn't the speedo mechanical? I always believed that speedo determines the speed by counting the number of revolutions of the wheel per second. So can't imagine why it would have an error beyond 80kmph.

The GPS "calculates" the speed indirectly, so there is a time-lag of a 1-2 seconds between the actual speed and the one shown by GPS. Also I am not sure if GPS uses 'distance' or 'displacement' to calculate the speed. If it uses the 'displacement', the speed calculation could be inaccurate especially on winding roads. Again, I have no clue about the internals. May be experts can comment.

Originally Posted by ash_blore

All mechanical speedos have a % error (the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedometer provides some reasons). The error is likely to get amplified at higher speeds. The only accurate way to determine speed is to use speed = distance/time.
Again on winding roads as well with an fast GPS the reading will be accurate. The same article also mentions that GPS logs have been used to cancel speeding tickets.

The GPS definitely has a 1sec lag. However, I believe it is definitely more accurate. The GPS needs only 4 satellites to get the coordinates. it uses the others to reduce the error% making the readings more accurate.

In my XUV-W6, the speedometer usually indicates a higher (by about 10 KMPH) speed than my Garmin 50LM GPS. I have been under the impression (rightly or wrongly) that since the GPS calculates the speed indirectly (unlike the car's speedometer) it should theoretically be LESS accurate.

If a car's speedometer is incorrect, would it be wrong to assume that the odometer would be proportionately incorrect too? In my XUV which is nearing 10,000 KM I have had no reason to doubt the odometer so far.

[ACM]

To give a comparative view on speedo error. My Laura Trip computer has a 2% error in distance vs the Sat Nav from Navtec on the Aria which is in turn about 4% away from the Aria's own Trip Computer ODO.

I guess Speedo errors between 5-10% are to be expected as normal.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by ACM

To give a comparative view on speedo error. My Laura Trip computer has a 2% error in distance vs the Sat Nav from Navtec on the Aria which is in turn about 4% away from the Aria's own Trip Computer ODO.

I guess Speedo errors between 5-10% are to be expected as normal.

Mechanical speedos have that error and on the higher side. So the mechanism will always show a higher number.

[swiftnfurious]

Even a 5% speedo error (especially to the higher side) can screw you during interceptor catches! I usually keep my car's speed very close to the limits - say 77+ kmph where speed limits are 80%, thinking I am well within the speed limits. But actually I might be doing 81 kmph.

How do the interceptor vehicles determine the speed? Do they also have a tolerance to manage the actual speedo errors?

PS:: I know the speed cameras (by the road side) in Oman has a 10% correction enabled - Now I understand why!

[Joyb]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Even a 5% speedo error (especially to the higher side) can screw you during interceptor catches! I usually keep my car's speed very close to the limits - say 77+ kmph where speed limits are 80%, thinking I am well within the speed limits. But actually I might be doing 81 kmph.

How do the interceptor vehicles determine the speed? Do they also have a tolerance to manage the actual speedo errors?

PS:: I know the speed cameras (by the road side) in Oman has a 10% correction enabled - Now I understand why!

Well from my experience, the Speedo shows speed on the higher side. If its showing 80 kmph, you should be doing around 77. Have tried it with cruise control on and comparing speed on odo and GPS over 5 minutes.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by debuda

If a car's speedometer is incorrect, would it be wrong to assume that the odometer would be proportionately incorrect too? In my XUV which is nearing 10,000 KM I have had no reason to doubt the odometer so far.

Not really. The mechanism that the odometer uses is based on gears and is very accurate. However, the mechanism for the speedometer is based on eddy currents (as per wikipedia) that are generated when there is rotation inside a magnetic field.

So although the source for both are the same (wheel rotation), the mechanism that operate on this source are very diverse. The odometer is fairly accurate.

[rohitbagai]

Also the under/over inflated tyre can also cause variations in speedometer readings.

[superbhikari]

Compared the speed on the speedo and GPS yesterday on my highway drive. Below is the data
Speed on speedo - 85 kmph
Speed on GPS - 83-84 kmph

Speed on Speedo - 120 kmph
Speed on GPS - 109-110 kmph

Satellite in use = 11
Satellite in view = 11