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Update on my tyres:

My tyres were replaced under warranty, and I opted for Michelin XM2. Details in my ownership thread.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post4256344

These tyres are much better than the stock MRFs offering better grip and a comfy ride. There is no floaty feeling after 100 and the steering is firmer at those speeds. I could do hassan to yeshwantpur in 2 hours (including 4 stops of about 5 min each). The icing on the cake - pedal to metal driving and final MID mileage of 15.9 kmpl. clap:

That's great news. I am also dying to change my stock tyres to Yoko Earth 1. But the issue is that I am not getting good resale for stock ones.

Resale for MRF and JK Tyres is down the drain. You cannot expect similar buy back as what you would have got maybe 4-5 months ago. Reason being I think since April, both MRF and JK tyres have reduced the prices of their new tyres itself to the prices similar to what the tyre dealers were offering for buy back. Hence the dealers now are having to quote lesser prices. So if you have got MRF tyre, better to replace it quickly not bothering about the resale value for stock tyres. The more you run them the lesser value you will get for them. So better to do it quickly when you can at least get some money for it. My 2c !

One other thing is if you want to go the route of changing tyre brand from Ford itself like how some bhpians have been able to get it.

I too got Michelin XM2s but i had to pay 50% since they took some time to decide that it was tyre problem. The grip is definitely better. And the rolling resistance, or lack of it is good too. I cannot say i have seen better FE but they are far better than MRFs.

Ford service centers do stock Bridgestones and Michelins.

May be dealer specific, generally I have seen Goodyears and Bridgestones being offered. But its best to get tyres from an outside reputed tyre outlet.

I have visited two different ASC of two different dealership in Kolkata for service.

Both had Michelin in stock.

Please remember this point as thumb rule !!

Always replace tyres right at the time of delivery (Basically < 100kms run) and tyre store will accept it with minimal amount you need to pay as difference

For example : A friend took delivery of Aspire a few days ago and I told him not to drive around but, change it Yoko Earth 1 immediately and he had to shell down a meager INR 800/- per tyre for this swap

Once you start clocking miles on stock tyres and cross say 5000kms their value will become as good as rubble and stores will offer you ridiculous prices like iNR 500/ for the stock tyre

Therefore in such cases its better to use it to some extent like 20000-25000kms and then change them to Yoko Earth 1

If budget is not a problem then you can still change it without getting a hearburn:D

My mini Travelog as I had to make an urgent trip in my Aspire Diesel to Amritsar this weekend.

This was super urgent family get together & I had to ferry my mother & aunt (mausi ~ mother's sister) to Amritsar from Faridabad. My wife & 4 yrs old daugther tagged in. We started at 530 hrs on Saturday (2nd Sept 2017) & picked up aunt from her home.

After an hour, I was a Narela Border for topping up the fuel tank. At around 830ish (AM) I was a Mayur Dhabha at Karnal for breakfast (thankfully they have maintained quality of food, except the size of Parathas). It was raining in patches & but visibility was good overall, which enabled me maintain (legal) permissible speeds. Traffic was light till Ludhiana in general (we reached there around 11), but things took a downturn from there.

There was a foot overbridge being erected at one point & due to that highway on one side was closed. We (& all other vehicles) took the service lane & traffic jam ensued cause the same was open for both ways traffic. This resulted in over an hour of delay. Then came 2 busy intersections on the Ludhiana Bye-Pass were the roads (or construction debris) had given way to mud & slush. We were literally hopping from one island to other to make sure not burn clutch as we maintain good grip on whatever was there in name of road in slush. Another hour (almost) wasted & we had only crossed Ludhiana.

If I recall correctly, I had planned of crossing Jallandhar Bye-Pass by the time I was struck at Ludhiana. Finally, reached Jallandhar Bye-Pass around 2 pm & crossed it after signal got Red twice. Had smallish refreshments/ drinks (tea/ cold drinks) break around 1430 hrs somewhere after crossing Pathankot Bye-Pass on the road to Amritsar. Roads are being widened in this section & there were quite a few diversions, yet I could maintain average speeds of 70 kph. Finally reached the destination at 1630 hrs. Had good time with family at the place & even better sleep due to exhaustion & clean+green environment. What a place it was, the village is between farms almost 18 kms away from national highway, crystal clear waters in canals & clearer sky. We (me & daughter) could count more stars that we do at home. Next morning had bath in refreshingly cold water at nearby Baoli & healthy farm fresh breakfast. My daughter is very happy in the hills of Himachal Pradesh & the plains of Doaba, Punjab.

Started return travel little before 12 & maintained better speeds for the fact that route was known to me & I build up speeds & maintain them over long distances easily. After 1530 hrs, & traffic jam at couple of point plus toll points I stopped at a Vaishno Dhabha at Rajpura, good food & tea & we were charged up for remaining half of the journey. Another, quick break after Karnal Toll point for cold drinks & by 2000 hrs we crossed into Delhi. At 2100 hrs I had crossed Badarpur Toll point & reached home at 2130 hrs after dropping my aunt at her home.

Was quite comfortable due to the car, but felt it could have been bigger... itching for a bigger car these days stupid:.

This car can easily surprise idiots who are upto silly antics on the roads, but read sense is dwindling fast like water table these days.

Finally, got mileage of 28+ kpl with 90% AC & all reached home not that tired. Big smile :D for the Panther my Aspire is.

Is there anyway to disconnect the secondary clutch switch on the Aspire diesel?

I am not sure if it available only on the Sports. It is an un-required feature and now it gets annoying since I use half clutch to crawl in traffic and the rpm suddenly spikes to 1.5k and drops if the clutch position is moving forward or backward in the secondary clutch area. Other times, the rpms drop causing the car to slow down a lot when crawling , if throttle is not given.

There is sound I heard from the engine which I am not sure if it is related to the secondary clutch.
When ever I accelerate and leave the throttle to shift gears, there is a kind f a flutter from the engine, more like a fast -tick and then it stops after few seconds. It comes at a certain rpm when the revs drop. It is there even when de-accelerating in any gear without clutching. Haven't noticed it when accelerating probably because of the engine thrum.

Since this is my first diesel, not sure if it is normal or not.

I too noticed this but later on got to know from a few posts on this thread that this has been verified by T-BHP members at the service center and it is the EGR at work. After reading it here did not bother much about it but I too hear the flutter sound. It reduces in intensity of the sound over time. It was very obvious for the first 4-5k kms after which now at 9k it is not as noticeable.

My armrest is finally done. :)

Teak wood, cushion and rexine.





All 3 bottle holders are still usable and it's wide enough for the both front seat occupants to rest their arms. Does not hinder with the handbrake or the seat-belts.

Can't say its a complete DIY project because I had to take professional help with the wood carving of the base and cushioning of the armrest. But the idea, prototype and installation is mine. Maybe I should patent it. :D

With the bottles in place:

Hi guys, I'm facing a water seepage issue in the rear left passenger foot well in my Ford Aspire. What could be the potential issue as the front passenger foot well is dry. I used available things like wet vacuum and all. Had given to Ford ASS, they claimed it was some hole in the wheel arch and a seal was put. But the water has again accumulated. Could it be AC drain related?

What is the cost? Think of it, you can have additional income from selling armrests. Armrest start up? :D

I would be the first to place the order for my Aspire. Maybe you can design one for my Polo too! ;)

This was definitely advertised as a feature on the Sports edition. They even mentioned it in the media drives, but as a no-stall feature on the Petrol.

I did distinctly experience it in the diesel Sports as well in my test drive. One way to be sure is if you take one more test drive on the non-sports version again and also check with a friendly SA at the service centre if you have a rapport with them? Disconnecting the sensor would probably stop it but whether that will make lights and errors go off is an important question which I doubt even the SAs at this point will know. But they can find out more.

I had faced the same issue in my figo during the initial days of ownership. The rear left passenger footwell would get wet. However it was diagnosed to be an issue of the AC drain and was solved immediately at the ASS. Never faced the issue after that.

More details here