[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by condor

I have replaced that one with a regular one. A small improvement, but not much. Need to do something about this.

I'll suggest you to get an upgrade to 100/90W setup with wiring harness. Should improve the lightning to a decent levels. In case that doesn't help them you'll have to look for Auxiliary lamps.

I've been using the 100/90W setup since long. I would have clocked 30K kms. No deformation/discoloration.

[outdoorlover]

Originally Posted by condor

Was finally able to open the headlamp bulbs in my A-star. I had not been able to remove the rubber gasket like ring. WD-40 did the trick to get it un-stuck. The bulb on the left side says OSRAM, but made in PRC. I have replaced that one with a regular one. A small improvement, but not much. Need to do something about this.

I would recommend you upgrade to Osram Night Breaker Unlimited. This is a natural fit without any change of watts/ volts etc and provides significantly better illumination than the stock bulbs. I did that almost year ago and and quite happy with the results.

[condor]

Originally Posted by condor

2) MASS guys have applied grease to the holder ! This is a first for me. Any thoughts / comments ?

Originally Posted by outdoorlover

I would recommend you upgrade to Osram Night Breaker Unlimited.

Like I had orignally suspected, the grease looks to be problem.

I had removed the bulbs a couple of times (to test the H4 HID bulbs I had got). The remove/re-seat of the bulb seems to have removed some of the grease, and the lights are actually better now. Fair for city use.

[condor]

Is it possible to get larger ORVM's for the A-Star ?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by condor

Is it possible to get larger ORVM's for the A-Star ?

AFAIK it should take on the ORVM from the Ritz/ older generation Swift.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

AFAIK it should take on the ORVM from the Ritz/ older generation Swift.

No way. The mirror casing base is totally different. Maybe something like that from the Baleno that is fixed onto the door skin can be fixed. But that leave us with the question of what to do with the original mirror mount.

[condor]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

AFAIK it should take on the ORVM from the Ritz/ older generation Swift.

Anurag - Ramon would be correct here. We need to look at the mirror mount itself/

Originally Posted by Ramon

. But that leave us with the question of what to do with the original mirror mount.

May be if I Could get a broken original mirror but with the mount intact, I could add a mirror from the old Sumo's or Mahindra's ?

[outdoorlover]

Guys, if you're looking for mirrors with the right mount, you can look at Aliexpress.com. They've a lot of options in mounts for their auto-dimming mirrors.

[condor]

What is the observed FE on highways ? Cruising speed - 100 kmph ?

[condor]

Q2 -
FE of our A-Star has dropped a bit in the last couple of months. No changes made. Is it the summer ?
Currently at 10 kmpl or so

[outdoorlover]

Originally Posted by condor

Q2 -
FE of our A-Star has dropped a bit in the last couple of months. No changes made. Is it the summer ?
Currently at 10 kmpl or so

There's a drop in FE when the ambient temperature goes above 35C with AC on. Do you use synthetic engine oil or mineral? I've been using synthetic which has made the engine remarkably smoother with a slightly better FE.

[condor]

Originally Posted by outdoorlover

Do you use synthetic engine oil or mineral? I've been using synthetic which has made the engine remarkably smoother with a slightly better FE.

My A/c usage is constant - always on, Summer or Winter. Hence the drop in FE is not due to usage of A/c.

Reg the oil it is Mineral. I dont think that the FE gains from using synth oil will cover the additional cost of the oil. And for my running, synth is not called for.

[outdoorlover]

Synthetic oil is recommended when drive distances are short, as well as stop-and-go traffic of the kind that we have in many metros now. It ensures a smoother ride of the pistons in the engine cylinders thereby making the power delivery and drive smoother. I have experienced that it had made quite some difference in my A star automatic and I am glad to pay extra money for a smoother and efficient drive. Again, if someone uses an A Star for long drives, intercity drives with very little stop and go, sticking to mineral oil might be okay.

In my latest gen Honda city automatic which is younger to my A Star automatic by 4 months, I didn't make a switch from the factory default engine oil as it is already a proprietary mix from Idemitsu and uses a combo of both kinds of oils and is very smooth on the Ivtec engine.

[vsbabu]

Mine completed 31K km and 4 years. Was beginning to get bored with it and while I entertained thoughts of replacing it with Baleno or Jazz, every time I try to get this into Koramangala or Indira Nagar, I get sold back on the smaller dimensions of this one in the city! So got it 3M cleaned, new mats etc and I am good for now - may be touch up couple of small scratches on the bumper. One service every year for last 2 years; regular oil change (even if it is not due) are the only service that this ever needed. No rattles so far. I get about 11-12kmpl with mainly short commute (5km one way); but when I do Koramangala-Varthur (16km) rides, generally get about 13-14kmpl.

Quite happy with this. Lack of backseat room is now a boon actually - with child lock on, children are quite safe there and very near by A/C cools down the car much faster than my Innova.

IMO, perfect city car and not a bad highway car either. I've done family trips in this to Pondicherry and Mysore. Though suitcases in the rear are out of question, it is quite stable on highways and can keep cruising at 100kmph, returning about 17.5kmpl.

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by condor

What is the observed FE on highways ? Cruising speed - 100 kmph ?

As speeds of 90-100 km/hr, I got 18.5-19 kmpl during my last highway run between Bangalore and Chennai.

Recent trip to Chikmagalur, the overall mileage dropped to 15.5 kmpl. The ghat section seemed to have given abysmal figures, I was hard on the pedal with frequent kickdowns.

Originally Posted by condor

My A/c usage is constant - always on, Summer or Winter. Hence the drop in FE is not due to usage of A/c.

Reg the oil it is Mineral. I dont think that the FE gains from using synth oil will cover the additional cost of the oil. And for my running, synth is not called for.

I think at high temperature, the AC would be continuously working and there is never a question of ac compressor cutoff (22 c temp). I have very limited knowledge on this.

Past 1 month, I have also observed a drop in fuel efficiency, it has come down by 1-1.5 km to 10.5 kmpl. I have moved to 29psi on all my tyres to avoid the bumpy ride, that could also be the factor.