[puchoo]

The coasting is a great technique to make the FE climb up , i do it in gear as well as in neutral when there is an opportunity , i know you will not touch the coasting in neutral but it helps provided you do it from the start of a tank and not mid way - by the time half the tank is over , although there will be a positive difference in FE - your MID is not going to be moving at the same rate as it would from Day 1 and it is going to take that much more coasting to notch up decimals.

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Thanks Biraj, I'll keep this in mind. I downloaded Ecodrive, but gave up when I couldn't select all the right options. May end up buying the EBD analyzer more for peace of mind. I guess I ought to get it into my thick skull to change my driving - the message I'm getting from all is quite consistent!

KartikK is busy in his personal life and is traveling a bit

[TheTeacher]

Originally Posted by puchoo

I know you will not touch the coasting in neutral but it helps ...

Not sure I understand, Puchoo. I'm very used to coasting in neutral; used to do it all the time in the Baleno I had previously (a normally aspirated 1.6L engine). I used to do it in the TJet as well, and many people on this thread said it won't help FE, only coasting in gear does.

Also there is so much contradicting info. Somebody (too lazy to go back to earlier posts) got amazing FE in his TJet on the highway by turning off the AC and keeping the RPMs at 1700 (below turbo range). Others say maximum efficiency is in the turbo range, don't upshift till you're in it and stay in it as much as you can.

Fact is this is my first turbo vehicle; all previous ones were NA engines. I'm still learning. One thing I absolutely hate is the lack of power at the lower RPMS (when just starting off). Especially if one has to climb an incline. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to drive this thing in the mountains if I encounter a situation where I have to come to a dead stop before a steep incline and then move again.

NA engines aren't this starved for power at low RPMs. I guess this is why I stalled the T-Jet quite a bit in the early days of use.

[puchoo]

Apologies , thought i recalled distinctly you writing in one of the other threads that you would never coast "downhill" on neutral.

Well honestly , the T-Jet will give 15-16 , cruising at 9-100 in excess of 2000 RPM , and i think it is good enough , beyond a beyond one cannot fine tune driving styles or the fun of it. These are the figures i have constantly got.

With the Delhi heat back with a vengeance and the AC running all the time now , FE for me is down to the 10-11 range as well , as was expected.

Driving in the hills will not be a problem if you have driven before. Pull handbrake up , press accelerator till RPM's go up or you feel the car tugging against the braking force , release and off you go. The T-Jet is not the car to do a brake-throttle dance with one foot , as many hill drivers do , but with the handbrake it will be fine.

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Not sure I understand, Puchoo. I'm very used to coasting in neutral; used to do it all the time in the Baleno I had previously (a normally aspirated 1.6L engine). I used to do it in the TJet as well, and many people on this thread said it won't help FE, only coasting in gear does.

Also there is so much contradicting info. Somebody (too lazy to go back to earlier posts) got amazing FE in his TJet on the highway by turning off the AC and keeping the RPMs at 1700 (below turbo range). Others say maximum efficiency is in the turbo range, don't upshift till you're in it and stay in it as much as you can.

Fact is this is my first turbo vehicle; all previous ones were NA engines. I'm still learning. One thing I absolutely hate is the lack of power at the lower RPMS (when just starting off). Especially if one has to climb an incline. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to drive this thing in the mountains if I encounter a situation where I have to come to a dead stop before a steep incline and then move again.

NA engines aren't this starved for power at low RPMs. I guess this is why I stalled the T-Jet quite a bit in the early days of use.

[TheTeacher]

Puchoo, I never have and never will coast downhill in neutral; that would be crazy! I was talking about doing it in the city. You're some distance from a signal or a traffic jam and know you have to stop; shift to neutral and release the right foot.

I'd be ecstatic if I got 15-16 at 90-100; couldn't ask for more! I'll have to see what I get on my next hwy run, coming up in a few weeks, now that the engine's broken in ( ~ 5700 km).

I do follow the handbrake / higher RPMs routine when starting uphill, but guess I'm still not used to the lack of initial power as compared to a NA engine.

I'm no expert, but it looks to me like the very thing that makes the engine a monster (turbo boost) by feeding copious amounts of air makes the engine sluggish by starving it of air (pre boost). Guess it has to do with the air intake design.

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

but guess I'm still not used to the lack of initial power as compared to a NA engine.

I'm no expert, but it looks to me like the very thing that makes the engine a monster (turbo boost) by feeding copious amounts of air makes the engine sluggish by starving it of air (pre boost). Guess it has to do with the air intake design.

Hi Teacher!

As I understand it turbo 'lag' is purely relative to the high boost one gets once the rpm is in the turbozone: it is not the case that low rpm torque is necessarily inferior to a NA motor. Whenever I've driven a high-revving Honda NA engine (esp civic) I have struggled with the low rpm torque, which in the civic and even in the previous City was worse than a turbo-lagging t-jet.

Relax man! You'll gradually adjust to the t-jet's engine-gearing character, automatically as it were. Stop trying so hard for mileage: your pay-off if you are not fussy/over-conscious could well be...better mileage!

[puchoo]

Yep thats what i was referring to , you had mentioned the same thing in another thread as well.

I am a bit guilty of doing down-hill coasting once in a while but only on a few select flyovers in the city where i know exactly what to expect and the gradient is not very steep.

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Puchoo, I never have and never will coast downhill in neutral; that would be crazy! .

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to drive this thing in the mountains if I encounter a situation where I have to come to a dead stop before a steep incline and then move again.

I have taken my T-jet to the Himalayas multiple times, and it has never let me down. There was a particular stretch which was extremely steep and narrow. The only challenge I faced was due to the size and turning radius of the car, the low-end torque has never been an issue. Perhaps the earlier versions of T-jets were tuned differently.

Here's a testimonial to my T-jet's abilities on hills: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...la-4-days.html

[TheTeacher]

Originally Posted by desdemona

As I understand it turbo 'lag' is purely relative to the high boost one gets once the rpm is in the turbozone: it is not the case that low rpm torque is necessarily inferior to a NA motor. Whenever I've driven a high-revving Honda NA engine (esp civic) I have struggled with the low rpm torque, which in the civic and even in the previous City was worse than a turbo-lagging t-jet.

I understand some NA engines can be low on torque at low RPMs, but I've never owned / driven cars that had this problem - '70s Ambassodor, 1986 Civic, 1994 Camry 3.0L V6, 1999 Civic, 2004 Baleno. In simplistic terms, torque is a function of displacement and volumetric (breathing) efficiency.

Originally Posted by desdemona

Relax man! You'll gradually adjust to the t-jet's engine-gearing character, automatically as it were. Stop trying so hard for mileage: your pay-off if you are not fussy/over-conscious could well be...better mileage!

I wish I could, but this subject (my FE) keeps getting raked up repeatedly on this thread and it would be rude of me to ignore questions and suggestions!

Originally Posted by Biraj

I have taken my T-jet to the Himalayas multiple times, and it has never let me down. There was a particular stretch which was extremely steep and narrow. The only challenge I faced was due to the size and turning radius of the car, the low-end torque has never been an issue. Perhaps the earlier versions of T-jets were tuned differently.

Here's a testimonial to my T-jet's abilities on hills: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...la-4-days.html

Thanks Biraj. Your travelogues make that clear, and IIRC, Rohitunga in a Multijet and Ravi sir in a Fire made trips to Ladakh. I guess everything will be fine with 5 digits on my TJet's odo.

[desdemona]

Hi friends! The new linea t-jet emotion (sunbeam gold) is here! And it is a beauty on every axis, parameter, including price!

Time for me to get used to, to learn about the character of the t-jet, including the optimum mileage tarikaa-s. Coming from a linea 1.4 fire, which we will retain as it has aged not at all, and not having regularly driven turbo-ed cars, not even diesels in the last five years, that will be fun!

Cheers to all you earlier t-jet owners, your ownership reportage was useful, nay inspiring ! :-)

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by desdemona

Hi friends! The new linea t-jet emotion (sunbeam gold) is here! And it is a beauty on every axis, parameter, including price!
...
Cheers to all you earlier t-jet owners, your ownership reportage was useful, nay inspiring ! :-)

Hey Congrats! Have a great time with the beast! May you always stay in the turbo band

Enjoy!

[desdemona]

Enjoying the delightful, ravishing new T-jet! Still also being an owner of the 1.4 Fire Linea, a couple of observations:

A few months ago I had gotten the new shocker set up-grade for increased ground clearance. The trade-off for the sake of increased ground clearance was not the handling and/or steering but the ride which became rather firm.

The new Linea's suspension tuning is truly awesome in that respect: there is suppleness where there was firmness, while the raised ground clearance is an absolute boon, with the handling and steering tautness intact, I feel. They have managed to minimise the trade-off. Excellent. A HARMONY of ride-handling-GC-steering.

Reports of turbo-lag turn out to be exaggerated. Much better than the Multijet: above 1600 rpm the boost builds up linearly. There is a smoothness and gradual quality to the turbo spooling that is a joy in city traffic, at least here in Dlehi NCR. In this respect: I am glad I chose the T-jet over the MJD.

Cheers.

[desdemona]

Hi again folks.

The Linea's brakes were always terrific, but the new t-jet with all-four disc brakes and HUGE tyres is something else! Not that I have yet had occasion to wager life, limb and money on an emergency braking episode but it sure feels good to know the brakes and tyres are this good. BTW a very telling factoid: the latest Autocar/Whatcar? test reveals that the new Linea t-jet stops as much as 2.5+ metres from 80 kph before a new Honda city petrol! Kudos to Fiat for this.

As the saying goes: how fast you can go depends not on your engine but your brakes!

Only city driving yet, am afraid. The car sure makes one feel the urge to open-road-drive.

Cheers

[Speed Pujari]

Originally Posted by desdemona

Hi again folks.

The Linea's brakes were always terrific, but the new t-jet with all-four disc brakes and HUGE tyres is something else! Not that I have yet had occasion to wager life, limb and money on an emergency braking episode but it sure feels good to know the brakes and tyres are this good. BTW a very telling factoid: the latest Autocar/Whatcar? test reveals that the new Linea t-jet stops as much as 2.5+ metres from 80 kph before a new Honda city petrol! Kudos to Fiat for this.

As the saying goes: how fast you can go depends not on your engine but your brakes!

Only city driving yet, am afraid. The car sure makes one feel the urge to open-road-drive.

Cheers

Congrats for the ride and welcome to the club.
Since this is your learning curve, I must say you have only scratched the tip of iceberg. The car has much to offer than ever imagined.

E.g. I recently started doing engine braking and giving it a shot even at high speeds. I have been shifting to 3rd gear even at 120+ speeds, and still there is no sign of stress. All I could see that the life of engine oil gets slightly decreased.

As far as fuel economy is concerned, today I gave a shocker to Vecto Fiat SA when I went to get alignment checked. He was shocked to see 14.2 kmpl in my MID for past 18 kms (I reset it before starting from home) LOL ! ..

Enjoy your drive, and be socially responsible, since this car can make you anti-social element unknowingly and unwillingly.

[desdemona]

Hi guys, another note on the new Linea, or rather the renewed firm, Fiat India.

All new owners of the Linea are getting a visit from a Fiat India representative. Guess they've hired a market research firm to do this work, a sort of long, in-depth debriefing/survey. Spent over an hour with the rep. Not that I have a high regard for such survey-based marketing and management techniques. That didn't stop me from pretending to be both a savvy customer and a management guru rolled into one!

Still, more good new stuff from Fiat. Not as good as my new sunbeam gold t-jet though!

[TheTeacher]

Guys, I don't want to start another round of "my poor FE", but I found this interesting:

2014 Test World Summer Tyre Test

The Pirelli P7 is rated 4th best, but is among the worst for high rolling resistance / poor FE.

These are the tyres I have. Maybe one reason for my low FE.

Posting this here to let others know to keep tyre rolling resistance in mind. I never knew there could be this much difference among tyres. The best rated tyre, CPC 5, is only slightly better than the Pirelli P7 with respect to rolling resistance.

I guess it's a trade off between grip and rolling resistance. I'll take the grip any day.