[tsk1979]

I have a question regarding articulation. If a Thar like vehicle gets Diff locks, will it totally compensate for lack of articulation?

[DKG]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I have a question regarding articulation. If a Thar like vehicle gets Diff locks, will it totally compensate for lack of articulation?

Right thinking. It will compensate to an extent. However four wheels tracking ground will always be a better option

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Jaggu what has the rear wheels loosing traction to do with IFS? Rear is still Live Solid Axle, or did I miss something here?

Hi Spike,

Our understanding of "Articulation" is how far can a vehicle travel up a 23 or 30 Degree Ramp, with only one tyre climbing up the Rear (Front or Rear).

It is the ability of the chassis, suspension and body to flex and confirm to the off-road surface, there by increasing traction.

Ramp travel index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RTI Ramp - Ramp Travel Index Score - What is it, what does it tell you?

Though the M&M Thar has very good articulation at the Rear much better than older M&M JEEPs, the front is negligible.

Regards,

Arka

[rk206]

Would it be okay to ask what are the RTI values for the old M&M Jeeps and the Thar???

[Kandisa]

I haven't test driven the THAR yet, but the only thing i am really curious to know about its on-road handling is the steering behaviour in around 100km/hr speed. Actually i posted this query earlier also but except the official review seems like nobody has experienced it. And the verdict of Khan & Tejas was not positive. If anybody else has the experience, kindly share.

Originally Posted by navpreet318

...I have been told that this soft top is not your regular top provide by mahindra for years.It is from a vendor in pune who also supplies internationally.So what i have been told is that this is actually way way better than anything in india right now.

As i told i haven't seen this in person, but from the pics it does seem that the quality of the soft top has improved.

...EDIT:There is a travel thread in the travel section where a guy from bangalore i think has gone to Leh in a soft top jeep with rain and snow and his wife along.Why don't we ask him about travelling in a soft top.I bet non of you can compare with him about driving with a soft top.

.....Also regarding the soft top.I am actually pretty impressed with this travelogue-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...n-group-3.html

And this is not even the Soft top provided by Mahindra.According to Mahindra their soft top is somehting which has not been seen on any jeep till now.I am just hoping this comes out to be true and it is infact that good.Atleast till i accumulate the money for the Hard Top i would have somehting to cover my head with during the harsh weather.

Well the guy is me and we have travelled from Delhi, not Bangalore. Thanks for liking the log. Coming to the experience of soft top, well it was not very easy to drive in this set-up particularly in the rain. There was no leak as such, but a soft top with soft door set up did allow some water in during excessive rain as encountered in few patches. Regarding dust, it is definitely an issue for someone NOT HABITUATED WITH JEEPS. Since we (me and wife) were determined to make the trip in the jeep and have been living with it for the past two years, it was not an issue for us. For snow and cold, well we had to take more precautions in terms of clothings just to be on safer side.
Btw, the soft top material in my jeep is actually better than what used to be provided from Mahindra before. It was an imported material picked up by Mandeep long time ago.
Overall i think the soft top being provided in the THAR should serve as a decently good protection. But people habituated with modern day cars in all probability won't get satisfied with that because no matter how good the material is, some amount of dust/water etc are bound to creep in. Hence a hard top in the long run will defnitely help to address a much larger customer base who were always smitten by the JEEP look but didn't take the plunge because of non-availability of one in a brand new avatar.

In some of the posts, i can see some comparisons with rebuilt jeeps. Well one just can't simply deny the fact that a factory fitted vehicle is bound to be leagues ahead in terms of reliability than a restored or refurbished one. There is no question about it and it should hold true for THAR as well.But, with guidance from knowledgable people, proper authorized workshops & mechanics and with genuine brand new parts, a restored jeep can also be made reliable enough to enjoy the Jeeping experience without much of hitch. Its just that in general jeeps are perceived as a breed of vehicle which can survive in cheaper or 2nd hand parts and hence usually not much of new parts go into those. Though the restoration process in itself is not an easy path and hence getting a brand new jeep off the showroom is the route to follow if one likes the JEEP appeal.

Cyrus, i do agree that the complaints about the finishing and stuffs are not deal breakers and probably can be managed by some touch up jobs (e.g. about the sharp edges and all). But with the launch of THAR, the jeep is not being perceived as an old school kind of a vehicle any more. Its now a brand new vehicle from a company available in the showrooms like any other modern day cars. And much more number of people will now be thinking of owning JEEP rather than the handful of enthusiasts as the scene was till now. So, nobody will be bothered about the 101 small niggles in an old jeep but in case of THAR all of those will be noticed in the context of a 6.5L on-road brand new vehicle.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by speedy

Sir was this on flat ground before the climb?. I am sure the granite laden floor would not damage the IFS. The slipery climb and the street tyres would be a bad combination. The driver would have to solely rely on the engines power again to pull him through.

It was on the slope, lose boulders. There you really dont have a choice, so chances of damages are very high for the lower arms due to impacts. That is all.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Jaggu what has the rear wheels loosing traction to do with IFS? Rear is still Live Solid Axle, or did I miss something here?

Spike

IFS is so soft that it dips to un-necessary degree in the front, sometimes lifting off one of the rear tires. Hope am more clear now?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I have a question regarding articulation. If a Thar like vehicle gets Diff locks, will it totally compensate for lack of articulation?

Totally? No! but to an extent yes. But more than the rear, the front require a lock or lsd, me feels.

[pjbiju]

Spike, Vinod - at least one of you should have hopped onto the vehicle either in front of or behind the Thar to take some nice pictures and videos. We are not the only ones missing them - even many of the off-roaders participating in the OTR trail missed them.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by ex670c

Ramp travel index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RTI Ramp - Ramp Travel Index Score - What is it, what does it tell you?

Though the M&M Thar has very good articulation at the Rear much better than older M&M JEEPs, the front is negligible.

Regards,

Arka

Arka, I am not talking about RTI figures here, I am asking what has IFS to do with rear lifting legs, stock gypsies do that pretty easily.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

IFS is so soft that it dips to un-necessary degree in the front, sometimes lifting off one of the rear tires. Hope am more clear now?

No, I doubt that, why do you think Gypsies lift legs (easily) then?

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Spike, Vinod - at least one of you should have hopped onto the vehicle either in front of or behind the Thar to take some nice pictures and videos. We are not the only ones missing them - even many of the off-roaders participating in the OTR trail missed them.

Vinod was driving throughout, I was spotting / learning from others (Vinay especially) on my way. Never got time for anything else. This OTR was a good learning curve for me, will hit the trail next time.

Spike

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

No, I doubt that, why do you think Gypsies lift legs (easily) then?

Why are you bringing gyspy into this Too much complication if we get into that.

Comparison i had in mind was watching the solid axle 550 Vs Thar at the very same spot. I feel Thar with better rear articulation compared to 550, should lift leg later on. Right? That is not what i saw.

These are my observations Spikee.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Okie, I am still not convinced though, I respect your opinion and stop this here. Don't want to confuse you anymore.

Spike

[chaunfa]

Okay I was supposed to get my Black Thar Crde end of Jan. Now I am hearing faint(low enthu-hesitant) answers that it is going to come in this month sometime.
Oh and I also got a reply from the Thar site for the test drive, they promise me one by mid-Feb. I was almost gloating thinking," hah by then I'll give you a test drive."
Now it seems like they are going to give me a test drive. The whole thing seems so like show a lollipop, then take away the lollipop. I feel like changing my order to a Bolero out of spite. I know I can't do anything but wait (somehow I hadn't got the bank loan and all sorted out) my intuition made me doubt the sales guy or maybe I picked up his small ticks and jerks as he fork tongued about the delivery schedule.
Rant over and off my soap box cause it could have been worse if I had the loan in place and was paying interest for nothing.

Regards,
Chaunfa.

[ACM]

Chaunfa your post and language is not very clear.

A thar and a bolero are not really interchangeable for a buyers application.

Interest starts only post payment of the money to the dealer from the bank and this happens only after delivery date is confirmed and is close by till that time only the booking amount has to be paid.

[chaunfa]

Originally Posted by ACM

Chaunfa your post and language is not very clear.

A thar and a bolero are not really interchangeable for a buyers application.

Interest starts only post payment of the money to the dealer from the bank and this happens only after delivery date is confirmed and is close by till that time only the booking amount has to be paid.

What I have written is that I was supposed to get my Thar by the end of Jan.
That hasn't happened. So out of sheer spite I thought of reverting to a Bolero CRDE. i have already paid the booking amount and they are sitting pretty on it for the last month. Clear so far? The reason why the sales chap has not been chasing up on the bank loan is prolly because he knew that he was lying about the delivery date. That is all that I was wanting to vent about. Forked tongue is an expression the Red Indians would use to say that so and so is a liar.

Warm Regards,

Chaunfa

[Jaggu]

I guess the deliveries are on a lil slow pace with The Thar, another friend is also expecting the vehicle since last week and still no sign

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by chaunfa

What I have written is that I was supposed to get my Thar by the end of Jan.
That hasn't happened. So out of sheer spite I thought of reverting to a Bolero CRDE. i have already paid the booking amount and they are sitting pretty on it for the last month. Clear so far? The reason why the sales chap has not been chasing up on the bank loan is prolly because he knew that he was lying about the delivery date. That is all that I was wanting to vent about. Forked tongue is an expression the Red Indians would use to say that so and so is a liar.

Warm Regards,

Chaunfa

Chaunfa are you looking to Fit an A/c onto the Thar after delivery or do you plan to keep it stock, Have you spoken to anyone at the Dealership about A/c Installation? If you have could you please tell us what they have said and any prices that they have quoted regarding A/c Installation.