[jkrishnakj]

My experience is certainly not to the do with the Car per se.
Me and our team were at the Mudumalai sanctuary and we just came back from the jungle safari. Just then, another team of 6 guys also came back after the jungle safari to the same place we were staying.
One of my colleagues started exchanging pleasantries with the other team and asked " How was the Safari ?" and pat comes the reply - no safari, we came by "Tavera"

[DWind]

Originally Posted by jaguar.runs

The seat belt lock is designed not to slip in case of an accident, thus will be very difficult to unlock with weight of the passenger pulling against the lock.

A small correction here! It should be seat belt inertial reel / pretensioner. The lock on the other side will not slip until we release the seat belt unlock button. I believe unless there is a major damage to the seat belt lock or major force extracted on the lock (the key here is major, which should be much much higher than an average person's weight) the lock should continue to work. No?

Would like to hear from experts / people who have been though a crash on the quality of seatbelt locks used in the Indian cars. I hope the manufacturers are not cutting costs here.

[KiloAlpha]

I would consider myself an "expert" - on the basis of the fact that I have crashed heavily and am alive only because I was wearing a seat belt.
The car: '97 Zen
The crash: Off centre, drivers side, into a tree at approx 60-70 kmph

The inertia reel did its job perfectly. Held me in my seat firmly. To undo the seat belt, I just pressed the button as usual to release the seat belt and it rolls back fully as normal.

Given the position of the seat belt lock (down by your hip, in the centre of the car), I think it is going to be very difficult to damage it enough to not be able to release the seat belt?

People sometimes cut away the seat belt because the crash is so serious that you really cannot reach the release button and the driver/passenger is unconscious/severely injured.

Second post in a row, sorry, but I found this hilarious.
Last night, was sitting in company guest house drinking with colleagues. One of them starts talking to me about cars, and then asks if the M800 is front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive?
He refuses to believe that most cars sold today are front driven.
His logic - M800 is a small car hence cannot be FWD, too small for FWD!! Majority of the market in India is for small cars, so all of them are RWD.

Poor Alec Issigonis, must be turning in his grave at 8500rpm.

[vinaydas]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

Second post in a row, sorry, but I found this hilarious.
Last night, was sitting in company guest house drinking with colleagues. One of them starts talking to me about cars, and then asks if the M800 is front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive?
He refuses to believe that most cars sold today are front driven.
His logic - M800 is a small car hence cannot be FWD, too small for FWD!! Majority of the market in India is for small cars, so all of them are RWD.

Poor Alec Issigonis, must be turning in his grave at 8500rpm.

I think the earlier M800's were RWD. They switched later to FWD due to cost issues.

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

I think the earlier M800's were RWD. They switched later to FWD due to cost issues.

Plenty of fans & owners of the SS80DX in T-BHP, anyone care to comment?

[Gansan]

To my knowledge the M800 was FWD and the Omni was RWD from the very beginning.

[ramzsys]

This thread is becoming a pseudo-technical thread.

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

I think the earlier M800's were RWD. They switched later to FWD due to cost issues.

No M800 were RWD, from beginning its FWD.

[ImmortalZ]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@Immortalz: 300-500W is about 1/2 bhp. Also, a 1000W music system (PMPO) is only about 100W rms. That too at normal levels may be 20% of that.

Agreed that night time driving, music systems, etc all consume power and hence some fuel, the extra consumption may be much less than what people assume.

Honestly, do you think I was quoting PMPO figures? PMPO is RMS multiplied by the company CEO's dad's age. We have people on the forums who have 1000w RMS going into the subs alone. Hell, I have an Audison amp sitting here that'll send a thousand one hundred pukka RMS watts across four channels. And I need to get another for driving the sub.

Running at normal levels (which is about 50% if you want to load the drivers properly), it's a good figure. Consider that most class AB amps are at most 50% efficient, you're looking at significant power consumption at the input side. Class D monos fare much better in that regard though.

[jaguar.runs]

Originally Posted by DWind

Just wondering, is it really that difficult to press the seat belt release button (no electrics involved here) as opposed to remembering, reaching out to the glove box and make an effort to cut the seat belt? I believe releasing the seat belt button would be lot more easier. Am I missing something here?

Originally Posted by DWind

A small correction here! It should be seat belt inertial reel / pretensioner. The lock on the other side will not slip until we release the seat belt unlock button. I believe unless there is a major damage to the seat belt lock or major force extracted on the lock (the key here is major, which should be much much higher than an average person's weight) the lock should continue to work. No?

Would like to hear from experts / people who have been though a crash on the quality of seatbelt locks used in the Indian cars. I hope the manufacturers are not cutting costs here.

I think we were talking about cutting the seat belt in case of an over turn and the occupant's weight is completely on the seat belt. It would be very difficult for a person to press the seat belt release button as the weight of the body is pulling the lock.

Seat belts are designed to stretch up to an extent to take the high force and is tested for the same.

I have not been in an accident in India, but have gone through two major ones in UAE (both the cars were total loss ). One was a head on collision and another one was a 180˚ spin + side impact. In both cases the seat belt saved me from injury, not even a scratch on my body.

[chikkars]

When I bought my BEAT, there weren't still many on the roads. My cousin tells my dad that its a 2 door hatch. Dad says we HAVE BOUGHT the car and its it got 4 doors. Cousin says, "but uncle, I've seen the pics, its not possible!" (even after telling him we own one)

[hemantwaghe]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

I don't know about other places but here in AP, older generation people's concept of horse power is this. 100 cc = 1 BHP. So RX100, CD100, KB100, AX100 are all 1 BHP bikes. Enfield Bullet 350 is 3.5 BHP bike. Maruti 800 is 8 BHP car.

Next, I own a 4-cylinder bike, Honda CBX 750. The bike being naked, all the inline cylinders are visible. Imagine my irritation when guys ask me where I got the engine "modified". As though I welded extra 3 cylinders. Posing this question to a faired bike like R1 or CBR may make some sense as their 4 cylinders are not visible. But it is too much to ask of a naked bike. Also, most people refer to 4 cylinders as 4 "engines". And this one takes the cake. There was this guy who asked if the other 3 "engines" are spare or if they work in turn, one after the other. He wanted to know if there is a control switch by which I can select one "engine" over the others. Beat this.

Hey heard this 15 years back.Mumbai police ordfered some RD350's ( Never saw them on road ,but yes saw them at Nagpada police stn ,near my engg. college)

So one of my friend telling it is bike with 2 engines ,also normally one engine can be used and "swich on" second engine when you want to go fast!!!

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by SRK

Premier Padmini/Fiat 1100 is always referred to as a Taxi.

Even if its a private car (non black and yellow) some one will call it a Taxi.

Thats the same treatment a white Camry gets in middle east,especially in Saudi Arabia.

I know many cab drivers who strongly believe that the purpose of the high-beam is to use it when the oncoming car has his HIGH BEAM on. Else how could you see? So, when there is no oncoming cars,he uses low beams and when the opposite car's beam hits him, he hits him back with his own Hi-beam! Logical logic aint' it?

[condor]

jaguar.runs : I think we were talking about cutting the seat belt in case of an over turn and the occupant's weight is completely on the seat belt. It would be very difficult for a person to press the seat belt release button as the weight of the body is pulling the lock.

There is absolutely no problems in opening the seat-belt even if the person is upside down. I have done it myself - car up-side down, I just pressed the release button, and the belt released without any problems. Just had to make sure I had some support so that I am able to balance myself after coming free.

[Latheesh]

My colleague after seeing a Jag : "looks like they copied Hyundai Sonata design"

Me: