[Bullitt]

@ GTO:

Is there any specific info or rule about this, perhaps in the MV Act? There have been a few instances mentioned on this forum about cops (not necessarily in Mumbai) fining vehicles even though the aux lights were capped, and also about cops smashing aux lights too! It would be good to be conversant with the exact law, which will help in dealing with over-zealous coppers like these.

The Superking blower is a tried and tested solution for the Sierra's cooling problem, but that wasn't what we were discussing here. Even with the Superking blower, in our hot Indian summers, a dark grey Sierra will definitely attract more heat than a red one, thereby increasing the workload of the A/C.

On a side note, a few of us Sierra owners from Mumbai and Pune are thinking of meeting up sometime in January, in Mumbai. Would you care to join us with your bro's car?

- Bullitt.

[Saptarshi B]

@GTO: 235 / 60 R 16 ok for an upgrade ? (I have a NA so only 68 horses)

basically 225/70 R15 is out of stock at Michelin so am considering other sizes.

[Bullitt]

@ Saptarshi:

You can also post this query in the "Tyres and Alloy Wheels" section, you might get a quicker response. You will also get very good suggestions for which alloys to buy.

Also, you can also try asking the tyre gurus on this forum, like nikhilb2008, iraghava, kpzen, tsk1979 and others. I am sure they will be happy to help out.

- Bullitt.

[sierrakamat]

Please do not drill holes in the roof for the roof rails coupled with the curved side glasses it will only add to the leakage problem in the monsoons,also for the upgrade on the tyres you can try vashi sector 17 with either Punjab tyres or Best tyres who hve a huge stock of alloys and tyres.
Bullit just dont push it man i might just about buy a sierra to attend your meet

[Bullitt]

New Year's Greetings, Everyone! Wish you all great prosperity and great car ownership in the New Year!!!

@ sierrakamat : I thought roof rails are pasted on the roof, and not screwed on. The original factory-fitted roof-rails on my WagonR are pasted on, not screwed.

Here's a picture I found online which shows the top-view of a Sierra that has lost one roof-rail.

(Picture courtesy www.******************.com)



As you can see, there are no drill-holes in place of the missing roof-rail, just stains left behind by the adhesive.

Anyway, let's just leave it to Saptarshi_B to decide, this trivial accessory is occupying too much thread space.

Oh, and you don't have to buy a Sierra just for the meet, for that there's lotsa room in mine, though you have to be a good gymnast or acrobat if you prefer the back seat.

- Bullitt.

[kaustubh_vaze]

@Jaydeep - Now that we are in Jan 2011, I would like to propose Jan 15th or Jan 16th for the Mumbai trip. Let me know if that is OK.
@SierraKamat - Are you available on on of these days. Also let us know which day is comfortable for you.

Regards,
Kaustubh

[sierrakamat]

the reason the roof rail is missing is that it has been stuck on and not bolted which is what should be ideally done with these aftermarket thingies to keep the things from falling off unlike the factory fitted ones.
kausubh i am fine with the 16 th please confirm by the 14th .

[Saptarshi B]

Thanks for the advise on the roof rails. I think I will pass for now. I anyway have enough water seeping in and can do without drill holes. Will look for a good aftermarket one and get it pasted on.

Let me know if you guys coming to Mumbai. Will be good to catch up.

[Bullitt]

@ Saptarshi :

Drilling holes is a strict no-no! As sierrakamat said, it will exacerbate the seepage problem. If you can find the stick-on variety, then make sure a very good adhesive is used, and get it installed by professionals, because the contact area has to be cleaned thoroughly before pasting on the rails. If this is not done, the adhesive will fail prematurely, and you can see the result in the picture I have posted. Avoid the ones that come with 2-way tape on them for installation, they wont last a month.

The factory-fitted roof rails on my 6-year-old WagonR LXi are also the stick-on types, but they are still holding strong after all these years. It is this quality of workmanship and materials that you will have to look for, else it is better not to fit them and waste your money. As I said before, the Sierra always looks stunning, with or without them.

This seepage problem seems to be a universal phenomenon. Even my Sierra has one spot that lets water in, it is at the top of the left side-glass, bang on top of the rear seat. Whenever it rains, water drips onto the rear seat, and any unfortunate passenger occupying it.

It seems this problem is quite common, yet even the Tata ASC guys don't have a solution to it. A while back, when I had visited Balaji Motors (a Tata ASC) to enquire about a full-body repainting job, the SA there told me that they will remove everything except the side glasses before repainting the car. He said that they will remove the side glasses only on my authorization, but then they cannot guarantee a leak-proof re-installation. It seems they had run into repeated warranty issues with a few customers, and since then they had stopped removing side-glasses on Sierras for repainting.

I have even seen a few Sierras with plumbing sealant (like M-Seal) applied on the inside, in places where it was leaking.

So the question is, what is it really that causes the side glass to leak, and how can it be fixed?

@ All :

16th Jan seems to be a date suitable to all, so 16th Jan it is!

- Bullitt.

[condor]

@Saptarshi - what are the rails going to be used for ? I think you are considering aesthetics and not for carrying luggage.

My personal likes - NO rails for the Sierra.

[Bullitt]

@ condor:

Stick-on roof rails are no good for carrying luggage, the rails and the luggage will fly off in no time at highway speeds. This is true for any car, including the WagonR and any other cars which come with factory-fitted stick-on rails. Those are only aesthetic add-ons.

In my view, a proper luggage carrier fitted with clamps (or bolts) is the only accessory suitable for carrying luggage on top of a car.

But I don't see why a cavernous car like the Sierra would require additional luggage-carrying capability on the roof, unless jump-seats have been installed in the back, a la Sumo.

Bottomline:

1. For carrying luggage - install a proper luggage rack.

2. For aesthetics - Stick-on roof rails, or no roof-rails, Sierra is still a Sierra.

[kaustubh_vaze]

@Jaydeep - Lets plan on leaving early on 16th Jan. Say about 6:30 AM. We can discuss on phone and finalize on 13th or 14th Jan.

Regarding luggage carrier: There is no place on the Sierra to mount a luggage rack since it does not have the rain water gutters along the top like the Sumo. So either we have to build a kind of a roll cage and then mount the luggage carrier on the top.
OR, have a luggage carrier fabricated such that it fits in the channels on top where the roof rails would normally fit.

Have some ideas - Shall discuss when we meet.
Regards,
Kaustubh

[condor]

@Bullitt, that's what I was trying to say - such rails are not good for carrying luggage.

For that matter, I really hope you guys are NOT thinking of carrying luggage on the roof of a Sierra. The vehicle is already tall, and adding ANY load on the roof will make it pretty un-stable.

[Saptarshi B]

@ condor and Bullit: For sure the Sierra will NOT be drilled. I have seepage in the front left side. Right above the passenger.

Stick on (Like my Wagon R) is an cosmetic option. However this is the last on my to-do list for the Sierra.

More important (in order of priority)

Tyre replacement: The current tyres are more than 7 years old and have to be replaced asap. Most probably I will go for Michelins. Have used Michelin on my other vehicle and trouble free for the past 2 years / 16,000 kms. My main criteria is a good ride and less noise. Sine the Sierra is hardly capable of any offroading I am mainly looking for Highway/city usage tyres.

Paint job: On hold thanks to comments on this forum to retain the current red color.

Fix the cable for opening the bonnet. Got the new cable. Needs to be replaced.

Temperature gauge. Shows a constant '0 deg'

New tacho

Replace headlights: Already bought from Sherrt motors. needs fitment

ICE: Not too expensive. Just need a decent setup

Fix the passenger seat as it is stuck and acrobatics are needed to access the rear seats

Seat upholstry: Rear seats torn.

Fix Superking blower and service A/C (can waitb a couple of months)

V kool film replacement

Roof rails

Thats a small wish list.. eh ?

[Bullitt]

@ condor :

I think we are both saying the same thing, only in different words. The Sierra definitely DOES NOT need a luggage carrier. It's boot can swallow enough luggage anyway, and with the rear bench folded, I daresay it could almost swallow an entire Tata Nano.

Cosmetic roof-rails, on the other hand, are the owner's choice.

@ kaustubh :

Yes, 16th early morning sounds good, will confirm on 14th.

I am not planning to install a luggage carrier on my car. In case you are, here is some info.

With respect to what you mentioned about the luggage carrier, I found something very interesting. It seems that the UK/Ireland export version of the Sierra (the "Tata Gurkha"), was sold with a luggage carrier installed on the roof. I am not sure how exactly it was installed, my guess is it was fit into those 2 channels on the roof. Looks quite out of place though. Here is a picture (courtesy pakwheels.com):



@ Saptarshi_B :

Did you get any more info on the 235 Michelins with 16" rims?

Even my temp. guage always stays at the bottom under normal usage. I had seen it rise initially when I drove it to Pune from Mumbai, just after I bought it. But after I got the car serviced (including a radiator flush and refill) it never rose again. According to sierrakamat, thats where it should be if the engine is working fine.

Question is, how do you test the temp. guage to see if it's working or not?

For headlights, did you buy new bulbs / beams / both? How much did it cost?

The front passenger is a common pain point, maybe we can all buy Sierra front passenger seats in bulk from Kurla and get a discount.

Add Sumo Victa ORVMs to that list. They are internally adjustable. Very useful.

And you know what... mine is bigger than yours (ahem, I meant the wish list). The problem is, my wallet is probably smaller than yours, so I claim "no contest"!

EDIT: Hope you are free on the 16th, all of us can meet up then.