[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

I think then the boot LED on the inside can be linked to the door switch so that it comes on when the boot is opened in the same manner as the cabin light. Can you post a pic of the placement of the boot LED and the puddle ones?

Also, what LED's have you used for the doors? Those stick on white LED strips or something else? Can you point me to any brand or type?

I'll put up the pics asap. And yes you can connect the leds in the boot to a switch like the one on the doors, provided that there's such a switch for ur boot lid as well... There wasnt one on my car so I connected it to the parking lights.

I've used Led strips that come with a thick plastic layer. The same ones have been used in a vertical strip near the point where the front fog lamps are factory fitted (near edges of the bumper). No idea about the brand, but I purchased them from "driven" in Delhi and I can ask them to prepare and courier the same to you. Remeber these are brighter than the ordinary led strips found commonly in the market.

Cheerio.
Sam

[samarth.bhatia]

30,000 kms Update:

First, the bad news. Driving in thin traffic in the night led to not noticing a small median on the road. The car sort of went over it. The front wheels were in the air, so had to put some rocks under them to get traction. Managed to reverse off the median.
Underbody damage observed was a slightly bent chassis member. Will be sent to get straightened. Some nicks & scratches on underside of the front bumper.
Now, the good news. The oil sump & exhaust header pipes remained untouched. A lucky coincidence.
All in all, I feel lucky to have this car with these tires. They helped save the underbody, and the protection via the plastic cover saved more damage.
AND THE CAR IS CERTAINLY READY FOR LEH!

Other than this underbody check up, just some regular things like engine oil, oil filter, brake oil, spark plugs etc. changed, pollen filter cleaned - total damage of about 3.75k.

Good experience in servicing.

In the last couple of months of 2013, me and AbhishekB86 have ventured on two Himalayan trips of completely non-epic proportions :P
One to Naldehra (about 35 kms ahead of Shimla), and one to Rishikesh (in the foothills, so shouldn't really count). The tires have been helpful in the hilly bends, and the arrow straights as well. The car has performed well, delivering good FE figures as well (easily maintained around 15 kmpl on a mixture of good & bad highway stretches with 100% AC on the recent Rishikesh trip).

Another update: Rainbow Dreamliners have replaced the Hertz coaxials earlier mounted up front.
Now, the ICE setup is:
JVC 2-Din Head Unit - signals a Kenwood 720 W 4 channel amplifier - also powers the rear Heartz coaxials.
Kenwood Amp - powers the Rainbow DL components up front, and a bridged connection to the Rockford Fosgate Punch P1 Subwoofer at the rear.
It's a clean sound from the Rainbows, and the price is almost worth it

Oh, and the rear parking sensors were not placed properly earlier, so managed to ding both corners (in different incidents) while reversing. Had to get two new holes for the corner sensors, and repaint the entire rear bumper & bootlid (an idiot smashed into the rear on a holy occasion of Holi - grrr). Anyhow, so went in for a slightly different paint scheme at the rear. Also at the front. Pics coming up soon.

Also, the MapMyIndia screen has been put up for sale. Any interested persons may please contact me.

Cheers,
Sam

[Soumyajit9]

Howdie bro ?

Long time no see !! How is the Beatie doing ? Some new mods, some pictures ?

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Which reminds me, guys, if you feel something is overdone, do give me your honest opinions!

You shouldn't have done that.

I feel the same way about LEDs as I do about chrome, and please don't get me started on Indians' chrome fetish. But hey. At the end of the day it is a matter of personal preference. And they are your wheels. If having a car that looks like a disco threw it up is your thing, go knock yourself out. (Like I said, you shouldn't have.)

The performance mods are great. I have been resisting the temptation to do some on my Polo, primarily because it is a year old with three more years of warranty. And given some of the horror stories I have heard from other Polo owners, mine hasn't given me ANY trouble so far. So why tempt Lady Luck?

Enjoy your car, and drive safe always.

PS: I do hope you have a sense of humour and will take this in the right spirit.

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

You shouldn't have done that.

Hey,
Absolutely no offence taken buddy. The lights were put up, but thankfully I had the good sense to install switches for almost every set.
Which means at no point of time are all of them on..
It's more to do with my fetish for switches I guess.. Lol

Here's the pattern I follow
Drls on bumper on during the day, off during nighy
LEDs in head lamp and fog lamp spot on during early evening. Connected to parking lughts
Auxiliary driving lamps on during low light conditions, and on highways

As for your polo, I'd say go in for those kids at least which probably won't affect the warranty - the end cab instead of an ffe. Just so you can get some keeda out of your system . And then when you're ready, go for the FFE, intake filter and what not..

Cheers,
Sam

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Howdie bro ?

Long time no see !! How is the Beatie doing ? Some new mods, some pictures ?

Hi Soumyajit,

Hope you're doing well. Please excuse me for this delayed response.
The Beat is going strong with over 41k clocked on the ODO.

The never ending list of mods now includes:
1. Auxiliary driving lamps in place of the Hella Black Magic fog light put up earlier. There LEDs are much brighter, and take up just 40W power in total.

2. Roof mounted LED drls - I just wanted to see how they'd look, they're connected with the DRLs in the bumper

3. 3M mats have replaced the Sparco mats in the footwells - these Sparco products (SPG) are on my NOT RECOMMENDED list now - all their products have been problematic.

• The metal pedals are worn out on the edges, my foot keeps slipping off the clutch
• the drivers side rubber mat was worn out, and kept spoiling my leather shoes
• the radio antenna turned to copper shade (was originally black, the paint just vanished within weeks)
• the large size black Sparco cushions on headrests are actually supposed to support the neck. Well they don't work at all.

4. There are slight problems with the FFE - I can sense the sound has become more coarse - probably some leakages at joints. Surprising as this was a complete Stainless Steel setup so it shouldn't have corroded so easily.

5. Around 3k back, I changed to Semi synthetic Total engine oil.

6. The battery has been changed some time back to Exide.

7. The horns have been changed to Hella Chrome Series (sound like the skoda variety, but sharper), not exactly to my liking

8. Headlamps and tail lamps have now got a light tint on them

9. Sticker bombed number plate light cover :P

Here are some transition phase photos.. current setup shown at the end.
























Needed fog lamps after one of the Hellas broke, so put these. Worked surprisingly well. Tiny 35W halogens, but decent reflectors. Look quite bad though.







And now this is how the car presently looks:










--

Service due soon. Will put up the report.
Cheers,
Sam

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

2. Roof mounted LED drls - I just wanted to see how they'd look, they're connected with the DRLs in the bumper

5. Around 3k back, I changed to Semi synthetic Total engine oil.

7. The horns have been changed to Hella Chrome Series (sound like the skoda variety, but sharper), not exactly to my liking

Now, Be prepared to answer me!

1) When were the lights on the roof placed ?

2) Which engine oil are you using now ?

3) How much did it cost for horns ?

4) Why is the wrap on the right side ORVM not done properly ? Did you try doing it yourself ?

Bhai, you know that there are many cars in our group which I always look up to and one of them is yours. Looks good though. But the patent of owning a 4-wheeled light house is till with me.

Thanks.

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by ad3952n

Now, Be prepared to answer me!


Bhai, you know that there are many cars in our group which I always look up to and one of them is yours. Looks good though. But the patent of owning a 4-wheeled light house is till with me.

Thanks.

1) When were the lights on the roof placed ?
I do not remember the date (and nor do I remember the day or time of the day :P), but a couple of months back I guess.

2) Which engine oil are you using now ?
I mentioned that somewhere above, its a semi-synthetic blend from Total. The same --w-- level that Chevy recommends.

3) How much did it cost for horns ?
Some 1200 bucks. Pricey, sure. But loud and exclusive.
Actually it was just an impulse purchase, you know how it is.

4) Why is the wrap on the right side ORVM not done properly ? Did you try doing it yourself ?
Check the transition. You're right, it wasn't done professionally earlier. Then it was done by 3M care care, and they did a nice job.
Only problem is all these wraps do fade out after a bit.

And yes. No doubt yours is the light house of the lot

[samarth.bhatia]

Update: 41,600 kms

The T-Rex gets a small makeover with a glossy black wrap on the roof and bonnet.









The sticker bomb wraps have been removed in favor of a more subtle look. The roof mounted leds have also been removed.

There was a point when the car was not switched on for about 6 days in a row. No problems on the 7th day.

AC blower seems to be suffering from low air speed - the pollen filter might need a change soon. Will need to head out to a service station.

SPARCO metal pedals will be changed too, as they have worn out. Have become pretty slippery off late.

Cheers,
Sam

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

The T-Rex gets a small makeover with a glossy black wrap on the roof and bonnet.

Bhai sahab, You have done it again! Now please answer the following questions with regards to the wrap job!

Q1) When did you go in for a wrap?

Q2) Where did you go for this wrap?

Q3) What is the total monetary damage?

Q4) How is the quality of wrap?

It's been long since we met and spoke. So, shall plan to meet you soon!

Thanks.

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by ad3952n

Bhai sahab, You have done it again! Now please answer the following questions with regards to the wrap job!

..

Glad you liked it AD.

Q1) When did you go in for a wrap?
Earlier this year, last month. It was the sweltering month of July, and I wasn't feeling hot enough.. So I thought it's time to further hamper the AC effectiveness of the car with a BLACK roof :P

Q2) Where did you go for this wrap?
My friendly neighborhood number plate waala (Lajpat Nagar, near Elegant)


Q3) What is the total monetary damage?
Approx 2.5k roof & bonnet.

Q4) How is the quality of wrap?
Nothing to talk of. It's pathetic. But may last a year, I guess.

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Glad you liked it AD.

Q2) Where did you go for this wrap?
My friendly neighborhood number plate waala (Lajpat Nagar, near Elegant)


Q3) What is the total monetary damage?
Approx 2.5k roof & bonnet.

Q4) How is the quality of wrap?
Nothing to talk of. It's pathetic. But may last a year, I guess.

Oh god! That old guy in a small shop right opposite elegant and next to a gate? Yaar, he has the worst people working for him. One of his man slightly scratched the bonnet of the City while covering the hood scoop I used to have earlier. His workmanship is poor and very very untidy. I have taken his services earlier and always repented.

Still, goes well with the car it seems in the pics. I too got the City's front fenders and hood wrapped in gloss Black recently.

Take care!

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Here are some transition phase photos.. current setup shown at the end.

Samarth - How did you get that green plate under the center of the rear bumper ?
Custom fabricated or available at CASS ?
It looks so cool, almost like a body kit added.

PS: Just zoomed in to the maximum. Is that painted green on the black plastic ? If so, how is the paint holding on the rough black plastic surface ?

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Samarth - How did you get that green plate under the center of the rear bumper ?

You noticed correctly. It is painted. It's held up very well as the job was carried out after generous application of plastic primer prior to application of the top coat. The same was done on front bumper as well. And it's not visible in this particular image, but the black portion has also been painted black - it had become a little dull.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

You noticed correctly. It is painted. It's held up very well as the job was carried out after generous application of plastic primer prior to application of the top coat. The same was done on front bumper as well. And it's not visible in this particular image, but the black portion has also been painted black - it had become a little dull.

Yeaah, good job there, man !!
The rear looks absolutely smash
The front black paint looks good too.
Looks like a moustache


Will try it out the rear paint on my Beaty too !!