[nurni76]

Did another long drive to Agra and Mathura. This time I decided to take the yamuna expressway. Left Gurgaon at 745AM and managed to reach Agra at 11Am with a 20 min stop in between. The drive in one word is just "Awesome". I drove at a steady speed of 110Kmph and the mileage for trip was superb 20.2Kmpl. I am impressed with the stability of the vehicle, steering response and performance of the engine. This engine is a real beauty.

The road is so good, that 100kmph speed limit is a real disappointment. I think the speed limit should be increased to 120kmph. To test the engine, I took the car upto 170Kmph for a few seconds. The vehicle pulls neatly without a fuss upto 160Kmph. Post that it struggles to accelerate. Post 165Kmph, there is a lot vibration and noise. I do not advise these speeds and just did it to test the vehicle.

What is a surprise is that on the entire stretch from greater Noida to Agra, there is no Petrol Pump. If one is planning a drive, one needs to ensure tank is full. Also no good eateries on the way, better to carry food along with you. Overall experience is awesome. I am impressed with such high quality roads.

[nurni76]

Update 4000 Kms of my "LUV" story:

It has been almost 2.5 months since my Luv story began. The experience has been a pleasant one like most Indian love story movies. The story though has its share of positives and a few negatives:

Good Points:

• Great engine that loves to be driven on and on. After 4000kms the engine has opened up nicely. The surge after 2000 RPM is now more pronounced. I love the torque rush in 5th gear that takes the car effortlessly from 80-120kmph
• Amazing FE. The average so far is around 17 Kmpl. Long runs have given me mileage in the range of 19-20 kmpl. I have never experienced such a mileage even with my Wagon R

• Good quality of interiors though maintaining them is becoming a nightmare. Monsoons created a big pain with the floor becoming extremely dirty.

Niggles:

• Squeaky seats. Need to attend these in 2nd service. I tried raising the seat height, yet the noise persists
  
• Minor rattle from over head Air cooler unit. This can be heard on rough roads without music on. Has any one else faced this issue?

• Slight movement of the vehicle to the left, (very minor). I feel this as more of a steering wheel alignment. Need to get this sorted in 2nd service.

Not so good:

• The wiper has only 3 speeds unlike my SX4 which has 5.
• Lack of ACC. I really miss this, though cooling is fairly good.

[Dr.PK]

@nurni76: I completely agree with you. The drive is really good. Feels like a car to drive. The stability and driveability of the vehicle, steering response and performance of the enine is excellent. I have a white ertiga ZDI (without alloys) in my garage, procured in August 2012. Whatever has been written by Moderator Mr.Vidyut Yagnik (@vid6639) in his official review of the ertiga is true to the word, many thanks to him! I shall post my own humble views about the car soon.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by Dr.PK

@nurni76: I completely agree with you. The drive is really good. Feels like a car to drive. The stability and driveability of the vehicle, steering response and performance of the enine is excellent. I have a white ertiga ZDI (without alloys) in my garage, procured in August 2012. Whatever has been written by Moderator Mr.Vidyut Yagnik (@vid6639) in his official review of the ertiga is true to the word, many thanks to him! I shall post my own humble views about the car soon.

Thanks Dr. Great to know you have a Zdi too. Please do post a review of your car. Despite so many Ertiga owners, there are only 2 ownership reviews here.

Also what are the accessories you have added to your car? Please do post pictures if possible

[ultimatechamp]

@ Nurni
1) Is there any problem with Ertiga rear seat cooling/AC , as possibly there is no separate compressor for rear AC in Ertiga ? ( correct me if I am wrong)
2) There is a thread where there was a lot of issue leading finally to almost an entire engine overhaul in a diesel Ertiga, which started innocuously with oil leak. Have you noticed anything like that mate ?
3) All the reviews talk of "massive" turbo lag !! How massive it is in real world ? Is city driving that much troublesome ? Does it in that sense compensate for awesome highway driving experience ?
4) Any issues with your tyre upgrade till date ? ( AFAIK you upgraded to 205, isnt it ?)
5) What happened to your 'minor rattles' and 'squeaky seats' and other niggles ? Resolved or troubling you ?

[gkrishn]

1) Is there any problem with Ertiga rear seat cooling/AC , as possibly there is no separate compressor for rear AC in Ertiga ? ( correct me if I am wrong)

It has some kind of cooling coil for the rear ac. overall the ac is little weak. I some time set the front blower to 3 points.

2) There is a thread where there was a lot of issue leading finally to almost an entire engine overhaul in a diesel Ertiga, which started innocuously with oil leak. Have you noticed anything like that mate ?

I have not faced any oil leak. completed 4k kms so far.

3) All the reviews talk of "massive" turbo lag !! How massive it is in real world ? Is city driving that much troublesome ? Does it in that sense compensate for awesome highway driving experience ?

I maintain 1300 to 2200 rpm in city. and it is just fine. just dont allow the rpm to drop below 1200. and then it takes ages to gain momentum.
the trick is to quickly downshift to mitigate the lag. even with 7 people, egine does just fine.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

@ Nurni
1) Is there any problem with Ertiga rear seat cooling/AC , as possibly there is no separate compressor for rear AC in Ertiga ? ( correct me if I am wrong)
2) There is a thread where there was a lot of issue leading finally to almost an entire engine overhaul in a diesel Ertiga, which started innocuously with oil leak. Have you noticed anything like that mate ?
3) All the reviews talk of "massive" turbo lag !! How massive it is in real world ? Is city driving that much troublesome ? Does it in that sense compensate for awesome highway driving experience ?
4) Any issues with your tyre upgrade till date ? ( AFAIK you upgraded to 205, isnt it ?)
5) What happened to your 'minor rattles' and 'squeaky seats' and other niggles ? Resolved or troubling you ?

Hi sorry for the late response as I was travelling and couldn't find time. Here are my responses

1. I have not faced any rear seat cooling issues. The AC is just about perfect for 2nd and 3rd row Passengers. There is no separate AC compressor for the rear, but the cooling unit has a separate condenser coil for the rear cooling.

2. No oil leakage issues thus far.

3. There is a turbo lag, but of late I have noticed this has reduced, maybe because the engine has opened up (I have completed 5100 KMs) and do not find this an issue in the city. On highway the performance is simply superb. Also I have noticed that the turbo surge in 3rd, 4th and 5th Gears start from 2k RPM, while in 2nd it actually begins after 2500 rpm. Has any one else noticed this?

4. No issues with my upgrade. I had upgraded to Michelin Primacy LC 195/60/R15 and they are performing very well.

5. Minor rattles solved during 2nd service.




Read more on the same below:

The vehicle has completed 5100 KMs and I got the 2nd service done last week. I had a few issues that were reported:

Noise from rear. I suspected it to be from the rear boot door.

Squeaky seats.

Vehicle pulling to the left slightly

Other than these I had no issues. The 2nd service was done and along with it the wheel balancing and Wheel alignment were also done. I took delivery late in the evening and could not find time to do a road test the same day.

The next day I did a thorough road test and found that the vehicle pulling to one side was still there except that this time it was to the right. Also the noise from rear wasn't over yet. I continued to drive for 3-4 days since my work kept me busy without time to rectify the issues. Yesterday, I received a call from the service center asking me about the vehicle performance since the 2nd service. I told them I wasn't satisfied with the work. The customer service representative promised me to resolve all issues and asked me to bring the vehicle.

So today I gain went to the service center. I got the wheel alignment done again in front of me, post which a road test was undertaken. The alignment issue was resolved. I checked specifically on the issue of negative camber on the rear wheels, but the service engineer insisted that the negative camber setting is from factory and it cannot be adjusted. I found the negative camber to be almost the same in the rear 2 wheels. Also the technician said that this was within the tolerance levels. May be experts can comment more on this.

The rattling from rear had not been solved. I insisted that the noise was from the boot door, but the technician kept telling me it is from the rear seat due to play. we then folded the last row and did the road test, but found the noise persisted. Finally, they agreed that the noise was from the rear boot. There was a gap between the plastic trim and boot door which created the noise. The solution was a simple and effective one. I got them to fill in foam between the trim and door and voila the noise was eliminated completely. See the pictures on the same





There is still some noise due to the squeaky seats and excess play in the last row. I guess I need to live with them though they are really minor.

No engine oil change. That will be done after 10K kms. Overall I was not very happy with the service levels of the dealer.

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

@ Nurni
1) Is there any problem with Ertiga rear seat cooling/AC , as possibly there is no separate compressor for rear AC in Ertiga ? ( correct me if I am wrong)
2) There is a thread where there was a lot of issue leading finally to almost an entire engine overhaul in a diesel Ertiga, which started innocuously with oil leak. Have you noticed anything like that mate ?
3) All the reviews talk of "massive" turbo lag !! How massive it is in real world ? Is city driving that much troublesome ? Does it in that sense compensate for awesome highway driving experience ?
4) Any issues with your tyre upgrade till date ? ( AFAIK you upgraded to 205, isnt it ?)
5) What happened to your 'minor rattles' and 'squeaky seats' and other niggles ? Resolved or troubling you ?

Hi
I know Nurni has answered these but I still thought I would add another user perspective
1. There is no problem with the rear AC...none at all. It cools effectively. There is a sondensor and cooling unit. In fact even if the front blower is totally switched off the rear one throws cold air.
2. Touchwood...no oil leak and I would not expect any such thing ... I am nearing 5000 kms now. Second service due.
3. I got a dieseltronic ... so I really don't feel any turbo lag. None at all. Maybe there was something earlier or maybe with 5 or more people one may feel but dieseltronic has been very useful.
4. No issues with tyre upgrade...I upgraded to 205 - Yoko...great tyres. In fact while allowing a fast moving vehicle to overtake me from right I found a small rock (just larger than a palm size) straight in my path. Both front and rear tyres went over but thankfully survived.
5. One minor rattle does come from either the front seat or seat belt...nothing much to complain about...will get it fixed in next service which is coming up in a few days.

On a related piece...due to the absence of dampers in the door the sound system used to increase vibrations as the speakers are in the door...I have overcome that with noise kill. Its a world of difference now. I should be posting a review pretty soon.
Cheers

[ultimatechamp]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Hi
I know Nurni has answered these but I still thought I would add another user perspective

Thanks so much for your valuable inputs Rajain.

Originally Posted by Rajain

1. There is no problem with the rear AC...none at all. It cools effectively. There is a condensor and cooling unit. In fact even if the front blower is totally switched off the rear one throws cold air.

I doubt if there is a separate condenser at the rear, as because with 1.3 L on tap, having a separate condenser would have been too much. There is a separate cooling coil though.

Originally Posted by Rajain

3. I got a dieseltronic ... so I really don't feel any turbo lag. None at all. Maybe there was something earlier or maybe with 5 or more people one may feel but dieseltronic has been very useful.

Did you retrofit it yourself ? From Race dynamics and at what cost ?
FE and any issues with pollution ? Did you manage to Dyno it ? How is the drive in city/highway , after you fitted it ?

Originally Posted by Rajain

4. No issues with tyre upgrade...I upgraded to 205 - Yoko...great tyres.

Which Yokos ? V550 is it ? Any fouling noticed on full turn, and with full load ? Can you give the specs of the tyres you fitted ?

Originally Posted by Rajain

On a related piece...due to the absence of dampers in the door the sound system used to increase vibrations as the speakers are in the door...I have overcome that with noise kill. Its a world of difference now. I should be posting a review pretty soon.
Cheers

How many square fit of Noise Kill did you require ? Did you damp all 4 doors and rear hatch as well ? Stock ICE as of now is it, or did you change the speakers as well ?

Arre bhai pikchaars kidhar hai....as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words....hope to see pictures of your Ertiga and a full scale thorough review from you soon. Thanks a lot again

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

Thanks so much for your valuable inputs Rajain.



I doubt if there is a separate condenser at the rear, as because with 1.3 L on tap, having a separate condenser would have been too much. There is a separate cooling coil though.

On the AC part I am quoting from our official reviewer in page 1. He confirms that there is a separate condenser and cooling unit. I doubt if this would be written in the manual...overall I’ll say the cooling is impressive for the large floor space and the glasshouse it is. I have parked the car in sun all day and then used the AC in a previous test. Refer http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...review-13.html

Did you retrofit it yourself ? From Race dynamics and at what cost ?
FE and any issues with pollution ? Did you manage to Dyno it ? How is the drive in city/highway , after you fitted it ?

I got the Dieseltronic from Car Fancy in Koramangla. Another good friend Ranjith (owns Ranjith Auto Care) also confirms the product is good. No I did not fit it myself. The guys at Car Fancy did it. Though it’s a rather easy process – takes no more than 20 minutes. The FE has gone up. Used to be around 16.5 in the city. It is now 17.25 in city and 18.6 on highway. No extra visible smoke – won’t expect it.

Which Yokos ? V550 is it ? Any fouling noticed on full turn, and with full load ? Can you give the specs of the tyres you fitted ?

I took Yokohama 205/60 R- 15. A drive. No fouling at all. While parked we turned both sides to confirm it and had 5 people sit in it. In fact the grip and the ride is better. I will say DuraPlus was also a good tyre but that was 185/65 R-15...so a significant difference upgrading the tyre. I have used Yokohama before and have liked the tyre. Slightly harder than Michellin, which was my other choice. In a sense good for both good highways and potholed roads.


How many square fit of Noise Kill did you require ? Did you damp all 4 doors and rear hatch as well ? Stock ICE as of now is it, or did you change the speakers as well ?

Noise kill has been used in all 4 doors where there are speakers. I think there is a square packing of perhaps 20” by 20” (or thereabouts) that comes. 4 of those were used. The rear door was not needed to be done since there is no speaker in it. I would have preferred to get a subwoofer placed like it is in Mitshubishi Outlander but after upgrading the present speakers to JBL set up I decided against it. Yes the OEM speakers were replaced. Nippon (OEM lightweight) were moved out and the entire thing is now a JBL set up. The HU is the same OEM one but the following has been added – 2 comps, 2 co-ax, 4 channel amp and 2 tweeters – all JBL. Wiring is Scosche and noise kill is also there. Yes it is a world of difference.

Arre bhai pikchaars kidhar hai....as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words....hope to see pictures of your Ertiga and a full scale thorough review from you soon. Thanks a lot again

Yes the full review is coming in. Absolutely.

[Rajain]

Hi
Since the question came up on Dieseltronic here are the specs from the Race Dynamics website about the product. The choices can be made from the remote that is given with the product.

•P2 – Higher Power - Increase power and torque
off-peak up to 40% , peak up to 30%

•P1 - Power and increased mileage - Increase mileage up to 25%
Increase power and torque up to 15%
Shift gears early

•E – Economy map - Increase mileage up to 40%
Enhanced engine smoothness
Reduced turbo spike, more linear power delivery

•S – Stock map, - Works just like original

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by Rajain

One minor rattle does come from either the front seat or seat belt...nothing much to complain about...will get it fixed in next service which is coming up in a few days.

I too face the seat squeaking problem. I have not been able to find a solution to it. However raising the seat height does seem to mitigate it, but I prefer to drive with the seat in the lowest position.

Originally Posted by Rajain

On a related piece...due to the absence of dampers in the door the sound system used to increase vibrations as the speakers are in the door...I have overcome that with noise kill. Its a world of difference now. I should be posting a review pretty soon.
Cheers

I agree with the point on the speaker vibration. At volume set up above 15, I too faced vibrations from the speaker. Could you post more details of the Noise kill and how you managed the same?

Originally Posted by Rajain

Hi
Since the question came up on Dieseltronic here are the specs from the Race Dynamics website about the product. The choices can be made from the remote that is given with the product.

This is interesting. I have been looking to get my engine Peted, but I guess a tuning box is better from a warranty perspective. How is the feedback post the RD fitment? Do you genuinely see a difference. I am keen on getting this fitted and your feedback will be greatly appreciated including stock and RD figures if possible of 0-100 Kmph and in gear timings.

However, I am planning this after the 3rd free service is done. At what mileage did you get the RD tuning box fitted?

Please do post a full fledged review of your Ertiga? By the way what variant and what colour do you have?

[Rajain]

Hi Nurni

On the noise kill - there are multiple options in the market. Most high end audio car accessories shops have them and several products are available. On this website there is a dedicated thread available http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/produc...er-thread.html. I got the noise kill work done at Car Fancy, Koramangla, Bangalore. They had a good product, I felt comfortable and got it installed. There is no vibration from the doors when the music plays, plus it most likely would have added to the depth of the music notes (my conjecture) and the doors now close with a thud.

Before buying the UV I had read about and done some research on Pete. I was keen to see and feel the product. While getting the noise kill work done at Car Fancy, Race Dynamics Dieseltronic was shown to me and I felt it was a good product. I asked if I could test drive it before installing. They installed in 20 minutes. It does nto cut any wire and in fact has a 'male-female' coupling and so it can be uninstalled in 20 minutes leaving no trace. I drove around, felt the difference, was convinced and bought it. Before the tuning box I was getting just under 16 kmpl in the city now I get 16.7. The highway side the difference is over 1.5 kmpl. Do bear in mind that the warranty may get void since the owners manual mentions no performance enhancments should be carried out.
I will carry out a test in all 4 settings and let you know the outcome.
Cheers

[Prodigyy]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Before the tuning box I was getting just under 16 kmpl in the city now I get 16.7. The highway side the difference is over 1.5 kmpl. Do bear in mind that the warranty may get void since the owners manual mentions no performance enhancments should be carried out.
I will carry out a test in all 4 settings and let you know the outcome.
Cheers

The tuning box sure is a VFM product and does make the driveability of the VGT MJD's a lot better, the P1 mode will not set the world on fire or something, but there is a very subtle difference where the car is very willing to surge ahead and the turbo band is reached with rather ease when compared to the stock MJD engine. P2 mode is what would definitely give you an adrenaline rush, but the competency of brakes does get tested big time in this mode, this mode i would personally be scared to drive around in the city.

I got the same installed in my Sx4, and considering that Sx4 & Ertiga have the same VGT engine thus i believe the results would be very similar for the two too.

As far as the warranty is concerned, as you said its a simple male-female coupling and is rather easy to remove, just make sure that the box is removed whenever the vehicle goes in for a service or for unscheduled repairs, it leaves no trace whatsoever, though maybe the ECU would be able to tell that there was more fuel going in, still Maruti would have no way to prove that you were using the box. In most of the engines it doesn't take too much effort to install or remove the RD box, in Sx4 though the input point is beneath the Engine cover, so that has to be removed, i am guessing the same would be the case with Ertiga as well. Still removing and re-installing the RD box should not take more than 10-15 minutes in all.

[gautamkhadse]

Hi Rajain ,

Am taking delivery of my Ertiga on the 8th of december thats saturday this week. It has stock good year dura plus . I want to change it to something better . And I was thinking of 205 as an option but do they fit on steel rims cuz opted for a ZDI without alloys .