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-   -   Courtship with the Renault Duster RxZ (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/125576-courtship-renault-duster-rxz-8.html)

Will post the drawing of the skid plate and the fitting details shortly.

1. I read in depth what GTO and other technical experts had to say about switching to synthetic here in the articles on TBHP and the general notion is between 10k to 15k mark. This is the time when the engine settles in the best.

For the first time in my driving experience I am using synthetic.
Does this really adds value to the car, preserves new like engine compression, only time will tell, say after 70k to 80k mark.

In all my previous three cars where I have crossed 100k mark in each, I used general oil and all three cars suffered loss in engine compression after 80k-90k runs.

2. I would still recommend a change every 5k mark if you cannot clean the filter yourself every 3k mark.

3. Yes the door are bening damped and rubber bullets added at specific places to add to the thud, please refer to the previous pages in this topic.

4. I don't think so, you might get a grace of 3 months as is the case here, but I would prefer to do it after a year which actually I did or after the 15k mark.

Now with odo at 5800km, I plan to clean the air filter myself. Can I have some advice please incl how to locate the air filter, removing, cleaning? My Duster is 110 RxZ Diesel. Thanks in advance! Cheers

The 110PS Duster has an air filter service indicator as shown in the pic below.



To remove the filter for cleaning, you would need to take off the plastic cladding on top and then just take a good look at the airbox for clips or screws.

Cleaning would only be required if the indicator shows that it is dirty.

I would suggest not to do it yourself on the first time.
Take it to your service station and insist on being present on the spot while the air filter is removed for cleaning.

I wanted to do it myself as was the case in Tavera, Safari and Bolero but
to my surprise, the detachment is quiet twisted. Even my screwdrivers won't work.

Then I took it to the service station and observed them removing the unit.
It involves removing the entire air filter overhead unit to get to the filter itself but once you see it being done, its easy.

PS: most of the Duster screw heads are like *, hence you need the whole range of T5-T20 screw heads to work on your car. Best is to get a full range tool kit if you intend to work on the Duster in future, I did.

Vid, that indicator is for the commons, who intend to stay on the economic side of life.
Even at 5k mark the indicator stays clean only to find loads of dust after the air filter is removed.
Some clogging means some less intake which means some less performance.


Ok now about the Steel plate designing details.
The plate is 18 gauge in thickness. (The higher the guage, less is the thickness).
I could have gone with 16 gauge but the weight would have gone up by some 2 kgs.

Current weight of the plate: 7.4kgs when fitted.

Designing:
Taking the exact measurements as is from the car is a bit tricky.



Step 1: Took both side adhesive tape(name it X) and pasted on the area to be covered forming a dotted outline.
Eg: cut the both side tape about 1 inch length and paste it at an interval of three inches. It will thus form a dotted line.

Step 2: Take a one side adhesive tape(name it Y) and stick on the X making a continuous line with the adhesive side facing outside.

Step 3: The plastic skid plate has three screws(use T15 heads to open)
on either side. To get the exact location on paper, get some cotton, roll it like a small ball and push it inside the screw heads.
2 Bolts(18mm dia) are bolted to the chassis, put some both side adhesive tape on the bolts head, stick some cotton on that too.
Now with a ear bud dipped in a ink pot, dab the cotton on the screw heads and on the two bolts.

NB: the screws and bolts on either side are not symmetrically placed, hence marking needs to be perfect.

Step 4: Need hard cardboard paper of 4ft by 2ft.
Most shops do not have such lengths, I bought 4 and stuck them to get the desired length and width.

Stick the cardboard of 2ftx4ft on the adhesive tape moving the palm on every part of the board.
Since the adhesive side is outward, the tape will easily stick on the cardboard.
The cotton dabbed in ink will put a mark on the cardboard which will give you the drill locations of the screws and bolts.



Final measurements as on paper here.

Step 5: After having the outline, put the cardboard on the steel plate, mark every measurement correctly and cut it to shape.
This requires a skilled cutter, any bad jerks and the entire plate may go for waste.

Follow the finishing with polishing. This has to be done very well.
Ask the cutter to arrange for the polisher.



The top part of the plate is held by the bolt as shown.
Make this drill on the plate at the end.



There is still some cosmetic finishing left, I would love to cover the edges of the steel plate with some rubber bead, can't find time to do it currently.

Thanks Vid. On return to Blr I will catch up with you, Cheers :)

I always wanted to upgrade my head unit to a Pioneer 2 din but spending 30k was somehow holding me back.

Then came this Delhi trip with my family, my wife and me were at the front seats with my 5 yr old son had the entire back seat comforted with pillows to himself.

Since this was a long trip with 18-20 hrs in the car we allowed him to access his tab but results were not good.
He used to lie down on the back seat and play, result in a nausea feeling after some good 5-6 hrs.
Travelling at speeds over 100kms/hr, any type of continuous reading gives such a feel, at-least I do feel it pretty fast.

I did not put my head into it much and just asked him to stay upright.
But my wifey did. :)
Coming back from Delhi, she asked me how would it be possible for us to go to Sikkim on bad roads for a similar stretch of time, 18 hrs.
Can't we take the Honda Brio to Sikkim? (the Brio has a Pioneer AVH-X4490BT fitted)

I laughed and said the Brio would hang like a seesaw on some raods, why don't we upgrade the head unit of the Duster!,
son will then sit upright and watch his favourite movie without feeling nausea.
Wifey did not comment much but I took it as a consent

But with a condition, the finishing has to be clean.
The outer case of the OEM player is oval where as the Pioneer is rectangular.



That means the case/bezel has to be perfect, made for Renault Duster.
Only when I got that, I went ahead and purchased the Pioneer 2 din.

The stock steering control had to work,
hence a Pioneer-Renault steering remote interface was required too, got that for 4.5k

The OEM mic is made redundant too, Pioneer comes with a very sensitive mic, audio clarity of the BT is superb.

Sir please: tell me where you got the bezel and is it not possible to fit without it in rxe and how much of a dent it is in our pockets ,i am worried as i have already purchased pioneer avh2590bt and the bezel not present in packing:Shockked:

Ashwin, the bezel does not come with the pioneer, neither does it come with any of the systems.
You have to purchase it seperately, ask for it in the car accessories shop where you got the system from.
Should not cost you more than 1.5k
It will fit all duster models, if you intend to not fit the bezel, there will be odd looking gaps between the system and the dash.

@himadrimondal - Where did you get the case/Bezel from? and whats the cost of the headunit? Does it have a inbuilt naviagtion system?

Jsing, got the bezel from a shop in kolkata. The head unit costs 24k. Yes it has navigation, only when you connect it to your iphone. The entire phone is then reflected on the screen through Appradio application.
You can then browse, navigate or do all phone activity on the car head unit screen.

Love the way the HU looks and feels. Now the all important question. How is the interface? Any screenshot to show how user friendly it is to make and receive calls from the HU directly? If possible also how the contacts are listed and displayed if it not too much to ask?
Another issue I have faced is that Lumia is creating havoc on the OE HU. The display goes of when a call is placed but comes back on when the receiver attends the call. Once that happens, I cannot use the HU to browse through contacts or make calls. I never faced this problem with my previous symbian based nokia, so I am guessing it must have something to do with the windows OS. Is the pioneer HU windows compatible? Sorry for being too inquisitive, but you are the expert here:thumbs up

Where did you find this?
>>hence a Pioneer-Renault steering remote interface was required too, got that for 4.5k

I have the same head unit in my duster.

Thanks.

Hi Ashwin,

Wanted to checkif you have installed this system in your vehicle? had few doubts on the system, is the USB drive working fine, IE are songs playing in sequential order after you turn of the vehicle or start the vehicle in the signal? or does the USB start from the first every time you crank your engine in signals etc.

Yes system is fine except few glitches like sometimes after the phone connecting through blutooth it dosent show up calls recently dialled calls and in blutooth audio mode I cannot browse media on my phone through headunit my phone is note2, other than that I dont think I am having any problems

Having twice experienced fuse blow-up with my MapmyIndia GPS device - Road Pilot Lucca 3.5B Blaupunkt and having invested in 2 years map update, what is the best way of ensuring that the car charger for my GPS does not blow up the fuse? MMI is terrible in terms of supplying even the maps and so there is no point in asking for any support on the hardware. Do fellow TBHPians know what Brands of car charger are reliable particularly which work for a GPS in Duster? Or is it purely trial and error? I tried to get the specifications on power for this GPS but none available even on net :( I\'d appreciate any ideas. Cheers