[ebonho]

Just wanted to confirm with the Storme and Safari guys.

Now completed 1700 kms. Can I start taking her beyond 110-120, and if yes, by how much, till when, etc.?

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Update: The toe in and toe out stop nut was wrongly adjusted one thread which revented the steering from doing a full 1.5 revolutions to the left.

Because of the wheel and suspension component hitting the short stop, that nut also got damaged and was replaced

Same issue with steering doing only 1 round towards left instead of 1.5 on right. Given it to a different dealer this time with loose handbrake, gear lever noise, and foul smell ac problems also mentioned. hope they get it right this time.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by stormerider

Same issue with steering doing only 1 round towards left instead of 1.5 on right. Given it to a different dealer this time with loose handbrake, gear lever noise, and foul smell ac problems also mentioned. hope they get it right this time.

Update on my post 1st service woes:

1) Steering centered and moving 1.5 turns exact on each side.

2) Driver window glass moving smoothly without noise and slotting in at the top smoothly without a jerk step.

3) Driver door irritating choo choo sound seems to have gone for now.

4) Driver door handle tightened.

5) Headlights are much better focused with a clear single line cutoff on top and no black spots in the beam of concentrated light falling on the road in low beam.

6) Hand brake adjusted to company spec notch (8?) and holds the truck, though you still need to pull the lever harder than say you do to the lever of a Baleno or Zen.

7) A/c seems to be cooling better. Have not got outside smells in the cabin yet. Fingers crossed on this one.

8) Truck did 210 kms in 1000 bucks this time - mileage seems to have improved to 11.5 kmpl (from 10). As mentioned earlier, its pick up has distinctly improved. Yet to take her for a run on the highway to check the higher speeds though.

9) The middle seat row alignment issues also seems to have been solved (at least much better than before). Have yet to check if the fold and tumble lock mechanism has been adjusted and improved as well to hold the seat close to the front seat instead of falling away before locking.

Overall a satisfied Storme customer and grateful for the help and attention by the folks at Tata Motors, Concorde, and National, in resolving satisfactorily what were mainly niggles and nothing major.

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by ebonho

3) Driver door irritating choo choo sound seems to have gone for now.

I had that sound also, if its gone good for you. As I Discovered it was not coming from door, mine was from the seat belt height adjuster. though I am tall, I keep it on the lowest level to escape that choo choo!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by stormerider

I had that sound also, if its gone good for you. As I Discovered it was not coming from door, mine was from the seat belt height adjuster. though I am tall, I keep it on the lowest level to escape that choo choo!

You know something - you're absolutely on the money man!

The driver from National who came to pick up the truck was a shortie, and had adjusted the seatbelt accordingly.

Just went out for lunch and checked!

Amazing how forums like this make you learn the weirdest things by happenstance.

[stormerider]

That's the basis of forums, they help solve such pathetic issues!
and above all as I see it, our vehicles are getting same set of problems (something like twins Salman played in Judwaa ), we should keep checking for solutions with each other rather than leaving my UFO and your beast at the TASS.
Glad I could help.
Cheers

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by stormerider

That's the basis of forums, they help solve such pathetic issues!
and above all as I see it, our vehicles are getting same set of problems (something like twins Salman played in Judwaa ), we should keep checking for solutions with each other rather than leaving my UFO and your beast at the TASS.
Glad I could help.
Cheers

Yeah its weird how our niggle lists are so similar. I have not seen the same combo on the other Storme threads (here or on other forums).

From your avatar, is yours also a Black Storme? EX?

Can you try and find out the date of manufacture - mine is around the 17 to 19th of February.

Twinning may take longer and spread over days versus hours for trucks versus humans!

[Rahulk76]

Excellent Doc. Now all your issues are resolved. Now you got to do some serious drivings to exotic locations in your safari storme and post a equally nice travelogue.

Cheers

Originally Posted by ebonho

Update on my post 1st service woes:

1) Steering centered and moving 1.5 turns exact on each side.

[stormerider]

Yes it is black, in lx trim. The roof ac was hitting my head so had no other option than to go for the base. Though I miss the fogs, and would probably need the rear wash n wipe on a rainy day or when I plan the laddakh trip.
The manufacturing is of january'2013, somewhere near 24, if I remember correctly. It is the only black lx they manufactured that month.

Got my UFO back from service station gear noise, ac and hand brake issues resolved. Steering nut wasn't available in Jaipur, hence will be done on Saturday.

[Harshal.Bhosale]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Last point I wanted to ask the guys here. Is the 60 seconds thing at start and before stop supposed to be done every time you start and stop? I mean I do it on my morning commute to office. I do it on my evening commute back as well. But while in office, if I have to go to another building, or go out for a quick bite at lunch, or go in to hand over my keys at security before heading home, is this still needed. I am asking because I am doing this every time, and its really a pain when the idling time in toto (1 minute before start and 1 minute before stop) is more than the actual drive time involved!

The turbocharger is one of the most important components of a diesel engine - as such, it should be well cared for. I guess you might have already read this. This thread is particularly insightful if one is new to diesel turbo-ed cars.

Basically all oil-cooled turbochargers are cooled/lubricated via engine power. So cutting off the engine just after a hard drive doesn't give enough time for the turbo to cool (or get lubricated in case of starting). As GTO says in the above thread, NEVER rev the engine just before switching off - there isn't a faster way to get a huge bill on turbo replacement sooner in the future!

In short, it is a good practice to keep the car idling while you adjust your seatbelt, set the A/C, music system etc. You could easily spend 10-15 seconds on this in most situations, and then coming out of the parking lot at idle speeds could take another 20 secs. That's usually enough to get your turbocharger alive and kicking. Same while shutting down - drive close to idle speeds (less than 1500rpm) in the last kilometer or so, so that by the time you've pulled into your parking lot, the turbo will have cooled down enough. Then its ok to wait just for 5-15 seconds, depending on how slowly you drove that last km.

As for your query about how to recognize the turbo spooling up, as someone mentioned earlier, pay attention to the rpm while accelerating in any gear - at around the 1500-1800 mark, you'll feel a surge of acceleration - that's the turbocharger beginning to do its thing. So the key thing while starting and stopping is to allow this turbo to warm up and cool down respectively, which is only possible if its kept in 'off' mode (ie rpm below the threshold). This is one of the quirks of diesel engines that must always be followed, unlike petrol engines in which we can zoom off right after cranking. Our family also being a recent petrol-to-diesel convert, I got my dad to follow this procedure religiously only after I told him how much a turbocharger costs!

PS: sorry to bother you with the long post if you already knew this

[ebonho]

Harshal that was most helpful. Thanks man! I will definitely read that thread through.

[throttleking]

Took a quick TD of ebonho's beasty boy, and I must say I pretty impressed with Storme. Upgrades over Safari are very much noticeable and very good in terms of quality and usefulness. Well there are many but here are few bulleted things :

1. Huge improvement in fit and finish, plastic quality, quality of dials, knobs and levers, and overall interiors and exteriors
2. Though Safari is known for acres of space inside, it always lacked storage space, imagine not even a single bottle holder and door pockets are just for name sake. Thanks to Tata for taking care of this in Storme
3. Storme without a spare wheel on tail gate will take time but eventually it grows on you. It looks best in black, and grey touch on the tail gate looks awesome.
4. It also does extremely well in headlights department compared to Safari, thanks to the new projector headlamps
5. It felt very peppy and smooth revving, and breaking is apparently far more precise and controlled. Also thanks to great improvements in inside cabin noise department. Ride is slightly stiffer

But overall, it is worth the premium. I am impressed...

[ebonho]

Beastie may be the slick new kid on the block, but your Buffalo is still THE Safari man! Looks huge! And there is a special pleasure in doing 3-point U turns and climbing the curbs in the process. You feel like you are driving a proper TRUCK, versus the urbanized version the Storme is.

Wonder if over the years, the "old" Safari guys will accept the Storme into the Safari fold as a Safari or will we have the Bullet versus Thunderbird thing.

[throttleking]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Wonder if over the years, the "old" Safari guys will accept the Storme into the Safari fold as a Safari or will we have the Bullet versus Thunderbird thing.

Doc, these upgrades are necessary, and I have a strong feeling that Safari owners will easily accept Storme as next gen Safari. Though it is polished and urbanized, it continues to have that grunt and character.

[pjbiju]

Thanks ebonho for your ownership thread on the Storme. My friends and I were thoroughly impressed with the Storme after a test ride. It simply glided over broken tarmac at 60-70 kmph and we did not feel a thing. And later we took the Duster over the same road. Though the Duster is supposed to have a very good ride (and it does), it simply pales when compared to the Storme over the same road conditions. Even the clutch of the Storme was much softer than that of the Duster. And of course the braking too was superb.

Please keep updating your thread every once in a while with your driving experiences and A.S.S experience.