[00nuts001]

Originally Posted by Baddychat

The accessories at these showrooms are expensive.
When I bought my car I had inquired about the Caska HU which they sell. They had quoted me 45 k at which I decided to stick with the original HU, fit reverse cameras buy the Map my India app on my phone and save up that money.
On the other hand the same Caska HU's are considerably cheaper if you can get them from US or the likes. They are cheaper if you can get them from the Caska distributor directly.

I have installed a MOTEVO HU on my City. Still doing the job well. Cost me ~34k. got it through RELIANCE AUTO MART. check out my thread for the same.
I am still confused about the varying sounds fro the horn: Some Noise Pollutio standards which is beyond my comprehension. I just could not find a pattern to the changes. Can someone help and expalin in detail?

Thanks.

[Baddychat]

Originally Posted by 00nuts001

I have installed a MOTEVO HU on my City. Still doing the job well. Cost me ~34k. got it through RELIANCE AUTO MART. check out my thread for the same.
I am still confused about the varying sounds fro the horn: Some Noise Pollutio standards which is beyond my comprehension. I just could not find a pattern to the changes. Can someone help and expalin in detail?

Thanks.

I have already read your ownership thread sometime back.
On your confusion wrt the varying sounds from the horn, I believe your Low Tone horn has gone kaput or needs adjustment. Which hand do your normally use on your horn ? If it is the left then the Low tone else the High tone has some issues. Mine has gone for a toss twice already in these 18 months of ownership.
What I figured out was that the OEM horns on the ANHC are of the single-press type and are not meant for Indian driving conditions. Hence the fragile nature of these. Need adjustments/replacements at regular intervals.

[sforsarang]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

congratulations on the car.Looks ready to be unleashed!
can you please share a pic of the art leather seat covers.And what other options of seat covers the dealer had?
I am due to fit seat covers on my new city and your inputs would definitely help.

Hi Pyrodrive, here are the pics for the seat cover and reverse cam installation. I am really not sure if they are worth 12k but on primafacie the feel is better. Also, I notice that after installing seat covers, there is some noise from the rear seats when the car goes over hump or pothole (and only when rear seat is occupied by passengers). I supervised whole installation end to end. Can it be a case of some loose fitting or loose mount?

[pyrodrive]

Thanks for the pics, Sforsarang !
The seat covers look great.Experts please comment if the price of 12k is ok.I have yet to ask my dealer about the price, but i do want to go for these covers as well.
As for the sound, probably something is loose after the installation.Get it fixed by the dealer soon.

[Baddychat]

Originally Posted by sforsarang

Hi Pyrodrive, here are the pics for the seat cover and reverse cam installation. I am really not sure if they are worth 12k but on primafacie the feel is better. Also, I notice that after installing seat covers, there is some noise from the rear seats when the car goes over hump or pothole (and only when rear seat is occupied by passengers). I supervised whole installation end to end. Can it be a case of some loose fitting or loose mount?

I dont think you have paid too much extra for the seat covers. I had these installed for about 10k which is sometime back.
With respect to noise from the rear set, check if the rear bench is loose. It could be that one of the clips which holds the rear bench in place has come off. This could happen after after a seat cover installation.

[sawnilrules]

Heartiest Congratulations for the Samurai, I exactly know how you must be feeling, as even I have the same feeling.... Welcome to the Honda Club. I have been using the City for exactly a year now, and have clocked 11000 kms on it, and trust me as days are passing, I am getting more and more addictive to car. The drive is such addictive. Peddle Shifters have grown on me, and I drive the car only is Peddle shift Modes. Congrats on the car once again.

Meanwhile, what was the cost of Caska Quoted to you in Hyderabad, In Mumbai, at Solataire Honda, they quote me mind blowing 60K, I mean 60K??? Are they kidding me. for that kind of amount, I think, we can rip apart the OEM ICE and install very high end set up, complete with Touch Scree HU, woofer, amplifier, component speakers and wiring isn't it.

[rajeshblue]

I am quite delighted to go through your well captured experience of buying this vehicle. In fact, I have booked my City MT AVN with Capital Honda in Chennai a month back and have been informed by Honda Customer Care that my colour (Bold Beige) in not under production even in May, which makes it over 75 days wait even if they deliver in mid June. In fact, the dealer asked us if we would like to go for Silver and take early delivery but we said no.

As for HU, this variant comes with factory fitted Caska system and I personally prefer to have an integrated solution rather than getting something from the after market. I understand they now instal Caska HU at the dealership and if I chose another variant and have Caska HU fitted at dealer, maybe I would have the car earlier and save some money as well. But with a heart over head decision, I have decided to wait till June!

One input for friends looking to instal Caska HU is on iPhone compatibility. I asked Caska India through their Facebook page whether their system is compatible with iPhone because they only talk of iPod compatibility. Their reply was to the effect that their system is compatible with iPhone 4 but not with iPhone 5. They even claimed that even their competition products have this limitation.

[vikramv1]

Congratulations on your Urban Titatnium Honda city. I have the exact same colour which I bought in November 2011. The car is a beauty and you can't love the free revving nature of the engine enough. Welcome to the honda city club . Here's to wishing you may many years of comfortable driving . Keep posting pictures periodically. I am very surprised that you are getting. 13 imply consistently. Are you predominantly driving in highway conditions with low a/c. I get 10 to 11 on most times. I have managed to hit 16 imply average once on the Mumbai Pune expressway to Pune. Otherwise, would be very interested to know the type of road conditions that gets you 13/14 kmpl.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by rajeshblue

I am quite delighted to go through your well captured experience of buying this vehicle. In fact, I have booked my City MT AVN with Capital Honda in Chennai a month back and have been informed by Honda Customer Care that my colour (Bold Beige) in not under production even in May, which makes it over 75 days wait even if they deliver in mid June. In fact, the dealer asked us if we would like to go for Silver and take early delivery but we said no.

As for HU, this variant comes with factory fitted Caska system and I personally prefer to have an integrated solution rather than getting something from the after market. I understand they now instal Caska HU at the dealership and if I chose another variant and have Caska HU fitted at dealer, maybe I would have the car earlier and save some money as well. But with a heart over head decision, I have decided to wait till June!

One input for friends looking to instal Caska HU is on iPhone compatibility. I asked Caska India through their Facebook page whether their system is compatible with iPhone because they only talk of iPod compatibility. Their reply was to the effect that their system is compatible with iPhone 4 but not with iPhone 5. They even claimed that even their competition products have this limitation.

@Rajesh: Hi, congrats on booking the the New Honda City Mate. Just a slight correction, Honda City AVN Version comes with the Alpine Touch Screen System and not Caska. Caska is a chinese brand, which Honda has authorized for after market installation in their cars. When you hear the Caska Model side by side of the AVN Model, you can see a stark difference in the quality of sound. In-fact, I have written mail to the honda officials in delhi to check with them, if they can courier me the Alpine AVN System separately and if I can get if fitted locally by the Honda Dealer in Mumbai.

[sforsarang]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

Heartiest Congratulations for the Samurai, I exactly know how you must be feeling, as even I have the same feeling.... Welcome to the Honda Club.Meanwhile, what was the cost of Caska Quoted to you in Hyderabad, In Mumbai, at Solataire Honda, they quote me mind blowing 60K, I mean 60K??? .

Thanks Sawnilrules, actually I never asked about aftermarket AVN systems so not sure what would be the price. I checked that the AVN model is costlier by 60-70 k than the regular V model. That AVN is factory fitted though and not sure which brand they go for.

Originally Posted by rajeshblue

I am quite delighted to go through your well captured experience of buying this vehicle.

Thanks Rajeshblue, wish you too many more happy moments with THE car !!

Originally Posted by vikramv1

Congratulations on your Urban Titatnium Honda city. I have the exact same colour which I bought in November 2011. The car is a beauty and you can't love the free revving nature of the engine enough. Welcome to the honda city club . Here's to wishing you may many years of comfortable driving . Keep posting pictures periodically. I am very surprised that you are getting. 13 imply consistently. Are you predominantly driving in highway conditions with low a/c. I get 10 to 11 on most times. I have managed to hit 16 imply average once on the Mumbai Pune expressway to Pune. Otherwise, would be very interested to know the type of road conditions that gets you 13/14 kmpl.

Vikramv1, thank you so much and wish you the same. We are sailing in the same boat! Couldn't agree more about the gem of that engine. I drive sedately, AC usage is now full because of the climate but for 7 to 8 months I drive with intermittent or no/low AC. Otherwise also, I get good mileage probably because I keep the speeds constantly in the range of 40 to 70 and no sudden accel, brake etc. general practices. Yeah it is difficult to manage this in Hyderabad but fortunately my home to office commute and weekend commutes to hypercity are although not highway like, but mainly I drive during less traffic hours so relatively free and relaxed drive. All these small things might be contributing to good mileage although I am not sure. With this new car, I have been consciously following the ECO mode although it is funny in the sense it gets ON when there are no inputs given to the car, like when you remove your foot off the accel, or let it run on its own on the slope etc. !! I haven't still gotten over the logic of ECO. Traditionally they say quickly go to the higher gears and drive which returns good mileage, but this ECO comes in 3rd gear at the speeds of 40 kmph and stays there even if the car is kept on the same speeds for a long time. If I drive in 40-50 kmph on higher gears, the ECO goes for a toss.. Can some expert throw some light on that?

[rajeshblue]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

@Rajesh: Hi, congrats on booking the the New Honda City Mate. Just a slight correction, Honda City AVN Version comes with the Alpine Touch Screen System and not Caska. Caska is a chinese brand, which Honda has authorized for after market installation in their cars. When you hear the Caska Model side by side of the AVN Model, you can see a stark difference in the quality of sound.

Thanks for the information @sawnilrules. I was not aware of this. In fact I stated Caska because I read it somewhere on the web in some other discussion forum. If its Alpine, it might be slightly more reassuring and worthwhile, in my humble opinion.

On the flip side, I am yet to get a first hand feedback from anyone who has used this system for a while.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by rajeshblue

Thanks for the information @sawnilrules. I was not aware of this. In fact I stated Caska because I read it somewhere on the web in some other discussion forum. If its Alpine, it might be slightly more reassuring and worthwhile, in my humble opinion.

On the flip side, I am yet to get a first hand feedback from anyone who has used this system for a while.

@ Rajesh, Same here dear, even I am awaiting if somebody post's about their car with the AVN System, so that we can get first hand information about the quality of the system.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by sforsarang

Thanks Sawnilrules, actually I never asked about aftermarket AVN systems so not sure what would be the price. I checked that the AVN model is costlier by 60-70 k than the regular V model. That AVN is factory fitted though and not sure which brand they go for.



Thanks Rajeshblue, wish you too many more happy moments with THE car !!



Vikramv1, thank you so much and wish you the same. We are sailing in the same boat! Couldn't agree more about the gem of that engine. I drive sedately, AC usage is now full because of the climate but for 7 to 8 months I drive with intermittent or no/low AC. Otherwise also, I get good mileage probably because I keep the speeds constantly in the range of 40 to 70 and no sudden accel, brake etc. general practices. Yeah it is difficult to manage this in Hyderabad but fortunately my home to office commute and weekend commutes to hypercity are although not highway like, but mainly I drive during less traffic hours so relatively free and relaxed drive. All these small things might be contributing to good mileage although I am not sure. With this new car, I have been consciously following the ECO e although it is funny in the sense it gets ON when there are no inputs given to the car, like when you remove your foot off the accel, or let it run on its own on the slope etc. !! I haven't still gotten over the logic of ECO. Traditionally they say quickly go to the higher gears and drive which returns good mileage, but this ECO comes in 3rd gear at the speeds of 40 kmph and stays there even if the car is kept on the same speeds for a long time. If I drive in 40-50 kmph on higher gears, the ECO goes for a toss.. Can some expert throw some light on that?

sforsarang: Hi mate, even I had a similar understanding of the ECO Mode, that is, the light comes on only when one lift's the leg from the accelerator peddle . I discussed the same with my service advisor here in Mumbai, according to him, the ECO Mode, comes on considering various factors, some of them being, GVW, including number of passengers (read here as their weight), speed of the car, gear in operation, gradient or incline of the road, etc. And the data is real time feeded to the chip installed in the car, which decides, the amount of fuel the car is utilizing to pull herself factoring the above parameters. If at that point, it is utilizing minimum fuel, then the ECO Light comes on, and if not, then ECO light goes away. Another interesting fact, I drive the car mostly on the cruise mode, and at whatever speeds the cruise is set, I usually have the ECO Indicator On at all times during cruise mode. If you too drive on Cruise mode, You must have also realized that the rpm drops down moment the car is on cruise mode. For instance, assume you are constantly driving at 80km/hr with throttle input, then the rpm meter hovers somewhere around 2300 to 2400, but if you set cruise at 80km/hr then that same rpm is around 1900 to 2000, and then the ECO light glows constantly, as at this point, the car itself is deciding how much throttle input is required to pull the car, and then therefore, how much amount of fuel goes in. Mine being an Automatic Version, ends up giving me an fuel economy in the range of 12 to 12.5 in City and astonishingly high 19 to 20 on Expressway runs. And all of this, I believe is due to Cruise Mode.

I hope, I was able to pen down my thoughts and explain how exactly ECO Mode works.

[sforsarang]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

Another interesting fact, I drive the car mostly on the cruise mode

Hey Sawnilrules, I rubbed my eyes thrice to digest what I just read. You belong to Mumbai and you mostly drive on the cruise mode

In fact, that just reminded me that my car too has a cruise control, although not sure when that time will arrive that I use it in real !

Yes, you did clarify many things about the ECO but then what about the age old saying that to get good mileage, shift to the highest gear in quickest time to maintain minimum speeds at that gear without shudders? In my wagon R, I used to shift to 5th gear as soon as I attain up to 50 kmph speed. I can just do the same in Honda city but the ECO light only comes when the speed reaches 80kmph in 5th gear. That part is confusing, and secondly, I see ECO even in the 2nd gear where the average consumption meter shoots up beyond 20 kmpl in the MID. That's strange as I used to believe lower gears are never efficient for fuel consumption at any speeds.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by sforsarang

Hey Sawnilrules, I rubbed my eyes thrice to digest what I just read. You belong to Mumbai and you mostly drive on the cruise mode

In fact, that just reminded me that my car too has a cruise control, although not sure when that time will arrive that I use it in real !

Yes, you did clarify many things about the ECO but then what about the age old saying that to get good mileage, shift to the highest gear in quickest time to maintain minimum speeds at that gear without shudders? In my wagon R, I used to shift to 5th gear as soon as I attain up to 50 kmph speed. I can just do the same in Honda city but the ECO light only comes when the speed reaches 80kmph in 5th gear. That part is confusing, and secondly, I see ECO even in the 2nd gear where the average consumption meter shoots up beyond 20 kmpl in the MID. That's strange as I used to believe lower gears are never efficient for fuel consumption at any speeds.

hey Sforsarang, that is where the beauty of I-Vtec lies my friend. Honda first developed the VTEC engine in the year 1983 and was used on CBR 400. What VTEC Stands for is Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control. So basically what it does is it improves Volumetric Efficiency of the Engine, thus in return increasing the horse-power as well as fuel efficiency at various engine speeds (read here as rpm). Honda took 10 full years to master this technology, which they introduced in 80's. Of course, other manufacturers did follow the suit by launching their variants of VTEC, mainly, BMW launched VANOS, Porsche introduced VarioCam Plus, our Japanese competitor Toyota introduced VVT-i, however, none of them have managed to come closer in terms of performance and efficiency like Honda.

I-Vtec per say was launched in the year 2002 and was first introduced in CRV, and then subsequently made its way into the Accord, Civic and City, besides other platforms that Honda has worldwide.

To understand how I-Vtec works, it is important to understand how Vtec functions. What really happens is, The VTEC system provides the engine with multiple camshaft profiles optimized for both low and high RPM operations. In basic form, the single cam profile of a conventional engine is replaced with two profiles: one optimized for low-RPM stability and fuel efficiency, and the other designed to maximize high-RPM power output. The switching operation between the two cam lobes is controlled by the ECU which takes account of engine oil pressure, engine temperature, vehicle speed, engine speed and throttle position. Using these inputs, the ECU is programmed to switch from the low lift to the high lift cam lobes when the conditions mean that engine output will be improved. At the switch point a solenoid is actuated which allows oil pressure from a spool valve to operate a locking pin which binds the high RPM cam follower to the low RPM ones. From this point on, the valves open and close according to the high-lift profile, which opens the valve further and for a longer time. The switch-over point is variable, between a minimum and maximum point, and is determined by engine load. The switch-down back from high to low RPM cams is set to occur at a lower engine speed than the switch-up (representing a hysteresis cycle) to avoid a situation in which the engine is asked to operate continuously at or around the switch-over point.

Having understood this, what I-Vtec has is VTC continuously variable timing of camshaft phasing on the intake camshaft of DOHC VTEC engines. VTC controls of valve lift and valve duration are still limited to distinct low- and high-RPM profiles, but the intake camshaft is now capable of advancing between 25 and 50 degrees, depending upon engine configuration. Phasing is implemented by a computer-controlled, oil-driven adjustable cam sprocket. Both engine load and RPM affect VTEC. The intake phase varies from fully retarded at idle to somewhat advanced at full throttle and low RPM. The effect is further optimization of torque output, especially at low and mid-range RPM. Thus allowing for the ECO light to be on, on various occasions and gears.