[vignesh.cv]

Ran into my first ever issue - the wash and wipe system seems to only wipe. I can hear the motor trying to squirt water but nothing comes out of the nozzle. I checked the water level in the reservoir and it is filled up all right. No warning lights in the cluster as well.
Any suggestions on where to start looking?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

Ran into my first ever issue - the wash and wipe system seems to only wipe. I can hear the motor trying to squirt water but nothing comes out of the nozzle. I checked the water level in the reservoir and it is filled up all right. No warning lights in the cluster as well.
Any suggestions on where to start looking?

Pull the washer stalk for longer. There is a noticeable delay after you pull the stalk till the water starts flowing out.

[sagpatel]

Yes I was also about to give you the same advise, keep holding the washer stalk for 3-4 secs and you should see water flowing out.

[vignesh.cv]

@akshay1234 & @sagpatel - thanks for that tip. Had to hold the wiper stalk for a few secs, yes there is a noticeable delay. Was relieved that it was just the user who is at fault

When driving the car around in Bangalore, I found the steering pulling very slightly to the left on a straight road. So, went to Madhus to get wheel balancing and wheel alignment done. The new wheel balancing equipment they have is capable of measuring imbalances due to tyre defects as well. Found that one of the tyres had more stiffness in one area which could cause vibrations. Swapped that to the rear. The report also gives the overall tyre height to the millimetre! The front tyres were one mm less than the rear as expected - considering the car has done 920kms now.

Met Nikhil there after a long time. He was very helpful in walking me through the capabilities of the new equipment and how it can improve the accuracy of balancing & alignment. Also, gave me options for future tyre swaps. Now the steering tracks straight - thanks to Nikhil & the good folks at Madhus

[vignesh.cv]

Some updates after driving the car around in Bangalore traffic.

The mileage figures in city:

Best - 14kmpl - moderate traffic using 4th and sometimes 5th gears
Worst - 11.5kmpl - bumper to bumper traffic with lot of shifts between 2nd & 3rd gears

Both the figures are without AC as the weather is pleasant these days. I make it a point to switch off the car if I see like 15+ seconds on the traffic signal countdown. Also, I do not wait for the car to warm up by idling - instead start driving at a leisurely pace. The temp needle reaches 90 deg by the time I've done 3kms and thats when I see an improvement in throttle response and the FE numbers.

Thing I did not like - the IRVM when operated in night mode tends to reflect the shiny plastic off the reading lamps. It is distracting and I ended up switching back to normal mode.

[vignesh.cv]

Minor update:

The car has completed 1190kms now, and this is the figure I got in the MFD today morning driving to work. The route distance is approx. 12kms and the traffic was lighter than normal. I'm impressed with the flexibility this motor offers.

[dhir_d]

Hi Vignesh,

where in Bangalore is this Madhus. If you could share the address and also how is the cost comparable with that of a service centre for the wheel balancing and alignment.

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

@akshay1234 & @sagpatel - thanks for that tip. Had to hold the wiper stalk for a few secs, yes there is a noticeable delay. Was relieved that it was just the user who is at fault

When driving the car around in Bangalore, I found the steering pulling very slightly to the left on a straight road. So, went to Madhus to get wheel balancing and wheel alignment done. The new wheel balancing equipment they have is capable of measuring imbalances due to tyre defects as well. Found that one of the tyres had more stiffness in one area which could cause vibrations. Swapped that to the rear. The report also gives the overall tyre height to the millimetre! The front tyres were one mm less than the rear as expected - considering the car has done 920kms now.

Met Nikhil there after a long time. He was very helpful in walking me through the capabilities of the new equipment and how it can improve the accuracy of balancing & alignment. Also, gave me options for future tyre swaps. Now the steering tracks straight - thanks to Nikhil & the good folks at Madhus

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

The mileage figures in city:

Best - 14kmpl - moderate traffic using 4th and sometimes 5th gears
Worst - 11.5kmpl - bumper to bumper traffic with lot of shifts between 2nd & 3rd gears

Both the figures are without AC as the weather is pleasant these days.

Very impressive figures. I have to drive really light-footed to achieve these on my TSi :-) and extremely hard to achieve on my Tucson!

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

I make it a point to switch off the car if I see like 15+ seconds on the traffic signal countdown. Also, I do not wait for the car to warm up by idling - instead start driving at a leisurely pace. The temp needle reaches 90 deg by the time I've done 3kms and thats when I see an improvement in throttle response and the FE numbers.

Overall good practice. Please pay attention to Turbo cooling - for this reason I don't switch off at red signals of less than 60 sec duration. On cold morning starts, I drive off within 10/15 sec, but do not rev much till coolant temp hits 90 deg. which also happens to take around 3 km on my TSi.

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

the IRVM when operated in night mode tends to reflect the shiny plastic off the reading lamps. It is distracting and I ended up switching back to normal mode.

Interesting. Never faced this issue. Is it due to the angle and position of the mirror corresponding to your height? You can take opinion of other drivers (shorter or taller)?

[W.A.G.7]

Congrats on your new car! Looks really nice especially those alloys, in fact the Laura is a nice looking car. Did you consider MT which was available for 2L discount? My personal opinion is that MT Laura would give you more fun while driving the car Enjoy the new car of course!

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by dhir_d

Hi Vignesh,

where in Bangalore is this Madhus. If you could share the address and also how is the cost comparable with that of a service centre for the wheel balancing and alignment.

Madhus is located on Langford road, below the Double road flyover. The exact address is:

Madhus enterprises
No. 35/5, Langford Road,
Near Double road circle,
Bangalore - 25
Ph: 080-41519430/50

In terms of cost, I feel they are quite comparable with other shops I've dealt with in the past. For reference, the WA costed Rs.380 and the WB (with Road force balancing) costed me Rs.340 - after a 24% and 15% discount applied respectively. If I had not opted for the Road force balance option, I'd saved about Rs.50 or so. For me, it is their attention to detail and the fantastic service they offer via better equipments that continues to impress me.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Very impressive figures. I have to drive really light-footed to achieve these on my TSi :-) and extremely hard to achieve on my Tucson!

Thanks! It feels like I'm learning to drive again though Incidentally, passengers in my car feel the drive is smoother these days, guess it is due to the change in driving style.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Overall good practice. Please pay attention to Turbo cooling - for this reason I don't switch off at red signals of less than 60 sec duration. On cold morning starts, I drive off within 10/15 sec, but do not rev much till coolant temp hits 90 deg. which also happens to take around 3 km on my TSi.

Agree with you on the turbo cool down time. Since within city, I rarely get to cross 2k rpms, I let the engine idle about 5-7 seconds and switch off if the counter is above 30 secs. Also, if I see a light coming up, I ease off the throttle early enough, so that helps as well.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Interesting. Never faced this issue. Is it due to the angle and position of the mirror corresponding to your height? You can take opinion of other drivers (shorter or taller)?

Quite possible. I'll try adjusting the height of the seat to see if it helps.

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Congrats on your new car! Looks really nice especially those alloys, in fact the Laura is a nice looking car. Did you consider MT which was available for 2L discount? My personal opinion is that MT Laura would give you more fun while driving the car Enjoy the new car of course!

Thanks W.A.G.7! Guess thats my way of saying I'm getting old I did look at the MT first and yes, they were offering 2L discount plus freebies. Honestly the combination of the motor's higher state of tune and the overall package was what sold me on the AT. The DSG box is making me a convert via its convenience and efficiency.

[TheTeacher]

Originally Posted by dhir_d

Where in Bangalore is this Madhus. If you could share the address and also how is the cost comparable with that of a service centre for the wheel balancing and alignment.

Dhir, check out this thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangal...bangalore.html

[vignesh.cv]

Minor update:

Completed 2300kms as of today. Had taken the car to Kollur over last weekend. The distance was 850kms both ways. The car was simply brilliant on the highways, ample torque on demand and road holding was superb. The roads were in good condition until Shimoga after which it was a mix of bad patches and decent surfaces until Kollur. On the way back, there was lot more traffic and many cars were trying to keep up. There was a straight stretch of road and there were about 4 cars and a bus in front of me, as soon as on-coming traffic cleared, slotted her in S-mode and just blasted past the train of cars in one go. It was truly satisfying to sample the turbo in S mode

The ground clearance was sufficient to tackle really broken roads near the Hosanagar area - this is inspite of having 4 people with some luggage on board. The overall fuel efficieny worked out to 16kmpl both ways - was happy considering that the last 140kms of the road was mostly broken resulting in a lowly avg. speed of 54kmph.

The biggest gripe I had when driving in the night. The main beam is absolute rubbish - it is aligned towards the sky and the beam spread is pathetic. The headlamps on my Palio were brilliant when compared to these. Would appreciate help from people who've done some night driving on the car - any suggestions to improve the lighting by way of bulb swap or alignment?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

There was a straight stretch of road and there were about 4 cars and a bus in front of me, as soon as on-coming traffic cleared, slotted her in S-mode and just blasted past the train of cars in one go. It was truly satisfying to sample the turbo in S mode

Not the best idea to overtake a train for 4 cars and a bus in go, esp on a two lane road. You never know what is ahead of the bus. If the bus suddenly veered right to overtake a bicycle rider you could be in trouble. Or worse, if someone decides to cross the road and accounts for just the bus. Be careful out there buddy

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

The biggest gripe I had when driving in the night. The main beam is absolute rubbish - it is aligned towards the sky and the beam spread is pathetic.

You could use the headlamp leveling device to level the lamps. I don't drive on the highways during nights much. But generally I never found the headlights inadequate. Try looking up the lighting thread for brighter bulb options.

[vignesh.cv]

@Santoshbhat - thanks for that advice, realized I was frustrated and tired at that moment because of which I did something like that. Will keep this mind during future highway drives. Regarding the high beam, I'm just going to try realigning it if it helps.

[vignesh.cv]

Got the Ross Tech VCDS cable yesterday. Did some monitoring of engine torque just get some baseline figures. When the engine is fully warmed up, the engine torque when idle is about 30Nm when in neutral. When I engage drive mode, the torque jumps to about 50Nm. The torque output jumps to 50Nm when I switched on the A/C as well. So that should help understand the effect of the A/C as well as switching to D mode. And probably explains why one should shift to neutral while waiting in traffic (?)

The max torque figure I got yesterday while driving back home was 346Nm at 2353 rpms when I engaged S mode for a short burst of acceleration. Will try to do a gentle acceleration run on a straight deserted road later on to get a plot of the rpm vs torque and power through the rev range.

Planning to activate/change the following via the VCDS:
1. Needle staging
2. Lane change blink from 3 to 4.
3. Activate day time running light
4. Activate cornering function on the fog lamps