[Sawyer]

More than 80? Do you fancy your chances in the Nano in a head on accident at even 60-70 kmph? Remember that in the case of a vehicle approaching at a similar speed, the effective collision speed is 120-140 kmph. And chances are that said vehicle will weigh a lot more, compounding the effect. On the other hand, most crash tests are done at 50 kmph.
I'd say that Nano is not meant to be on a highway, period. And I can think of many other Indian small cars that are in the same category. They simply don't have enough volume to design a decent crumple zone in.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

More than 80? Do you fancy your chances in the Nano in a head on accident at even 60-70 kmph? Remember that in the case of a vehicle approaching at a similar speed, the effective collision speed is 120-140 kmph. And chances are that said vehicle will weigh a lot more, compounding the effect. On the other hand, most crash tests are done at 50 kmph.
I'd say that Nano is not meant to be on a highway, period. And I can think of many other Indian small cars that are in the same category. They simply don't have enough volume to design a decent crumple zone in.

Had to latch on to this.

1. In case of vehicle approaching at similar speed, effective collision speed = 2 x speed is wrong. please see this http://warp.povusers.org/grrr/collisionmath.html . Also the assumption is that brakes would have been applied in anticipation of the accident, bringing the speed down

2. Don't enough volume to design a decent crumple zone : The 2014 Smart forTwo has a crash testing rating of 4 stars with high marks for Occupant protection. And as you might have seen in this thread , http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ication-5.html , it is proven possible for Tata to do the same too.

3. I can think of other many indian small cars... : Not many people think laterally like you, instead, they single out the nano on this aspect and happily proceed to drive the 'other' indian small car(s), without even wearing seatbelts!

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

More than 80? Do you fancy your chances in the Nano in a head on accident at even 60-70 kmph?

To be honest, I don't think any road in India, including our expressways, deserve to be driven on at any speed more than 80 kmph. I never exceed this speed in any car. The road surface might allow a speed upto 2 times this figure, but there are a few factors that magnify the unpredictability of Indian traffic and make driving at higher speeds very risky (and motivate me to drive very conservatively):

• The possibility of hitting an animal that strays into the path imperceptibly
• The bikers and cyclists who break the barricades and make their own entry points into the highway and drive on the wrong side to save petrol
• The lack of any medical care facilities outside the major cities (in case of an accident)
• The lack of understanding of what lane discipline means-many drivers in rural areas do not know that they are supposed to drive in one lane and that the Government spends crores in painting the roads with white stripes so that the lane discipline can be maintained.
• "Bully Syndrome" - some people driving bigger vehicles think that bullying hatchbacks is fun and endanger their own life and that of others while overtaking perilously.
• Parked vehicles- I've faced this one many times. When a truck or some other heavy vehicle breaks down, it is left at that exact same spot- sometimes in the middle of the road! It is very difficult to see such parked monsters at night because they have no tail lights, no reflectors and the absence of motion can be seen only when we come close enough. There was an accident in Ahmedabad recently when an Eeco hit a water tanker that was being used to irrigate the plantation on the highway divider.

What's the point of driving above 80 kmph here? Fuel consumption increases, road noise (in economy cars) increases, the tension experienced by the driver increases. In order to compensate for the 20-30 kilometers per hour that have to be sacrificed for a safer journey, I start earlier.

Coming to the point about the Nano, I seriously doubt if it is any worse than any other A segment car on the highway. Upto 70kmph, things are absolutely the same- in fact the better driving position gives you a feeling of being more in control. Never exceed this speed if you're in a Nano/Alto/Alto K10/Eon/Datsun Go etc. Even if your car is crash tested, it must be remembered that a lot of collisions end up in the car getting crushed under a truck /somersetted and no crash test certifies the integrity of the body shell under such impact conditions.

Till the day I can afford a car that has all the safety kit ( 6 airbags, ESP+ABS etc.), I'll rely on the best safety device that I know of- my common sense and prudence.

[Sawyer]

Common sense tells me that there isn't a good way to extrapolate and then compare the crashworthiness of two cars at impact speeds of even 80 kmph by looking at how they survived a 50 kmph test. Be it the Smart Car v Nano or any other comparison. What may survive at 50 may catastrophically fail at 60. One can only logically conclude that what failed at 50 will also fail at 60.
To the point of more power for the Nano - the only justification for this is to improve in gear acceleration to get out of trouble faster than one can today, without higher top speeds. In practice both go together, so more power in this case is going to mean more risk.
I am extremely pleased with my 2013 Nano. At the same time, I will also not use it on any Indian highway. I have no experience of other A segment cars, but I doubt I would use any of those either.

[knaveen]

Has anyone tried fitting the rear fog lamps on Nano Twist? I enquired this at the SA, they informed that the light control stalk needs to be changed for this. Is this true?


As an alternative, any thoughts on sticking reflective tape on this spot. I am a little worried as it gets pretty hot when the car is running.
I would like to fit something like this, but not sure if there is enough space to fit this.
http://www.ebay.in/itm/Brand-New-12-...item33a3762f4c

[john doe]

^^^^^^
Since the link is for a brake light, I am assuming that you want a flashing brake light in the fog lamp slot.
In that case you don't need a separate switch, just a joint to the current brake lights.
In case you want a fog lamp that flashes, I would suggest - don't !
I mean, how many places in India demand a separate fog light? Plus imagine the guy behind you who had this light continuously flashing / blinding him. Plus-Plus I see that you live in Chennai.
Radium stickers will cost you around 30 , maybe you'll need to replace the stickers a couple of times in a year, due to the heat on the bumpers.

[Sawyer]

Why bother?! The car has enough built in reflectors to be visible at night when parked, and the mandatory third brake light at the top.

[knaveen]

Originally Posted by john doe

^^^^^^
Since the link is for a brake light, I am assuming that you want a flashing brake light in the fog lamp slot.
In that case you don't need a separate switch, just a joint to the current brake lights.
In case you want a fog lamp that flashes, I would suggest - don't !
I mean, how many places in India demand a separate fog light? Plus imagine the guy behind you who had this light continuously flashing / blinding him. Plus-Plus I see that you live in Chennai.
Radium stickers will cost you around 30 , maybe you'll need to replace the stickers a couple of times in a year, due to the heat on the bumpers.

Sorry that my previous post was unclear. The current setup just has an empty space with a cut-out for it and looks incomplete. Hence was thinking putting a fog light (OEM fitment) or reflector/additional brake light.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Why bother?! The car has enough built in reflectors to be visible at night when parked, and the mandatory third brake light at the top.

The primary objective was to get rid of the empty place holder. Being visible is not really a concern.

[Nissan1180]

The combination switch for the lights will have to be replaced if you go for the rear fog lamp. I wanted the showroom people to fit the combination switch of my old car (with fog lamps) in the new one (with the plastic flap). They did not do it and I was too lazy to insist.
One option could be to fit the fog lamp and connect it to the parking light input-the light would be switched on as soon as the parking lamp is put on. You would not need a new combination switch then.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,
Has anyone with a "Twist" changed the front speakers yet? I find the sound quality pathetic and as I have a spare pair of JBL speakers from my old Nano, wanted to fit them in the "Twist". However, unable to figure out how to open the glove boxes/speaker compartments. There are two plastic screws on the bottom of the glove box which we opened but still could not access the speaker compartment. Is it a one piece unit? Can the factory fitted speaker cover be prised open with a screw driver? Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
SS

[Sawyer]

I would be wary of installing new lights/wiring. Tata is paranoid about advising against this as well, perhaps because of the fire history.

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,
Has anyone with a "Twist" changed the front speakers yet? I find the sound quality pathetic and as I have a spare pair of JBL speakers from my old Nano, wanted to fit them in the "Twist".

It might be possible to replace the front speakers, but that would provide a very good opportunity for rattles to ruin your driving experience. I had retrofitted speakers in the parcel tray of my old Nano and it used to cause a lot of noise on uneven surfaces.
The OEM speakers are decent actually for the level of sound insulation that is offered in the Nano cabin. I'm sure that you've already tried all sorts of audio settings available in the HU, but setting the FAD (fade function) to "F2" does make the system sound better from the driver's seat. Thanks.

[Sawyer]

I agree. Before changing speakers, make sure you have optimised the set up via the provided controls on the unit. I am quite happy with the sound I get from mine. Quite capable for the car that it is - and isn't.

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I agree. Before changing speakers, make sure you have optimised the set up via the provided controls on the unit. I am quite happy with the sound I get from mine. Quite capable for the car that it is - and isn't.

Thanks Sawyer and Nissan 1180. It's just that I had the pair of JBL speakers lying at home and they are a perfect fit for the front speakers. Well, they fitted perfectly on my old Nano but not so sure about this one. Will try some more settings on the head unit. Fader is already set to F2.

Cheers,
SS

[kutoos]

Second Service Update:

Had given my car yesterday at Concorde Pune for the Second service. The dust has now settled and the chinks in the notorious Tata ASS has started to show up.

From my previous repairs, there was a krrr-krrr sound which was audible when the brakes were applied from the left front side. Earlier it was attributed to brake, linings, and it was cleaned but to no avail.

The exasperating issue was that when taken for a test drive, the car behaves beautifully, no rattles, no abnormal sounds, however, the moment the car is back with me, it starts rearing its ugly head.

Thankfully, the SA was able to identify the problem - a faulty shock, which was replaced.

The car was fine till today morning, when the now familiar noise started coming up. To add insult to injury, a rubber cup came loose and fell inside the cabin. Why worry about depreciation, when you can get to see your car disintegrate in front of your eyes ??

So called up the SA, same story, please get the Car back, Oh the Rubber cup, must mot have been placed correctly (Duh ! That much i can understand).

So now i've to trudge back to the service center to get this resolved, as the show must go on.