[k149in]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Got Michelin Primacy 3 ST almost 2 weeks back. I was really confused between Continental CMC MC 5 and 3 ST. Continental is rated better than Michelin based on international reviews but the Made in India tyre felt poorly built in the all important 'feel with your own hands' test.

For how much did they take the stock tyres? How much kilometers does it show now on the ODO.

My car has done 21000KM so far and planning to change 3ST after I reach 30000KM.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by k149in

For how much did they take the stock tyres? How much kilometers does it show now on the ODO.

I sold the tyres to a private buyer through OLX.

The Ford has done around 27k now.

[gkoneti]

Michelin prices in Hyd are ₹6150 per tyre. Source: PKR wheels, Kukatpally. They are authorized dealers. Your price of ₹5765 is really good. Secondly I have got Waxoyl treatment done on my car. It does not shine too much but nice smooth finish. Even after 6 months, the finish is holding well. Paid around ₹3600 and done at Vibrant Ford dealership. Pics below.

[silverblaze]

@deetjohn- you drive looks stunning ! I love the Fiesta and have been owning a 2006 1.4 TDCI since 2006. I have plans to buy a second car maybe a creta but would still keep her in my garage ! Allow me to flaunt her

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by gkoneti

Michelin prices in Hyd are ₹6150 per tyre. Source: PKR wheels, Kukatpally. They are authorized dealers. Your price of ₹5765 is really good. Secondly I have got Waxoyl treatment done on my car. It does not shine too much but nice smooth finish. Even after 6 months, the finish is holding well. Paid around ₹3600 and done at Vibrant Ford dealership. Pics below.

Oh! That's too costly. It makes better sense to stick to MC 5 in that case.

Glad to note the Waxoyl treatment at the dealer is long lasting. Got to inquire about that then. I am not looking for a gleaming surface but just need to protect the paint against tar and grime during the rains.

Originally Posted by silverblaze

@deetjohn- you drive looks stunning ! I love the Fiesta and have been owning a 2006 1.4 TDCI since 2006. I have plans to buy a second car maybe a creta but would still keep her in my garage ! Allow me to flaunt her

Thank You! Great to know that your Fiesta is going strong. Was that picture taken in Kerala?

[silverblaze]

Yes, I took this pic on my recent trip to Wayanad. She handled like a charm even though i have clocked around 1,22,000 kms

[deetjohn]

The Fiesta is close to 30k KM and I have booked the service for tomorrow. Nothing else to report as the Ford is running as expected.

Had a few drives in the rain but we didn't get a full blown monsoon this year.


The once a month wash happens at DBS and they do a really good job. Especially how they clean the underbody with the help of the lift which is quite important for me.


I also bought a cleaning foam from the US. The reviews are insane for this product and it cost me only INR500 for 2 bottles. With the charcoal grey interiors, I need all the help I can get.


The Kagu 3D mats and the Black and Decker mini Vac complete the team. The mats look good and even the driver side is not showing its age.

[gkoneti]

My share of Fiesta in insane monsoon of Hyderabad

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by gkoneti

My share of Fiesta in insane monsoon of Hyderabad

That's a very nice photo!



So for the 30k service, I took the car to Ford Quick Lane at Kakkanad for a change. And true to its word, I was out of there in 3 hours with a happy Fiesta. The advantages of having a not so popular brand I guess. As usual, I stood by the car throughout and opted out of wheel alignment, rotation etc. and a free wash. And that too helped save time.

Following are my observations:

1) In a move to reduce the service cost across its cars, Ford has prolonged the life of many filters. The air filter, cabin filter needs a change only once in 20k KM. And I feel, that's totally NOT recommended in our dusty conditions. So, I got them changed voluntarily and boy oh boy, the Fiesta really needed it. For a SOHC engine with a relatively small air filter, its very important that its clean always. Besides, the cost is also very reasonable.
Air filter: INR 201
AC filter: INR 147

This is how the AC filter looked when it came out from the console near driver side foot well. Yes, its placed in there for the Fiesta and not behind the glove box like most cars.

And the new one which went in competes with snow white in complexion. So, you can guess what harm is done by our roads on the air filter. After all, the AC is mostly in internal circulation mode unlike the air box which is always fighting dust when the engine runs.

2) So, its really is a bad move by Ford if you ask me. This cutback on spares will severely hamper the performance and the reliability of cars in the long run. Ford really shouldn't get into the rat race of lowest service cost for the sake of comparisons. No wonder the recent favorite of taxi fellas in Kerala is the Aspire.

Even after replacing all filters, the total service cost was just INR 5297. That's super aggressive for a C segment sedan. So Ford, please add those filters as part of the 10k service.

3) The fuel filter is also changed every 30k KM. And that costs just INR 1252. And I was super glad to see the quality of diesel which came out of the old filter. There was no trace of water, froth or muck. So, it really pays to religiously fuel up directly from the BP COCO pump near Kochi Refinery. I don't think I have tanked up elsewhere apart from 1 or 2 times when we were visiting far off places.

4) The brake pads and suspension were alright and was just checked and cleaned. The suspension components are mostly shared with EcoSport, and those are built tough. The mechanic attending revealed that they really don't get to work on the suspension of Fiesta/ EcoSport.

5) The cloth like material on the rear mudguard is sagging even though the rivets are all tightly fastened. I read on the official EcoSport thread that Ford changed the material in the latest models with something which doesn't absorb water that much. I need to check whether I can manage those for the Fiesta.

6) The battery is held in place with a steel bracket on the Fiesta. And that had a bit of rust from the dried electrolyte pushed out of the battery.


I wanted it to be cleaned and the mechanic removed the plate and found that one of the caps of the battery was a bit loose. It was tightened after filling up and the plate was cleaned using Wurth corrosion protection spray.


The plate also has a form material on the underside which helped slow down corrosion.


I will need to touch that with some enamel paint soon. Also got the entire engine bay wiped after dusting with the air compressor.


The next service is stated for 5th Sept 2017 or 40074 KM. Ford is surely doing all they can to change the market perceptions. But, I am not sure whether they should be at it with such aggression. Our road conditions are horrible and the cars need good upkeep. So, I am not going to follow the service manual to the dot.

And needless to say, the car feels so much better after a service. The engine felt much more torquier in the lower rpms and I am sure that's mostly down to the new air filter.

[deetjohn]

Had an incident on Friday. Some auto drivers are quite aggressive over here. They know fully well that you care about the car and try to take advantage of that. A light brush or a bump in city traffic is no big deal for them and they use that as a scare tactic to make room and wiggle ahead.

And all the autos here are those loud diesel models with a bulky body. And some drivers don't have the faintest clue of what's happening around them. And others just don't care.

Anyways, back to the incident. I was passing two autos during the office run in the morning. And as I was about to cross the first auto, the one trailing tried to pass the first auto. I couldn't do anything and the second auto hit the Ford on the rear fender. I pulled over by the shoulder a little ahead, the auto too stopped and some heated arguments followed.

The rear fender looked bad at first glance and the auto driver was very defensive after noting it. I soon realised there was no use wasting my time and drove off from there.

This is how the fender looked when I checked it after coming home.



And I was relieved that there was no dent.


Ran my hand over the fender and realised most of it was paint from auto. I could remove some when I tried with my finger nails.

Used the excellent Formula 1 Bug & Tar remover and I could get almost all of it. That's the paint from the auto clinging to the microfiber cloth after cleaning.




But have lost a bit of paint too. Will get that touched when I get some time.


It's a good thing that the fenders are quite strong on the Fiesta, but that doesn't take away the fact that I ought to be extra defensive around these autos.

Drive safe!

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Used the excellent Formula 1 Bug & Tar remover and I could get almost all of it. That's the paint from the auto clinging to the microfiber cloth after cleaning.
Attachment 1552987

Wow! After seeing the initial picture, I was disheartened thinking it would require a panel painting. Really cool to see the auto's paint just peeling off! 1 point each to Ford (for a good paint coat) and the auto (for a crappy paint that peels)!

EDIT: And 1 point to you for thinking of this smart approach!

[coolboy007]

This is one of the small advantages of having a car which is solidly built, you do not have to keep running to the workshop to get your bumper fixed which is hanging around like a paper or watch in sadness once your car accumulates many small dings/dents from 3-4 years down the line, solidly build cars age very gracefully externally Am surprised that the paint held on despite being brushed by an auto rickshaw, had a similar scratch on my rear door thanks to a biker but used rubbing compound and it totally vanished, the paint quality it seems is good enough.

[gkoneti]

I have a slightly different opinion. Diamond white being a non metallic paint and hence a tad thicker than metallic, and base primer also being white, it has double advantage. This is my hypothesis based on observation than science.

Pls have a look at my paprika red chip on the door. It is half mm deep and on close observation paint looks very thin. You can also observe that there are no swirl marks even after 10 months of Waxoyl treatment.

[deetjohn]

The auto up function of driver window was not working after the battery was disconnected during the service. Auto down was working however. I had to get the system reset to fix it.

To reset, one needs to hold the front power window switches up for 10 seconds with ACC on. Did that and got the functionality back.

Also got the left side ORVM painted at a FNG (mercury cars) nearby. I was driving around with no paint on the cowl after it was replaced a few months back. The did an okay job, I can see dust under the clear coat. The colour is a good match though.

[deetjohn]

Some pictures from a trip to Vagamon last weekend. Took Vytilla, Pala route and the roads were good throughout.



Yes, that's Naveen' Creta. And some photos here are from his DSLR. I am quite sure you can make out.


As always, there was a bit of off-roading to reach our resort.


Stayed at Falcon Crest and the place was really brilliant. Beautiful, affordable and their hospitality takes the cake.


They had invested a lot on the roads which looped through the plantations to reach each villa. There were a lot of inclines and some hair pins. But it was easy. All I needed to do was raise the driver' seat to the max, engage first gear and keep the wheels on track.


We had a small villa atop a hillock surrounded by tea plantations.


And there were bespoke parking slots of each villa.


The Fiesta was washed prior to the trip and I wasted no time to get some lovely shots the next day morning.
















We also went for a small trek at Mottakunnu. Its a lovely plateau with a lot of small hills and lush green grass all around.


Kerala Govt. has arranged paragliding there and it is breathtaking. Costs INR 3500 for 20 minutes if anyone is interested. And there is a 95% chance that you will land at the same place as your takeoff. But, its not for the faint hearted.


There was a local hartal called in Idukki district on the day of our return. The resort manager brought this to our notice the night before. The options were to start that night after dinner or start early morning before 6 AM. Both, equally horrible things to do while you are on holidays. So, we decided to stick to our plan and brave through the hartal.


Which turned out to be a great decision as we had roads to ourselves during return. The resort manager asked us to stay away from the Vagamon town as there could be some protests. So, we took the amazing Thodupuzha route which is really scenic. But the road condition is not that great at places and its quite steep. But its totally okay while coming back down.


Traffic was very thin till we crossed Thodupuzha and we reached home quite fast.