[akshaysehgal]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

For a white Harrier, being the LOTR fan I am, the perfect name would be Shadowfax

==========

... and I started thinking it would be nice if I can limit the speed while driving through this stretch - especially during early morning drives. This time, when I drove back from Kerala, I entered the highway, put the cruise control to 85, and pure bliss - no need to keep looking at the cameras, no stress to make sure you don't accidentally cross 90

Being a hardcore LOTR fan myself, I am going to steal that wonderful name for my new polar white N line!

It was the first time that I used cruise control as well when driving on the Yamuna expressway recently. Set it to 100 and sat back listening to music. It was quite boring actually, doing nothing but observing for 3-4 hours! On top of that, the fuel economy is insane! I was doing 25-30 kmpl instead of the regular 7-9 kmpl which I did in regular city driving.

Wanted to also understand how your cruise control works. I was hearing a few different versions of the system and was curious. For me, if I accelerate over a cruise speed that has been set, it doesn't change anything. When I remove my foot from the pedal, it brings it back to the cruise speed limit. However, when I gently hit the brakes and go below the cruise speed limit, it pauses the cruise control (greys out on my gauge cluster) and when I am ready, I can hit the unpause button (on the steering in my case) again to accelerate back to the set speed automatically.

Is this how your cruise control works as well or is it a different system?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by akshaysehgal

Being a hardcore LOTR fan myself, I am going to steal that wonderful name for my new polar white N line!


Wanted to also understand how your cruise control works. I was hearing a few different versions of the system and was curious. For me, if I accelerate over a cruise speed that has been set, it doesn't change anything. When I remove my foot from the pedal, it brings it back to the cruise speed limit. However, when I gently hit the brakes and go below the cruise speed limit, it pauses the cruise control (greys out on my gauge cluster) and when I am ready, I can hit the unpause button (on the steering in my case) again to accelerate back to the set speed automatically.

Is this how your cruise control works as well or is it a different system?

Congratulations on your N Line

In my car, the cruise control works a bit differently. I need to switch on the Cruise control master switch and then accelerate to the desired speed and then I can set the cruise control by tapping the set button. I can increase or decrease the cruise speed using this button and if I touch the brake or accelerator, the cruise control system pauses. I can bring the car back to cruise speed by tapping the set button again.

All these controls are on the right-hand side of the steering wheel and are easy to access while driving, without looking at the switches.

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

I am uploading a modified version of the PDI checklist I created for the PDI of my car. I have shared this with a couple of friends and they found it useful, so thought of posting it here.

PDI_Checklist.xlsx

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Rain, fog, lovely roads, friends, and some great music and conversation - what else do you need to make the weekend more exciting? What about adding 2 Harrier Dark Editions to the mix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Lj...nel=Anoopkumar

(Video created by a friend and fellow traveler).

Destination: Copper Edge resort, Shanivarasanthe.
Route: Nelemangala - Kunigal - Channarayapattana - Holenarasipur - Arakalagud - Shanivarasanthe.
Places visited: Bisle Ghat and Mallali falls
Distance: 620.6 KM
Toll: 730 rs

We started from my home by 5.30 and took the NICE road to reach Nelamangala. After a quick tea break and meeting the other half of our travel group, we set out to the destination. The weather was pleasant and overcast and after a quick pitstop at Dhruvatare for a forgettable breakfast (mediocre quality and overpriced tatte idlis and benne dosas ), we ambled along the route, keeping a sedate pace. There is some road construction happening on Hassan road, but otherwise, the road condition is excellent till we took a left at settyhalli, towards Channarayapattana. From here, roads are single-lane and other than a few rough patches, the roads are good till the destination.

After a couple of photo\tea breaks, we reached the resort by 11 AM.

Harrier twins chilling at the resort:






Our lovely cottage:




After checking in and relaxing for some time and tucking in some yummy naati-style lunch, we set out to our first destination - Bisle ghat viewpoint. The drive was refreshing - well-maintained roads with sparse traffic, rain, and fog. We drove along the route for some time before stopping at the viewpoint (which was a total washout because of the dense fog). We decided to push off to Mallalli falls, which was a good decision in hindsight. The route and drive were even better and the falls - were a roaring beauty due to the recent rains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZIM...nel=Anoopkumar

We started back to Bangalore by the next day at 10.00 AM and after an uneventful but rain-soaked drive, reached home by 4.00 PM.

Few random shots from the trip:

Chilling at Bisle ghat



Attachment 2343582







A random pitstop for some piping hot tea and bajji. And oh, goli sodas



Posers:





--Anoop

[shauryadabas]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Rain, fog, lovely roads, friends, and some great music and conversation - what else do you need to make the weekend more exciting? What about adding 2 Harrier Dark Editions to the mix:

Congrats Anoop, your Harrier looks great. In my recent trip to India, I drove my friend's Harrier (also Dark edition XZ+) and found the Diesel Torque and steering feedback making it a proper fun to drive SUV.
Wish you happy miles ahead!

[theexperthand]

Better late than never. After procrastinating this for the umpteenth time, let me start penning the travelogue to Kodai.

With the long weekend in sight, we made plans to visit Kodai. After going through many threads in Team-BHP, I made a simple plan. Start early, ready for dinner. Evening – go to Kodai Lake and Cockers walk. Next day, go to Mannavanur sheep farm and return by evening. Next day, drive back. As with most plans, it remained as such – a plan.

We started from Bangalore by 3.30 and stopped for breakfast at A2B a few kilometers past Salem.



The roads were good and traffic sparse, so we made good time till Dindigul. Google maps decided to throw in some excitement once we reached Dindigul and instead of taking us through the Batalgundu bypass road, maps took us through Kodai Road – Nilakottai – Batalgudu town. The drive was uneventful till we started the Kodai Ghat Road and then the repercussions of going to a popular place on a long weekend started to rear its ugly head. What welcomed us was a serpentine queue of slow-moving traffic, impatient idiots who drive only on the right side when climbing up the ghats, two-wheeler riders who are trying to beat the ‘Who is the next Rossi’ competition and to top it off, many parts of the ghats were under repair.

Taking a small photo break and how can I resist flaunting my Team Bhp T-shirt



After trundling through this, we came across a waterfall on the road but decided to skip it after seeing a huge crowd and many haphazardly parked vehicles. Our resort was 5 KM before Kodai town and at this juncture, Google maps again decided that we need some more excitement and lead us through some steep, narrow roads. The roads were so narrow that the car could not even fit in the turnings. After a couple of 3-point turns and many anxious moments later, we reached our resort – Cherry Blossoms.

Strider taking a well-earned rest:



The view from the room and outdoor dining areas:









After checking in and resting for some time, we took a taxi to go to Kodi lake and it turned out to be a good decision – what horrible traffic. We did not go boating (huge queues everywhere) but went to Bryant park and Coakers walk and did some mandatory shopping – chocolates, tea powder, etc.

The next day, we started early after our breakfast to Mannavanur and we escaped the town without spending much time in the traffic and had the most enjoyable drive of our whole trip.

A view en route to Maravannur


One of the trails we encountered on the way. Decided to take a break and do some soft roading:


We reached the sheep farm before the crowd but by the time we came out, there was hardly any space left to park even one car. We went to Mannavanur lake and understandably, it was teeming with tourists. We took a coracle ride to pacify my son who wanted to have a boat ride from yesterday.

Few pics from the sheep farm and lake:








After spending about an hour there, we came out and stopped at Mannavanur Mess and Cafe for lunch. This is the only decent place we could find in Mannavanur and we decided to head back after lunch. The return drive was a harrying experience – heavy traffic, long traffic blocks aided by tourist vehicles unruly parked near each viewpoint, and two stalled vehicles. After fighting the traffic, we reached Rose Park and decided to take a break. The park was disappointing (and I also managed to scratch the side of my car while parking). We came out and realized that we have a whole evening but no plans.
Instead of hunting for another place to watch, we decided to park the car near the lake and take a walk (also, my wife wanted to check out a few shops she missed yesterday).

A shop on the lake belt, which had a verity of soft drinks and wines:



Fruit Shopping:



The next day, we started after our breakfast and reached Dindigul much before lunchtime, so venturing to the town to try out the Talappakatti Biriyani at the famous Dindigul Thalappakkatti restaurant was a non-starter. We stopped at Ramalingam Hotel before Salem for lunch, and it was a pleasant discovery. Good ambiance, good taste, and quantity, at very pocket-friendly rates.



Goli Soda



After an uneventful drive, we reached Bangalore by evening and called it shots for a very underwhelming holiday trip.

Lesson learned: Don’t go to any popular spots during long weekends. But, as with many lessons learned, don’t think I am going to stick with this one.




--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Posting the travelogue penned by my son, to be specifically posted in TBHP








--Anoop

[theexperthand]

One of the main issues I faced with Harrier is the inadequate headlights, especially during my early morning drives. This was highlighted in my initial posts and an upgrade was in cards. I usually upgrade the headlight bulb to Osram Night breakers and install a pair of auxiliary lights on all my vehicles and initially thought about going the same way and slapping a pair of Hella 3003 or something similar on Harrier too.
While searching for options to upgrade the high beam, saw some light upgrades done by a Tata SOUL member Mr. Preethendra in a couple of Harriers and Safaris. While I was contemplating this, my brother was also looking for a headlight upgrade and he got a similar upgrade done by the Preeth on his Nexon, and after seeing the light output, I was convinced to give it a try.

After a couple of WhatsApp exchanges and calls, we set up a date and I reached the place to start the work. The work was supposed to start by 7.30 PM, but his guy got called to attend to some urgent work and was not back, so it was almost 9.00 PM when we started the work.

The upgrade kit:

• High Beam: Novsight LED, 6000K
• Foglights: AES hi-low projectors, coupled with AES GS Ballast and AES UPS Canbus 5500K HID, AES relay to enable cornering function.
• Low Beam: Stock – decided to leave it untouched because I use low beams inside the city, and I do not want the light to be too bright inside city limits. Also, Preethendra was of the opinion that upgrading low beams is a costly affair and that the price-light return ratio is not really justifiable.

Work started by removing the front bumpers and first, the high beams were upgraded.



Testing the high beams - LED inside one, Halogen inside the other one. (Preeth is the guy in the yellow shirt and the excited young gentleman is my son, who stayed awake till whole work was finished )



I was given the option of going for either Novosite or Aozoom LEDs for the high beams and we put Novosite in one headlight and Aozoom in another to compare the output and decided to go ahead with Novosite since the light output was far better than Aozoom. Also, visually, Novoite was much better put together and compact.

The Novsight LED which went into the car:



The Aozoom LED which did not make the cut:



The stock fog lights were then removed and a new clamp and projectors were installed, along with the relays to make the cornering function work. Then wires were run from projectors to the battery for power and the high beam was tapped and connected to the fog lights so that if the fog lights are on and if I switch on the high beam, the fog lights also will switch to high beams.

Projectors - a closer look:


Ballast:



The AES UPS Canbus HIDs





Final Testing:



The whole removal and upgrade took around 2.5 to 3 hours and by around 1 AM, we hit the roads to align the lights. I have to say that during the entire time, Preeth was overseeing the work with a hawk’s eye, and both the mechanic (forgot his name ) and Preeth did not cut any corners or tried to finish up the work faster. After multiple tries, we aligned High, Low, and Fog lights and the results:

Only Fogs:



High Beam + Fogs:



Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j18p...nel=Anoopkumar

I have to say that I am grinning wildly every time when I switch on the high beams. Did a night drive to Rasta café, just to check out the headlights, and boy oh boy, what a transformation.

Interesting trivia: After removing the high beam bulbs, we realized that one headlight was having Philips bulb, while the other was having Osram bulb. Preeth was telling that he has observed this in many Harriers.

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Chronologically, this should have been posted before the light upgrade post, but I was too excited and jumped on the wagon to post the light upgrade first.

I called and booked my second service with Prerana motors, Kudlu gate – the closes slot I could get was after a week from the day I called. I reached the service center early (a hangover from Fiat days) but learned that Tata service centers will start taking cars only post 9.30.

Waiting for the hubbub to begin - an empty reception area and an empty waiting lounge:










By 9.30, the SA arrived, and my car was taken in promptly. I had no issues to report, but strangely, my android auto-stopped working on the day of service. So, I asked SA to check and update the infotainment software, if available.

Soon, the ASS became a beehive of activity, and it was difficult to even walk around, due to the sheer number of cars parked. I think Tata should genuinely look at increasing the number of service stations.

A sample of the rush:





The delivery was promised by 11 AM, but by 10.45 the car was out, and I went to check if the android auto is working – to my dismay, my mobile was not able to connect to the infotainment system. SA went inside to double-check if the infotainment system software is updated and then tried connecting his mobile and voila, it connected. So, the problem was with my mobile (The issue got fixed after a couple of days).

Even though the work was done, the billing took some time, and I was out of the service center by 12.00.

The second service checklist:



Some points I noted:

• Clean and spacious waiting lounge with AC, water, and a tea\coffee vending machine.
• Large glass windows overlooking the service bays, so that you can watch your car getting worked on.
  
  
  
• Despite the huge rush, a spotlessly clean workshop floor.
  
  
  
• SAs are overworked and under a lot of pressure. Each SA is managing multiple cars and they are trying their best to be attentive and polite and to deliver cars on time.
• The whole waiting room was full by 10.00 - 10.30 and many were working from there. I could see some SA gave his chair and table to some customers when the waiting lounge was full.
• I could spot a couple of programmers, management, HR, and even a DevOps engineer among the crowd who was working from the lounge – could have floated a startup

--Anoop

[gandharjc]

Hi theexperthand. I've been contemplating making a similar upgrade but won't tapping wires void warranty?

[NerDriver]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Interesting trivia: After removing the high beam bulbs, we realized that one headlight was having Philips bulb, while the other was having Osram bulb. Preeth was telling that he has observed this in many Harriers.

--Anoop

Very detailed and thoughtful summary , Thank you Anoop. Would you be so kind to share the details of the technicians who worked on your car ? I basically want to check if they only work on Tata cars or will they help out a brother who owns a Mahindra Scorpio N too
Cheers.

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Attachment 2365441
[*]Despite the huge rush, a spotlessly clean workshop floor.

Attachment 2365440


--Anoop

The altroz in this picture is very good looking, the alloys complement the car very well.

[bordeaux]

Wow! That's literally lit. Will it not nearly blind the oncoming traffic on an undivided carriageway? Did you test how it looks from the other side?

[lemedico]

Thanks for your write up. I want to do the same to my fogs on a Tiago. Could you share where you got the parts from? How much did they cost?
Also, why Xenon, and not LED bulbs (in the fogs)?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by gandharjc

Hi theexperthand. I've been contemplating making a similar upgrade but won't tapping wires void warranty?

Sorry if I was not clear - there was no cutting or splicing involved, so nothing to worry about warranty

Originally Posted by NerDriver

Very detailed and thoughtful summary , Thank you Anoop. Would you be so kind to share the details of the technicians who worked on your car ? I basically want to check if they only work on Tata cars or will they help out a brother who owns a Mahindra Scorpio N too
Cheers.

Thank you. I am not able to DM you, so can you drop an e-mail at anoop(dot)anoopkumar(@)gmail(dot)com? He works on all cars and has done upgrades on Skoda, Audi, etc, so you can sure get the upgrade done from him.

Originally Posted by Chimera

The altroz in this picture is very good looking, the alloys complement the car very well.

True.

Originally Posted by bordeaux

Wow! That's literally lit. Will it not nearly blind the oncoming traffic on an undivided carriageway? Did you test how it looks from the other side?

I usually do not use high beams on undivided carriageways, unless there is no traffic. 99% of my night driving is on divided 4-lane highways. Also, we have not turned the beam high so that it doesn't end up hitting the eyes of the driver.

Originally Posted by lemedico

Thanks for your write up. I want to do the same to my fogs on a Tiago. Could you share where you got the parts from? How much did they cost?
Also, why Xenon, and not LED bulbs (in the fogs)?

I did not source the parts, they were sourced by the installer himself. The total setup cost me 21.5K, including parts and labor. I will share his contacts with you so that you can check with him about your car.

--Anoop