[torquarius]

Originally Posted by GTO

Could be your brakes (normal after heavy use).

GTO - Can you please elaborate if this can happen because of brakes.

Just 2 days back, I experienced a similar thing. I was driving in a nasty B2B traffic with frequent gear shifts and braking for about half an hour. Windows were rolled up fully with AC on. All of a sudden an unbearable burning smell (that of a rubber) crept into the cabin. It was so intense that for a moment I thought the tyre must be on fire . Suddenly I rolled down the windows, the smell disappeared. Clueless on what happened I continued to drive with the windows down and after couple of minutes the pungent odour appeared again but this time the intensity was less (may be since windows were rolled down). I got panic and pulled the car to the left, got out and inspected the tyres (thought there might be a puncture or something). All seemed OK. Then started off again and drove for another 5 kms to home. Didn't face the problem again.

I have no clue on what happened. Thoughts ?

While the odour appeared for the second time, I got panic and wanted to stop the car immediately. But I was bang in middle of a heavy traffic. I immediately put on the Hazard lights and started drifting towards left and put my hand out and was giving a stop signal. One smart fellow on a 2 wheeler showed his hand disrespectfully at me and abused me as he passed my car. I got pissed off as I was already panic and I shouted back at him asking him to stop to settle the scores. But the brave guy vanished anyway. Was I doing anything wrong ? Aren't Hazard lights used in such emergencies ?

[naveenvenkatesh]

The moral of the story is don't drive at 140 km/h!

I have a Ritz but i haven't experienced any smell at 140+ speeds. Anyway, i will check again this weekend.

It could also be the clutch getting burnt out during B2B traffic! Happened in out swift!

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by torquarius

Aren't Hazard lights used in such emergencies ?

they are, and you are right in using the hazard lights to pull on to the shoulder, but the problem is the bike guy who showed his finger does not know this (most people don't) and hence might have thought you are going straight (for which the signal is generally used), it is unfortunate truth in here that people inadvertantly assume that they are right, thanks to the mass media, reality shows and movie which manipulate emotions and tell us that infuriation and hitting the other person is a way of life :(

The smell may be due to clutch riding in B2B traffic

[torquarius]

Originally Posted by anilisanil

but the problem is the bike guy who showed his finger does not know this (most people don't)

Yeah. Actually I wouldn't have minded had it been a auto driver or some jerk looking guy because you can't expect more from them. But this was actually a well dressed standard gentleman in his 40s. It feels bad when you actually are in a problem and doing everything right and someone goes restless.

Originally Posted by anilisanil

The smell may be due to clutch riding in B2B traffic

Oh Ok. I hope this is normal. Thanks for the info.

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by torquarius

Oh Ok. I hope this is normal. Thanks for the info.

No clutch riding is not normal, you are frying your clutch and hence reducing its life.

A clutch works by engaging/disengaging the driver and driven shafts. But when you ride your clutch you are neither engaging nor disengaging and hence there is relative motion between the clutches which damages the clutch plates. You can however replace them, but it costs you a bomb, so avoid accelrating while your clutch is still not engaged completely!!

[torquarius]

Originally Posted by anilisanil

A clutch works by engaging/disengaging the driver and driven shafts. But when you ride your clutch you are neither engaging nor disengaging and hence there is relative motion between the clutches which damages the clutch plates. You can however replace them, but it costs you a bomb, so avoid accelerating while your clutch is still not engaged completely!!

Ahh...Didn't get that fully . I don't understand driven shafts, motion and all. Anyway, I will tell you how I drive in B2B traffic. Please correct me wherever am wrong. I have only experience of 2K kms in city conditions and diesel engine so far.

- Whenever the car comes closer to stopping or stops I shift back to 1st gear whichever gear am in.
- Consider the car is moving at snail's pace (10 - 20 kmph types) and am in 2nd gear. I will always ensure my foot is away from clutch and will shift down to 1st only when RPM approaches 1k or sense slight strain on engine.
- @ major speed breakers: will try my best to cross them on 2nd gear by controlling through brakes and not riding the clutch at all. But sometimes after front tyre passes, shift down to 1st since won't feel confident to pull it on 2nd since speed reduces further after the front tyres have crossed.
- In Stop-Go-Stop-Go traffic, sometimes ride clutch in 2nd gear and use it to pull the car forward because you've not come to a halt and hence don't shift down to 1st but you are so slow that without slight clutch riding (while on 2nd) can't pull the car forward. What best to do in such case ?
- As a best practice, should I not ride the clutch at all while on 2nd ? In Stop-Go conditions, Whenever not confident to move the vehicle on second should I shift back to 1st and keep moving the car riding the clutch on 1st gear ?

Also, please suggest any other "things to do" in B2B traffic. Thanks in advance.

[satishssiyer]

I recently happened to drive Suzuki Splash in Turin, Italy. The car was very peppy.
Found the following differences against the indianised version.
1. The boot had a compartment for storing umbrellas/wet clothes and hence it was inline with the rear seat platform.
2. The diesel version had Airbags, bigger tyres, rear wiper

The drive was great. I drove from torino to Milano along the A4 highway called as Autostrada A4, or Serenissima ( the most serene). The drive was so beautiful. It was a non stop drive till Milano ater which i had to sneak through the traffic snarls of the Milan.

I have tried to attach the pics here.

Cheers and happy parking.

[headbanger]

Hi All,

Need a bit of advice. Got my car to Car-Plus on Saturday to get ICE installation. Everything went smooth but after the speaker installation in the driver's door, when the window is rolled up or down, I can feel a small jerk when the window is say 70% down. At first, it was just a jerk with intermittent kit-kit sound like that of a rattle but now that has transformed into a longish squeak which feels like that the window glass is brushing something as it moves.

When I got to Car-Plus again to tell them of the issue, they opened the door and told me that they only joined the wiring coupler to the speaker and just fitted with the speaker with 2 screws. So they haven't touched anything in the power window section.

My car is due for second service and I am going to take this to M.A.S.S. Hopefully this is not a major issue!!!

[headbanger]

The issue was resolved. It was a loose nut in the power window channel.

[carheadbanger]

poor braking and slow pickup even if you push the throttle hard makes it incompetent for city/highway drive . I also own a santro which is much much better than ritz. You can feel the control in a St.Row

[pacman2881]

Originally Posted by carheadbanger

poor braking and slow pickup even if you push the throttle hard makes it incompetent for city/highway drive . I also own a santro which is much much better than ritz. You can feel the control in a St.Row

Couldn't agree with any of your comments. Both are class apart and Ritz outscores Santro and on all aspects you mentioned except braking. Ritz doesn't give the feedback of a 'bite' during braking which gives a feel of lower braking.

I am not sure what made you make such a sweeping comment.

[maglev]

Originally Posted by carheadbanger

poor braking and slow pickup even if you push the throttle hard makes it incompetent for city/highway drive . I also own a santro which is much much better than ritz. You can feel the control in a St.Row

I have a Ritz LXI and have driven the Santro both 1.0 & 1.1L. All I can say is that one cannot compare the two. The K-Series of the Maruti performs better than the Hyundai Kappa, so what this means is that one doesn't even need to compare it with a Santro. Sorry for being blunt but the Ritz is far far superior to the Santro on practically all parameters.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by carheadbanger

poor braking and slow pickup even if you push the throttle hard makes it incompetent for city/highway drive . I also own a santro which is much much better than ritz. You can feel the control in a St.Row

That is because some engines need to be revved for power to develop. The Santro has excellent low down torque, its like the power is always on tap which is not the case with the Ritz which needs engine revs at high counts to wriggle that power but on the highway a Ritz will blow the Santro away in every department except the braking in which the Santro is the king.

[BoneCollector]

I own a Ritz Vxi,April 2010, and it has done about 6400kms till date.There were no major issues except for some rattling noise from the front which i tought was due to some suspension issue.Took it to MASS,was told it was front calliper noise,will be ok once i get it rectified.So got it done,but to my surprise,the same noise crept up again after 200 kms.This time i had to act tough with them.They took about 4hrs looking for the problem and came to conclusion after checking it that it was definitely coming from the steering column.It seems that there is some bolt that holds the steering column,had come loose!!Have done a few 100kms more after service,no major issues till now.
One more thing i have to mention is that my Ritz is shod with Bridgestones and that of my Uncle came with JKs.I've driven that Ritz(with JKs) for about 4000kms and i must tell you that Bridgestones are anyday better than JKs in handling,grip,braking and cabin noise issues.
My fuel efficiency keeps on hovering,on an average its in between 12-13kms in city but i've also managed an average of 21.6kms on highway on one trip with AC on for full duration (highway average is about 18kmpl)
As of now,i'm having a trouble free drive in my car and hope to have many more kms in it.

[Ritzman]

Future Fleet

As part of a field test, from January to September 2011, the project will integrate as many as 30 electric cars into SAP's car fleet in Germany. MVV Energie will also use electric cars in its fleet. Electricity and the charging infrastructure will be provided solely from renewable energy sources by MVV Energie and, therefore, will enable virtually emission-free mobility. To enhance the efficiency of vehicle deployment, the project will test a software prototype for the smart management of company car fleets. This software will make it possible to analyze the interrelationships between mobility needs, technical possibilities, and new requirements resulting from the use of electric vehicles. This analysis will take a wide variety of driving and vehicle parameters into account, including the distance and duration of planned drives as well as the vehicle's operating distance.