[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Gurus, please throw some light on this. Reprogramming the ECU is anyway a must, but if the error ratio is this high, it should be done ASAP than waiting for the first service. Thanks in advance.

Is ECU programming is possible for Odometer error? Or you have to live with that because of tyre error? If it was 2% error then how come odometer drift is almost 10%?

[shajufx]

Anuj, its a confused topic to discuss as I am still understanding the technicalities involved in it. One thing I am sure, when you reprogram your ECU after a tire upgrade (as recommended by the FORD Manual too), ODO error will be rectified by default as the tire profile is reset from stock size to the new size in the car brain.

Now I know my new tire profile gives a 2% ODO error. But I have no clue how its connected to the distance/KM covered. Thats something I have never heard too. It could be also some malfunction of the ODO same like how DTE (Distance To Empty) is famous for fluctuating figures. Yet to find out. I know here we have majority of members with upgraded tires, regardless of the brand or variant. Did anyone notice similar things ? Question is open to all.

Originally Posted by shajufx

Anuj, its a confused topic to discuss as I am still understanding the technicalities involved in it. One thing I am sure, when you reprogram your ECU after a tire upgrade (as recommended by the FORD Manual too), ODO error will be rectified by default as the tire profile is reset from stock size to the new size in the car brain.

Now I know my new tire profile gives a 2% ODO error. But I have no clue how its connected to the distance/KM covered. Thats something I have never heard too. It could be also some malfunction of the ODO same like how DTE (Distance To Empty) is famous for fluctuating figures. Yet to find out. I know here we have majority of members with upgraded tires, regardless of the brand or variant. Did anyone notice similar things ? Question is open to all.

your ecu is programmed with your OE wheel size. the vehicles odometer and speedometer output is dependent on the vehicle speed sensor which is mounted on the transaxle of the vehicle. this sensor takes its input from the final drive speed (dependent on your gear ratios) of your output shaft. then the vehicle speed sensor sends signals to your ecu with uses precious algorithms to generate the speed of the vehicle and the distance travlled. so if your wheel OD changes then it will generate an error as the ecu will use the OE tyre OD to calculate.
i hope your doubts are cleared.

[shajufx]

Thanks for the input, I had my thoughts in the similar line, anyway its now cleared. ECU reprogramming is required for an error-free functioning, so I will be doing it this weekend.

[yajaman99]

Regarding fuel, i have been using Shell Super over the years in my 01' Indica Lei and would like to know is it ok to continue to use the same in the Fiesta 1.6Zxi.

[shajufx]

Update at 1030 kms on ODO

Fuel recommended is ordinary 91 octane Petrol, with System G additive as an option in the 1ml to 1 ltr petrol ratio. I have filled 88 ltrs Petrol so far, not yet started with System G. Having checked full tank to full tank mileage calculation twice, my average is now 12.80 kmpl. My next full tank will be with the correct proportion of System G (45 ltrs Petrol : 45 ml systemG), so that I will be able to tell the exact difference in mileage and performance.

Highway experience from 560 kms drive on 2nd Sept 2009

Overall expectations were happily met with regard to almost everything related to the car, body, engine, mileage, stability, driving comfort and whatever can be named here. It was a pleasant drive throughout with no single reason to complain on the engine nor any other technical parts. Few things that need an urgent upgrade:

1) Head lights are very poor for highway driving. So, I will be upgrading to whatever is closer to 100 watts this weekend itself.
2) Neck pads are a must for long drives. I had stiched one myself, but that needs extra filling and a higher sizing too. I could feel neck pain after 3 hours of drive.

Now coming to the DIPPER function while the head light is ON. I couldnt figure out how it really functions. Is there a dipper option while the head lights are already on highbeam ? When the head light is ON, if you pull the lever towards you, it gets locked to the highbeam, pull it towards you one more time it goes to low beam. I was driving with the highbeam ON maintaining a 120 kmph (maximum it could touch without crossing 3000 RPM) almost 70% of the total drive (Bangalore to Harihar on the Pune route). This route has almost 5 flyovers under construction, 3 toll booths and plenty of diversions too.

Following things are in the list for the next 15 days:

1) Blackberry car charger (ordered from fommy.co.in, will reach by next Monday)
2) Head light upgrades to the 80 -100 watts
3) Neck pads (need to stitch another bigger pair)
4) Stock speakers to be upgraded to any brand

I was checking compact sub woofers of Soomoku and Xenos (with built-in-amp). Yet to figure out the output options of the stock HU. Will update as the searches reach to conclusions.

[frankmehta]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Update at 1030 kms on ODO

Fuel recommended is ordinary 91 octane Petrol, with System G additive as an option in the 1ml to 1 ltr petrol ratio. I have filled 88 ltrs Petrol so far, not yet started with System G. Having checked full tank to full tank mileage calculation twice, my average is now 12.80 kmpl. My next full tank will be with the correct proportion of System G (45 ltrs Petrol : 45 ml systemG), so that I will be able to tell the exact difference in mileage and performance.

is this with highway driving? or only city driving with bumper to bumper traffic? I hardly get 8-9 in the city. Dont get to touch even 4th gear most of the time

1) Head lights are very poor for highway driving. So, I will be upgrading to whatever is closer to 100 watts this weekend itself.

yes, you are true. but try using the headlamp leveller (the switch next to the headlight/foglight knob. Might help.

2) Neck pads are a must for long drives. I had stiched one myself, but that needs extra filling and a higher sizing too. I could feel neck pain after 3 hours of drive.

true, there too. I am BUYING my own neck pads soon. Still making the FINAL decision whether to get seat covers or not.

Now coming to the DIPPER function while the head light is ON. I couldnt figure out how it really functions. Is there a dipper option while the head lights are already on highbeam ? When the head light is ON, if you pull the lever towards you, it gets locked to the highbeam, pull it towards you one more time it goes to low beam. I was driving with the highbeam ON maintaining a 120 kmph (maximum it could touch without crossing 3000 RPM) almost 70% of the total drive (Bangalore to Harihar on the Pune route). This route has almost 5 flyovers under construction, 3 toll booths and plenty of diversions too.

ill tell you in simple words (from the manual)

in order to switch to the dipped beam, you need to pull the lever on the left of the steering till you hear a click. that's when you have the dipped beam. pull it one more time towards you, till the click and you have low beam.
alternatively, if you want to just FLASH the dipped beam for a second, then just pull the lever (but not till the click)
there is no indicator on the dash for whether the dipped beam is on, or the low beam is on. So just pull the lever halfway (flasher mode) yourself to check whether its on dipped or low.

1) Blackberry car charger (ordered from fommy.co.in, will reach by next Monday)

fommy is overpriced. and not worth it. nonetheless, if you ordered, it's fine.

2) Head light upgrades to the 80 -100 watts

do update me on the progress. i hear a relay in action every time i use the headlight. so if there is a relay, you might just have to upgrade the bulbs. when you go to the mechanic, please ask him to check if there is a relay installed for the headlights. if there is, then i shall get the 100/80 (or equivalent)

3) Neck pads (need to stitch another bigger pair)

buy a damn pair!!!

4) Stock speakers to be upgraded to any brand

open a thread in the ask the gurus section. people will help you out there. there are only engine-wengine people here

I was checking compact sub woofers of Soomoku and Xenos (with built-in-amp). Yet to figure out the output options of the stock HU. Will update as the searches reach to conclusions.

both brands are pure PUKE. do not dabble in them. we shall sort you out, once you have a budget in mind!


cheers shaju. i learn so much from your thread, there's no words to describe it!

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

is this with highway driving? or only city driving with bumper to bumper traffic?

Yes 12.80 kmpl is highway driving with full time AC, maintaining a 120 kmph speed but the RPM at 3000. I was very careful not to cross 3500 (whenever it went above 3000 by mistake, but strictly below 2 or 3 seconds each time). My city drive (bumper to bumper) with an average 50% AC was posted earlier, that is 12.95 kmpl. I am sure the mileage can be easily improved to 13 to 14 kmpl after the first service and a clean control over the right foot. But who cares about the right foot when you have a begging, 'love to get ripped' engine under the metal ? Believe me, I hear the roar of the engine everytime I shift from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th. May be we can avoid that roar when we have a high-quality ICE to enjoy.

try using the headlamp leveller

We tried that, but the difference was just marginal. This time my drive was mainly NH4 which has a 5 ft concrete median throughout. Imagine driving in the night on a 2 way single-line state highways !

there is no indicator on the dash for whether the dipped beam is on, or the low beam is on. So just pull the lever halfway (flasher mode) yourself to check whether its on dipped or low

For highbeam, you can find a blue headlight icon on the dash board, the same icon flashes when you use the dipper during the day too. If the blue icon is not seen, then its defenitely on low beam. My doubt is purely about the dipper function when the head light is already ON in the night. I will check that again tonite.

fommy is overpriced. and not worth it. nonetheless, if you ordered, it's fine.

I had checked the same product at indiatimes online shop too, difference was only Rs.20/-. I dont know how much it might be selling in the local shops, need to check and see the difference. I heard fommy was selling higher quality products, no clue if all these sellers source their products from a single manufacturer in china ! I did a mistake of paying for the order without calling and checking the availability (a step which was not known to me). It was not available with the indian site, so they ordered it from UK and shipping it to me by this weekend.

if there is a relay, you might just have to upgrade the bulbs. when you go to the mechanic, please ask him to check if there is a relay installed for the headlights.

I really doubt if Ford will have a relay for 55/55 watts bulb as stock. Anyway I will check that first, will update you this weekend.

I havent heard soomoku or xenos subs in real life, so unable to comment on it. Do we have any members using the same ? No plans for ICE, in fact no vitamins. I like to have high-quality components with a 4 channel amp and a decent tight punching sub with a mono amp too. But thats purely a dream, as I will be aiming too much in a short span.

Only problem in spenting for a quality ICE (if I had the budget right now), I never get a chance to enjoy it when the family is in the car. Sadly, stock music system itself is on a volume level 5 or 6 while travelling with people in the car. I find a volume level 10 to 12 gives a decent quality even from the stock unit. So, if the stock unit is not used to its full limit, where will I get a chance with an expensive unit ? If I am driving alone, I am on my own, all this makes sense. But I might be driving alone less than 10% of the total driving in a month.

When it comes to Tire, Bulb upgrades, I strictly classify them in the SAFETY category. If the headlight is poor, I have highest chances of hitting a median or jumping an unmarked speed breaker.

[vnabhi]

I'm surprised to hear that the headlight is not bright enough---you gotta see other cars in the segment then!
The blue light glows on the dash when you are in high beam---so there is an indicator on the dash.

[shajufx]

Its bright enough for the city use, defenitely not meeting my need on a highway. Luckily I had my cousine with me, so he managed to drive. Night driving is my last preference, unless its that unavoidable. But with this kind of head light, I would have 0% confidence level even to try at an emergency.

I checked few options online and I can find Philips H1 in the 85 watts (H112425EV & H112425RA) and Philips H7 in the 80 watts (H712035EV & H712035RA) categories. Yet to find out the RELAY (Roots or Bosche) and pricing part.

[oss]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Thanks for the input, I had my thoughts in the similar line, anyway its now cleared. ECU reprogramming is required for an error-free functioning, so I will be doing it this weekend.

How are you getting it done? Can we get this done through Ford service centre?

Speedo error may be minimal if you consider that most of hte Speedo's are calibrated to show a bit ambitious speed. 2% error due to tyre upsizing should roughly compensate that. If you can get the ACI test figure that will show you the speedo error and you can see how much your tyre upsize will get offset by the speedo error already present.

You'll only need to correct the ODO for the extra distance you will be travelling due to large circumference of the tyre. The indicated milege calculated based on the current reading will be on the conservative side. In reality you would be getting more as your will travelling more distance than indicated.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by oss

How are you getting it done? Can we get this done through Ford service centre?.

ECU reprogramming device might be available at any tuning places, I am sure. But I prefer to go back to the dealer service centre for the same, as I dont want to create any confusion on a brand new vehicle. About the 2% ODO error, its techinically confirmed through many related sites. But the ODO error related to distance covered is not commented by anyone here, so I am not very sure of that part. If that assumption is correct, then a 15 inch tire would make a huge error.

[oss]

Originally Posted by shajufx

ECU reprogramming device might be available at any tuning places, I am sure. But I prefer to go back to the dealer service centre for the same, as I dont want to create any confusion on a brand new vehicle. About the 2% ODO error, its techinically confirmed through many related sites. But the ODO error related to distance covered is not commented by anyone here, so I am not very sure of that part. If that assumption is correct, then a 15 inch tire would make a huge error.

Not really; it depends on the rolling radius which is a combination of the rim size & the tyre wall height.

195/55R15 has a margine of error of 2.13% which is pretty similar to the 185/65R14 which is 2.23% error.

As per ACI, the speedo has a 5-6% error, so even after upsizing, the speedo is going to show a higher speed, but relatively closer to the actual speed.

I presume the ODOmeters are normally calibrated accurately, in which case the mileage readings will be a bit conservative.

[shajufx]

I bought the SystemG 200 ml (Rs.300) which is enough for 200 ltrs of Petrol. Will be adding this from the next full tank (probably in 2 or 3 days). My average mileage in the previous 2 tank fulls have been posted above. Now its time to check with SystemG.

My search for the head light upgrade has come to a situation where I am left with only Philips H1 (highbeam) = 100 watts and H7 (lowbeam) = 80 watts options from a known shop. I had done door damping for my previous vehicle there. So they called up Philips and checked all the options available and the result is 100/80. I am waiting for opionions before changing to it. Cost will be Rs.1200/-. According to the shop guy, relays are already in the car as stock. So, it will be just change the bulb and use.

Another option available is OSRAM nighbreaker (which comes in stock watts) claimed to be very powerful. I am not sure of it, because I dont know anyone using it. We dont have many choices when it comes to H1 and H7 bulbs. I was planning to upgrade the bulbs today, but thought, for everything I take my patience level tested, so why not take some opinions here and do the work. So, here I am, waiting for golden words from Gurus.

Car Perfumes:
I prefer to have some lemon flavoured, sleek perfumes that can fit into the 2 inch X 2 inch slot next to the 12 V plug and Aux-in socket. There is a reason for that; fragrance bottle fixed on the dashboard will lose its quality when its exposed to sun for long hours (you are not supposed to expose lot of other costly liquids to sun rays too). I had checked few car perfumes online, but found them to be too bad in quality. Luckily I spotted the same brands in a super market and thanked my stars that I didnt order them online. It would have been a BIG mistake. One of it smelt like diluted Dettol (100ml = Rs.350). Ambipur is a very good quality brand, but I couldnt find any car perfumes around (stand alone bottles, not the airvent type). Suggestions anyone ?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by shajufx

So they called up Philips and checked all the options available and the result is 100/80. I am waiting for opionions before changing to it. Cost will be Rs.1200/-. According to the shop guy, relays are already in the car as stock. So, it will be just change the bulb and use.

If a relay is not required, why is it so expensive? AFAIK, the setup including the relay would cost just about Rs.900/- or so!