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Old 10th July 2009, 17:29   #106
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How are the stock Punto headlights? Are they bright enough to do some night driving? Any idea on its ratings?
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Old 14th July 2009, 07:45   #107
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Originally Posted by krish3 View Post
How are the stock Punto headlights? Are they bright enough to do some night driving? Any idea on its ratings?
The lights are bright enough. However, I find the low beam a bit too close for my liking..
Its a 55/60 W


I finally managed to breach the 20kmpl barrier .
Had to do a early morning shift to the airport and back. I reset the trip computer with the intention of checking the mileage figures. However, en-route, I got a tad too excited, pushed her till 140, otherwise coasting close to the ton mark.
On my way back, I decided to be more civil and stuck to 80. And soon enough there was the magic figure of 22.1 kmpl on the display .
I am loving it.
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Old 14th July 2009, 08:22   #108
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Headlight beam adjustment

Quote:
Originally Posted by aqualeo2040 View Post
The lights are bright enough. However, I find the low beam a bit too close for my liking..
Its a 55/60 W


I finally managed to breach the 20kmpl barrier .
Had to do a early morning shift to the airport and back. I reset the trip computer with the intention of checking the mileage figures. However, en-route, I got a tad too excited, pushed her till 140, otherwise coasting close to the ton mark.
On my way back, I decided to be more civil and stuck to 80. And soon enough there was the magic figure of 22.1 kmpl on the display .
I am loving it.
That is great mileage.

Fiats normally have beam adjustment screws - look for them on the top/back of the headlight assembly. You could also look in the manual for directions. It takes a while to adjust them to one's liking and a dark road is essential to fine tune the setting but, the effort is well worth it.

Cheers,
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Old 14th July 2009, 16:08   #109
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aqualeo2040 View Post
The lights are bright enough. However, I find the low beam a bit too close for my liking..
Its a 55/60 W


I finally managed to breach the 20kmpl barrier .

On my way back, I decided to be more civil and stuck to 80. And soon enough there was the magic figure of 22.1 kmpl on the display .
I am loving it.
Excellent.
Have you also tried tank full to tank full method till now?
So this iwill be quiet close to the 19kmpl overall claimed by fiat people for punto.
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Old 5th August 2009, 13:15   #110
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1500 kms update

1500 kms of city driving completed.

Nothing extraordinary except for me getting F1esque behind the wheel sometimes.

For Bangaloreans, those who know.
The place where the Bannerghatta Road begins after the graveyard, there is a steep right curve. Managed to take it at 80 kmph. The car felt planted as ever. Had a scary experience taking the same corner on a Santro at 50 a few months back

All was going fine except for the fact that the horrid city traffic wasnt letting me see more than 14 kmpl on the display.Then disaster struck yesterday.
I had to treat my team for a lunch at MTR. With the NIMHANS route always choc-a-bloc with traffic, I decided to take the Wilson Garden route.From Double Road,I took a bylane to reach the Urvashi Theater road. Big Mistake. The road was uphill and downhill. At one point, right after the crest, on the right was a half-man sized hole, thanks to BBMP!! Since, its absolutely not visible from the driver seat, my right wheel went pop into it with a thud.And then there was horrible vibration in the car. With the help of fellow onlookers (since this was a small junction, I had managed to block the traffic), I managed to get the car out.But there was the horrid vibrations. Felt like something must have given way in the underbody.No visual marks though thankfully. Drove it to MTR and called for the tow van.
The first sign of relief when I didnt find any oil marks below the car.
Got it towed to Concorde, my heart still in my mouth.(I have witnessed how much an underbody damage might cost!!).
Thanks to the Concorde guys & specially Manjunath again. They promptly receive me, did a quick check and put it up on the ramp.
Now came the best part. The entire engine compartment was covered with a thick metal sheet along with a separate metal beam. Now thats what I call protection. Then entire fuel lines were covered with separate covers.
The metal sheet had got bent due to impact. This was touching the engine compartment. The engine vibes were transferred to the body and thus the vibrations. The plates were removed, hammered and put back.Voila, the car is smooth as ever. No vibes.no nothing!(Sorry, exhausted my smilies).lol
Quite a few people have complained about Concorde guys.However, my personal experience has always been quite different. I have always been greeted by almost everyone at the showroom. They help me promptly. Always have time to share experiences and jokes with them.And they dont feel like the gelled hair salesmen!
Yeah, some of the sales guys are a little inexperienced.But they are good enough for a regular customer. For the car afficianado, the customer always know all the details in advance. There is a hint of sadism when I see people try to harass the sales folks with answers they already know.Not everyone is supposed to know everything and everyone has a learning curve. Its like the teacher badgering the weak students in the class.
I have been underneath our good old Ambies( 3 of them at any time), all greased up and fouling with nuts and bolts since I was 14. And with my interests in cars and engineering background, its obvious that I have a much deeper knowlegde than some googlers.I personally feel that these sales guys could do with a break too.
Oh! btw.When I checked the underbody of the car, i found that it was completely coated with a rubberised anti-rust soln. Now I feel that every cent I have spent is worth much more.(no smilies again )
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Old 5th August 2009, 13:31   #111
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Good to know nothing happened, but I can imagine what you would have been feelings through this incident.

I am getting a mileage of only 14-15 so hearing that you got 22+ is very nice.
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Old 5th August 2009, 13:36   #112
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Aqualeo it is unfortunate that the accident happened. But it is good in a way that it has been rectified immediately by the Concorde guys. Yes even in my case i had no major problems dealing with the Concorde guys, it is that you need to push them a little. By the way did you get the mudflap and car mat. Has it arrived at Concorde Bangalore.
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Old 5th August 2009, 13:40   #113
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@ Aqualeo. I was feeling so upset while I was reading the first part but as soon as reached the last part I was back to normal

This proves that FIAT build quality is really good.
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Old 5th August 2009, 14:21   #114
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sridharp77 View Post
By the way did you get the mudflap and car mat. Has it arrived at Concorde Bangalore.
Nope. But it has been escalated to Fiat India.Hope to get it sometime soon.

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Originally Posted by humans View Post
@ Aqualeo. I was feeling so upset while I was reading the first part but as soon as reached the last part I was back to normal

This proves that FIAT build quality is really good.
Yup! Definitely. Eventhough the plastics are not to everyone's liking, the Fiat guys definitely havn't cut any corners when it comes to the real thing.

However, I would really love to be in UK/US now. I wish I could sue the BBMP folks for being so careful to put such a huge pit on a open road!
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Old 5th August 2009, 15:12   #115
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Good that nothing serious happened. This engine protection cowling/sheet has stood me in good stead a number of times. Since your front right tire went in, I would suggest a wheel alignment check. Nothing might come of it, but prevention is better than cure.
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Old 5th August 2009, 15:49   #116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NutsNBolts View Post
Good that nothing serious happened. This engine protection cowling/sheet has stood me in good stead a number of times. Since your front right tire went in, I would suggest a wheel alignment check. Nothing might come of it, but prevention is better than cure.
Yup. I thought similarly .
Got the housings checked when the car was lifted.
So, as soon as I found a open piece of road, i tried the rule-of-thumb test for wheel-alignment. The car was ram-rod straight. No veering
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Old 5th August 2009, 19:00   #117
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Bangalore roads are infamous for poth holes and extra large speed breakers.sorry to hear about what happened to punto at the same time i am happy for you that it got resolved up to your satisfaction.Keep us updated on your puntoing experiance.
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Old 5th August 2009, 19:27   #118
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Hey aqualeo,
Nice to hear that the car escaped extensive damage.

Check for any suspension 'thuds',and check if the ride quality is the same.

And yep,ladies and gents,the external build quality of the car is amazing.

What's the f-e you are getting in the city?
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Old 5th August 2009, 19:48   #119
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NutsNBolts View Post
Since your front right tire went in, I would suggest a wheel alignment check. Nothing might come of it, but prevention is better than cure.
Good suggestion. I was just about to say the same thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aqualeo2040 View Post
Yup. I thought similarly .
Got the housings checked when the car was lifted.
So, as soon as I found a open piece of road, i tried the rule-of-thumb test for wheel-alignment. The car was ram-rod straight. No veering
You really have been lucky and its good that the GP took all in its stride. Fiat has always given its cars good underbody protection.

If you hit that man-hole at speed, I think its advisable to get a wheel balancing done, if not alignment. You could probably check for vibrations from the steering at high speeds (typically 90-120 km/h) and then decide to do the above.
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Old 17th August 2009, 17:33   #120
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ho man, thats really cool. The first GP in Bangalore. You would feel "The king of Bangalore".

Anyways, Good Ride. Ride safe.
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