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Old 18th October 2009, 21:07   #16
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Cute looking car. The beige interiors and the black body makes a perfect combination. Do take care of the beige interiors well as these become dirty very quickly.
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Old 18th October 2009, 21:56   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by idea1979 View Post
i am also facing the same.
The long throw gear takes a little getting used to. Also read reviews about the issue with the gear shift in Spark. I am already comfortable with the gear shift, have no problems with it so far.

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Congrats on your cute little car.
Take good care of the black color, at least with a wash every weekend - I know what it is like to own and maintain a black car!
Any plans of alloys/tire upgrade?
FE seems good too.
Thank you blackasta. Black is the colour for me when it comes to automobiles. Alloy wheels are after I wear out the first set of tyres

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Originally Posted by raamki View Post
congrats on the sparky!! its a super car to drive in the city!! my inlaws got one (Blazing Red LS) not long ago from the same place, karthik was our sales person! very courteous chap!!

btw, a nice write up as well!! congrats again and happy motoring!!
Thanks Raamki. Karthik was my sales guy too. He was very helpful and easy to deal with.

Last edited by Jaggu : 18th October 2009 at 22:12. Reason: Back to back posts, use Multi Quote instead. Thanks
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Old 20th October 2009, 19:38   #18
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The second FE check 170 KMs after the previous full tank shows 13.91 Km/Ltr. Again this was all city drive with AC on 50% of the time.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 01:24   #19
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Can anyone tell me what is the optimum speed limit on each gear for a spark during the run in? Can the RPM be calculated in terms of KMPH @ a given gear, given the other specs like the CC, power, torque, compression ratio, wheelbase size etc..,?

I want to be able to guess (at least approximately) what RPM I am doing looking at the speedo for each gear I am in.

Last edited by thegame : 3rd November 2009 at 01:30.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 09:39   #20
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Let me give a blind calculation.

Gear ratio Speed
1st -> 2nd 10km
2nd -> 3rd 20-25km
3rd -> 4th 30-40km
and so on. This is just not to strain your eng or make it scream. Do upshift as soon as possible. All these would be near to 2000 rpm.

Last edited by Ramsagar : 3rd November 2009 at 09:43.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 14:03   #21
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Congrats on your black LS. I have the same model and color and love every bit of it.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 15:36   #22
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With regards to the notchy gear shift (the same problem as with the Matiz) = after 4 years of which driving I have a few tips for you fellas. I dont know what the manual says on this , but changing the gear oil (transmission oil) after the first 6 months of ownership and complaining about the notchy shift at the same time (which makes them lubricate some thing inside) helps. Its not a big improvement but noticeable.

Excellent choice of car , nice write up too. Is the Spark getting beige interiors in all the models? I am not a big fan of beige.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 15:43   #23
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congratulations on your cute little car, which looks cool in black shade.Keep updating and enjoy your ride.Best run in process is not to rev beyond 2000 to 2500rpm and let the engine settle in.
Dont know about others but friend owns one and it has one of the super silent engines to know to be on.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 17:30   #24
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What is the mileage for the Chevy Spark LPG ? The Chevrolet people are banking on this one to get a stronghold in the indian market.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 20:56   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thegame View Post
Can anyone tell me what is the optimum speed limit on each gear for a spark during the run in? Can the RPM be calculated in terms of KMPH @ a given gear, given the other specs like the CC, power, torque, compression ratio, wheelbase size etc..,?

I want to be able to guess (at least approximately) what RPM I am doing looking at the speedo for each gear I am in.
Very Very simple. Shift when speed reaches (current gear X 10) . So change to 2nd at 10-20kmph, to the 3rd at 20-30kmph, and to 4th at 30-40kmph

--Vikrant
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Old 3rd November 2009, 21:45   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vikrantj View Post
Very Very simple. Shift when speed reaches (current gear X 10) . So change to 2nd at 10-20kmph, to the 3rd at 20-30kmph, and to 4th at 30-40kmph

--Vikrant
Thank you Vikrantj. That was very helpful. Has anyone had experience fitting an after market tacho in Spark. Nothing fancy, just a RPM meter. It has a four cylinder engine. Where can I source the signal from in Spark? Does it have to come from the ECM?
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Old 3rd November 2009, 21:48   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Takumi-san View Post
With regards to the notchy gear shift (the same problem as with the Matiz) = after 4 years of which driving I have a few tips for you fellas. I dont know what the manual says on this , but changing the gear oil (transmission oil) after the first 6 months of ownership and complaining about the notchy shift at the same time (which makes them lubricate some thing inside) helps. Its not a big improvement but noticeable.

Excellent choice of car , nice write up too. Is the Spark getting beige interiors in all the models? I am not a big fan of beige.
All models of Spark comes with beige interiors. Difficult to maintain though.

Last edited by thegame : 3rd November 2009 at 21:49.
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Old 11th November 2009, 00:35   #28
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1200 Km Update

Completed the first 1000 on the Friday. Got the reassurance checkup done on the Saturday. No major issues with the car so far. Few things that I wanted fixed during the reassurance service:
1. 3 middle lines in the rear demister didn't work
2. engine revs up when upshifting from 2nd to 3rd
3. Braking produced squeaking noise on 2 or 3 occasions
4. wanted NO stickers on the car

Dropped the car at GM showroom at 10:30AM and picked it up at 6:00PM. They looked fairly busy, probably because it was a weekend. No free pickup and drop service was bad news. But I can live with it as my office is not far from the GM A.S.S. The service advisor tried to sell me Teflon coating and 3M underbody coating for 3K. Politely refused it. Issues 2, 3 & 4 were fixed. The car was washed and polished. Engine sounded a tad better after the service. No revving when up shifting. The brakes felt more effective too. The dreaded GM A.S.S was after all, not all that bad. So far, so good.

My take on the car:
The car zips through in traffic and has a major size advantage within the city. Need for down shifting in traffic is less compared to other cars I have driven. Handling and braking are fairly good. There are lots of provisions for placing stuff all around the car - in the door, in the dash, under the dash around the gear console, on the seats which IMO is very thoughtful. Checked the mileage a week back, was just above 15 with AC on half the time in the city. Speedo needle didn't move a mm above 140 Kmph, when I floored it on the NICE road today. The position of the central console in the dash cramps my left leg, more so with the absence of the dead pedal. The visibility is poor while taking sharp right turns, thanks to the A pillar design. GM should have threw in a tacho, atleast in the top end variant. The car is dramatically sluggish in lower gears with AC on, but the AC is effective never the less. Chills the cabin in no time. Over all happy with the purchase - money well spent.

Questions:
To fix the rear defogger, the service guy said the rear winshield has to be replaced (Ofcourse under warranty) and that he has ordered the part. I mean I can live with a thin strip of fog for a few minutes in my rear winshield - but is it worth the pain? Will the winshield fixed by A.S.S be as good as the factory fitting?

How does one source signal in Spark for an after market RPM meter?

Last edited by thegame : 11th November 2009 at 00:37.
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Old 11th November 2009, 00:59   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thegame View Post
Questions:
To fix the rear defogger, the service guy said the rear winshield has to be replaced (Ofcourse under warranty) and that he has ordered the part. I mean I can live with a thin strip of fog for a few minutes in my rear winshield - but is it worth the pain? Will the windshield fixed by A.S.S be as good as the factory fitting?

How does one source signal in Spark for an after market RPM meter?
Absolutely, get the rear glass replaced. The demister lines are heat conductive material painted on glass, and they are connected by 1 or 2 socket type wires (look closer and would notice) with the car circuitry. Windshield fixed by A.S.S should be as good as the factory fitting (especially it is rear glass - if it was the front windshield , you could have thought twice)


Are you sure you want a astar/ritz like tacho in your car?
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Old 11th November 2009, 08:30   #30
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Did you get the service done @ Kropex ? I think I saw your car
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