[SS-Traveller]

Somewhere on the Mussoorie-Chamba Road, about 6 km short of Dhanolti, is a B&B that a friend is setting up and wants us to visit, so that he can get a feedback.

Coincidentally, my cousin's XL6 Automatic is parked with us for a few weeks while he travels abroad. He wants me to give him a feedback about the actual fuel efficiency, since his chauffeur-driven car is reportedly returning a poor average. This would be a good opportunity to test the car on highways and mountains - and it would be a new experience for me to drive a torque converter automatic gearbox in the hills.

The weather seems clear, though snow and rain are predicted for the next week. So this is not a planned snowhunt. We expect to have an incident-free 7-hour drive to the place, and return the next day.

Joining us for the trip is BHPian JKDS and his mother - the same team that went snow-hunting to Narkanda last month ('Thanda' Narkanda Photologue | Snow-Hunting in HP in a Renault Duster AWD).

Picking them up at 5 am...

It's a foggy drive till Saharanpur...

Bright and sunny weather as we enter Uttarakhand after crossing Saharanpur

A Maggi Point stop somewhere beyond Dehradun

[SS-Traveller]

A few km beyond the Jaypee Residency Manor Hotel after we turn on to the Mussoorie-CHamba Road bypassing Mussoorie towards Dhanolti, the sky suddenly turns ominously cloudy, and it starts to snow. We still have almost 20 km to cover to our destination, but it is just past midday, so we are not too worried about getting late, and stop to enjoy the fresh snowfall.

Little do we know that it has been snowing heavily further ahead, and we would be held up on the road soon. A section of the road ahead has a sharp upslope, and no vehicle has enough traction to climb that slope. Neither can the XL6, though it seems to have a slightly better grip on its brand new Ecopia 150 tyres. I considered airing down the tyres, but not just yet.

Manage to reverse & park to the left of the road, with space enough for downhill traffic to go past, but the idiotic Swift Dzire behind me tries to go ahead. His wheels spin freely (watch the last video in post #3), and he almost goes out of control

The windscreen and windows fog up gradually as soon as the engine is switched off

The temperature display refuses to go below zero, but this warning pops up every time the engine is turned on

Worried about getting past that sign behind me, never mind the rest of the way!

And we finally decide to rope up the front wheels for at least some grip, where others have none

And it worked!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtHVIyNOJus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UT1FBWBH-c

[SS-Traveller]

Another couple of kilometres up the road at the next junction, police stop us, saying the road ahead to the next town, Suwakholi, is blocked by snow. Our destination is still 16 km ahead - GPS shows ~12 km to Suwakholi, and then we need to travel another ~4 km further ahead.

View from the tea stall

For the next hour, we park the car and enjoy the views and the falling snow, as the tea stall at the corner does roaring business. Hot tea, bread, omelettes and Maggi never tasted better than in the freezing weather. We chat with cars returning from the Dhanolti side, and realize the road is impassable about 8 km ahead. A group of bikers riding RE Himalayan's had passed us when we were fixing ropes to our tyres, headed for Dhanolti, and they ride back now, unable to cross the snow-bound section ahead. For us, the choices were limited - either turn back for Delhi, or pay a king's ransom for accommodation at any decent hotel nearby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQO-FwFNl2E

We decide to return to Delhi. The snowfall continues, and we are worried that we may not be able to drive back the next day, There's work to do on Monday that cannot be postponed. 4wd vehicles like the Fortuner and VCross are turning back too, so there is no point in trying to push ahead.

Somewhere on the way, once the snow and slush on the road have cleared, we remove the ropes from the wheels. The ropes are frayed and torn, but they have done their job, and made sure that we are safer on the slippery roads for over 20 km.

JKDS did a lot of the hard work in tying, untying and removing the ropes, as well as guiding the car through tight spaces and managing traffic in the falling snow. Here's a pic of him before he got all tired. We probably would not have come through as smoothly as we did, and a big "thank you" goes out to him.

The sun sets on the way down, before we reach Dehradun...

The rest of the trip is uneventful, and we stop at Karim's at Muradnagar for a sumptuous dinner

We're home at almost 1 am, a tiring but exhilarating full-day drive that turned out to have taught us a lot more than any other single trip.

And finally, here is a 15-minute video of the snowing part of the trip, compiled from dashcam as well as mobile footage, which covers the most interesting bits of the trip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r1_jqmXzzE

[SS-Traveller]

Salient information:

Date of travel: 4:30 am on Saturday, 4 January 2020 to 1 am on Sunday, 5 January, 2020.

Distance covered: 648 km

Fuel efficiency (petrol): Best = 18.3 kmpl (as per MID); overall = 14.4 kmpl (tankful to tankful)

Comments on using nylon rope for traction in snow:

• Rope used was braided nylon rope of ~10 mm diameter - we had about 15 metres of rope, and the whole length was used up for tying to both wheels.
• Works well as an emergency measure for short distances in snow, slush and black ice, especially when travelling on mild uphill slopes or downhill.
• Smooth road surfaces cause minimal damage to the rope.
• Sharp uphill + rocky road surfaces tend to fray the rope quickly.
• Even though the rope did contact brake calipers when the wheels rotated, we found no damage to any component (apart from the rope itself fraying, and bits sticking to the calipers).

[BlackPearl]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[adg_andy]

Thanks for these little gems SS da. Using nylon rope was ingenious!!How would you term the comfort factor of the XL6 , the suspension and chassis specifically over medium to long distances ?

[blackwasp]

Awesome write up there SS-Traveller!

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

And we finally decide to rope up the front wheels for at least some grip, where others have none
[center]Attachment 1957520

Your quick thinking and experience made it possible for you to get out of a situation where otherwise you would have got stuck. And what a nifty idea I must say.

Not all trips go as planned, but then, as some say, the destination is the journey. Keep it up, looking forward to more adventures from you.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by adg_andy

Thanks for these little gems SS da. Using nylon rope was ingenious!!How would you term the comfort factor of the XL6 , the suspension and chassis specifically over medium to long distances ?

Thank you for the appreciation. My take on the XL6 Automatic can be read here:

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Well, we took the XL6 Alpha Automatic to the Himalayas yesterday, and had to return due to heavy snowfall and blocked roads. But that car performed flawlessly. It's an extremely comfortable highway cruiser - the seats, both front and second row captain seats, are perfectly shaped and bolstered, the suspension is smooth and firm, the tyres (Bridgestone Ecopia 150) have good grip on dry as well as wet surfaces, and the fuel economy is not too bad.

On the downside, the automatic gearbox has a disconcerting habit of shifting down 2 gears at a time in the hills, with a sudden surge of the engine to 3500 rpm and more without any change of accelerator input. But the torque converter's behaviour of multiplying torque and working a bit like low range gear certainly helped us get out of a few tight spots.
========
The overall average FE was at 14.4 kmpl as calculated tankful-to-tankful, while the MID showed 15.3 kmpl. During the highway run, the MID went up to 18.1 kmpl, so I am presuming the FE to be around 17.2 kmpl, which is reasonably close to the ARAI certified mileage - there were 4 people in the car, with a weekend worth of luggage, tools etc.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Awesome write up there SS-Traveller!

Your quick thinking and experience made it possible for you to get out of a situation where otherwise you would have got stuck. And what a nifty idea I must say.

Not all trips go as planned, but then, as some say, the destination is the journey. Keep it up, looking forward to more adventures from you.

Thank you, blackwasp. We were prepared to face snow all right, including packing a long-handled spade. The rope always remains in any car for outstation drives, mainly for towing of required - I'll need to buy another one now! And it's time to fabricate a set of snow chains.

[//HB]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Even though the rope did contact brake calipers when the wheels rotated, we found no damage to any component (apart from the rope itself fraying, and bits sticking to the calipers).

Thanks for sharing. Just curious about the above bit - Why not loop the ropes in through the front of the rim, and then back out again ? Would that not avoid the ropes going between the brake disks, and still give the desired contact patch over the tyre surface ? Asking only from the LEARNING point of view, never had occasion to drive / ride on such surfaces till date.

[gearhead_mait]

What an adventure! This trip had some tense moments but the DIY with the rope did the trick. Carrying 15 meters of rope in the car seems odd if this was no anticipated. Guess you took the precaution by paying attention to the weather forecast, but the bad weather arrived little early than expected.

Although I don't want to repeat here, but I learnt something more today just like your earlier informative posts. Cheers!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by //HB

Just curious about the above bit - Why not loop the ropes in through the front of the rim, and then back out again ?

That's what was done. The clearance between the rim & caliper is very low in this car.

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Carrying 15 meters of rope in the car seems odd if this was no anticipated.

That rope has been in the car for many years, along with a tool kit, jumper cables, tyre repair kit and a bunch of other things. It has been used a couple of times for towing, and there's nothing odd about carrying a length of rope in the car - I'd say it is good practice.

One interesting picture forwarded by JKDS, which shows the spirit of the local drivers...

[Manoj2268]

I am subscribed to your YouTube channel and i was thinking 'what's the doc upto now'? While watching the video.

Really ingenious of having a rope as a makeshift snow chain at a place where things could have gone south in a matter of moments.

[bordeaux]

Thank you very much for the wisdom and teaching a very important lesson on safety that returning is always an option and should always be kept in mind.

[docenthu]

I am a newbie at this forum. Was really amazing to see the ingenuity of using the rope as makeshift snow chains.

I have one question about the XL6, whether you would recommend this petrol powered Vehicle which has less torque compared to its diesal powered cousin, the Ertiga for a family of 6 adults with sufficient luggage going for trips on the hills.

Primarily I would like to know your first hand knowledge about its torque attributes with Full load up steep inclines.
Please guide me about the manual gearbox
Thanks in advance

[sushantr5]

I always wonder, how the snow is managed in India? Here is Germany I see, salt is being sprayed on the road, gravels are spread on footpaths, snow removers are stationed everywhere. Moreover cars should have recommended Tyre set for winter.

I always think how are the things managed back home? Or just we believe in luck and destiny too much.