General Queries Of New Car & Bike Buyers

[ameyam]

Come on 2-2.5k is too early for a petrol. I agree these are modern engines, where ECUs rule, but still to be on a safer side, one can follow these steps. The owner manual also states instructions regardimg run-in for all cars I think.

You are driving the Swift 1.3 arent you?

Most city users do shift in tge 2~2.5k range anyway. If you dont believe me, try driving like that & see where you shift

Ameyam

 

[puneet848]

there is rfid tag on my car windscreen top left corner. it says do not remove? what is its purpose ?

 

[GrandRk]

there is rfid tag on my car windscreen top left corner. it says do not remove? what is its purpose ?

Government of India mandates installation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags on the medium and heavy motor vehicles through the proposed rule 138A of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, according to Gazette of India.

The filing states that medium and heavy vehicles manufactured on or six months after the date of the final notification will be fitted with RFID tags for the purpose of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) or any other application mentioned by the Central Government. There is no clear information on the ways in which the government intends to use the RFID tags installed.

 

[puneet848]

Is it ok to start a car in gear ? when stall in traffic jams , i just clutch it and start. or should we go to neutral only and then start ?

Also in morning and evening now engine temp is right at left on Cold point. It moves aa bit after 3-4 mins and after 10 mins needle is in middle. Should we idle and warm up engine before moving or its ok to drive ? idle for 15 seconds currently which is time to put belt and see mirrors etc.

How to practice to know the front left edge. also scared in parking and in traffic for brushing it. Leave so much gap after i scratched it in few days of purchase that bikers can move through gaps

Also in reverse gear unless you go very slow the engine whines a bit. is the sound ok ?

 

[ameyam]

You can start a car in gear in a need. Best to start in neutral because that ensures the clutch is not engaged at all but if you really need to move, you can start in gear with the clutch completely pressed.

When you start in the morning, the car is cold, so that needle will be all the way down. Thats the engine water jacket temperature. As you use the engine, the engine warms up the jacket water and the needle moves. The cars' system is designed to keep the needle in the middle of the range, so if its doing that, thats very normal
Best to start your engine, settle in , put on your belt etc. More than a warm up, this gives time for the lube pump to push oil around the engine before it gets loaded

For the passanger side corner, if you are concerned, have a front guard installed with those vertical rods at the corners. That becomes your marker for distance. But if you dont want to do that, just leave a little gap so that bikers dont graze you. At night you can use your headlights to gauge the distance. At the end, its judgement and comes with time. There is one golden rule in driving I was told as a beginner- dont put your car into a gap if your gut tells you not to do it.

With regards to reverse, thats the lowest gear in your car. Even lower than the 1st gear. Is also the most powerful. IC engines have opposite torque-speed characteristics. So the reverse has a lot of torque but is not capable of a lot of speed. If its whining a lot, you are going backward too fast. But all reversing cars whine when reversing at some speed

Ameyam

 

[Viru]

When you start in the morning, the car is cold, so that needle will be all the way down. Thats the engine water jacket temperature. As you use the engine, the engine warms up the jacket water and the needle moves. The cars' system is designed to keep the needle in the middle of the range, so if its doing that, thats very normal
Best to start your engine, settle in , put on your belt etc. More than a warm up, this gives time for the lube pump to push oil around the engine before it gets loaded

With regards to reverse, thats the lowest gear in your car. Even lower than the 1st gear. Is also the most powerful. IC engines have opposite torque-speed characteristics. So the reverse has a lot of torque but is not capable of a lot of speed. If its whining a lot, you are going backward too fast. But all reversing cars whine when reversing at some speed

Ameyam

Very well said @Ameyam! Just to add to this for the benefit of @Puneet848, you don't need to wait for the car to warm up entirely, just try to drive gently until the engine reaches operating temperature.

Also, sometimes the whining can be caused by the Idler gear (Which reverses the direction of rotation of the transmission output). Essentially, this is normal.

 

[Swiftian]

may be off topic .. anyone know why only hatchbacks have rear washer/wipers were as sedans do not have it ?

 

[ice_wise]

may be off topic .. anyone know why only hatchbacks have rear washer/wipers were as sedans do not have it ?

That is because of the design of rear winshield in hatchbacks and UVs. Dust settles easily on it because of the angle of the glass after a car is driven over dusty surfaces. Manufacturers usually do this research and even some sedans have rear wipers in foriegn countries if manufacturers see that dust is settling on the rear windshield.

Washers are needed where there are wipers for obvious reasons.

 

[puneet848]

I went to the petrol pump on sunday eve to fill air and came back and parked my car. in the morning today i discovered tire is completely flat and when i came back in evening to remove it i see it has like flattened out and even sidewall bent even after tire is not having to support anything. Should a tubeless tire deflate so quickly and like this ? is the tire defective ?

 

[Akash1886]

I went to the petrol pump on sunday eve to fill air and came back and parked my car. in the morning today i discovered tire is completely flat and when i came back in evening to remove it i see it has like flattened out and even sidewall bent even after tire is not having to support anything. Should a tubeless tire deflate so quickly and like this ? is the tire defective ?

Its a common thing. Recently my Honda CITY too had this same issue when I took it to puncture shop for repair. It happens if the car is standing still and when being driven, tubeless Tyre don't give up easily. Need not worry on this. Just roll it up and down, fill up some air and it would be back to normal. No damage will be there to side-walls too (atleast mine did not have).

Regards

Akash

 

[Ponbaarathi]

Hi all,
I am planning to buy a new car in march-april and I have the following queries.
1. Currently I am keen on Tata Zica and Mahindra KUV100. Many says that 3- cylinder engines are not reliable / not good for long period usage when compared with 4- cylinder counterparts. How far is this true?
2. I won't be driving often. To be precise I will be using it once in a week or two and some occasional long drives. Monthly usage will be somewhere around 350-400 kms, at least for one or two years. But I am much inclined towards diesel cars. My friends say that diesel cars are to be driven daily and keeping diesel cars unused for a week with fuel in tank will affect the cars. Is it?
3. I have no experience in driving cars. As far as I remember I had driven my uncle's swift a couple of times in open roads. I have enrolled myself in driving classes starting 2nd half of this month. Will it be OK to drive a new car after getting driving lisence or should I wait for some 4-5 months, get trained in neighbour's car and then buy a new car?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ice_wise]

Hi all,
I am planning to buy a new car in march-april and I have the following queries.
1. Currently I am keen on Tata Zica and Mahindra KUV100. Many says that 3- cylinder engines are not reliable / not good for long period usage when compared with 4- cylinder counterparts. How far is this true?
2. I won't be driving often. To be precise I will be using it once in a week or two and some occasional long drives. Monthly usage will be somewhere around 350-400 kms, at least for one or two years. But I am much inclined towards diesel cars. My friends say that diesel cars are to be driven daily and keeping diesel cars unused for a week with fuel in tank will affect the cars. Is it?
3. I have no experience in driving cars. As far as I remember I had driven my uncle's swift a couple of times in open roads. I have enrolled myself in driving classes starting 2nd half of this month. Will it be OK to drive a new car after getting driving lisence or should I wait for some 4-5 months, get trained in neighbour's car and then buy a new car?
Thanks in advance.

1. I don't think so. 3 Cyl engines like in WagonR and Alto were very capable and reliable. Only issue I find with them is the lack of power and high NVH levels. Experts can comment.

2. No there is no problem in going for diesel, if you have the budget and like the engine. With less running of 500 km a month, it will take you a lot of time to actually start saving (as you will recover the 1 Lac premium for the initial years). If you really like the diesel engine, in terms of drivability, then go for it otherwise petrol is good enough if you are thinking from efficiency (running cost, saving) point of view. Make a habit to start the car once a week till the engine warms up a bit (say 6-7 minutes) and you will not face any problems.

3. Yes, it is okay to drive a new car. If you have a very helping and kind neighbour, then it would be good if you polish up your driving skills in his car. Otherwise there is no such problem in driving a new car.

 

[ameyam]

Yes, 3 cylinder engines are noisy and the torque is less. That does not mean they are unreliable or such, just that you will have a vibrational drive and will need to use accelerator more or you may stall a lot. If you are unsure of the 3-cyl issue, drive a 3cyl car at your driving school and get a feel for it.


Diesel engine cars are more expensive and unless your monthly run is 1500-2000km, they don't pay back. Like ice_wise said, go diesel only if you want the drivability. Also, the general consensus is that its is more difficult to learn driving on diesel than petrol
With any car, petrol or diesel, make it a habit to run the car to working temperature every couple of days or so. Just move the car back and forth a bit in the parking to keep the bearings from seizing.
You can definitely learn on a new car but you will feel the pain if you damage it. If you are new to driving, I suggest you buy a certified car such as true value or first choice or such. Plan to keep it for a year minimum, then decide the way forward. If you are happy with the car then, retain it, otherwise buy a new car then. This will protect you against any accidental damages and also from financial obligations- usually after driving for a year, we come to know what features we want in our cars, so you can choose what you want then. Plus, the new motor vehicles act which mandates ABS and airbags as standard will come into force by then


Ameyam

 

[Ponbaarathi]

Thanks for your input guys. By costly, what do you mean? Only the initial price tag of diesel cars or something related to the cost of maintainence?

 

[TSIVipul]

Question to experts:
How is this conclusion reached that three cylinder engines have a lower power or torque?

IMO three cylinder engines can easily rival their four cylinder counterparts and can even beat them on the run. The only issue is with NVH as they are a bit vibe happy, none else.

BTW what our Baleno owners have to say about the 1.0l in line three cylinder boosterjet engine and the 1.0 Ecoboost?