My New Honda City in White - The Albus

CRACING · Jul 20, 2015

Thanks for your response sir.

Now I understood the difference and its the external length of the antenna. The one I bought is 17cm and the one you have is 16cm. Height is also different but that shouldn't matter. Previously, I didn't compared external dimensions but only internal and antenna thats made for VW polo Bora.

Anyhow, it looks fine from some distance so will continue using it.

pavi · Jul 21, 2015

These are the best fuel efficiency figures I got in my City i-vtec as per the MID. [:D]

TSIVipul · Jul 22, 2015

pavi said:

These figures are for a distance of?
Full highway drive? What speed the car was being driven at? Full A/C or not?

Actually Honda City i-vtec s awesome at this thing, you leave the throttle and the instant FE goes to 30 (I loved to see that) but the actual figure used to come out 13-14 max. 2009 City i-vtec is what I have extensive experience of and the best figure I attained was around 19 kpl (Many don't believe but City owners do) and the worst wasn't even 10 kp (around 7-8 in fact)l under true hard driving with the engine producing real music to ears [evil]

pavi · Jul 22, 2015

TSIVipul said:

You could see the distance just below the average fuel efficiency in the images. I live in Kerala, so highways are also pathetic, twists and turns and lot more. These figures are the result of sedate driving that too at early morning (3.30am- 8am). I never keep AC off in my drives. The speed would be around 80km/h. But I was not able to keep the car in the same gear due to the twists and turns and yes craters in some places.

I won't say this figures are wrong, even if you give a tolerance of -3kms, the figures still are great. I could say the fuel efficiency was almost the same as the petrol expense have become lesser than my wagonR driving through the same route.

ravib · Jul 22, 2015

My best f.e was 17.4 kmpl on a mumbai-pune-mumbai trip. A/c full blast as it was extremely hot. Actually I was using my phone for navigation it gave a temperature warning and got switched off!!
Initially when I was in the suburbs I used to get only 6.9-8.5ish kmpl.
Later when I moved to city I started getting 12-14kmpl but my house is on a hill, so by the time I reach home it falls to 9.8-10.4 kmpl. Overall avg should be around 10kmpl.
Its a bliss to drive with the eco light on but by the time you pick up speed and maintain it you reach the next signal [lol]

pavi · Jul 22, 2015

pavi said:

You could see the distance just below the average fuel efficiency in the images. I live in Kerala, so highways are also pathetic, twists and turns and lot more. These figures are the result of sedate driving that too at early morning (3.30am- 8am). I never keep AC off in my drives. The speed would be around 80km/h. But I was not able to keep the car in the same gear due to the twists and turns and yes craters in some places.

I won't say this figures are wrong, even if you give a tolerance of -3kms, the figures still are great. I could say the fuel efficiency was almost the same as the petrol expense have become lesser than my wagonR driving through the same route.

To add to my previous message I still have the stock Bridgestone tyres (175/65/R15).

Mr.Swamy · Jul 23, 2015

ON a trip to Goa a year ago, for the first 250-300 kms I was getting a mileage of around 18-19 this was got through accelerating gently to a high speed then putting into neutral until it reached 70-80 km/hr and then again and again until i got bored and tired of this. Now I have thrown all these methods out of the window and drive with a light foot. Average around 9 to 12 km/litre, depending on driving conditions. With a heavy foot I get around 7km/litre, but the smile on my face and the expetrience of pushing the City a bit sure is adequate enough for loss of mileage.

anu87 · Jul 24, 2015

Dr MUDHAN said:

.

PART: LXXVII :

HONDA - WE ARE PROUD OF YOU, PLEASE PRESERVE IT!
(The true & honest feelings about my Indian Honda City)

View attachment 174832

When I switched over from Premier Padmini to Matiz, I felt Matiz was flimsy with thin metal. But consoled that the new generation design was safer, as it had better crumbling zones and an engine cross bar.

I understood, a crumple zone is designed to crumple but it should not crumple very easily so that the whole engine comes into the passenger cabin, neither it should be so rigid that it hardly crumples and transfers all the impact energy to the passenger cabin. So, striking the right balance is essential!

To make it simple, it will save the passengers at the cost of the car!

When I brought my ALBUS, THE 3RD GEN ANHC – but a face lifted version (Honestly, we were the guinea pigs to test for some of the improvements that were likely to be introduced in the 4th GEN model like stiffer suspension and an increased GC, of course proved to be positive but the pleasure was volatile as it was only a one year model, 2012 -2013)

Every time, I buy a car, there used to be a conflict between my intellectual and emotional minds.

I, as a common Indian, my priorities were always on the look, brand value, after sales service, and maintenance cost. Of course aspects of safety and resale value would be the there but last. Don’t curse me, as I have grown with a normal driving, very rarely high way driving and I never had Airbags or ABS in my past cars.

This time, I wanted to stand between both of my minds and chosen my beloved ALBUS, as owning a Honda City for a Indian middle/upper middle class is always a pride in our society , which I think so [lol]

, (Read my full story)

But, after purchase my personal observations brought some disappointments, which I should honestly agree.

1. I had difficult sliding entry, what we call the Ingress/egress as I am tall and of 6 feet. ( Matiz was comfortable, though so small)
2. The outer metal sheets were thin
3. The paint coating was also thin, it was awkward when it kissed the other cars.
4. The shoes- tires were small
5. Especially the comfort of riding was not as expected, I could not feel the rubberized suspension effect like a Fiat or Ford.
6. Road noise could have been better insulated
7. Exorbitant price of the accessories/ add-on.
8. Outdated, illumination of the unmatched instrument panels and it was so silly that the Indian Honda wanted to save something by not even providing a remote control for the EMT version which came with the factory fitted HU, for a car worth almost 10 lacs.

But, the car made me to love him like a life thing, I accepted all those flaws for some reasons:

1.The car is really, beautifully crafted for that price, better & time tested engine, real pleasure to drive on a smooth road, generally better after sales service ( not like VW which will pinch your pocket), a model has its own value and definitely scope for improvements by the owner like tire upgrades.

2. The issue is same with almost all car manufactures in INDIA and it is always painful to find and compare what an Indian gets compared to their counterparts abroad.

I accepted the reality of being Indian, of course both in the strength and weakness.

The pages here will not be enough to discuss American Vs European Vs Asian and the Indian among Asian as they have their one plus and minus.

No car is perfect and there may be some near perfect cars but not affordable to most and on utility point of view as well.

FOOT NOTE:

Honda says that it is committed to providing safety for everyone—that means crash protection not only for our own drivers and passengers, but also for the occupants of other vehicles, and injury mitigation for pedestrians. Further says, the sheet metals are designed to absorb the external impact and thereby to reduce to some extend the shock of the pedestrian while collusion. G-Force control is an advanced way of designing and engineering the body so that the G-forces of a crash are dissipated as much as possible and channeled away from the occupants.

Whatever may be, it seems, what value for money for the customer may not be the value for money for the manufacturer and the competition though now try to bring some advantage to the buyer.

Honda should undoubtedly focus over the quality whatever they try to give in India and certain things like panel gap issues simply can’t be ignored.

Thanks to our forum friends (Essarr, pavi & kuwaronline ) for their heartfelt discussions over INDIAN HONDA issues.

Back to the forum after a very long time.

Congrats Dr. for keeping the car in top shape all these years, driving in city like Chennai is very difficult with those bikers. You are such a inspiration to us, I would also thank TAI for providing such a great opportunity to interact with great people like you.

Dr MUDHAN · Jul 25, 2015

.
PART: LXXIX :

MY ALBUS: A SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR A BETTER AC & DISPLAY!

Long before, one of our forum friend suggested something to get best out of ANHC 3rd GEN AC, who is none other than RAVIB, who also displayed the picture of what he did in this thread.

ravib said:

Picture Here:
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...new-honda-city-white-albus-55.html#post416296

Actually I have been thinking of putting a shade to get best of my 8 inch HU display as it looked bleached under the direct sun light, and I was exploring the best possible but a way little elegant.

I tried different shapes (some shapes looked like a hat flap), thickness (weight is the concern), materials like card board, plywood etc., and finally OK with our polyurethane thermocol sheet and a design, at least for me, not spoiling the interior. I put a sticker ‘ALBUS’ to look it professional! [glasses]

(You can give one extra thin layer just below the fold protruding out from the console, if you want little more elevation, to make the AC duct windows clear. Your design can also be little wider in the base, more than 28 cms for extra coverage)

I have pasted the sun protector that I made over the central console with Fevibond - rubber solution (Please use only the golden colored rubber solution as it can be cleaned simply with alcohol if you don’t like it any time. Don’t use instant Fevi kwik - cyno solution as it will melt the plastics, and avoid double side tape as while removing it may scratch the console plastic cover later if you don’t like it.

Really it worked, the AC was instantly cool and to some extend it gives a shade for my LCD display.

Why don’t you try?

You will enjoy this simple discovery at no cost!

Thanks RAVIB! [clap]

brattnu · Jul 25, 2015

Essarr said:

Hi Essarr & Friends
I Own a Honda City Ivtec 2009 SMT Varient, Autorunner Bushes are called "Spacers" here in Mumbai ... I had approached the Honda Service Center w.r.t to the Lower GC, they have got their own "Spacers" and they say that the GC will increase with increased stiffness on the Suspension at the same time this "Thud" noise will drastically reduce. My car is currently out of warranty but, it seems they are giving the similar solution for the noise and GC to other customers as well. I had a lengthy discussion with service center head. When I asked him about the Autorunn "Spacers" they say that the product is not that good and its wears out fast and there will be notable reduction in drive quality.

Dnt noticed in our forum w.r.t the feedback on Autorunn.

Costs
Autorunn : Rs. 2500/Pair
Honda Service Center : Rs. 8000/Pair + Labour + ST etc.

w.r.t Warranty, i feel it is the Service Center dependent.

I had even spoken to Derrly, for the type of Honda City which I am owning, he had suggested to go for 1" Inch spacers for the rear and 1.5" Inch Spacers for the front.

Would appreciate if someone throw more light on this mode.

Thanks.
BI

ravib · Jul 25, 2015

Dr MUDHAN said:

Thank you for the credit sir.

Sir the pleasure is all mine. So happy that my idea was helpful to some one like you.
Your design is simply amazing. Why not get it patented [:D]

Essarr · Jul 27, 2015

Dr MUDHAN said:

What a true statement by the author of this thread. I am humbled. But this is what I can do, and will do, just in case someone in Honda Motor is reading this thread (English followed by Japanese):

Dear Mr. Katsushi Inoue (CEO - Honda SEIL Cars India) and Mr. Takahiro Hachigo (President, CEO & Representative Director Honda Motor Co., Global),

If you happen to be reading this, these are true sentiments of a single owner of a Honda car in India (yes, there would be many others who fall in line). Please take your time to reflect on this and live up to the phylosphy of your company founders, Soichiro Honda-san and Takeo Fujisawa-san, something that is reflected in your today mission statement:

The Honda Company Mission Statement - "Maintaining a global viewpoint, we are dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality, yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction."

Thank you.

Shin'ainaru Katsushi Inoue (saikō keiei sekininsha (CEO) - Honda SEIL kāzuindo)-shi Takahiro Hachigo (daihyō torishimariyaku shachō, CEO ken daihyō torishimariyaku Honda, gurōbaru), anata ga kore o yonde suru koto ga okoru baai wa, korera no wa, Indo no hondakuruma no tan'itsu no shoyū-sha no shin no kanjō wa (hai, rain ni ochiru ōku no hito ga sonzai surudearou)desu.

Ko no ue ni han'ei shi, kaisha no sōsetsu-sha, Honda Sōichirō-san to Fujisawa Takeo-san, anata no kyō no misshonsutētomento ni han'ei sa rete iru mono no phylosphy made ikiru tame ni anata no jikan ga kakaru shite kudasai.

Hondakanpanīmisshon· sutētomento - "gurōbaruna shiten o iji suru ni wa, wareware wa, saikō hinshitsu no seihin o kyōkyū ni toku-ka shi, mada sekai-tekina kokakumanzoku no tame no gōri-tekina kakaku de sa rete imasu."

Arigatō.

pavi said:

Sorry, been without a PC for few days..

These are really great figures for a car this size. Perhaps, numbers that can be obtained only with those blessed with the softest right foot. Keep it up!
By the way, this is a vast improvement from Gen3 to Gen4. Am I right?

brattnu said:

@brattnu

I have also had similar responses from my garage owner, who has fitted similar spring inserts to other cars, 'not worth the effort or money'.

The ideal thing to do, in my opinion, is to get better shocks or slightly stiffer springs, or both. I feel that an uprated spring with clear the problem and the thump is more pronounced in the back than the front. Unfortunately a complete aftermarket suspension package costs quite a bit, a lot in fact.

One other suggestion, does the new 4th generation City (2014 onwards) also suffer from similar 'thumps' on potholes? If it doesn't, then it may be worth checking if the springs and/or shocks from new car can be adapted to fit the older 3rd Gen City.

Dr MUDHAN said:

Albus' center console is now wearing a cricket cap! Well done!

But if you are looking for something to shade the LCD monitor from direct sunlight, something like this could do the job, and looking prettier!

shades box Picture - More Detailed Picture about F06470 7 inch FPV Monitor Sunshield Dedicated 7" Sun Shade for HM Aerial FS Picture in Parts & Accessories from ShenZhen FeiChao Technology Co.,Ltd - JMT | Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

By the way, I don't seem to have an AC cooling problem. On a recent mid day trip (75 kms up and down out side the city), when the outside temp was around 40*C, the car cooled down within 5 minutes. In fact, the AC had to turned down a bit after 30 mins, it was pretty cold. My door insulation perhaps?

pavi · Jul 27, 2015

Essarr said:

Yes. It is an improvement over the prev gen Honda City. But I am not able to get this kind of fuel efficiency ever after because I cannot fool my mind and heart anymore that I own a sheep as they already know that I own 'nothing less than a beast'. So it is impossible to keep a light foot on drives especially when the roads are somewhat empty.

But I have noticed, even when you are not revving hard you could keep the car going fast if you could keep the revs at 2000rpm on 5th gear. And while doing the same you could achieve a fuel efficiency greater than 18 kmpl, and sometimes if the roads are good 20+kmpl could be achieved. All these reading are as per MID, but I take these readings almost true as my Honda City is giving better fuel efficiency than my (Maruti) Suzuki WagonR (2007 Model - previous to current face-lifted model) on long drives.
The i-vtec roar above 4000 rpm is something to die for. It is music to ears that will force you to keep revving past 4000rpm (in second gear). I just love the engine sound. If someone is really interested to know about "What is this i-vtec?" just rev past 4000 rpm in 2nd gear (provided it is safe to do the same at the road you have selected), the rev shoots to 7000 rpm in no time and by the time you would have reached triple digits and it is also extremely smooth to shift the gears in Honda City at higher rpms.

Essarr said:

As per my experience, the thud sound is there in 4th gen City while going over potholes. I think it is attributed more to cabin insulation rather than the suspension.

sameer195 · Jul 27, 2015

Dear Sir,

I own a 2009 SMT Honda City iVtec. The car has done almost 87K KMS and I've driven my twice to my native place in Gujarat a return journey of about 3000 KM and once to Delhi a return Journey of 3700 KMs. Of late while driving during the nights I've found this un usual problem, when ever I apply break, the headlight gets bright and dims [frustration]

when the accelerate, kindly help me with this problem, if you have faced.

regards,
Sameer

bhaveshce · Jul 27, 2015

brattnu said:

Brattnu,

I have fitted "Coil Spring Adjuster" (Spacer) from Autorunner in my honda city 2011 model. I am pretty much happy with the mod. I have fitted only on rear side. My main intention behind this mod was to reduce bumpy ride when car is full. It has greatly reduced the bumpy ride and slightly increased the GC (when car is full). Best part is that it is completely reversible so if you find any issue then you can remove it. I have done this 1 year back and I haven't found any issue yet. But if your main intention is to increase the GC then you may be disappointed as increase in GC is not that great. Let me know if you have any doubt about this modification.

My New Honda City in White - The Albus

CRACING

V10

pavi

V6

Attachments

TSIVipul

V12

pavi

V6

ravib

V6

pavi

V6

Mr.Swamy

V4

anu87

V6

Dr MUDHAN

Honoured Member

brattnu

V2

ravib

V6

Essarr

V4

pavi

V6

sameer195

V2

bhaveshce

V4