Entries Tagged 'Maintenance & Knowhow' ↓

Preamble
The Electrical Systems of present day cars are a far cry from the Amby’s and Fiat’s of yore, where WW-II vintage ‘Dynamo’s had a max carrying capacity of 20 Amps/12 Volts and that too at a road speed eqvt of 50+ kph and regrettably, none at idling.

The advent of ‘Alternators’ by the mid ‘80s in India with the Maruti800 changed all these limitations for the better and presently, the average continuous rating of a mid-size sedan is around 60 Amps, and suitably higher for more luxurious ones.

Nowadays, the whole electrical system of a car is so designed that the Alternator has battery charging capacity to spare under ‘all’ operating conditions, right from idling to b2b traffic with ‘all’ the designed continuously usable electrical loads on, such as the music system, air-conditioning, wipers, fog lamps/headlamps etc. And yet people have problems, invariably of their own making…

Problem:
I have a 1997 model Esteem and have problems with Car Battery. I travel to my office from Malad to Bandra and back in peak hours. While going home, around half way, half of my car’s lights, tape, AC stops working. I travel about 40KM everyday in b2b traffic One way it takes me around 1.30 hours to 2 hours. When I put off AC, music system, all the lights work fine. The moment I start either AC or the MS, lights get low. I have to keep AC and MS off for some time and when I re-start them, everything works fine together. I got my battery checked from a Maruti Authorised Service Station and also from local battery dealer. Both said battery is fine and need not be replaced. The MASS checked the Alternator also and confirmed it is working fine. This is one and half year old battery with one-year warranty, which is over. I don’t understand what to do now. Should I replace the battery or is there some other problem.

Diagnosis:
Prima-facie, it appears to me that either - a) your OE wiring harness has been tampered with by the crude auto-accessories people for installing some non-OE approved electrical accessories or, b) you have installed a high-powered music system having sub-woofers/amplifiers etc. or, c) you have higher than OE wattage headlamps, such as 100/100W instead of 65/65W ones or lastly, d) have some electrical leakage in your AC/Music System that plays up when they’re in use.

But for these, there’s no reason why your battery should keep running down in b2b traffic, when a MASS has declared your Alternator as ok. I’ve come across such a problem in an Esteem earlier on also and most of (a) to (d) above existed over there. They had to be removed to OE specs and the tampered front-end wiring harness of the car had to be replaced with an ‘MGP’ set to cure the problem, once and for all.

Music/Central Locking Systems for MPFi Cars
Given the human spinal cord like sensitivity of the MPFi Cars’ Main Wiring Harness, it’s advisable NOT to cut/splice/tape/twist-joint it anywhere, for installing any electrical accessory. In fact this is stated so in the Car’s Warranty Policy, given in the Owner’s Hand Book.

Consequently, practically all such Cars have an OE/Dealer Option of Music Systems specially produced in India for them by renowned players including 12-months warranty and assured after sales service. These are ‘model specific’ by way of ‘mating’ wiring harness couplers, which slip in straight away w/o having to tamper with the OE/WH.

Likewise, for the present day fad of Central Locking, vis-a-vis MPFi Cars. Take the Dealers’ advice on this/get him to install it too. However, it’s been established internationally that a ‘visible’ deterrent such as a Steering/pedal Lock is far more effective and reliable - more so when a good one costs under Rs:1k. One can also go in for the more fancy ‘imported’ one - ‘Mul-T-Lock’ - which is purely a mechanical device that gets installed near the Gear Lever and locks it in IV gear, costing about Rs: 3k.

Higher Wattage Headlamps
The main Wiring Harness of an MPFi Car is sacrosanct and as such, it should never be mutilated to install various Relays etc. necessitated for using higher than OE Wattage Headlamps or additional ones. If you do, you’ll end-up having insurmountable problems later on, such as flat batteries for no apparent reason, as in the case above. Besides, this will closely be followed by burnt out headlamp couplers built-into the main wiring harness and distortion of their all-plastic reflectors.

Preamble
About 4-months ago, we’d had a look at the do’s and don’ts of converting present generation MPFi cars to LPG or CNG. With increasing availability of the two at various places coupled with the costs of petrol forever heading north, most people are seriously considering going in for such conversions. So here’s a QnA that I hope most of you will find informative and useful…

Question
Several Radio Taxi service providers in Delhi/ NCR have been providing ‘B’ segment cars such as Esteem etc that run on CNG. The fleet size of such dual fuel vehicles is more than 300. Over the last 6 months or so, I have traveled in these cars and found the ride experience quite comfortable. Although there is some impact on the initial acceleration, the cost of running which is almost entirely in the city, is down to about Re. 1/- per km. I understand that Maruti Udyog does not provide any company CNG kit fitted vehicles, however, there are several private agencies in Delhi that install such RTO approved CNG kits with endorsement on the Registration Certificate for a total cost of around Rs. 40,000/-.

I own an Esteem-VXi, September 2004 model, Cost Rs. 5 lacs, which came with a 4year/ 80,000 Kms warranty. The car has done almost 30,000 kms in the last 2-1/2. The monthly running is expected to go up to around 2,500 kms per month over the next 2-1/2 to 3 years, thus making the financial viability/ payback of installing a CNG kit even more attractive although the 4-year warranty shall lapse.

Assuming that one can live with the slight impact on the initial acceleration and that’s inevitable with CNG, my main question to you is what will be the impact of using CNG on the total ownership costs e.g. Repair & Maintenance costs, Life and Resale value of such dual fuel Esteem, if any?

Answer
Difficult to say, though engine life expectancy can certainly go up coz CNG is a lot cleaner fuel compared to petrol AND oil/spark-plug change intervals go up by atleast 50% on km basis with CNG running. The resale value will definitely take a beating for understandable reasons. Recently, I too had a ride in a similar one from IGAP/Delhi to Noida, got talking to the driver and gathered that:

i) The Esteem in question was almost 4-yrs old/BS-II/Mpfi and had done 2.5 lac kms during this time - with the engine still going strong. According to him, it was mainly due to the owner’s policy to change engine oil every 5,000 kms/once a month. If I may add to that, running on CNG with the engine properly re-tuned for it is another contributory factor.

ii) According to that cabbie, the power loss in CNG mode was about 25% (15/20), good enough for running around NCR, whereas what’s text-booked is about 10-15%. This made sense coz he was comparing the power loss from the Mpfi Esteem level/85 bhp in petrol, as against a carb type/65 bhp less 10-15% that it becomes in CNG mode.

iii) His Esteem with his gentle driving returned almost 20 km/kg-cng and at times, he had to take two-tankfuls during a day.

iii) What turned out to be an interesting info was that his owners had placed a bulk order for 30-Esteems about 4-yrs back and Maruti Udyog had them all CNG-Kitted at their works prior to delivery.

The point I’m trying to make here is given the capability (FYI, Suzuki is doing a CNG-Baleno in next door Pakistan and that too with a 1.3 lr engine for taxi trade), if MUL can do it for bulk orders and still uphold their warranty, why can’t they offer CNG Esteem’s for taxi/personal use in India also - even as a retro-fit by its dealers as GM and Ford are doing for their Optra and Ikon. In the process, this will also throw out of business, fly by night retro-fitters who get away by supplying cheap but so called RTO Approved but technically incompatible kits for Mpfi’s, leaving the poor ignorant buyers high and dry.

So, it may be worthwhile for you to contact your MUL Dealer to find out if he’s prepared to do it for you w/o affecting your warranty, as I understand some of the Dealers in Mumbai are already doing so, perhaps after getting into an understanding with MUL.

Preamble
Ever since the World saw the first single-cylinder petrol engine driven Car, a ‘Carburetor’ became synonymous with it. Later on with the advent of multi-cylinder Engines, so did the ‘Distributor’ or ‘Delco’s.

During the last Century, both evolved considerably – till the ‘Euro-II’ like Pollution Norms got the better of them. For, the Carbs worked on a principle of ‘reaction’, which could easily get ‘stifled’ for so many reasons.

Thus, a System of ‘controlled-feeding’ of Fuel + Air + Ignition Spark to an automotive engine evolved in the early ‘80s. A ‘system’ like that had to be based on its ‘needs of the moment’, such as the load on it, engine rpm/road speed etc. Let’s see basically how such a system works…

It all started with ‘Single-point’ Fuel Injection Systems – virtually an electronic replica of the Carbs of yore but soon led to ‘multi-point’ Fuel Injection Systems – some what akin to the’ Multi-Carb’ high performance Cars of the past.
‘Mpfi’ stands for ‘multi point fuel injection’. This system injects fuel into individual cylinders, based on commands from the ‘on board engine management computer’ – popularly known as the Engine Control Unit/ECU.

The ‘Fuel Injectors’ are precision built fast-acting ‘Solenoid Valves’, like Washing Machine Water inlet Valves. These have either single or multiple ‘Orifices’ which ‘spray’ fuel into the inlet manifold of a Cylinder upon actuation, from a common Rail/Header pressurised to around 3 bar, fed by a high pressure electrically drive fuel pump inside the Petrol tank of the Car.

The ‘on-board’ ECU primarily controls the Ignition Timing, idling speed and quantity of fuel to be injected. The latter is achieved by means of controlling the ‘duration’ for which the Injector solenoid valve coil is kept energized – popularly known as the ‘pulse-width’.

The ECU in turn is controlled by the ‘data input’ from a set of ‘SENSORS’ located all over the Engine and its Auxiliaries. These detect the various ‘operating states’ of the Engine and the performance desired out of it. Such Sensors constantly monitor: 1. Ambient Temperature, 2. Engine Coolant Temp., 3. Exhaust/manifold temp., 4. Exhaust ‘O2’ content, 5. Inlet manifold vacuum, 6. Throttle position, 7. Engine rpm, 8. Vehicle road speed, 9. Crankshaft position, 10. Camshaft position, etc.

Based on a ‘programmed’ interpretation of all this input data, the ECU gives the various ‘commands’ to the Engine’s fuel intake, idling speed and spark ignition timing systems, to deliver an overall satisfactory performance of the Engine from start to shut down, including ‘emission control’.

To get the best out of an MPFi System, one should use – a) The OE recommended Petrol Additive or the new generation ‘Premium’ Petrol’s REGULARLY and b) NEVER Tamper with the OE Wiring Harness of the Car – EVEN to install the ubiquitous Music System OR any other Electrical Accessory - other than those ‘approved’ OE/Dealer and designed to suit the Car’s Wiring Harness ‘Couplers’. ‘BUTCHERING’ OF THE ORIGINAL CENTRAL WIRING HARNESS OF A VEHICLE IS AN ABSOLUTE TABOO FOR MPFi CARS.

Despite such a foolproof system and programming of the ECU, situations do arise in cold climates that lead to either starting problems first thing in the morning or the engine stalling under some or the other driving conditions.

Following are the possibilities that can lead to such situations - assuming that the Car has been serviced in line with the OEM recommendations:

i) That one is not allowing enough time for the fuel-pump to ‘prime’ the System, as evidenced by an audible ‘click’ sound in the Cabin of the FP going off after a few secs of turning on the ignition.

ii) That one is giving too short a Crank. The first one in the mornings has to be relatively a little longer than the ones during rest of the day.

iii) That one is unknowingly stepping on the Accelerator Pedal - even partially - which one is not supposed to for Mpfi’s.

iv) Faulty Coolant Temp and Air Intake Sensors/their Couplers - usually the latter for Cars less than 2-yrs old.

v) Worn-out or larger than recommended Spark-plug Gaps.

vi) Clogged Fuel-Injectors – one should be using a good Petrol Additive regularly like a daily Vitamin Pill with our regular/unleaded Petrol – or instead, the now more freely available detergent pre-mixed fuels.

vii) The main reasons for a petrol engine to stall are - a) either under or over supply of fuel, b) loss of ignition c) mechanical locking while shifting gears or braking etc., or d) un-sustainable/low idling rpm. If these happen rather regularly, other than ‘c’, then the engine needs to be ‘scanned’ at an authorised service centre to determine the cause and remedied accordingly.

Preamble
With the winter setting-in across most parts of the Country and Pre/EU-II kind of M800s and other Carbureted/Mechanical Distributor Type Cars like the Zen’s and Esteem’s still being there in appreciable numbers, I feel it’s time to draw Car Owners’ attention to the topic under discussion.

Most non-MPFi Car Owners experience that when they start the car in the morning or after it has been shut down for 5-6 hours, it feels very sluggish. Engaging the car in 1st gear and upon even stepping on the gas pedal, the car does not ‘speed up’.

This goes on for a while and only after the Temp. Gauge needle crosses the ‘C’ and goes beyond, the car feels ‘normal’. All this despite the Engine Tune being in good order.

The answer to this is that a ‘cold’ Engine is inherently sluggish, to prevent it from spewing out excessive pollutants during its warm-up period. To overcome this difficulty, a device called ‘Radiator Thermo-Valve’ is incorporated in the Cooling System, along with a ‘by-Pass’ circuit, with the sole purpose of enabling the Engine to reach it’s designed operating temp. (90* +/- 5*C) within a very short time.

Unfortunately, in a vast majority of cases, Owners/Mechanics/Authorised Service Centres included, continue to think out of the Amby/Fiat Era that this ‘Th-V’ is like a human appendix and has no useful purpose - other than ‘heating up’ the engine! Nothing could be farther than truth. To check whether this ‘Th-V’ is in place and in working order, here’s what you can do:

“First thing in the morning, BEFORE starting the engine after the overnight shut down, take off the Radiator Cap, keep the Bonnet open and then start the engine. Take a notch or so of the ‘Choke’ to keep it from stalling.

“As soon as the Engine fires, go across to have a look into the now open radiator neck. If you see turbulence/coolant circulation already, then your ‘Th-V’ is either not there (removed like an Appendix) or faulty (stuck in open position). If so, get it replaced at your Co. Authorised Garage.

While its being installed, as an abundant precaution, ask them to check the ‘By-Pass’ ckt. as well, to ensure it’s not blocked with sediments etc. If it is but not cleared at this stage, then with the new Th-V in place, the engine will throw-up Coolant right upto the windscreen when it warms up!

On the other hand, if the Th-V is in place and not faulty, you will see no circulation in the open radiator neck for quite some time. Then as the engine warms up, you would be able to see it setting-in ‘fits and starts’, including tendency to overflow from the neck. Just before that happens, shut-off the engine and replace the Radiator Cap properly”.

If the ‘Th-V’ is in place and working, the problem is somewhere else!

The most common possibilities are - a) The ‘Accelerator-Pump-Jet’ System of your Carb is either not working or mal-adjusted, b) The Vacuum Advance System of your Distributor is faulty, c) A ‘Retarded’ Ign. Timing and d) Your A/F mixture is set too lean (should be CO @ 0.5-1.0% for EU-I and 1.0-2.5% for pre EU-I Cars). Again it’s a common misconception that setting it ‘leanest’ possible gives you max mileage. On the otherhand, it results more in stalling when the Engine is cold.

If inspite of every thing being in place, a cold engine still has a tendency to stall - depending on Ambient Temps - then as the Owner’s Manual suggests - take a ‘notch’ or two of the choke for the first few minutes. This will not only prevent its ‘stalling’ but also help it to warm up faster. However, please ensure that you don’t forget to ‘reset’ it. If you do, you will not only be wasting fuel but also seriously cutting into the lubrication ‘film’ on the cylinder walls/engine life as well.

Next time, tho’ a lot more user friendly, we’ll talk about causes and cures of MPFi’s (BS-II/III) exhibiting such cold stalling symptoms.

Preamble
In the last couple of ‘episodes’, I’ve talked about the pros and cons of ‘premium’ petrol’s and diesel’s. So it may be worthwhile to continue the dialogue and now talk about the most vital fluid in a car i.e. the engine oil – which is rightly equated to blood in the human body.

Today’s engines are efficient and sophisticated machines, often using multiple camshafts, turbo-chargers and other features. They also run faster and hotter, placing tremendous demands on engine oil performance. That’s why it is essential to follow a strict oil-and-filter change schedule for your car.

Changing the oil and filter remove harmful contaminants that build up in your oil with usage – time wise as well as distance wise. A fresh supply of engine oil with its specially selected AND blended additives will restore the protection your engine needs against corrosion, gum deposits, excessive wear, and other problems.

The oil and filter should be changed at the interval recommended in your owner’s manual. Every 5000 km or 3 months is a common recommendation in North America. Every 15,000 to 20,000 km/year is more common in Europe. Whereas in India now, with the advent of BS-III vehicles, 10,000 km or 6-12 months interval – whichever is earlier - is the norm.

Most car owners at some time or the other face a strong sales pitch to ‘fortify’ their engine oils with well-branded ‘Additives’. While most oils look, feel, and smell the same, their designed ‘performance’ can be vastly different - thanks in part to the special additives that their formulators blend them in with. Such additives suspend dirt, inhibit foam formation, improve cold-weather flow, prevent corrosion, reduce friction, and add other desirable qualities such as long life.

While many specialty additives or oil treatments are sold separately as brand names and promise longer life or extra performance for your engine, it’s worthwhile to remember that modern oils are complete ‘recipes’ by themselves having measured portions of all their ingredients. Upsetting such a ‘recipe balance’ can and more often than not, does lead to problems.

An oil formula may include a little anti-wear additive the same way a cake includes a pinch of salt to bring out its flavour. If a little salt works, should you add more? Probably not, and the same goes for oil additives. Choosing the best quality oil you can afford and changing it according to your Owners’ Manual is wiser in the long run.

Synthetic Oils are the ‘Ultimate’ Lubricants available in the World today and to the best of my knowledge, ‘Mobil-1′ is one of the ‘official one’ in India. Regrettably, most retailers don’t stock it as it costs ~ Rs: 750/- a Lr and the takers are very few. Besides, at this cost, the chances of it being spurious are more than bright.

On the flip side, given our Operating Environment, S/O’s can easily go > 3x the otherwise recommended drain interval for the conventional Oils - time as well as distance.

The next best option I’ve come across is the ‘Castrol-Magnatec’ at < half the cost. With this, one can safely do 1-1/2 times the distance/time on the recommended drain intervals.

However, for general info, it may be noted that Synthetic Oils are not recommended for a vast majority of mass produced stock engines, new or under ‘running-in’, to enable them fully ‘bed-in’. Further, as practically all new Cars today come with Warrantees upto 2- yrs/40 kkm, during this period the OEMs don’t permit using any Oils supplied by Customers - for understandable reasons - unless your Dealer is prepared to put-in these at your cost - which he won’t!

Preamble
Last time we discussed the pro’s and con’s of switching over to the new generation/detergent pre-mixed petrols in the Mpfi vehicles, or for that matter, the equivalent/’turbo-diesel’ for diesel vehicles. Let’s have a look now as to what really is meant by ‘Fuel-efficiency’ and ‘Fuel-consumption’ of a Vehicle – suffice to say that they are NOT the same…

The real life ‘Fuel Consumption’ of any vehicle is one of the most controversial issues and at the outset, I’d like to drive home a point that no where in the world can these figs be guaranteed. At best these can be taken as ‘indicative’ only.

For starters, ‘traffic-movement-wise’, can any one define what’s a ‘City’? If you have been to some of the Metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkatta, you’ll know. Over and above these, traffic jams can hit you anywhere out of the blue. Therefore, same Car with the same driver on ‘up’ route will show one level of FC and another on the way down ‘down’!!

Btw, all Cars today are more or less equally ‘Fuel-Efficient’. Their actual ‘Fuel-Consumption’ depends on the ‘Bhp’ you demand out of them - by way of acceleration, cruising speed, AC etc - which in turn depends on their ‘Kerb-Weight’ and the ‘CC’ of the Engines they have.

Waiting at Traffic Lights:

It may come as a surprise to know that it’s wasteful not only of fuel but also from wear and tear considerations on one’s Battery AND Starter Motor - to switch off the engine if the wait is going to be less than 2-mins - which generally it is.

Pick-up or ‘Mileage’!

According to reliable road test data, these for the two popular ones are as below:

Santro: 0-60/100 kph = 5.55/14.66 secs @ Highway kpl of 16.2. (3-Valves/Cyl; 1086cc)
W-R: 0-60/100 kph = 6.31/16.60 secs @ Highway kpl of 16.2. (4-Valves/Cyl; 1061cc)

From these fig’s, it can be seen that the first engine having lower # of valves AND higher ‘cc’ accelerates faster than the other one having higher # of valves/lower ‘cc’, to deliver the same/highway fuel ‘consumption’. The point I’m making here is that in these days of ‘MPFi’ tech., it’s a child’s play to get acceleration and FC figs as one likes - within overall limits of course.

Speed vs ‘mileage’:

Let’s take the example of an MPFi Zen/since phased out. It could easily do 21 kpl @ 60-70 kph and 18+kpl at speeds of 100+ kph on a highway.

This is quite normal, for it’s a well known fact that wind resistance goes up with speed in a complex manner - starting with square of it and going upto the power of 4 - depending on its magnitude.

In other words, say at a cruising speed of 50 kph, 40% of the engine power goes towards over coming the vehicle’s ‘rolling resistance’ and the remaining 60% to overcome its ‘wind resistance’. Assume these as 5 and 7.5 = 12.5 Bhp.

Further, assuming that the rolling resistance remains more or less constant beyond 50 kph, at 100 kph the engine will have to produce 5 + (7.5 x 4) = 35 Bhp. So as far as the engine is concerned, for 2x the speed, it has to produce 3x the power.

Therefore, in terms of ‘Specific Fuel Consumption’ which is defined as ‘grams per Bhp per hour’ - that’s how the engine sees it - its FC stands to go up by 3x but then, at 2x the speed, it also has to run for half the time to cover the same distance - or effectively the FC stands to go up by 1.5x to cover the same distance. In other words, if it was doing say 25 kpl @ 50 kph, at 100 kph it stands to do ~ 17 kpl.

And mind you, the ‘SFC’ that we just talked about above also varies with the absolute Bhp demanded from it coz an Internal Combustion Engine’s ‘fuel efficiency’ drops above and below its ‘peak torque’ rpm.

Further, since an ICE’s max rpm AND Bhp is limited, 59 Bhp in this case, it follows that at 100 kph, it’s got only 59 - 35 = 24 Bhp left to propel it any faster and going by the above relationship, this will get used up by another 40 kph or so - leading to its top speed ‘capability’ of ~ 140 kph.

To sum-up, to get the best ‘FE’ (as opposed to absolute Fuel Consumption/kpl) out of your Car, cruise as close to its peak torque rpm as practicable.

Preamble
With the introduction of BS-II/Mpfi vehicles in the country by the year 2000, the then existing 87 Octane ‘Regular’ Unleaded Petrol was found wanting in more ways than one – especially it’s rather high gum and glue residues upon evaporation, leading to premature ‘arterial blockage’ kind of occurrences in these new generation ‘fuel-injection’ vehicles.

So enter the ‘Detergent-premixed’ Petrol’s with higher Octane ratings, with brand names such as ‘Speed’, ‘Power’ and ‘Premium’ and now – ‘Xtra-Premium’…

The trouble with our regular/unleaded Petrol, besides being highly prone to glue/gum residues, is that it’s hardly ever 87 O/R for whatever reason and the new breed claiming to be 90+ O/R promises to be no better, though it may be at least 87 O/R. Detergent ‘premixed’ Petrol is nothing new and has been around in the West for as long as I can remember. But over there, no body cheats the way they do it here and next to such Dispensers, there’s a ‘Warning’ that this Gasoline contains ‘Detergents’!

Regrettably, our PSU Oil Co’s did not advertise any such ‘Warnings’ at the time of their launch, as some unsuspecting motorists discovered it the hard way upon switching over to them after having used Regular/Unleaded for a few years.

Besides, the 3-Oil Co’s have also not bothered to give them a different PDS Kerosene like colour. So there’s no guarantee that the unscrupulous Retailers won’t make an extra fast buck by dishing out the usual trash in its guise. And by the time one realises this, the damage to one’s engine would have been done.

I have used these ones on my 7-yr/78 kkm old Santro/Mpfi in Delhi and have had no problems. In fact, my other 12+yr/75 kkm old ‘Carb’ type M800 definitely feels perkier with them and I’d attribute their higher Octane part to it. But then, from day one both had been run on Petrol Additives like System-G.

However, it’s true that with these new premium fuels, you don’t have to use PA’s also. However, a word of caution here…

If you have not been using any PA’s with Regular Unleaded Petrol so far but intend switching over to the ‘detergent-premixed’ types now, start with a full tank afresh. If you start it off say only with 5-10 lrs, there’s a strong possibility that all the previously accumulated muck in the System that’ll be dislodged by the detergents in the new petrol’s will find it’s way back into the Tank, choke the in-tank Fuel Pump’s intake filter and thus kill the Fuel Pump - costing > Rs: 5 k or so for most popular vehicles. Infact one Honda-City owner from Bangalore reported that he was charged 18k by the Honda Dealership for a replacement FP!

If the new generation/premium/90-91 Octane petrol’s with additives pre-mixed are available where you’re located, I’d suggest you switch over to them and see the difference. However, when you do that for the first time, please ensure the following:

1) You consume the existing fill upto ‘E’ level.

2) Fill to ‘F’ with the premium 90/91 Octane petrol.

3) Top-up again by the time you’re down to 3/4.

4) Repeat (3) above atleast twice - before reverting to your normal filling-up pattern.

This will ensure that the concentration of gums and glues, which the premium petrol will dislodge from the system, doesn’t go beyond the in-tank electric fuel pump’s capabilities. During some of the next issues, we’ll discuss some more interesting if not confusing issues like the ‘Fuel Efficiency’ vs ‘Fuel Consumption’ of a Car under its different operating conditions.

Preamble
Nowadays, almost all BS-II/III diesel vehicles are fitted with ‘Turbo-Chargers’. These come in different configurations, depending upon the design philosophy of the vehicle manufacturers. So let’s see what’s this Turbo-Charging all about……

Some Basics

1) In Turbo Charging, the exhaust energy of the flow-out gases is used to drive a small Turbine, to which is directly coupled a small Turbine type compressor. The output of this compressor is linked to the ‘Inlet Manifold’ of the Engine.

2) Such TC’s can easily be made to spin at speeds > 100,000 rpm - which enables their size to be compacted because for a given output, the device diameter is inversely proportional to its rpm.

3) When air is so compressed - especially in a TC where the adjoining Turbine section runs @ +500*C or so - being the exhaust gases temp. - the air delivered by it too comes out much hotter - say > 60*C.

4) Since an Internal Combustion Engine actually looks for the suitable ‘weight’ of Oxygen required to burn a matching weight of fuel, rather than temperature dependent volume, it’s desirable to limit its inlet air temps to ~ 30*C or so - for it to deliver its best thermal efficiency.

5) Therefore, to lower the TC delivered air Temp from ~ 60*C+ to ~ 30*C, it has to be cooled by passing it through a suitable ‘Radiator’ - just like the Engine Coolant System. Such an ‘Air-Cooling Radiator’ is called an ‘Inter-Cooler’, coz it’s an ‘intermediary’ between a TC and the Engine.

6) A well designed Turbo Charger/Inter-Cooler System can enable a Naturally Aspirated Engine of the same ‘cc’ deliver easily upto +30% Additional Power - PROVIDED the internals of it are suitably designed also, to handle such levels of power delivery. DIY enthusiasts trying to TC an existing/NA diesel would do well to keep the following in mind :

i) Get its ’static’ compression ratio down to 16-17:1 a/a normal 0f 22+:1.

ii) Also ensure that its vital internals like Crank/Bearings/Conrods/Clutch etc can withstand the additional 30% or so power over its ‘NA’ rating that TC will bring about.

All this/aforesaid is easier said than done, at least as a retrofit.

Some relevant QnA’s

Q1: I was wanting to know when does the turbo come on in the Verna, I mean at what rpm…they say its variable geometry turbo but I’m unsure when it comes on.
A1: Being a ‘VGT’, theoretically speaking the TC ‘cuts-in’ from idling speed upwards itself, like an ‘Alternator’ vis-à-vis ‘Dynamo’s of yore, but obviously not in full strength. The degree of boost keeps building up progressively upto the designed limit - usually + 5 psi over atmosphere. Most TC’s reach this level around 1750 rpm.

Q2: As per OHB instructions, when you stop the vehicle, they recommend a 1-minute ‘cooling off’ time for the TC and not sure whether in routine city use the TC comes in!!!
A2: Your understanding of it is not right. The 1-min wait is recommended for the TC to rev down ’safely’ from its normal 50,000 rpm+ to about 5 k-rpm or so at idling and not to cool down, without losing the pressurised engine oil lubrication system of which it’s an integral part. If one were to switch off the engine immediately after coming to a stop for good, as we do for petrol’s w/o TC’s, then there’s a good possibility that the TC bearings may seize. Likewise at start-up/take off, as is recommended for the rest of the engine, for oil circulation to set in fully incl the TC, as it stands to rev up to 50k rpm from ~ 5k rpm in no time.

Q3: Only if I rev hard do I feel a jolt sort of acceleration at times so how am I sure that when the car is going to halt and I kill the engine whether the TC was in use!!! Is there a way of finding it out.
A3: I think this is now covered in the above 2-explanations ?

Q4: I don’t know if i should worry so much on this!
A4: Just pause for ~30-60 secs after firing the engine first thing in the morning before taking off, and that too gently as always. Likewise when you’ve to switch off the engine for good. Diesels all over the world are kept on idle most times, incl traffic lights/jams, may be for this reason alone - not to mention sub-zero temps that turn diesel fuel into a jelly of sorts. For such s/z duties, diesel fuel tanks of heavy commercial vehicles have electric heaters in their fuel tanks, which have to be switched off before refuelling.

Preamble
My earlier submission on how to take off on a gradient evoked some interesting responses, from friends and ex-colleagues to whom I’d sent its URL from the e-HT. Here’s another one such set of exchanges…

Response #1
SKG, Driving and CEO’s need not at all be compatible! The only driving the CEO’s need to do is to drive their employees round the bend!! I know many CEO’s who have two drivers per car - one from 12 noon to 12 midnight and the other from 12 midnight to 12 noon. There is no knowing when the CEO has to rush out somewhere, e.g. to the airport to catch a plane to New York at two hours’ notice. His driving ability will not do him a fat lot of good under such circumstances - he is probably better off learning flying!! – Jeh.

My reaction
Jeh - thanks for the reaction. I guess it just depends on the context of a country one is talking about. Lemme elaborate…

Some years ago, mid-’80s to be precise, I took upon myself the task of teaching my 2-teenage daughters as to how to drive correctly, for what they’d learn off a local driving school with a permanent driving licence to boot was any thing but appalling.

In the process, I ended up writing a book of sorts, titled ‘Around the World in 80-days without a Flat Tyre’ (free e-copies of its draft available on request). The whole idea was to teach the girls how to take the bull by the horns, without getting hurt or hurting others in the process. They were made to read the proof of it independently, ostensibly to correct howlers but with an ultimate intention of getting some funda’s of a car into their heads.

Little wonder then, that the so called ‘book’ remains in a draft form till date, tho’ both manage to drive reasonably well 20+ years later/today - with some crashes in their respective driving cv’s. Its opening line of the chapter on ‘driving correctly’ goes like this…

“Prof. Peter Drucker is reported to have once remarked to a distinguished gathering of Business Managers from all over the world, that give me a ride in your car with yourself at the wheel and I will tell you what kind of a Manager you are”.

This statement to me conveys a lot of meaning. As on closer introspection, the way you drive and maintain your car, no matter whether provided by the employers or funded out of your own resources, speaks volumes of your attitude towards life in general and your managerial skills in particular. After all, a car responds to your commands, your road side manners and their consequences, whether pleasurable or otherwise, are entirely of your own making.

How well you maintain it to give you a reliable and uninterrupted service also indicates how well you run your business, by way of preventive measures to forestall unpleasant situations. Before one can effectively maintain and satisfactorily drive a car without inconveniencing oneself and others around him, it is but natural that one understands how exactly a car works - like trying to understand the intricacies of your business which you are expected to steer to satisfaction.

So, where does that leave us Jeh?! Money or corporate perks may be able to get you double shift drivers but not much above the ground in dear Peter’s esteem!

Counter reaction
Good point SKG, noted. Jeh.

Response #2
Bahut sahi darshaya hai aapne. In fact in Mumbai when I gave my driving test [having driven our Ambi exactly for 4 days prior to the test] the guy asked me to take off on a slope after a stop and had to do the same stuff without a handbrake as the Ambi’s hardly had any…. to boot ours had a slipping clutch too but I managed quite well. The guy finally asked me how long I had been driving as my temp license was only 3-mths old. He would not believe that it was only a week since I had started! In hindsight, I should not have mentioned the 1-week bit. But still 99% of the guys cannot take off smoothly on a slope even if they use the HB, and most times they are in the wrong gear as well – Cyrus.M.

My reaction
As far as driving goes Cyrus, it’s well said that either you have it in you or you don’t. I’ve seen highly successful Co. Directors/CEO’s making a complete Ass of themselves under such conditions :-0)

Counter reaction
With due respect to all the CEO’s SKG, I still stand by Prof. Drucker’s logic. I have applied it myself on some of my colleagues without letting them know of my intent and every time it comes up trumps. Cheers Cyrus.

Stafford, England, July 1959.

Sunny day. My mood very good after a hearty breakfast but just to spoil my sense of all well being, Dilip rushes into my room cursing ‘that SOB’, and headed straight for a beer. I said nothing, knowing Dilip wasn’t one to keep quiet for long.

Sure enough, after a few sips of beer Dilip said, “You know - that damned Jennings failed me again in my driving test today and that too for a stupid reason. He has done this to me for the third time!”

I felt sorry for Dilip but knew he must have done something wrong from Jennings’ viewpoint and retorted “Tough luck, Dilip. Not for the same reason as on previous occasions, I guess?”

“No, first time he failed me because when he asked me to reverse the car, the road was narrow and I had to maneuver it back and forth and in that process I hit the kerb stones a few times. He had also asked me to stop at some point and I pulled up without caring for the NO PARKING sign at that point. So he found fault with me for that too. He said I should not have obeyed his foolish instructions!

The next time he asked me to reverse into a lane which we were just passing and when I did so, he found fault with me for not looking left into the lane as I passed it to make sure there was no vehicle parked at the entrance to the lane or if any car was coming down the lane.

Today he asked me to stop the car on a road with steep gradient and then asked me to get going again. He failed me this time because I rolled back a little bit, just a foot or two, before moving forward. I am actually beginning to think that Jennings is racist and that is why he is harassing me”.

“Was that the only reason for him to fail you this time?”

Dilip thought for a while and said “Well, no. Jennings was also not happy with my passing a zebra crossing when there was a pedestrian standing on the sidewalk, waiting to cross the road. He said the pedestrian always has a right of way at zebra crossings and even if he hadn’t actually stepped on to the zebra patch, I should have respected his right and stopped the car till he crossed the road. How silly!”

I did not agree with Dilip at all, but got worried a bit about Dilip’ s failure because I was myself due to take a test the following month. Anyway, I tried to comfort Dilip by telling him that I know of people who have cleared driving tests in their 4th, 5th or even 6th attempt and he may not be fair in accusing Jennings of racism. Don’t you know that Mr. Sen got through last month in only his second attempt?”

Stafford, August 1959, The Big Day.

Contrary to my fears, I cleared my test today in the first attempt. I did not commit any of the mistakes that Dilip did (am I grateful to him for forewarning me!). But Mr. Jennings did cause some worry by repeatedly accusing me of being hard of hearing, when I did not heed a police message, which he said was clearly audible.

The police that day were piloting a 24-double wheel low bed trailer truck carrying a massive transformer and hailing all traffic to get on to the foot path to allow the truck to pass. I did so only belatedly, perhaps after the third message.

I countered Mr. Jennings’ accusation by telling him bluntly that I was not deaf, but certainly nervous and that he too may have acted the way I did if the roles had been reversed. He had merely grunted then, and I thought I had cooked my goose. So it was a pleasant surprise to me when, at the end of the test, he pulled out a pre-printed pink slip from his pocket, signed it and gave it to me saying “You can pick up your licence on Wednesday next”.

I asked him incredulously, “Are you passing me, then?” He looked at me grimly and said, with typical British seriousness, “If you are unhappy, I can fail you even now, you know”. Suddenly he flashed a bright smile, thrust the slip in my hands, and said “Good luck with your driving! Be a careful and considerate driver always” and walked off. Whew! To think I was only the second Indian in Stafford in several years to clear the driving test in the first attempt, after my senior colleague Mr. Natarajan who made it in 1957!

47 years on, Bangalore, November, 2006

Returning home from a wedding and had just turned into Queens Road from M G Road after the cop had waved me on. Suddenly a big thud and my windscreen broke into a million pieces and an old man, his wife, grandchild and a scooter, all lay sprawled on the road.

Fortunately no serious injury to any of them, though a crowd soon gathered around us as is usual and a roughneck from among them demanded that I summon an ambulance, take the two-wheeler-riding-family to a hospital and pick up the tab for their medical treatment.

My protests fell on deaf ears, but fortunately the cop who was witness to the accident intervened and proclaimed that I was not at fault because the old man had jumped the signal. The crowd melted away, but much to my chagrin, I discovered the old man had no driving licence, nor did the scooter have any papers!

For some strange reason, I remembered Dilip and Jennings then and thought to myself “Mr. Jennings, you took so much care to ensure Dilip became a safe driver; where are the ‘Jennings’s’ who will put people like this old man to the grind that Dilip went through?”

Post Script:

Dilip got his licence on his fourth attempt, continued to drive badly (without accidents, though) until he died some 8 years ago. Innumerable have been the times that I lamented the rotten standards of our driving schools, the incompetent RTOs who dish out licences freely to people who are willing to bribe their way, the apathy of the people and the police alike in bringing about disciplined driving. As for me, I ‘forgave’ the old man (who seemed to be penurious) to avoid police formalities and was poorer by some 16 K, the depreciation amount disallowed by the Insurance company.

Oh, Mr. Jennings, why didn’t you check me out also to see if I could dodge the road mongers of Bangalore?!