The Thinking Pad - CarWale.com Forum

Life of engine's in India

Omkar — 2009-11-14

Guys lets discuss the number of miles done by our cars and also the maximum seen by us on any car.

My Santro Xing:68,000 km (feels as good as new)

Seen an indica with 1,20,000km,still going strong.

Tata sumo:1,70,000km without overhauling.

electronic car security ...

Abhishek — 2009-11-12

in the recent years ,electronic car security system is considered as a must buy or a basic need for any car.My Car has central locking,yet people keep advicing me to get an autocop or something .But i have seen cars being stolen which were fitted with best systems in the business.Yet people spend so much money on it,inspite of knowing that the theives dont lag behind with the development in technology,especially in case of eletronics where breaching can be done silently .

Manufacturing of a car

Ikkru — 2009-11-11

Friends,

Every manufacturers will produce the car in three or four variants, like lxi, vxi, zxi in Maruti and active, dynamic, emotion in fiat etc etc. Also in six or seven colours.

My doubt is, What is their preference in manufacturing the car. i mean, are they producing one variant in every colour OR One colour in every varient?

for example, in the case of Ritz

are they producing LXi in every colour first or

White for LXI VXI ZXI then Red for LXI VXI ZXI... like that???? or any other method???

any one have any idea?

muffler needs fixing very often

K V Nair — 2009-10-26

I have been using santro gs 2001 model .the vehicle has been giving me very good service except for the muffler which developed holes requiring garage repair from the third year.since then this had to be repeated at least twice in a year.the service people attributed the problem to catalytic converter.last year a new muffler had to be fitted.

About new engine technologies

Prajakta Pardeshi — 2009-08-16

I want to give seminar in the college on the topic -CLEAN BURN ENGINE TECHNOLOGIES. If anyone knows about this please guide me.

Cars May Soon Be Started By Lasers

Rajiv Parashar — 2009-07-12

London, July 12 (PTI) Forget spark plugs. You would soon be able to start your car by lasers, thanks to scientists who have developed what they claim is an ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

A joint team from Liverpool University and car giant Ford has come up with the technology that is more reliable and efficient than current spark plug technology and would enable vehicles to start more easily in cold and damp conditions. "We are running engines everyday in our lab with this system now and our ultimate objective is have it inside cars driven by consumers.

Lasers can be focused and split into multiple beams to give multiple ignition points, which means it can give a far better chance of ignition. "This can really improve the performance of the engine when it is cold, as this is the time when around 80 per cent of the exhaust emissions are produced and the engine is at is least efficient.

"The laser also produces more stable combustion so you need to put less fuel into the cylinder," team leader Dr Tom Shenton was quoted by the leading British newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph'' as saying. In current engines, spark plugs are positioned at the top or bottom of a cylinder and they can often fail to ignite fuel effectively if the petrol is not in the right position in the cylinder.

Source: Yahoo News

Making a generator from a two wheeler engine

Rishi — 2009-07-06

I have heard about people making a generator from old car engines but those produce a lot of electricity ,much more than a small house would require.

I can manage an old bajaj scooter to make a generator as I guess this should be sufficient for a small home.Is there anyone who has tried it before or someone who can explain the process?How much current can I expect to be produced from from a 150CC engine?

Would it be prudent to make it into an LPG generator to save running costs?And, also what would be the cost in making it.

Moderators, please move this thread to an appropriate section if needed.

petrol vs diesel cars (general comparision)

Centaur — 2009-06-22

Found this article on cartradeindia. Found it to be very informative and thought of sharing it. I dont know if there is another thread which has the same/similar content. MODS - please merge this thread with that one if it does.

India is one of the biggest markets for diesel cars. Most of the people prefer diesel engines over petrol ones in this country. Why so? The debate between petrol and diesel engines is as old as the engines themselves. Basically, both engines have their own specialties and anyone opting for either of them is basing that on personal driving experiences. Similarly, CNG and LPG Engines also made their foray in the automobile industry mostly owing to their better fuel efficiency, cheaper running cost and eco-friendliness.

Getting to Know the Petrol and Diesel Engines - Technicalities

A petrol engine is one of the first engines to be used in automobiles. Fundamentally, not much has changed since its inception. Diesel engines were largely used for commercial vehicles like trucks, buses, locomotives, ships, etc. In petrol engines, there is pre-mixing of fuel and air, which eventually results in better efficiency that makes the car run at higher speed and is much quieter but the overall fuel efficiency remains quite low.

On the other hand, diesel engines use compression ignition to burn the fuel which is injected in the combustion chamber after the air is compressed. The calorific value of Diesel is more than Petrol and hence the energy output per unit volume of diesel is better than petrol. The construction of diesel engines is bit more complicated than that of petrol and hence it asks for higher initial investment. Comparatively petrol engine construction is simpler and cheaper than that of diesel, which we can also see reflected in the price of our diesel cars.

What does this technical jargon mean for the common man? Diesel cars are good for those who have long distance commuting on daily basis. Diesel engines give better fuel consumption and deliver better torque. This means diesel engines make everyday driving cheaper and an easy experience. Moreover, diesel cars have run far more miles than the petrol ones before they ask for any maintenance, i.e. running life of diesel engines is much better than petrol engines.

Finally, as a fuel, diesel is cheaper than petrol in India. Even in other countries, we see that the litre price of diesel is significantly cheaper than the petrol’s price.

Diesel cars in India are very popular in India as the Indian auto market is one of the most price sensitive markets. The combination of cheaper fuel, good mileage and long life, explains why diesel engine cars are the favourite choice of cabs and regular long distance driving people. As a consequence of the longer life of a diesel engine, the resale price for such cars is also better. In other words, diesel options always fetch you a better price.

Is diesel harmful?

Santhanam — 2009-06-19

One query Pankaj,

do the diesel engines cause any problems to the passengers/driver in the long run? or is the emission of 'particulate matters' only harmful for the environment in general without causing any specific problems to the passengers/driver of the diesel car.

Sathanam.

Car AC Temperature Vs Power consumption

Asv — 2009-06-19

Hi All,

I am curious to know if the power consumed (in turn fuel consumed) is dependant on the car a/c temperature that we use it to. this strikes me more because the car a/c, i am not sure, has a thermostat...... any thoughts???

Regards,

ASV

Correct Method of Milage Calculations

Rajesh — 2009-06-17

What would be correct method for measuring milage.

Top up fuel tank. Note speedometer reading in Kms. (A)

Run the car for around say 500 Kms. No need to run all 500 kms in one stretch. Use as per you requirements. It may be in 15 to 20 days.

When you complete around 500 Kms, Top up fuel tank again. Note the speedometer reading in Kms. (B). Also note how much fuel in ltrs required to full the tank.(C)

Milage = C/B-A Kms/Ltr.

The second way which dealer's service engineer told when I complained about less milage was,

After top up of fuel tank, run the car for around 30 Kms in one stretch and top up the tank again. Calculate milage same way as in method 1.

I generally use method 1 which I think will give me exact milage.

Rev match downshifting

Prasanth — 2009-05-03

Hi,please help me and tell me what is rev match downshifitng..i'm new manual trasmission,i used to drive automatic car

At wat rpm should i shift to lower gears and i can prevent damage to engine or clutch pedal by increasing rpm?

to mods: pls move this to appropritate section if this doesnt fit hear,sorry for trouble mods!!

please explain in detail

Why ATF is cheaper than auto petrol?

Amit — 2009-04-30

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price in Delhi is Rs 31,615 per kl (i.e., Rs. 31.62/liter), which is cheaper than auto fuel we buy everyday for our cars. ATF prices had peaked to Rs 71,028.26 per kl (in Delhi) in August on international crude prices touching a historic high of USD 147 a barrel. ATF is more refined and higher octane fuel than auto petrol. Still Government keep telling us, the price is subsidized.

Why Petrol technology not improving much over the years?

Ajith — 2009-04-14

Guys,

We all know that all technologies have improved a lot over the last 15 years, say computers, electronics, internet, communication, health care etc. But interestingly our good petrol engines hasnt improved much when compared to any other area. Let me clarify this with one example, take indias first luxuary car (Esteem) which was launchd in 1994 (15 years back) with 1300 cc engine with 65 bhp power. Now the same maruthi which taks about much advanced petol engine on Swift/ Dezire, which is just 85bhp with more or less similar performance and problems. (low power in 2nd gear). May be it is now MPFI, so lesser fuel emissions, but not much improvement in milege or power. Old esteem and new dezire pertrol gives average milege of 13 km/l. Why this is like this? 15 years is a big gap, but the end user is not getting better performace from any pertol engines. Above quoted is just an example........you can think of many other. Or have we seen the extreme of petrol trechnology. Do share your thoughts on this.

Depreciation Benefit

Vijay — 2009-03-25

Hi All,

Currently, mainy dealers are offering depreciation benfits on a new car. Can you please elaborate what this benefit is and how it affect new car buying price and resale value?

Thanks,

Vijay

Ignition kill switch

Krishna — 2009-03-19

I want a switch that will allow me to switch off engine without the ignition key. This switch also will act as a theft prevention device - when it is off, the vehicle won't start at all...Any idea how to put it together?

There are conflicting advices on this which involve cutting power supply to fuel pump, ignition coil, injectors etc either individually or severally. Which would be a good way to do it? I want to mimic the way ignition goes from accessory to ON and vice versa, through another switch / switch + relays etc..

Gyani Jan from the members are requested to kindly guide me to get this implemented.

Proving HHO Technology in action (Mumbai)

Krishna — 2009-03-16

Hello Mumbaikars,

I should really not be doing this, hijacking your thread for some serious OT. But I know I have the attention of all mumbaikars on this thread, so please bear with me for this once.

Received an open offer from one Praveen Varma about proving hydroxy technology in action. Remember, once we got into a tangle with this HHO / WaterGas stuff, and almost had pounced on Anjeel Babber? Now we have an opportunity to get this proven / discredited (depending on whether it performs as touted or not).

Particularly considering CW is in Mumbai, anyone interested / logistically feasible to try this out? It will be fun...

Saving fuel using magnets?

Banwari Lal Sharma — 2009-03-09

Dear all,

I recently came across someone advocating for a fuel saver system. Firstly I ignored it considering it as some kind of additive but I was quite amazed at the fact that it is not a system exactly. Instead it's a pair of strong magnets that are supposed to be tied to the carburetor fuel inlet pipe. They say, it ionizes the fuel and thus increases fuel efficiency by up to 28%. I have got a sample of the same for free (costs about 1200 bucks) to use for a couple of weeks.

Just wanted to understand if it is safe to try this system and does the idea of saving fuel make any sense to you guys? You can read about it here.

The 'Italian' connection (LPG/CNG etc.)

Krishna — 2009-03-07

India has had a fascination for all things Italian since long... We drool over Italian marble, jewellry, suits, haute couture, foodstuff, Monica Belucci, and God knows what else... I have also heard wierd terms like Italian SAREEs!!

But what's so special about Italian gas conversion kits? Why is it that 'only genuine good quality Italian gas conversion kits' are recommended? Did the rest of the world sleep when Italians perfected gas conversion kits?

We have gas kits available and used in India for over 10 years now. So why is a country so huge like India importing kits from Italy of all places, and there seems to be monopoly of Italian companies in the gas kit market...

I sincerely seek answer to this puzzle, with background and history as well, if someone (Vidhur?) is kind to explain me this. I agree, this question may make me seem to be a dumba$$, but I better be one and ask so I don't remain one!

Small fear drving Swift over i10

Arun — 2009-02-26

Friends,

Me to agree...Definetly it's not a problem of car.. or design. it's purely of my driving style or mindset.. help me out please..

My company given me a Swift ZXi. and i won i10sportz for last 6months. I have gone long trips with both. I was very comfortable with both of these too.

But i'm literally worried when i am taking right turns with Swift..(Only taking right turns in state roads)

My visibility is obstructed by the ribs on the right side. even @60km/hr speed am not confident...

The side ribs are looking big compare to my tiny i10..

Experts please suggest me...where am doing the mistake?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Arun