Why Tata made cars are not fit for mountain regions?

Umm, Tata paints mercedes. There may be many faults in Tata cars, but paint job is not one of them.

As for why tata cars are not popular in himalayas, it actually depends on dealerships.

Towns which have dealerships nearby have lots of indicas etc., but town which do not, don't

That said, I have taken both indica and safari to some real high hills like Jalori pass and chitkul.

As far as my understanding due to low temperatures at high altitudes Diesel has a tandency to freeze unlike petrol and both sumo and indica are diesel cars (as genesis has mentioned). I think people usually prefer petrol cars for mountains or more likely 4x4's like maruti gypsy.


Looks like you had a experience of your lifetime with Tata...!!!

Having grown up watching Tata (truck and bus) engines being "jump-started" by fires being lit under them, I'm aware of that limitations in some diesel vehicles. Hence my query in context of very cold-starts etc.

Hmm, certainly got my interest now. I daresay there are a few kachcha roads which cud need 4wd when it snows. Not many.
District?
(Ok, don't tell me - I'd probably be able to narrow it down to the tehsil at least, and that wud be the end of your P&Q )

Quote:

And then there is visiting some of my kin that live in the Terai belt. A few years back during monsoons, I had a Zen on my hands that had dug half of itself into a paddy field. So tht makes it a pretty broad requirements spread.

Yes, a paddy field is a good place to have 4wd. Of course I'd try to stay out of a paddy field in the first place.....

Ha! Those were probably 2wd Mahindras. I'll bet anything a 4wd Mahindra can tow a 2wd Tata out of mud as well. Let's compare like with like.

Ok I'll tell you what the coldest I've recorded is -
1.9 C at 7.15 am of an October morning at Koksar. In fact, with those self-same heater plugs bought at Manali I mentioned - 4 days later. I think two heats was the max I needed.

That makes it two: Scorpio and Safari.

I know you can figure out not just the tehsil but also the village if I told you that Sir . I'm sure we will touch-base sometime off the public forum.

You got it.

My mud is deeper than your mud...

Diesel has more Torque and is the fuel for mountain regions. when going to extremely low temperatures one must add anti-freeze agents to Diesel.

Clear as mud.

Well I wudn't go so far as village specially if it's in the interior, but block is a fair possibility. There are many resources online nowadays, one just has to spend time hunting.

No doubt we'll meet, preferably at a latitude of 30 degrees or more.

The problem it seems is that there are no proper anti-freeze agents available in the country. When I did the research on winter diesel, an oil company executive told me that one can mix kerosene with diesel in the ratio of 25%:75%. Thing is, kerosene can only be procured illegally. Does anyone here know if any proved-to-be-effective anti-freeze is available in the market?

That is a misconception. Even though I am not an expert on this, however you can go to forums on www.team-bhp.com, and there you can find all proper info.

I am not 100% sure, but I remember reading that the normal coolant is also an anti-freezing agent and can be mixed with diesel. Nick-H has fair knowledge on the topic, you can ask him.

No, I'm not an expert at all, though I know that what is called "coolant" in India is actually an additive; it is water that is the coolant (as in "water-cooled engine") and the additive is there to stop the water freezing in cold climates (in UK we call it anti-freeze) and it also contains stuff to stop rusting. It is an ant-freeze agent for water, lowering its freezing point depending in the concentration.

I've heard of it being added to cheap wines --- but I have no idea whether it can be added to diesel or not. Wouldn't dare try it without a real expert opinion.

A pre-mixed "coolant" is going to be largely water anyway, and even a concentrate might contain some, and water is not good news for diesel engines, there is even a special trap to prevent it reaching the engine.

Team-BHP would be the place to learn about this, yes.
I'm sure there are petrol indicas, at least. The Indicabs are all diesel, which is to do with the economy of running a very-high-mileage vehicle.

Thanks Nick, I guess I was confused between on this.

Afraid we digress. However I will indulge a little bit in the diesel engine talk just to set the record straight. I am aware of 3 limitations for these engines:

• HSD engines are difficult to start in cold (that would be very cold for Des) because the cylinder block and head being cold absorb the heat of compression (breaking the compression cycle). Solution: Glowplugs (DW has already answered this).
  
• Diesel gels at low temperatures reducing its flow, starving the engine. Solution: Diesel additives (for example look here). DW, you are correct re: kerosene as an additive.
  
• Water suspended in the fuel will freeze at low temperatures reducing the flow in fuel lines. Solution: Keep the tank topped-up to prevent water vapor/condensation inside the tank. Change fuel filter regularly. Additive in #2 will help too.

However my evaluation was more on operating a vehicle in Des; that too in a place with limited bells-and-whistles (min temperatures around -5 deg C)

You get anti freeze diesel in cold areas. Its actually diesel with little kerosene.

Very fast, what's your additive? Actually i didn't know Mahindra did 4wd Bolero's - thing is for tooling up and down the valley, should i book a middle spec. Nano - Has anyone here?

http://www.cardekho.com/compare-4car..._SLX_2WD_BSIII

- This website gives an option to compare specs side by side. Just thought it will be helpful.