SkYwAlKeR

Achilles ATR Sport

2012-01-26T22:56:00.005+08:00

it has been sometime since i swapped my old Falken Zeix912 with some new rubbers... Falken Zeix912 are considered top of the range for ZE version but the grip and traction is rather disappointing... after reading a few reviews from friends, i've decided to get these Indonesia tyres as they are within my budget... Yes, Indon tyres... don't be alarmed as past reviews and old timers would ask u to stay away from Indon tyres... no idea why and what is the myth behind it, but i guess it would have something to do with reliability...

anyhow, fast forward current technologies had reduced tyre blowout till zero if not minimal... proper maintenance of the tyres is the key towards longevity... properly inflated tyre with correct tyre pressure ensure even wear of the tyres... this also reduces chances of sidewall cracks due to under inflated tyres...

Achilles had been in the local scene for quite some time already... only now it had grown more popular due to involvement in local motorsports, especially the drift scene... Achilles has a wide range of tyres available in the market... but one of the best selling, best bang-for-buck, would be the ATR Sports... this is a directional tyre with wide steel belt to improve traction and cornering capabilities...

i bought 4 units 195/50/R15 size for Rm155 each... Traded in my old Falken for Rm50 each... first impression, feels slightly better grip compare to the old falken... less aquaplanning... after further running in, i found it has far better grip compare to my old Rm180 Falken... can conclude that these tyres can perform what Rm200 tyres do at a cheaper price... what i liked most is its grip under hard braking... it also possesses progressive traction characteristics... it does not lose traction all of a sudden... this allows u to react whenever it starts to slide...

i brought these rubbers to Dato Sagor track day... though they did not perform as much as i expected, it did not failed me either... the track is known to be punishing to any tyres and 1 month into using it, it has left me with this...

it is certainly one of the tyres one should consider if u are within tight budget... but if u are more of an enthusiastic driver who relies greatly on grip and traction (fear of sliding), u would want to go for more expensive UHP tyres...

momo corse

2012-01-14T23:36:00.012+08:00

for most car enthusiast, the first thing they will change would be the steering wheel... a smaller steering wheel does affect how you handle the car... less radius means less steering play needed... minor steering corrections can be done very quickly... on some cars it also does improve ergonomics of the car... for example your leg is too long and the steering wheel restricts the leg movement to heel-n-toe... a smaller steering gives more room for your leg to move around...

besides the diameter of the steering wheel, thickness of the handle also matters... in general, a thicker steering wheel gives better grip compare to smaller thin steering wheel...

for many years i did not realize why the need of aftermarket steering wheel... i've done countless touge and daily drive, i've already accustomed myself to the OEM steering wheel... only recently when i've got the mood to beautify the interior of my car only i realize how differently it feels...

there are a few choices i short-listed... momo corse or nardi torino... due to some unknown reason, price for momo corse steering dropped a little... most of them cost approximately Rm350 each... i got this for only Rm200...

original MOMO??...

of course, in order for an aftermarket steering wheel to fit u will need a boss kit... it is basically an adapter which connects the steering shaft with your steering wheel... does an expensive boss kit makes any difference compare with a cheap one??... with the price difference almost thrice as much, i settled for the latter one... here u go, a Rm30 boss kit from any local car accessory shop...

securing it to the steering wheel via 6 Allen key bolts...

and securing it to the steering shaft...

i also bought this original momo corse horn button separately...

full aluminum radiator...

2011-10-16T06:05:00.008+08:00

previously i had experienced over heating issue whenever i gets stuck in a traffic jam in a hot day... the thin single layer radiator obviously not providing sufficient cooling capability needed in our hot tropical climate country...

i got this full aluminum radiator from JASMA at an affordable price... it is a single layer 42mm in thickness radiator... it holds higher capacity of cooling liquid, which will improves the overall cooling efficiency...

i also bought along 1L of toyota long life coolant... installation was easy as i DIY it at home... since it is aluminum radiator, i used RO water instead of pipe water to prevent it from getting rusty...

comparison between my old radiator and jasma 42mm full aluminum radiator...

everything is plug and play aside from one issue... the radiator cap is facing the wrong direction and it is slightly too high for iswara hood to clear it... some knocking needs to be done on the hood... for older proton saga, its all plug and play....

so far, there is no overheating issue in traffic jam... it also maintained water temperature below mid-line during hot afternoon track day...

extractor 2.0

2011-10-16T05:31:00.007+08:00

extractor or exhaust header is one most important component in a car exhaust system... as its name says, it extracts exhaust gas out from the engine into the exhaust down pipe... a tuned-length header does allows the engine exhale much more easily compare to stock exhaust manifold... mainly for a 4-cylinder exhaust header consist of 2 common configuration; 4-1 setup or 4-2-1 setup...

so how does a tuned-length extractor works??... given for example a 4-cylinder engine with a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold... when the first exhaust pulse exits the engine and travels down into the exhaust header, it creates low pressure behind which will then siphons out the second exhaust pulse... this allows the engine to exhale easily without having the piston to push out the exhaust pulse... siphoning effect will continue as long as the exhaust has travels out without clashing into each other at the primary joints... hence, it is important to have a tuned length extractor so that exhaust pulse will not clash with each other at joints...

besides having an ideal length extractor, primary and secondary piping size as well as smooth bends is equally important... mandrel bend is always the ideal choice as there is no reduction in piping diameter at bends... piping size go according to engine displacement... and smooth Y-joints are good to allow exhaust pulse flow smoothly from primary piping to the secondary piping....

my old extractor does not have nice bend in its piping as they are badly crushed bent... the material used already show sign of rusting...

so, i got it replaced with another cheap extractor... this one is made of aluminized steel which can resist rust far better than the old one... it also has better bend in the primary and secondary piping...

however, i made a mistake in purchasing a unit which is meant for Proton Wira... after fitting it to my car, i noticed it is slightly angled towards the center which came very close to the cross member...

the header was torched at the elbow section till it is smoking red to allow it to be forcefully bent away from the cross member... i also had it flexible pipe replaced with a 2 inch in diameter unit...

at the end of the extractor i made an adapter for easy fitting and removal of the exhaust piping... hence, now my exhaust system consist of 3 removable section; extractor, mid piping and muffler...

first impression, revs climb slightly smoother at mid-higher revs... overall gain was noticeable...

anti roll bar link modifications...

2011-08-06T02:31:00.006+08:00

low stance does cause lots of minor problem... one of it indefinitely will be deformation of your anti roll bar bush... when the car sits lower, the anti roll bar will be slightly angled upwards at both ends... this creates stress on one side of the bush... hence, deforming most rubber bush...

as i've mentioned earlier that i had mine changed to teflon, this does not stop the anti roll bar from grinding away one side of my teflon bush... this premature wear will reduce the lifespan of the bush altogether...

as u see on the stock satay bush, there is a spacer in between to separate the lower arm and anti roll bar...

i've bought another pair of satay rod... saw off the spacer half the height... this is what i got after installation...

i've also got this opportunity to change the inner anti roll bar bush...

not easy to change if don't have proper tools... because the tie-rod end is blocking your spanner movement inside and both sides need to be aligned in order to fit in properly... the bush needs to be cut so it can be fitted into the bar and bracket...

SSR Type-C RS...

2011-05-23T02:55:00.005+08:00

its been more than 5 years since i first started using this rim... it has gone through humps, bumps, tarmac, gravel, and all sorts of road Malaysia can offer... the last wheel balancing shows that 3 out of 4 wheel is badly deformed... its time to say good bye...

i'm keen on a few models which i had short listed... SSR Type-C RS, Advan RG II, RAYS CE28n and TE37... in fact, any JDM'ish 5 to 6 spoke rim will fancy me... i got this offer from a local tyre shop somewhere in Melaka... they offered me this new set of rim plus trade in my old rims, all i had to top up was Rm360... price was around that range after consulting a few more tyre shop... so, here it is...

SSR Type-C RS... 4 lugs with PCD 114.3... offset +38... rim width 6.5jj... and of coz, its a replica of the real one... lolz...

installation was swift... everything was bolted back on within 30 minutes... as for performance difference, everything felt the same... because this rim weighs approximately same with my old set of rims, which is about 6kg each...

nice isnt it??... and yeah, i tore off the sticker and labels before i rolled out from the workshop... adding some JayDeeEm flavor to it...

high speed starter...

2011-05-23T02:15:00.003+08:00

well.. this does not make any difference to performance... but it does gives u some excitement each time u crank your engine... even tend to notice the difference of sound each car produces whenever they crank the engine??... older proton models such as saga/wira/satria tend to have a very dull sound... proton perdana on the other hand, sounds really nice... while perodua starter motor creates one of the worse cranking sound of all car manufacturers...

it is almost certain that all proton, except perdana, which produces high speed starter bearing sound, has had a transplanted engine from mitsubishi... however there are some which sounds like one, but does not have the equivalent heart of the three diamond logo... so, here it is... high speed ball bearing starter for proton engines...

thinking its just 2 bolts to remove in order to change it, why not DIY at home...
as it turns out, its not just 2 easy bolts... the starter is way beyond reach from the top nor bottom... starter must access through the bottom of the car as the starter position is right above the intake manifold... plugging and unplugging the wire connection was easy... lifting the heavy starter in a very tight space was not easy though... job was completed with the help of a few friends securing the bolt in place from the top while me holding it up from the bottom...

for the record, i changed it because my old starter showed sign of malfunctioning... had a couple of times couldnt get the starter cranking...

teflon anti roll bar bush...

2011-01-16T05:14:00.005+08:00

we all know that original rubber bushing are meant to absorb noise, vibration and harshness.. but the downside of using rubber bush is that it keeps breaking and tearing apart under extreme uses...

polyurethane (PU) bushes came into sight... it is far more reliable compare to rubber bush but it still allows fair bit of flex in its structural integrity... polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is by far stiffer compare to polyurethane and rubber bush... it is more well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon...

so far most aftermarket available bush made from polyurethane material... getting a teflon material bush is rather rare, not to mention its price... of all the bushings used in a car, anti roll bar bush has the most simple design... so, why hunt up and down for the product when u can make one yourself??...

i bought myself a 1 meter teflon rod from a local plastic ware factory... i also came to know they do make custom fabrication for PU, PE, teflon as well as plastic for all applications and usage... good info there as i was also looking for custom PU absorber top mount bush...

fully utilizing the campus facility, i fabricated a few sets of these bushing based on standard rubber bushing dimension... the teflon ones are made shorter by 1-2mm due to the fact they do not crumple like rubber bush do when it is being tighten down onto the anti roll bar linkage...

quick installation was done onto my car... mind the wrong side up satay linkage because i did not have suitable tool for the job... the rod just clear my chassis frame by centimeters... during hard cornering it does show some improvement as the car does not bounce up and down anymore... it remains stable through the corner with minimal flex... these bushes would certainly do more for those who has thick anti roll bars because they exert more force to the bushing...

yeah, its for sale anyway... Rm40 per set (8pcs)... any takers??...
be sure to check your anti roll bar linkage because it can only be used on satay-lookalike anti roll bar linkage... drop-linkage ARB which looks like the photo below is not suitable...

ultra racing room bar...

2011-01-16T04:59:00.007+08:00

another long awaited bar finally find itself a final home... to be stepped and treated as foot rest...

screwed tight to the ends of B-pillar, it provides a supportive beam to strengthen the middle part of the car... this bar is particularly useful for sedan cars which has B-pillar...

insist only in original product...

E-manage blue...

2011-01-16T04:08:00.010+08:00

after long awaited... years of saving... finally... the parcel arrives...

some says its nickname is e-damage... others say its imitation product... whatever it is, it increases horsepower... and more importantly, a stepping stone for me to learn the dark side of software and ecu tuning...

together with it's ignition harness, this is by far the best bang-for-buck piggyback ecu available in the market...

installation was done by an aircond man...

which leaves the tuning part to this nice chap from Millennium Motorsports...

a baseline run was done and it only recorded approximate 80whp at 5500rpm... the AF mixture is also running slightly rich across the rev range, averaging 12.5:1...

after 13 runs fiddling with the air fuel ratio and ignition timing, max result achieved at 96.3whp at 5700rpm... torque peaks at 90FtLb @ 2400rpm and maintain all the way till 5700rpm... fairly satisfactory considering it is running on 95-octane fuel with "paliah" spec setup...

dyno chart speaks for itself...

the AF graph maintains 13:1 ratio all the way and dip down rich slightly at rev cut to prevent any serious engine failure...

FYI, dyno dynamics is an inertia dyno... it is also considerably heavier on load compare to other dynanometer... quick search on the internet reveals that results obtained from dynodynamics is 10-15 percent lower compare to dynojets... with the use of outboard weather station, it detects the ambient temperature and configures the dyno machine correction factors such as barometric pressure, relative humidity, ambient air temperature and inlet air temperature...

so, the disappointing low figures ain't really disappointing after all... :)

intake ram pipe...

2011-01-16T03:47:00.003+08:00

after months of tinkering and calculating, i've decided to make a ram pipe direct from the back of the headlamp to the throttle body... its a 3.0 inch tip to tip stainless steel pipe with short elbow at both ends... this setup matches my engine tuning as it provides fair bit of air restriction, which improves the velocity of airflow through the intake with expense of minor CFM at higher revs... higher air intake velocity over CFM gives better mid-range torque... throttle response also maintained as there is sufficient reserve air inside the huge pipe...

fabrication work was done at InnTec Exhaust somewhere in Cheng... welding job was nice and finishing was satisfactory... only minor trimming is needed at both ends as the elbow extend a little too far to cause some turbulence inside... its a worthwhile job as there is noticeable improvement in mid-range torque as well as cooler air intake during daylight time...

SuperPro lower arm bushing...

2010-11-15T03:38:00.008+08:00

in all car suspension linkages, there are rubber bushing to avoid metal-to-metal contact... benefits of having rubber bushes is they absorbs flex and vibration transfered from the road to the chassis... rubber bushing also far cheaper to produce... however, rubber bushes also do flex a lot under extreme stress... under such conditions, they do not last very long and will break/tear very soon... polyurethane (PU) bushes, or in layman term, performance bushes, are far stiffer and last much longer compare to rubber bushes... they do not flex under extreme stress, hence maintaining perfect wheel geometry, optimizing handling and stability of the car...

SuperPro bushings are one of many PU bush manufacturers around the world... they originates from Australia and has fare share of research and development under their belt to build one of the best bush around... they do offer 3 year warranty on their product on Australia ground, but i was told only 1 year warranty was given in Malaysia market... i guess Australia roads are far better compare to pot-hole ridden Malaysia streets...

i only bought the lower arm bush due to budget limitation... complete set for saga iswara will cost approximate Rm550, which includes lower arm bushing, antiroll bar linkage bushes and steering rack bushes... the lower arm bushes which i got already cost Rm380... FYI, for saga iswara model, SuperPro only available for front set, as aforementioned above... none available for the rear trailing arm bush...

installation took almost a day as the lower arms need to be sent to machine shop to get the smaller bush pumped in... after it has returned to the workshop, it is just a matter of fixing everything back in position...

lower arm main bush...

my broken rubber main bush... notice the weak hollow section which allows flex...

review, normal drive feels rather same... but when u drive more aggressively, steering feels a little sharper... anyway, i was not hoping much on performance improvement... i'm buying it for reliability... see how long PU bush can withstand my driving style... :)

driveshaft...

2010-10-25T03:20:00.005+08:00

apparently drive shaft issue will never leave me... the so-called "original" GKN drive shaft failed me once more in less than 6 months... this is gonna be my routine regular service...

changed a new taiwan-mali unit... gonna increase my car height a little, hoping for better reliability...

my 6 months old GKN drive shaft...

i think i can even change my own drive shaft in the future, saving labor cost.. the only tool lacking is a compressor and air gun...

aluminum shielded brake hose...

2010-10-25T03:12:00.003+08:00

my rear brake hose has been rubbing against the inner metal fender ever since i swapped the rear drums for disc brakes... i tried using cable tie to shield it temporarily from continuous grinding... but somehow plastic will still give way... and when it happen, u wish u wasn't flying down the highway at 160kmh...

fortunately when mine gave way, i was just creeping towards the traffic lights... managed to pump my brakes several times to avoid hitting my friend's car...

bought a new Perdana rear brake hose, get it fitted into the shield, and DIY changed it at home... tadaa, here is my new invention...

i hate bleeding my brake lines... i will never get it firm first time around...

Ralliart...

2010-10-25T03:04:00.003+08:00

an MMC machine must always have some sort of Ralliart gen in its blood... i got this cheap from my supplier and with some earnings from my side income business... somehow must cheer myself up after returning from an accident...

like the chinese saying, buang 'sueh'...

accident.. third time..

2010-10-25T02:46:00.005+08:00

bad luck strikes me again... can almost call it an annual event... this time however, was not my wrong... it happened somewhere in between Cheng and Taman Merdeka, in front of Pasaraya Bintang in Melaka...

traffic was heavy that time as it was during the Ramadhan month... 2 lanes were squeezed into 1 lane as cars turning in and out from Pasaraya Bintang junction... it happened all of a sudden when a 3-wheel motorbike came from no where, crossed my path... i could not stop in time and there was no where i can go to avoid hitting him...

he was an old man carrying trash to the nearby recycle factory... his bike was fully laden with all sorts of stuff... fortunately for him, i hit him from the other side of his bike, the 'cargo' side... if not he would had suffered serious leg injuries... passersby called an ambulance and the old man was sent to hospital in a brief...

as for my car, pretty serious damage i would say encounter with a bike... the 3rd wheel shaft of the bike punctured the radiator... as usual, bumper, headlamps, front grill were destroyed... even the front metal frame were bent out of shape...

my car was down close to a month... this is because i went to the wrong workshop, put my keys under the wrong hand... my car was left untouched for a week until i drove my car away to another workshop to get it fixed immediately...

lesson i learnt... no matter that workshop belongs to your friend or your friend's friend, always send your car to a reputated workshop...

throttle body block plate...

2010-09-01T07:00:00.008+08:00

i'm sure many drivers using fuel injection engine do had some difficulties with unstable rpm whenever the aircond kicks in... this is because the ISC (idle stepper control) unit which is located below the throttle body has damaged... particularly for MMC engines, the ISC unit breaks down frequently and it is expensive to service in long run... ISC repair kit can be bought from spare part shop... it consist of a few plastic gears inside the ISC unit...

however, this does not solve the melting problem of the ISC chip because it rests on the hot coolant hose running at the bottom of the throttle body...

hence, they came up with this alternative solution...

it blocks the coolant passage in the throttle body... means u no longer run coolant into the throttle body as it is deemed unnecessary in hot tropical countries... the plastic ISC chip remains and it activates the stepper function whenever aircond kicks in... the disadvantage is, at Rm150 per unit it is rather expensive and it is still made of plastic and it does melt or damage sooner or later...

one more solution which always been mechanic's recommendation is to use Toyota AE101 FICD (fast idle control device)... this electrically actuated valve can be adjusted to allow any given amount of air leaked into the engine to bring up the engine revs up to desired speed...

on my current setup, i have 2 units of FICD to control the aircond idle revs and cold start idle revs individually... with this, the ISC unit can be removed all together...

i had some spare aluminum plate lying around left over from my FYP project... took out my old throttle body, removed the ISC unit and did some measurement...

sent the measurement and the aluminum plate to machine shop and this is what it came back...

i made a paper gasket to properly seal it air-tight... i also swapped the notoriously-difficult-to-remove screws and had them replaced with allen key screws...

tacho tacho tacho...

2010-09-01T06:20:00.003+08:00

i could not recall when i bought this tachometer from JASMA... it has been on my desk staring at me collecting dust as far as i can remember...

initial purpose buying it was to replace my crazy OEM tachometer "which occasionally gets stuck at 3000 rpm"... my plan was to cut away the OEM rev counter and retrofit this aftermarket gauge into the meter cluster... however it is much harder than expected, as there are more complex PCB at the back in which i would want to retain using certain OEM indicators...

wiring installation was quite simple... there is only 4 wire from the harness... 2 12vDC, 1 negative and 1 signal input... signal input i tap from existing wiring from the socket behind... for iswara OEM socket harness, white wire is the rev signal coming from the ECU...

it has a preset warning shift light at 6500 rpm... the reading is accurate for now... only thing annoys me is that it is not clearly visible in day light...

direct pipe??...

2010-09-01T06:05:00.004+08:00

in my previous post on head work i did mentioned of lacking some throttle response as well as mid-high rpm gain... in the midst of complication to get things right, i did something stupid... haha...

yeap... 1 direct stainless steel pipe to replace the stuffy WISE muffler... end result, very empty and torque-less low end... mid-high rpm was orgasmic, especially when the needle swing pass 4000 rpm... the noise??... wonderful and at the same time, nuisance... haha... lifting off the throttle at high revs can result in misfiring "popping" sound...

used it for 2 days, i swapped back to my old straight flow muffler...

this muffler creates just enough back pressure for reasonable power and torque across the rev range...

new amplifier...

2010-09-01T05:58:00.004+08:00

i had my car amplifier changed a couple of months back... the old one was faulty at one of its input channel...

i replaced the old amplifier with this one... VOLCANO 1000w 2-channel amplifier...

i admit i'm not a big fan of In-Car Entertainment... hence, i bought this cheap ass amplifier to replace the dying one...

head work...

2010-09-01T02:51:00.009+08:00

still remember the ported cylinder head I'm using previously??... the ports are rugged and no polishing job was done to the surface... the valve guides were also badly ported, which might allow the valves to vibrate under high engine revolutions...

finally after 4 months sending my cylinder head to workshop for port and polish job, it has finally returned... but with just the porting job done...

i DIY'ed polished the cylinder head valve throats with some sand paper and autosol... did some shopping for new top set kit, viton valve seal, timing belt kit, water pump and other necessary fluids...

head swapping was done at workshop... left my car there for a day and got it back the following day... what makes this newly ported and polished cylinder head different compare with the old one, the engine revs up more smoothly... there is no minor jerks and hesitation which i experienced with the old cylinder head setup... however, the downside i lost a little bit of throttle response and torque... this is probably because the cylinder head was not ported big enough...

my mechanic also overtightened the aircond compressor belt, causing very high pitch screeching sound... crankpulley and emitting strange grinding noise... most probably due to improper installation... always remember, do not take your attention away from your car when it is at the workshop... u'll never be sure your mechanic did the right thing... or he might had passed the job to his junior to handle...

overall was not very satisfied on the performance... but i gained precious knowledge and experience trying to assemble/dismantle the valvetrain and porting and polishing it... i dont think i will be taking it out and redo the port work again anytime soon...

JDM pedal...

2010-06-19T18:35:00.004+08:00

ordered something to cheer myself up from the internet... don't fancy RAZO pedals... cannot really afford Ralliart or STi ones... an almost similar replica one will do... LONZA... generally cheaper compare to the other 3.... looks good too...

too excited to fit it on till i forget to clean it up first... haha...

it feels pretty good... far better compare to cheapskate plastic ones from car accessory shop... now i can heel-n-toe adi....

Falken Zeix912...

2010-06-19T18:13:00.005+08:00

well... yeah, its a downgrade from Michelin Pilot Preceda 2 (pp2) to Falken Zeix912... its all about budget...

there is not much choice available in ipoh... i wanted to find Hankook V12 or Bfgoodrich G-sport, but both ran out of stock... the new Michelin Pilot Sport 3 was high above my budget... not to mention RE001 Adrenalin...

anyway, i was deciding on either Zeix912 or Parada Spec-2... as i compared the sidewall stiffness of both tyre, parada ones were much much softer compare to zeix912... i weighs 52kg and the bare tyre could not even support my weight... parada was also having disadvantage on hydroplaning... so, zeix912 is more of an all-rounder...

it measures 195/50/R15... unidirectional tyre... from the look of the thread pattern, it does not seem promising... side block was not as thick as other performance tyre... well, at least it is jz a little bit softer on the sidewall compare to pp2...

installation was done at Weng Cheong Tyre Shop along Kuala Kangsar Road Ipoh...

see how bald my pp2 is... it had served me well... plus saving me from numerous close call from minor to serious accidents....

as i exited the shop to the main road, i tried swaying the car left and right... steering not as crisp... the car does not follow to where i steer... i took it to the winding roads and tried running-in the tyres even more... grip and traction is far less compare to pp2... especially at higher speed corners, i lost confidence going through at speeds...

after more running in of the tyres, grip and traction improves gradually... but its still below my expectation if driven enthusiastically... grip and traction easily reaches its limit... slide is controllable due to lower speeds... on water-cutting performance, i experienced hydroplaning at 120kmh in heavy rain along NKVE... another downside...

overall, i would recommend this to normal regular everyday drivers who DOES NOT drive their car to the limit... if u are a motor sports guy or touge often, skip this tyre please...

driveshaft... final chapter...

2010-06-19T18:01:00.004+08:00

finally after struggling with drive shaft reliability issue, finally i got it replaced with an original one... the mechanic claimed this drive shaft is manufactured by GKN, which is also the same manufacturer for Proton original drive shafts...

as from the photo below... comparison between the GKN unit and the much cheaper china-mali drive shaft... will get it compared with Proton original drive shaft if the GKN ones matches with it...

currently having minor wheel alignment problem though... probably the drive shaft have not settled in yet... as many mechanics will say, new drive shaft will feel tight the first few weeks... let it "loosen" a little first only see how...

HWL coilovers...

2010-04-07T05:56:00.010+08:00

remember the last time i bought a set HWL coil over few years ago??... it was a used unit... owned it for a couple of weeks but could not get to use it, literally... sold it off due to some reasons...

this time round... i managed to save up for a brand new unit... special thanks to fitri aka Cha, manage to get this set for RM1050 from Kakimotor outlet at Shah Alam branch...

HWL suspension for saga iswara is a little bit different compare to others... only the front set are high/low coil over... rear ones are non-adjustable suspension unit... so, it is not 100% high/low adjustable coil over...

off the shelf unit, the front spring is rated 6k while the rear ones are not specified... if not mistaken, older versions, front and rear spring were rated 5k each... not sure if this new setting consider an improvement from the old setting...

installation was done back in Malacca... i also bought a set front top absorber mount bush...

during installation, i noticed one of my tyre had 2 separate puncture... no wonder tyre pressure on that particular tyre was decreasing quite rapidly...

there were also a chip somewhere close to the sidewall of the tyre... lucky it was not deep enough to cause any problem...

finished unit... front suspension...

rear unit... non-adjustable...

after the car was brought down from the jacks, the rear sits rather high than my preference... about 1 finger of clearance from wheel to arch... the front end i adjusted to 2 finger of clearance...

now the car sits like drag wannabe car, rear higher than front end... i could not go any lower with the rear set (well, at least with this setting)... i could bring the front end lower still, but this will accelerate the wear and tear of my drive shaft... no choice i had to leave it at this height, for the sake of reliability and usability for going over speed bumps easily...

feedback from the setup... i would say firm and solid... though there are still some body roll due to the ride height, overall handling was greatly improved... high speed stability was tremendous... i can manage the car with 1 hand easily at speeds beyond my speedometer can read... through the hilly roads of Gombak, it managed the car pretty well... the only limitation now is my wearing out 2006 tyres...

I NEED FRESH RUBBERS~!!

BRIDE...

2010-02-25T04:32:00.008+08:00

at last i'm starting to spend some serious money on interior finishing... well, this modification not 100% cosmetic either... it does serve some benefit, especially at corners and winding roads...

i got this replica version at a reasonable price... mind u, original ones cost thousands even its second hand condition... no point spending extra on someone's old stain where replica version does the same job equally good...

yeap... BRIDE low max full bucket seat... not design for comfort... mainly to hold ur butt from sliding around in the car... this keeps ur body secured firmly... the size fits me just nice... so, fat people, u cant drive my car....

i got the seat together with the bracket, but without the railing... went around malacca town scouting for saga railing, i got this SSCUS railing, plug and play for saga iswara, quite expensive compare to KL price...

installation... quite easy... just 4 bolts holding it down...

seating position is offset to the right a little bit by about 3cm... the overall height wasnt in my satisfaction list... even though it is called LOW MAX and being adjusted to the lowest, the seating position is still almost similar to stock seat height... if i want to make it lower, more cut and paste work on the railing is needed...

Wira SE muffler...

2010-02-25T04:01:00.007+08:00

i still remember the first modification done to this car back in year 2004 was the muffler... last time i bought it second hand from my friend for 50bux... now 2010, it has been 6 years i've been using it since... never bother to change to other muffler (mostly due to financial constrain) until recently, i could not bear the loud noise, especially for long journeys on highway...

again, due to financial constrain, i could not afford to buy any japan-mali muffler with Japanese Sports Muffler Association (JASMA) tag... FYI, JASMA tag is some sort like our local SIRIM approval, where each muffler is tested by a government body on the quality as well as what decibel level the muffler produce... these halfcut items usually cost above Rm3xx...

i got this Wira SE muffler from my friend for relatively cheap price... it is a straight flow muffler with inlet 1.8" diameter... suitable for NA 1.6L and below engines...

installation was done at my local exhaust shop... workmanship is quite good... added flange to it so i can change/swap/remove the muffler at my preference...

stock standard look from behind...

after installation, to my surprise, the noise level reduced quite a lot... low end torque improved... the car pulls away from standstill rather smoothly now... no more emptiness on 1st and 2nd gear... top speed gained quite a bit as well... able to top 180kmh easily now... overall, very satisfied with it... the only downside is, it is really really rather too quiet for me... and the lifespan of this muffler will not exceed 3 to 4 years...

lightened crank pulley

2010-01-23T02:33:00.005+08:00

the ST flywheel i've lightened does not give significant improvement in acceleration... to further improve in gaining better pick up, total angular momentum of the rotation crank has to be light weight... this includes the crankshaft, flywheel, clutch assembly, as well as the crank pulley... since removing the crankshaft, flywheel and clutch assembly requires a lot of work, i opted for lightened aluminum crank pulley...

i got this JASMA aluminum crank pulley rather cheap... weighing in at approx 576 grams, it weighs far less than original cast iron crank pulley... the alternator pulley for this is 1 inch smaller... this creates less load on the engine when it spins the alternator... but the down side is, the alternator will charge less, especially at lower engine revolutions....

upon changing the crank pulley, i felt immediate response in throttle... revs climb up a little faster compare to before... i can maintain in 4th gear at junctions/corners where i usually need to downshift to 3rd gear...

however, the downside is my alternator is charging less... previous reading was approx 13.2 volts... now, the reading never above 13 volts, sometimes it just averages 12 volts at idle... this could possible due to dying alternator...

driveshaft issue... final episode??...

2010-01-23T01:04:00.004+08:00

in my previous post i mentioned the crush washer for the center hub is being ported to allow the drive shaft to be secured tightly to the hub... this method still does not totally eliminate the free play... hence today i got back to the workshop B...

they fitted a spacer at the back of the knuckle bearing...

this kept me wondering... since it's now secured tight, why skim the drive shaft at the first place??...

lets see how well this time it holds... hopefully can last until i "readjust" the height of my suspension soon...

driveshaft issue... yet again...

2009-12-31T01:33:00.005+08:00

remember the last post regarding my driveshaft drama somewhere during end of August??.. here is it again, after just mere 3 months of usage... symptom was similar as before... metal rubbing sound followed by vigorous jerk on steering wheel each time accelerate...

i headed to this workshop (workshop B) claiming that they fitted my driveshaft wrongly during the clutch change... he said my was a bit too low, causing the driveshaft to knock against the knuckle whenever suspension travels up and down... this knock causes stress on the bearing joint of the driveshaft, damaging it prematurely... on statement i would accept his explanation... he suggested to skim the driveshaft a little bit, giving some free play so that the bearing will not absorb all the stress...

first few weeks of usage was trouble free... the car accelerates from standstill with less vibration on steering column... i was kinda enjoying it until some familiar bearing malfunction sound start to occur... jacked the wheel up and did some test revealed the truth... the whole hub is moving (free play)...

got the bearing replaced... but there are still minor free play on the hub... as my mechanic from my familiar workshop explains, workshop B had over-skimmed my driveshaft, causing free play on the hub which in turn will cause damage on the bearing oil seal and the bearing itself....

quick solution, the washer was skimmed to allow the hub to sit properly on the driveshaft... lesson learnt, if your car is maintained by one trustworthy workshop, try stick with it....

DIY replace satay bush & service brake caliper...

2009-12-31T01:04:00.009+08:00

just after weeks changing the new satay bush, its now damaged again... the mechanic probably over torqued the bolt and nut, causing extensive stress on the rubber bushing...

at first i thought of DIY some teflon bushing from campus workshop... the bushing design is very simple, should not be a problem if i master how to use the machine... at the end of the day, laziness again took over... haha... so here we are with 8 new rubber bushing, cost 60 cent each...

late night project started... with limited tools, i jacked the car up and started unbolting the satay...

with a locking plier... lolz...

reinstall the satay bush according to configuration as previously i removed it... but this time with bolt head facing downwards... this is because if fitted upwards, the additional thread on the bolt will rub against the lower arm, causing minor but irritating squeek sound whenever the suspension travels up and down...

with both wheels hanging off their suspension when the car is jacked up, both antiroll bar hole and lower arm hole does not align to each other... hence i jacked up either side of the lower arm until the hole align with each other for the satay to be installed...

installation took quite some time due to lacking of proper tools...

after finishing battling the satay, i tackled the right brake caliper... it was a bit leaking... since i got the new brake caliper oil seal at home, tried my hands dismantling the whole thing and get it replaced...

caliper removed...

(no additional photos available coz i was working alone that time... hands were soaking wet with brake fluid..)

after removing the old brake seal, i cleaned the caliper and the piston thoroughly with sand paper, detergent and running water... took me some time to fit in the new seal as i was not aware how to fit it in properly... in the end i jz forced the thing in and fitted it back together as it was getting late... haha..

the following day noticed some leak from the caliper... quickly took my car to the workshop and get it serviced properly... the problem was i fitted the brake seal wrongly... the inner main seal was not properly fitted, causing minor oil leak...

small details end of 2009...

2009-12-31T00:41:00.007+08:00

some small details to update end of 2009...

had some problems with my car cold start... throttle body ISC problem i guess... coolant line inside TB stuck with rust... thanks for cipan's advice for additional FICD to solve my problem...

connection is rather simple... the concept is similar with using FICD to control aircond idle rpm, leaking air into the intake... but the wiring is a little bit different... i tap the wiring to 12v DC source inside cabin with an independent switch to control it... so whenever i do coldstart, i jz switch on the FICD... this will automatically increase the revs and stabilizes the idle rpm without having the engine choking to death... lolz...

i also swapped my ProRallye plug cables to OEM items from BOUGICORD... revs feels lighter now... stock plug cables are still the best... given that the connectors are not contaminated with rust...

the rear antiroll bar is also in contact with the exhaust piping whenever the suspension travels up and down... hence i wrapped it with some sponge (in this case some leftover SAMCO hose)....

right rear brake hose also brushes against the inner metal fender... slicing it bit by bit, causing brake malfunction like what i experienced previously.... fast solution, cut some garden hose and wrap it around the brake hose to act as a shield...

also so-called secured my throttle pedal in place, hardcore style... cable tie and duct tape is really useful... lolz... now can do practice proper heel-n-toe braking adi...

1.6 clutch...

2009-12-30T23:59:00.015+08:00

time to change... hehe... my old 1.3/1.5 clutch no good adi... clutch plate jumping around... clutch cover KO adi...

almost a year back i purchased a 1.6 ST flywheel... measuring 8.0" diameter...

i got it skimmed and lightened from 6.7kg till 6.3kg... removed about 400g off...

other shopping list includes "local" exedy 1.6 clutch cover...

"local" exedy 1.6 clutch plate...

clutch bearing...

flywheel oil seal...

specifications of the clutch plate and clutch cover...

installation took almost half day... my old clutch was removed and it was still good for "estimated" another year of trashing....

VALEO brand...

double clutch spring ohh...

flywheel oil seal was changed simultaneously with clutch bearing...

flywheel contact surface was sanded for rough surface, easier for clutch plate to grip...

after installing back everything in order, the clutch feels grippy now... less jerk when i release the clutch... revs feels a bit lighter as my ST flywheel weighs slightly less compare to my OEM flywheel... overall satisfied as i didnt expect much gain from it... likewise, i just hope it wont slip under heavy acceleration...

remember, its a blue box... not red box... i no racing racing one...

cusco oil catch tank...

2009-12-01T05:57:00.005+08:00

added some bling to my engine bay... price was quite attractive as well...

CUSCO maliii~!!!!

items included in the box... even got free bling bling sticker.. haha...

see how bling it is... very well finished, for a grade A imitation product.. lolz..

due to limitation of place to hang my new toy, had to place it beside my radiator... hose used below is from plastic kitchen gas hose... not recommended as it melts under high temperature... had it replaced with rubber hose already

cermic brake pads...

2009-12-01T05:27:00.009+08:00

since the front RVR brake set i bought comes with unknown brake pads starts squealing, i thought its good idea to upgrade to better brake pads... for your info, RVR brake calipers fits wira 1.6 / GSR / perdana brake pads... hence, there are lots of aftermarket performance brake pads to choose from...

i took the Cermic brake pads which khguan recommended me... cost me if not mistaken, Rm140... it is rated 500 degrees Celsius...

during installation, my mechanic found out that right brake pad wears out faster compare to left brake pad... suspect leaking brake caliper seal on the left side...

had it replaced with new perdana brake caliper seal...

directions on how to fit the caliper seal in place...

this is how the brake caliper piston looks like... single pot... larger unit compare to original saga caliper piston...

fitting in the new brake pads were jz the reversal of removing the pads... remember to use back the metal backing plate as it allows heat to be distributed evenly across the brake pad surface without directly overheating the brake fluid inside the caliper...

took this opportunity to change the rear brake pads to new ones as well... rear brakes takes up about 30% of the braking efficiency of a car... hence, i dont need performance brake pad at the rear... normal ones will do as long as it aids braking at high speed...

fortunately, my mechanic manage to spot a leaking brake brass pipe... it was shaving itself off the absorber... salvaged a good condition pipe from a wrecked saga nearby...

comments on the Cermic brake pads... initial bite wasnt as strong as RS pads... but the hotter it gets, the better it bites... but somehow on hard downhill run, brake smell was strong and it starts fading quite soon compare to my old pads...

so, should i go for much more expensive performance brake pads or cross-drill my disc??...

aluminum radiator...

2009-10-16T02:12:00.010+08:00

previously i did mentioned i had overheating issues if maintain speeds above 140kmh rite??... i guess the problem should be my old radiator stuffed with rust inside... hence causing blockage which prevent heat from being dissipated away...

i bought myself a thicker aluminum radiator from omels... costing Rm190, the price is rather reasonable... plug and play as well...

i also took this opportunity to change a few items...

JASMA silicone radiator hose...

new radiator fan motor...

1.1 bar radiator cap...

first step is to remove the whole radiator unit from the car... disconnect the radiator fan wiring and radiator hose... allow rusted water to drain away from the engine block...

old radiator out from engine bay...

dismantle the radiator fan housing from the old radiator... need to reuse the housing...

install back new radiator fan motor, new fan blade, fan switch sensor, casing and silicone radiator hose to the new aluminum radiator...

install back everything in reverse order into the engine bay... fill up with new toyota long life coolant and top up with RO water... do not use pipe water as it has iron residue inside which promotes rust in the new aluminum radiator...

so far tested speed 170kmh no indication of overheating... as i'm using thermostat, temperature will always maintain at normal temperature...

lower arms...

2009-09-19T05:09:00.007+08:00

next up in my repair list... lower arm bush... its been vibrating even since 6 months ago... each time wanna do alignment mechanic sure complain cannot do coz "goyang"... initially planned to save up and go for some stiff SuperPro bushings... complete front set cost Rm540 set me back... i need to budget some for other stuff... in the end i decided to go conventional with rubber bushings...

so, here are the shopping list...

lower arm left and right side...

main lower arm bush...

i took this opportunity to change the tie rod end as well...

old lower arm...

new lower arm... use back the old bracket which mounts to the lower subframe...

during installation, mechanic also discovered my badly worn satay bush thread...

in goes the new set...

overall fairly satisfied... steering no longer vibrates under hard braking... but one thing i not satisfied is the badly done alignment... steering does not straightened itself and obvious "yiik yiik" sound from the front suspension strut... i guess its due to the tired front absorber and/or worn out top mount bush... need to change that and redo my alignment nicely...

driveshaft problem... again...

2009-09-08T05:51:00.006+08:00

remember my last experience with broken right side drive shaft (the shorter one) last year December??...

http://kahchai1985.blogspot.com/2008/12/rh-driveshaft.html

yes it happened again a couple of weeks ago... obvious symptom is ur steering will automatically jerk to the right vigorously each time u accelerate... during that sunday i went to my frequent spare part shop to inquire the price of the drive shaft... lady luck was not on my side that day... the last junction turning to the shop, i heard a loud snapping sound coming from the drive shaft... as soon as that happened, i lost all drive... the bearings had disintegrated from the constant velocity (CV) joint.. in other words, the drive shaft is spinning freely but the wheel as no drive... bought my drive shaft for Rm145 and left my car there overnight... on monday i pushed my car to nearby workshop to get it changed...

my disintegrated ball bearings jz dropped out...

changed to this one... hopefully this can hold much longer than the previous one...

as removing the drive shaft from gearbox will drain out some gear oil, the mechanic topped up the drained oil with his el-cheapo gear oil, which i presume has higher viscosity... now my gear change no longer smooth as before...

cylinder head project v1.1...

2009-09-08T04:11:00.005+08:00

couple of months back bought a cylinder head from SIC forumer... complete set including valve springs, rocker arms, and camshaft... plans to rebuild this valvetrain nicely hoping to optimize the cylinder head flow efficiency...

took my sweet time dismantling the parts out one by one... as i didnt have valve spring compressor, i took the cylinder head to my mechanic to remove it... he taught me a very simple and effective way of removing the valve spring... put the cylinder head on a wooden block... position a spark plug opener on top of the valve spring... use a hammer to knock on it until the valve spring retainers come loose (fly out)...

another important thing is to document each and every valve with respect to their cylinder... no idea why but my mechanic said each valve is unique to its valve seat at the cylinder head...

bought some steel brush with some ron97 shell fuel as detergent... lolz...

after some hard cleaning job... here is the outcome... some stubborn stain still remains at hard to reach area... have to buy more fuel and soak the whole cylinder head with petrol overnight to remove the stubborn stain...

next up... still deciding whether i should send it to professional for port and polish job or jz DIY... this is also a good chance for me to learn how to do top overhaul myself...

to be continued...

adjustable fuel pressure regulator...

2009-08-05T00:34:00.004+08:00

previously i had overheating problems if maintain at speed 140kmh above... after several discussion with local mechanics, they suspect my ignition timing is a bit too high... i lowered the timing till 10 degrees advance (previously was 25 degree advance)... overheating still occurs... after several consideration, overheating was not mainly due to ignition timing as i suffer no detonation or pinging even at 25 degree advance... AFR was quite stoich refering from my previous dyno run... so, i guess its my tiny radiator problem... a few lines possibly stuck inside due to accumulated rust...

since i had previously bought my fuel pressure regulator, why not try bump up the fuel pressure a bit... richen the AF ratio a little... this allows a bit better cooling as fuel has cooling effect...

currently boosting 2.5 bar...

overheating solved... maintain 150kmh also no overheating... AF is a bit rich... hence, low end torque lost a little...

reinstall thermostat...

2009-08-05T00:03:00.004+08:00

previously when i did my engine, my mechanic afraid the engine will face overheating issue... hence, he removed the thermostat for better water flow... this is in fact the wrong method of solving overheating issue... thermostat is there for a reason... it allows the engine to work at proper operating temperature... cold is not always the best...

anyway, i went and bought a normal thermostat rated 82oC... means at 82oC, the valve will open, allows water to flow through it and circulate to the radiator for cooling...

process of installing back the thermostat should be very easy... the thermostat housing is held by just 2 bolts... but in the end i need to remove the fuel rail, throttle body, front strut bar and throttle body coolant lines...

when i install back everything, i noticed my ISC socket is kinda loose... no wonder i had cold start difficulties... now my car warms up faster...

redo exhaust...

2009-07-17T22:51:00.003+08:00

previous exhaust piping which i did in melaka was approx 1.6" in diameter... a little too small for current displacement... hence i opted 1.8" piping from extractor flexi pipe till muffler... midbullet also changed a straight flow one as my previous swirl bullet induced alot of restriction in the exhaust gas flow...

mid bullet cost me Rm100 include installation while the piping cost me another Rm160... the piping was ready-made from factory... although not mandrel bent, the finishing of the crush bent piping was good... minimal reduction in piping diameter in the bents...

still pending on a new extractor... still deciding between powerzone, hotbits or zenden... see budget first... muffler last only do la since its still applicable...

efi tune up 1.4...

2009-05-23T05:19:00.009+08:00

this time we attack the intake side... throttle body...

the original throttle body that came with the injection package had just 46mm in bore diameter... fairly suitable for standard 1.3L engine... but with the current displacement i'm having, i needed something bigger...

i was planning on getting a 50mm throttle body from 4g92p (1.6 wira) but the prices are kinda steep... halfcut shops are selling at approx Rm350 each...

fortunately i found someone selling this particularly rare throttle body from perdana sei which uses 4G63 SOHC engine... it measures 54mm in bore size diameter... price kinda cheap, Rm220 to be exact...

FYI, the ISC for 4G13, 4G15, 4G92p and 4G63 sohc is the same... hence, its plug and play...

installation was done at home by myself... bought new 0.8mm paper gasket to prevent air leak in between throttle body and intake manifold...

installation was abit tough because the coolant inlet and outlet piping is at the wrong position, blocked by the water temperature sensor... the usage of coolant flowing into the throttle body is to actuate the so-called "autochoke" function to ease cold start in the morning... in the end, i forced and twisted the metal piping away and bypass the coolant so that it does not flow into the throttle body...

i also made a crude heat shield protecting the plastic ISC unit from direct contact with the intense heat from the coolant hose running below the throttle body...

fired up the engine... soon after i found my idling rpm is vr high, approx 1.8k rpm... managed to turn down my idle rpm till the minimum by closing tight the idle air bypass hole and throttle spindle hold back screw... yet, my idle still maintain approx 1.2k and fluctuates 1.2k-1.5k when engine warmed up... my mechanic said too much air leaking through, hence causing the idle fluctuation... he suggested me to remove the ISC completely so not much air will leak through...

another problem i'm facing after swapping to larger throttle body is partial throttle response... the TPS that came with the perdana sei throttle body has 3 pinouts while original 1.3 throttle body has 4 pinouts... the previous seller recommend me to use back my original TPS...

the problem is... maintaining the TPS at stock setting, partial throttle has very bad response... as if throttle body isnt communicating with the ecu... this can be solved by advancing the TPS setting, but creates another problem... advance TPS setting will cause high AF mixture, hence deteriorating the fuel economy...

in the midst of giving up, i swapped the 4 pinout TPS with my 3 pinout TPS and see whats what...

to my surprise, the engine runs smoother than before... latest calculation gives me slightly better fuel economy compare to previous original 4 pinout TPS...

due to slightly larger intake, the engine AF mixture would had messed up... and yes it is... oversize throttle body is certainly letting too much air into the engine..

damn, i'm in desperate need of adjustable fuel pressure regulator to bump up the fuel pressure...

other updates...

2009-05-09T04:43:00.004+08:00

bought myself a lightweight, space saving spare tyre... because my current front and rear brake setup requires minimum of 14" rim to clear the calipers, i opt for this lightweight 15" spare rim...

measures 125/70/r15...

lately i also notice my front windscreen has a 4cm long crack... i've enquired from workshop for the fixing cost... they quoted me Rm1xx... they also advice me it is not worth repairing as a brand new windscreen only cost Rm3xx... so, i'll leave it there as it is... unless insurance company willing to cover the damage... hehe...

efi tune up 1.3...

2009-05-09T04:35:00.006+08:00

210cc injectors i previously using causes rich AF ratio... this kills my fuel economy and sparkplugs... hence, got my hands on 4g92p injectors... they measures 182cc each... hopefully can achieve close to stoich AF ratio...

changing the injectors are fairly easy... here is step by step on how to change injectors of ur engine...

- unbolt 2 bolts which holds down the fuel rail... becareful not to lose the rubber spacer under the fuel rail...
- disconnect the injectors signal cable... remove the safety pin first...
- pull the injectors out together with the fuel rail...
- unplug each injectors and swap them with ur desired injector... make sure the top o-ring is in good condition... replace it if worn out... worn out o-ring can cause fuel to leak due to high pressure in fuel rail...
- put everything back together in reverse method...

efi tune up 1.2...

2009-04-09T04:51:00.006+08:00

there are some disadvantage connecting air filter directly to the throttle body... most obvious one is that it sucks hot air into the engine... as everyone knows, cold air yield more horsepower...

i did made a trip to local exhaust shop see if they can make a stainless steel piping extending the air filter to the area behind the headlamp... i was quoted Rm1xx...

hence i decided to copy cipan's idea of using flexible cold air intake hose as RAM pipe... unfortunately the cold air intake hose i'm selling isnt big enough to fit either the throttle body or the air filter... i'll need around 3 inch diameter hose... so, here it is....

the hose is same size with the air filter... took quite some time to squeeze the hose into the air filter... meanwhile on the throttle body side, the hose is a little larger than the throttle body outer diameter... despite not being the suitable size, i forcefully clamped the hose to the throttle body seal-tight...

improvement can be felt especially at low end rpm/speed... less laggy in throttle response... though i still miss the maniac sound of the open pod air filter directly connected to the throttle body...

efi tune up 1.1...

2009-04-09T04:43:00.002+08:00

throttle body ISC kantoi d... so when aircond kicks in, idle rpm plunges alot... fortunately i still have my denso ficd around... this ficd originates from toyota ae101... can be found in halfcut shop for about Rm50...

connection is rather simple by following the connection diagram found in the internet...

jeng jeng jeng...

aircond ON idle problem solved...

efi malfunction 1.2...

2009-04-02T07:14:00.001+08:00

ever experienced fuel leaking from ur car??... yes i did... fuel hose connecting to the fuel pump outlet leaked...

1st time leak happened before i started journey back to ipoh... nvm, cut away the punctured hose and reconnect it to the fuel pump...

2nd time leak... happened at tanjung malim RnR... same method, cut away the punctured part and reconnect it to the fuel pump... at this point, the hose is very short and barely reaching the fuel pump...

3rd time leak... Gopeng exit... this time i wouldnt have enough rubber if i were to cut away the punctured part... i would have to extend the hose with some extra fuel hose found in my tool box... i search through the glove box and i found my el cheapo tyre pressure gauge... i dismantled the whole thing and took the metal housing tube as connector...

see how crude it is... well at least it managed to bring me back home safely to ipoh...

the next day i quickly changed the whole hose with a new one...

from my estimation, i think i lost almost half tank of petrol on PLUS highway...

efi malfunction 1.1...

2009-04-02T07:00:00.005+08:00

my revs are getting weaker n weaker... a quick drive to the workshop reveals something scary...

the filter element in the fuel filter has dislodged from its position and blocking the outlet path of the fuel flow... hence causing choke and fuel surge... why??... because it was fitted in the wrong direction, the pressure from the fuel pump damaged the fuel filter inside....

efi chapter 1.5...

2009-04-02T06:52:00.004+08:00

finally, my car is able to discharge from workshop... due to time and cost constrain, i didnt manage to find a suitable ram pipe connecting the air filter and throttle body... so what i did is connect both of them directly...

fuel pump location... rear left side under the rear bumper beside the fuel tank...

as my oem injectors are 145cc in size, they are insufficient to deliver smooth revs especially after 4000 rpm... hence, i swapped into my 210cc injectors... immediately can feel smoother power delivery... but somehow the air fuel ratio is still deemed rich coz 210cc is a little too big for my car displacement... hopefully i'm able to purchase a piggyback ecu soon...

so, e-manage blue or safcII ??

efi chapter 1.4...

2009-04-02T06:43:00.007+08:00

early morning got a call from the workshop saying that the fuel pump i bought previously was leaking... hence, no choice but to buy a new unit...

later that evening i visited the workshop again... engine is up and running with my new fuel pump... stuff not in place yet are air filter and o2 sensor...

kee also mentioned that my car doesnt have speed sensor and check engine light... as far as chikdin mentioned, wira svdo speed sensor can be installed to iswara oem speedometer... but this requires abit of work dismantling the meter cluster...

fortunately i had a spare faulty speedo at home which i can get my hands on...

this is the speed sensor...

the speed sensor in place...

notice the clearance??...

i wonder how the speed sensor generates signal from the speedometer...

efi chapter 1.3...

2009-04-02T06:34:00.003+08:00

hardware parts were fitted in already... intake manifold, throttle body, fuel rail, fuel injectors, distributor, etc...

ah kee quickly proceeded with the wiring issue linking the ecu and sensors on board...

not much update as i hang around the workshop for a while only...

efi chapter 1.2...

2009-03-17T03:00:00.004+08:00

visited my car today... only half day gone, my engine is in bare shell... dismantling is much quicker than putting everything back together...

old skool system removed...

first time i get to see my ported and polished intake port... damn hardcore wei... dont even dare to get it bench flow tested... afraid i might get reduced efficiency compare to stock standard...

a few things confirmed... fuel pump will be located at the back axle... air filter flexible piping status yet to confirm as the seller went MIA... adjustable fuel regulator needed??... dont know yet... get my baby up and running first...

efi chapter 1.1...

2009-03-17T02:34:00.011+08:00

intake manifold + throttle body + fuel rail + fuel injector

46mm throttle body

145cc injectors

wiring

mmc ecu

throttle cable

mmc distributor

bosch 910 external fuel pump

k&n air filter

gonna run all the above setup first and see how... afterall, budget still not enough for a complete tune up package... step by step lor...

UR rear antiroll bar...

2009-03-04T03:54:00.006+08:00

after ages since i got the item from a seller, at last i manage to install it last week... its UR rear anti roll bar... i got it second hand item for Rm200... what is does is it prevents much bodyroll occur to the car chassis during hard cornering...

installation was done at CK exhaust in malim jaya, melaka... installation charges were bloody expensive, Rm60 to be exact... damn other workshops in KL area charging Rm30 only...

anyway, installation was done as soon as the car is jacked up and wheels were removed...

they uses mig welding technique... not sure if it holds... we'll see...

this is how it looks from the bottom... the rear end exhaust piping seems to be in contact with the antiroll bar... going through uneven roads can hear metal knocking sound even though the welding joints are intact...

first impression... low speed corners doesnt feel much difference... but at high speed hard cornering, the rear end really sits firmly onto the ground... and if u give it a hard left-right steer, rear end sways a little, inducing little oversteer effect...

so far so good... i'm still adapting myself to the characteristic of it together with the grip limit available from my michelin pp2 tyres...

RVR front brake upgrade...

2009-02-08T07:03:00.008+08:00

after a long search for VR4 brake, i was offered with this RVR brake set... RVR is a compact MPV produced by mitsubishi during the 1990s... older versions sports the 4 lugs, PCD 114.3 front brake set while the newer version uses 5 lugs hub... the older version, 4 lugs, is the perfect upgrade for saga iswara...

some facts about this brake set... it uses a single pot caliper, which is similar to GSR calipers... means that i'll have a wider choice of performance brake pads in the future... the disc is jz any normal ventilated disc rotor, allows better cooling compare to saga iswara original solid disc rotor... and unlike VR4 knuckle, RVR knuckle allows saga iswara tie rod end to be fitted from the top, as the original design of saga iswara tie rod end position... this minimizes toe changes when the suspension travels up and down...

i was informed by amier dat it shares the same wheel bearing with proton waja and the caliper service kit can be taken from perdana v6 model... good information, when i do need to service the brakes in the future... thanks again...

installation was pretty much straight forward... my mechanic removed the original brake and knuckle assembly and disconnected the driveshaft and tie rod from its position...

RVR ventilated disc rotor...

RVR single pot caliper...

brake pad is similar with GSR ones... brake hose use back original saga brake hose...

complete assembly...

after that sent my car for alignment and camber wheel adjustment... overall i spent Rm50 for installation, Rm20 for toe alignment, and Rm20 to adjust the camber position... i also spent Rm22 for a new bottle of DOT4 brake fluid...

complete assembly with 15" rim in place... somehow the disc brake still look small... haha....

so far, steering feedback feels normal, though not as crisp as original saga knuckle at high speed cornering... i guess the best possible way is to reuse back saga knuckle, but with modifications to fit the enlarged disc rotor and calipers...

filling up a few repairs...

2009-02-02T05:50:00.007+08:00

first of... rack end of my left wheel already loosen... the steering boot cover koyak adi... dirty went in and damaged the bearing inside... hence, causing the free play on dat wheel...

total cost rm110 include new steering boot cover... now the car doesnt sway left n right already... hehe...

next up on the list is broken engine mounting... should had been damaged during the accident... the impact pushed the engine further back abit, causing damage to one of the mounting...

changing it was fairly easy... u'll jz need to remove the mounting itself without removing the whole crossmember...

but i waited there for half a day because they had to wait for the sparepart shop to deliver the new mounting to the shop... cost of replacing it, FOC... because the workshop didnt spot the damage during the repair after my accident...

3rd problem... my stupid brand new taiwan signal lamp mounting broke and it fell off...

spent rm55 for an original BOSCH signal lamp... because taiwan parts didnt come with the socket for the bulb... yes, the socket fell off together with the whole unit...

annual accident...

2008-12-31T21:44:00.006+08:00

aih... few weeks back another accident happened... this time along coastal highway in penang, the traffic light in front of Seagate building...

what happened was history... mostly due to bad tyres and bad road condition... road oscillation causes the wheels to lock up and skidded....

inside engine bay...

lucky the impact wasnt that great... only killed my radiator, aircond condensor, bumper, headlamp, front grill and bonnet.... engine escaped with some scratch... haha...

wanna see what car i hit??...

damn saga are hard n tough....

pioneer 6x9 speaker

2008-12-14T17:26:00.005+08:00

my old LeonSound 300W 6x9 4-way speaker KO adi....

so i bought a new one... kekekee....

its a Pioneer 480W 6x9 4-way speaker....

how much it cost i also forgot already... dun wanna remember coz i bought it expensive...

RH driveshaft...

2008-12-02T00:07:00.005+08:00

last weekend when i was on my way back to penang, after passing penang bridge toll, my car steering starts to judder heavily to the right... whenever i start accelerating and let go off my steering, it starts to sway left all of a sudden... there were also "klok klok" and "tak tak" sound coming from the front right wheel arch area...

funny thing was the judder disappeared whenever i decelerate or let go of the accelerator pedal... 1st thing comes into my mind is driveshaft... because if it is caused by wheel balancing or wheel bearing, it will continue to vibrate/judder eventhough i decelerate the car... in other words, as long as the wheel is spinning, it will vibrates...

after thorough inspection at all the suspension joint and driveshaft, i noticed the inner rubber cover was abit deformed... means the connecting joint wasnt alligned properly...

not until last saturday only i got my car fixed... situation has worsen and i couldnt even drive above 40kmh or else the whole driveshaft might break into pieces....

what happened was the grease inside had became watery and could no longer provide sufficient lubricant to the bearings inside... this causes the inner bearing to fail...

total damage was Rm200 include labour charge.... =(

UR rear upper bar...

2008-10-06T03:38:00.003+08:00

finally fitted it during my spare time at SKH... lolz... installation done within 10mins...

vr easy installation... jz remove the left and right bolt holding ur rear seat belt and fit the bar in...

now with fender bars, rear strut bar and rear upper bar, back end is much stiffer now... with better grip front tyres and high pressure for rear tyres i'm sure can induce some oversteer... hehe...

anyways, i think gonna fit back my front strut bar soon... afterall, i'm looking for an overall good handling car... now during hard cornering, front chassis feels abit flexing... C21 chassis.... aih... dissapointing...

extra UR bars...

2008-09-29T05:38:00.004+08:00

yo... i was browsing through the forum marketplace for cheap alternative brakes upgrade when i stumbled upon a vr good bargain...

UR upper rear bar selling for Rm50 and UR rear antiroll bar for Rm200...

jeng jeng jeng...

closer look at the rust... second hand mar, what u expect...

the lower bracket which need to weld to the lower arm havent sent to me yet... so, tomolo i'll work on the upper bar first and bleed my brake fluid...

weekend project...

2008-09-22T05:30:00.002+08:00

last weekend took a break off from my part time work to get my car repaired... nothing serious anyway... a few broken parts need to be fixed... engine oil has past its due date... needed a change soon anyway before leaving for penang for my industrial training (internship)...

first of all... left power window bracket... gigi sudah patah satu... last friday went shopping for goodies at sparepart shop... the tauke accidentaly gave me the wrong bracket which meant for manual knob... mine is power window mar, got motor one mar... cannot fit lor...

went back to had it replaced with the correct one... changed it alone in the middle of the nite.... lolz... seriously not recommended if u planning to diy it alone... removing the bracket is pure headache... u need to remove the whole unit including the window... hence, u can either hold the window from falling over... or unbolt the screws to detach the frame from the door....

as u can see, there are 6 bolts u need to unscrew to remove the bracket... the other 2 more will be the top part attached to the window.... not to forget 3 more bolts holding the power window motor to the bracket....

its a tough battle... my hand and fingers endure multiple cuts due to sharp edges of the frame and inner metal door panel....

next up... ufo cabin light.... burn adi during my last visit to the workshop... mayb left it switched on for too long... replacing it was jz 5 minutes ordeal... nothing tough as it breaks down quite often... product kedai abang mar... macam tu lor... lolz....

retune AFR mixture... mechanic said my plugs are running white at idle and low rpm... in order to protect 'my precious', need to richen out the AFR so it wont cause further damage to my engine... so far havent check the color of my sparkies yet... hopefully would be ok yet wouldnt cause dramatic increase in fuel consumption...

change engine oil... this one another joke... jacked up my car, open the hood, removed the oil filler cap... later only i found out i dont have spanar size 17... i tried using locking playar to open it by force.... end up causing more damage to the bolt head... hence, project delayed till sunday nite after i get hold of a proper spanar from my friend...

previously was using shell helix mineral oil (yellow bottle) due to engine run-in... now i switched back to TOTAL semi-syn oil (15W50 viscosity)... i had a hard time deciding which i would go for, TOTAL semi-syn or MOTUL minerals... well, of coz semi-syn rulezz.... kekeke....

power window failure... again...

2008-09-18T04:09:00.006+08:00

yeah... the disease never shed off... this time is left side.... had it checked the other day... found out the last tooth of the gear has broken... no wonder the window keep bouncing off the top and doesnt stop...

another update... my foglights wiring burnt again... lolz... i was driving in the car when i smelt smoke coming out from my kick panel underneath the dashboard... immediately i switched off the foglights.... unfortunately, the damaged has done and it melted through my vacuum tube as well... hence, my vacuum gauge went dead as well... i've got it settle out this afternoon and reconnect the vacuum tube... foglights and vacuum gauge is up and running... hehe...

pistons, conrods, crankshaft...

2008-09-18T04:09:00.002+08:00

i want leh... >_<

rear kayaba rs absorber...

2008-07-29T02:55:00.002+08:00

the other day someone sms me offering his few months old kayaba rs for sale... the price seems attractive, why not... furthermore, i dont think kayaba rs will damage so fast after few months of using... i've been battering my front pair for 2 years now and it still works reasonably well...

went over to ismail there for a quick swap.... coz i couldnt undo the bolt holding the absorber without pressurised airgun....

during hard cornering, the rear end felt more stable... should had invested in kayaba rs full set instead of jz going for the front pair previously....

cars with lowered springs and thinking what absorber to pair with, KAYABA RS no doubt will satisfy ur lateral Gs greed....

latest modification...

2008-06-15T04:21:00.002+08:00

jz now i modified my fuel tank from empty to full tank...

what an expensive mod...

damaged brake hose...

2008-05-22T21:36:00.008+08:00

during my last attempt to diy service my right rear calipers, i noticed a deep cut in my rear brake hose... at that time, it is not leaking yet, so i thought mayb someday later i'll change it when i'm free...

from days became weeks... the last time i remember about it was few days ago, when i experienced total brake failure coming back from taman bunga raya... it was about 3am that time... with no brakes and downhill, i rolled back home by pumping the brakes continuously...

once reached home, i jacked up the car, remove the wheel and this is what i saw...

brake fluid was close to nothing... i was basically pumping air to compress the calipers...

in the midst of removing the damaged brake hose, i ran out of tools... paging everyone in the wee hours in the morning, i managed get hold of a spanar from my friend (yongsiang, thanks alot)...

the next morning, i rempit to malim jaya to buy spareparts... 1 bottle DOT4 brake fluid (Rm8), 1 brake hose (Rm24) and 2 H3 bulb (Rm20) for my burnt foglights... total Rm52 fly that morning...

the newer brake hose is a little longer in length compare to my damaged unknown origin brake hose... haha... dont care la, as long as it fits...

while waiting for someone to assist me bleeding the brake fluid, diy'ed braided brake hose using cable tie....

didnt had enough cable tie for the whole brake hose....

speedo cable snapped...

2008-05-20T21:14:00.009+08:00

a couple of weeks ago my speedometer sudently went dead... at the same time, mileage meter also not spinning... aih... mechanic checked and confirmed that my speedometer cable had snapped...

so, the other day i went to spare part shop and bought a new speedo cable which cost me Rm28...

replacing it was rather simple...

first, remove the inner dashboard and meter cluster...

then, remove the other end of the cable which is connected to the gearbox... jz screw it out with ur hand... dont need spanar for this...

see my snapped cable...

it is easier to replace jz the cable instead of the whole housing as the cable can be slided out easily.... but its highly not recommended as there might be some sand or pollutants which would accelerate the wear and tear of the cable...

hence, to remove the whole housing together, i unplugged the rubber cap from the firewall.... once its unplugged, slice the rubber with a knife till the centre... remove the old cable housing and replace with new one.... after that, plug everything back together into the firewall neatly.... plug both ends into the gearbox and meter cluster.... fix back everything and work done !!...

and this color tells why my cable snapped...

acidic rust from the brake fluid which leaked previously...

service transmission oil...

2008-05-06T17:12:00.004+08:00

gear shift feels rock solid already... sign of worn transmission oil... went to spare part shop yesterday bought 2 bottles of manual transmission oil... total cost rm24...

upah 5 bucks only... didnt diy coz lazy... haha....

leaky proportioning valve

2008-05-04T05:09:00.005+08:00

few weeks ago, i start noticing strange noise coming from my brakes... after thorough checking, i notice my brake fluid level decreased quite alot... at that time i thought there was a leak at the brake hose as previosly i diy service my brake calipers, i might not had tightened up the screws properly...

after few days of monitoring, there is no sign of leak at the brake hose... during my last brake fluid topup, i notice the bottom part of my brake pump is kinda wet... so, confirmed the brake fluid leaked out from the brake pump... and its not jz normal drips... whenever i pump on the brake pedal, it SQUIRTS out fluid like nobody business....

the next day immediately i took my car to the workshop and had it fixed...

to my surprise, it wasnt the brake pump seal that leaks... it was the brake proportioning valve which distributes brake force accordingly for the front and rear brakes failed... somehow the metal thing got punctured and leaking...

removing it was kinda easy... fixing it back was a tough job... it took nearly 2 hours and 3 mechanics to fix all 6 metal pipes back on... what made it tough is that those metal pipes arent flexible... all 6 pipes must be alligned properly at the holes then only can be secured in place.... add to the matter of fact, the brake pump is located at a vr discrete place behind the battery.... so, it was kinda hard to reach...

brakes were bleeded all 4 sides... 2 bottles of DOT4 brake fluid... brakes were tested... everything satisfied... with a broken wallet....

:(

mirage C62A rear disc brake...

2008-02-19T11:17:00.011+08:00

prices for rear disc brake are soaring... especially on demand plug n play sets such as mirage, i must get hold on one before the price gets way too extreme...

so, here it is... mirage c62a halfcut condition...

yaya, it doesnt look good... but nvm, give it some time, it will be a good workhorse....

anyway it is... yesterday i brought it to ismail workshop to get it fixed... so, first step of coz is to remove the rear brake drum set....

then, u put this disc protection plate in first... it is secured to the lower arm by 4 bolts...

next up, install the hub together with the bearing inside...

then, the "rusted" disc...

last but not least, the calipers... brake pads still considerably thick... hehe...

this is how the completed lego looks like...

same installation applied on both side...

next is the brake hose connection and the ebrake cable linkage... my mechanic used back the mirage brake hose as it is still in good condition and it is plug n play... as for the ebrake cable, it turns out that the bracket holding the cable is abit short, as shown in the photo below...

my mechanic custom made an extension for the bracket like this...

tada... ebrake cable problem fixed...

the remaining mirage axle can send to scrap metal junkyard adi...

jeng jeng jeng...

few updates...

2008-01-25T04:56:00.000+08:00

ok... lets fast forward some updates for the past few months... hehehe...

HWL coilovers sold... belongs to someone now... huhuhu...

installed FICD from toyota AE101... bought it for Rm50... diy install...

raining season... bought DYNO silicone wipers from Brothers... cost Rm36 per side... so far so good, but quite jumpy... dun care la as long as it wipes...

aircond compressor leaking oil... after 5 years of service finally breaks down... my "new" recond compressor... forgot what brand adi, definitely not branded DENSO or APM or PATCO... coz if branded sure i remember lor...

well... thats about it for now... there are a few more updates coming soon... stay tuned... kekekeke....

HWL coilovers...

2007-11-15T03:18:00.000+08:00

should i or should i not??...

its 9kg front and i definitely need to change the springs...

bling-ed hood lifters...

2007-10-05T20:46:00.000+08:00

jeng jeng jeng...

nice or not??...

cost me Rm73.... and it doesnt fit well... grrr...... :(

highcam installation...

2007-09-25T07:40:00.000+08:00

last wednesday, 19 sept, i finally able to spare myself some time to install my highcams... at about 930am, i set of heading towards merlimau, which is about 20mins from bukit beruang.... the workshop is recommended by my friend, who apparently also did his tuning there...

okla, cut short the stories... my car was jacked up and held on jack stands... the workshop senior mechanic attended to my car... the boss watched... first he removed the rocker arm cover, plug cables and sparkplugs...

then he proceeded to remove my rocker arms and distributor...

through inspection found out that my distributor O-ring is leaking engine oil... the mechanic asked me to change that as well... since he has a spanar on his other hand, i had to give in...

changing the O-ring was jz a split second... then, he continue dismantling my car... my long serving original camshaft was being pulled out...

everything was jz plug n play back into place... new camshaft being swapped back in... rocker arms bolted back on... then he removed my wheel and begin calculating the specs of the camshaft by looking at the gauge mounted on the crank and a probe touching the cam lobe...

the rest of the story was jz tuning tuning and more tuning... if u notice, no more pics after this... coz i was getting vr sleepy by then... lack of sleep mah...

at first before adjusting the valve clearance and campulley, powerband came in at about 5k rpm... then, he retarded the campulley 4 degrees and readjust the valve clearance... plug everything back in and tested the car, powerband was still at about 4k rpm.... not satisfied with the result, the car was again brought into the workshop... after somemore adjustment to the campulley and valve clearance, the final result is powerband kicks in at about 3.5k rpm and ends at about 6.5k rpm... street wise, the powerband is at a reasonable rpm range....

by then, it was about 4pm already... paid up (installation + tuning + custom FICD = Rm200) and i headed home, tested the car on the new highway (melaka-muar), my car top 170kmh at short stretch... 140kmh was at ease... before heading home, sent my car to carwash...

jeng jeng jeng...

clean leh.... cost me Rm30 for it, including car wash n vacuum...

highcams anyone??

2007-09-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

jeng jeng jeng... second part of my coming project has arrived...

it has 270 degree inlet n 275 degree exhaust timing... regrind cams of coz... thats why it is way cheaper than normal cams selling outside... Rm550...

arospeed adjustable campulley

2007-08-28T00:40:00.000+08:00

sneak preview... hehehe... cost me Rm210 with the transparent timing belt cover...

central locking gun KO...

2007-07-26T02:40:00.000+08:00

as usual, proton cars will start to breakdown piece by piece at this age... so-called midlife crisis...

this time, its the central locking motor for my rear left passenger door...

the replacement unit cost me Rm40... but according to the sparepart shop fella, he said the gun type can be modded to be used in my car... the gun cost Rm15 only...
so, i take the latter one la... Rm40 jz to replace the motor, siao meh...

honestly, i've never seen a gun door locking mechanism before... so i also pakai hantam only... dunno correct installation or not...

another view...

my photography skills sucks la...

vacuum gauge...

2007-07-26T02:29:00.000+08:00

haha... this was added to my car last month... but i forgot to update this....

anyway, here it is...

it is called EVIL... dunno what brand la... janji nice and not autogauge... haha..
it cost Rm115... installation diy...

bought a gauge holder for it during my last trip back to ipoh...

notice the blue cube at the background??... thats my voltmeter... bought at the same place i bought the gauge holder... cost Rm50....

here is how it looks like at night... nice??... or not nice??..

jz in case if u ask whats the use of it... here is the guidelines...

UR rear strut bar...

2007-07-25T23:58:00.000+08:00

the other day khen called me if i wanna take his rear strut bar or not... since its not a wear n tear item and the price is ngam (Rm100), help him clear his stock lor...

a couple of days ago, i was quoted Rm40 jz for the installation alone... so, why waste another 40 bucks when i can do it my own??... kekekeke...

so today after lunch i prep my car boot for the installation...

have to clear up some rubbish behind the boot la... i also noticed my spare tyre compartment got small aquarium also... dunno come in from which lubang... haiyo... removed everything and clean it up....

so, first step... cut the side panel... i used an old solder gun... jz melt my way through the plastic....

plastic panel done... next, mark the place need to be drilled using liquid paper...

ok... drill drill drill... mana tau the maximum size drill bit i have is not big enough to clear the bolts.... have to rush out buy bigger drill bit....

after drill all the holes, need to jack up the car before installing... coz if not, the rear chassis might misalligned....

moment of truth... installation time... bolt bolt bolt...

under side of the wheel arch also must nut nut nut it... forgot to buy washer... tomolo go buy some washer add under the nuts...

jeng jeng jeng...

didnt take up much boot space as i was expected... as for handling, vr much sharper and stable... the rear doesnt float around corners anymore...

RECOMMENDED...

high flux LED...

2007-07-22T05:16:00.000+08:00

jeng jeng jeng... nice or not??..

i use high flux LED, which cost me Rm25 per pair...

still no where close to EL panel... haihz...

ProRallye plug cables...

2007-07-22T05:14:00.000+08:00

time to update...

after waited so long, at last it arrive...

jeng jeng jeng..

wah piang, why ground cable so short one??....

quickshifter...

2007-05-10T03:39:00.001+08:00

time to pimp up my interior... we start off with something not revealing... hehe...

got this from adrian during one of SIOC yumcha session at kelana jaya...

after that the following days was busy with assignments and pc fair... so, project installing it postponed till the following week...

ok, time to install it...

first, screw out the gearknob....

after that, pop open the middle part of ur center console... (mine already loosen, so can easily lift it up)...

remove these screws...

there is 2 more screws in front under the dashboard beside the centre console.... u should be able to see it....

this is how it looks like after u peel away the centre console... ok, start to disect ur shifter....

first, remove the oem gear lock...

then, remove the cable linkage....

remove a big bolt and another main bolt...

salvage every part of the washers, plastic bearings, bushings from the old shifter....
then, install it to the new shifter and fit everything back together...
(sorry, forgot to snap photo because my hand was dirty and was busy inspecting which part need to be salvaged from the old shifter)

i've noticed 1 defects of the new short shifter.... this part.... the "thing" wasnt long enough to hold the spring in place... so i hammered in a screw into the lubang so the springs can be held back...

final product...

the shifter is stiffer compare to standard ones... couldnt complain much since the pivot point has raised and u need abit more force to shift it into gears....
tomolo will try to get some grease to lubricate the bearings, bushings and the springs so it can function smoothly....

overall, it took me about 2 hours coz most of the time busy inspecting which bushing to salvage and screw it in and out when few of the bushing is left out....

weber 32/36 DGV 5A caburettor...

2007-05-07T21:06:00.002+08:00

at last, some significant stuff in my car... kekekeke...
i've alwiz heard of weber carbs performing wonders in carbie cars... eager to try it out so... surf around DCM forum, found someone selling it at reasonable price (rm200)... apa lagi, angkat la... hehehehe...

got it last year december in ipoh... its a downdraft 32/36 DGV 5A manual choke weber carburettor... type of carburettor, progressive carb...
more info about it: http://www.redlineweber.com/html/Types/making_the_right_choice.htm

kept it under my bed for 3 months plus, coz saving money to buy the adaptor n installation...

on March 7, 2007... went to Ramly Motorworks somewhere in old klang road...

removing my standard Aisan carburettor...

carbless.... this is how my intake manifold looks like... 4-2-1 connection, similar to my extractor/headers/exhaust manifold...

HOTBITS... kekeke... no wonder so expensive...

installed.... nice??...

primary jetting has changed for better low end torque... overall, performance is vr good at wide open throttle... at initial response, after rejetting, is a little better than standard carb...

till now, i'm still learning to tune it myself... as sifoo unker fred said, take weber as a hobby... dont expect it to perform well once u plug it in ur car... it needs regular fine tuning so u can balance urself between performance and fuel consumption... after all, fuel + air = power.... need more power, u must pump in more fuel n air....

total cost: rm500
weber carburettor: rm200
adaptor + installation: rm300

currently running filterless... i've enquired Speedworks for K&N filter suitable for weber DGV.... they quoted me rm400... i was like, "oklar, thanks for the info, bye...".... hahaha....

free free i go machine shop ask them custom an adaptor to fit my K&N filter onto the weber DGV.... see lar when i free... hahahaha....

extractor heatshield...

2007-05-07T20:58:00.002+08:00

jeng jeng jeng...

custom fabricated heatshield...

material used is aluminium sheet... used metal wire to secure it in place so it wont flaps around at highspeed... effect is vr good... engine bay not so hot adi.... the shield can prevent rain water also... hehehhee.....

diy water ignition...

2007-05-07T20:40:00.001+08:00

what is water ignition??... it's some sort of system that sprays fine water mist into ur intake manifold... this system is tested to eliminate detonation, thus increase engine response and engine efficiency...

as test shown in links all over the internet, i've decided to try building one with the help of other sifoo sifoo in the forum...

water bottle secured properly inside engine bay to avoid it from tipping over...

intake hose connect to one of the vacuum hose, with a valve to control the amount of water being injected in...

construction of the bottle... fill water till about half the level....

if u are using standard filter, tap to this hose with a T-connector....

result, minor improvement in performance n engine response....
i was told that if i add some alcohol in the mixture, i can get more significant effect...

but somehow, i got fedup tuning the blardy thing... hahaha... removed the whole bottle adi... anyone wanna try, i dont mind selling my set to u.... hehehe....

cheapskate sparkplug tool...

2007-05-07T20:36:00.001+08:00

the other day i was replacing my sparkplugs with Bosch Super 4 plugs....

this one, made in germany punya...

mana tau this happens... grrrr....

replacing blown bulbs at the centre console...

2007-05-07T20:26:00.001+08:00

the bulbs blown for few months adi... so i guess its time to change it...
at first i thought of changing to white LED bulbs... but the size/model of this bulb vr hard to find... so have to settle with normal yellow halogen bulbs lor...

removing the centre console...

see where the 2 wires connected??... only 2 bulbs luminating the aircond panel control... no wonder not bright enough...

had some extra time... diy-ed under dash lights...

nice??...

anyway, i've removed it because it end up becoming disco light in my car... kept blinking on n off due to bad connections... hahahaha....

ignition earth cable...

2007-05-07T19:56:00.001+08:00

source: http://pivotjp.com/product/flame-ignitionearth-e.html

when i came to know about this product, i was like WTF??... a single power cable can improve horsepower and engine response??... isnt this similar to the ever-popular grounding cable??....

i sort of wonder, does this cable does wonders to the ignition system??... so i had a go and tried it out... went to my usual electronics shop, ask the tauke for the thickest wire... he pointed to me a bunch of power cables...

actually he got 2 types only lar... one is 10GA and another is "forgot adi what GA", but it is in yellow color and thicker.... thick one cost rm15 per meter, thin one is mere 5bucks per meter....

15bucks is outta my experiment budget, so i bought the 10GA cable...

Audiomaster 10GA power cable...

connect to engine head...

final setup...

difference after installing...
- smoother throttle (mayb)
- quicker response (mayb)

another obvious effect is that, it solved my crazy tacho reading... my tacho no longer stuck at 3k rpm... and it no longer fluctuates from 0 to 1k rpm at idle.... ahaks... at least 5bucks of wire can save my tacho (even if it doesnt improve engine performance)....

but after a few weeks, my tacho back to its normal crazy state again...

care for surbo??

2006-12-07T01:57:00.000+08:00

surbo... has been quite a debate on its capability and worthiness... some say can feel the response quicker while others say its a waste of money... aftermarket ones cost about RM100 or more... what it does is that it swirl the air into a turbulence so it can be sucked into the throttle body faster.... similar application if u swirl the water in the sink before it goes down....

so, i took out my CPU casing fan worth RM5... disect it and remove the blades out...
drill a hole in the middle and fitted it into this...

not much difference.... nvm la, 5 bucks only....

OCT level after 1 month plus...

2006-12-07T01:30:00.001+08:00

jeng jeng jeng...

even with my wrong hose connection, it still works... got black oil trapped inside... kekekeke....

the other day unker fred told me we can tighten the throttle cable for better response... i did think of it as well as i read the article before in internet...
but mine screw to the max jor.... how leh???

unker fred say need to cut spring liao... but i dun wan kacau the carburettor ler.... if cut adi next time how to sell it if i really wanna install weber carb??...

gas-filled rear absorber

2006-12-06T03:59:00.000+08:00

my rear oem absorber a bit leaking adi... after so many years of service, i guess its time for retirement...

swapped with this... RM60 per piece... RM15 installation... so, total would be RM135...

no difference after changing...

DIY oil catch tank

2006-12-06T03:51:00.000+08:00

next up... diy oil catch tank using petrol filter...

things u need...

then, connect it like this...

actually after i've done it, i noticed i did the wrong connection... it should be like this...

sifoo drexchan and sifoo khguan said its ok with my connection, so till now also havent reconnect the hose... haha... after a month or so only got a bit black oil trapped in my OCT....

DIY engine start button

2006-12-06T03:26:00.000+08:00

hmm... long time didnt update my blog adi... been busy since started new sem... timetable damn pack... exams non-stop...

anyway it is... i did some diy on my car again... this time is this:

ooopss.. nolah, this photo is courtesy of ftzone... no money buy nice nice one mah, so i went electronics shop and buy 3 bucks switch...

after that, solder both wire to it....

remove the panel and u'll see this...

check and see which wire to tap... u should tap the starter wire and ignition wire...

very hard to see by that angle ler... luckily i manage to find a screw under it... unscrew it and this pops out...

now i can see which wire to tap...

put back everything... done~!!!

after using it for few days, the switch is busted already...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

actually the method above isnt really suitable... coz the current that pass through starter and ignition wire is very high... thus, small wire doesnt able to handle such high ampere... thats why my cheapo switch busted, couldnt handle the high ampere....

so, there is an alternative solution... use relay lor...
here is the circuit diagram...

i replaced a new similar switch, rewire the circuit according to the diagram, but got stuck... i couldnt get the 12v DC source from ciggie lighter... dunno how to remove the ciggie lighter... hahaha...

anyway, i have plans place the start button elsewhere... which is jz below my gear lever... but first, need to remove the OEM gear lock first...

so, project postponed....

vr4 dual layer brake pump...

2006-09-09T23:34:00.001+08:00

after my accident, got no confidence with my oem braking system already.... so, i made up my mind and decided to go for it...

bought from HSLim halfcut shop, RM150...
installation + new brake fluid = RM 45...

bearing damaged...

2006-09-09T23:18:00.001+08:00

repairs again...

this time is my rear right bearing worn out...
at first, i heard deep scratching sound from the rear wheel arch... i didnt care much about it and even made 2 separate long distance trip...
first trip was from malacca <-> ipoh 2 way trip... few days after that, malacca <-> KLIA 2 way trip...

had enough of the sound, i decided to jack up my car and diagnose the problem... lifted the rear up, spin the wheel, and scratching sound appear.... the inner tyres were rubbing against the absorber... bearing 'kong-ed'....

the inner components of my drum brakes...

multilink suspension system + naked drum brakes...

new bearings...

total lost, RM55 (include the centre nut which damaged while unscrewing it)...

power window failure...

2006-09-09T19:04:00.001+08:00

15 april 2006.... it happens again... my driver side power window came down and never able to get up by itself again....

at first i went to unique champion accessory shop in malim to find out the problem... the guy said power window motor failure and need to change a new one... he charged me RM75 include installation...
finding it rather expensive, i went off trying my luck scouting for any second hand power window motor at HSLim halfcut shop nearby... luck wasnt on my side as they only got brand new set, cost RM45...

something pop up in my mind... why not try to diy change the power window motor??.... RM75 - RM45 = RM30... can save 30bucks....

so, here is my new power window motor set...

15 april 2006.... it happens again... my driver side power window came down and never able to get up by itself again....

at first i went to unique champion accessory shop in malim to find out the problem... the guy said power window motor failure and need to change a new one... he charged me RM75 include installation...
finding it rather expensive, i went off trying my luck scouting for any second hand power window motor at HSLim halfcut shop nearby... luck wasnt on my side as they only got brand new set, cost RM45...

something pop up in my mind... why not try to diy change the power window motor??.... RM75 - RM45 = RM20... can save 20bucks....

so, here is my new power window motor set...

door panel being removed...

oopss... the motor is behind of the panel... how to change??..

after trying for an hour blindly removing the motor from behind, i decided to give up and bring it to the nearest bawah pokok workshop to get it fixed...

much to my surprise, i need to remove the whole window out and the whole skeleton that held the window jz to change the blardy motor... i see it is a fairly easy task (if only i knew how in the first place) but the mech told me better send it to the foreman coz if the motor mounted wrongly, it can damage the skeleton and gears....

anyway it is... the mech charged me RM10 for helping me clean up my mess....

it is a worthwhile experience though... if i didnt get my hand dirty and tried it our myself, i wouldnt know how to change the power window motor in the future...
it's a vr important lesson as proton cars power window problems are legendary...

cleaning K&N filter...

2006-08-24T03:56:00.001+08:00

next up, cleaning my K&N filter....

first, i started to notice some petrol from my exhaust fume... this usually means my AFR mixture is rich... so, i checked my air filter whether its dirty or not... it is dark in color adi... further investigation shows that i've not been waching my air filter for a few months already....

previously, CK exhaust quoted me RM15 to wash the K&N air filter... since its a simply work, why not DIY??... in long term can save up some money as well...

instructions are at the back... looks simple...

first 2 step (cleaning the filter element with water and K&N detergent) i forgot to snap photo... so, here is the reoiling part....

after reoiling, reinstall back the filter...

done~!!!

cooling coil leaking...

2006-08-24T03:48:00.002+08:00

that day my car aircond suddently not cold jor... so i suspect it ran out of gas lo... so i went nearby aircond shop ask them refill....

after awhile, the foreman said he suspect something wrong... might not be jz ran out of gas... so they dived under my glove box and removed this...

shit~!!... cooling coil leaking jor....

the foreman said cannot patch coz the hole too big... afraid might leak again after a few days.... so, no choice have to replace with new one lo...

DENSO cooling coil... RM350 fly...