A hidden gem - Proton Exora Bold

Took delivery of my new car, Proton Exora Bold Premium, a 7-seater MPV on Tuesday, just in time for the balik kampung trip for the Aidilfitri. For those who have previously read my blog and wondered what happened to my blue Impreza, it was sold sometime way back in 2011. After marriage, found out it not feasible to keep the car anymore as it was seldom used and not so comfortable for normal driving around town. So I sold it off an traded for another one of my childhood dream, a superbike. But that's a story for another day.

This posting is about the Proton Exora I mentioned above. This is a car that I bought without even once sitting inside it, not even on display at showrooms or roadshows. Bought it purely because it meets my current requirement & budget and very good reviews from various publications. Of course, I know some people would diss it, simply because it is a 'Proton', but I am willing to take the risk. And having owned Proton Satria & Waja previously, and currently my wife drives a Persona, I think Proton cars are not really that bad, if they're properly maintained and cared for, which some are not.

To cut it short, I was surprised with the Exora, on so many aspects. Firstly, the CFE engine is really much better than previous Proton Campro engine. It is a turbo-charged 1.6L engine, a fact which Proton seldom highlights, for unknown reason. And I was also skeptical of CVT gearbox, afraid of rubbery feeling due to the constantly variable nature of the gearbox. But for this engine, CVT gearbox is the best option as the engine is always in the meaty part of the engine's torque curve (2000-4000 rpm), making progress easy and swift. Really changed my perception on CVT geabox, despite I have previously driven a Mercedes B-class with CVT box for almost a week. The flat torque delivery of the turbo-charged engine and the CVT gearbox is just perfect, unlike the naturally aspirated B-class. Can't say the Exora is a fast car, it is not, but adequate. Having said that, it's easy to keep a constant 120-130km/h on the highway and despite being in run-in period, already managed to reach 160km/h rather easily. In perfect comfort & silence, with no sign of strain from the engine. Adequate.

Also impressed with the improvement in Proton's QC process. The car was received with perfect paintwork. No blemishes, no over spray, not a single visible scratch. Wheels were properly aligned and balanced. In fact, all four tyres were also properly inflated to specification! Small things, but you'll be surprised that not all new cars roll out of the showroom in perfect running shape.

And then, the kit list. It's amazingly long, although I wonder why some of the features were never highlighted by Proton themselves. Some of them:

- roof mounted DVD system that also accepts USB thumbdrives, and plays MP3 plus a few other music & video formats
- Bluetooth enabled audio system that allows you to make and answer calls when paired with your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. And also plays and controls music on the phone via A2DP!
- 2nd and 3rd row air-cond vents, with separate blower control
- follow-me home headlights that continue to turn on temporarily after the key is removed
- automatic rear wiper activation on reverse with front wiper use
- selectable driver door unlock (unlock only driver's door on first press of remote)
- key remote transmitter battery level displayed on intstrument panel
- front wiper that slows down when stopping in traffic
- cruise control
- anti-glare rear view mirror (no day/night adjustment to do anymore, yay!)

these are on top of the normally highlighted features e.g. leather upholstery, electric folding wing mirrors, reverse camera, external wide screen GPS (a Lokatoo A1000, which can be modified to run Garmin software), ABS, EBD, dual air bags, smoked LED tail light, etc.. You'll be hard pressed to find another car that has all the features above, especially at this price point. So I was totally surprised.

But of course, it is not perfect. There are still areas that can be further improved:

- the plastics are really hard & the textures doesn't look very convincing compared to other manufacturers. Other manufacturers also use hard plastics for cars in this price range (yes, they do. Please check yourself) but they look more convincing and looks 'less cheap'
- the leathers on the seats are also rather nasty to the touch. Feels very dry & synthetic, which it probably is. But could be better
- the driving position also a bit tiring. The steering wheel need reach adjustment. Now I'm sitting too far from the steering wheel for ideal driving position
- should include some of the newer features available in latest model e.g. auto headlight, auto wiper, pedal shifter

All in all, i think the Proton Exora Bold is really a good buy. A value for money buy. No wonder I'm seeing a lot of them on the road nowadays.

For those who overlook this car because it is a Proton, maybe you wanna re-confirm your perception.

All hacked

My car as of Saturday:

An ass-less Impreza

The repair involved replacement of the rear panel, right three quarter panel, rear bumper & tail light. Apprently the damage was more below the skin. The boot floor panel was also a bit crumpled, but not bad enough until requiring a replacement. The rear sub frame took quite a beating as well. Need a bit of straightening work.

It explains why the estimated repair cost is RM8k. Unlike normal repair job involving knocking here and there, this job performs full replacement of the damaged panels. So the repairs will be undetectable virtually as-new condition. In fact this is the proper way of doing panel repairs as per safety guideline overseas. But of course, because of the high price, most people do not opt for this type of repair.

Can't wait to see the results.

Sepang - 10 Jan 2009

After the session:

Ripping off the bumper

Torn bumper, broken right rear light, dented fender and slightly dented boot

That's my car! It really rained in the last one hour of the session. During which I did probably a dozen or so laps, non-stop. But I lost it going down to T9 due to aquaplaning, slid along the short downhill straight, backwards, and ended up clipping the right rear to the steel barrier. But it could've been worse if I hit the barrier sideways. That would've spelt full car repainting. The only regret is, it happened on the out lap, when the red stop lights were already on and I've already slowed down! *sigh*

It's in the workshop now. Hopefully it'll recover soon. Still was not satisfied with my dry time. A lot more grip and much more stable with the new suspension. But did not managed to get a good clean unobstructed run.

Proton vs Suzuki

The story of my sister's Suzuki Swift.

She bought the Suzuki Swift as a replacement for her previous Gen2. Fed up with the small problems she had with it. That car had creaks and rattles at a few places. Something that I think is unavoidable in anything that moves over KL's roads. She had the driver's seat adjuster broken. I still wonder how that happened, but my sis had a reputation of breaking things. Then some other minor problems which I've forgotten the details.

But this morning, the Swift simply refused to start, again. Had a quick look and nothing that I can do about it. The battery was fine, it was cranking OK, just that the engine did not catch fire. Actually this is the second time it happened in about 3 years. The mileage on the car is just around 30,000km. Push start is not an option since it's an auto. I don't think using jumpers would help as well since there's nothing wrong with the battery.

But the Gen2 with all it's problem, never, I mean never once, did the car refused to start in the morning. It just reliably start with a crank or two.

I don't know about you, but for me, I would rather live with a car that rattles rather than having a 'solid' car, but I have to pray and hope that it starts when I crank the engine in the morning. Imagine if the engine refused to start in the midnight, some way from home. It would not be something nice to happen. Especially to a lady driver.

Since it is a Suzuki, I'm sure a lot of people would just say, something is wrong with the car only. Just send it back etc.. etc.. But if it's a Proton, suddenly everybody becomes an industry expert and say Proton QC is bad lah, engineering not good lah, old technology lah, etc... etc...

So please people, not just Protons break down. Other cars can too. Just that people tend to listen more stories of Protons breaking down simply due to the fact that there's a lot more Protons on the road. Widen your perspective before condemning the work of others.

Looking forward to F1 2010 season!!!

In 2009, for some reason I lost interest in F1. Even though it was a year littered with many scandals and controversies, right from the start, double diffusers, McLaren's lie-gate, Renault's crash-gate, Massa's horrific accident, etc.. etc.. but I didn't find myself rushing back home to watch F1 race live on TV. Probably partly due to Ferrari was not doing particularly well last season.

But I'm already looking forward to next season's F1. For 3 reasons

1. Lotus F1 Team 1Malaysia
Naturally, a new team backed by Malaysian magnate, Tony Fernandes. I know some quarters are saying it's a waste of 'people' money, but I still think this is a good effort for Malaysia. Malaysians will get the chance to be an F1 driver and engineers can have a chance to get trained in the highly competitive F1 world.

It has also been said many times, the government has no investment in the team other than moral support. It's Mr. Fernandes' money and effort to have the team on the grid. And knowing F1, they're so particular about everything, especially related to funding, I doubt anybody can dodge the system. So way to go Lotus!

2. Petronas backing current championship winning team, Brawn GP
It was in the news yesterday, Petronas will become title sponsor for Mercedes GP, previously known as Brawn GP. The team will now be officially known as Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team. Petronas has been well-known in the motorsport arena and have previusly backed Team Sauber and later BMW. This will just lift their reputation even further. May even consider of personally switching to use Petronas if they manage to win the championship next season. Considering Brawn won the championship this season with limited time and budget, hopefully with such good backing they can repeat their success.

News: Formula 1.com news

3. Schumacher to return to F1!!
And the biggest news, the great Michael Schumacher is returning next season! He tried to this year, which at that time got me excited, but an injury stopped him. But now he's returning, and he's going to drive for the Mercedes team mentioned above!

News: The Star sports news

I'm way excited! Can't wait for March 2010

Not your average Sunday - Sep 09

Again went to track on 27/9. A short entry just a record of what happened during the day.

Suspension geometry - camber front -2.0, rear -0.5 degrees. Zero toe all round

1st outing - car handled really badly on high tyre pressure

2nd outing - changed tyre pressure to front 250kPa, rear 220kPa hot. Almost zero grip. Was pressured by Edrin, driving Fahrein's car, like mad. In the end overshot T7 and went straight to the run off area. Car was oversteering. Edmund said it was like a rear wheel drive car. But at least I was containing the oversteers. DCCD at 2nd setting from below

3rd outing - reduced tyre pressure yet again. Still not good

4th outing - final pressure 240kPa front, 200kPa rear, hot. Best settings. DCCD at 3rd setting from bottom. Better control. Slight oversteer but bad understeer at T1. Best time was 2:48. But I went off at T13, straight into run-off area. Took it easy along the back straight, topping at 160-170km/h only instead of usual 200km/h. Took it easy again round T14 and the front straight, but still got 2:48!! I guess without the off, 2:45 or lower would be on the cards. But the session already ended.


Overall was happy. Car was better. Was also practising late corner entry which I picked up from an online forum. It worked really well around most corners in Sepang. Was really happy that I can manage to contain oversteer at many times. It gives me more confidence to go faster around corners.

Not your average Sunday - Aug 09

Puasa or not, tracking still goes on! Went there on Saturday, 30th August, with my track buddy, Fahrein and James, another Subaru owner.

Luckily the weather was nice and not so hot. But since it's fasting month, there were not many attendees. Just nice number of cars. Probably around 50-60 cars only and for some reason, the most were Subaru Imprezas.

First outing, took it easy. Just warming up the tyres. But during this session met a TRD-liveried Vios on the track, on stock wheels but with a pair of serious looking racing shells. This car was obviously down on power, but was going round the corners so well. Doing 4 wheel drifts around T12 & T13. And impossibly late braking to T1. Impressive! My salute to the driver. Maybe a pro driver. Fahrein agreed with me.

After about 4-5 laps, went in to rest. I noticed that I was unable to really concentrate. Maybe due to puasa.

Then 2nd session, went out alone. Track clear with many other Subarus behind me who have left the pits at about the same time. Track was clear. I was watching this Myvi duelling with a Satria Neo around T2, with the Myvi's rear left wheel hanging in the air!

But when I was about to go round the off-camber T2, still going rather slowly, suddenly, BANG! And my car was sent into a 180 degree spin. I was hit from behind! During sighting lap!? All the cars went around me while I was facing the wrong way! Luckily it was a slow corner. Then slowly went back to the pits, expecting the worse, broken bumpers maybe? Broken diffusers? Bent mufflers?

Erk! I'm facing the wrong way!

Back in the pits, quickly checked my rear bumper. Nothing? Went round and then noticed a big dent above the rear left wheelarch. Mmmm... not so bad. That plus some scratches on the rear left wheel. Then went to find the group of cars behind me just now. Since we're sharing the same pit, so no problem. Surprisingly, his was much worse! Badly dented fender, cracked headlight, damaged bumper and torn wheel well cover. That'll be a few thousands ringgit to fix. Ouch!

The big dent on my car

His car was much worse! That's a limited editon Impreza S204 by the way

We however did not discuss about compensation or whose fault it was. It is an unwritten rule that one should not confront another party to claim for damages, unless willingly offered by the 'offender'. In this case, he was the offender since I was clearly in front, but he placed his car in my racing line, which at that time, I was already right up to the left kerb. Both of us were cool about it, exchange pats on the back and shook hands.

That incident more or less ruined my mood for the rest of the session. Subsequently, just made some more laps as practice session only. Didn't even bother to time myself. That was after Edmund helped me to pull out the hard wheel arch so it won't then ruin my tyres.

Now have to find time to fix this. *sigh* but tracking still goes on!

ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! NOT AGAIN!!!!

yesterday, managed to drag myself out to Titiwangsa for a run. Was there at 8:45AM. Many people there since they have yet another fishing competition.

Parked my car at an empty space, a bit to the inside since the roadside parking was all full. But when I got back to the car an hour later, the front passenger window was all smashed up! Broken glass everywhere.

First thing noticed they took my wallet & handphone from the arm rest compartment. But from further check, noticed also that they took my boost meter on the dashboard, a pair of sunglass & my only alarm remote control. Damn! Luckily can still drive the car back home, albeit with the indicator light flashing due to the alarm triggered.

Could've been worse since apparently they ignored my speed meter on the steering column, but obviously within reach, the CD player & smart tag device with Maybank Zing card.

The loses are one thing, but the hassles are another. Now have to go through JPN, JPJ & Maybank, again, for the replacement cards. Not to mention this time also need to go to Celcom and two workshops to replace the broken window and the alarm.

This is gonna cost me a lot! New window, new wallet, new handphone, new sunglass & new boost meter. Not to mention replacement charges for MyKad, credit cards & ATM card. *sigh*

Hate these people. May they all rot in hell.

S1K race - 6 June 2009

Was there last weekend, after enduring a 1 1/2 hour long drive from Sg. Besi toll to Nilai/KLIA exit. Sounds ridiculous? Well, because it was! People slowing down traffic to a stop-n-go crawl, just to look at minor accidents by the road side, but that's a story for another time.

The stupid crawl on NSE

Was there to support my friends, Fahrein & Edrin driving for Team KL Motopark/Matspeed. Muzamil & Hisham driving their own team's car and old friend, Rashid, also driving for a private team.

The paddock pass. I was told it's RM50 for the pass, but found out its actually RM90 with parking. So chose to sit at the grand stand instead, which is free. Later I knew it was a wise decision. No way I'm gonna pay RM90 just to see race-prepped 'normal cars'... unlike MME race which normally has some nice Porsches RSRs, Astons, BMW Z4s and Holdens competing.

When I got there, it was more than 2 hours into the race, but still a long way to go to 1000km... In terms of car variety, it was very lacking. All I see was Integra DC2s, Civic EGs & EKs and Satria GTIs. The only saving grace was a pair of sharp-looking, white Satria Neo of Team Proton Axle, two Gen2s and two Toyota Levins. Sad also to find out last year's Class B MME winner, Proton R3's Neo parked in their pits, later I found out it was due to engine management problem.

Proton Axle's Neo

The race mostly was uneventful. The track looks kind of empty with the cars wide spaced between each other. But at times there are interesting scraps between similar cars, especially watching the how the Neos fighting off their bigger brother, the GTIs.

Integra vs GTI

But more importantly, I felt good to see the passion and determination of the participants, even for such a low-key event. Some teams came with fully prepped cars, complete with in-car hydraulic jacks and pit-lane speed limiter, backed by organised & professional pit crew. Meanwhile, some are competing just out of their passion for racing. I notice a very sick Putra, doing the laps at a very slow speed, but still keep on going, laps after laps. Just for the sake of racing and finishing the race. Quite a number of cars are devoid of any sponsor decals, except for Achilles and Petronas. the event sponsors. It means these people are racing out of their own pocket, for the fun of it. Their passion and determination amazes me and makes me of thinking of racing next year!

Fahrein & Edrin were driving the Team KL Motopark's rally-cross spec Gen2 (pic nicked from terato.com)

Rashid was the 1st driver of this rented Civic EG (pic nicked from terato.com)

Overall, it was an interesting race. I had to leave at around 4:00PM, the cars have done about 70-odd laps by then. At the end of lap 182 around 8:45PM, the race was won by team Type R with their Class 1 Integra DC2. Followed very closely by a Class 2 Civic EG! I totally believe the R3 Neo would've give them a good fight if it was still racing. Sad also that both Proton Axle's Neos expired before the end. Same goes for Muzamil's Levin. But Fahrein & Edrin finished the race, much to their delight.

Here, hoping for a better race next year. Maybe we can see more manufacturers taking part? Bring out the Civic FD2, Swift Sport, the over-dressed Latio, Vios, etc.. please...

BTW, 'S1K race' stands for Sepang 1000km race

Someone should be sacked!

the strategist at Scuderia Ferrari F1...

In Malaysian GP, they held Massa in the pits during qualifying, thinking there's not enough time for others to beat his time... but they calculated wrongly and Massa did not even qualify for Q2 qualifying session. Then during the race, they put on wet tyres on Kimi's car when the rain was still a good 15 minutes away! No need to ask, he destroyed the tyres, well before the first drop of rain.

Then last night at Spanish GP, they short-fueled Massa, who was running 3rd at the time. But it was too short and he did not have enough fuel to complete the race! He had to yield to conserve fuel and bring the car to the chequered flag. He lost 3rd place to Vettel. They thought they had enough cushion to Alonso with a 16 seconds gap. Massa was doing 4.5 sec/lap slower with a remaining 4 laps. Wouldn't that equal to 18 seconds!?

What were THEY thinking?

This kind of elementary mistakes is really unexpected in the uber high-tech F1 sport. More so form a team who have won the championship umpteen time in recent years. And just let's not recall last year's season, which is just more embarassing to them.

Pics taken from: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_singapore_grand_prix.html

Buck up!

HCOC Sepang Track Day

Re-drafted to shorten the post :)

HCOC = Honda Cars Owner Club

But that didn't deter me to join their closed track day today. Went together with Fahrein (Civic FD2Rs), Harun (Civic FD2Rs) & Edrin (EG6). The session was nice. A total of 40 cars only, which is very few. Divided into two groups, newbies and non-newbies. Obviously, I did not qualify as a newbie anymore :(

During the 20 minutes warm-up session, after a sighting lap, started to attack already, to test out the new Endless CCR brake pads and Hankook RS2 tyres. Purposely braked at 150m mark to the high-speeed first turn, however, I over braked and had to lift. WOW! Superb brakes!

But round T1, the car was understeering like a sand barge! Felt like the track was wet, which it was not. Really, really bad. But continued to complete the lap. On the 2nd hot lap, same story, bad understeering. While trying to catch up to an FD2R ahead, going down T12, the car was understeering towards the outside kerb. Twitched the steering a bit more, to try to make it round the corner, but the rear just snapped! I went into a big spin! Damn.

Immediately pitted afterwards. Found out, parts of the front tyres were badly delaminated (see pic below), because I spun over the kerb. So sad and dissapointed since those are new :( Parked the car and rode shotgun with Fahrein in the 'race simulation' session.


Back in the pits, friends advised me to check my tyres pressures. They were 270/240kPa front/rear hot. Kinda high. So lower them to 250/220kPa hot. Then out I went, this time with DCCD at 'full open' setting. Less understeer, but it was swerving badly around long sweeping corners. I thought I had a puncture! So back into the pits. Up to this point, I just did less than 5 hot laps. Definitely too few laps. But despite all that, recorded a new best lap of 2:47.

Again, reduced tyre pressure to 240/210kPa hot. But had to wait till the last 'race simulation session' to try it out. I was the 4th car, with an EG6 and three FD2Rs ahead. After a single sighting lap, all hell broke loose! Passed the EG6 right after the starting line and by the first corner, I was side-by-side with the 3rd placed FD2R. But he had the line, I had to yield and stayed behind. At the start of the back straight, quickly passed the FD2R ahead of me and then caught the next one, at T15's braking zone. The CCR pads gave me a lot of confidence and allowed me to outbrake the 300kg lighter FD2R! Amazing.

The next FD2R was a bit harder. We were side-by-side into T1, but he had the grip (and bigger balls), went round the outside and get the better line into T2. Again at T4, I was on the inside. He tried the same tactic, but unfortunately T4 is an uphill corner where turbo torque is very handy. I managed to pass him and was ahead of everybody!

The FD2R tried to keep up but made a mistake into the T7/T8 complex and dropped back, passing the baton to a pair of EG6s, which one of them is a fully prepped track car. Managed to hold them back for about a lap. But at the very difficult T9, under pressure, I braked too late and totally missed the apex, releasing the two EG6s.

For the next 2 laps, I was on my own. The others have fallen back quite far behind. But I noticed my water temperature was approaching two third mark, so eased up a bit. Later the brown EG6 missed his braking to T14, so I managed to pass him again. Almost passed the red EG6 track car too, but by then the race has ended. It was quite exhilarating to see the chequered flag being waved from the tower. Felt like a real race!

Even though it was just a simulation, that made the session well worth it. I had great respect for FD2R and their legendary track performance, but I've proven that my car is not a slouch either ;)

Observations:

- Endless CCR: expensive, but worth it. Consistently touched 199km/h before braking at 150m into the frist and last corners. In fact, it was strong enough to unsettle the back of the car going to T4. My pivot speed meter showed 1.2+G of max braking force! Superb

- Hankook RS2: not as grippy as I expected, but maybe I expected too much. These are not slicks anyway ;)

Car settings:
- 270/240 kPa hot + DCCD auto = huge understeer and snap oversteer. Judders under braking. Useless.
- 250/220 kPa hot + DCCD full open = less understeer, very unstable through long corners, tyres felt greasy
- 240/210 kPa hot + DCCD 15% locking (one click above ful open) = good setup. Still understeers around slow & tight corners, but throttle can be used to reduce it

Not your average Sunday Jan 09

new season starts!

my first track day this year. organized by subaru club malaysia, especially for club members. and different from normal session, it was on saturday morning, instead of the more punishing afternoon sessions like the open trak days.

nothing much to say really. really great outing. the car was OK. tyres are almost gone now, but sadly so are too the brake pads. first time trying out the APP slotted front rotors on track. i would say, it was superb. easily shorten my braking point by another 20m at the end of the straights. and the result of al that? a lap time of 2:49! or 4 seconds faster than my previous best! new technique learnt, left foot braking which is really useful. good to see my lap times going down at every visit. and i was very comfortable going round the track. not so nervous anymore.

but it's going to be a very expensive trak day since i drove past a policeman on the highway to sepang doing 130km/h+ *sigh* surely will get summoned. additionally had a small chip on my front windscreen from a flying gravel.

well, what to do. part and parcel of the experience i guess hehehe

p/s: sorry no photos for the time being. still using a borrowed notebook which i can't download my photos into

woot! woot! woot!

new stuff installed yesterday

an APP slotted front rotors to replace the worn stock rotors. the circular lines are not scourings and hope they'll stay that way and survive a few track days. the blue housing bell really suits the car's paintwork and elevates the car's 'fast looking' factor a few notches up ahahahaha

later at home, found out the stock rotors were at the minimum thickness already. phew, luckily nothing bad happened when using them. but boy, those rotors are damn heavy! i'm not kidding!

Not your average Sunday 3!!!

What? Sepang again? Hehehe yes.

Received an SMS on Saturday of the open track day and since I didn't drive last week, and was so itchy seeing my friends enjoying the wet session, decided to go. Again, went with Fahrein. Arrived a bit late at 2:30PM. Managed to do 3 laps before the session was red-flagged. Then all of us had to endure this:

It was raining cats and dogs. And it did not stop for more than an hour. The track was only opened again around 4:20PM. Even then, we had water running across the track at a few spots. But how enjoyable it was! In trying to keep my post short, I'll put in highlight points form.

- 1st spin at the high speed downhill T5. Tried to take it in 4th gear. Big spin, almost into the gravel.

- 2nd time off at the same T5. Managed to catch it but still skidded to the run-off area

- Spun at T14 while exiting under power

- Spun at T10 under braking (!)

- Almost lost it a few times while exiting T4, but managed to keep it under control

- Surprising amount of grip available under braking to T1 and T15...

- ... but kicked off the ABS many times under braking to T7

- four wheel drifting around T3 and T8 was huge fun!

- Absolutely zero front-end grip around T1 & T2

It was great fun & a good learning experience. Still not brave enough to press the throttle earlier. Have to learn to catch oversteer. The tyres are quite bad in the wet, thinking of different brand for my next set.

Not your average Aidiladha

... as you guessed it, another Sepang tack story. But this time, I did not drive my car. I am not 100% confident of the puncture repair with one of my tyre.

Went with a close friend, Fahrein, a motorsport enthusiast, and a few of his cousins who are also into motorsport! He was driving his wife's Swift Sport to Sepang for the first time. BTW, his wife is also into motorsport. Well, now you know why we're close hehehe

Suzuki Swift Sport

It was raining heavily and very slippery. On the way from my house to Sepang, already seen a few cars had an encounter with the guard railings/divider. Mmm.. maybe it's a wise decision to leave my car at Fahrein's house.

At Sepang, met with Fahrein's cousins in a Toyota Levin AE111 and a new-ish Honda Civic Type R a.k.a. FD2R. Quite many cars were there actually, even though it was Aidiladha. Well, mostly are Chinese. So many different type of cars this time around. What I noticed (and remembered) are a pair of Mitsubishi Airtrek, Toyota Caldina GT4, Mini Cooper JCW & a sweet Mini Cooper track car, BMW E46 325i & M3, BMW E60 530i, 530d & M5 (great car, 'poyo' driver though), Toyota Vios (!) & Altis (!), Audi A4, Merc C200K, a howling Toyota Supra, Fiat Coupe Turbo, etc.. etc.. Not to mention the usual suspects i.e. the various Evos, Rexes and FD2Rs. But the star of the day was this:

Yes, the awesome (and bloody expensive) Godzilla a.k.a. GTR35. In equally awesome matte-black colour. Lucky sod.

Yummy! Mini Cooper Challenge car, driven by drift star, Tengku Djan

So many fellow scoobies

1st outing - Suzuki Swift Sport (Driver: Fahrein)
Since I was not driving, all I can do was tag along on the cars. Well, that's why I brought my helmet along hehehe He was taking it carefully. Just checking grip level. From the looks of it, it was bloody slippery. The proof? The session was red-flagged after just 2 minutes being started, someone already went off-track.

The lap was mostly un-eventful as the slippery condition did not permit hard driving.

That's a genuine E60 M5 and a Mini JCW beside it

2nd outing - Toyota Levin AE111 (Driver: Mu'amil)
I have timed this car & driver. He was doing 3:09 laps in such condition, on wet racing tyres. Nevertheless, the time is sensational anyway, considering the car is more or less stock!
When I was in the car, the first corner was kind scary. He was late-braking like mad, but then I found out, the car has very good brakes and grip level from the wet tyres are just superb. Almost unbelieveable amount of grip was available from the tyres.

Being a race driver, he was super-brave in his driving. Getting very close to the car in front and overtaking people left & right. I would never do that on track, for the sake of avoiding a collision. And he also have very little mechanical sympathy. His driving style is quite brutal. But I guess, that's just his style.

But the laps were really enjoyable. He did overtook so many cars, FD2Rs, Evos, S2000s, etc.. etc.. Impressive stuff

3rd outing - Civic FD2R (Driver: Hichame)
I timed the car to be around 3:12 in the condition. So it's a bit slower than the Levin. But the ride is totally different. It was very comfortable. Almost too comfortable to be on a track hehehe Well, it's a brand new car anyway. And surprising amount of grip available from the semi-slick RE-070 tyres.

When I was driving behind this car in Sepang, it was super-fast, but when I was inside, it didn't feel as fast as I thought. The push-in-the-back feeling is not clearly felt. Acceleration felt a bit blunt and ordinary. But the engine just pulled cleanly all the way to the redline. It's advantage is it's gearing which suits the track very well.

The FD2R that I get to ride on. The one on the left

Overall it was a fun outing, even I was not driving. A different perspective. The star of the session to me was this white Subaru Impreza RA-R which was putting in 2:54 wet laps. Which was just a second off of the vastly more powerful GTR35. Thinking of it, I did 2:53, in the dry. Ouch!

Damn, I need more practice.

A very nice Evo 6. The car that hooked me on to Jap rally reps

Cars lining up on pit lane

Satria Neo

For some reason, lately I have a 'thing' for Satria Neo. I think this is a very good looking hatch. Have seen some tastefully done-up Neos on the road and they really caught my eye. Not those beng-ish type with mega bodykits though. Just some subtle bodykit with front lip, side skirt & rear 'diffuser'. Nice.

Really wish Proton have the engine to back up that good looks. With the 1.6L Campro, it's a bit underpowered. Forget about the 1.3L version. The over-due Neo CPS should be better, but just. In reality, what it needs is a proper 2L engine with at least 180hp to be competitive with the likes of Renault Clio RS or VW Golf GTI. Just forget about the Renault R26, Civic Type R or the yet-to-be-released Focus RS for the moment. 180hp should be just enough for one fun hot hatch.

The car already has good handling. Proven umpteen times on the track. An almost stock engined Neo can easily harrass a Mini Cooper S around Sepang! And the Cooper S is not really a bad handling car to begin with.

Wish I have the capacity for a second car, then I can consider a Neo for 'general driving'. Nothing's wrong with my current car. I love it to death, but sometimes it asks a bit too much of commitment to drive. Requires full-concentration with throttle and steering. The ride is a bit harsh. Then have to always be careful of where I park it. And sometimes the unwanted attention and stares it attracts. Not mentioning that all kinds of drivers, in all kinds of cars, from Kancils to Evos would want to 'cucuk' me on the road. It's wonderful when I feel like 'driving it', but for some other times, a bit tiring.

A black Neo R3, yummy! (Asking price too expensive though, better off doing up the normal version)

And this is the MEM S2000 Rally version. 4WD with 280hp from 2L N/A engine. Sweet!

RM2k+ for a tyre puncture?

This bloody puncture almost costed me RM2k+ to repair

Actually, to my eyes it looked like a simple repair job actually. But yesterday, I brought it to a tyre shop near my house. I've used to go there for a few years when I was driving Proton car. So I went there again just since it's convenient.

They tried to fix it, the normal way using that rubber plug thingy. But it didn't fix it well. Air was leaking, slowly. Then they started to offer me to replace the tyres. They showed me a pair of used tyres, which I'm really not keen of, but still looked just to be polite. They also recommended me their Goodyear tyres, which I had to pass, since I don't want to mix tyres. It'll wreak havoc with the car's balance and the drivetrain. And they don't have the correct size for my car anyway. Also I didn't want to blow RM2k+ just because I have one punctured tyre since I will need to change all four tyres! So I paid them RM5 and left with my spare tyre still on.

Then I remember my friend have fixed a 1" long tear on his tyre before. At a shop somewhere in USJ. So today I planned to go there. But on the way, stopped at another tyre shop to try again. Like asking for second opinion. They just put another rubber plug and the leak was OK! And the good thing is, it just costed me another RM5. Damn! That was easy.

Luckily I didn't have the urge (or financial capacity) to splurge RM2k+ on a new set of tyres. If I had the cash, probably I would've. They would buy my tyres, cheaply as trade-in, repair the puncture and make money re-selling it.

That's why, always be wary when you send your car for repairs. It's really hard to find a trustworthy mechanic. And if you find one, please stick with him.

Not your average Sunday 2

Sunday, 26 October 2008. Woke up late, so missed my cycling at Putrajaya. Then out of nothing, just decided to go to Sepang track day, again. My fourth session this year.

This time went with Azam, my PMC friend. The usual thing, park outside first, see if there's many cars or not, only then decided to bring in my car. Cars were a bit more than the previous session in June, but manageable.

First outing was riding shotgun in Azam's Mini Cooper S. He's quite a handy driver. Slip sliding his way through some of the corners, especially T6 and T11. Agressive too, getting scarily close with other cars at T14. Worse still, his car didn't have grab handle on the passenger side... I timed his lap at 3:08, really not bad for a first timer around the full track. I'm sure he had a lot of fun too, well until he had a spin later in the session... hehehe normal lah tu Azam. Pegi track mesti spin punya lah...

Later with Azam on passenger seat, I managed only 2:58. But I had to yield at a few corners for traffic. Later when the track was clear & driving alone, managed to get an almost clean run for a time of 2:53. I'm satisfied for the moment, with what I have. My tyres are costing me a few seconds definitely. They're long lasting and already survived 4 track days, but not enough grip around the sweeping T5 & T11. With better tyres, I'm sure sub 2:50 is within reach. Top speed recorded was 194km/h. Not sure back or front straight. Up 9km/h from last session. Must be because I'm now 10 kilos lighter... hehehe owh, and this time I also removed the spare tyres. Also picked up new skill, trail braking, which I learned in Gran Turismo 4, translated to real-life hehehe

Above pic, our car in the pit. Taken with my new N5610 hehehe Sorry no action shots since we were busy enjoying ourselves on the track. Later at home discovered, my front brake pads and rotors are almost gone now. Only OK for street driving. No more track session with those. Ouch!

But that is nothing compared to this:

Yes, a Scooby caught fire!! Motorsport really is dangerous (and costly!)

Why dude, why?

At a Shell station tonight.

I was queuing behind this Iswara dude filling up his tank. There's another Waja at the pump just behind him, but the Waja's driver was still at the cashier. All other pumps are occupied. So I decided to wait behind the Iswara since the dude is already filling up. A few minutes passed by. The Waja driver has since then returned, fille up his tank and left. The Iswara due is still there, filling-up his tank...

A motorcycle took to the pump after the Waja. He also finished filling up his tank. So I then took that pump. The Iswara dude? Still filling his bloody tank! And now wildly shaking his car and trying all his might to squeeze that last few drops of RON97 into his tank. Even when I have done filling up my tank (all 51.8L of it and also cleaned my rear windscreen at it), left the station, the dude is still at the station. Nwo queuing at the cashier.

That made me thinking, WHY IN THE WORLD DUDE? Why do you need to squeeze that very last few drops into your bloody tank? Is the fuel price going up by 1,000,000% tomorrow? Last time, I check the news, no. In fact it went down. Even if it is going up, it's still not worth that 10 minutes or so pumping that last few drops in. Is he going outstation that he needs that very last few drops to be able to make it to the next station? Dude, if you actually gamble up to that extend, I think you'll do very, very well at Genting. And the last time I check also, petrol stations in Malaysia are quite widely available. And he can always schedule another stop on the way to re-fill if he really needs to. It just left me perplexed. I just can't find a reason for it. If any of you can think of a reason, please tell me why.

If you ask me, dude, you better use that few minutes of your life to pick up and read a non-fictional book or article. At least that'll enrich your knowledge and may be useful to you in the future, much more than you can save by trying to fill your petrol tank to the brim anyway.

MME 2008

Firstly, Happy Independence Day for all Malaysians! Merdeka!


And for the 9th year, we had the Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race at Sepang last night. Being a motorsport fan, made my way there last night to watch the closing stages of the race, with a friend, Fahrein. Since the race was scheduled to end at 11:45PM, so we just planned to reach there at about 9:00PM. No rush.


When we get there, well the crowd is not exactly F1-crowded. But quite a number of enthusiasts were there. Some even with their families along. Great to see that.


What a visual feast on the track! Quite a number of race prepped Porsches are taking part this time. And a few beautiful Aston Martins. Not to mention the various Honda Integra DC5s, Civic FD2Rs, a lone Mitsu Evo 9. And then the ubiqutous Honda EGs, EKs, Satrias, etc.. It was quite a race as well.


When I reached there, the cars had already spent more than 9 hours pounding around the track. And these guys were not exactly taking it lightly! They were at the absolute limit laps after laps after laps! It's really amusing to see each and every car's brake discs to glow into bright red circle at the end of the back straight, at every single lap. That just show how hard these guys were pushing, themselves and the car. I thought only F1 cars have those glowing brakes, but I was wrong.


And then, the aural excitement. I'm not sure of others, but the sound of properly tuned race engines are just like music to my ears. We had the muted scream of highly tuned 4 cylinder N/A engines. Then the deep burble of the Holden and Ford V8s. That was really amusing, adn different. Then the angry bark of the Aston Martin V8 and then the loud scream of the Porsche flat six. Amazing. But the winner in the aural dept to my ears is the high pitch wail of the BMW Z4Ms of the Petronas Syntium team. Sheer pleasure. Sounded almost like an F1 engine. I kid you not! All these cannot be differentiated by watching on TV. As they all sounded the same when recorded. That's why it's still better to be there.


The race eventually was won by Porsche Club Singapore, racing the Porsche 997 RSR. Beating last year's champion, Kencana Petroleum team, also running Porsche 997 RSR. In fact all podium finisher in the Open class were running Porsche RSRs. These were just other-worldly fast around the circuit. Made all the other cars look slow. Including the Aston Martins and the Holden/Ford. Their only match I think was the Z4Ms, but not quite.


But also kudos to team Proton R3 who won Class B with their Satria Neo. A surprise to us, and I believe to many others. In fact, all podium for Class B was won by Proton runners! Amazing.


Next year, it'll be a 24 hours race instead. Can't wait till next year.





Not sure if you can hear this, but here it is anyway. Passing at the front straight.

After the race

The winner