The Night the earth stood still....

The night was still and the road was clear... the plants was dancing with the breeze and the animals were well asleep... until the tremors of the earth shook everything, the earth is moving with the coming rumble... the REDSUNS are here....^^

Last night was a blast... 3 touge machines dishing it out, uhhh although actually only 2 that is playing cat & mouse while the other.... THE MOTHER OF ALL BODY ROLL.... THE SAGA BLM!!!!!!!!!!! OMG xD

We had a new addition to our family member with the initiation of our best pal... Kona, he bought a Proton Satria Neo 1.6 M/T by trading in a brand new Honda City!!! O.o such commitment and waste xD ahhh... the vanity of the touge >.< He calls his Neo the Hidari Olenge!!!!! which literally means "Left Orange" O.o Yeah weird name, but he have his reason which you can see on his blog here.

We started the trip a little late... a little past midnight because Keisuke and I had an appointment with an old friend... then we went to fetch Cloud and he said he wanted to drive his BLM, cool then...


But the journey to Mantin was one heck of a long journey, Cloud was driving so slow I almost fell asleep following behind him >.< Kona who started off from PD where he work arrived earlier than us at the touge and waited beside the grave... he seems to have some kind of creepy thoughts and waiting beside a grave doesn't help xD so he move and waited at the main road xD When we arrived we saw nobody there... so we gave him a call then voila! The Hidari Olenge arrives!!!! ^^

They let the Flying Circus leads on the sweeping run so off we went, the loyal dog was still loyal at his usual hairpin xD and there was some water running across a dangerous hairpin, besides that the sweeping run ended uneventful as also my leading run, although I was quite impress with Hidari Olenge being able to keep up throughout the touge, although I did not push the FC because it was too dark and I was not familiar with the touge >.< Other than a slight oversteer at one hairpin corner, the mouse and cat game ended as quickly as it began, I was just warming up but Kona said he is running out of fuel so he cannot make a second run T.T So Cloud and Kona went ahead to the Petronas Station just a few km from the touge, and Keisuke and I went ahead for some solo run, I was just too scared to push the car through unfamiliar and dark road... so my run was rather unfulfilling >.< But when it comes to Keisuke, he was literally mad... ever since the Flying Circus changed its suspension and made all those repairs this was literally the first time he drove it on the touge... and he was like a mad dog!! O.o He literally dive into a corner overshot and then power over drift all the way through the exit... almost spun, almost hit a wall you name it... he almost did everything!!!! >.< His run was really exciting, the sensation of power over drift... the jumping of the heart when he immediately press the throttle... it was the like car on fire... and I was just wishing when is it going to end? >.< Hahaha... yeah, its been so long I haven't ride shotgun with anyone on the touge I have become a wimp >.< Anyway, Keisuke and I went for just one solo run each... then we head for the Petronas station rendezvous with Cloud and Kona, then we thought of hitting the Bangi Touge and wrap up our night at PutraJaya at our usual bridge^^
So we went to KFC Kajang to stock on our food supply and off we went to Bangi Touge, by the time we were at Bangi it was around 3 am... surprisingly the touge is quite empty.... its just one of those lucky nights^^

After our sweeping run, Keisuke leads while Kona chase with Cloud trying to keep up with the Battle Gears at the back^^

Keisuke was driving like the madman that he is, coupled with the tyre's of the FC heating up and started to slide at almost all the corners... since Bangi consist of only medium and fast speed corners Keisuke immediately made a gap with Kona who is trying hard to keep up with me as shotgun almost half dead T.T

As the first run ended, Keisuke and Kona switch places and off we go again... with Cloud in the background again >.< This time I was riding shotgun with Keisuke, and the car was literally at its grip edge... with Keisuke shoving his nose up Kona's behind it was an exhilarating experience ;-) It was damn fun!!!! With more tyre screeches and lots of steering correction the 2nd run ended in fire!!!!^^ Next was my turn... hehehehe, Bangi is my home ground^^ I remember every hook and nook of this course like the back of my hand, I can push the limit even with limited visibility^^ and literally I did... At the first run, I dive into the MINT corner in the 3rd gear and was way faster than normal speed... the car started to oversteer midway through, I just thought instead of making a steering correction to override the slide... lets try to make a drift through the corner... so I let the car slide some more, next thing I know was that my counter-steer was too slow, the car was inevitable going into a spin xD OMG!!! I spun again at the same corner!!! xD luckily Kona was able to predict that my entry speed was too fast and he avoided hitting me^^ With Cloud arriving after the smoke has settled down^^ I quickly make a 180 to correct the car's direction and off we went again, this time I control the slide, and I was on fire... the car was twitching left and right and I was literally muscling the car through the corner with what grip I have^^ It was damn fun.... and I never did any run as fast as that, apparently Kona got hold up by Cloud's BLM so he immediately disappeared from my rear view mirror, word was Cloud was using the full racing line preventing Kona from making any overtaking maneuver :-p I decided to wait for them at the new traffic light right in the middle of the touge :-O then during the long straight Kona overtook Cloud and off we went again, but I was still on fire mood so after a few corners I lost Kona again but heck we were almost at the end anyway^^ We waited for Cloud to reach the end point and then off we went again for our 2nd run with Kona and me switching place^^ This time I'm the cat with Kona being the mouse^^ it was exiting to be chasing someone on the touge^^ we overtook a couple of civilian cars and ended the 2nd run on blazing hot trail^^

By the time we finished all those high adrenaline action, it was already 4 am... it was getting far too late, and Kona decided to head back home, skipping our usual 'lepak' at the bridge.... so we decided to finish the KFC at Kona's home but when we arrived at the Petronas station Bukit Mahkota, it was close... and Cloud was running low on fuel... so he said he does not want to take any risk and headed back home early T.T

Kona, Keisuke and I finished up the KFC at his home and then we headed back home as well.... since the FC is too loud around the neighborhood I decided to head to the mosque and sleep the night there so that I don't wake up any neighbors ^^
So Keisuke agreed to follow suit and we slept at UPM mosque at 4:50 am O.o
After 1 hour of sleep, I was sweating in the car xD and then we prayed and head back home in the morning^^

That was an exhilarating night, unforgettable... and almost full RedSuns crew... minus Turbo Jr who was on a date >.<

Hopefully with the FC back at full health and my holiday is still long way from over, we might be making these kind of touge frenzies more often until the end of the year^^

But until next time^^ peace....

The Flying Circus is back in town!!!!

After a week of absence finally the Flying Circus is back...
(By the way, the Shirui Suisei now has a second official nickname... the FLYING CIRCUS!!!! xD due to its new colour theme^^ based on the Air Division of the German Ace Baron Von Ritchtofen who is also known as the Red Baron during World War 1 ;-)

Apparently last week we were having some "FUN" time with the car, donuts and 180!!!^^
But after that we notice there was a leak from the engine bay, at first it look like water and we thought the car was spitting water from the radiator again... and I thought, oh boy... there goes the engine's water seals >.< Then after some few more rounds of fun I checked the liquid that is leaking under the car and it was OIL!!!! O.o OMG!!!!! The engine oil is leaking... and fast!!!! That quickly cut our fun time short xD I quickly took the car back to our house and halfway through the oil level warning pops up O.o When we reached our house and I checked the oil level it was near to Low level T.T I thought we blew a gasket or something because there were some few moments during the fun time that we accidentally over rev the engine T.T Then I had to go back to Kemaman for some official work for a week, all throughout the week I was just having my thoughts on the Flying Circus.... I thought I had blew the car T.T Then when I came back, had to draw some cash from the Petrol Rebate xD and then towed the FC to the workshop.... luckily the tow truck man still remembers me and my home ^^ hahahhhahaha he seem to have gotten use to towing the Flying Circus xD At the workshop I explained what had happen and they check the oil level was completely dry.... so Hau (our trusted mechaninc^^) gave a thorough check of the engine and found the leak to be at the oil cooler hose.... fuh, that was a relief^^

After changing the hose and top up with some oil treatment and of course engine oil the Flying Circus is back to life^^

Hahahahahahha... finally the nights of fire is calling us again... Touge here we come!!!^^

And here's a cool pic of a beautiful FD parked at the workshop...


And a track car FC, looks like a killer^^ wonder when it will finish^^





To finish off, here's a pic of my adorable kitten having some nap xD

Karting in Rain is fun!!! ^^

YEAH!!! Finally my course here in France is over.... and everytime its over that means only one thing.... Go-Karting!!!! ^^

Hehehehe.... and it was a great time to Go-Kart as well, Autumn always brings freezing rain... and today was no exception...

I mentioned in the previous post about my previous Go-Kart experience here in the dry, and the Go-Kart grip level was not very much desirable... good for drifting, but hard for time attack...

And now in the rain.... the day before one of my friend played the Go-Kart in the rain and he warn how low the grip level can be... he was literally spinning all around the circuit, and they make us wear funny Pentium like clothes xD

So I was cautious... the day was freezing and when the Go-Kart officials started our Karts I noticed that they tune up the instructors Kart... probably to make sure he wins... or probably just my negative suspicion xD

Anyway, during the familiarization of the track... I was the only one to spun since everyone was driving slowly while I was just trying to assess the grip limit of the Kart... and its low... very low :(

And when they released us for the qualifying laps I was trying to push and assess the limits of the Kart... experimenting on lines and braking & throttle techniques... and I found that the Kart understeer badly at the entry and oversteer happy at the exits....

The tyres locks too easily and spin out of grip too fast... the grip level was really bad... I even spun at straightaways after a hard braking... a 360 spin but was able to recover without running off track...

Before the end of the qualifying times I was able to make a clean lap and scored myself a pole position... 3 seconds faster than my instructor who is 2nd^^


hehehe... in the rain it's more about skills xD

I found out that I need to be gentle on the brake at the entry and progressively braking hard until the entry where I let the back end locks for a moment to make a quick turn and initiate a drift... and stabbing the throttle to control my grip level and make sure my drift angle is small and neutral counter steer for maximum exit speed....

I need to constantly stab the throttle because the Go-Kart Throttle paddle setting is to put power immediately or none at all... it was hard to progressively control the throttle like Micheal Schumacher xD

Anyway, when the race started I got off to a clean start and slowly building up a healthy lead... until the last series of corners where I notice everyone behind me spun at the corners because before it was a long straightaway and everyone seem to have misjudge the braking point and miss the late apex xD

After that it was safe cruising for me... I was a healthy 30 seconds ahead even up to the point I almost lost concentration and accidentally drift the Kart... luckily I was able to catch it and it was the wake up call for me...

I started to push hard and started to catch up to the back enders^^ hehehehe.... with some fancy overtaking maneuver and avoiding spinning Karters xD I was able to lap everyone on the track up to the no.3rd guy^^

There was this one moment where I was about to lap 2 back enders battling for position.... I was able to exit the corner faster and caught up to them on the straights.... as I positioned myself on the outside to take the next corner I noticed I have just miss the braking point.... SHIT!!! I started to brake while trying to maneuver to the inside.... I had to avoid the apex to avoid hitting the guy in front of me... and ended up understeering into the corner... I started to lock the brakes to make the car turn and catch the back before I spun... a couple of locks and catches and I was able to make through the corner and pass the 2 back enders^^


In the end I ended the race with my 2 instructors 2nd and 3rd respectively^^ Although it was quite a haphazard to race in the rain with almost everyone spinning in the circuit but all in all it was entertaining and it thought me a lot about adapting to the grip limit of the Kart^^ lalalalala~~~~

Below is the time result of our race^^ I was number 25 ;)

GTR WINS!!!!!!

Yay!!!! The GTR wins on its debut year!!! ^^ BANZAI!!!!! BANZAI!!!!!



The #23 Xanavi Nismo GTR won the drivers championship although sadly it missed out on the team championship which was won by Petronas Toyota Team Tom's :-(



The #12 Calsonic Impul GTR won the Round 9 of the Super GT held at Fuji Speedway with Xanavi Nismo GTR was only able to finish 9th but pick up just enough point to win the drivers championship!!! \(^^)/

The GTR's won 7 out of 9 round all in all, not bad for a debut year^^
But the Petronas Tom's SC430 is just too consistent that although they did not won any round but were able to bag the team's championship title =.=
That Juichi Wakisaka is still that consistently fast >.<
The RE-Amemiya RX-7 did badly in GT300 so I did not take any note of it T.T
They won the 1st round but throughout the year their performance have just been spiraling down.... self destruct to be more extreme xD

Here is a summary result of the SuperGT for GT500, GTR fans... enjoy^^

Round 1 (Suzuka 300km) :
1 - #23 Xanavi Nismo GTR
2 - #22 Motul Autech GTR
3 - #36 Petronas Tom's SC430

Round 2 (Okayama 300km):
1 - #23 Xanavi Nismo GTR
2 - #12 Calsonic Impul GTR
3 - #1 Arta NSX

Round 3 (Fuji 500km) :
1 - #38 Zent Cerumo SC430
2 - #36 Petronas Tom's SC430
3 - #18 Takata Dome NSX

Round 4 (Sepang GT) :
1 - #24 Woodone Advan Clarion GTR
2 - #22 Motul Autech GTR
3 - #18 Takata Dome NSX

Round 5 (Sugo 300km) :
1 - #18 Takata Dome NSX
2 - #35 Houzan Kraft SC430
3 - #38 Zent Cerumo SC430

Round 6 (Suzuka 1000km) :
1 - #12 Calsonic Impul GTR
2 - #100 Raybrig NSX
3 - #36 Petronas Tom's SC430

Round 7 (Motegi 300km) :
1 - #3 Yellow Hat YMS Tomica GTR
2 - #1 ARTA NSX
3 - #36 Petronas Tom's SC430

Round 8 (Kyushu 300km) :
1 - #23 Xanavi Nismo GTR
2 - #32 Epson NSX
3 - #1 Arta NSX

Round 9 (Fuji 300km) :
1 - #12 Calsonic GTR
2 - #38 Zent Cerumo SC430
3 - #6 Eneos SC430

And just for GTR fans, click on the picture below is short summary history of the GTR^^

Equation of life...

Hahahhahaha its been awhile since I last posted, lots of work... no interesting activities...

Not like this post now is that we have any interesting outings or anything, its just I'm bored like heck and something funny I have to show around ^^

The equation of life, somehow its quite true... although its just a joke, not meant to offend anyone hahahahhaha

Shiro Suisei updated

This is for Ryosuke who's at Kemaman working his butt off.. X-D here's the new pics of shiro suisei bro.. :-) with all the new added accessories.. :-p



The front left side-molding... :-p notice the colour contrast.. X-p





The left skirting... Notice the skirting at the front fender is also different than the skirting's colour.. :-p i didn't took any pictures, but there are some decals on the front fender, endless and yokohama.. X-p



The left rear side-molding...


The rear view.. those lights are finally ours :-p we're not borrowing it from Hau anymore... notice that the number plate is a little bit different... Hau had placed a Mark 5 plate housing replacing the previous one... if you don't like it, we can always change it back.. :-p




The missing right rear side-molding..



The front right side-molding..



The right skirting and side molding...




The new "old" bucket seat... :-p





The interior...




The cockpit with the new meters... I placed a chamois cloth at the foot area to absorb all the water contained there... X-p



The new meters...



This is the top right corner of the engine bay (passenger side), the arrows shows the water flow..



The water flows into the engine bay...



Into the hole...




This is where the water drips into the cabin... that is the wire to the meter...



The engine bay..



Notice the sensor wire for the meter... :-)

Well, that's it for the shiro suisei... i'll probably be bringing it to hau next week to get that leaking problem fixed.. i'll try to get the roadtax renewed this week :-p



LOL

Managing understeers...

Ok, this is an interesting discussion i found while browsing through touge king's vast archive... :-p here's what they have to say about managing understeers... (copied it from the comments at touge king's blog at http://tougeking.blogspot.com/2008/05/lessons-for-us-touge-crash-for-others.html)

Anonymous said...

"Its not the fault of "understeer".

Undesteer is the product of the issue of the driver misjudging thier entry speed and the traction they have.Yanking the handbrake will NOT help if you already have too much speed. You will just throw the car into a 4 wheel slide and off the road.

In fact, i do not recommend it. If you understeer, usually you'd be better off just to hit the amco barrier. putting the car into a 4 wheel slide might cause it to flip... and not mentioning trying to correct for the e-brake induced oversteer might result in an even more dangerous snap oversteer.

Imagine this, you have no front grip. locking the rear will cause the rear to not have grip as well. If you do not have enough lateral force when you pull the ebrake, you are not going to be able to rotate.

So it depends, but from experience, usually it wont work. Handbrake induced oversteer only works very late into the turn, which means you are already generating significant lateral force for it to rotate.

In order for that to happen in the first place, you need to have enough front end grip to get there. As for camber settings, tail happy FWDs are fine if you are quick enough to correct for snap oversteer or oversteer on braking. Bottom line, you'd still be stuck in a craphole if you go in too fast.

Try this the next time you understeer. turn your wheel back to centre and trail brake in (to transfer weight to the front). Then when the front starts to bite, only then you start to turn again.This is the proper way we all learnt at track school and it works.

The logic behind this method, is that a car understeers when the front slip angle exceeds the available lateral traction of your tyres. Trying to reduce the slip angle will restore front traction. Most people make the mistake of doing the opposite. Most will instictively turn even more during an understeer event only leads to more slip angle and even less grip.

Notice some of them were at full lock and car wont turn? So for FWD drivers....Better start showing up at advance track school to learn these techniques..... hehehe

Han once asks how I could maintain such a high constant grip thoughtout a turn. This is because driving smoothly allows the car to settle on its suspension and maintain constant grip. Turning too quickly leads to excessive front slip angle and cause understeer. Braking too late is also an issue as you already know about the "traction circle".

JC."

azuri said...

"I agree with what JC and erm said. My car has no ABS as well (plus i don't think that I like ABS at all - LOL).

adjusting the steering back to it's centerline and trail braking is another way to get back the traction on the front end before we have to turn again. After all it still rely on the speed before entering the corner, weight shifting, steering works and throttle control. This is actually has become my habits during touge sessions - Seriously i dunno wether it's a good thing or bad. (please light me up guys).

I have one video of me understeered in bukit tinggi downhill. it was a kind of high speed turn and my car speed was at around 120 - 130 km/h. I correct the understeer using my 'self thought' reflection and thank god i am safe. The speed drops from there to 60-70 km/h and i have to kick up again..

I will post the video soon.please help me light my way guys as understeer is a nightmare to most driver and the worse part of it, most of the time it occurs, it is unpredictable... "

Touge King said...

"Interesting discussion :)!

Jeremy's advice:"turn your wheel back to centre and trail brake in (to transfer weight to the front). Then when the front starts to bite, only then you start to turn again."

This is very good IF you have a wide run-off. That's the proper thing to do for understeer correction.

However, on the touge, when there is very little run-off, there is no time for weight transfer.

Bottom-line, don't over speed into a corner...God bless us all!"

So hopefully with that we all can avoid an untimely demise at the bottom of some dark ravenous abyss... X-p ARRGH!! The FC's in the workshop again T.T can't wait for the engine swap to be done with X-) gotta get some real touge dosage... X-)