Another day in history

Yup, my fortunes just keeps getting better and better ^^ eventhough i keep digging deeper and deeper into poverty X-p haha...

a senior colleague of mine have been prowling the market for an Evo... he wants the latest evo he can find that is within his budget, 120k... and that'd be an evo 7...

He finally got it over the weekend, and brought it over to the office today :-) and i must say, it's quite a find ^^



The awe-inspiring Evo...


Pingu making a model fit to turn eyes sore... X-p


Everyone's all over the beast... :-p (the vinyl on the evo says: "Spirit of competition" ^^ lovely words indeed... what is evolution without competition? :-p)

The car is pretty completely modded, any further would probably require internal modifications that would be both extreme and costly... it's got aftermarket parts all over the place, hks intercooler, apexi fc commander ecu, rsm, brembo brakes, single-plate racing clutch, exhaust-God-knows-what and etc X-p

I jumped at the opportunity of taking the car out for a ride X-p and what a ride it was... the speedometer was still the stock 180kph, but with a car like that, that narrow band of speed limitation is just another number... X-p

My much respected senior colleague drove us into the Duke highway (our usual proving grounds :-p) and stopped by the roadside...

I was so eager to get started, that i didn't really adjust my seat properly :-p the clutch, being a single-plated clutch, is heavy and quick to grab the flywheel... the evo started off slow, and with a tap of the throttle, launches itself forward...

There's no dramatic sudden kick-in-the-butt turbo boost or anything like that, the ride's pretty smooth, and the rev just keeps on pulling until its 7k redline... and with pretty closed gear-ratios, and a really nice short shift, shifting through the gears up till top gear is a real breeze, and before you know it, your speedometer is already knocking the wall... :-p

the glare of the sun blocks the view of the RSM, so i never knew how fast i was going, but on a highway with decent sparsity of traffic, one can make an intelligent guess that over 200 kph is not unreasonable.. :-p

We had probably hit 250kph, and the car just seems to keep on going O.o but unlike Hanz's former superb neo (cruising at 200++ kph was a real breeze, and comfortable and quite enough to enjoy his In-car entertainment system) the evo just abused us with its wonderfully blaring exhaust note... X-p not that i'm complaining... :-p

The clutch being a racing clutch, catches the flywheel without any slip... so for noobs such as myself, it requires a certain finesse (that i have not attained :-p) to change gears without the car lurching...

The powerband of the evo is so wide, that the torque just keeps on coming from even quite a low rpm... perhaps as low as 3000 rpm, and it just keeps on going until the redline... :-p having a very wide powerband, it makes rev-matching quite difficult... X-(

Say for example i was running in 3rd at say 3000 rpm, and down-shifted into 2nd, I would need to rev-match the revs up to close to the redline to make sure the shifting is smooth... any lower than that, then the revs would be too low and the car would lurch forward, trying to force match the engine speed and the wheel speed...

Such a car would make machine-gun downshifting (as i would call it X-p) possible only under very hard braking, where speed is scrubbed off at a blistering speed, faster than the eyes could bulge out X-p

The brakes on that Evo is phenomenal O.O it employs aftermarket racing brembo brakes (noticeable from the screech of the pads when the car is stopping, bcoz the exhaust wouldn't bother in the background X-p) thus one can expect nothing less in stopping power...

The car is quite balanced :-) I could scrape off excess speed as fast as i could pile them on the speedometer X-p such characteristics would be pretty handy on the touge ('~,)

The only qualm i have on the car is the power-steering... if there is a weak link, that would be it... and what a weak link it is :-( with all the entry and exit speed that car is capable of, it's rendered useless by the disappointing steering...

The power-steering is not speed sensitive (i don't know whether stocks are like that or that was purposely made by the previous owner) thus it remains light and detached even when running at excess of 200++ kph O.O now that's a thought to really scare the bejeepers out of me.. X-p sadly i noticed that only when i was taking a turn while running in excess of 200++ kph X-p

While going straight, i noticed there's hardly any feedback from the steering, which i attributed to perhaps the stability of the car and the smoothness of the highway surface... but that trait rears its ugly head in a turn, and really caught me wetting my pants... X-p

It completely takes out the fun in the car.. :-( you don't know whether you're running at the limit of the car and its tyres or not... and before you know it, the tyres are squealing, and THERE'S NOTHING FROM THE STEERING TELLING ME THAT!!! O.O

I felt i could push on, but the tyres are telling me otherwise, while the car's computers were making algorithms that would shame even Einstein in trying to keep me from getting into a mess X-p and in all that, the steering tells me only nothing... it's so detached, the car suddenly feels like a luxurious beemer O.o (not that i've ever driven one before X-p) it feels sedated, it feels detached, it feels unnatural, it feels.... luxurious... X-p

That really took the wind out of the whole excitement of driving that wonderful piece of tuning history... :-( and a pity that is... i've pointed it out to my senpai, hopefully he'll see to it soon ^^

That kind of feedback with that kind of speed would definitely kill someone eventually... hopefully my thoughts are untrue, and the truth is far from it... God-forbid... apart from that, i can't wait to have the old lady back and join the crew X-)

the cast is ready, time for the show to begin X-) arr...
shiver me timbers... X-D

The beast is alive!!!

The engine swap is finally done ^^ so i went to our mechanic today to have a look at the old lady with a monstrous heart :-p here's the vid of her coming alive ^^



All that's left is to tune her up :-) we'll got a new exhaust system installed, with piping 3.8' O.O the injectors are 850cc for the 2 top injectors... the bottom 2 injectors are 550cc a piece... (whatever all that means X-p)

Our mechanic will take it for dyno testing next week, hopefully i can make it ^^

here's the pics of the new engine :-)





And here's the new side skirt for ryo's consideration :-p

It's basically a lot bigger than the original side skirt, and it fits in with the bumper...

A day marked in History

This day, the 7th of June, the year 2010, shall forever be marked in the pages of my life's history.... :-)

I came to work this morning for the sole purpose of focusing on getting a job done, i have a deadline coming up soon and i'm not sure i could make it... Come what may, i have to make it... :-p but today, it is not to be...

One of my bosses came in today, with a car much desired by many, a car that took the world by storm which TopGear had succinctly summarized as a car that creates a whole new yardstick... It is the world famous, porsche killer, NISSAN GTR X-D

The boss knows that i like cars :-) i love fast cars X-) and i definitely adore the GTR X-p the Skyline has always been my first love in the world of motorsports (thanks to Shuto Kousoku Trial max and its cool R33 for that :-p) and though i may never own a GTR (it's too expensive for the touge X-p) I simply simply drool over it X-p'

i've been telling him stories of my adventures, of how i trailed an M3 beemer through the touge, how i was beaten by a Neo twice on a downhill X-p (there's no two ways about that :-p), how i've often take fancies up the hills of Genting and etc ^^ and i've always told him that once the circus comes out of the woodwork, I'd take him on all our adventures, and how we're going to have a great time X-) bcoz my boss also like cars, loves fast cars, and fell in love at first sight to the GTR :-p

It was totally unexpected when he came in the office with the GTR... i spent a good 10 minutes just admiring it :-p then came the afternoon lunch time, he came looking for me and asked whether i'd join him for lunch and meet up a client... He asked me whether i'd want to drive the GTR, an offer i cannot refuse X-p I dropped everything, and went straight out X-p

At first i drove slowly through the streets of KL, not wanting to scrape this phenomenal piece of technical human engineering :-p whilst the gear in Auto mood, i cruise down the street, wary of the GTR's bulky size, dreading every motorcyclist that whizzed by, and couldn't help notice the sheer weight of the car... driving it in such a way really makes it feel like any other ordinary expensive luxury sedan, more towards a hi-tech beemer than a mechanical Merc though... :-p a true everyday supercar...

Once we had our lunch and meeting, i suggested to take a drive through the touge of Ampang Hill X-p just for a quick review of its cornering characteristics... i couldn't imagine how a 285 tyre on a 20' rim feels like... X-p

Along the way, the ride feels a bit rough, the suspension, being a sportscar, couldn't help but be on a bit firmer side of stuffs... even when it's not in racing mode... but it's something anyone can live with :-) it's a GTR for God's sake, not a plush rolls royce X-p

we filled up the gas, and headed for the touge X-) once we got there, i let her rip... The GTR tears through the touge like a hot knife through melting swiss chess X-p bcoz i was so eager, i forgot to turn the gears into manual mode (where those cool shifter paddles would definitely come in handy ^^) and literally ripped through the first leg of the uphill course in Auto X-p the torque was mind boggling O.O with a tap of the gas, the car just launches itself into space and, dare i say, time itself X-p suddenly you don't feel like you're driving a bulky, expensive, luxurious sedan, but a lightweight, super-torquey performance machine X-p the engine power was SO GREAT...

Once we reached the look out point, i got held up by some traffic... and took time to take stock of the car... i've placed the suspension into racing mood (i didn't turn off the traction control bcoz i wouldn't want to trash another car which costs half a million moolahs X-p) before tearing the touge apart, and though the car's ride is firm, it's still comfortable... The stiffness of the chassis is phenomenal... There is virtually no body roll... well, perhaps bcoz i was never even close to the limit of the monster yet :-p

This time, it's time to test the famous self-rev matching twin-clutch gearbox :-p i put the gears into manual, and open the throttle... The rev wasn't so aggressive at low revs, but i think once it enters into 3000 (or perhaps 4000) rpm range, the torque kicks in, and the car just launch like a giant rocket O.O Suddenly the corner comes in so fast, that i just kick the brakes in in sheer terror X-p

and the brakes, my God... the brakes on the GTR is SO sensitive, that every slight modulation of pressure or jaggedness of touch reverberates through the brakes... It made me notice how rough my left foot braking is, that i had to switch to braking with my usual right foot to smoothen the braking process... X-p such is a noob that i am...

And it's so powerful, that i've never actually pressed hard on the brake... a slight touch could shave off the speeds so fast, that i often ended up braking too early and going in the turn too slow X-p a noob at the wheel... i could just go fast on the straights, and cower through the turns.. X-p

The touge ends so fast when you have such a ultimate car to tear it apart with X-p i couldn't help but to say to my boss, with this kind of car, he can keep up with anybody on the touge :-p by just the sheer brute power of that beast called the GTR...

I turned the car, and make another run for it X-) i just love how the torque kicks in, launching the car as if somebody had just booted you at the back X-p it feels like being strapped into a rocket pack :-p

The body rigidity is so stiff, that there's hardly any weight shifting around, even when going downhill O.O the car feels very neutral through the turns and it's really a point-and-shoot affair :-p The only difference you feel going through the uphill and downhill is the brakes.. it takes a tad bit longer for the brakes to shave off those excess speeds going downhill, owing to the fact that the car is really a heavy car for the touge... i guess nothing beats simple physics :-p

But that was just a simple first impression, i actually hardly pushed the car, and was no where near the limit... i cannot imagine the speed i would have to go through if i were to test the car at its limits at the touge... it'd definitely be the scariest thing i'll ever experience i suppose X-p

One thing that disappoints me a bit is the auto rev-matching gearbox... the downshifting was not as smooth as i had hoped, as i could still feel the car jerk whenever i downshift at high RPMs... i was expecting a silky smooth downshift with the sweet accompanying roar of the engine to match the revs, but the jerk through the tranny is really heart sinking... I guess nothing matches the good old skills of a perfect heel-toe downshifting :-p (of course i never get that right either X-p)

But apart from that, the speed of the gear change is PHENOMENAL.. it feels as if you're playing those arcade games rather than driving an actual car X-p

The steering was perfect, it is weighted really nicely, that you can feel the firmness of the tyres on the road, but light enough to make turning the wheel a breeze rather than a chore, yet not too light as to make it feel disconnected from the wheels...

You can sense every bit of rock on the road, yet feel the information sent to you very gently and subtly, rather than giving a punch at the back of your kidneys :-p Those seats hugged me just nicely, while being comfortable to boot...

I can never run out of praises for the car :-p (and can never stop smiling silly the whole evening as well X-p) and words can never give justice to my wonderful experience with the GTR today... Truly i felt i am blessed to be given the opportunity to drive such a wonderful piece of human achievement ^^

As for my boss's first experience through the touge, he kept quite when i blasted up and down the touge (and just listen to my pathetic oohs and aahs admiring the car's tourque, brakes, handling etc X-p), so i thought he was fine... when we got to the office though, he said he was saying his prayers when i was lost in the frenzy X-p Well, even though i didn't really stepped on it (literally) but still the speed was really excessive X-p even first time at the wheels of a GTR, i felt as though i've gone faster than i ever will be in the FC :-p such is the vast difference of heaven and earth.. X-p

As for that, i cannot wait for the FC to come out of the woodwork, and then we'll be really having fun with a GTR in our midst X-)

As for the FC, here's a little update :-)

We've recently purchased (under sever influence X-p) another half-cut X-p haha... this one comes equipped with full aftermarket parts, and a HUGE turbo O.O one that scares the living daylights out of me by just looking at it X-p it comes with a Power FC Ecu unit and Cusco 2-way adjustable suspensions as well... If my ears were still working, i heard that the injectors are 850cc a piece O.O now that's going to be a real gas guzzler X-p the pictures ain't pretty though :-p

Heart cavity repainted...

Well, i've just came back from visiting the Old Lady in the hospital yesterday... She just had her engine bay repainted :-) a certain golden shade... sadly, it's the same colour as all the other cars at our house X-p



















And the fist-sized hole were patched up for free ^^


And the rest of the junk were stashed in the car for storage purposes X-p a major interior work gotta be done after this... :-p



And cloud has dreams that comes in two wheels... X-p



Well, even i'm losing sleep over something like this... X-p'

Circus updates^^

It seems Hanz Neo has taken its flight to orbit... its been written off as total lost and will never see the lights of day again, neither will we see its head lights in our rear view mirror as well :P

He had a few great options as his choices, and attempts as much as we did we could never sway him to see the light :P

Hanz being a complete nerdy petrol head as all of us, he decided to ditch the Alfa!!! o.O

He claims the Alfa didnt catch his heart, soul and passion... but a Neo does... o.O

Neo CPS to be exact... and its already under the knife for that extra kick.

It seems now that he have become one of our great rivals, it seems the stage is set for a great battle ahead.

Hanz never had the luxury to kick my pride in the dirt with his old Neo like he did to Kei, but now he's preparing just for that... even his talks sounds a little cocky now xD

But as the case is, now he has chosen a Neo CPS as his base car... and in his own words :

"Yeah.the chasis has been improve..I'm gettin a new neo.with a fiery heart too.n 10 k worth of mods already standing by.n yes I will still use a good ol campro!!!"

"Plus some of the good stuf from the old neo will be thrown in too"

"The neo cps has a revised chassis width n length to overcome..ehem the old problem"

"N I will still put more bars than pudu jail in it N make it faster than its predecessor"

"I'll be ready for ya"

Interesting how things will turn out, I'm really looking forward as how he will mod his new Soul Mate^^

As for the Old Lady, she's still in the operating room.... we just found a big gaping heart stopping fist size hole right under the drivers side underbody...

Guess 20 odd years has not been nice to her =.=

Will need to patch that up before going any further north.

As for the rest of her body stiching, it seems the doctor have a pair of steady hands^^

She now have more stiches on her than Frankenstein... all in the pursuit of youth... I mean chasis rigidity:P

Hopefully she'll regain her fiery young body she posesssed long ago that captured the hearts of million, and back to winning ways.

The mods we're doing on her is getting quite serious, she's turning into a street legal track car... and she is becoming more and more a carbon copy of our friendly mechanic Hau's Track oriented FC :P

These mods will certainly burn a huge hole in my wallet, and I still need to save up some more for some serious black wall... RE-01 is what I'm waking up to in the morning, but unless me being financially ready to take the plunge... I'll have to make way for more options >.<

From our timeline we're seing the Battle Gears being ready in probably one or two month time, hopefully when both our Gears are ready to the starting line, under the moonlight, Tekali will once again be abuse to the sound of horsepower!!!^^

Until then, what have we addrenaline addict RedSuns junkie have been up to... well we've gone to some outdoor adventures that is almost as dangerous as our twilight escapades... I think :p

Beating our self half dead climbing down under a bridge and have a dip so close to the dam that the water level can change in a matter of minutes...

Beating our self half dead by going Parkour without any real training :P

Cloud went to study the mysteries of Physics >.<

 And we went to some touge session with really crappy cars (Kembara, Kia Spectra, etc) that I almost slept in the car >.<

And also a hearty congratulations to our best friend Pimal for his wedding^^

May you be among those lucky ones to enjoy the blissful marriage life until death do their part ;)

 

And as I mentioned before, 'tis being a season of aplenty... we found another beautiful, original R34 GTR V-spec which have just had a visit with the friendly roadside kerbs... >.<

From what I heard... the initial quote to patch up this rare beauty would be around 30k... since it had a direct hit to the chasis main frame o.O

The whole engine and transmission is now aback by a few inches... the 6-speed GETRAG transmission is confirmed to be dead... just hope the RB26 DETT is still intact.... if not one of those babies could cost a whopping 15k!!! o.O

I just hope this beauty won't be scrape... its such a pity :(

Operation Revival

Well I guess the Old Lady in hospital is old news by now.

But just to fill in some gaps, here are some pics of what happened to the Flying Circus.

Keisuke became over-excited with the new-found grip the Old Lady has with those new Roll-Cage, and without noticing it he has jumped over the limit.... he hit the Tekali mountain side, thank God no one was badly hurt as the Old Lady hit the mountain side with such Teutonic impact.

The Old Lady went out quite rather spectacular, Keisuke overspeeds into a corner... the car started drifting, and next thing he knows is that he ran out of tarmac xD
The car was drifting sideways over the ditch, the backend hit the mountain, making the front end in turn kissing the mountain and pushed back the car back over the ditch facing the wrong way xD

Her chasis was so bend that she literally became like a Boomerang xD

The impact was so strong that it took off both side of the rear side skirts o.O

And a crack on the right side of the car o.O

Miraculously the plate number and both the spot light survived the crash undamaged xD
And tear off completely the rear bumper....

There goes our FEED muffler xD

And made a hole at our spare tyre place :P

The doors can't shut and they had to use the best human technology ever invented... the Gaffo tape xD

But now the Old Lady is recuperating at our trusted mechanic's garage :P

We have just finished pulling her chasis straight, even better than before.... we had to cut a front section of the nose and replace it with a half-cut that fortunately just arrived from Japan^^
That front section was twisted in so many ways that it is non-salvageable, but other than that the Old Lady is doing just fine.

Since I will be needing to get a new body kit for her, and with an offer I cannot resist from our trusted mech friend^^... we installed a wide body kit for the Old Lady too, now she looks so fat that her old image looks rather tame, and those old tires have to go out.... 16" is no longer big enough for the tire well, I guess I have to go either 17" or 18" after this o.O
And also the width tire most likely I'll go for is 245, I hope even that can fill the void of those tire well :P

 Just for comparison... the images of the Old Lady before and after her cosmetic surgery xD

The Old Lady showing signs of her Flying Circus DNA :P

But the Old Lady is still a works in progress, we'll be taking off those wide body kit for awhile after this and send her to do some spot welding before we re-install the roll-cage, and this time we'll need to cushioned the roll-cage to avoid the injuries Keisuke and one of our other Neo friends (uhh... dont know his name >.<) suffered during their last incursion ^^ Oddly enough, it seems these past few months has been a season of aplenty..... accidents :P The Old Lady, Hanz total lost Neo, his brother got into one, Zid got into one... and even our mech friend got into one also >.<...
His FC front section was totally wreck, he crashed it while doing some drift session... spun out and the guy at the back hit him head on o.O

 Hau's extreme track car FC in the hospital with the Old Lady :P

So I think, I'm the only lucky one to have gotten through this 'aplenty' season unscathed... or maybe that has got to do with the fact that I was not even in Malaysia when all of these happened xD