Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Behaviour
Apparently some members of a certain car group which I shall not say here think some of my responses in their forum in comparison or reference with what I've done to the SP to be boastful and offensive. My response to this is "Too Bad and I'm Outta Here!". I speak from experience so if you think this is offensive then my apologies but I'm not going to change my very direct style and way for your sake. This has been a good key learning so in future I'll be very very careful with the advice or response that I dish out especially in car group forums. Better to blabber around in my own blog..
Monday, June 19, 2006
Porn Mags
Was in KL last weekend when I decided to drop by my favourite Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya located in Isetan KLCC. Have not been to Kino in close to a year so this was going to be a big one. 1 hour later and RM130+ poorer, I came out with a happy smile and 2 Jap "porn" mags. The latest Lancer Evo magazine - volume 27 and also the Autosport 2006 Super GT Official Guidebook. Pix of mags below including 2 mags which every hardcore modder and engineer should not do without. If you want to know about technology on race cars (not show cars) and the racing industry, beg, borrow or steal your regular supply of Racecar Engineering and Racetech. There are practically zero pictures of scantilly clad women in these mags so for those who like this sort of stuff, get Super Street. And these mags are in Engrish as they're from the UK! Both mags are published monthly.
Nissan 350Z GT Racecar featured in the Autosport 2006 Super GT Official Guidebook. There are detailed tech reports of all the 3 GT500 class works cars (Toyota, Nissan and Honda) including comparison of aero changes done from 2005 to 2006 models.
2 more mags which I consider essential if you own a Japanese car or a Jap car wannabee like earlier Protons would be the Option and Option 2 mags. These are essential mags which showcase the Jap mod industry and latest "trends" in JDM car mod world. Pix of mags below. Both Option and Option 2 are published monthly and are available in any language so long as it's Japanese.
Another Japanese language mag which is considered a bible is the Hyper Rev series. Each volume caters to a specific generation of model and most popular performance cars such as Lancer Evo, Subaru Impreza, Nissan Skyline, Sylvia, Toyota Supra, etc. etc. are covered. The mag will detail the car and also there's coverage on show cars from popular Jap speedshops. In addition the mag will also detail all the performance and show parts available for the particular car being covered. Really essential reference material if you want to mod your popular Jap car. Pix below of the volumes of the mag.
Again it's solely in Japanese. Speaking of which I have one copy of a volume I don't need. Subaru Impreza must have sounded a wee bit too much like Subaru Legacy in Japlish and one of my Jap Bros got me the wrong mag when he went home to Japan recently. I now have a Hyper Rev mag on the Subaru Legacy which I do not need. Any takers? The mag is in mint condition. Pix below. Give me an offer!
I have the majority of the cars which I favour including Evos, Imprezas, Integras, Civics and even the Levin/Trueno. Call me if you're in Penang and need a quick reference. No stains on the mags pls.
There are many other great Jap mags out there and really it would take me too much time to cover them all. Mags such as the Lancer EVO series, Impreza Magazine, VTEC Sports, Club Skyline, etc. all cover the latest and greatest of a particular Jap performance car. They are mostly from the same publisher in Japan called News Publishing. You can order direct if you're too lazy to go to Kinokuniya but you will need a fax. The web page has an Engrish order form which you'll have to print out, fill in what mags you would like to order and then fax to them. They don't entertain e-mail unfortunately. Happy Reading and Learning Jap!
Nissan 350Z GT Racecar featured in the Autosport 2006 Super GT Official Guidebook. There are detailed tech reports of all the 3 GT500 class works cars (Toyota, Nissan and Honda) including comparison of aero changes done from 2005 to 2006 models.
2 more mags which I consider essential if you own a Japanese car or a Jap car wannabee like earlier Protons would be the Option and Option 2 mags. These are essential mags which showcase the Jap mod industry and latest "trends" in JDM car mod world. Pix of mags below. Both Option and Option 2 are published monthly and are available in any language so long as it's Japanese.
Another Japanese language mag which is considered a bible is the Hyper Rev series. Each volume caters to a specific generation of model and most popular performance cars such as Lancer Evo, Subaru Impreza, Nissan Skyline, Sylvia, Toyota Supra, etc. etc. are covered. The mag will detail the car and also there's coverage on show cars from popular Jap speedshops. In addition the mag will also detail all the performance and show parts available for the particular car being covered. Really essential reference material if you want to mod your popular Jap car. Pix below of the volumes of the mag.
Again it's solely in Japanese. Speaking of which I have one copy of a volume I don't need. Subaru Impreza must have sounded a wee bit too much like Subaru Legacy in Japlish and one of my Jap Bros got me the wrong mag when he went home to Japan recently. I now have a Hyper Rev mag on the Subaru Legacy which I do not need. Any takers? The mag is in mint condition. Pix below. Give me an offer!
I have the majority of the cars which I favour including Evos, Imprezas, Integras, Civics and even the Levin/Trueno. Call me if you're in Penang and need a quick reference. No stains on the mags pls.
There are many other great Jap mags out there and really it would take me too much time to cover them all. Mags such as the Lancer EVO series, Impreza Magazine, VTEC Sports, Club Skyline, etc. all cover the latest and greatest of a particular Jap performance car. They are mostly from the same publisher in Japan called News Publishing. You can order direct if you're too lazy to go to Kinokuniya but you will need a fax. The web page has an Engrish order form which you'll have to print out, fill in what mags you would like to order and then fax to them. They don't entertain e-mail unfortunately. Happy Reading and Learning Jap!
Monday, June 12, 2006
My New Daily Ride - Nissan Sentra 1.6 SG Manual
Finally got my car on Thursday June 1st. In case you guys wanna know I finally bit the bullet and booked a 1.6 manual Sentra with full Nismo bodykit. Looks fierce and is the only non-national sedan car still available with a manual gearbox option.
Took more than 4 friggin weeks for my car to be delivered. Must be record wait time for a Sentra. Apparently this is due to not many people wanting the manual version. Sigh! Apparently out of every 10+ Sentras sold, only 1 is a manual. What a crying shame. Sad country we live in. Also splurged 150 smackers to get the switch to fold in the side mirrors. Every new Sentra sold in this country comes with the side mirrors already fitted with the folding motor but only the 1.6 SG-L (luxury) and 1.8 XG-L models have the switch to activate the folding fuction. Picture below shows the stock switch console without the folding rocker switch . As you can see the bottom half of the switch console is blanked off. Part number listed on the packaging is for the switch with the folding option. Sorry for the confusion. And NO the Sentra does not come with 17" OZ Supertourismo wheels despite what the crappy brochure shows. One of these days TC is gonna get in trouble. You get micro 14 inchers on the SG and only the SG-L and XG-L come with acceptable 15 inchers.
Upon delivery found that the one side of the instrument panel was properly lit and the other side/half only dimly lit. Suspected blown bulb or connection problem. Oh ya.. and they forgot to connect back my speedo & odo cable so both were not functioning. Called SA and arranged with him to visit TCEAS on Friday. Had to take leave. Bummer!
Arrived @ TCEAS Patani Road Friday 10+ am. Was promptly told by the Service Manager to come back next week as they’re fully booked for the day. WTF! So much for great service. My SA calls his Manager who promptly takes the car to TCEAS in Bayan Lepas (near airport next to Chevie Service Centre). In the meantime my SA shows me where to plug back the speedo connector on the engine block. With my speedo fixed I drove the car back to the showroom where the Manager took my car to be fixed. Got it back to around 4pm in the late afternoon. Proceed to go get some nice rubber matts. Settled for black 3A variant similar to what my wifey is using on her Optra.
Saturday was pretty exciting. Spend morning waxing/cleaning da car. Took it to Sg Bakap and back (fetchin wifey to watch movie). Tyre roar from the Goodyear Ducaro GA was pretty atrocious but otherwise no other complain. Smooth, quiet and refined as any other Jap sedan. Pretty stable at 120km/h. Quite a lot of wind noise though but the same can be said for the Focus which I test drove. Heard the Civic’s really quiet though. Steering feels a way bit too light for me. Guess most of the newer cars (Focus exempted) feels that way. Brakes are pretty decent despite rear drums. For road use can’t imagine why anyone would still want the Brake Booster Assist option. Nuts! Manual shifter feel is pretty precise and has a nice feel than stock Wiras/Satrias. Since it’s directly connected to the gearbox (unlike cables for the Wira) you don’t wanna place your hand continuously on it for long periods as it vibrates and tingles.
Spend Sunday doing research on replacement tyres as I'm pretty irritated with the tyre roar. These are not semi-slicks dammit! Wifey comes to Penang in her Optra so I get to drive both cars back to back for comparo. As expected the Optra has way better ride and handling but the Sentra’s more comfy and cushy soft. With a manual gearbox, Sentra’s also way more powerful and responsive too. At this point I decided on either the Michelin Energy XM1s or the Yokohama Aspec DBs.
On Monday went to see my regular tyre shop and was promptly offered 15” new Nissan Sentra SG-L/XG-L rims with the XM1s. After trade in my stockies have to only top up around 900 smackers. Offer too good to refuse. Sorry Yokohama. With the 15 X 6"” wheels fitted the car does look way better aesthetically. The 14 X 5.5” was too narrow and looked like it was hidden behind the bodywork. Too much offset. BTW.. Sentra is using 40 offset and 114.3 4 lug PCD. Oh ya.. and 4-5 of my stock lugnuts had signs of rust on them. WTF again. Gonna complain and get the lugnuts replaced during my 1000km service. The XM1s are really comfy but at the expense of a softer sidewall. Can feel more bodyroll. Might try the Pilot Preceda PP2s later. Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the car. Especially the refinement, build quality and comfort. And how does it compare to the SP? No comment!!! Pixs of car to follow..
Took more than 4 friggin weeks for my car to be delivered. Must be record wait time for a Sentra. Apparently this is due to not many people wanting the manual version. Sigh! Apparently out of every 10+ Sentras sold, only 1 is a manual. What a crying shame. Sad country we live in. Also splurged 150 smackers to get the switch to fold in the side mirrors. Every new Sentra sold in this country comes with the side mirrors already fitted with the folding motor but only the 1.6 SG-L (luxury) and 1.8 XG-L models have the switch to activate the folding fuction. Picture below shows the stock switch console without the folding rocker switch . As you can see the bottom half of the switch console is blanked off. Part number listed on the packaging is for the switch with the folding option. Sorry for the confusion. And NO the Sentra does not come with 17" OZ Supertourismo wheels despite what the crappy brochure shows. One of these days TC is gonna get in trouble. You get micro 14 inchers on the SG and only the SG-L and XG-L come with acceptable 15 inchers.
Upon delivery found that the one side of the instrument panel was properly lit and the other side/half only dimly lit. Suspected blown bulb or connection problem. Oh ya.. and they forgot to connect back my speedo & odo cable so both were not functioning. Called SA and arranged with him to visit TCEAS on Friday. Had to take leave. Bummer!
Arrived @ TCEAS Patani Road Friday 10+ am. Was promptly told by the Service Manager to come back next week as they’re fully booked for the day. WTF! So much for great service. My SA calls his Manager who promptly takes the car to TCEAS in Bayan Lepas (near airport next to Chevie Service Centre). In the meantime my SA shows me where to plug back the speedo connector on the engine block. With my speedo fixed I drove the car back to the showroom where the Manager took my car to be fixed. Got it back to around 4pm in the late afternoon. Proceed to go get some nice rubber matts. Settled for black 3A variant similar to what my wifey is using on her Optra.
Saturday was pretty exciting. Spend morning waxing/cleaning da car. Took it to Sg Bakap and back (fetchin wifey to watch movie). Tyre roar from the Goodyear Ducaro GA was pretty atrocious but otherwise no other complain. Smooth, quiet and refined as any other Jap sedan. Pretty stable at 120km/h. Quite a lot of wind noise though but the same can be said for the Focus which I test drove. Heard the Civic’s really quiet though. Steering feels a way bit too light for me. Guess most of the newer cars (Focus exempted) feels that way. Brakes are pretty decent despite rear drums. For road use can’t imagine why anyone would still want the Brake Booster Assist option. Nuts! Manual shifter feel is pretty precise and has a nice feel than stock Wiras/Satrias. Since it’s directly connected to the gearbox (unlike cables for the Wira) you don’t wanna place your hand continuously on it for long periods as it vibrates and tingles.
Spend Sunday doing research on replacement tyres as I'm pretty irritated with the tyre roar. These are not semi-slicks dammit! Wifey comes to Penang in her Optra so I get to drive both cars back to back for comparo. As expected the Optra has way better ride and handling but the Sentra’s more comfy and cushy soft. With a manual gearbox, Sentra’s also way more powerful and responsive too. At this point I decided on either the Michelin Energy XM1s or the Yokohama Aspec DBs.
On Monday went to see my regular tyre shop and was promptly offered 15” new Nissan Sentra SG-L/XG-L rims with the XM1s. After trade in my stockies have to only top up around 900 smackers. Offer too good to refuse. Sorry Yokohama. With the 15 X 6"” wheels fitted the car does look way better aesthetically. The 14 X 5.5” was too narrow and looked like it was hidden behind the bodywork. Too much offset. BTW.. Sentra is using 40 offset and 114.3 4 lug PCD. Oh ya.. and 4-5 of my stock lugnuts had signs of rust on them. WTF again. Gonna complain and get the lugnuts replaced during my 1000km service. The XM1s are really comfy but at the expense of a softer sidewall. Can feel more bodyroll. Might try the Pilot Preceda PP2s later. Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the car. Especially the refinement, build quality and comfort. And how does it compare to the SP? No comment!!! Pixs of car to follow..
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