The SP Files

Whats New

2011-07-26T01:07:00.002+08:00

Sorry it has been a long time since I have updated the blog. I have been very busy with so many things going on especially for my move to Germany. Nevertheless some decisions has been made and I now no longer intend to sell SP. It will be put in dry storage until I am sure of what I want to do.

On a positive note, I have since my last post continued with the development work of SP and have added on the following:

1. R3 stage 2 front lip with additional splitter
2. Upgraded water injection pump - from 150psi to 250 psi
3. New 6 pot Wilwood calipers and Wilwood 300mm two piece discs.
4. New development header from Tonnka - 4-2-1 design
5. New custom airbox from Tonnka
6. Racepak IQ3 Data Logging dash with additional USM module
7. Federal RSR tyres

I have also attended two RCA track day with SP, one in March and the other in July. I have set a PB for SP around SIC at 2m47.1 sec. I am very sure with more chasis and suspension setup, SP is able to go around SIC much quicker.

When I have the time, I will update the blog with more details of the above mods.

SP is for sale

2011-03-31T10:45:00.003+08:00

Yes its a shocker and I am not keen to really let it go, but taking the future in consideration, I think this will be the best choice. Been offered a job outside of Malaysia and thinking of taking it up hence this decision. This is not an urgent or desperate sale. I am only going to let it go, if the price is right. SP is in immaculate condition, extremely low mileage and only driven in the dry. Total car mileage is less than 35,000 km and current engine has only done 3500km since rebuild. Super clean and super trick ride with a lot of spares thrown in. Got a set of wheels for track day too!! Here is the current mod list. If interested do give me a ring at 012-335 0607 or email mugil@troxmal.com.my. Serious buyer only, no scammers, no low ballers and no free test drive! Again due to the age of the car, registered 1999, no loan will be available. Would prefer an enthusiast to buy over and continue the development work!

1 Engine
1.1 SR Composites carbon fibre radiator "slam" panel and Ti Bolt
1.2 Koyo Aluminium Race Radiator
1.3 Samco Sport Silicon Radiator Hose
1.4 Ralliart Radiator Cap
1.5 Ralliart Oil Cap
1.6 Crank Scrapper - 3 pc type
1.7 Earls Super Stock Hose and Econofit Clamps - Engine Breather to Airfilter Hose
1.8 ARP Head Stud Kit
1.9 NGK Iriway 7 spark plugs (X4)
1.10 Earl's Oil Cooler 12x5x2, 16 ROW, -8AN
1.11 Earl's Aluminium Oil Cooler Mounting Kit for 16 row
1.12 Earl's -8 to 3/8 NPT adaptor x 4
1.13 Earl's Swivelseal -8 90 deg hose end x 4
1.14 Earl's Autoflex -8 hose
1.15 K&N air filter injection kit
1.16 Mocal Aluminium Sandwich Plate with Thermostat
1.17 Jenvey Dynamic's 45mm SF Individual Throttle Bodies with JD modfied manifold (port matched), 60mm air horns, linkage kit
1.18 All bottom end rotating assemblies fully balanced
1.19 Z. Speed adjustable cam pulleys (X2)
1.20 4G93T engine block including oil jets
1.21 Matspeed race ported cylinder head
1.22 WRC Motorsports fast road engine mounts (X2)
1.23 Ralliart Group N lower front engine mount
1.24 Ralliart Group N lower rear engine mount
1.25 Cusco Oil Catch Tank with additional breather and fitted with SS braided hoses and Earls AN fittings
1.26 SR Composites carbon spark plug cover
1.27 SR Composites carbon timing belt cover
1.28 SR Composites carbon upper radiator support bracket
1.29 Spool Forged Con Rods with ARP 2000 con rod bolts
1.30 Coolingmist Trunk Mounted Water Injection Kit
1.31 Exedy Racing Clutch with Organic Clutch Plate
1.32 ARP Main Stud Kit
1.33 Meek Peformance Aftermarket Hydraulic Lifters x 16pcs
1.34 Meek Evo3 Performance Clutch Slave Pump
1.35 Wiseco Forged Piston 82mm diameter 11.5:1 comp ratio skirt and piston crown ceramic coated, chromoly rings and 19mm piston pin
1.36 Phenolic Thermal Intake Manifold Gasket
1.37 Mytheology Lightened Crank Pulley with Damper
1.38 MMC Front Case Assembly/Oil Pump New
1.39 ACT Carbon Fibre Airbox Assembly to suit Jenvey Throttle Bodies
1.40 JUN 288 deg inlet and exhaust billet cams - 11mm lift
1.41 JUN Valve Spring
1.42 JUN Titanium Retainer
1.43 Power Entreprise Super Strong Kevlar Timing Belt
1.44 Bosch 412cc Top Feed, High Impedence Fuel Injectors
1.45 Starter - High Speed (Evo 3)
1.46 AP racing clutch master cylinder with remote reservoir and Earls AN fittings
1.47 Coolingmist Super Atomizing injector

2 Fuel System
2.1 Earl's Inline Fuel Filter complete with SS braided hoses and Earls Swivelseal AN fittings
2.2 SARD Fuel Pressure Regulator with SS braided hoses and Earls SwivelsealAN fittings
2.3 Fuel Pressure Gauge
2.4 Greddy Fuel Pressure Sensor
2.5 Earl's Line Clamp and Hose Separator
2.6 Earl's Hose - longer hose fitted for better routing

3 Exhaust System
3.1 RACE 4-1 LP SS Header and Port Matched
3.2 TONNKA SS Rear N1 style rear box with 2.5 in inlet
3.3 TONNKA SS exhaust piping w SS hangers and option of straight pipe and resonator box section
3.4 Hot Bits stainless steel resonators (X2)
3.5 Ralliart exhaust hanger (X2)

4 Electronics/Engine Management
4.1 Haltech Platinum Sport 1000 Standalone ECU
4.2 Dynatek ARC2 CDI Ignition
4.3 Coil on Plugs - Set of 6 coils
4.4 Coil on Plugs - wiring and mounted on CNC machined Aluminium Plate
4.5 Phormula KS-4 Engine Knock Monitor
4.6 HKS DB Chrono Oil Press, Oil Temp and Vacumm Gauges
4.7 Haltech Racepak IQ3 Data Logger Dash
4.8 Innovate Wideband Lambda Sensor - LC1 - wired to Haltech and values displayed on Racepak Dash.
4.9 Racepak USM + Vnet Tee
4.10 Jenvey Dynamics Contactless TPS

5 Chassis/Steering/Bodywork/Aerodynamics
5.1 Ralliart Center Member Front Axle Upper Bushing
5.2 Ralliart Center Member Front Axle Lower Bushing
5.3 Ralliart Rear Upper Arm Bush Bodyside
5.4 Ralliart Rear Lower Arm Bush Bodyside
5.5 Ultra Racing 3 Point Fender Bar
5.6 Ultra Racing C Pillar Bar
5.7 Ultra Racing Room Bar
5.8 Safety21 6 point Dash Dodger Bolt on Roll Cage - powder coated black and with SS316 stiffener plates. All bolts in SS304
5.9 Mitsubishi CP/CT9A Lancer EVO5-7 boot reinforcement bar
5.10 R3 Stage 2 Front Splitter (replica)
5.11 Autofoam automotive high density foam
5.12 SR Composites carbon strut bar - front
5.13 Hot Bits aluminium strut bar - rear
5.14 Proton Wira SE/Arena front grill and mark top
5.15 Mitsubishi CA4A Mirage Asti MIVEC rear spoiler/wing
5.16 Superpro steering rack bush kit
5.17 SR Composites front and rear number plates
5.18 SR Composites carbon pillar garnish
5.19 Racecraft non-vented carbon bonnet
5.20 SR Composites carbon battery tray
5.21 Wiring and termination work to relocate battery to boot
5.22 Odyssey PC680MJ dry cell lightweight race battery

6 Interior
6.1 R3 Carbon Fibre Gear Knob
6.2 Momo Jet Steering Wheel
6.3 Works Bell Rapfix 2 Quick Release Steering Boss kit
6.4 Recaro SPG Carbon Kevlar
6.5 Sabelt 4 point FIA approved Ultralight Harness with Aluminium Adjusters for driver seat
6.6 Sabelt 4 point FIA approved Lightweight Harness with steel Adjusters for passenger seat
6.7 Bride Ultra Low Seat Railing - Driver Side
6.8 6mil Security Tint + 2nd layer Black Tint
6.9 BSCI 40mm Roll Cage Padding - FIA approved
6.10 SR Composites carbon pedals
6.11 Proton Motorsports R3 floor matts

7 Suspension
7.1 Ohlins PCV Coilover 8kg F and 6kg R
7.2 Ohlins Front Top Pillowball Mount
7.3 Ohlins Rear Top Pillowball Mount
7.4 CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 rear upper and lower suspension links
7.5 Superpro PU front lower control arm bush kit
7.6 Stainless steel centre sleeve for front lower arm bush kit (X2)
7.7 Superpro PU rear trailing arm front bush kit
7.8 Stainless steel centre sleeve for trailing arm bush kit (X2)
7.9 Mitsubishi CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 rear lower arm
7.1 Mitsubishi CD9A Lancer EVO1/M21 97 spec front 23mm anti-roll bar
7.11 Superpro PU front anti-roll bar D bush - 23mm
7.12 Superpro PU front anti-roll bar link shoulder bush kit (X8)
7.13 Whiteline rear 18mm adjustable anti-roll bar
7.14 Superpro PU rear anti-roll bar D bush - 18mm
7.15 Mitsubishi CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 rear anti-roll bar link kit

8 Transmission and Drivetrain
8.1 Symborski Gear Shifter Bush
8.2 Titanium Fasteners for Symborski Kit
8.3 Goodridge stainless steel clutch line
8.4 Exedy racing clutch (disc + pressure plate/clutch cover)
8.5 Jun forged chrome molybdenum lightweight flywheel
8.6 Kaaz Powerpot series 1.5 way limited slip differential
8.7 CA4A Mirage MIVEC 4.592 final drive + machined F5M22VRXE gearbox casing to fit FD

9 Brakes
9.1 Wilwood Polymatrix B compound (Part No: 15B-7264K)
9.2 70mm silicon hose for brake ducting - 2m length
9.3 ACT dry carbon air horn
9.4 Goodridge stainless steel brake lines (front and rear)
9.5 Wilwood Dynapro 4 pot calipers
9.6 EBC standard Kevlar brake pads (rear)
9.7 DBA Longlife Slotted brake discs (front)
9.8 DBA Longlife GOLD crossed-drilled and slotted brake discs (rear)
9.9 Ralliart long hub bolt/lug (66mm)
9.10 7075 aluminium alloy CNC machined brake caliper adapter kit and 12mm wheel spacer
9.11 Mitsubishi CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 1" brake master cylinder
9.12 Cusco Brake Cylinder Stopper (BCS)

10 Wheels/Tyres
10.1 P1 Racing Replica 15x7 4x100 rims - Track Use
10.2 Silverstone slicks 19/58-15 - Track Use
10.3 SSR Type C 16" X 7" rims (X4) - Street Use
10.4 Racing Gear forged 7075 aluminium alloy lug nuts
10.5 6061 Aluminium alloy centre bore centering rings (X4)

11 In Car Entertainment
None - just wind down the window and rev to 8.8k rpm

Lubricants, Coolant & Consumables
Motul 300V competition 10w40
Neo Synthetic LW18 gear oil
Neo Synthetic brake fluid
Motul Inugel Radiator Coolant

Water Methanol Injecton

2011-03-23T12:05:00.005+08:00

I have now been using water methanol injection for SP over the last one year and I must say I am enjoying it and glad that I decided to install it. There are many benefits of running water injection, and below is the explanation from Coolingmist themselves:

"Water injection, alcohol injection, water methanol injection or methanol injection are all the same thing. The only difference is the fluid you are injecting. Having a chemical intercooler or water injection, methanol injection or alcohol injection will cool the combustion temperature of your engine by cooling your charge. A super fine mist of methanol, water or alcohol combination will evaporate and soak up the heat. This cools your temperatures and raises the effective octane of your fuel. In most cases you will not need to run race fuel and pump gas will be fine. A water injection pump...methanol injection pump or alcohol injection pump is very important. The higher pressure your pump, the better that atomization will be in your water methanol injection system. "

As SP is running a very high compression ratio, it is necessary to find ways to minimize knock and increase ignition timing which are really the key to making power in NA engines. The results of water injection in a turbo charged engined is much greater than NA engines. Nevertheless, I am also interested in the other benefit of water injection, which is a much cleaner engine as well, as it also helps to steam clean the internals, especially those in the combustion chamber.

The kit that I am using is from Coolingmist who my bro Jack, has been using in his previous ride with good performance and reliability. The trunkmount kit comes with the standard 100PSI pump, 1 gallon water tank, piping, injector and mounting hardware. I opted to have the stainless steel braided lines and as well as ordered water injection controller called the Vari-Cool. This controller lets me vary the activation point and also a min and max setpoint, plus the allowance to control the amount of flow into the engine. This allows me to fine tune the water injection flow rate and also have a 50% flow during part throttle application if required. Currently for SP the activation is set using the TPS position. The TPS provides a 0-5v signal, which is then fed to the Vari-Cool controller, and from this we can set at which TPS position the water injection will activate. For example, at 50% TPS or less no water injection, from 50-80% TPS, injection at 50% of flow rate, and at 100%TPS full flow is provided.

This allows me to vary the usage of the water injection depending on how and where I am driving the car. I can also go one step higher by having this 3D mapped by my ECU like my fuel and ignition maps, but didnt want the added complications. I am currently using a 50/50 mix between water and methanol. Havent tried running full methanol although the system and engine is fully capable of this.

I have since changed to the larger pump by Coolingmist which produces 200-250 PSI pressure and also the Coolingmist Super Atomizing Injector for more flow and better atomisation. The higher the pressure, the finer the atomization of the water methanol mixture and provides more heat absorbing capacity. I have also added a LED on the dash to indicate when the pump is operating and this also provides indication if there is problem with the system. So far I am enjoying this mod and also have been stocking up on methanol :)

Enjoy the pictures.

The water tank complete with the pump. This is the earlier version 100psi pump

Another view of the tank and pump assembly

Closeup of the 100 psi pump

The optional stainless steel braided hose along with steel fittings (not shown)

The Vari-Cool controller. Takes in either a pressure (boost) or 0-5v input signal. Green knob is for the lower limit setting (start 50% flow) and red knob for the higher limit setting (start 100% flow).

The mounting hardware

The Vari-Cool controller installed where the radio used to be. Below it is my knock sensor

Tank and pump installed in the boot

I didnt want to drill the boot so a custom mounting tray was fabricated from Aluminium

All installed

Dyno chart and Header experiments!

2011-02-10T11:50:00.005+08:00

Boy it has been quite a long time since my last post. Been quite busy with work and travels and also with my family. Not easy finding time nowadays!

Well first up would be my dyno chart, should have posted it up a long time ago but havent got the chance. This was done after I have changed to a full 2.5in exhaust setup with straight pipe and rear muffler from Tonnka. All of the work was carried out by the main man of Tonnka himself and I must give my hats off to their work and quality of stuff they manufacture!! Also running water/methanol injection during this run.

As you can see from the chart above, I am very very pleased with the results. My only gripe is to smoothen the mid range to remove the 'W' in the mid range. To date I have also experimented with a different header configuration (4-2-1), very long primary, tri-y design which was custom made by Tonnka. Although this improved the mid range by a whopping +16whp, I lost quite a bit on the top end about -10whp. So I went back to the previous header which is a 4-1 style from Formworks. I have a new header from Tonnka which I have yet to try, let see how much it helps.

Tonnka Special for 4G93

Close up of the header.

Looks more like turbo header

Taken out after dyno- note color change after just 1 hour on the dyno

I have also got SP in the track at last and least to say I am still learning its new power delivery and also mastering all the gadgets on SP. Whats coming up, a revised brake setup and a new look! Watch this space!

Intake Setup

2010-08-27T12:40:00.007+08:00

As you probably now know, SP has been running on the Jenvey Dynamics Individual Throttle Body (ITB) setup. Here is a breakdown of the bits that is required to complete the install.

1. Jenvey Dynamics Manifold to suit SF throttle bodies for Proton/Mitsubishi (part no: MPN01)

2. Jenvey Dynamics SF throttle bodies - 45mm tapered x 4 nos (part no: SF45)

3. Jenvey Dynamics Air horn (part no: AH45x60)

4. Jenvey Dynamics Fuel Rail (part no: SFR4/88)

5. Jenvey Dynamics Fuel Rail Mounting (part no: SFRC2)

6. Jenvey Dynamics Linkage Kit (part no: CLS1)

7. Jenvey Dynamics Linkage brackets and rod - SF (part no: LBF2)

8. ACT dry carbon airbox

9. Bosch 412cc Top Feed, High Impedence Injectors

10. TPS - Colvern CP17 - Motorsport spec (part no: TP1)

11. Phenolic gasket

12. Earls Swivelseal fittings and hose for fuel supply and return.

I actually bought three sets of airbox, one from Pipercross which comes with its own filtration system and also one from K&N (universal airbox), but both of them did not provide what I was looking for. But it helped to develop the current box in terms of available space and design. Luckily with parts bought from UK, if not used can be returned.

The JD throttle bodies are of a taper design, so at the throttle plate(butterfly) it is 45 mm and 48mm at the inlet of the body. This allows for high velocity through the port and promotes better combustion as well. The air horns were also changed due to its length, it was suggested to run longer horns but due to the space constraint I have gone for the 70mm long air horns instead of the 120mm ones. They also had a CF version of the air horns, but I was advised against it, as if there is crack or damage to the horns, it will be sucked into the engine and destroying it as well. So I decided to stick with the aluminium horns.

Fitting was not straightword unfortunately as SP cylinder head was massively ported and the inlet port of the head was a lot larger then the JD manifold. So we had to do a lot of customisation work to get this fitted and port matching to suit. I was really happy with the work done by GT Auto to ensure it was all done properly and professionally.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves

Manifold - View from Throttle Body end

Manifold - Top View. Note the Jenvey casting between cylinder 2 & 3

Manifold - View from cylinder head side. We had to do a lot of modification on this side to get it to fit on SP

SF Throttle Bodies - 45mm tapered bore

SF Throttle Bodies - view from side. For turbo high power application you can order the same body with two injectors.

60mm Air Horns

Colvern Motorsports Spec TPS

ACT Dry Carbon Airbox and backplate with 4in inlet

Airbox and backplate fitted together

Bosch 412cc Injectors

Manifold, air horn and ITB all mocked up together. Notice the longer air horn which was purchased initially

Another view this time with Jenvey Dynamics filter. Backplate not shown. The filter and backplate are actually from Pipercross

The other airbox which I bought

Manifold and ITB fitted on the engine after massive modification to the manifold's flange

Harnessing SP

2010-07-08T18:35:00.008+08:00

As SP is my dedicated track day machine, I have decided to invest in proper race harness. On one of my visit to the UK, I dropped by Demon Tweeks and bought 2 4 point FIA spec Sabelt harness. These are the 3 in wide shoulder and waist straps and with a n aircraft quick release buckle. They are also able to accommodate a crotch strap enabling them to be a 5 or 6 point harness. Being the weight conscious person that I am (on SP that is, I personally have been gaining the pounds), I decided to purchase the ultralight version (Demon Tweeks part no: 904570E) , which has the shoulder belt adjustment buckle in aluminium rather than steel. Unfortunately Demon Tweeks only carried one of these in stock and I had to settle for the lightweight version (Demon Tweeks part no : 904183E) for the passenger side.

These are fully FIA approved and are certified for use up to 2014. Unfortunately neither I nor SP will be participating in any FIA sanctioned event for now. Who knows what the future might hold! These harness comes with the eyebolts which bolts on directly to the existing seatbelt points in the car. For the rear as I have removed the rear seats, they bolt on directly to the rear seatbelt mounting points. They also make one version with roll bar attachment, which I didn’t opt for.

Some pictures of the harnesses and also the install picture just for the driver side currently.

Harness assembled on the floor

Close up of the quick release buckle

The mounting end of the harness with eyebolts shown

Standard rear seatbelt mounting points on the rear bulkhead. PnP

Another view. This are the original rear seat belt mounting point. You can see the bolts on the right which are for the rear left side seatbelt mounting points.

Aluminium shoulder strap adjusters and also the 3in shoulder pads

Fully installed

Oh Boy!

2010-06-08T09:49:00.004+08:00

SP has been running fine and I am struggling to find time to drive it. On one occassion after tuning, I took it to work and decided to see how fast can it go. So gently coaxed it on 5th gear to about 225 km/h and suddenly heard a noise, looked at the rear view mirror and the driver side roof weather strip got ripped out by the wind force. Darn it! Slowed down and maintained a steady 120 -130km/h and got to work. Called Proton to ask for replacement weather strip and was quote RM 544.00 per side! Oh boy, apparently its MMC item so thats why its a lot more expensive. So will only have time to collect the weather strip next week, meanwhile this is how SP looks currently.

Clips exposed, looks unsightly without the weather strip

Close up

Some of you may spot the new addition to SP as well. Will cover that on my next posting!

Dyno Chart

2010-05-22T05:31:00.002+08:00

I have been fairly busy with work and travels and apologies for not updating the blog frequently. Below is the dyno curve from my last dyno session after running in the engine. As you can see the torque curve is a little wonky and there is a slight dip in torque and power around 5.5k rpm. This is the rpm that a lot of knocking is encountered, due to the engine characteristics, cam profile and also maybe due to the ITB length. The timing has been backed off a LOT at this area and my knock sensor still occassionaly triggers at this rpm on full throttle at high load or on a very hot day.

I have installed my larger 2.5 in exhaust which I will blog about another day, and this seems to have improved this which I am very happy about. I hope to have the water/methanol injection to come in around 5.5k rpm onwards to help with knocking issues and possibly run more timing.

Apologies for the quality of the dyno chart as this what happens when you have two young kids who get hold of your dyno sheet and decide to have some fun. Manage to stop those two rascals before it got shreded to hundreds of pieces.

2000km +

2010-03-21T23:46:00.003+08:00

So it has been about 2000+ km and SP has been fully run-in and TUNED! With this new rebuild, power figures has went up and currently its making 191whp and 20kg of torque. This is quite an impressive power figure I must say, especially running just on Shell VPower and rather basic tuning on the dyno, we didnt even mess about with the cam timing for now. This was done without the water/methanol injection switched on, and I have a couple of things that I want to do before we activate it and redyno. I hope with all this in place and more time on the dyno, SP can churn closer to 200 whp or God willing surpass it. Remember its still very streetable, a lot more streetable then before! Some more pictures courtesy of a friend who visited us not too long ago.

Engine looks really nice from this shot!

Close up of the Jenvey's and Bosch 410cc injector

Jenvey throttle bodies, fuel rail and bits of the CF airbox

Last but not least, the newly fitted seat, from a different angle

After 1100km....

2010-02-18T20:35:00.005+08:00

Currently done about 1100km and engine is feeling looser....torque is very good at mid range, esp 3500 rpm onwards. Noise on full throttle is also quite menacing, but still needs a lot of tuning and setting up. Need to calibrate my knock sensor properly and activate the water injection. Water injection mapping will also take a lot of time, sigh, SP will need to have some proper work out session on dyno soon. Planning to get the ECU to activate the water injection based on 3D mapping ( load, tps and rpm input ) and to further fine tune max and min flow rate using the water injection controller fitted in the dash. Also need to fiddle around with the water/methanol ratio and may consider AV Gas for track days to reduce any chances of pre ignition (knock) and also to boost on the power figures. Lets see how it goes. Anyway heres some pictures of SP in its current state.

Water injection and knock sensor monitor

Meter cluster note the LED warning light for knock sensor at top right corner

My new seat Recaro SP-G with carbon kevlar back

Engine bay. Airbox held by cable ties which will be replaced with SS overcentre latches.

The finished article

SP is back home!

2010-02-08T13:29:00.002+08:00

Collected SP on Saturday from GT and to date have clocked about 450km, heck even took it to work today. Car feels good, accelerates well, and have the rev limiter set at about 5k rpm. Car behaves and drives very well, even at low rpms, totally different to the previous setup I had. On the dyno car made about 18kg of torque and 141 whp at 5k rpm with 14month old fuel and old plugs. This was obtained when we were doing the initial tuning for running in the car. Water injection also not activated, so its looking good, and I look forward to hit the 1000 km mark before we progress further. Pictures hopefully on the next update.

Its Alive

2010-01-25T15:38:00.003+08:00

The car starts and tuned for running in now. Had to change the starter to a high speed version due to the high compression ratio. Intial tuning had been done, it looks promising, sounds good and a lot more fine tuning to be done. Need to find time to do 1000km, or 970km to be exact before full tuning can be done. Watch this space!

Dyno Chart

2010-01-07T15:08:00.007+08:00

Posting up and older dyno chart of mine. There was a later tune up after this with my CDI ignition with higher torque, but cant find it. Oh well, I guess this will be the base line for me once the car is run in and fully tuned. Lets wait and see.

Rebuild - Part 6

2010-01-04T12:20:00.004+08:00

It has been a while, and quite a lot of progress has been made. Most importantly, we have started the engine, and it sounds good. The idle is steady and not very lumpy, this is due to the ITB's and feels quite strange to me, as I am used to having very lumpy idling cars. I will put up some pictures, of the engine bay in my next post.

I had a couple of setbacks, due to so much custom works especially involving the induction system. Due to the use of an airbox, this has caused some clash with the clutch pump, especially the reservoir. As the airbox was custom made, I did not want to cut and mod it to make it fit, so I had to change the clutch pump. Luckily I was in the UK and a quick visit to Demon Tweeks provided me with this master cylinder from AP racing (part no: CP2623-92PRT115) and remote reservoir (A/PCP4709-13). The bore diameter for the stock pump is 5/8 in or 0.625mm which I have also ordered. I actually asked for this bore diameter, but I forgot to check the merchandise which was actually a 0.75mm diameter. Only realized this after I was back in Malaysia, so I had to resend this and order another unit. This time though I went for the CP4623 which has the mounting holes by 60 deg which will suit the original mounting position of the stock pump. Still awaiting for this from Demon Tweeks.

The cool thing about this setup is that I can mount the reservoir anywhere and the actual master cylinder itself is much shorter, which will enable me to use my airbox without any further issues (fingers crossed). The hose from the reservoir to the master cylinder will be from Earls fitted with -4 hose ends. Some pics below:

AP master cylinder and reservoir

Reservoir with the cap and fitting for the -4 hose end

Close up of the AP master cylinder. Note the mounting hole for this unit is different to the one I have now ordered.

The other issue with the induction was the injectors. The Jenvey Dynamics fuel rail used a larger diameter O ring (14mm) instead of the standard 12mm version, and although Jenvey send me larger O rings to suit this, our concern was fuel leak especially at high rpm and during hard driving situations. So a new set of injectors were trustfully ordered from Jenvey to suit the application. A set of Bosch 410cc, high impedence and top feed injectors were recommended and this was fitted to SP. I was also told that this are the newer generation of Bosch injectors, which is all plastic and has 4 holes which atomises the fuel much better then the previous design. Anyway here are some pictures of the injectors and the color is not my choice at all. Wish they had a choice for colors!!

The packaging for the injectors

Funky green on its side

Not clear enough to see the tiny 4 holes

Injectors now installed

Parts for Sale - Classic Mini

2009-11-20T15:05:00.002+08:00

Some may or may not know that I also have another car which is done up. Its no other then my first love, 1978 Mini Clubman. I have had the Mini now for about 15 years, and it has gone through at least 6 engine transplant and 4 gearbox change, all in the quest for more power! However, I have had about enough with the A series engine for the Mini and I am looking at other modern engines which will be a lot more reliable and powerful to satisfy my need. Thus I am putting up my entire engine, drivetrain, cooling, intake/induction system up for sale. Currently the engine is in pieces as I was preparing for another rebuild. The engine is A+ block with 9 stud cylinder head. Its been overbored from the standard 1275cc to 1399cc, and with all the parts listed below should make about 110-115hp at the crank. The car previously dynoed at GT Auto rollers with literally one cylinder not working properly (due to the cam) at 56whp. I have since bought a brand new billet cam, matching valve spring, oil pump and lifters from Swiftune UK to replace it but still have not installed it. Everything advertised has been bought new from the UK except for the block and cylinder head. Some parts are of course older and some newer.

I have most of the receipts and all in it would cost more then 25k, but I am looking at 12k for the whole lot. If you are interested then do drop me a line or call me at 0123350607.

1
45DCOE Weber with Earls Al banjo fitting and SS braided hoses & jetting to suit current setup
2
Weber Twin Cable Competition Linkage Mechanism
Bought New
3
PiperCross Twin Ram Pipe Filter
Bought New
4
PiperCross Full Radiused Ram Pipe
Bought New
5
Maniflow 6in Steel Inlet Manifold
6
Swiftune Valve Spring to suit SW10 Cam
Bought New
7
36mm Rimflo Inlet valve
8
Fully Ported, Polished and Gas Flowed Head
9
1275 A+ Block, 74mm Offset Bored, Honed with new water jackets - currently 1399cc
Pistons and rings only done about 2000km since last rebuild
10
Turbo Head Gasket AF460 Payen
Currently no head gasket as I mentioned the engine has been disassembled
11
74 mm ART-Mazda 808-model dome-top pistons
Bought new, now done 2000km, balanced
12
RIK piston rings
Bought new, now done 2000km
13
Modified factory con-rods (A+)
Lightened and Balanced
14
Factory crankshaft (CAM6232)
Lightened and Balanced
15
ACL camshaft bearings
New
16
Centre Main Strap
2 bolt type
17
Swiftune SW10 Billet Cam
Bought New, have not been fitted
18
Vandervall Con rod and Crank shaft Bearings
Conrod and Crank bearings are brandnew items
19
Kent Vernier Pulley - Adjustable, double chain
Bought new, have not been fitted
20
Swiftune Oil Pump
Bought new, have not been fitted
21
Avonbar Balanced Ultralight Steel Flywheel with lightened and balanced Backplate
Bought new, balanced
22
AP Rally Clutch Plate
Bought new, balanced
23
AP Orange Rally Diaphragm
Bought new, balanced
24
Factory Gearbox with Mini Spares Central Oil Pickup Pipe and 3.7 final drive
Original is 3.1
25
Engine Assembly Fully Lightened and Balanced
26
Magnetic Oil Trap
Bought new
27
Aldon Yellow Race Distributor
Bought new
28
MOCAL 9 row oil cooler
29
Minishop Alloy Rocker Cover with Quick Release T bolts
Bought new
30
3 into 1 large bore race manifold with SARD thermal wrap
Thermal wrap needs replacing
31
Alloy Dip Stick
32
Lucas ignition cables
Bought new
33
Lucas Sport ignition coil
34
Filter King Adjustable Fuel Regulator and Filter
Bought new
35
Mini Spares Straight Cut Drop Gear Set with Timkin Idler Roller Bearing
Bought new, have not been fitted
36
Competition Diff Pin
Bought new, have not been fitted
37
Aldon Ignitor
Bought new, have not been fitted
38
A+ Two Step Competition Layshaft in EN36
Bought new, have not been fitted
39
Mini Spares 4 pin Diff
Bought new, have not been fitted

If the sale goes through then I will update my plans for the mini!! :)

Rebuild - Part 5

2009-11-17T14:31:00.003+08:00

Its been a while since my last post, but here at some pictures of the engine. Hopefully it will be dropped into the engine bay in a week or two. Its getting closer to the finish line.

The cam cover looks very bright

New PE Kevlar timing belt. Nice color contrast

The JD ITB looking good. Making template for my airbox

Well will update more when I have more info.

Items For Sale

2009-10-02T21:26:00.003+08:00

I have a few items for sale. All items are in excellent condition and have done very low mileage!

1. Matspeed 3R 292 (inlet) and 288 (exhaust) spec camshafts - RM1,600.00

2. Matspeed J5 ECU to suit above cam and high compression ratio engine, rev limit at 9000 rpm - RM750.00

3. NGK Hyper Silicone Power cables - RM 220.00

4. Exedy Clutch Cover and Organic Plate, still a lot of material on the plate left - RM 450.00

5. 4G93T inlet manifold fully ported - RM 350.00

6. 60mm throttle body fully ported - RM 350.00

7. Power Enterprise Super Strong Timing Belt, done about 20k km only - RM 300.00

8. Stock 4G93P inlet manifold, like new - RM 150.00

9. Brand new 4G9x SOHC oil pump (front case assembly) - RM 500.00

10. One unit MAF sensor with standard rubber hose and Hot Bits adaptor plate for K&N cone air filter. MAF Sensor Code 455 - RM200.00

11. Two brand new Nokia E71, ori set just out of the box, full warranty - RM1100.00 each

Send me a message if any of the above is of interest, meanwhile I will try to take some pictures and upload it here.

Rebuild - Part 4

2009-08-03T14:13:00.010+08:00

Purchased a new seat for the SP as well, only driver side currently, Recaro SP-G Carbon Kevlar. Bought a used one which was going for a very good price and in very good condition. Pictures below

It is quite light and feels good to sit on, not sure about how well it will fare on longer journeys, especially since I have gained more weight!! Hoping to get another one to complement the passenger seat and a lightweight 4 point harness to go with it. Sabelt here I come!!

Here is quite a recent picture of SP outside the workshop. Notice anything different, besides the different color bonnet of course? Sorry picture quality aint that good as it was taken from my mobile phone.

And a sneak peek of whats coming up, was mocking things up for my new airbox.
Till next time!

Rebuild - Part 3

2009-07-13T12:17:00.007+08:00

Sorry been quite busy with work and travels.

Well the engine is now off SP. As suspected the previous engine officially died due to loss of bearing on con rod no 4. Didnt take any pictures, so couldnt show the extent of the damage.

Got my pistons and rods, all forged. The new engine will feature, head studs, main bolts and rod bolts all from ARP. I will be running a different induction system now, details which I do not want to reveal now, but some will be familiar with JD.

Hopefully SP can be ready in a month or two's time as it has been out of action since last year November, so I am very keen to drive it again. The build is going on slow, but usually its worth the wait for good things to happen, so I hope!

Got more Ti bolts too, currently for all the oil sump bolts and camber adjustment plates (pillow ball mount) on my Ohlins. Set me back more then Rm500 just for these!! Got more bolts planned, but these will be custom made in Grade 5 Ti to lighten SP further.

I am intending to get my oil sump baffled, but not sure who is able to do it locally? Any suggestions?

Hopefully more pictures next time!

Rebuild - Part 2

2009-03-01T23:52:00.006+08:00

Got my pistons ordered at last, hopefully it will be here in 4-5 weeks time. Going for Wiseco with 11.5:1 comp ratio, 82mm diameter. Getting the piston skirt and crown ceramic coated as well. Its funny Wiseco does not like to deal with customers outside of USA, maybe too much hassle. So got my friend in the US to do all the communicating and ordering. They are not cheap as its apparently custom made. I just hope all fits well without any snag!!

This is also a important as now the bottom end build can begin, as soon as the piston arrives. Its been 3 months now since I have driven SP. Its sad watching it on the driveway covered and without getting any action.

This is another item which I have just ordered :

"The revolutionary new KS-4 is our most advanced knock detection system. Offering all the great functionality of the KS-3 but also a fully configurable 0-5v outputand a remote alarm function allows the KS-4 to trigger a remote warning system." more details here http://www.phormula.co.uk/KnockMonitor-KS-4.aspx

This will help when tuning the SP and also on track days, just in case something goes wrong, at least I will get a warning instead of risking damage on the engine. Not sure how I am going to go about doing this but when it detects a knock signal it will give out a 0-5V output which I intend to use to activate the water injection kit. More of that in the next post.

Rebuild - Part 1

2009-02-15T00:55:00.002+08:00

Figured that I would just make a quick update on the progress has its been a while since I last updated the blog. Car is still sitting at home and nothing has been done still...as I am still waiting for my pistons. Hope that I am able to receive it in about 6 weeks time and thereafter commence the bottom end rebuild. Starting from a fresh block as the current one is already at its max bore, unless I sleeve it. Also since I will be doing full rebuild, thought I might as well change my clutch, although the current Exedy with organic plate one is still pretty good. This is because I am getting the entire rotating assembly dynamically balanced and do not want to disturb the balance when I change clutch. So hopefully a new clutch will eliminate this issue for a while. Getting the same clutch again as its grip is pretty good and doesnt judder during takeoff...also that it lasted 4 track days...

Also thinking of changing to the Mythelogy LCP with the rubber damper, as Fluidamper do not make one for the 4G93 engines. For EVO engine they have got some models...other than that dont have.

Also received my water injection kit, thats something else that needs to be hooked up along with a few other accessory. I am going a bit mad this time, and also have purchased a 6 point Safety21 roll cage, which I probably install after the rebuild is done.

Will update more when time permits....

Rebuild

2008-12-07T23:11:00.003+08:00

During HPC last week, I think I have spun a con rod bearing or damaged the bearings somehow. Mid way through the last session, the car started to make funny noises which I could not really hear with the helmet on. Drove into the pits, took off the helmet and my fears were confirmed, as I was hoping it was something else. Car is back in my place while I gather some parts for a rebuild. I will only know what really happend when the engine is stripped.

Hoping to rebuild it with slightly different parts and make slightly more power than before. The engine just before giving in made about 170+ whp with about 18kg of torque, which is not bad for the 4G93P without any Mivec or Turbo, and running on pump gas.

Lets see how it goes!!! Watch this space!

HPC 30th November 2008

2008-09-18T15:32:00.005+08:00

May not come as a suprise but I have now registered for a place in Gp 2 for the HPC event on the 30th November. It will be a full track event so I need to work on SP to increase more front end grip especially through T5 and T6 based on the previous track day experience. Plan to get SP corner weight'ed before the event, lets see whether I can fit that in my tight work and life schedule. FYI I have only clocked less than 5k km on the SP since purchasing it which is going to be about 2 years now.

Anyone else going for the HPC event on 30th Nov? Do drop a line as it will be nice to put a face to the name/nick on that day!

ARP Head Stud Kit

2008-09-18T15:32:00.004+08:00

This is an important upgrade especially if you are running high compression or high boosting engines as to prevent head stretch.

Some information on the ARP studs :

"Obtaining the optimum cylinder head-to-block sealing is especially critical in small displacement engines employing high compression pistons or power adders like turbochargers, nitrous oxide and superchargers. That's why ARP® head studs are popular among leading Sport Compact/Import racers.

You should know that ARP® uses a premium grade 8740 alloy that is rated far superior to "aircraft" quality. Then, each stud is precisely heat-treated to 200,000 psi. Following heattreat, each stud is centerless ground to make it as close to perfectly concentric as possible. This procedure involves about ten very slight cuts and results in an exceptionally straight part. It's important to note that lesser quality studs are not even centerless ground—the material is thread rolled in bar stock form (mostly before heat-treat, when the material is easier to machine). Because ARP® studs are manufactured to such exacting tolerances, you will note that gaskets and cylinder heads literally glide into position and are perfectly aligned—something that won't happen with inferior quality head studs.

ARP® studs are thread rolled after heat-treat, which gives them about 1000% (that's ten times) better fatigue strength than those studs that are threaded prior to heat-treat.

You will also note that ARP® offers specially undercut studs for several engines. This procedure (done only to the shorter studs) more equalizes the "stretch" of both studs, which makes for a more consistent clamping force—one that compensates for head gasket compression when the head is installed. This helps prevent blown head gaskets, and assures optimum sealing!

Premium parallel ground washers are also included with each kit." Article from ARP website.

I bought this kit from RPW directly when I was in Perth. RPW are famous in Australia for the performance modifications on Mistsubishi's especially the older models. It was not cheap at AUD 295.00 for the head stud kit alone!

Some pictures:

The kit come with the stud, bolts, thick flat washers , ARP molybdenum assembly lube, installation guide (torque settings) and ARP sticker. ARP provides their own default torque values which is much higher than the manufacturers recommendation. This provides better sealing between the head and the gasket and ultimately much better reliability.

HPC 20th April 08

2008-08-11T17:34:00.008+08:00

This should have been blogged sometime ago but I have been quite busy. This was my first time on the SIC track and my first HPC event. I registered for the Gp 2 morning session along with a few other friends - Khai in his x-147 2.0 Selespeed, Ken - x-AE86, CP - in his Satria 1.6 Turbo, Jack - SGTI 1.8 Turbo and Senior - SGTI 2.0 Turbo. My wife also decided to come and support me for the day.

The day before the event, I got the car aligned and the camber set to -2 degrees on the front and -1 deg at the rear. Also filled up the tyres with Nitrogen and set it to 32psi on all fours. Set the Ohlins to the recommended track setting and removed the rear seats for further weight savings! On the engine front the car was not in its ideal condition as I had a head gasket leak which at high revs causes some oil and coolant (only realized this at the track) to leak. So best to be cautious and I imposed a self rev limit of 7.5k rpm.

Jack's day started with a intercooler hose coming off just before arriving at the track. This was quickly fixed and all of us got into fixing the stickers which were provided. In Group 2 I think there were about 30 cars, RX7, RX8's, Impreza's, Satria Neo, Civics, old skool Saab and a few others. Feeling all jittery about the track and the car, I was taking it easy for the first few laps just to familiarize with the track and SP. After getting comfortable I started to push on and started to push the car more by braking later and trying different lines on the turns. So much so that at one point got too excited with my braking points and overcooked turn 9 while Sr was in the outside line and I was heading straight on to a RX7 which was halfway into the turn. Luckily I was able to keep things in check (thank you God!) and managed to avoid any incidents. I pulled in early to check the conditions under the hood and during that time was told off by the marshall that I cannot perform late braking and overtake on turn 9. Oh well, only if he really knew what happened.

Anyway it was a great outing for me and the SP and the car handled brilliantly on the track although it was smoking quite a lot, esp when I heel n toe into a turn, SP was emitting big clouds of white smoke from the exhaust. After the track day a top overhaul was required as the head gasket was on the way out and as well as the valve guides and a few other items which needed replacing. Jacko ended the day with a lil problem as well as his main relay gave way and was not able to start the car. Luckily his mechanic was there to watch the event and was able to make a quick fix. Well I will let the pictures do the talking.

Getting ready to go on the track. No more CF bonnet..sob sob!

Lining up at the pits

CP's Gangster Green Slutria

Jack and his playstation, the SGTi of course!!

Cooling down after the first session - corner markers on the tyres were full before first session, now totally gone!

Khai's 147 Selespeed! Now replaced with a different turbocharged monster!

Seniors freaking fast GTi

My reminder!

Blasting through the straights

Another shot different angle

Me, wifey and SP after the track day!

V Sixers Track Day 30th July

2008-08-02T10:14:00.002+08:00

I was trying very hard to get myself registered for the trackday event organized by Vsixers through the SGTI club. After a couple of weeks of trying and my itch to have a go at the full track becoming more intense, I decided to just go to SIC and try my luck. The gods of track days must have been shining on me as I managed to get SP in for the event. Also thanks to Jack who was helping me out all the while!

There were about 30 Perdana V6, 8 Satria GTi, 5 Savvy, 15 Neo's and 1 Putra all ready in the pits raring to go. My first session on the full track was a bit boring, I didnt feel right, the car wasnt feeling right too and not too long into the first session I had my first spin in the SP on turn 10 which happens to be one of my favourites since HPC track day. I also attribute this to my own mistake as the day before the event I decided to swap the tires from rear to front and vice versa, which left me with tyres with more tread on the front and lesser treads at the rear. This in turn reduced the grip on the rear which made it more oversteery! I kinda "woke up" after the spin and decided to head to the pits to calm down a little. Checked tire pressure and dropped the front a little and the car felt much better on the next sessions.

The car felt a touch oversteery on turns 5 & 6 which are the high speed left and right and reckon some aerodynamic aid to get more downforce will be beneficial. The brakes performed well and the only trouble I had was a loose dipstick. This made me to loose some oil and dirty the engine bay. Managed to get some duct tape from one of the SGTI members (thanks man!) and did a quick fix to the dipstick.

It was good experience for me and to learn SP's handling limits in a safe environment. I still have a lot to learn in terms of being more smooth and consistent with my lines, braking points and turning points as its my first time being out on the full track. Nevertheless the day did have some incidents like a Satria Neo crashing into a wall and Jack's car stuck at the pit entrance which resulted in red flags being shown. We had to wait for about 10 mins before the track was OK to be used again.

Oh on the way home there was a rattling sound coming from the rear which I thought was due to a broken suspension/arb link but found out that bolts holding the rear boot hinge has managed to work out loose due to all the shenanigans of driving in the track!

Sorry no pictures!

Jack's Coil on Plug Setup

2008-07-15T17:29:00.003+08:00

Jack's new R&D project. Article written by Jack himself.

This just installed over the weekend.. suppose to be a straight forward install since the boot fit perfectly to the engine head. The tricky part was sorted out i.e. the mounting plate. Since I did not know if this will work the aluminium mounting plate was not sent for lazercutting. It was done the old fashion was via a saw and a filer.

Where the coils came from

The install came down to making sure the wiring was done properly. As usual my Mech boasted that he can do this with one eyes closed. I complied and went on my business painting the cam cover. Lo-and-behold when we started the car it misfire and stumble badly during boost.... The problem with COP install began to creep up on me from posting on the net. There were issues on no rpm readings, low idle misfire to WOT high boost stumble and incorrect dwell time setting. My mech said I needed to retune the car. Feeling shitty, i went home disappointed and contemplate to GT auto or go back to the OEM ignition. After spending hours on the net. I figured that my mech did the wiring wrongly. He wired the coils in parallel instead of in series. In parallel the direct 12v to the coils lowered the resistance and caused the ignitor or Power Transistor Unit (PTU) to go haywire. The car in-turn will misfire, stumble and rpm readings will go nuts. Lancerregister and various DSM forums advised to rewire it in series and to their diagram and also regap the plugs to 0.026in or 0.6604mm.

The correct wiring diagram

I ask mech to open shop yesterday and we proceeded to make a rough wiring diagram from spare wiring lying around the shop. The car started and it idle like a dream, RPM works and no misfire at boost!! Home run!! Tested the car and did not notice and power differences. As expected, since I'm still having the wasted spark ignition system. A COP just replaced the 2 coils with 4 and no plug wires. I only notice that the car idle smoother and pulls harder. This is probably due to the fact that my old chop shop coils are badly worn or its just the new toy talking. Instead of 'chopping' another set for the yard. I might as well get 4 coils for the same price. You do have to pay extra for the shipping and fabricating the mounting plate. They came with all the wiring, sockets and boot. You just need to wire them and fabricate a plate to mount them. The Supras, DSM and Mitsubishi community in yankee land have been doing this for years. This is the final result on a 4G93T:

The wiring was done nicely. All covered and connections was soldered and shrink wrapped. I even had my mech build a 3pin connector to my 2 Nology coils. So instead of splicing into the wiring it will just be a clean snap on with the connectors.

There are still arguments on its actual performance gains. Some say its a waste of money and some say its wort it. But the consensus is that this is only worthwhile if you have

1) Standalone ECU that can control the coil dwell time and

2) that can also do sequential.

3) You will be going CDI

To me the way it looked alone is worth it and if I wanted to I can go 2 & 3 via the Haltech ecu and a CDI box. The COP do run a lower coil dwell time as they arguably have lower resistance. The dual coils on the OEM takes longer to charge. My previous parallel wiring probably lowered resistance to much and cause the of the coil to discharge prematurely causing the engine to misfire and messed up my RPM signal.

According to my Haltech Manual, the typical settings for dwell time for dual coils are 3.5ms and COP 1.8ms. I will have to adjust that later to ensure that the coils last and don't burn itself from being overcharged. I'm impressed how the coils fit the 4G93T head and plugs without much fuss and how the engine bay looked now. I think its worth-it although no performance gains now but I'm sure the coils worked better than my dunno-how-old-beat-up-chop-shop OEM coils that are beginning to leak.

Earl's Oil Cooler

2008-07-14T10:52:00.007+08:00

As it is vital to keep the engine oil temperature in an optimum level, especially if the engine is producing a lot more horsepower and running very high compression ratio, I decided to install an oil cooler on the SP. Luckily or unluckily my work requires me to travel frequently and I happen to discover the Earl’s distributor in Sydney. With help and guidance from Jacko I purchased the cooler, mounting bracket ( in aluminium), Earl’s AN fittings and the SS braided hoses. I even got a set for Jacko as well for his wild GTi! Jack also helped to source out a sandwich plate with built in thermostat made out of cast aluminium from the US to complete the install.

The list of part which was required:

1x Earl's Oil Cooler 12x5x2, 16 ROW, -8AN
1x Earl's Aluminium Oil Cooler Mounting Kit for 16 row
4x Earl's -8 to 3/8 NPT adaptor
4x Earl's Swivelseal -8 90 deg hose end
Earl's Autoflex -8 hose approx 2meters
Mocal Aluminium Sandwich Plate with Thermostat

The cooler with all the fittings and brackets minus the hose and sandwich plate

Close up of the Earl’s 16 row oil cooler

Sandwich plate in place with fittings and hoses.

Another view

Cooler installed (All fasteners were changed to Aluminium Potassium Bichromate soon after)

View with the bumper installed.

As I don’t have any gauges to measure the oil temperature or pressure YET, I am not able to ascertain how well this setup works, but since installing I have gone for one track day session and the car performed very well without any oil or coolant temperature problems.

I also bought a set of Earl's AN spanners to ensure that the fittings and hose ends do not get damaged when installing.

Earl's Wrenches for AN fittings. Not cheap at about AUD 35.00 per piece.

More to come soon!

Koyo Aluminium Radiator

2008-06-24T10:56:00.005+08:00

Decided to go for the Koyo Aluminium radiator to solve some of the cooling woes especially during heavy traffic. Installation was fairly simple and straightforward and I did it at my house by myself. Just had to be careful with the clearance between the massive headers and the aircond fan. Pictures are self explanatory. Also installed SAMCO silicon radiator hoses and Ralliart 1.1 bar radiator cap whilst fitting the radiator.

Engine bay with the standard radiator, radiator cap and hoses.

Another shot but side view

Engine bay with Koyo, Ralliart radiator cap and Samco Hoses

Side View with Koyo Radiator Installed

Another Shot – Last one I promise

The water temp only goes to half now during massive traffic jam especially on a very hot day. Usually its below the half level mark. Radiator fan also take a very long time before it kicks in and stays on just for a short while. Next step will be upgrading to the Ralliart Thermostat to try and get the fan coming on quicker especially during heavy traffic. Do remember that air-con must be switched off during traffic jam which means the aircond fan doesn’t run and less cooling through the radiator.

Latest Engine Bay Shot

Next Mods

Oil Cooler Kit
Crank Scraper
ARP Head Stud Bolts
Sard FPR.
Earl’s Fuel Filter
Complete Fuel Line conversion to SS braided hoses with Earl’s fitting and hose ends

Stay Tuned for more when I have the time.

A New Era

2008-06-23T15:36:00.005+08:00

I thought I will just make a quick update on the SP since it has been a while since the last entry. I have now clocked in about 1200 km since I purchased the car from Andrew. Nothing much has been done to SP except for the addition of a Koyo Aluminum Radiator and the Ohlin Coilovers. The DMS suspension was one of the items which I did not manage to secure when purchasing the car, so I had a good offer for a set of Ohlins from Japan. This was soon bought and fitted as the car looked "funny" on the standard suspension, ie huge ass suspension gap between the tire and fender especially on the fronts.

Picture of the SP on jacks just before changing to the Ohlins.

The other side with the Ohlins installed.

Unfortunately the pictures of the Ohlins before they were fitted were only taken through my handphone and they are not very good quality pictures.

The specification of the Ohlins:

Short Stroke Ohlins PCV for Lancer Evo 1,2,3
Front) Free length =200 mm, k=8 kgf/mm
Rear) Free length=200mm , k=6 kgf/mm

20 click adjustment for compression and rebound, not individually though.

Pillowball top mounts front and rear

Installation was fairly straightforward and installed it myself with help from a good buddy of mine, thanks Koh!. I must say that where the installation work was done the SP was actually the thorn among the roses!

Driving Impression

To be honest I thought the ride is going to be really stiff and jarring, but the damping of the Ohlins is really good so much so that its actually quite comfortable to be used daily. At least the SP is more comfortable then my Mini but that’s another story though!

I have wound the dampers to about 12 click from Max on the fronts and 15 clicks on the rear which is inline with Ohlins recommendation. The car was then aligned with front toe out of 1 deg and rears toe in of 1 deg as well. Cambers on the front were set to -1 deg. Potholes and speed humps are best avoided as the short stroke nature of the damper doesn’t really help in providing any form of comfort during these situations. However show it a good set of twisties and they really shine! High speed corners and highway ramps can be taken easily without any under or oversteer. The setting is very neutral and gives a high degree of confidence. All this is pretty much with the first try on the suspension setting. I need to play around more with different ride height and compression setting to really find out what it can do.

The SP has quite a lot done on the suspension and handling department already so the effect of the coilover is greatly multiplied I reckon. It’s akin to having porting work done to the cylinder head before a set of killer cams is fitted. Next step is to get the car corner weighted so that I can really benefit from the coilvoers.

S**t Happens!

2007-12-10T18:12:00.000+08:00

The SP got broken into recently (Nov 30) with numerous parts stolen including the one off full carbon pre-preg bonnet. My heart goes out for Mugil. Publishing this note on behalf of Mugil...

"SP was broken into on Friday morning and the following items have been stolen from the car:

Full CF Bonnet
Momo Corse Model 78 Steering Wheel
Works Bell Rapfix IIQuick Release (only the half connected to the Steering)
CF Side Mirror
Matspeed J5 ECU
R3 CF Gear Knob

If you know or hear or offered any of the parts stated above do contact me at 012-3350607. A small reward will be provided if any of the items above can be recovered."
Anyone wanting more pixs of the stolen items is also welcomed to email me or comment in this blog.

Jacko's New Wheels

2007-03-13T22:13:00.000+08:00

Article and words courtesy of Jacko Whacko!

Hi, finally installed the RPF1 after about 12months of considering it.... since boss gave us half day today, I headed down to the tyre shop for the installation. Paid the following

RM1850 for 4xrims + rim centering spacer + Alu Valves (New, after trade in old rims)
RM430 for Rays lugnuts
RM50 for new tyre removal tool

Need a new tyre removal socket as the Rays are 19mm and our original ones are 21mm.

Rims are light wei, handling went up one notch!! These are 16" and Enkei says it weights 13.7lbs = 6.2kg. The 15" are even more anorexic weigheing only 9.8lbs = 4.9kg. My tire guy initially bought in one 15" (silver) and two 16" (white). All of them are gone and I guess he wants to clear this. From what I read they are also very strong. I'm hoping that they will be excellent for track day. The car drives differently, small bumps and mid undulations are not so obvious now... reducing the unsprung weight also cause the steering to be a tad lighter and sharper.

I cant seem to find the center cap for the rims in Msai. To buy on-line is just to x, one will set you back US35.. OUCH!! Crazy man .. if any of you got jalan pls let me know, pics attached. They are special sized made for the Enkeis' only .. DUH!!

Got a set of Rays lugnuts too. These are the longer version ones, according to tire guy this is suppose to be better as they prevent scratches on the rims. Who says you cant have your rice and drive it too!! Hahahahaha ..... The rims even got a few eyefull from a bunch of ah bengs that were hanging around waiting for their carpet-zebra stripe dash-super spoiler vortex generator-brembo cover-hello kitty-interfooler super monster beast doing their alignment. I'm also a bit worried on caps of the aluminium valves beind nicked. Just yesterday I lost 3 on my old rims.. the new ones being a shade of ah beng blue .... sigh : (

There is also this ultralegga staring at me .. its nice and even lighter but out of my budget. Rims being white will have a headace cleaning it.. hopefully the guy that washes my car 3x a week wont complain too much... else have to top up his fee and buy him a can of rim cleaner every month.

I'm getting this for the price and performace and am hoping that the looks will grow on me ......

(Andrew) 16" Virgin white RPF1s

(Andrew) RPF1s installed with blue anodized Rays Engineering extended length lugnuts. Got Bling?

(Andrew) Lightweight aluminium air valve. These come with the RPF1s. Jacko, next time pls clean the wheel first before taking pixslar..

(Andrew) Now is this the fiercest looking SGTI in all Malaysia or what?

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

2007-02-18T12:53:00.000+08:00

I would like to wish Everyone A Very Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year!!! May The Coming Year Bring You Lots of Joy, Wealth and of course More Mods!

On Cloud 9!

2007-01-19T22:42:00.000+08:00

The SP was recently dynoed by it's new owner at GT Auto. Engine spec and tune is exactly the same as when I sold it cept for a Koyo aluminium radiator fitted a couple days before the dyno. I'll let the dyno chart below tell you how pleased I am with the results. Absolutely fab and worth all the BST thru the years!

If you're having difficulty with the maths this translates to more than 180ps at the crank once you factor in transmission loss. At least 5 more ps can be liberated by fine tuning the A/F ratio. As you can see the mapping's too rich from 4000+ rpm onwards. I would also tweak the cam lobe separation settings for more torque. Pls note that this engine is still running on hydraulic lifters. Cylinder head is standard fully ported 4G93T RS. Engine is Naturally Aspirated. No MIVEC or Snail cheating here. For comparison sake, a stock B16A big VTEC will dyno around 140-145ps. A B18C Spec R will dyno around 160ps. A stock 4G93P will dyno around 110ps or less.

The new owner has lotsa mods planned to take the SP to the next level. Most importantly he also has the budget I don't have.

The End of an Era The Beginning of Another

2006-11-19T18:49:00.000+08:00

All,

My apologies for the long delay in posts but I've been swamped with work and my new house. With great sadness and also happiness I'd like to announce that the SP has been sold and the new owner has already taken delivery of it. The monster is already roaming the streets of the Klang Valley as we speak. I'll let the new owner introduce himself in due time but suffice to say he is a car mod enthusiast and bought the SP nearly lock, stock and barrel. Mr MB already owns a trick car and has exciting plans to continue the development of the SP. I'll be sticking around this blog and should also be starting another soon on my Sentra. The N16 Files will however be more on general maintenance, ICE and oldie comfort (shudder) mods rather than all out performance. Getting a bit grey unfortunately. Stay tuned...

Time to Move On

2006-08-22T22:15:00.000+08:00

It's time to move on. I'm selling the SP and it's parts. Price of car would depend on specs wanted with it. Asking for RM35K for base car complete with 180+hp engine, some cf stuff and full superpro bushes, complete rear evo suspension
arms. Price of parts for sale.

Full carbon bonnet. 100% cf with no csm layer. Weights
4.5kg including frame. Stainless steel hook catch –
RM3K
Full carbon GT side mirror – RM500
Full carbon spark plug cover – RM200
Carbon timing belt cover – RM300
SSR Type C 16” X 7” wheels complete with Advan Neova [SOLD 30/8]
AD07 205-45 series tyres – RM3K [SOLD 30/8]
Racing Gear 7075 aluminium alloy forged lugnuts (16 pieces) – RM250 [SOLD 30/8]
Wilwood brake kit. Includes Dynapro calipers, wildwood
pads, brake hose + end fitting, caliper adapter and
12mm space – RM3.5K
Works Bell Rapfix II quick release boss kit – RM650 [SOLD 31/8]
Momo Corse Model 78 steering wheel (leather) – RM350 [SOLD 31/8]
Kaaz Powerpot 1.5 way plate limited slip differential
– RM2K. RM3K if include MIVEC gb and Jun lightweight
flywheel
Rear Whiteline 2-way adjustable GTI-spec anti-roll bar
(18mm) complete with Superpro D bushes – RM500
Rear Hot Bits strut bar – RM100
Front carbon strut bar with CNC machine aluminium
alloy end mounts – RM850
Carbon R3 shift knob – RM100 [SOLD 25/8]
Cusco brake cylinder stopper – RM200
Cusco oil catch can complete with Goodridge 200 series
hoses and Goodridge hose finishers – RM350
DMS 50mm WRC Group N spec dampers. 2 way independently
adjustable (20 for compression and 4 for rebound)
complete with Cusco pillowball aluminium plate top
mounts and DMS adapters – RM5.5K [SOLD]
Samco radiator hoses – RM200 [SOLD 31/8]
Carbon slam panel - RM200 [SOLD 25/8]
Ralliart engine oil cap – RM200 [SOLD 1/9]
Ralliart radiator cap 1.1 kg/cm – RM90 [SOLD 1/9]
Odyssey PC680 MJT battery including carbon battery
tray, wiring and termination – RM550
If you want the engine, find me a stock decent 4G93P engine, ECU and add in RM2K

Price negotiable. Serious enquiries pls contact me @ llsaw1@yahoo.com. And I really mean serious enquiries. Selling things on the net is becoming a big hassle nowadays. Lotsa emails for pixs requests, etc, etc and that's it. Also I know the market price and what I'm offering. No offence but contact me only and only if you can really afford. Also if you have a counter offer pls make it reasonable. Do not waste my time and yours. As an example one person tried bring the price of my Sentra's less than 2 month old CD MP3 head unit to RM150 when a brand new set will set u back bout RM600+.

So the answer to WHY?
1. I barely have time nowadays to mod or run the SP. Only ever run the SP during weekends. Mileage is down to about 30-40km per week.
2. I don't really have the excess cash to justify playing around with 2 cars. Make that 3 if I include the other half's Optra.
3. Getting really disillusioned and sick with having to do nearly every other mod myself and with the local mod industry. There's still no dyno today in Penang so this means any engine mods means a trip down to KL. I've also been waiting for some development parts for close to a year.
4. To really further take the SP to the next level would require big big bucks. Something which I can ill afford as I have a semi-d house which I need to furnish and renovate. That should nicely take up all my time and finances for the next 6 months or so.

To sum it all up time is catching up fast. I'll continue this blog to the best of my ability as I still have lotsa remaining articles to write. Plus the development continues as my bro Jack is getting some of the SP's works parts and is continuing to push the barrier! Finally to all you fellow Proton Wira, Satria, Putra & GTI/SR3 enthusiasts out there I would like to thank you for all the compliments. You guys and gals (I hope) have been wonderful. It's been great running this blog. Keep the mods coming.

Race Tech Magazine Braking Upgrade Calculator

2006-08-04T20:46:00.000+08:00

The link below brings you to a very nifty Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which automatically calculates your braking requirements and upgrade to generate the ultimate stopping power you aspire to. The tool even calculates for you the weight transfer under braking for your car, how much stopping power you are generating at each end of your car and even possible caliper piston sizes vs master cylinder ratio. So if you even wondered whether this 10 piston caliper with 40mm diameter pistons and 350mm diameter rotor will suit you car with a 1" master cylinder use this tool. Fab stuff! I spent countless time playing with the thing.

Race Tech's Braking Model

For starters try this. Stock GTi/Putra uses a single piston sliding caliper with a 54mm diameter piston, 256mm front rotor/260mm rear rotor and 15/16" or 23.8125mm master cylinder. The EVO1-3's twin piston caliper uses twin 42.9mm pistons, 276mm front rotor/260mm rear rotor and 1" or 25.4mm master cylinder. First person to calculate the difference in piston area for the Putra vs the EVO1-3 and the disc/rotor torque on one wheel assuming both use the same coefficient friction pads wins a free teh tarik from me :)

And pls.. Getting your stock rotors drilled will not give you more stopping power. Period! It will only make the shop drilling your rotors richer at the expense of your money.

Ralliart Engine Mounts

2006-08-04T20:17:00.000+08:00

Most petrolheads get excited when “glamorous” mods such as turbokits, bodykits, gt wings, cams, intakes and exhaust are being discussed. Tell them you just spend a couple hundred bucks on engine mounts and the exclamation would be “WTF!”

Like suspension bushes, the engine mount is an indispensable part of a vehicle. It’s simple function is to attach the engine to the vehicle at it's designated position while eliminating vibration and unnecessary engine/gearbox movement. If you’ve got 25% or more additional power from the engine it’s time to look for stiffer mounts as the stock softy mounts are probably way past their limit. And no you won’t get 25% more power with just an intake, header and exhaust. If you persist problems such as broken engine mounts and exhaust will occur in due time. This is due to too much engine movement as the stock mounts are unable to control the engine movement. Having previously broken my exhaust twice due to too much engine movement I can tell you this fact is true.

I was originally using the WRC Motorsports upgraded solid engine mounts but these do not last. The bottom mount cracked in less than 3000km! The term “solid” means there are no gaps or holes in the engine mount’s rubber leading to a stiffer mount. Have since upgraded to Ralliart engine mounts for the 2 bottom engine mounts while retaining the WRC Motorsport mounts for the other 2 top left and right engine mounts. The 4G93 uses 4 engine mounts to hold the engine to the chassis. The are 2 at the bottom controlling longitudinal movement (front and back) and 2 on top at each side of the engine controlling transverse movement (right and left). This mounting config is the same for all variants of the 4G92 and also the 4G63 EVO1-3. The Ralliart Group N engine mounts are made from HS80 rubber for the bottom 2 mounts and HS90 rubber for the top 2 mounts. They are very hard. My advice for most people is to only upgrade the bottom 2 while retaining the stock for the top 2. If you’re a sucker for punishment or have a vibration fetish you can go for all 4!

Picture below of the Ralliart front lower engine mount (Part Number RA581297K1).

Picture below of the Ralliart rear lower engine mount (Part Number RA309269K2).

As you can see from the pixs above these mounts are really beefy and hard!

The part number for the top 2 mounts is RA871602K1. The part number is the same for both (left and right) mounts. Do bear in mind the Ralliart engine mounts do not come with the mounting brackets so the stock mounts will have to be pressed-out of the stock brackets and the Ralliart mounts pressed-in in place. I elected to buy new stock engine mounts complete with brackets as these are fairly cheap. Dutifully sandpapered the stock brackets and had them resprayed in matt black. With the new mounts installed engine movement is totally minimized under hard acceleration and shifting. The other positive side effect is quicker shifts as a result of the minimized engine and gearbox movement. The downside to all this would be even more vibration at idle but hey if you’re on big cams big deal! If you want less vibration try something softer like R3 engine mounts. I would stay away from the WRC Motorsports engine mounts (at least for the bottom mounts) as they don’t last. A flashy engine damper might make the engine bay look racier but they cost more (the branded ones at least) and the effect is not as good. Nothing beats upgraded engine mounts IMHO. Also if you’re curious, race-only cars run aluminium/metal engine mounts.

Got Roll? Upgrading the Anti-Roll Bar

2006-07-09T22:10:00.000+08:00

The Putra runs a pretty archaic and basic anti-roll bar setup. As you know an anti-roll bar is a very useful component to dial in a car’s handling by controlling the understeer/oversteer characteristics apart from reducing body roll. Mike Kojima’s excellent article on dialing in the ride and handling for a Sentra which has a similar setup) is a useful reference. Uncle Sam people like to call the anti-roll bar an "anti-sway bar" while most manufacturers typically call anti-roll bars "stabilizer" bars in their brochures. They are all the same.

For some apparent reason the 99 year and post-spec Putra runs an 18mm diameter front arb setup with a 13mm rear. Not sure why Proton reverted to this setup as ealier pre-99 spec Putras were running a 23mm front arb. Maybe to ensure the Putra handles inferior compared to the GTi? ;) The Wira/Satria 1.6 and 1.8 runs a similar (23mm front) setup. Compare this to a DC2 Integra Type R for example with 24mm front and 22mm rear 96 year spec setup and 25mm front/23mm rear for 98 year and onward models. BTW the Wira/Satria 1.3 & 1.5 runs a front 18mm arb with no rear arb. You get the picture? Arrrggh! The anti-roll bars use a horizontal blade attachment point and the arb links are merely vertical rods with 2 pieces of rubber to act as the arb bush with the arb sandwich in between. This is the same for the front and rear. Pix of the front arb attachment point below.

The front arb is attached to the front lower arm and the rears also to the rear lower arm. GTI in comparison use a "direct acting" front setup with the arb itself directly connected to the front strut via a ball joint type arb link. The arbs have vertical end blades. The rears also use a similar setup but with the same mounting points as the Putra. The ball joint link is far superior to rubber bushes as unwarranted flex is eliminated. It is however far more expensive than rubber. A set of GTi arb links will cost you RM300+. Per end of car! The end links cost more than the arb itself! If you must know the GTI runs an 18mm front setup and 13mm rear too but the front direct acting setup and the use of much better quality arb end links means the arbs give a much better effect equivalent to going to a bigger diameter bar.

When I upgraded the SP’s arbs I was looking to reduce some roll inherent with the DMS 50mm setup as the double progressive springs are wound pretty soft at the beginning compared to a linear spring setup. I decided to "upgrade" the front arbs back to 23mm stock Proton/Mitsu arb instead of going the GTi route. The Proton/Mitsu part number for this arb is MB844453 and the arb is pretty cheap @ around 200 smackers. Reason is if you go to a larger diameter (>18mm) GTI front arb setup there is a tendency for the arb mount flange on the strut to fail. I am not sure if this problem is only inherent with the DMS shock’s flange but the fact that Mitsu reverted back to the front arbs being linked to the lower arm for the EVO4-9 tells the story. One of my Brudder’s actually cracked that flange twice on the track and had to send the shocks back to DMS for additional welding and reinforcement. Not a nice experience. I also upgraded the "D" bushes (Part No: SPF1572-23K) and the arb end link bushes (Part No: SPF2092BKP) to Superpro polyurethane (PU) items. PU is stiffer than rubber and has way less flex. For those of you in the know, Whiteline already supply Superpro oem PU "D" bushes which come free along with the arb itselft so why am I buying them separately? Pix below shows why.

No offence but no way I'm going to put yellow arb "D" bushes along with my silver arb. They look more like sorbet or egg tart. Got rice? At least the Superpro ones are dark purple blue. If anyone's interested these VERY YELLOW 18mm rear arb PU "D" bushes are yours for RM25. Buzz me. If you must Whiteline sells a stiffer front arb too but at only 24mm diameter I personally feel this is not a big enough upgrade in stiffness ratio for the price you are paying. The part number for this arb is BPF14. Pls ensure you change the "D" bushes to one that allows a 24mm arb.

For the rears I decided on the trick GTI ball joint setup. This means that I will have change and upgrade not only the arb but the end link itself. Now this is going to sound most interesting to those who think the GTI is Lotus Tuned Handling. The part numbers for both Mitsubishi Mirage/Lancer EVO1-3 rear arb end links are the same. Still unconvinced I purchased the links from Proton and a similar link from Mitsubishi Japan to compare. Picture below of the EVO3 rear arb end link and packaging with part number. Make your judgement.

Worse of all PESC is charging bout RM320+ or so retail for a set of these end links whereas I can get a similar set of brand new end links air freighted from Mitsu Japan for less than RM290. And guess what! The same also applies to the fronts! Also purchased new nuts and washers from Mitsu Japan for this project. I decided to go to an adjustable rear arb from Whiteline. Part Number: BPR16Z. An adjustable arb means there are more than one mount holes on the arb end blades for you to adjust the stiffness ratio of the bar by connecting the end links via these holes. The "closer" hole mount point will give a stiffer ratio vs a "further" mount point. The Whiteline adjustable arb has 2 holes. I have seen some setups with 3 holes. And yes, Whiteline sells both adjustable and non-adjutable front and rear arbs for our cars with different diameters. You can look at them all here in Whiteline’s comprehensive on-line catalog
The newer Whiteline arbs have a silver powder coating and look way better aesthetically compared to the Smurf Blue older versions. Quality is pretty decent but I was pretty unhappy bout the end blades. They look uneven compared to say something from Cusco. Pix of my arb below.

Also upgraded the rear "D" bushes (Part No: SPF1826-18K). Pix of the installed setup below. You can clearly see the new GTi/EVO2-3 spec end links and how the arb is connected to the end links. Also in the pix is the purple bling coloured Superpro arb "D" bush. At least it's not yellow. Can hear Coldplay singing that darn song in the background. Urrrgh!

Another pix of the new setup. The project was done way back when I was still using Yokohama AVS ES-100 tyres. Pardon the confusion.

With these upgrades installed, understeer is greatly minimized and you can rotate the Putra during corners far easier than the stock setup. Overall a very worthwhile but expensive upgrade. The whole project cost me in excess of RM1.5K with the Whiteline arb being the biggest hit at 750+ smackers or so a piece. If you think this is not hardcore enough Jacko Whacko is currently on a project using spherical bearing end links. These bearings were actually being passed around for licking during his wedding dinner! Lotsa customized machining being done to fabricate the bearing mount shafts. Sneak pixs of the project below. Just look at these end links compared to the stock GTI links. Farkin Huge! No limits to the Madness!

The longer link is the front btw. Pix below of the rear arb setup on a Realtime Acura RSX aka Honda Integra DC5 touring car participating in the US World Challenge Series. The arb blade and end link is shown in the red bordered box.

The arb is in the boot itself and is an adjustable hollow tubed assembly. Still the arb rate is unbelievably stiff. If engineered correctly a hollow tubed arb can be made lighter while maintaning the same stiffness as thinner solid tubed arb. Also noticed that there are no bends on the arb as there is no need to clear chassis and suspension arms in this setup. Not sure of the material used for the arb but on World Rally Car's it's titanium.
Another pix of the rear arb link and the funky looking rear suspension arms. The next time a manufacturer proudly boasts their Civic, Integra, Impreza, Evo or even the Hyundai Accent RXS is nearly the same as the works car being raced/rallied in top level competition you will know better!

Will talk about my rear suspension arms and links next. And also a feature on Superpro suspension arm bushes. Stay tuned.

Behaviour

2006-06-21T21:42:00.000+08:00

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..

Porn Mags

2006-06-19T13:38:00.000+08:00

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!

My New Daily Ride - Nissan Sentra 1.6 SG Manual

2006-06-12T20:30:00.000+08:00

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..

Killing 2 Birds with 1 Stone

2006-05-30T21:08:00.000+08:00

The power window switch on the SP's passenger side decided to go into semi retirement after 6+ years of faithful service. The switch could still bring down the side window but couldn't bring it back up. Bummer! While replacing the switch I decided to remove the inner door cover and replace all the mild steel bolts with lightweight aluminium potassium bichromate coated items. Also did the driver door side. There are 8 M6 X 12mm bolts per door on the inner side and 16 bolts total for 2 doors. Picture below of the new lightweight bolts. Using the larger than standard 18mm diameter washers.

Picture below of the new bolts on the passenger side door

Picture of the faulty switch. Switch cost me RM48. Bolts cost me.. errrm....

TMM Archives - Ralliart Group N Long Hub Bolts/Lugs

2006-05-26T22:07:00.000+08:00

If you're planning to run thick wheel spacers (>10mm) to clear your 4/6/8 pot race calipers then the stock hub bolts/lugs will not have sufficient thread left for the lug nut to securely fasten the wheel when the wheel is mounted. The stock hub bolts/lugs are only 45mm in length. My Japanese supplier was able to supply me slightly longer 55mm length bolts but I decided to go for the pukka Ralliart WRC Long Hub Bolts (Part Number: RX031877A1) as these are 66mm in length and made of much stronger tensile grade steel than the stock bolts/lugs. You will need to increase the strength of the material to make up as you're already loosing stiffness and strength going to a longer bolt. Believe I have seen lugs break when too much muscle power is made to loosen an overtighten lug nut. Not a nice sight and a real pain to fix. The bolts are also zinc plate to prevent corrosion and ultimately rust. Picture below of the bolts pressed mounted to my front hub/axle assemble.

Picture below of the entire assy with my CNC machined 12mm wheel spacer mounted. As you can see lots of thread and length of hub bolt/lug left for the wheel and lug nut.

These long lugs just perfectly reach near the end of the thread of my Racing Gear lugnuts with the wheel mounted.

Price of the Ralliart long hub bolts unfortunately is not so friendly. It cost a whopping near RM500 for 8 bolts/lugs. No shit!

Carbon Side "GT" Mirrors

2006-05-24T20:57:00.000+08:00

The stock powered side/wing mirrors weight 1.1kg per side (2.2kg total). These are less than 200 grammes for complete assembly including mounting plate. Great way to lose some high up weight. Also the size and shape of the mirrors results in less drag compared to the stock mirrors. Spoon Sports, Signal Auto, SPA Design and numerous other go-fast companies make similiar mirrors. Picture below of carbon GT side mirror including it's mounting plate. The mount leg is anodized aluminium while the ball pivot is stainless steel and threaded for easy adjustment. Mirrors used are convex so appear objects in mirror will appear larger than normal. Helps to compensate for the smaller sized mirror. I have no visibility issues using these side mirrors.

Picture below of the mirror mounted to the SP. All in all a pretty decent mod. Looks trick, lessens weight and also reduces aero drag too. Also took the opportunity to remove the mirror adjustment controller from the dash and replace it with a carbon blocking plate. Not recommended for those who have a mirror adjustment fetish. Fasteners used are stainless steel. Will lose even more weight going to titanium & aluminium.

One note of caution though. You'll want to be careful parking your car anywhere with these mirrors are they're pretty easy to be ripped off and stolen.

Here's a recent pix of the SP with these mirrors waiting to be chassis foamed. Will do an article on that later..

The Development Never Stops - Preview of Jack's Fuel Line Conversion

2006-05-12T13:48:00.000+08:00

While I've been busy lately with non-SP related matters (such as getting my daily banger) my mates have been at the mod stuff even harder. Picture below of Jack's latest project. He converted not only the fuel rail supply line to AN fittings with braided hoses but the fuel pressure regulator and fuel return lines as well. This guy never ceases to amaze me. Enjoy the art work below. You can just imagine the planning, lengths and types of braided hoses, alloy AN hose ends and not forgetting the $$$$$ involved. Just the fuel rail supply line + adapter alone will cost RM400+ You can more than double it with the fpr end. And that doesn't include buying the fpr itself. I think you can get the basic Sard fpr for below RM400 if you try hard enough. Jack's using Earl's hoses and end fittings while I'm using Goodridge. The different brands are not interchangeable except for the adapters. Anyone out there wanna try Aeroquip, XRP or Icore?

Hopefully Wacko Jacko will do a full article when he's up to it. The gaffer's getting married next month. Happy Getting Married Bro!!!! Watch this space.

The other nutcase is Senior. He's been hard at work most of his off days stripping the tar and sound deadening from his monster. With his own hands! Senior's also got himself a Motordrive race seat. Jacko and Senior should be called the IMF - Impossible Modding Force! Think I better go dig a hole somewhere for myself to hide. As it is and at the rate things are going lately I might have to take a sabbatical from modding. Planning to get hitched early next year and will also be moving into a new love nest - SP, new car and all. Might work on small projects when funds and time become avail. My shifter base bush kit for one is still sitting in my room gathering dust. Will see how things go..

Symborski Transmission Shifter Base Kit

2006-04-30T11:53:00.000+08:00

These are ready to go in when I can find some time off work to get on with my life. It's been hell the pass two weeks with up to 15-16 work hours per day. The Symborski transmission shifter base bushes are made from aluminium and will help to eliminate the sloppy movement of the shifter base plate resulting in much more defined shift pattern. The stock rubber bushes are designed with NVH elimination as the primary focus and little else. According to Jack they're lighter than the stock rubber bushes too believe it or not.

My friggin titanium fasteners took more than 4 weeks to arrive. Also, notice that the bolts are natural colour while the washers are anodized blue. Everything was supposed to be blue. Miscomunication from my part due to work stress. Aarrrrgh!. Nevermind. Once everything is installed you won't be able to see s**t. The clear coloured titanium bolt with blue anodized washer also turns out looking pretty cool imho. Full installation report to follow. Oh.. these fasteners cost nearly double the cost of the Symborski transmission shifter base bushes. The kit (without the Ti fasteners is RM120) if you're interested. E-mail me.

It's a Blue World! Cusco "Pillowball" Suspension Top Mounts

2006-04-30T10:14:00.000+08:00

If you're using uprated shocks and want more improvement in steering and suspension feel and damping, the next step to go would be to replace the stock rubber mounts on top of your front and rear shocks with spherical bearinged versions. The spherical bearing eliminates unwanted rubber flex which can hinder the shocks damping. The 101 in Suspension Theory states that the shock absorber should be the only component doing the damping. This is however not the case for road cars. Rubber bushes reduce NVH and maximum ride comfort but they also flex and introduce unwarranted uncontrollable damping movement of their own. The Japs like to call spherical bearings "pillowball mounts" hence the term.

I emailed DMS on which was the most suitable top mount for my 50mm shock and was surprised to hear Cusco. In fact Cusco even used to oem for DMS Japan. Since then DMS has manufactured their own specific and improved version of the top mount but last I heard these are only available for the newer Evos and Imprezas. Picture below of the new DMS Top Mount. Picture below of the new DMS top mount for Evo7-9

Anyway, back to my Cuscos. I decided to replace both my front and rear top mounts at one go. Also had to order the DMS fitting kit (top nut and metal adapter) to enable to Cusco to clear the larger diameter DMS 50mm shaft. Price per mount is about RM750 so to replace both the front and rear sets would set you back RM1.5K. For those on a budget I would recommend only replacing the fronts as these are designed to allow you to adjust the camber easily. The rears are fixed. Picture below of the front Cusco pillowball mount (Part Number 508 410A). The nut with the shorter shaft (left most) is the DMS fitting kit.

Picture below showing the bottom of the mount. The camber is adjusted via the bottom sliding steel black plate and pillow ball section. The top blue anodized plate is made from 60mm thick 2017S heat treated aluminium alloy.

Both top and bottom plates are held together via 4 M6 X 20mm bolts which Cusco supplied the el cheapo mild steel variety. Arrgh! Needless to say I dutifully replaced these with stainless steel versions.

The Cusco rear mounts are available in 3 types to incorporate different spring diameters used by different shocks. The rear mounts are availble to suit 60mm, 65mm and 70mm coil spring diameters. Yes, these can also be used for conventional non-coilover shocks. If in doubt check with your shock manufacturer. Picture below of rear mount, part number 508 421S for 70mm spring which was advised by DMS to be used for my shock. The part number for 60mm spring is 508 421 A60 and 65mm spring is 508 421 A65.

Installation took the most of the day and the shocks would have to be removed from the car. Closeup picture below of the Cusco top mount installed on my DMS 50mm front shock.

Closeup picture below of rear shock/damper with Cusco top mount.

Rear shocks ready to be installed back on the SP.

So how does the car perform with these mounts installed? One word.. "Excellent"!. Steering feel is much improve and so is the suspension damping. For those using rubber top mounts you can literally feel the mounts flexing under hard cornering load and this is totally eliminated with the Cuscos installed. The cons? Well if you want first class NVH then the Cusco mounts are not for you. You can really feel the road! Also, until the spherical bearing is fully broken in, you will get an alarming clunk from your springs when turning on an uneven surface. Takes a couple weeks to clear up but then honestly I couldn't be bothered. The SP's loud as it is already. Also the flex on the rubber bushes helps to reduce the load to your chasis suspension turrets. Going to stiffer mounts simply means all this load is now acting on your chassis shock mount turrets. Inspect them regularly for signs of fatigue or crack at the seams.

Header Design, Fabrication and Terminology 101

2006-04-28T23:50:00.000+08:00

Casey Heerman, Assistant Technical Director of Burns Stainless LLC (a popular American Exhaust Design Consultant and Parts Supplier) recently posted this article in the K20A.org forum. Excellent read..

Header Material- headers can be made from a variety of different materials. 304 ss 321 ss Mild Steel Titanium and Inconel 625

304 SS - Is your run of the mill material and will work for most NA applications the most common thickness is .065 wall or 16g, to save some weight you can go to 18g .049 or even 20g .035 for the experienced fabricator

321 ss - Is found on most turbocharged applications in a 16g .065 wall thickness. The use of 321 is advantageous as it will maintain it's strength properties at elevated temperatures. 321 is also good for use in 20g .035 Na headers where better strength properties are desirable.

Mild Steel - Is your standard run of the mill tubing very easy to fabricate with, and very inexpensive. It does rust and it will eventually decay into nothing as far as I'm aware from a headercentric stand point it offer no favorable properties over mild steel, except for the slightly lower coefficient of thermal expansion

Inconel 625 - IS the most wonderful material to use in a header but heck we don't all make what bill gates does. 625 has excellent strength properties, fatigue resistance, it doesn’t grow as much as stainless and it insulated better then stainless. It is essentially a Super stainless alloy. It's very expensive and can be used in wall thicknesses of .028 22g to fabricate NA headers, which can provide a great weight savings.

Titanium - I have heard mixed opinions on the use of Ti for header construction, some say it wont last some say it will regardless it's extremely hard to bend and even harder to find in the sizes needed so we won't delve into this too much. However if used it can offer a wonderful weight savings.

Head Flange - This is the base of the header normally offered in two different materials 304SS and Mild Steel. Both materials have good properties, the mild steel being quite a bit better for the beginner builder as it does not warp near as much when you weld it. When using a 304 SS flange it is going to warp quite a bit, it will require surfacing, a 20" face grinder is great for this. Flanges should be the same shape as the exhaust port and a certain amount larger to allow for the tubing to be fit to the port a rule of thumb is large enough to fit .065 tubes.

Primary tubes - These XX number of tubes will channel exhaust gas to the merge Collector. They should have both a length and a size measurement along with notation of steps.

Example: Primaries: 28" X 1.75 Od : This would indicate a primary length of 28" OAL starting at the face of the cylinder head and ending at the very end of the tube.

The primary tubes length and size is very important, for different length and sizes you can actually change the power curve pretty significantly if you have an engine that responds well to exhaust changes.

On a Tri-Y or 4-2-1 header they still have primary tubes, the primaries on a tri-y start at the face of the head and end at the end of the tube that enters the first set of collectors. Immediately after the primary tubes end the secondary tubes begin.

Secondary Tubes - These start Immediately after the primary tubes end, they Include a portion of the collector. This is another area of adjustability that can offer good header tuning. When the header is constructed properly you will be able to see a change in the engine by adjusting the size and length of the secondary's.

Merge Collectors - Merge Collectors are MOST COMMONLY REFFERED TO BE THERE INLET SIZE. The inlet size is the Od size of the tube that the collector must slip over. a 3" Collector to me means 3" primary tubes.

Parts of the collector
Inlet - As stated above, in our world this will 99% of the time be a slip fit. If your going to call the collector refer to it by this size

Collector Choke (minor diameter) - This is the size the can make or break a good header This doesn’t need to be 3" unless you have something super weird going on with your engine. I have not design a Honda header yet that even needs close to a 3" Collector choke. I’m not saying it wont or cant happen, I’m just very skeptical of it

Final Outlet - The final outlet can be configured a variety of ways. Most common for road going cars that need mufflers is a transition from the choke to the correct tailpipe size and a ring (ring is a straight section of tubing where you can slip fit weld a flange V-band etc.) . Another configuration that we often use and popularized if not Pioneered is the megaphone with reverse cone we have used this in many applications with great success and use it as often as possible. When using a large diameter final outlet like a 3" on a K series engine, if bogging is epxerienced at low rpm you need to consider retuning the engine, this not a fault of header, large exhaust or open exhaust

Header Configurations
4-1: a 4-1 Header is typically going to operate in a farily narrow rpm band of say 4000 RPM, people that ask a 4:1 to do more then this are asking way too much of the header. However the rpm range can be lengthened by the implemetion of a megaphone and reverse cone and will work well when sized correctly

4-2-1 or Tri-Y: A Tri-Y will typically operate in a very broad rPm range. When designed correctly they will dramatically increase the mid range without loss of peak HP

And here's a recent example of the excellent work done by Burns Stainless. Exhaust shown is a 4-1-2 long primary design for a K24 road race engine. Material used to fabricate the header is 321 stainless. One day I will have such an exhaust on the SP. Price of header? Don't ask..

Daily Driver

2006-04-23T15:11:00.000+08:00

It's time to get a daily beater as I'm getting old and want a comfy conventional car that I can cruise around. Slowly... The SP just hates going slow and pottling around in traffic is a pain due to the on-off effect of the lightweight flywheel and big cams. It's like trying to take your pet Lion for a walk in the park if you get the drift. Want a 4 door banger that handles reasonably well and doesn't look like it just came from a senior folk's home. Budget's 100K max as spending more means I won't have enough moolah to continue the development of the SP. Currently in my top 2 list are the Nissan Sentra 1.6 Manual (Hoorah!) and the Suzuki Swift. Suggestions, comments and opinions? Wifey's dead against me getting another Proton. Don't suggest the Chevie Optra as wifey already has one and also not the Vios as I talked her out of buying it to get the Optra instead. And no offence to Honda City owners but that car reminds me of something from the frog family possibly a tadpole..

Catpain

2006-04-14T21:16:00.000+08:00

Picture above is what one of my local friendly stray cats did to my car cover. Because of the cat problem I've been having for the last couple years I've had to change car covers every 6 months or so. And because of the cat, the SP now has 2 car covers and lotsa rags on the bonnet to protect it. Not that I'm being paranoid but imagine what would happen if kitty dearest exercises it's claw sharpening on the carbon bonnet! This latest incident even holed the additional car cover below. Luckily the bonnet was unmarked. On top of this the cats like to fertilize the garden and backyard with their faeces and my poor parents and me have had to wash the compound and backyard nearly every other week.

I've tried everything from putting additional fencing (but these buggers climb better than Spiderman) to washing the compound with vinegar. (only worked for bout 2 weeks before our excellent rains washed off everything) to chasing them and spraying them with water but they keep coming back. This latest incident is fast approaching the last straw as far as I'm concerned. Apart from getting a shotgun and blowing these buggers to kitty heaven does someone have a better suggestion? Any volunteers to come catch the cats?

Evo Boot Bar

2006-04-10T20:15:00.000+08:00

Since the Evo5, Mitsubishi has installed an additional bar in the boot in an effort to make the rear chassis stiffer. The bar installs via the 2 bolts holding the rear bumper support/reinforcement. Picture of said bar from a Mitsu Evo7 brochure.

While surfin the web and doing my research on car mods I came across several Jap Mirage and Lancer web sites highlighting this mod and what caught my eye was the fact that this means the same bar can also be fitted to the Wira, Putra and Satria. A couple emails to Ralliart and also a couple hundred bucks (about RM300) poorer the boot bar dutifully arrived at my door step. Weight of the bar is next to nothing as it is constructed fromp pressed aluminium plate. Installation was a no-brainer and DIY. All you need to do is to remove 2 bolts, place the bar over the bolt holes in the boot making sure the holes on the 2 corners of the bar are aligned with the bolt holes and re-fasten back the bolts. I also took the opportunity to replace the 2 bolts and washers with Ti items. Pictures below of bar installed on the SP.

The bar takes up very very minimal space in the boot so for those of you who like to use your boot as a mobile drawer or cabinet don't worry. The effect can be felt immediately with less squeaks emnating from the boot area especially when going over speed bumps that seem to be everywhere in our country.

TMM Archives - Carbon Radiator "Slam" Panel

2006-04-05T20:15:00.000+08:00

A good way to prevent the airflow from spilling out of the gap between the radiator and the car's front subframe would be to fit a radiator slam panel. The slam panel blocks out the gap thus ensuring the airflow is only through the radiator improving cooling efficiency. Picture below of the radiator slam panel for the SP. Fits any Satria/Wira/Putra/GTI. If you're one of those that think raising the back of your bonnet with spacers looks cool then the slam panel will not clear the bonnet as my bro Senior found out much to his dismay. I choose not to cut a hole for the radiator although that can be done. Removing the radiator also removes a couple hundred grammes of useless weight.

Closeup of the bottom surface. Yes, it's 101% carbon. No CSM aka fibreglass.

Installed on the SP. Button head bolt on the slam panel is Titanium. The 4 bolts holding the top radiator brackets is PB 7075 aluminium.

Ralliart Group N Exhaust Hangers

2006-04-01T22:07:00.000+08:00

A good way to extend the life of your exhaust by preventing it from moving too much under hard acceleration and braking would be to upgrade the stock exhaust hangers. The stock exhaust hangers are really too soft and they get even worse over a period of time. Too much movement of the exhaust would just lead to more stress related failures.

I have decided to upgrade my stock muffler hangers to Ralliart Group N items. These are made from Hs90 grade rubber and really much much stiffer than the stock hangers. The Putra runs 7 of such hangers but unless you like a vibrator to go with your performance car it would do you well to upgrade only 2 to 4 of these hangers. Do bear in mind that these hangers are essentially for race/rally/competition use where NVH is not in the agenda. I would recommend the header flange to exhaust piping/catalytic converter hanger section and the rear section of the exhaust muffler. Saves your hard earned money too as each hanger costs more than RM50 so if you upgrade all 7 it's more than 350 moolahs. Picture below of the 2 available types of Ralliart exhaust hangers. The Putra only uses the oval shaped one on the left (Part Number RA906124K1). The other triangular shaped one is for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 4 onwards(Part Number RA651790K1). However only 1 unit of RA651790K1 is used. The other 6 are still the oval shaped hangers.

Picture below of installed Ralliart exhaust hangers

SP's Wheels and Brakes

2006-03-27T17:57:00.000+08:00

A couple people have asked me bout the SP's wheels and brakes so here's a close up..

Front Brakes are Wilwood Dynapro 4 piston billet aluminium calipers with 276mm slotted rotors from DBA. Would love to go to a 295mm two-piece (aluminium bell) setup if and when the $$$$ materializes. Brake pads are Wilwood Polymatrix E-Compound. Master cylinder size is 1". Brake lines are Goodridge 600 series. Wheels are SSR Type C 16" 7" Offset 42 PCD100 4 lug but I'm running a 12mm spacer so effective front offset is +30mm. Also running longer 66mm Ralliart Group N lugs as the stock lugs does not offer enough thread for the lugnuts due to the spacer. Lugnuts are 7075 Anodized CNC Machined Aluminium items from Racing Gear @ Compomotive UK. Master cylinder size is 1" from an EVO1-3 (up from stock 15/16"). Cost so far is errrrm..

R3 Stage 3 4-1 Header - The Full Rundown

2006-03-23T21:43:00.000+08:00

It is important to remember that an engine is essentially a big air pump. While the cams and ports work to ingest the air the exhaust must be there to maintain the vacuum effect. While forced induction or turbocharged engines use an air compressor that is driven via the exhaust to spool the air into the engine, a Normally/Naturally Aspirated engine is totally relying on Mother Nature and the Laws of Physics. But remember what goes into the engine, must also come out. Header tuning is getting the length, diameter and merge of the pipes right to maintain or even enhance this air pump effect via scavenging. Get the combination wrong and you lose power. Simple as that. I'm not going to go into detail on header theory for my post though. You can read bout it more at Burns Stainless . Tuan aka Michael Delaney has also written an excellent on header at the Team Integra website.

With the build engine being used by the SP, I was really looking for a long primary 4-2-1 header but this was not to be despite numerous emails to TH Motorsport in the UK. For one thing they wanted to sell me the header used in the Kermit M21 racecar for 550 GBP not including shipping. The other was when I said "Yes, I'm ok to pay" they never got back to me despite several emails. Believe it or not. Talk about poor customer service. I can tell you that with the spec of the 4G93 engine used on the SP, the 4-2-1 Hot Bits header I'm using is the No.1 power limiter despite extensive porting. Anyway fast forward 2-3 years and my bro, a one Adian Yein Khalid from R3 (Race Rally Research) aka Proton Motorsports finally tells me they have a decent header for me. This is the extended 4-1 Stage 3 stainless steel header for highly tuned/race spec engines and believe it or not the retail price was an unbelievable RM630. Very very reasonable considering most Jap spec headers like the Toda, Jun for Honda engines are 2+ to 3 or 4K. The long primary Hytech 4-2-1 header with anti-reversion chambers costs RM6-7K+. What price workmanship and quality? The price is simply too good to be true considering the fact that RPW from Australia was trying to sell me a similar spec header but in mild steel for nearly RM2K!!! R3 has extensively dyno tested this header and the gains are 6hp over 6000rpm for an engine with standard cam. On a race spec engine with 272 duration cams, the gains were much more at 4-5hp across the rev range from 3000rpm onwards. So much for a 4-1 header only making power at the top end huh? I've personally also seen a Mugen 4-1 header making 6hp across the rev range compared to a stock 96 spec DC2 Integra Type R header. For 98 year Honda actually went to a extended 4-1 header for the ITR. Goes to show that there is not such thing as a universal header for all engine specs. Match the header to the tune of your engine.

Now if you wanna know why stainless steel is so much better than el cheapo mild steel for header construction, you can read it here. Would have loved an Inconel or Ti header but I doubt I'll ever save up enough. Anyway, a couple phone calls and sms messages and foolah the header was at my doorstep. Anyway that was way back in August last year and I'm now using the second generation improved production quality header at the same list price. Picture below of the R3 header ready for installation. As stated the header tubes including the flex joint or "pineapple" is made from stainless steel. The top inlet flange and single outlet pipe flange are however made from mild steel and finished with high temp black paint.

Compared to the earlier spec header I was testing out previously, this header uses thicker gauge stainless steel so should be much more durable in the long run. R3 have also tried to improved on the quality and welding of the "R3" logo on the no.1 header tube.
Picture below of the earlier spec header with "R3" logo.

Picture below of the latest spec header. Nice try at robotic "fish scale welds"

I'm using a better quality header gasket for my latest install. Picture below of how large the 4-1 header is compared to a standard 4-2-1 Hot Bits header. Not only are the primaries much longer on the R3 4-1 but larger in diameter too. Sorry bout the picture quality. Shakey hands when taking the pix..

Picture below of how much the R3 Stage 3 4-1 header extends down below the oil sump. If your car's slammed you might want to be very careful especially when going over bumps.

Being like any other mass production header there is quite a lot of excess weld left on the flanges. This should be remove via a dremel as it impedes exhaust flow.

Takes about 2-3 hours max to install the header including porting the flanges. Installation was pretty much bolt-on though some muscle was needed to line everything up properly. The power steering pump and radiator fan will have to be removed during the installation. A hydraulic lift is a must and the header should be removed and installed from the bottom of the car rather than on top. Much easier this way. Oh, and please wipe the header of your greasy oily fingerprints before starting up the car else these will permanently be on your header leaving unsightly stains and marks. Picture below of the header turning a nice gold hue after a few power runs.

So I guess most of you all are wondering how is the power after the header install? All I can say is that the power gains are everywhere on my engine and not just at the top end. Top end of course is much much better making so much easier for the SP to pull to it's redline. I've yet to dyno the SP and probably won't be doing so unless they can have a dyno in Penang but I'm willing to bet anyone that the gains from the header are a lot. Wouldn't be surprise if it made more than 5-6hp additional over the standard Hot Bits 4-2-1 header.

As I've posted in TMM previously "Took the car for a nice drive on Sunday morning to butt dyno. Took the car to 3000rpm, 4000rpm, 5000rpm... 9000rpm!!! Whoa!!! The car keep pulling and pulling.. Top end pull is damn sweet and definitely way more than my Hotbits 4-2-1. Had a nice time whacking the car left right centre... Exhaust note also sounds different and even boxer note like. Must be due to the different config of the primaries. I'm pretty sure the max power output way up is bout 3-5hp more but short of dynoing the car I can't confirm bout gains or losses anywhere in the curve.."

BTW, here' a picture of the Super 1600 (Junior WRC) Citroen C2's engine bay. Notice how long and large the header primaries are for top end power.

I'll like to end this post by saying that the gains are what I felt for the SP. This does not mean that the effect will be the same for every 4G93P. In fact R3 does not recommend this header to 4G93Ps running the R3 Stage2 cams as apparently there will be a power loss. As I've stated before, match the header to your engine spec. If you're unsure call R3. They're a pretty helpful bunch of folks.

I would still like to try a 4-2-1 long primary header one day. This is really the best config for engines running big cams and big compression. Proven many times over. Hopefully R3 will make one for me. Apparently they did try a prototype LP 4-2-1 but this was too expensive to mass manufacture. IMHO I personally wouldn't mind paying RM1.5K or more for a header if there are gains and the workmanship is top notch. However this is just me and maybe a couple of buddies and hardcore mod enthusiasts and not the majority. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if people complained RM600+ is too expensive for a header. Such is the state of our tuning industry. Sorry for the rant..

R3 Stage 3 4-1 Header

2006-03-12T21:53:00.000+08:00

For those with heavily worked and modded 4G93 NA engines running big overlap cams and ported heads, finally there is a decent header in the market. R3 recently launched the R3 Competition Exhaust Manifold (Extended 4-1 Design) and I was amongst the first to place an order for this header. Just fitted the latest spec header last weekend. Full report and details to follow when I can get some free time. My apologies..

TMM Archives - Exedy Performance Clutch

2006-03-10T16:03:00.000+08:00

If you have a stock engine or even one with standard bolt on mods such as i/h/e (intake/header/exhaust)the stock clutch will more than suffice. However once your engine is making 30% or more power it's time to upgrade. The stock clutch is also prone to overheating and baulking (sticking to the flywheel) when slipped too much in traffic light drags. When baulking happens, shifting becomes hard and in some cases you won't even be able to engage a gear. Not good!

Our clutch and flywheel shares the same as the Mitsubishi CA4A MIVEC so we're in luck. The stock clutch plate has a 215mm diameter. Lotsa imported options available including Alcon, Toda, Cusco, Helix Autosport and Exedy. If you want to go local you can always try Triniti. I decided to upgrade my clutch to an Exedy Race item while having the transmission stripped for my 4.592 final drive install. The Exedy option is reasonably price at only RM880 (was RM950 when originally introduced to the Malaysian market) for the clutch plate and clutch cover. There are however a lot of fakes floating around so shop with caution. Price is not everything. Also despite what other mechanic or people might tell you the Exedy/Daikin clutch that you can buy with the blue/grey cover is NOT a performance clutch. That is the standard Exedy Daikin oem replacement clutch. Only those Exedy in red boxes are race/performance items. Picture below of Exedy Race Clutch Boxes

The Exedy Race clutch plate comes in 2 flavours. The 3 puck full race version and the full face round organic race/performance street version. Both use the same clutch cover. I would really recommend the full face clutch plate unless you have an all out race car and want that little last bit of grip as :
1. You can actually slip the full face clutch and the car will not judder when taking off from standstill
2. The 3 puck clutch plate wears out really fast. The material on the puck is really thin and some of my friends have had their clutch fully worn out within a year

Picture below of Exedy Race Full Face Organic Clutch plate for Mitsubishi F5M22 gearbox. Part Number is MD05S. The springs on the plate (which are required to cushion the impact when the clutch disengages from the flywheel so that you will not have an on/off effect) are really beefy compared to the stock item.

Closeup of the organic friction material

Picture of cluch cover. Part number MC05T

Reverse side of the clutch cover showing the beefy clamping plate

Oh.. before I forget I also decided to change my stock rubber clutch hose to a stainless steel braided teflon lined item from Goodridge. The effect is the same as upgrading your stock rubber brake hoses giving you a firmer and more precise clutch pedal feel. You can get the Goodridge clutch cable from Pentagon Enterprise via my bro Chris Tan.

I also decided to replace the clutch release bearing with a newer Proton oem item - Part Number MD706180. The Exedy clutch does not come with it's own release clutch release bearing. However there are reports of some shops selling the Exedy with the clutch release bearing. Not too sure on that. Perhaps some of you out there running the Exedy Race clutch might wanna comment on this? My bro Jack even got a nice vinyl "Exedy" sticker to go along with his clutch set. I never got mine. Bummer! Oh ya.. The stock flywheel also got replaced with a lightenened one piece chrome molybdenum Jun item and likewise the stock open differential with a Kaaz 1.5 way Power Pot Limited Slip Differential but I'll talk bout that another day. Installation took my mech about 2 days due to the number of parts being replaced. However if you're just replacing the clutch it should not take more than a day. Picture of the flywheel and clutch installed to crank before the gearbox bellhousing is mated to the engine block.

Overall I would say the clutch pedal feel is only about 10-15% firmer than stock. No big deal as you get to exercise your legs more. As stated earlier the clutch is very driveable and you can slip it like a stock clutch. Advantage is that it doesn't slip that much!

Jack's Aerocatch

2006-03-08T09:18:00.000+08:00

Here's how Jack's monster looks like after the Aerocatch install. Fiercest looking GTi? Think the SP better lie low for a while ;-)

Jack's Infinite Bar and Plate Intercooler Install

2006-03-03T16:50:00.000+08:00

Andrew - Bro Jacko Wacko's back with the latest round of mods. Words and pictures from the man himself..

Initially I'm quite adamant in upgrading to a Bar & Plate intercooler. Reasons is not on based on any performance gains or losses but base on space constraints on the SGTi bumper. Already the EVO 3 intercooler involves cutting a lot of that bi#%h expensive bumper and knocking of the front frame. Upgrading to a slightly larger IC will bring nightmares to my Intercooler piping guy. I'm praying hard that I dont have to cut up the bumper more.......

However, since the price of a new B&P intercooler has gone down tremendously, it'll be silly not to get one. Furthermore, the polish aluminium bling bling look is hard to resist.

Actually this intercooler is slightly shorter than the EVO 3 unit but lenght wise its longer by approx 1 - 2 inches. However, since its a B&P design the core is relatively larger than the EVO 3. Beauty of it is that the pressure drop will be less. The stock EVO 3 intercooler is well known for quite a drop in pressure.

Placing the IC at a correct location and mounting it is easy as it comes with welded on screw bungs. However, as it is longer than the EVO 3, I choose the hard way of re-routing and re-welding my intercooler hoses instead of buying off-the-self SAMCO silicone hoses. This alone took half a day!!

Intercooler hoses was finally completed and polished an hour after lunch.

Putting back the bumper was not easy.. it will not fit the first few times and only after adjustments to the bumper and some force did the bumper finally fall in place. I was relieved that I dont have to cut anything. Decided to maintain the stock look for some stealthy encounters. Overall, the cost is less than them SAMCO hoses.

Andrew - Man!!! This car's evolving faster than myself or Jack can write articles bout it's mods. Just look at the picture above. Bloody fierce looking IMHO. You don't want this sight lined up in your rear view mirror anytime. Since this picture's been taken the Monster's had it's CPS cf bonnet Aerocatched. Stay tuned for more Jacko Wacko mods.

TMM Archives - Cusco Brake Cylinder Stopper

2006-03-03T16:24:00.000+08:00

The next time you're in the car when it's stationary and with the bonnet open, ask someone to observe the firewall when you depress the brake pedal. You'll be surprised to see how much it moves. This firewall movement is not good as it results in a mushy pedal feel and decreases the efficiency of the master cylinder's hydraulic action. Cusco Japan happens to sell a BCS (Brake or Master Cylinder Stopper) that basically bolts on to your car's master cylinder and reinforces the mounting locations for less movement. The Cusco part number for our Putra/Satria/GTI/Wira is the same as what Mitsubishi quotes for the Lancer EVO1-3 and Mirage MIVEC CA4A. The part number is 508 561A.

For some apparent reason this part and mod is not very popularly sold in Malaysian Speedparts shop but you can order them from these shops. When I was in Singapore visiting Garage R however I saw a couple (bout 4-5) units of the Cusco BCS for our cars hanging in the racks and gathering dust. The price offered by Garage R is very very competitive to what you can get in Malaysia and much cheaper compared to mail order. I quickly grabbed the part and paid for it despite not so happy glances from my other half.

Picture below of what you get with the Cusco BCS Kit Part Number 508 561A. Instructions are in Japanese but with hand drawn diagrams I kid you not.

For something that costs a couple hundred bucks I was really dissapointed with the cheap mild steel fasteners that came with the kit and decided to order equivalent titanium and stainless steel items. One week later and I was ready to install. Installation was a breeze and took about 30 minutes. Picture of the installed BCS.

As expected, brake pedal feel was much improved and stiffen after the installation of the Cusco BCS. All in all a pretty cost effective mod which I recommend only if you've already upgraded your brake hoses to stainless steel braided teflon lined items. That should be the no.1 mod to improve brake feel and reduce fade from expanding stock rubber brake hoses.

Fasteners

2006-02-28T21:00:00.000+08:00

Blame it on the first detailed engine bay shot I saw of the Lancer EVO3 and Subaru Impreza Group A Rally Cars more than 8 years ago in Racecar Engineering journal. What caught my eye most then was the abundance of yellowish gold coloured fasteners adourning the engine bay. A quick research led me to the world of lightweight fastener technology. This is a good way to lose weight on any vehicle but at a price! A M6 X 16mm aluminium socket head bolt will cost about RM1.20 for example compared to a couple cents for a mild steel version.

The SP has had more than 400 of it's bolts and washers replaced with aerospace items in the last 5 years. Proton uses metric sized fasteners on it's cars including the Putra. I am using aluminium and titanium fasteners in socket cap (allen) head, hexagon or flanged hexagon head styles. Common stainless steel is also sometimes used (when I can't afford Ti and aluminium is too weak). In general each material has it's strengths and weaknesses in which I'll try to cover. Hope I don't bore you to death.

Aluminium
I generally use aluminium fasteners on non-load bearing (non-stressed) areas. These are 7075T73 high tensile material and are either potassium bichromate coated (yellowish goldish tinge) or anodized (avail in red, blue, green, silver, black, purple and gold). Anodized aluminium fasteners are slightly more expensive than PB coated aluminium fasteners but do look better aesthetically (to most people). Beauty however is in the eye of the beholder as I prefer the PB coated AL fasteners. Also PB coated fasteners will not suffer from colour fading due to heat stress unlike anodizing. Aluminium has only 40% the mass of mild steel but unfortunately isn't as strong. You don't want those backyard special rougho macho mechs tightening these fasteners as they will strip them in no time. Picture below of aluminium fasteners with PB coating. Most Brit race teams including WRC, BTCC and GT teams use them a lot. Next time you look at racecars, try to spot them.

Picture below shows M6 X 20 sized socket cap head bolts and washers used on the SP's engine timing belt cover. M8 sized bolts are used to secure the power steering and air-conditioning lines.

Titanium
Titanium sounds cool, looks cool but unfortunately is most expensively NOT cool! The price is simply unimaginable. To give you a contrast the aluminium M6 bolt which I mentioned earlier might cost more than RM1 depending on the exchange rate. The titanium version will cost 10-15 times more. You'll have to shop around the Ti bolt suppliers as generally the price will vary quite a bit though it's the difference between stupendously expensive and very expensive. There are very few Ti fasteners on the SP and these are used for load bearing areas like the front and rear shock absorber top mounts and on the strut bars. The Ti material most widely used in motorsport fastener applications is Grade 5 titanium or 6AL-4V. This material has 60% the mass of mild steel which means that it's heavier than aluminium. The plus point is that titanium is very very strong, hard and stiff. Titanium is also very corrosion resistant and can be colour anodized (only in gold and blue though. Have not seen other colours). Care also has to be taken when tightening Ti fasteners as exceeding the quoted torque setting will cause galling. This is when the Ti bolt is sort of cold welded and no matter what you do you won't be able to loosen the fastener. And since Ti is super hard and strong, God Bless! Having said that I do not have any problems with galling (touch wood) though to eliminate this problem you might want to apply anti-seize or moly paste to the threads of a Ti bolt before fastening. Picture below of Ti bolts, washers and nuts used on my strut bar. Ti socket cap head bolts tend to have the head tapered to distinguish them from garden variety stainless or aluminium bolts.

Picture of blue anodized Ti flanged nuts used for my shock absorber top mounts. The one smaller nut is for my Cusco Master Cylinder Stopper. Sorry, the magazine and hot babe on the cover is not included.

The Ti fasteners on my front carbon strut bar and front damper "pillow ball" top mounts

I guess I don't have to go into detail on stainless steel as most of you should be pretty familiar with this material. Oh and before I forget below are some of the suppliers of aerospace fasteners for motorsport or fast road application. Happy fastening!
AWF Pro-Bolt (UK)Supplies Prodrive WRC team.
Hyper Bolt (UK)
Poggipolini SPA (Italy). Supplies Ferrari F1 and Ducati WSB teams amongst others.
Mettec (US)
Redmist Motorsports (US)
SDC Tanaka (Japan)

R3 Floor Matts

2006-02-26T13:36:00.000+08:00

Decided to replace my old and avail in any colour so long as it's grey USPD floor matts with R3 items last Friday. These matts have been with me since day 1 and I never did liked them or the greyness they gave to the already unispiring Proton interior so it's quite surprising they lasted with me so long.

A drive to the Proton Edar Juru Parts Centre and RM200 poorer later, I'm home with the new matts. The quality of these matts are excellent. One would say even too good for just a Proton ;). The material used is cutpile carpet which is what they also use in hotels. The matts are black but feature red stiching for that oh so racy I have a Type R look. Oh and the R3 matts are way lighter than my old ones too. IMHO and excellent though not cheap mod to increase the feel and ambience of the interior.

Picture of front driver side floor matt compared with the stock USPD matt

Passenger side comparison

Rear comparison

Bottom side of the R3 matt features a lof of sharp pins to ensure excellent grip. Dangerous to have the matt moving around when you're whacking corners.

Picture of SP's cockpit/cabin driver side with the R3 matt fitted. Looks much more classy and racy. Type Rrrrrrrrrr.

Front passenger side

SP's New Front Grille

2006-02-25T13:14:00.000+08:00

The front grille fitted to SP was getting a bit long in the tooth. It was the export spec grille complete with then Proton export spec "flower" logo mark top fitted more than 5 years ago. Since then Proton has moved and standardized both the local and export spec logo to the current "Thundercats" logo. I decided to get the latest grille from the facelifted Wira/Satria as this grille looked the best to me aesthetically. This is also the same grille fitted to the Arena. The new grille also features larger vents with a honeycomb wire mesh design that is more with current fashion (ala Golf GTI). The larger vents should theoretically provide better airflow. I was pleasantly surprised to find the new grille and mark top logo without paint costs only RM70 from Proton. Was even more surprised to find the new grille weighing less than the old grille. Picture below of the new grille painted. Overall cost including paint was approximately Rm250+ Yes.. the painting costs more than the price of the grille itself as I had to repaint parts of my bumper where the old grille rubbed some paint off unfortunately.

Installation took about 15 minutes and the new grille is simply bolt-on without any mods needed to the mount flange or clips.
Picture of SP with the old grille

Picture of SP with the new grille for comparison

The new grille looks more up to date and "fiercer". Carbon slam panel fitted the new grille perfectly. No worries.

SP gets a Carbon Bonnet

2006-02-15T20:38:00.000+08:00

Getting things done to your expectations is not easy I can tell you. For one thing it takes money and lotsa what you call the BST (Blood, Sweat and Tears) factor. For those who know me well the gestation of my full carbon bonnet has taken a very very long time. One year+ in the making easily. During this time 2 moulds and 3 bonnets were developed all which failed my own personal standards. Blame it on too much oggling of race car mags and their carbon artistry work. But first lets set the facts straight on carbon composite technology. Please don't fall asleep.

Now as much as the guy in the next Batman car would like you to believe, not all carbon bonnets or for that matter carbon parts are the same. Also there's no such thing as Grade A carbon, etc. The technology used can be summed up into 2 main ways of manufacturing carbon composite parts. These are wet-lay up (what the Japs like to call "wet" carbon") and pre-preg ("dry carbon"). A wet lay up when you lay the carbon cloth in the mould and then pour and roll the resin (liquid chemical "glue" in the simplest lay man explanation) over the cloth till you are satisfied with the saturation. A pre-preg carbon part is when the carbon cloth comes to you with the resin directly saturated in it already. A pre-preg carbon part is typically 2-3 times more expensive than a similiar wet-layup carbon part. This is because the pre-preg carbon cloth has to be shipped in refrigerated containers as the cloth will typically cure and harden when exposed to room temperature. The shelf life of pp material is also limited to weeks. While it would be preferable to use pre-preg carbon all the time you and I know that's virtuall impossible unless you have an F1 sized budget. It's also possible to get the quality of a wet lay-up part similiar to pre-preg and this is where the skill of the carbon laminator comes to play. I shall concentrate more on "wet" carbon technology as this is what most of us can afford.

There's a lot of hearsay and mumbo jumbo going around in local forums but contrary to popular belief not even wet lay-up carbon bonnets are all the same. In general your RM800 "wet" cf bonnet is not the same as another RM3000 "wet" cf bonnet. The adage "You get what you pay for" applies. When purchasing a carbon bonnet you will want to ask a few question. These are :

1. What is the resin used? Now this is most important I tell you. Again contrary to popular belief a big part of the strength of a carbon part comes from the resin itself. There are hundreds of types of resins or matrices used from cheapo polyester gel coats to vinyl ester (used by TVR for the Sagaris) to epoxy for which there are possibly hundreds of types and applications alone. To give you a run down the most expensive epoxy resin alone can cost 20 times more than the the cheapest polyester resin. Having said that it's perfectly ok to use gel coats for majority of performance or fast road applications.
2. Is the carbon part vacuum bagged? This is where the laminated carbon part is covered with a plastic bag and air is sucked out via a pump. This results is better saturation of the resin and ultimately better surface quality
3. How many layers of carbon? I can tell you the majority of carbon bonnets in our local market should really be called carbon reinforced fibreglass bonnets. These are really nothing more than fibreglass bonnets with one layer of carbon on top (if you py more another layer of carbon on the bottom under skeleton) for decorative purposes. Fibreglass is ok but nowhere near the lightness and strength of carbon.
4. Weight. Stock bonnet weights 14+ kg so you're ok if the carbon bonnet weights 6-8kg.
5. Is the bonnet clearcoated for UV protection?

There are many other factors to consider but most local carbon part manufacturers and retailers won't tell you peanuts so you just have to go with the top 5 questions above. I would also look for pinholes but it would take some training to spot these ;-)

Now on to SP's full carbon bonnet. It's 100% carbon with 4 layers for the top bonnet skin alone and 2 layers for the bottom skeleton. The resin used is classified (sorry) but suffice to say it's not gel coat and it's not epoxy. I've elected to retain some of the bottom skeleton bracing as I feel under skeletonless bonnets do not provide sufficient strength and support. Rap your knuckles on the bonnet and it sounds metallic. The bonnet is also very stiff in feel compared to other local carbon bonnets. Weight is 5.5kg only. Installation took quite a while as "adjustments" needed to be made to the latch and lock assembly to get a perfect fit. I also took the opportunity to fit a new grille from the Wira SE and clearcoat the bonnet with Glasurit lacquer. Will talk more about the new grille in a separate article. Clearcoating and finishing the bonnet was a real pain and took many many hours, days and $$$$. In general you need to do the following:
1. Sand the bonnet down with 180, 240 then 320 grit sandpaper
2. Apply (spray) clearcoat
3. Repeat the process until you get the finish you want to your standards

By nature of the carbon lay-up process surface imperfections are often a very common sight and it really takes a lot of work and skill to get good finish quality. Reverie UK (popular cf maker of performance parts for Lotus Elise and Caterham) actually carry this disclaimer on their
web site

Picture of SP with new bonnet and grille fitted. Fitment is near perfect. What do you think bout the surface definition and quality?

Another shot with flash

Closer up and with flash to show straightness of weaves

Look at how thin and sharp the edges are

Picture of bonnet under skin and bracing skeleton. The bonnet is able to utilize back all the stock rubber seals.

Another under skin pix where the windscreen washer rubber piping runs to the windscreen cleaner nozzle

Bonnet incorporates double latch assembly as per stock bonnet. Latch hook is stainless steel.

Another arty close up front nose shot

Next steps would be to fit the Aerocatch bonnet pin that is currently gathering dust in my room. I think I'll also take a breather from carbon parts for a while as I'm dead broke (you don't wanna know the cost of the bonnet in material cost alone) and need to recover physically and mentally. More pictures in my upcoming new grille article. Oh and does anyone want to buy an excellent condition metallic grey coloured stock Putra bonnet?

Jack's Water Injection Install

2006-02-14T12:48:00.000+08:00

Here's an article from my bro Jack on installing water/alcohol injection. Words and pictures from the man himself.

Actually, I wanted to keep this hush hush but what the heck, good things must share mah. I've just completed a water injection kit install from Cooling Mist. This I chance upon initially looking for an intercooler water spray system. Together with another nuthead we purchase the kit off the above website. They were very efficient people answering all my initial questions and even customizing a kit for us. I took the turbo and the other fellow the turbo/na option. This enables us to share the cost of shipment. Shipping cost about USD70++ alone due to the weight and size of the 2 kits. However, the kit arrived within a week and I had to pick it up from the nearest pos m'sai depot. Ask them nicely they will fix the tax for you #$@&%*!.
What the kit came with for my so called deluxe single stage setup.

1)100psi pump. (6.894bar)
2)Water Solenoid.
3)3.9gph Injector and injector holder.
4)Boost switch set at 10 psi.
5)Flow detector switch and LED indicator.
6)High temp/pressure Teflon hoses.
7)Brass barbs for solenoid and water pump.
8)All electrical connectors, cable ties, fuse, hose clips, relay and wiring diagram.

All the items were tested before being shipped to me. When I opened the covers for the pump there are still traces of water in it. Installation was not a breeze as the engine bay is already cramped. I had to sacrifice some space in the glove compartment to mount the pump in there. Let's hope that the GF's stuff still fits and she does not notice the pump. Water is drawn from the existing water hose from the rear windscreen nozzle. I had to clean the water tank and Oh, did I mentioned that my rear windscreen effectively has no water to clean it.. Bah, I seldom look back anyway.
The Kit

The Pump mounted

The electrical wiring for the kit was easy to do. In fact I can do it myself. Installing the kit took about 2 hours as I insisted that all the wirings are to be shrink wrapped and that the components be as inconspicuous as possible. First to be done was the pulling all the water hoses. Second, location of the boost switch, solenoid and water flow detector. The system works on boost. The boost switch comes pre-set at 10psi = 0.689 bar. This means that when that pressure is detected by the switch, it sends a signal to the solenoid asking it to open and the injectors will spray. The flow or clog nozzle detector is used to detect any flow or problems with the system. Wired properly, at the preset boost when the injector starts spraying the green Led lights up. It goes off when the boost falls below the activation point. Stays lit when the injector is clogged and does not go on when there is a leak or no water in the tank. A very nifty device. For this system the water injector is mounted just before the throttle body. Its so well hidden that you dont even know its there.

The Injector holder and Injector

The boost sensor

Water solenoid, injector installed in IC piping and flow / clog injector sensor

In-Cabin LED to know if the system is working

After full install

With the kit installed its time to test it on the road. Reach the highway, floor it a bit.. see 0.7bar, Led goes on and you feel a slight surge of power, out from the norm, from the engine. EGT was recorded at 750-780c at peak boost! That's about 70-100c lower. Cool! After a few hard runs the Led does not light up!! Bugger.. I popped a hose as the cable ties are useless. Switch to some good quality hose clamp and problem solved. Usually, the intake gets so hot as it will burn your hand when you touch it immediately but with the kit its only warm and you can leave you hand there before the heat soaks it up again

The kit really shines after many hard runs as the power feels considerably smoother and consistent. Even being stuck in a jam along the LDP, heat soak problem solved? This is what the butt dyno is telling me. Not sure of the actual gains until I take it for fine tuning later next month. Coolmist claims that they have reported a 20-25hp gains from the kit from the box and that the intake temps reduced to ambient temp. I do not have an intake temp gauge and cannot verify this. It will also steam clean the engine for you. Via customer feedback and their own testing, the kit allows you to run more aggressive timing and leaner fuel maps. I will keep you guys/gals updated on the gains when I go for fine tuning later.

BTW, the other nuthead has a NA/Turbo o2 kit meaning he has purchased the vacuum and boost switch together which allow him to either run aggressive timing and high compression Na or force feed it later. For a brief description of water injection theories google it or go to Rally Cars Water Injection article. This is just one of the many that I've found. There are also many cool upgrades available from Coolmist. Check them out if you're interested. Although less sophisticated than the Aquamist System, the retail is about half the price with good quality parts. Methanol and Alcohol safe too!!

TMM Archives - Carbon Pedal Extensions

2006-02-11T10:17:00.000+08:00

The stock pedals are really spaced too far apart for effective heel and toeing. My bro David made these pedal extensions from carbon. These are larger in size compared to the stock pedals

Fittng was quite a pain as the stock pedals had to be drilled. Nothing a professional installer can't do in bout an hour or so. Picture below of the installed pedals in the SP. Fasteners are stainless steel.

Pedals can be fitted to the Satria R3 too. Here's a picture of the pedals in fellow bro Vernon's aka Crash's SR3

Power Enterprise Super Strong II Timing Belt

2006-02-07T20:35:00.000+08:00

For those who are running 'big' cams with aggresive lift ramp profiles should consider getting an upgraded timing belt. The stock timing belt has been known to fail in less than 30,000km if thrashed regularly on big race profile cams. With this in mind I did some research and discovered that Power Enterprise in Japan do make such a belt for the 4G93. Actually the timing belt is meant for the CA4A Mirage Mivec with the 4G92G MIVEC engine but lucky me that both the 4G93 DOHC and the 4G92 MIVEC engine both share the same timing belt. The Mitsu/Proton oem part number for this belt is MD176389 while the Power Enterprise part number is BM121. If you have the 4G93 SOHC engine or 4G93 with MIVEC head transplant this timing belt will not fit.

The Power Enterprise Super Strong II timing belt was developed in 1997 and has been used by many race winning teams. This timing belt features Kevlar and Nylon fibre for the tooth fabric over high efficiency rubber cord and has a durability 2.6 times over the conventional timing belt. I got my timing belt from M Power speedshop in Penang. The same belt can also be found in many other speed shops including N1 Racing, KSP Power, etc. Picture below of the package.

Picture of the Power Enterprise Super Strong II Timing Belt. Don't particularly dig the Smurf Blue colour but at least it's not purple like HKS's Fine Tunepeformance timing belt.

Installation should be done by a trained professional and was done by my regular mech. The whole job took about 3 hours total. Also took the opportunity to replace all related seals and bearings. Picture of finished installation. My adjustable cam pulleys are Z. Speed aka Skunk2 if you wanna know. The pulleys are machined from 6061 aluminium alloy and hard anodized. Smurf Blue over Red really stands out don't you think? Shame everything's under my carbon timing belt cover..

Senior's Carbon Front Bumper Lip

2006-02-04T14:54:00.000+08:00

While I was having my full carbon bonnet fitted 2 days before CNY, Senior also got his angpow same time in the form of a carbon bumper lip. This project was about 6+ months in the making and Senior had to sacrifice his original lip for David to make a mould. As you can see the results are worth it. Picture below shows the bumper lip/skirting before attaching to bumper. Weighs peanuts compared to stock polyurethane bumper lip.

David even took the trouble to make a separate cf piece for the tow hook cover. Outstanding!

The bumper lip is attached to the bumper via rivets. Due to the way cf parts are moulded there is to way to mould the tabs on the stock bumper lip as these are injection moulded. Don't ask me why Senior's using stock el heavo bendo GTI rims on his 300hp monster.

To say Senior's chuffed at the effort is an understatement. He's now pestering David for carbon bumpers and sideskirts. And if you need to ask, the the bumper lip only fits the GTI bumper and nothing else. Not even the standard Proton Wira/Satria/Putra bumper. Believe me we tried. Sorry..

TMM Archives - Carbon Pillar Garnish

2006-02-04T14:27:00.000+08:00

I know I know. This doesn't make the car lighter or go any faster but sure does look trick. And since this is a popular mod for carbon mad Japan nowadays being sold extensively by the likes of Varis and Blitz I thought I'll just make one for myself. The black finish on my door pillars were also beginning to fade after 5 years so this gave me an excellent excuse for the effort. Picture below of the carbon pillar garnish before application.

Closeup. Weaves straight and perfect eh?

Pix after application of the carbon pillar garnish. Attaches via excellent quality 3M double side tape

TMM Archives - Ported 4G93T Inlet Manifold

2006-02-04T10:13:00.000+08:00

A fellow TMM forumner suggested that I republish some of my old postings from TMM forum since the most of the pictures are missing due to the limited space available. So here's the 1st one from me.

For those of you out there running big cams and a ported cylinder head, moving to a Mitsubishi Lancer GSR CD5A - 4G93T engine inlet manifold will give you slightly more top end. This is due to the shorter runner configuration on the 93T's inlet manifold. Picture below of the 93T inlet manifold. I bought the inlet manifold used from Ralliart Australia way back when this was a relatively unknown mod. To get the like new finish you have to brush the inlet manifold with a steel brush and use lotsa engine degreaser/cleaner

Apart from the shorter runners the 93T inlet manifold is also lighter (did not have the opportunity to weight both manifolds but my hand carry weighing scale definitely indicates the 93T to be way lighter) than the 93P and does not have EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). You can find out more about EGR in MrFixit's web page. Now unless you're a greenie (which you probably aren't if you run big overlap cams) EGR is a definite no-no for highly modded and forced induction engines.

I've also decided to port the flange entry and exit points of my 93T inlet manifold to accomodate the larger 60mm throttle body I'm using and also to fit the huge ported inlet ports on my Matspeed 93T RS cylinder head. Picture below of my 93T inlet manifold's ported throttle body inlet flange

Picture of the ported outlet flange

I was initially worried that the extensive porting might cause some low end powerband losses but happily my concerns were unfounded. This is probably due to the efficiency of the Matspeed race ported cylinder head requiring the increased in volume of air. Butt dyno indicates gains everywhere along the rev range. No kidding! Picture below shows the stock 93P inlet manifold vs ported 93T inlet manifold.

Installation was a no brainer and took bout an hour. Do make sure to plumb the vacuum hoses correctly. This is probably as far as you can go with a single plenum inlet manifold though I've seen the Honda B series inlet manifold fitted to our 93P I kid you not. The next step for me would be individual throttles. Stay tuned...

Aerocatch

2006-01-28T15:16:00.000+08:00

During the development of my carbon bonnet I've been on the lookout for a decent bonnet pin to use. My carbon bonnet incorporates the same double latch mechanism as the stock steel bonnet but it's always advisable to use a bonnet bin especially if the car is thrashed occasionally. I actually bought the Sparco bonnet pin but the way it will stick out of the bonnet really doesn't thrill me plus they don't make one black anodized. Only in blue, red and silver.
Picture of conventional Sparco bonnet pins
It was then when my ever useful Racecar Engineering journal (first article on Aerocatch in December 2004 issue followed by recent article on bodywork fastener technology including Aerocatch in January 2006 issue)led me to a new state of the art bonnet pin called Aerocatch.

The Aerocatch was developed by UK Devon based Specialty Fasteners and Components (SFC) together with Exeter University and launched to the market in early 2005. SFC's brief called for a bonnet pin that was flush mounted for better aerodynamics and had a double locking action. The result is manufactured from high strength thermoplastic (injection moulded Grivory HT2V-5H 50% glass reinforced plastic giving a maximum working shear load of 3000N) that can be painted to your bonnet colour. Pressure releases a panel that then draws a sliding pin out of a hole in the end of your bonnet. The double locking action is achieved by first closing the panel and then by pressing on a protruding lever. There are 2 versions of the Aerocatch depending on your preference. The 120 Plush Flush incorporates a 2.5mm tall flange on the top surface of the bonnnet while the 125 Flush is flushed with the bonnet itself. Both models can be ordered with an additional key lock (at additional cost) giving you better security. More details in Aerocatch's web site

The Aerocatch has been proven in competition and won the 2005 BTCC used on the bonnet and boot of Matt Neal's Honda DC5 Integra Type R. With this in mind, myself, Senior, Jacko and David decided to approach SFC and order the Aerocatch. Rest of us ordered the standard 120 Plush Flush while paranoid Senior ordered his with the additional key lock. The bonnet pins dutifully arrived about 1 week later. Picture below of the package

Detailed locking and unlocking instructions behind

Components removed from package. Stud is available in any colour so long as it's red

With my bonnet not yet ready, my bro David decided to install the Aerocatch on his Wira 1.8. Installation is unfortunately a pain as a pretty large hole will need to be cut on the bonnet for the flange. The template for the hole is supplied together with the Aerocatch packaging. Picture below shows the bottom surface of the bonnet with the flange partially installed. The decision was made to separately purchase and use stainless steel bolts as I wasn't too thrilled with the supplied blackened mild steel screws. In addition the car's front metal beam where the Aerocatch pin is mounted has to be drilled for the studs and hammered a bit else the flange will not clear. Proton Wira/Satria/Putra/GTI's unfortunately have very little space under the bonnet where bonnet pins are mounted.

Picture below shows top surface of the bonnet with the Aerocatch secured after installation

Another picture with the bonnet closed and Aerocatch secured

Top Secret Japan has recently started to sell the Aerocatch but at a premium price (12,600 yen for the standard model not including shipping). More details on their website.
I'll follow up with more reports and pictures once I install my Aerocatch.

Chinese New Year Ang Pow

2006-01-23T14:01:00.000+08:00

Here's a picture of my full carbon bonnet straight from the mould. The bonnet's been more than a year in making due to the high standards my bro and I have set for ourselves. Can't lose out to the likes of Varis, C-West or even ASM now can we? This will also hopefully prove that Malaysians can also produce carbon products of world class quality.

Will probably spend my CNY spare time finishing it. The sanding, finishing and clearcoating is going to be a real a pain. This is a full carbon bonnet and weights about 5+kg. There's no fibreglass (CSM) in it. Top bonnet skin is 4 layers of carbon cloth alone. Even the underframe is carbon. This will hopefully show that not all carbon bonnets are the same and that a bonnet which cost RM1K or less is not the same as those used in actual racecars. Most local produced bonnets are all CSM with one layer of carbon on top purely for aesthetic purpose and nothing much else.

Picture of the top layer and underframe before joining process

Closer side shot

Closer front shot. Weave quality is really straight eh? Surface quality is excellent IMHO.

Sneak shot of the underframe after joining.

Final arty picture of the bonnet basking in the soft morning sun

More pictures to follow once I complete the finishing process. Praying hard the fit is perfect else it'll be another consignment to the thrash bin. Stay tuned..

Senior's Carbon Bonnet

2006-01-13T08:06:00.000+08:00

A fellow Bro of mine with the nick Senior (due to the seniority of his mods. I kid you not!) had lots of grief with his tall 4G63T EVO3 engine and had to resort to using unsightly thick fat spacers between the bonnet and it's hinge to clear the 4G63T's timing belt cover. I know lots of people out there think a raised bonnet looks trick but from an engineering standpoint it's pretty bad. I mean how many race cars out there do you see doing this? Increases drag and spoils the airflow. Senior tried the the el cheapo RM900 frp/cf bonnets with no full frame but even this didn't clear properly. Poor chap also couldn't fit a carbon radiator slam panel as the angle of the slanted bonnet was causing contact and damage to the slam panel.

So with some persuasion and lots of sweet talking, managed to persuade by Bro David of SR Composites to specially design a bonnet to meet Senior's demands. Due to budget reasons the bonnet is not 100% carbon. The decision was taken to design a special mould to create a hump on the bonnet similiar to the HKS TRB-02 carbon bodied EVO to clear the engine. Due to copyright reasons I unfortunately can't publish the picture of the HKS TRB-02's bonnet and hump.

For cost reasons the hump was moulded separately rather than incorporated into the entire bonnet mould for the HKS race car.
Pix of the nearly finished bonnet. The master plug to make the hump for the bonnet can be seen. I worked on the other bonnet but it ended up on my Bro's car. Currently working on another bonnet for myself sans hump of course.

Picture of the bonnet fitted to Senior's car. As can be seen from the picture the bonnet sits flush on the fenders and is not raised. Stupendous fit and quality. Do compare this bonnet with the likes of Varis and C-West. Finished bonnet weighs approximately 4.5kg vs 14kg for stock steel bonnet. Bonnet pins are not required (track tested by Senior) but encouraged for additional safety. The bonnet incorporates the stock double latch and also all the required fittings for the stock rubber seals. Pictures of the underside to follow once Senior stops staring at his bonnet and bothers to take some pictures for me.

Closeup of the hump. Fasteners are stainless steel. Look at the quality and straightness of the weaves. Pre-preg?

Tokyo Auto Salon 2006

2006-01-12T18:12:00.000+08:00

Tokyo Auto Salon 2006 starts tomorrow (1/13). More details at
http://www.e-autosalon.net/tokyo/index.html

Rapfix II Quick Release Steering Boss

2006-01-12T16:56:00.000+08:00

Have been looking for a steering boss extension for quite a while as I tend to sit too forward for comfort but if you move too far backwards there's not enough leverage as your arms are extended too much. Most normal human beings have relatively short arms and longer legs but not the other way around.

My original intention was to get the R3 steering boss spacer but one JDM project car recently really caught my eye. This was the Jun EVO9 and it had a trick Worksbell Rapfix II quick release steering boss extension kit. Prodrive Japan and also Top Secret utilize the same kit anodized to their colour specs. A quick release steering boss kit will enable you to remove your steering wheel in a couple seconds. This helps for security purposes and of course the whole idea spells race car. Fnarrrr..

Some quick measurements indicate that the Rapfix II would be near perfect for what I'm looking for. Picture courtesy of Worksbell Japan webpage. I've decided to use my stock Momo steering boss and just bolt the Rapfix II to it. For those that want a shorter extension, Worksbell do sell shorter steering bosses but these are hugely expensive. Blame the strength of the Yen vs the Malaysian Ringgit.

Now I'm sure the number one question by now is why I didn't go for the Arospeed replicas that are widely available locally? These are approx 5 times cheaper than the Rapfix II. Well for one thing I prefer the original and not a "replica". Second this is the second generation improved Rapfix II system and not the original Rapfix which the Arospeed unit is based on. The advantages the Rapfix II have over the Rapfix are :
1. Less weight The Rapfix II weights 516 grammes vs 690 for the Rapfix. No idea on the Arospeed's weight as I've not managed to weigh one.
2. The installation action of the Rapfix II is only 1 step compared to 3 for the Rapfix. Put the steering wheel in the same position it was removed from and push it forwards to lock. No need to press the release button and pull back the sleeve as the Rapfix II has an auto lock spring sleeve that automatically locks once the correct steering wheel position is reached.
3. The Rapfix II utilizes the latest cold forging A5056 aluminium alloy. This means more strength.
4. The quality of finishing is also way way better compared to the Arospeed (which it should be considering the price different). You just have to put both steering bosses side by side and the differences are immediately noticeable.

With this in mind I contacted my Jap 'works' part supplier and a unit was at my doorstep in 4 days. Picture below of the kit. As you can see it is a true 'plug n play' item and even utilizes the stock horn function. I've decided to go for the red coloured kit. The kit is also avail in silver and black.

Picture below of male and female halves disassembled.

Installation was a zilch and took no more than 45 minutes total. Some slight grinding had to be done on the horn plate to allow everything to fit properly. If this is not done there will be a 1mm gap between the Rapfix II and the steering wheel. The problem would differ per the various steering wheel make and models. A fellow Bro is running an Arospeed unit and he also had to modify the horn plate to fit his Momo's horn. Close up picture below of the installed unit.

Another picture of the installed unit

Picture of the removed steering wheel. Looks trick eh?

Close up of the female half attached to the steering wheel

The only downside apart from the stupendous price is that your fingers are no longer able to reach the steering column stalks unless you have long fingers. Takes some getting used to but I mastered how to activate my signal lights in a couple days. If you're not used to this your fingers will be trying to move thin air.

Fuel Rail Supply Line Conversion

2006-01-03T09:53:00.000+08:00

Ever seen those trick works racecars out there with braided hose and AN fittings for everything? I'll publish an article later on the intricacies of AN (Army Navy) fittings and the various type of braided hoses in the market later but for now this article will concentrate on the convertion of your fuel supply line from petrol filter to fuel rail.

Pls note that I had a lot of help from Jeff Lucius's excellent web site article on such a conversion for the Mitsubishi GTO (US market Dodge Stealth and Mitsubishi 3000GT). Jeff's web site can be found at http://www.stealth316.com

Picture below on the stock fuel supply line and hose parts required for conversion

Before beginning this project you will need an adapter for the fuel rail end. There are an abundance of adapters in the US market meant for the 4G63's/6G72's fuel rail but :
1. I'm not sure if they'll 100% properly fit on our stock (4G93)fuel rail
2. Most of the US speed shops were not too interested in doing business with me nor the patience to properly respond to my email queries

and most of all
3. These same shops were charging an exhorbitant price for the adapter and shipping. Imagine paying RM350 for one adapter.

With this in mind I had my adapter custom manufactured. The adapter was milled from 6061 aluminium alloy and anodized black. As you know anything custom manufactured is not a one off so I had to order a set of 10 (smallest order quantity). Some of my brudder's have taken a few sets but I do still have a couple left (RM85 per adapter). If you're interested do contact me at my email - llsaw1@yahoo.com.

In addition you will also need the following:
Adapter for fuel filter. If you are using the stock 4G93 fuel filter (same as most other Mitsu models including 6A12, 4G92, 6G72, 4G63, etc.) the thread size and pattern for the filter end is M12 X 1.25. The Mitsu/Proton part number of the filter is MB658689. You can also custom manufacture an adapter yourself if you so wish but there is an excellent option avail cheaply from the market which is the Earl's replacement adapter (Part No: 991945. Straight M12 X 1.25 to -6 AN male). This adapter incorporates an o-ring for better sealing characteristics.

You will also need bout half metre of braided hose. Any hose from the market (Earl's Aeroquip, Goodridge, Icore, XRP, etc.) will do but make sure you use the end fittings meant for said hose from the same manufacture. Per my understanding they are not interchangeable. They might be but you don't wanna take any chances as far as petrol is concerned. I have decided to use with all kinds of fuel out there including methanol. Most people including the Jap speedshops would use synthetic rubber nitrile lined hose such as the Earl's Perform-O-Flex hose but I'm not convinced these hoses will fully withstand our Malaysia petrol in the long term. These hoses are not susceptible to the MTBE agent used on some fuels and have been known to sour and emit smell after a while. Please note that a -6 AN sized hose should be sufficient for our application for up to 350+ horsepower. Please also note that if you go to a -8 AN sized hose, you will require totally different end fittings and adapters.

And of course you will also need a -6 AN 90 degree end fitting (Part No: 6091-06)and also -6 AN 45 degree end fitting (Part No: 6046-06). Pix of hose, end fittings and fuel filter adapter below

You can order the hoses and end fittings from most speedshops in Malaysia such as Pentagon Enterprise, N1 Racing, etc. Alternatively they are also widely avail via mail order from the likes of Demon Tweeks and even eBay. Your preference.

I also ordered some alloy spanners from Earls and Goodridge. These alloy spanners are required if you do not want any unsightly scratches caused during assembly on the end fittings. Picture of the spanners and assembled hose below. Assembly instructions of the various types and makes of hoses are different

Picture of the Earl's adapter screwed on to output end of the fuel filter. Note teflon tape is not needed due to the excellent seal on the Earl's adapter's o-ring.

Picture of fuel line test fitted to adapter on fuel rail end

Picture of the complete assembly test fitted

Installation
1. Disconnect battery
2. Remove air filter and piping assembly for easier access to fuel filter.
3. Remove stock fuel supply line from fuel rail and fuel filter. Do note there will still be some pressure in the fuel rail so do use a rag to soak up the excess petrol coming out once you have removed the line.
4. Remove fuel filter (optional, if you are changing fuel filter. I took this opportunity since this saves on the labour and effort).
5. Install the fuel rail adapter on the fuel rail. Remove the o-ring from the stock fuel supply line and install it to the adapter. Applying some engine oil during this process helps. Carefully push the adapter into the fuel rail, line up the 2 bolt holes and tighten the bolts. Installed pix below

6. Install fuel filter (optional) and adapter
7. Install the new braided fuel line. Pls note that you DO NOT require teflon tape or sealant for AN fittings. I have seen people doing this and honestly it sucks from an engineering standpoint. The threads themselves never seal in AN connectors but the tapered ends (cone) of the fittings does. Plus the sealant could get into your fuel rail and clog up everything. Picture below of completed assembly.

8. Make sure you double check everything is connected and fittings tightened. Reassembled back the air filter and piping assembly.
9. Reconnect battery
10. Start the engine and pray there's no fire (just kidding). Another pix of the completed assembly.

I'll be doing an article of the fuel pressure regulator end conversion later when I'm up to it and when most importantly budget permits.

Jack's Battery Relo

2006-01-03T08:06:00.000+08:00

As promised, here's the work done by my bro Jack and some nice pixs. Text courtesy of the man himself..

Here goes for my battery relo a few days ago. What you will need is:

1) Junction Box of any variety or make. Even a good empty plastic box will do!
2) Insulator
3) A mount

Simply, mount the mounting for the insulator on where your battery used to be, screw on the insulator to insulate the Positive terminal from the car body. Proceed to bolt the junction box and other fuses to the insulator and viola you're done. The junction box will provide you protection from the elements as well as any accidentle contact with anything. I choose this junction box as it has the "+" sign on in. As you can see later, it also provided me with space to house my fuses for the upgraded lights wiring. A simple jobbie that should take an hour or two.

Battery was moved to the rear.. its still boggling me as to why I choose the driver side and not the passanger side. Will correct that later.

I personally felt that this is a simple any yet a superb mod. Battery was moved to the rear, cooler and thus lasts longer. Weight was also transferred to the rear and with the removal of my humoungus 14" Spare tyre which I cant use and dunno why I kept it for the past 5 years .... another mystery of the deep. Maybe its just me, but I was kinda breaking later going into turn for the earlier part of the trackday and car seems to have better turn-in and performed better. Either that or I'm getting more confident. Anyway, here are the pics

All power points with fuses for the lights

It even comes with a Jumper Rod for any emergency? Cool

Here's the fat ass

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T20:37:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Gosh.. 2005 is already over and 2006 is now upon us. The SP is 6 years old now and still in it's infancy in terms of mods. So much for trying to beat the Japs!!! Below's the final 2005 spec for the SP

1 Engine
1.1 Ralliart engine oil cap
1.2 NGK Hyper Silicone Power cables
1.3 NGK Iriway 7 spark plugs
1.4 K&N air filter injection kit
1.5 Samco Sport coolant hoses
1.6 4G93T inlet manifold ported and port-matched
1.7 60mm throttle body ported
1.8 82mm bore 4G92 Pistons + piston rings
1.9 All bottom end rotating assemblies fully balanced and blue printed
1.1.0 Z. Speed adjustable cam pulleys
1.1.1 Power Enterprise Super Strong timing belt (Kevlar)
1.1.2 Matspeed blue printed 4G93T engine block
1.1.3 Matspeed race ported cylinder head
1.1.4 Hegami metal head gasket
1.1.5 Matspeed 3R 292 (inlet) and 288 (exhaust) spec camshafts
1.1.6 WRC Motorsports fast road engine mounts (left and right)
1.1.7 Ralliart Group N lower engine mount (front and rear)
1.1.8 Cusco Oil Catch Can
1.1.9 Goodridge 200 Series lines & hose finishers (Oil Catch Can)
1.2.0 Ralliart radiator cap
1.2.1 SR Composites carbon spark plug cover
1.2.2 SR Composites carbon timing belt cover
1.2.3 SR Composites carbon radiator "slam" panel
1.2.4 SR Composites carbon upper radiator support bracket

2 Fuel System
2.1 Goodridge 600 series hose & AN end fittings (fuel supply)
2.2 AN #6 adapter for fuel supply line (fuel rail)
2.3 Earl's AN #6 adapter for fuel supply line (fuel filter)

3 Exhaust System
3.1 Proton Motorsports R3 Stage3 competition exhaust header
3.2 Exhaust B piping incorporating Hot Bits resonators
3.3 Apexi N1 rear exhaust muffler
3.4 Ralliart exhaust hangers

4 Electronics/Engine Management
4.1 Matspeed J5 ECU

5 Chassis/Steering/Bodywork/Aerodynamics
5.1 Autofoam automotive high density foam (side rails + A pillar)
5.2 SR Composites carbon strut bar - front
5.3 Hot Bits aluminium strut bar - rear
5.4 Mitsubishi CP/CT9A Lancer EVO5-7 boot reinforcement bar
5.5 Proton M21 Export spec front grill and mark top
5.6 Mitsubishi CA4A Mirage Asti MIVEC rear high spoiler/wing
5.7 Superpro steering rack bush kit
5.8 SR Composites front and rear number plates
5.9 SR Composites carbon front bumper lip tow hook cover
5.1.0 SR Composites carbon pillar garnish
5.1.1 SR Composites carbon wing "gt" mirrors
5.1.2 CPS carbon/frp bonnet
5.1.3 SR Composites carbon battery tray
5.1.4 Wiring and termination work to relocate battery to boot
5.1.5 Odyssey PC680MJ dry cell lightweight race battery

6 Interior
6.1 MOMO steering wheel boss kit
6.2 Worksbell Rapfix II quick release steering boss kit
6.3 MOMO Corse Model 78 steering wheel
6.4 SR Composites carbon shift knob
6.5 SR Composites carbon pedals

7 Suspension
7.1 Drummond Mototorsports (DMS) - Giant 50mm shock absorbers
7.2 Cusco front and rear top pillowball mounts
7.3 CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 rear upper and lower suspension links
7.4 Superpro PU front lower control arm bush kit
7.5 Superpro PU rear trailing arm front bush kit
7.6 Mitsubishi CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 rear lower arm
7.7 Superpro PU front anti-roll bar D bush - 23mm
7.8 Superpro PU front anti-roll bar link shoulder bush kit (X8)
7.9 Whiteline rear 18mm adjustable anti-roll bar
7.1.0 Superpro PU rear anti-roll bar D bush - 18mm
7.1.1 Mitsubishi CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 rear anti-roll bar link kit

8 Transmission and Drivetrain
8.1 Goodridge stainless steel clutch line
8.2 Exedy racing clutch (disc + pressure plate/clutch cover)
8.3 Jun forged chrome molybdenum lightweight flywheel
8.4 Kaaz Powerpot series 1.5 way limited slip differential
8.5 CA4A Mirage MIVEC 4.592 final drive

9 Brakes
9.1 Goodridge stainless steel brake lines (front and rear)
9.2 Wilwood Dynapro 4 pot calipers
9.3 Wilwood Polymatrix E compound brake pads (front)
9.4 EBC standard Kevlar brake pads (rear)
9.5 DBA Longlife Slotted brake discs (front)
9.6 DBA Longlife GOLD crossed-drilled and slotted brake discs (rear)
9.7 Ralliart long hub bolt/lug (66mm)
9.8 12mm wheel spacer (front - to clear brakes)
9.9 Mitsubishi CE9A Lancer EVO2-3 1" brake master cylinder
9.1.0 Cusco Brake Cylinder Stopper (BCS)

10 Wheels/Tyres
10.1 SSR Type C 16" X 7" rims
10.2 Racing Gear forged 7075 aluminium alloy lug nuts
10.3 6061 aluminium alloy centre bore centering rings
10.4 Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 16" 205-45 series tyres

2006 will be very interesting as I hope to go fully programmable management. I also have on order a Koyo Type Z aluminium race radiator with 60% more capacity to hopefully resolve the cooling issues I'm having in traffic jams and when the air-con is switched off. 11.9 compression on 97 octane is not easy. Also in the works would be the conversion of my fuel pressure regulator lines to braided with AN fittings. Planning to use a SARD FPR. Stay tuned..

Battery Relocation to Boot

2006-01-01T16:01:00.000+08:00

To have sufficient space for my upcoming carbon airbox I've relocated the battery to the boot. Since I don't run any bright bliking strobe lights or a stupendous megawatt ICE, system the decision was made to go for as small a battery as possible. I've chosen the Odyssey PC680MJ dry cell battery as it's popularly used by many race teams and fellow mod enthusiasts. The PC680 only weights 7kg vs 15+kg for your average NS60 sized battery. The MJ suffix stands for "Metal Jacket" for additional engine bay heat protection. As can be seen from pix below the battery is really teeny weeny being slightly larger than your everyday motorcycle battery

The Odyssey can be mounted on any position and also does not emit any corrosive hydrogen gasses unlike conventional 'wet' batteries. Downside of course would be price. I got mine really special but the retail price of these batteries is approx USD160 in the States to RM1K+ in Japan without shipping. Unfortunately there are no distributors in Malaysia so you'll have to mail order from other countries with the closest being Singapore or Australia. For those who want a larger size battery for more "security" do go for the PC925 model but do note that it's heavier, larger and of course more expensive than the PC680. I have decided to forgo the std non-daily automotive SAE terminals and have instead used the race M6 termination complete with tin end terminals. For those who still want the SAE terminals you can purchase the PC680MJT (Metal Jacket SAE Terminal)model which comes with the SAE automotive terminals pre-installed. Battery tray is carbon.

Power cable is the best 'thick n fat' welding cable (oranged coloured jacket with the very Ah Beng sounding "Dragon Welding Cable" printed on it's jacket) I can buy complete with an expensive sleeve made from hi-fi cables. Length of cable to buy would depend on your config. Some people route 2 separate cables for starter motor and alternator each. I've decided to use the same cable for both duties connected to terminated to the stock cable in the engine bay. Both positive and negative terminals are the same cables. The crimping and end cable termination was done by a hi-fi enthusiasts bro and is first class as can be seen from the pix.

The positive end was marked with a red band for quick and easy identification. You can always buy expensive power amp cables from the likes of Monster Cable if you have the budget and like the looks but IMHO they're the same in terms of performance in starting the car so it's puurely for the blong factor. At the moment I've secured the Odyssey's metal jacket together with the battery tray in the boot via self tapping screws with no clamps. The battery is in turn secured onto it's jacket via silicon adhesive. Unfortunately you'll have to drill holes in your boot. Additional hole is also required for the grounding. And do not forget to scrape away the paint for the grounding point. There must be bare metal to metal contact for the grounding to work effectively. Pix of the battery mounted in the boot

The stock front positive cable together with ABS fuse was left in place with the stock SAE terminals removed and carefully zip tied to the gearbox speed sensor. Care must taken to ensure no contact to any metal parts of the car unless you like a short. The negative ground cable was snipped off with a handy pair of scissors and the remaining cable to engine left in place.

The cabling was routed to the rear via the passenger (left) side carpetting at the side of the car. There are many access points with rubber gromets leading into the engine bay. You just have to remove one gromet and use a knife to cut away the centre section then thread the cable through it.

Another completed pix

A fellow petrolhead bro of mine by the name of one famous Jack Chooi aka "Jacko Whacko" aka "AlucraD" from TMM forum has also completed his battery relo work yesterday. I'll get him to publish a report of his work later if he's up to it.