Thursday, December 31, 2009

Battle Update 1

Yummy, so delicious.

Yesterday, exciting (but not a good example) things happened to me when I am on my way to and back from office on two of Malaysia' highways. Two fast cars followed my ride very close at the back and I think you know what that really mean.

Battle 1a
Level of Difficulty: Easy

On my way to office, a white Golf GTi, gave me the first battle of the day. If I am not mistaken, the stock car is equipped with 240 bhp of fire(horse)power. I am not so sure which version of GTi it is but the car managed to follow my ride quite close until I reached speed around 140 km/h. After that, it is a different story, I slowly left him at the back until we reach a toll plaza and took different route. My car was boosting at 0.7 bar which is the stock boost.

Battle 1b
Level of Difficulty: Hard

On the same day, on my way back from office after long hours at work, a Nissan Skyline GT-T (in dark blue color) is taunting me. This time, I am a bit worry because the traffic seemed quite heavy and the Skyline GT-T looks like it is packing serious horsepower under the hood. I quickly turn my HKS EVC 6 boost controller knob from Mode A to Mode B, switching it from 0.7 bar (estimated around 260 bhp) to 1.0 bar (estimated around 300 bhp) but the Nissan seems easily able to follow my silver ride at a very close distance. Getting near to the next toll plaza, the Nissan was slowly gaining on me but it can't accelerate any further as both of us need to brake for the toll plaza. He went to the cash counter's queue and I went to the Smart tag queue. Nevertheless, I am confident that he/she can overtake me if the road is a bit longer.

BTW, let us welcome Year 2010 and good-bye Year 2009.

May the car be faster and better.

Cheers!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

TD05-16G turbo (Evo 2)

I had my turbo (TD05-16G a.k.a. Big 16G) serviced at Karamjit Motorsports on 29th June 2009. Below pictures were taken after the service was done, sorry, no 'before' pictures.

Click on the picture to view the bigger version.

Picture 1


Picture 2


Picture 3


Picture 4

It seems that my turbo is in excellent condition, no shaft play and only a little bit of oil inside it.

Yeah, I know, it is such a little snail, but it is enough to scare the hell out of me at certain cold nights with 1 bar of boost.

Cheers.

Mr. Battery and Mr. Alternator

This happened last Monday (just four days ago).

It is near 9 AM and I am in a Rush Mode to be in the office for an important meeting. Hmmn, weird, I couldn't open the driver's door although I already disarmed the car's central locking. I just proceed to unlock it manually and managed to open driver's door. I tried to start the car and nothing happen. No wonder. It must be the car's battery. I tried to get the voltage reading from my Apexi Pen Turbo Timer but the display just flicker, nothing meaningful.

This actually surprised me as I bought the battery just six months ago. It is a NS60 maintenance-free Yokohama battery (Made in Malaysia) that still has six months to go before its warranty is over. Nevertheless, for me, it died prematurely, before its time, just like Michael Jackson and Brittany Murphy. So sad.


I tried to support locally-made product.

I send a text message to my boss and told him that I will be very late, he said okay, luckily he is very sporting. Ten minutes later, the battery is with me, in my wife's Proton Satria Neo, heading to the place where I bought it so I can just get it replace under warranty. Unfortunately, they need two or three days to have it analyze before they can arrange for a replacement. Honestly, I just feel like I want to stuff that battery in one of their worker's throat. Furious, I told them to take their time analyzing it, forever if required as I do not feel going to that shop again or to collect the replacement battery. Not only that, I would not even buy another locally-made Yokohama batteries ever again. Never.

AC Delco. One of the leading manufacturer for car batteries. This is the first battery that popped to my mind when I am thinking of buying a new battery for my ride, but, where can I find this highly-recommended battery for car lovers? Most of the shops nearby my house just sell either GP Atlas (Korean-made) or Yokohama. It is not that I heard bad things about GP Atlas, but in my heart, I just want to have an AC Delco, at least it make me feels better after a bad day.


I bought a maintenance-free NS60 AC Delco.

I searched at Google, contact AC Delco distributor's (very helpful and friendly) and they told me that there is a shop quite near to my location that sells AC Delco batteries. Fast forward, I went to that shop, bought it at a very good price (just RM30 more than Yokohoma's) and return home.

Just like a child with a newly bought toy, I opened the box and stunned with the battery's exterior. You can actually feels it is a very quality product, produced with enough love and care. It took me around 10 minutes to install the new battery, just to make sure it is properly seated and wired to the right positive/negative side. The car explodes to life at the first crank. Great!

On the next day, I did some research whether the problem might be related to a weak alternator. The Yokohama's battery that I bought is a Calcium-Calcium type. Several articles in the internet indicate that car batteries using Calcium-Calcium required certain level of voltage delivery from the alternator to get it properly charged. If that's the case, my AC Delco may also died prematurely if the real problem is with the car's alternator. Voltage reading from my Apexi Pen Turbo Timer shows 12.8v-13.0v reading when I am driving the car at 3,000 RPM in fifth gear. It is quite low from what I do understand as a good alternator should deliver around 13.8 volts.

No problem, my Glenmarie's office is quite near to a Bosch Service Center. I went there so I can get the altternator serviced. It is not that I don't want to replace the alternator but it would cost near 700% more than just have it serviced. Nonetheless, they told me that they will just do a voltage check first before doing anything to it, as the reading from the Apexi Pen Turbo Timer might not be that accurate. It is indeed not accurate, below is the reading done by the Bosch personnel using a very complicated looking device just to measure my battery voltage.
Ignition On, Air-conditioner Off, Headlights Off= 13.8 volts
Ignition On, Air-conditioner On, Headlights On= 13.8 volts

They told me that my car's alternator is working fine and I don't need to service or replace it. Another good news for me. I thanked them for their honesty and professionalism and they don't even charge me a single cent for this.

My points are, AC Delco and Bosch are both foreign-based company, US and Germany respectively, but they managed to show their quality control although in a branch that located thousands kilometers away from the HQ.

Why can't Malaysian-owned company be the same as they are actually operating locally?

What is the actual problem?

I wonder...

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Evo I/II/III Engine and Drivetrain



Cooking a turbo, best served hot

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution I was introduced in October 1992.
Engine Specs:
    * Engine - 4G63T -in-line 4-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC.
    * Bore/Stroke 85.0/88.0mm
    * Compression 8.5:1
    * Displacement 1,997cc
    * Standard Power - 250 Bhp
    * Standard Torque - 228 ft/lb

Drivetrain Specs:
    * Type - Full-time 4WD with Centre Viscous Coupling Unit
    * Gearbox - 5 Speed Manual - with or without Front LSD
    * Gear Ratios -
      1st 2.571
      2nd 1.600
      3rd 1.160
      4th 0.862
      5th 0.617
      Reverse 3.166
      Final Ratio 5.433
    * Clutch Type - Single Dry-Plate with Diaphragm Spring

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II was introduced in January 1994.
(My engine is this one!)
Engine Specs:
    * Engine - 4G63T -in-line 4-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC.
    * Bore/Stroke 85.0/88.0mm
    * Compression 8.5:1
    * Displacement 1,997cc
    * Standard Power - 260 Bhp
    * Standard Torque - 228 ft/lb

Drivetrain Specs:
    * Type - Full-time 4WD with Centre Viscous Coupling Unit
    * Gearbox - 5 Speed Manual - with or without Front LSD
    * Gear Ratios -
      1st 2.570
      2nd 1.684
      3rd 1.160
      4th 0.862
      5th 0.617
      Reverse 3.166
      Final Ratio 5.433
    * Clutch Type - Single Dry-Plate with Diaphragm Spring

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III was introduced in January 1995.
Engine Specs:
    * Engine - 4G63T -in-line 4-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC.
    * Bore/Stroke 85.0/88.0mm
    * Compression 8.8:1
    * Displacement 1,997cc
    * Standard Power - 270 Bhp
    * Standard Torque - 228 ft/lb

Drivetrain Specs:
    * Type - Full-time 4WD with Centre Viscous Coupling Unit
    * Gearbox - 5 Speed Manual - with or without Front LSD
    * Gear Ratios -
      1st 2.570
      2nd 1.684
      3rd 1.160
      4th 0.862
      5th 0.617
      Reverse 3.166
      Final Ratio 5.358
    * Clutch Type - Single Dry-Plate with Diaphragm Spring

(Source: www.evo123.net)


NOTES
1. Evo I and II has a lower engine compression than Evo III (8.5:1 vs 8.8:1)

2. Internal actuator spring rate for Evo I/II/III is 72 Kpa or 0.7 bar (14.7 PSI)- Stock boost

3. Safe maximum boost for Evo I and II with stock internal is 1.2 bar and for Evo III is 1.0 bar (due to higher engine compression). Just make sure you have necessary supporting parts to increase the boost (e.g. Wideband tuning, Walbro high-pressure 255lph fuel pump).

4. Evo I/II/III is using Viscous Limited Slip Differential (VLSD) for the front

5. Evo I/II/III stock bottom end's is good up to 350 whp before it starts breaking up. Get it forged if you want to go more than 350 whp safely although some people managed to run 500 whp on stock internals, very2 risky though.

Currently, I am running at 0.7 bar on low boost setting and 1.0 bar for high boost setting although sometimes it creep up to 1.65 bar due to my 3" turbo-back exhaust piping (especially during cold night).


Turbo boost is now engaged!

Scramble boost set to increase another 0.2 bar for 11 seconds in case I need an extra push for extraordinary occasion, *grin*.

Performance Items for SALE!

I have several original performance items to let go at a very good price...


HKS Super Drager (Inlet 3", Outlet 5")- Picture 1 

 
HKS Super Drager (Inlet 3", Outlet 5")- Picture 2


Blitz Nur Spec (Inlet 3", Outlet 4")


HKS Super Power Flow

If you are interested, just leave your email address by posting a comment.

Cheers.

Raydiance Autospa

Lately, it has been raining all the time, a very WET month indeed... so for you that can't stand to watch your car using MUD as a BLANKET and DUST as a POWDER, bring your car to Raydiance Autospa at Sunway Mentari, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

 
Raydiance Autospa

They are using quality products (Meguiars) and their staffs are well-trained. They even have their towels labeled properly to make sure specific towel only for different section of your car. They charged RM12 for basic exterior/interior car wash.


Taking a break, relaxing those muscles. Battle scars are getting VERY visible now...


Hard Rock Cafe style?

Ohh, before I forgot to mention, you should join their membership, it would cost you cheaper for basic car wash and get SMS for promotions and latest news. It will just cost you RM10, cheap right?