Thursday, 14 January 2010
First impressions of Them Crooked Vultures.
They sound like they should! Grohl's heavy thumping of the bass pedal and its timing within Bandoliers sounds likes its a riff by itself. I'm already sold on New Fang. So I am more towards looking at whether the whole album has the same strength as the much played single. Lets see if this is a grower or a teaser.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
So you wanna buy a car in Bolehland?
What's in it for me, the man on the street (who doesn't own a chop shop, doesn't have open APs, and is not in the business of manufacturing car parts), based on the recently reviewed National Auto Policy (NAP)?
The bad news first..lots if you are a continental car lover like me.
Maintaining the import and sales tax, and excise duty. So Alfo Mito will still be RM150k++ and a Golf GTI will still be RM200k+ in the near future.
No more import of used car parts by 2011. The source of many continental car parts from Japan or Singapore. Mana nak cari parts untuk 145 boxer? Engine parts are still manageable as it shares with 146, but body parts? I probably gotta get a whole second car if I intend to keep it for long. Also parts price will skyrocket as it'll be scarce.
No more open AP after 2015. So better get the GT-R, STI, EVO, Silvia grey imports before then.
Any goodies?
As NAP allows assembling of autos >1.8L and costing >RM150,000, a VW GTI might cost cheaper due to the difference between CBU import duty and sales tax vs CKD import duty & sales tax by about 20%. For this to happen, either one of the assembly plants owned by DRB-Hicom (Pekan) or PROTON will have to tie up with major automakers. Malaysia being the biggest passenger car market in ASEAN is an attractive market, while the assembly plant owners would benefit by the higher utilisation of their plants, which some sources have quoted between 50-80% capacity utilisation.
A VW TDI will also be a possibility as the announced road map for petrol and diesel to comply with Euro 4M by 2011. The high sulphur content of current diesel Euro 2M has been a deterrent as most modern engines are designed to run on Euro 3. I once drove an Audi A4 Avant diesel with 1.9TDi. Love the pick up, 20-30% better consumption compared to a petrol, but looses breath early (5k rpm). But a killer in city traffic if you ask me.
Well both of these are big ifs, as it'll require a tie-up between automakers, which as of now, only VW seems interested, or to a certain extent, Renault.
This coupled with new fuel mechanism thats gonna track the oil price, things will not get any rosier for a continental car lover in the next few years.
The bad news first..lots if you are a continental car lover like me.
Maintaining the import and sales tax, and excise duty. So Alfo Mito will still be RM150k++ and a Golf GTI will still be RM200k+ in the near future.
No more import of used car parts by 2011. The source of many continental car parts from Japan or Singapore. Mana nak cari parts untuk 145 boxer? Engine parts are still manageable as it shares with 146, but body parts? I probably gotta get a whole second car if I intend to keep it for long. Also parts price will skyrocket as it'll be scarce.
No more open AP after 2015. So better get the GT-R, STI, EVO, Silvia grey imports before then.
Any goodies?
As NAP allows assembling of autos >1.8L and costing >RM150,000, a VW GTI might cost cheaper due to the difference between CBU import duty and sales tax vs CKD import duty & sales tax by about 20%. For this to happen, either one of the assembly plants owned by DRB-Hicom (Pekan) or PROTON will have to tie up with major automakers. Malaysia being the biggest passenger car market in ASEAN is an attractive market, while the assembly plant owners would benefit by the higher utilisation of their plants, which some sources have quoted between 50-80% capacity utilisation.
A VW TDI will also be a possibility as the announced road map for petrol and diesel to comply with Euro 4M by 2011. The high sulphur content of current diesel Euro 2M has been a deterrent as most modern engines are designed to run on Euro 3. I once drove an Audi A4 Avant diesel with 1.9TDi. Love the pick up, 20-30% better consumption compared to a petrol, but looses breath early (5k rpm). But a killer in city traffic if you ask me.
Well both of these are big ifs, as it'll require a tie-up between automakers, which as of now, only VW seems interested, or to a certain extent, Renault.
This coupled with new fuel mechanism thats gonna track the oil price, things will not get any rosier for a continental car lover in the next few years.
Friday, 11 September 2009
Of health care reforms, election manifesto and Alfa MiTo.
Its been awhile since I blogged anything. As some of you may know, I'm kinda unemployed, but not short of things to do. Reverting to my past time of being a couch potato, I have been following the health care reform issues in the United States rather closely.
Rather than going into details of the reform, I have been more interested by the relentless pursuit of President Obama on getting a bill sorted out for the reform to work. Why has he been so relentless and determined? It was his election pledge. It has been around 9 months since his presidency, and with issues i.e Iraq, Afghan war, economic recession, piling like the office inbox I used to have, well not really, otherwise it would've been 'kacang' for him, he has been pursuing full throttle with NOS to boot. The past 2 months have been filled with public debate, wide media coverage, pros and cons of choices offered of the various issues related to health care reform.
Other than being a full time TVer, I log on to theStar every few hours or so. Lets just say I don't get a sense of urgency from either state or federal government and our lawmakers doing the same. I don't even remember what was the election manifesto of both PR and BN. Now why is that? Well one because I did not vote, since I did not manage to get on the electoral roll. Maybe the rakyat has not put a concerted effort to push for this. To let them know you guys suck. We should have a regular poll to tell these menteris, MPs, and ADUNs you guys better buck up..fast!
Maybe the silent majority has just been that, silent. But if we continue to be silent, come GE 13, who should I vote? Neither seem interested to work for a better Malaysia. Neither seem to be pushing for a better public transport. The cost of vehicle ownership is still expensive, that I cry everytime I look at car prices in the UK or US. Alfa MiTo cost RM150k in Malaysia while in the UK its £15k (convert should be ~RM90k). We still pay toll just to get stuck in jams.
Something for you and I to think about and hopefully act rather than just rant.
Rather than going into details of the reform, I have been more interested by the relentless pursuit of President Obama on getting a bill sorted out for the reform to work. Why has he been so relentless and determined? It was his election pledge. It has been around 9 months since his presidency, and with issues i.e Iraq, Afghan war, economic recession, piling like the office inbox I used to have, well not really, otherwise it would've been 'kacang' for him, he has been pursuing full throttle with NOS to boot. The past 2 months have been filled with public debate, wide media coverage, pros and cons of choices offered of the various issues related to health care reform.
Other than being a full time TVer, I log on to theStar every few hours or so. Lets just say I don't get a sense of urgency from either state or federal government and our lawmakers doing the same. I don't even remember what was the election manifesto of both PR and BN. Now why is that? Well one because I did not vote, since I did not manage to get on the electoral roll. Maybe the rakyat has not put a concerted effort to push for this. To let them know you guys suck. We should have a regular poll to tell these menteris, MPs, and ADUNs you guys better buck up..fast!
Maybe the silent majority has just been that, silent. But if we continue to be silent, come GE 13, who should I vote? Neither seem interested to work for a better Malaysia. Neither seem to be pushing for a better public transport. The cost of vehicle ownership is still expensive, that I cry everytime I look at car prices in the UK or US. Alfa MiTo cost RM150k in Malaysia while in the UK its £15k (convert should be ~RM90k). We still pay toll just to get stuck in jams.
Something for you and I to think about and hopefully act rather than just rant.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Of bulan puasa and raya
I love Ramadhan and Syawal.
Well of course apart from being holy months of restraint, submission and forgiveness, I get to save alot of money.
Ramadhan..through less eating and free buka puasa. It helps that i've learnt to discipline my self this year to not over buy on foods at pasar Ramadhan.
Syawal..through open houses. I stuff myself silly in each of them, while hardly eating outside.
"Kurus pun boleh makan banyak ke", a friend remarked on my 4th trip of the roti jala servings.
You know where these savings will go to :)
Well of course apart from being holy months of restraint, submission and forgiveness, I get to save alot of money.
Ramadhan..through less eating and free buka puasa. It helps that i've learnt to discipline my self this year to not over buy on foods at pasar Ramadhan.
Syawal..through open houses. I stuff myself silly in each of them, while hardly eating outside.
"Kurus pun boleh makan banyak ke", a friend remarked on my 4th trip of the roti jala servings.
You know where these savings will go to :)
Monday, 6 October 2008
Tepung Pelita Ramadhan
Yummy..sweetnessOn my annual quest in finding the perfect tepung pelita, I asked myself, what makes a tepung pelita THE tepung pelita?
Its the gebuness of the texture. Not too soft..otherwise it'll spoil the first touch.
Its how it presents itself, not too watery. Thats just a turn off.
Its the sweetness, not bland, and not too much sugar that sometimes you can still taste and feel that it is not fully dissolved.
Its the perfect proportion of the whitish and the greenish parts, that makes it pleasing to the eye.
Its the how the daun pisang wraps around it, causing the sweet aroma emanating from it.
But, I take exception to the last criteria. As I have tasted the best tepung pelita this Ramadhan during the last days of puasa. It is a modernised version, macam Mk II ala VW Golf Mk II, V etc, wrap in plastic cup, but still taste fantastic. Yummm.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Bas Sekolah kaler Amber
Never mess with a Bas Sekolah
Aku gi sekolah dulu naik Bas Mini kaler kuning. Erm..bukan sekolah la..but pegi kolej. KDU. The whole lot of us..10-12 kot..were always amazed by the stunts pulled by the driver. Which happened to be a chinese aunty. Macho gila la. Kadang2 visit kitaorg kat umah naik motor Harley dia. Well..maybe not a Harley..something similar. If you have been around KDU, you will think it is next to impossible to maneuver a car without dislodging the parked cars side mirror. Its located in the middle of housing area, and cars parked by both side of the road. Well I tell you..this aunty drives the bus daily around that area...and hardly ever hit anything.
But there was this one day, finally, the aunty needed our help. This bugger parked his Wira by the side, blocking the road, making it impossible for the bus to pass. Aunty tu pun jerit, "Angkat itu kereta". So there were we, under the hot afternoon sun, after classes. 10 skinny college boys selalu tak cukup makan, angkat kereta Wira tu, tolak tepi sikit. Priceless.
I noticed...how come most of the van sekolah and bas sekolah are driven by aunties or makcik2? Apa2 pun..R.E.S.P.E.C.T to these makciks and aunties. They are real mean lady drivers.
Saturday, 6 September 2008
UBAH GAYA HIDUP. Dump your Astro
Yep..I dumped my Astro. I was so blardy pissed off with them. See..I recently moved house, so had to remove the satellite dish, and later decided that I will not need the Astro anymore.
So I called to disconnect, and what did they told me?
They will need one month to DC. WTF?? Why one freakin month man? So with this one month, I will need to further pay for the coming months monthly subscription, which I am not goin to watch anyway, since the dish is down on my living room. Kalau nak connect and bayar, cepat je. Dah la charge RM10 for a single day of late payment. Rip offs. Pastu hujan takleh nak tgk. Stupid la.
So up yours Astro! Consumer power...I'm sticking to 6 free to air channels. Take you RM70 subscription fees and shove it up yours.
The upside to all this is I'm appreciating how hot Intan Ladyana is in Sutera Maya and how cute Liyana Jasmay is in Sari Maya :)
So I called to disconnect, and what did they told me?
They will need one month to DC. WTF?? Why one freakin month man? So with this one month, I will need to further pay for the coming months monthly subscription, which I am not goin to watch anyway, since the dish is down on my living room. Kalau nak connect and bayar, cepat je. Dah la charge RM10 for a single day of late payment. Rip offs. Pastu hujan takleh nak tgk. Stupid la.
So up yours Astro! Consumer power...I'm sticking to 6 free to air channels. Take you RM70 subscription fees and shove it up yours.
The upside to all this is I'm appreciating how hot Intan Ladyana is in Sutera Maya and how cute Liyana Jasmay is in Sari Maya :)
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Side ways is the ONLY way
Cheapest way to go sideways? Go kart, absolutely.
Wow..what a thrill. Though for only 10 minutes, it was fun fun fun from the get go. Especially everytime on taking an S-bend, and also taking the big corners ala parabolica flat out. Now I understand the thrill when Mark Webber talked about taking the 'parabolica' in Monza. Haha.
Apart from that, I've always wanted to do an opposite lock , the one when you have to steer the car the opposite way after an oversteer. Well I got to do it, in a kart la. The experience left me salivating driving a RWD on a track.
Its actually my third time karting. Set a decent time, but took 4 laps before I gained confidence to take corners, pedal to the metal. Looking forward for the next time.
Wow..what a thrill. Though for only 10 minutes, it was fun fun fun from the get go. Especially everytime on taking an S-bend, and also taking the big corners ala parabolica flat out. Now I understand the thrill when Mark Webber talked about taking the 'parabolica' in Monza. Haha.
Apart from that, I've always wanted to do an opposite lock , the one when you have to steer the car the opposite way after an oversteer. Well I got to do it, in a kart la. The experience left me salivating driving a RWD on a track.
Its actually my third time karting. Set a decent time, but took 4 laps before I gained confidence to take corners, pedal to the metal. Looking forward for the next time.
Friday, 18 January 2008
Scrap your car for RM400?
Well not quite.
For every one successful project car (the one where one restores an old, rusty, non-drivable condition car to one thats pristine, perfect and showroom condition car), there'll be easily eight other failed project cars (berkarat, terbiar, and with the car tepi jalan, all four tyres gone, supported by bricks, even the bricks have started to crumble). Its a sight for sore eyes, and being an car nut, it hurts to see it. Even if its a first generation Honda Accord. I feel for it. I know how hard it is to keep a car going at tip top condish. The emotional anguish, the financial committment, and the experience of fixing one thing, with another one failing the week after. So if you can't commit to it, what should you do with it?
The government should go ahead and implement the option to scrap these cars. Scrap owners sell their scrap at a price fixed by scrap yards, based on how much the yards can sell the besi buruks to the kilang besi. The kilang besi will buy these scrap at a price, which could be factored in to their production cost of a steel. I'm not from the steel industry, so I have no idea how much it is. Of course along the way, everyone will find a way to make profit. Not realistic? Maybe. But if we can find incentives for everyone, then it'll definitely work.
As for me, there's one project car thats on its way to greatness :)
For every one successful project car (the one where one restores an old, rusty, non-drivable condition car to one thats pristine, perfect and showroom condition car), there'll be easily eight other failed project cars (berkarat, terbiar, and with the car tepi jalan, all four tyres gone, supported by bricks, even the bricks have started to crumble). Its a sight for sore eyes, and being an car nut, it hurts to see it. Even if its a first generation Honda Accord. I feel for it. I know how hard it is to keep a car going at tip top condish. The emotional anguish, the financial committment, and the experience of fixing one thing, with another one failing the week after. So if you can't commit to it, what should you do with it?
The government should go ahead and implement the option to scrap these cars. Scrap owners sell their scrap at a price fixed by scrap yards, based on how much the yards can sell the besi buruks to the kilang besi. The kilang besi will buy these scrap at a price, which could be factored in to their production cost of a steel. I'm not from the steel industry, so I have no idea how much it is. Of course along the way, everyone will find a way to make profit. Not realistic? Maybe. But if we can find incentives for everyone, then it'll definitely work.
As for me, there's one project car thats on its way to greatness :)
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Heartbreak
What you love most, hurts you most. Hehe.
My head gasket went south last week.
Before taking the plunge into the Alfa ownership, I have prepared myself for worst case scenarios. Emotionally and of course, financially. Hence my frustration was not to the point where the food don't taste, or did I experienced any sleepless nights. I took a risk a year ago, and it took the same time for me to fall flat on my face, or at least that's the reason I think the gasket blew up on me.
It started by me driving a bunch of friends home to Kuantan, from KL.Four of them to be precise. Hitting Karak, I immediately floored the accelerator. Switching my right foot between brakes and the accelerator, making the boxer run its 129 horses relentlessly. 80% of the time, keeping the revs +5000 rpm to steer the bella around uphill corners. It was such joy.
2 days later, during idling, the Alfa lost power and sounded like running on 3 cylinders, as opposed to 4. I decided to take it to the pits. More of a workshop actually. On my way, the temperature went all to way to 110deg C, so I stopped to let it cool. Popping the hood, there were no water in the reservoir. Shit. Cranked the engine. Stuck. Sounded like the piston seized, which later I found out was quite right. Tow it is then.
Opening up the cylinder heads, found that one of the gasket had a water/coolant leak, causing water to mix with oil in the cylinder where I had work done before. We speculated that it could have either been poor quality gasket installed on my last timing belt 'putus' episode, or just improper installation. I didn't send the car to an Alfa specialist then, since I needed the car quick.
Now its all systems go. Better get some mods before it starts to 'merajuk' again. Maybe a pair of disc brakes, a squadra chip, and ICE. Worth to mention that I didn't send the car for washing for 3 weeks before the gasket failed. Heh.
My head gasket went south last week.
Before taking the plunge into the Alfa ownership, I have prepared myself for worst case scenarios. Emotionally and of course, financially. Hence my frustration was not to the point where the food don't taste, or did I experienced any sleepless nights. I took a risk a year ago, and it took the same time for me to fall flat on my face, or at least that's the reason I think the gasket blew up on me.
It started by me driving a bunch of friends home to Kuantan, from KL.Four of them to be precise. Hitting Karak, I immediately floored the accelerator. Switching my right foot between brakes and the accelerator, making the boxer run its 129 horses relentlessly. 80% of the time, keeping the revs +5000 rpm to steer the bella around uphill corners. It was such joy.
2 days later, during idling, the Alfa lost power and sounded like running on 3 cylinders, as opposed to 4. I decided to take it to the pits. More of a workshop actually. On my way, the temperature went all to way to 110deg C, so I stopped to let it cool. Popping the hood, there were no water in the reservoir. Shit. Cranked the engine. Stuck. Sounded like the piston seized, which later I found out was quite right. Tow it is then.
Opening up the cylinder heads, found that one of the gasket had a water/coolant leak, causing water to mix with oil in the cylinder where I had work done before. We speculated that it could have either been poor quality gasket installed on my last timing belt 'putus' episode, or just improper installation. I didn't send the car to an Alfa specialist then, since I needed the car quick.
Now its all systems go. Better get some mods before it starts to 'merajuk' again. Maybe a pair of disc brakes, a squadra chip, and ICE. Worth to mention that I didn't send the car for washing for 3 weeks before the gasket failed. Heh.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
You gotta have a little faith bro
I'm gonna start using these phrases. Though not sure it'll sound just as cool in Bahasa Malaysia.
"You've gotta have a little faith bro" -> "Kau kena la tawakkal sikit"
"There 3 things that are certain in life..death, taxes and (insert anything appropriate for the occasion you are talking about)" -> "Ada 3 benda yang pasti dalam hidup...kematian, cukai dan..."
"You've gotta have a little faith bro" -> "Kau kena la tawakkal sikit"
"There 3 things that are certain in life..death, taxes and (insert anything appropriate for the occasion you are talking about)" -> "Ada 3 benda yang pasti dalam hidup...kematian, cukai dan..."
Sunday, 29 July 2007
"Get away from our women"
Why am I such a car nut?
Easy. A perfect family weekend for me would be going for test drives with my dad and my brother. Let me list down some of the more memorable ones.
1. V50 - We got flagged by the traffic cops for speeding at Kerinchi link (150 at a 90km/h zone), but was let off due to my dad's legendary trickery.
2. Fiat Coupe - Approaching the sharp right hander from Subang entering the Federal Highway, our sales advisor remarked, "Tuan haji, corner depan tu". Haha.
3. Saab 9-3 - Emergency braking, and immediately saying, "Just wanted to test the ABS".
Now I have to plan for our next 'get away from our women' day and test some really mean machines.
Easy. A perfect family weekend for me would be going for test drives with my dad and my brother. Let me list down some of the more memorable ones.
1. V50 - We got flagged by the traffic cops for speeding at Kerinchi link (150 at a 90km/h zone), but was let off due to my dad's legendary trickery.
2. Fiat Coupe - Approaching the sharp right hander from Subang entering the Federal Highway, our sales advisor remarked, "Tuan haji, corner depan tu". Haha.
3. Saab 9-3 - Emergency braking, and immediately saying, "Just wanted to test the ABS".
Now I have to plan for our next 'get away from our women' day and test some really mean machines.
DSG
I've experienced the future.
Its in the form of DSG,
I'm still reeling with excitement after test driving the Golf GTI Mk 5. Incredible, incredible experience. All cars in the next 5 years must be fitted with DSG. The shift is instantaneous, almost game like feel. Reminds me of pushing the R1 button to upshift and the L1 button to downshift on my PS2 controller, when playing Grand Turismo 3. The paddle shift on the steering wheel will need time to get use to, since if follows steering movement. I think I 'arcaded' the DSG more than I should, what with the burning clutch smell, after stepping out of the GTI at the end of the test drive.
Next to the 156 GTA (the aural experience), the GTI test drive was one of the most memorable test drives I've been on.
Any car with a DSG, deserves to be in my dream garage one day, next to the 156,E39,145 and E30.
Its in the form of DSG,
I'm still reeling with excitement after test driving the Golf GTI Mk 5. Incredible, incredible experience. All cars in the next 5 years must be fitted with DSG. The shift is instantaneous, almost game like feel. Reminds me of pushing the R1 button to upshift and the L1 button to downshift on my PS2 controller, when playing Grand Turismo 3. The paddle shift on the steering wheel will need time to get use to, since if follows steering movement. I think I 'arcaded' the DSG more than I should, what with the burning clutch smell, after stepping out of the GTI at the end of the test drive.
Next to the 156 GTA (the aural experience), the GTI test drive was one of the most memorable test drives I've been on.
Any car with a DSG, deserves to be in my dream garage one day, next to the 156,E39,145 and E30.
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Monday, 2 July 2007
Fire triangle
What ever you do, please don't smoke and chuck your cigarette near a crash or accident site.
There might just be a fuel leak..and you know what's gonna happen when ignition source meets fuel eh.
Idiot.
There might just be a fuel leak..and you know what's gonna happen when ignition source meets fuel eh.
Idiot.
Saturday, 30 June 2007
Monday, 18 June 2007
Long and winding road
Everytime I watch a car show i.e Top Gear, Fifth Gear, Best Motoring, I drool about the roads they take the cars for review. The Autobahn, the Alps, Nordschleife, Isle of Man. Then I thought, wait a sec, the ones we have back here are not too bad either. Actually pretty fun. Here's a list of twisties that I've been fortunate enough to drive on:
1. Batang Kali - Gohtong Jaya - Genting Sempah
Love the uphill climb from Batang Kali. 2 out of 5 times I'm on this stretch, there'll be a vehicle 'tersadai' in the big ditch, most likely drivers not familiar and micalculating the corners. This is almost like my weekend drive, since its my drive back to Kuantan. Chasing the ever famous Genting taxis are always a joy, especially during wet! My most memorable drive was when I 'accompanied' an Unser on the downhill drive to Genting Sempah. Boy the Unser driver has got titanium balls.
2. Karak - Gombak
I eat this for dinner every Friday! The wide downhill section after Genting Sempah, towards Gombak is the most rewarding for me. Once I felt the car twitch on the rear, had to throttle on, to play catch up with an E39 525i. Was doing 5-6k rpm on 4th then, adrenaline pumping, palms sweating. Scary stuff.
3. Ampang - Hulu Langat - Kuala Kelawang
Only been on it once. But very memorable. My only drive with the ItaliaAuto guys. Plenty of switchbacks, tight, unpredictable twisters. Of course I got run by Coupes, 156s, 147s throughout the run. When I got back to Kuantan, my shocks were dead, and my lower arms were making noises.
4. Simpang Pulai - Kampung Raja (Cameron Highlands) - Gua Musang
Our balik kampung drive. The view is a sight to behold, with green, lush and flat top mountains. The corners are fun and predictable, so pretty safe drive when going downhill. The drive involves lots of tyre screeching, and for a less durable vehicle, smell of burning clutch. Sweet.
5. Jabor - Jerangau (Inland road Kuantan - Kuala Terengganu)
I had 3 near misses in one stint. Very very dangerous stretch. Never fail to claim lives on every raya holidays. There's hazards all over e.g animals, reckless drivers, heavy vehicles, potholes, blind corners, lots of 'ikan emas', you name it, its there. Respect it to get fulfilling returns.
Pretty much sums up the wonder drive I've had on Malaysian roads. Now I'm dying to give the boxer a go again.
1. Batang Kali - Gohtong Jaya - Genting Sempah
Love the uphill climb from Batang Kali. 2 out of 5 times I'm on this stretch, there'll be a vehicle 'tersadai' in the big ditch, most likely drivers not familiar and micalculating the corners. This is almost like my weekend drive, since its my drive back to Kuantan. Chasing the ever famous Genting taxis are always a joy, especially during wet! My most memorable drive was when I 'accompanied' an Unser on the downhill drive to Genting Sempah. Boy the Unser driver has got titanium balls.
2. Karak - Gombak
I eat this for dinner every Friday! The wide downhill section after Genting Sempah, towards Gombak is the most rewarding for me. Once I felt the car twitch on the rear, had to throttle on, to play catch up with an E39 525i. Was doing 5-6k rpm on 4th then, adrenaline pumping, palms sweating. Scary stuff.
3. Ampang - Hulu Langat - Kuala Kelawang
Only been on it once. But very memorable. My only drive with the ItaliaAuto guys. Plenty of switchbacks, tight, unpredictable twisters. Of course I got run by Coupes, 156s, 147s throughout the run. When I got back to Kuantan, my shocks were dead, and my lower arms were making noises.
4. Simpang Pulai - Kampung Raja (Cameron Highlands) - Gua Musang
Our balik kampung drive. The view is a sight to behold, with green, lush and flat top mountains. The corners are fun and predictable, so pretty safe drive when going downhill. The drive involves lots of tyre screeching, and for a less durable vehicle, smell of burning clutch. Sweet.
5. Jabor - Jerangau (Inland road Kuantan - Kuala Terengganu)
I had 3 near misses in one stint. Very very dangerous stretch. Never fail to claim lives on every raya holidays. There's hazards all over e.g animals, reckless drivers, heavy vehicles, potholes, blind corners, lots of 'ikan emas', you name it, its there. Respect it to get fulfilling returns.
Pretty much sums up the wonder drive I've had on Malaysian roads. Now I'm dying to give the boxer a go again.
Saturday, 12 May 2007
Wishlist
Everyone blogs about their wishlist. Which often includes the typical dream gadgets i.e ipods, uber-cool multi feature but oft unused mobile/smart phones, or a gigazillion pixel digicam. Here's mine for now:
1. A pair of new tie/track rod - to tighten the handling
2. performance brake pads - better stopping power, less fade
3. Pro RS steel braided hose - improve brake feel
4. strut braces - improve chassis stiffness, better handling
5. Squadra chip - add 10bhp!
6. valeo clutch - the ones i'm on now has started to squek
7. QV facelift or alessio monte carlo 15" rims - how can you not love that
8. repaint to Alfa red - love red!
9. leather interior, black with red stitches - red again!
10. PU powerflex suspension bush - improved handling
September can't come sooner.
1. A pair of new tie/track rod - to tighten the handling
2. performance brake pads - better stopping power, less fade
3. Pro RS steel braided hose - improve brake feel
4. strut braces - improve chassis stiffness, better handling
5. Squadra chip - add 10bhp!
6. valeo clutch - the ones i'm on now has started to squek
7. QV facelift or alessio monte carlo 15" rims - how can you not love that
8. repaint to Alfa red - love red!
9. leather interior, black with red stitches - red again!
10. PU powerflex suspension bush - improved handling
September can't come sooner.
Squeellley
You know you are really nuts about your car when you identify the squeeling sound of your operating stand fan with the sound of the air cond compressor pulley or steering pump pulley.
Friday, 11 May 2007
Decktable's got a webby!
My dearest sister got herself a webby.
Go go and check it out.
http://www.freewebs.com/decktable
Leen, the reason I don't update much, is to project the appearance that I lead a very busy and hectic work schedule. Believe me?
Go go and check it out.
http://www.freewebs.com/decktable
Leen, the reason I don't update much, is to project the appearance that I lead a very busy and hectic work schedule. Believe me?
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