The Black Mamba

A Glimpse of 2012....

2012-01-10T13:02:00.000+08:00

Hope it's not too late to wish you guys a happy new year! Let's hope 2012 will be a better year with better income, better mods and eventually a better car. For Black Mamba, it will definitely be a "無限" year.. :)

R-VIT i-Color Flash

2011-12-28T17:53:00.002+08:00

Sold off my Pivot Racing Monitor few weeks ago and got myself this cool multi-functional display monitor by Blitz Japan. Initially I wanted to get the Ecliptech i-Shift Progressive Shift Light for Mamba but since this item will be put on top of the steering column, I don't think I could see it as I'm planted deep in the full bucket seat. Haha. So until I get an aftermarket steering wheel (to have a clearer view of the steering column) this R-VIT will serve as my real-time data display.

Why R-VIT and not APEXi RSM? Well, as you can see from the link above, it has a lot of features that could assist my driving. Though you need to buy few sensors to make some display work (oil pressure etc), the other information does help me to properly monitor what my car is doing. One of the best feature of the R-VIT is the fuel consumption monitoring. Not very sure how accurate this is since my O2 sensor is out but the km/l figures decrease whenever I drive WOT haha. There's nothing wrong with RSM, it's just that the design and display looks old-fashioned to me. :)

By the way this is the latest version of the R-VIT and you just need to plug in the single socket to the OBDII port to activate it. If there's anyone interested to buy this do let me know. I don't mind selling it cheaper than what I got for. My email is on my blog profile.

Kouki

2011-12-22T00:07:00.000+08:00

If you have been following my blog you will remember I have posted about the Chargespeed Japan bodykit which I purchased in Singapore. The complete 4 pieces kit were collecting dust for almost two years simply because I was not ready to get it installed on my car.

Throughout 2010 and 2011 I have seen only two cars that were using this rare bodykit. One of them is an on-the-road car with only front bumper and the other one is a complete kit on a car that has been on the dealer since god knows when. I have managed to save some photos below and that is how it will look on my car, except mine is lower and has nicer wheels :P .

Personally I think one of the reason why I did not want it to be replacing my stock OEM bodykit is that the 'curves' of the bodykit are not totally exposed on a black car. It would definitely look more revealing on a brighter colored cars I believe. I have tried to sell it for couple of times but the offers received were not up to what I'm expecting so once again the kit continued it's hibernation at the paint shop.

Time goes by, and to cut the story short, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to own a complete Mugen bodykit for FL DC5 from a friend (This will be written later on a separate post coz it's too exciting haha). Knowing the fact that the Mugen kit can cause a big hole on my bank account, I had to make a bold move to earn some cash to finance this project. No, not robbing the bank of coz. Haha. The Chargespeed kit came into my mind and I started to make it available for sale again. Thankfully after just few days a fellow DC5 friend whom I know from the Facebook group offered to buy the kit. The price has been agreed and I had to drive down to JB and return back to KL to deliver the items to Faizal.

In just less than a week, the bodykit was painted to Championship White and being perfectly fitted on Faizal's K24 DC5R. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present you... the one and only.. daily driven DC5.. with a complete Chargspeed Kouki bodykit.. in Malaysia!! Hahaa!

Based on the UrbanDictionary, Kouki is described as the second model of a particular generation of vehicle. So this kit is the second in line for DC5 after the Zenki.

The car doesn't need to be flushed to look flush with this kit haha!

The kit looks very mean in white!

The longer rear bumper looks very intimidating :)

Genuine emblem, obviously.

Impromtu photoshoot @ Sepang Circuit with 9tro Magazine from Singapore

There would be no one who understands JDM will say no to this car :)

That is all for now and I hope you enjoyed looking at the pics. Year end will always be with full of surprises. LOL. I will write soon on the Mugen project for Black Mamba. Last but not least, expect a proper photoshoot of these two cars in the next 3-4 weeks :)

Dyno Day :)

2011-12-21T18:52:00.000+08:00

Once the header installation was done, I took Black Mamba for a retuning session the following day. Initial plan was to get it retuned by Tung Chun, however due to the limited time for me to travel around, I opted to get it done by Desmond of N1 Racing.

Tuning was done succesfully on a cloudy Saturday afternoon where it was not too hot, not to humid. Obviously the end result below made me smile the whole day but most importantly the a/f ratio were perfectly tuned to suit my daily driven engine. Prior to the tuning, the car was run couple of times on the dyno to get the base reading and surprisingly Desmond mentioned that my a/f ratio was already optimum from the last tuning with Tung Chun. I am sorry for not being able to put on the full graph as I lost the paper, so once I manage to retrieve back the graph I will share wity you.

Strapped on the treadmill :)

Tuning of K100 in progress

Mappingssssssssssss

The final figure.

Post Tuning Comments:

1. Powerwise the car feels much livelier than before. The header does release extra power from the engine since the excessive gas has been smoothly released compared to the stock header. Low and mid range power has been improved and I enjoy seeing the revs climbing faster than before. VTEC point has been maintained at 5500rpm as I can't afford to have it engaged earlier on a long distance drive. Furthermore I am running on 5.1 final drive so it's not very wise to lower down the VTEC engagement point haha.

2. After the tuning, my secondary O2 sensor decided to die on me. No choice but had to disable it temporarily. Now I need to get a complete primary and secondary O2 sensor as my fuel consumption has increased! If you remember on my post last year, my primary O2 has been disabled when I installed the Hondata.

3. As I have mentioned in earlier post, there is a rattling sound coming out from underneath the car as if metal plates are hitting on each other. Will make a check and possibly fix this next time.

Cost:

1. Tuning @ N1 Racing: RMXXX (contact Desmond Yee to discuss)

Brisk Plugs

2011-12-21T00:22:00.000+08:00

Realizing that my Greddy spark plugs were never changed since 3 years ago, I decided to get a set of new Brisk plugs for the next service. As recommended and claimed by some friends, these Brisk plugs can give few extra horses on the dyno compared to other plugs. Since I am going to get the car dyno-tuned after the header installation, why not try this?

The 3 years old plug. LOL.

Cost:

1. Brisk plugs: RM350

Rigid Cola!

2011-12-20T22:38:00.000+08:00

One of the reason why Spoon Sports remains famous among the Honda enthusiasts is because they produce simple yet effective performance products. The subframe rigid collar is a good example of simple engineering that improves a car's overall handling. These rigid collars are used to completely eliminate subframe free play by filling up the gaps where subframe and chassis meet and the bolt inserts. With the chassis and subframe 'united', the chassis stability is greatly improved, suspension travel becomes more precise, tire grips are better during driving and unwanted subframe 'noise' is eliminated.

I had the opportunity to obtain a set from a friend who had sold his car previously but never got the chance to install it. While the car was being installed with the header, I've asked them to get this lightweight aircraft aluminium collars to be installed together.

Part no is meant for FD2, DC5, EP3 and Fit GD.

Four sets for the front subframe.

The material is aircraft aluminium. Lightweight yet very strong. Beware of immitation that claimed their product is at similar quality but at fraction of the price.

Simple instruction in Japanese.

Front subframe bolt removed and inserted with the collar.

Locking it up.

Done!

Collar on the rear part of the subframe.

Post Installation Comments:

1. The installation took only around 30-40 mins without any issues removing the bolts etc.

2. I feel the car being fairly stiffer than before with these collars on! Although stiff, driving feels much firmer and precise especially when taking the corners. I'm also happy with the fact that the front of the car is not 'jumping' whenever I hit the uneven pavements. However, some of the FD2R owners didn't feel much difference after installing this probably due to their higher rigid chassis haha..

3. Have a look at the video below on how this little thing works (you can search for english version of the video though)

Cost:

1. Rigid collars: RM800

Reference:

1. http://www.rigidcollar.info/ (They now have their own "Rigid Cola" division to cater for other makes too! Good business for Spoon!Also take note that the rigid collars for the rear subframe is already on sale for the DC5. Do want!).

The Header

2011-12-08T00:21:00.001+08:00

As I have briefed in my earlier post, the custom TedcoSport header has been ready for installation for sometime. Appointment was finally set and Mamba was sent to the good hands of TedcoSport technicians for the header replacement.

I'll let the pics do the talking (coz I'm terribly tired now). Will edit this and that tomorrow hopefully. So here you go..

The custom test pipe, made way back in 2009.

The 2-1 part of the stock header.

Complete parts of the stock header

The head/bottom looks pretty neat without any leaks.

Would you look at this sexy thing!!

Flawless welding done by Tedco.

Another great view of the workmanship.

2.5" collector.

Stock VS Tedco.

The test pipe.

Fits perfectly!

The fitment of this header is clear for the big ass Cusco 25mm ARB.

Test pipe needs to be extended by half an inch as the S2 Megapower system is slightly shorter than other Japanese exhaust.

Mid section of the exhaust has slanted a bit, but it resolved the rattling of the rear pipe with the ARB.

Final touches by the experts.

Done! Look at the manifold color before the engine being fired up.

And now after few minutes of warming up and drive-arounds. Don't you just love stainless steel?

Post Installation Comments:

1. Installation that was supposed to be 2-3 hours took slightly longer as my Skunk2 exhaust pipe is shorter and couldn't be fit to the test pipe. The test pipe required to be extended by half an inch to make everything perfect.

2. As how the redesigned header should be, there is ample clearance of the bottom 2-1 part with the 25mm Cusco anti-roll bar. No issues of the header hitting the ARB when launching the car etc. However after the car was dyno-tuned I notice there is an intermittent rattling sound like piece of metal sheet touching with the header when the aircond is turned on. Not really sure what it is but it's not a big issue as the sound goes off when the rev starts to climb.

Cost :

1. Header complete with test pipe and spring bolts: RM1,980

2. Extension of test pipe with stainless steel pipe: RM70

Real Steel

2011-12-07T16:11:00.000+08:00

It has been almost few months since my last update. Was pretty much tight up with work plus I was being blogspot-illiterate with the new layout hence the abandonment of updates haha. I've done quite number of things to the car in the past two months so I'll do my best to post entries one by one.

So this entry is about the issue I had with one of the steel pipe that feeds the water to the head. Honestly I have no idea the exact name of this part, but what happened was the pipe internals was badly corroded until it cracked and water was flowing out when there is pressure from the radiator (during engine running). Thankfully I had the CEL warning indicator set from the Hondata when the water temp goes beyond 100deg.

Further checking confirmed that this pipe is in bad shape so the mechanic tried to put on the same pipe from CRV's K20 but it couldn't fit. No choice but it has to bought brand new.

5 years of dirt

The hole

The new pipe acquired by John of HiperRacing

Took the chance to flush the radiator and replace new coolant as well :)

Costs:

1. TB steel pipe - RM250

2. Coolant, labour etc - RM110

2011 Raya Goodies - Part 5

2011-09-13T23:19:00.001+08:00

One of the things I've been waiting to get for Black Mamba is an aftermarket header. After observing for sometime I reckon that most of the Japanese aftermarket headers have relatively smaller collector (2.3inch) compared to American brands like SSR, Skunk2 & HyTech (2.5inch). These brands are expensive due to the exceptional build quality and Malaysia's killer import tax regime. Some of them like HyTech/SSR are even made to order, hence the sky-high price.

Thankfully though, we have a few creative creatures around this world who actually took the opportunity to make money by replicating things average joe like me couldn't afford. Hehe. A good example is the header. I'm referring to the KiddRACING header from the States (Most K-series owner would know it come from Taiwan anyway haha). It was replicated from HyTech header, produce impressive power and cheaper by almost half from the price. Here in Malaysia I have seen more than 10 DC5s and FD2Rs using this header and also TDM (another Taiwan made header under same manufacturer of KiddRACING). As far as I know none of them DID NOT MAKE any power after installing it. So, who wouldn't want a cheap header that produces power right?

As I was pondering on getting the header from Singapore, fellow DC5 owner Andrew offered to customised a header based on KiddRACING/TDM but with improved built quality and welding finish. Most importantly the design is revised to clear the bigger front anti-roll bar (Most DC5 owners with aftermarket anti-roll bar (>23mm) might experience the header touching the bar due to it's size). Deposit was given and few months later the header is ready. Honestly, I couldn't comment further as Andrew will be doing test fitting on his car soon before distributing the headers. But would you just look at how meticulously-awesome the thing is? I seriously couldn't wait to receive the call from Andrew soon. For now on, drool on the pics and keep following this blog. Haha.

2011 Raya Goodies - Part 4

2011-09-13T22:34:00.002+08:00

Mamba's 6 speed gearbox has been serving me well for the past 3 years. With the right maintenance of oil change every 5000km it has never caused me a problem. However earlier this year I am experiencing hard engagement with the gears at high RPMs and occasionally second gear 'crunching' occurs when the rev goes beyond VTEC point (refer link here for the common second gear issue with Acura RSXs). Knowing the fact that the gearbox has never been 'flushed' or dismantled before, I laid out the plan to acquire the relevant parts for this major work.

After couple of months saving, I decided to get the much more affordable 4-puck Exedy racing clutch set to replace the worn-out OEM clutch. Together with this and as advised (more like racun) by a goodfriend of mine, I purchased a set of shorter final drive from Civic Type-R FD2. Since my 2.4 project has not yet being put in place, I said why not try the 5.062 final drive to replace the existing 4.764?. So unreluctantly I get a new set from another friend who decided not to install it on his DC5. Nevertheless, I did not purchase the synchro set for 1-2 gears as it costly and I would like to see myself the condition of the gears before splashing the cash out.

I headed on to Tung Chun Racing JB (where else) during the festive holiday for this work to be carried out. Enjoy the pics and videos.

This is what you should get for the final drive package a) Final gear ring set b) Countershaft. Ensure the ring set has 81 teeth!

Gearbox dismantled in less than 45 mins!

Look at those blueish sludge. Gears taken out.

Taking out the ol' 4.764 final drive.

The bearing in the middle is the Countershaft bearing. There's no need for this to be purchased since we share the same 6 speed gearbox with FD2R.

Ready to be cleaned.

OEM clutch. Probably few hundred KM more before it dies.

Improve your grip with this clutch.

Part No for your reference mate.

Obviously original. But please beware of fake Exedy clutches.

The pressure plate.

Hey how did I miss those two clips on the radiator cover??

Super clean!

Facelift DC5R gearbox code. Prefacelift (2004 and earlier) has different code.

Gears and syncros were inspected and it turns out everything are in good condition. Thank god!

Putting back the gearbox on.

Fresh MTF-III oil. Will no longer use Redline Lightweight Shockproof oil from now on.

While waiting for everything to be fixed, I found some interesting stuffs in the workshop worth sharing with this blog readers.

Tung Chun's race prepped DC5R. I was being told the rollcage was fabricated by an English dude who made cages for BTCC cars. Interesting.

Would you like the big ass potruding intake on your K20 sir?

Drag-ready, estimated 350whp with an-extra 200cc on K24 block. Not your average K-series man. Haha

Finally, after 2 hours of waiting Mamba is ready to roll out. Alignment was done at the nearby tyre shop.

Post Installation Comments:

1. The car's accelaration was improved tremendously after installing this final drive. The revs keep on climbing and it doesnt drop as much as before when you shifting gears. I could feel more 'pulling' power when the car is launched compared to before. Some sort like newfound excitement for me seeing the needle goes towards the redline effortlessly I could say! Totally faster than before. And of course, the new clutch does help to provide smoother gear change. Please check Mamba's videos below to compare the revs and speed. First video is before the final drive being installed.

2. I've heard some people saying 'shorter final drive will kill your top speed'. I'd say it's not true. Why? I could still go beyond 200km/h easily, and faster than before (I mean seriously, how fast could we go on the normal road right?). However, we must remember the rule of the thumb - shorter final drive, higher RPMs. The rev is noticably higher by +-500rpm than before. Previously on 6th gear @ 100km/h it was 3000rpm. Now on the same gear and speed the rev has increased to 3500rpm. Due to this, I have noticed that the engine note is slightly louder when I'm travelling long distance. Not very comfortable I could say. I also think that the torque advantage decreases as I keep on changing to higher gears. Anyways, check out the speed vs rpm table below for the 5.062 final drive. If I'm not mistaken, Spoon Sports produce (or more likely rebrand) the same final drive.

3. The other factor that I have yet to properly analyze is the fuel consumption. As far as I'm concerned it is still economical after almost 2 weeks driving. 28 litres of Shell RON97 fuel could take me close to 300km so it's good. I will try to calculate the consumption for urban driving when I'm free.

4. Back again to the second gear crunching issue. Surprisingly the problem still exist despite having the synchros in good condition. But it only happened when the car has been driven more than an hour or so. Other gears are super crisp. Not very sure if I should replace the synchros, or try to replace harder gearbox mount to reduce the vibration. See how it goes.

5. Last but not least the pedal feel with the racing clutch on is very light. I could say it's almost like using stock OEM clutch. The car doesn't jerk furiously or the engine dies when the pedal is released suddenly like other super single clutch. Very easy to drive around with this clutch so it's recommended for those who drive their car daily. :)

Costs:

1. Exedy 4 puck racing clutch - RM1,350 - Tung Chun Racing, JB
2. Honda MTF-III gear oil - RM100 - Tung Chun Racing, JB
3. FD2R 5.0 final drive - RM1,XXX (Friend's price muahahah)
4. Labor - RM450

Hope this post will help you decide on installing FD2R or other aftermarket final drive.

2011 Raya Goodies - Part 3

2011-08-29T19:55:00.002+08:00

So, how do you turn your fugly looking gear knob like this.............

Into this..??

Easy, just buy a new one..Hehee. On a serious note, there's no way I could remove all the scratches on the knob. It has been like that since I got the car. I guess the previous owner in Japan was wearing a ring on his left hand. That might result to the scratches but well, who cares. I've got a replacement OEM DC5R knob for a good price! (Which means other aftermarket knobs I've scouted to be put on hold) :)

Oh yeah I have also installed the custom shift extender last few months. It's 4" long and inspired by Circuit Hero's 5" extender. The reason our friend Andrew made it an inch shorter is because the 5" will hit the head unit when you upshift to 3rd or 5th gear. LOL. Shifting never felt better with this extender cause you can reach the knob faster from your steering wheel!

How it looked like from the passenger view.

This is going to be the last update as tomorrow will be Raya. There's few more stuff that couldn't be installed/picked-up on time (Header, fender bar etc) so it's gonna be the next coming weeks then. I'll be dropping Mamba's gearbox the next few days for some overhaulin' so hopefully everything will go smoothly. You guys drive safe on the road ok? Eid Mubarak for all my muslim blog visitors!

2011 Raya Goodies - Part 2

2011-08-29T17:53:00.002+08:00

Just to make Mamba more stealthier during Hari Raya I bought these Rays Extended Nuts. And it's in black.

Cost:
1. RM450 - Online.

Wheel Bearings and Such

2011-08-29T17:41:00.003+08:00

It's time of the year again for the much waiting long festive leave. Before I could go back to JB in peace, I discovered that something is not right with the front wheel arrangement. There was this humming sound coming from in front and it gets louder and annoying after a while. Not wanting my long journey to be disrupted, I went to my trusted mechanic John to get it checked..

After a brief 5 mins checking, it turns out my front right wheel bearing has gone. The left side is also heading the same way as the other, just matter of time. I bet the bearings were never changed before. Furthermore 6mm spacers I use might hasten the lifespan of the bearings. Either way I decided it's best if both sides are changed..

Knuckle being taken out and sent to machine shop for pressing to remove and install the bearings.

Looks really old here.

Mamba helpless on the jack.

I also took the liberty to change the oils for Mamba. This time I had to settle with Cusco oil (5W-40) as the Greddy F4 Pro is no longer in production. It's kinda funny how this motor oil is being produced and distributed and discontinued by the big brands; firs it was Blitz, then it was replaced by Greddy. Now both are no longer available. The other thing that puzzled me was there's another version of Cusco engine oil that has 'low friction formula'. The cans look the same but price is different by RM100. Hmm....

The 2 years + old Trust Airinx filter is due for replacement and it was being replaced with the authentic HKS 3 layer super filter.

Latest engine shot of Black Mamba. It is still showroom-condition clean.....hehehehe..

Costs:

1. Cusco engine oil = RM150/can (4 liters) – N1 Racing, Sunway
2. Redline LWSP gear oil = RM55/bottle (2 bottles) – N1 Racing, Sunway
3. HKS Super Filter = RM100 - N1 Racing, Sunway
4. OEM Honda front wheel bearings = RM200/side (both left & right changed)
5. Labor by Hiper Racing = +-RM200

2011 Raya Goodies - Part 1

2011-08-23T22:26:00.000+08:00

After 2 years of waiting, I finally got my hands on this pair of discontinued Ganador aero mirrors for DC5. This awesome mirrors are motorized and it's a direct fit to DC5. It's also flexible in and out to protect it from extensive damage if being hit by motorbikes. LOL. I just had to repaint the mirrors with Nighthawk Black Pearl to match the color of the body. My previous Spoon mirrors are sold to a fellow DC5 owner in East Malaysia.

Oh yeah, my custom header has also been completely fabricated. Seriously I hope I could pick it up and install this weekend before going for a long Raya leave.

Brotherly Luv

2011-08-09T21:12:00.001+08:00

A good ol' friend of mine had just purchased a mint DC2 GSR recently. Having no luck with Adlan's EP3 previously, he unreluctantly traded in his Kenari for this car. This black DC2 was obtained from a used car dealer at a very good price and the best part is the car has all the basic Type-R conversion done, including the venerable B18CR engine.

Just after couple of weeks of owning it, he has already converted to Type-R 5 lugs together with mean green 16 inch Volk TE37 and also a lot more handling stuffs from Ultra Racing, ASR, Hardrace etc. Had a good time rolling with him last weekend and it seems that he's enjoying revving the car till 8000rpm hehe. Welcome to the VTEC world buddy, now it's time to bring her to Pasir Gudang! :)

Shaving The Rod

2011-08-09T19:41:00.001+08:00

This post is about the simplest and cheapest form of mod you can do to your DC5 Type-R's handling. For those who doesn't know, DC5 suspension department comes in the form of MacPherson strut. Unlike the previous Civic and Integra generation where the Double wishbone suspension are easily tuned, the McPherson layout is totally a different ball game.

I first encountered this issue when I first went to Era Maju to change the wheels back in 2009. The standard camber setting for my car was about -1 front and -2 at the back. Since my Teins come with front adjustable pillow mounts, I guess why not tweak the front further to -2 (or more) to compensate the naturally 'kangkang' rear. Also by having more negative camber at the front, it will give me more grip during corner and reduce the tendency for understeer. Unfortunate for me when the front camber was adjusted to -2.5, the toe-in become so great at +3 on both sides it will be impossible for me to drive. The effect of the positive toe is due to the limited adjustability of the stock tie rods. Frustratedly I had to go back on the normal setting until the tie rod is being fixed, either by shortening it or replace it with aftermarket rods and inverted tie rods (as per the T1R link on the side of this blog).

So after 2 years of not doing anything (HAHAH!) I decided the best way to solve this problem is to meet John of HiperRacing and let him sort it for me...

Check out how 'skema' the front camber all this while..sheesh!

For those who asked what is tie rod, this is it. The gold colored steel.

Ready to be shaved.

John measures the tie rod before proceeding to shorten the tie rods.

John uses a special tool to shorten and rethread the tie rod at the same time. There's no need to take the tie rod off the car and send it to machine shop to shorten it. This would save a lot of time for both customer and mechanic.

Ta-da! It's done! The tie rods were shorten by 10mm in less than 45 mins. Oh in case you're using Tein, 10mm is the most suitable length to shorten the tie rods.

Alignment was done @ Craftmotorsport, Sunway. Front camber now is around -2.5 and rear is almost similar (Need to get the adjustable rear camber kits if I wanna adjust it). Front toe is now at around -1 on each sides.

Looks nice from this angle although the inner tires are crying.

Hellaflush? Not quite, but almost there. Hehe.

Black Mamba can grip better in corners, and looks even sexier now!

Post Installation Comments:

1. Guess I do not have to elaborate how fun it is taking corners with the new alignment setup. I can accelerate faster in corners without having much understeer like before.

2. The only downside of running negative cambers is that the tires wear faster. Let's see how long does it take for me to change new set of rubbers after this lol.

Costs:

1. RM150 to shorten the rods @ HiperRacing Sunway and RM100+ for alignment and camber adjustment @ Craftmotorsport Sunway.

Kumho-nized, again!

2011-07-18T17:30:00.017+08:00

Woot woot! How are you guys doing? Hope everyone are still on the right path of building and modding your ride. It's like what, more than a year since I last change my tires. As you can see from the pic below, the tires have gone through few track days and countless long distance travel and obviously no longer safe to use! Since Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 is the most affordable and bang-for-the-buck performance tires, it has become my choice once again.

Ouh ya..I've also dropped the rear lower by few mm's to make the car height looks 'equal' front and back. No fender rubbing issues with the 225s as I've rolled the rear fenders few months back! Just need to sort out the front camber to give Mamba the perfect grip. It's gonna be a tough job to have the perfect handling setting with McPherson's strut system. Believe me.

Pricewise is not much different than the last time I change, only RM10 cheaper per piece. However it took me almost two month to go this shop after ordering it coz I was dead busy with work. Haha. Nothing else was changed on Mamba except for the regular periodic maintenance. Money is an issue at the present moment but come next month, a customised header and some handling stuff will be added on to the car. Stay tuned!

The Lost Opportunity

2011-05-04T10:14:00.006+08:00

Some might know about this, some might not. It was just couple of weeks ago I almost let Black Mamba go. As you would know that Black Mamba is my life since two years ago. But I had the opportunity to own another legendary Honda automobile - the sexy, seductive and sultry S2000. Probably the only chance for me to own it at this moment. However, in order for me to acquire the topless beauty, I must sell Black Mamba; which became the most difficult decision for me to make in my 29 years of living. But I made up my mind, I have to move on.

Decided not to advertise the car on the net, I spread the words among friends. To cut the long story short, I had three interested buyers for my car. The first potential buyer failed to get a loan. The second buyer was asking for ridiculously low price. The third (and the last) potential buyer was something different. He agreed to buy the car with cold hard cash! I was sceptical at first but thinking that I could earn more money by offsetting from my loan balance, I agreed. Oh yes, the plan actually was for me to buy the S2000 UK using my wife's AP and bring back the car to Malaysia. For me to get a 2006 AP2 S2000 at GBP10,000, I need to have cash, hence the agreement to sell off the car to the cash-rich buyer. But I guess the bonding between me and Black Mamba is meant to be longer than 2 years when the buyer couldn't come out with the cash on time (I'm flying off to UK in 2 days, the guy can only get the cash in a month or so).

So the deal went off. Black Mamba is safe and sound with me (New tires and fender bars coming in ngeheheh) and I have no further intention to sell it now. S2000 can wait, if not now, sooner or later. It's just that I regret I couldn't do a money shot with the S2000 like this dude below, am I right Hezz? Hahaha...

R Mega Meet Full Version

2011-05-03T15:29:00.025+08:00

Hello guys!! I've been MIA from this blog for almost three months. I am overwhelmed with too many work la. Anyways as promised last February here are the full version of the Mega R meet. Just to recap on the meet, it was totally an impromptu gathering organized by Arif FD2R and myself via ZTH forum and Facebook. The respond was so good we managed to gather more than 90 Type-Rs of many variants (The guys from Singapore came down as well!) plus Tom of ZTH himself came to cover this event. We surely had a good time that night with lucky draws and games where the prizes were sponsored by Pentagon and TintPro. And mind you, the prizes are not just RM50 voucher but they are worth thousands of Ringgit such as security tints voucher, authentic J's Racing t-shirts, discounts on Hondata and much more!

It's such a memorable event for the Honda enthusiasts when the R division assembled at Seri Buloh restaurant parking lot together. The rumbling exhaust note from DC5, FD2, FN2, CL7 turned every heads around the area. People start to drop by to take pics and joined in the fun. It was indeed the ultimate VTEC night for everyone. The only R that is missing that night was the NSX-R. Otherwise the Type-R elements will be complete.

Took damn long time for me to compile and put the pics here so I hope you guys will enjoy the photosets. Till the next post, adios!

Photos by Raja Karim (http://rajakarim.blogspot.com)

Photos by Andrew Khoo (http://www.zerotohundred.com/)

Photos by Sathis (DC5 Group)

R Mega Meet Teaser

2011-02-20T03:11:00.004+08:00

What do you call when 90 Honda Type-Rs of all kind gathered at a single spot? The Type-R Utopia. :)

The Mega Meet

2011-02-16T21:26:00.009+08:00

Something that I have been waiting for since 2 years ago. Would definitely bring a pair of ear plugs this weekend. Wait for the update next week. :)

Skunked, again.

2011-02-15T17:01:00.000+08:00

I've always been a fan of Skunk2 products due to its flawless build quality and reasonably-priced products. The result from it's performance handling/engine products also has never failed to impressed me. Just look at Prasath's 250whp DC5 that's equipped with some Skunk2 engine parts. The car is crazy fast.

After utilizing the 2.3 inch APEXi N1 exhaust system for 2 years I decided to go bigger. The initial plan was to custom a 2.5 inch stainless steel 304 system on Black Mamba, however I received a call from John, another DC5 friend who wanted to sell his car. Since he plans to sell the car in stock condition, he asked me whether I'm interested to get any aftermarket parts on his car. Knowing that he has the Skunk2 Megapower R 70mm full exhaust system on his car, I asked for a swap with my APEXi with some cash. He agreed right away and we set a date to meet at Tung Chun for the swap.

APEXi final moment with Black Mamba

Check out the difference of both mufflers

S2 installed!

S2 pipe attached to the decat pipe. Note the size difference of 2.3" and 2.7"

Settled!

This is how it sounds like.

Post Installation Comments:

1. Power: The car now feels rather torquey as compared to before on mid range. Perhaps the additional mid box helped to give better back pressure to the exiting gas. Tuning was not done as I am expecting to have an extractor installed for the next project. Most importantly, the fuel consumption remains wallet-friendly as before.

2. Sound: This is the best part. I'm pretty much enjoying the serenity of this S2 exhaust note. It is bassy but far more comfortable as compared to the straight flow APEXi. This exhaust made my long drive less-stressful as I could clearly listen to the songs on the radio haha! But then again, this civilized setup might not be for long as the other side of me is screaming for a louder exhaust. After all VTECs should be loud right? Hehe. I can just remove the mid box easily as it is just connected with 4 bolts and replace it with a 3 inch straight pipe..

3. Other Issues: Due to the enormous size of my rear anti-roll bar and the exhaust pipe, both of them decided to touch each other during idling. It's pretty much irratating but I'm very sure that it will solved by wrapping heat shield around it.

4. Web Reference: http://www.clubrsx.com/cr/SK2-413-05-5110.html

East Coast Meet 11/2/2011

2011-02-14T13:10:00.003+08:00

A coffee session with a friend turned out to be an outing for the East Coast Type-Rs. Too bad another DC5 and CL7 left early for the impromptu photoshoot. As you could notice, the facelift DC5 are slowly being accepted by the Honda community. :D

The Crack!

2011-01-25T16:03:00.003+08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Black Mamba's windscreen was cracked during the Pasir Gudang track session last year. It was just a small hairline crack but since it wasn't treated right away, the crack grew damn long one day after my brother left the car under the sun for hours haha.

Since the windscreen is insured, I made full use of it with a claim. Took the workshop 3 days to get the glass. Unfortunately it isn't Japan made..coz if I were to get OEM Honda windscreen, I would be forced to fork out another RM2,500 and have to wait another month for it to arrive. So, China made glass worth RM1,500 is good enough. After all it is also double-layered.

Check out the size of the crack.

The replacement glass

Made by Fuyao Glass Industry. Apparently they are the OEM supplier for Cadillac, Audi, Peugeot etc.

Oh by the way they didn't install the side panel properly so it flew off @ 120kmh. What a letdown. Had to go back and get them replaced with a new one worth RM350 a piece (!)

Rollin'

2011-01-25T09:54:00.004+08:00

Happy new year peeps! I have been pretty busy with work this month but managed to arrange my time to fix some stuffs on Black Mamba. Last couple of weeks I installed a set of 6.5mm spacers to make the stance go wider on my car. It looks pretty ganas but however due to lack of negative camber at the back, the tires were scraping the fender arch. Argh!

Before the arch starts to eat my tires, I had to list out the possible solution for this. So after talking to some friends, the cheapest and fastest solution than changing to adjustable rear camber kit would be rolling the fender arch. Knowing that some of my friends had done this before, I went to Craftmotorsport in Sunway to settle this issue. Took Ah Loon less than an hour to get the fender rolled with the, um, fender roller. Problem solved with just RM100+!

If you want to get your fender rolled nicely, get it done with the fender roller. The conventional method of knocking the fender like pissed-off Thor is just too primitive in 2011 and can cause damage to the bodywork if it's not done properly. With this fender rolling, just a little bit of gentle knocking needed to bend the fender then it's all good for rolling. The paint might chip off a bit on the inside but was later covered with anti-rust spray.

Where: Craftmotorsport, Sunway - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=t.698732602#!/CraftMotorsport

Cost: RM1XX. Discuss with Ah Loon.

Merry Xmas Black Mamba! (Part 2)

2010-12-14T18:53:00.007+08:00

Part 2 of this Christmas shopping is the most interesting event to date for Black Mamba. After almost 2 years I finally decide to upgrade the brain of this car to the most preferred aftermarket ECU for Honda - The HONDATA!

Before I go further I would like to let you know that Mamba has been running on stock ECU for almost a year, after selling off the E-Manage Ultimate and V-Manage. The last power dynoed was 194whp and 18.6kg/m torque as opposed to 207whp and 20kg/m torque on the E & V-Manage. It was quite stressful to drive the car for almost a year in stock condition with the VTEC point at 6000rpm and 180km/h speed limiter.

Anyways, back again to the Hondata. I went to Tung Chun Motorsports JB to get a set of the Hondata K100 ECU. Considering the fact that I am not going to tune the car on my own, I decided to get K100 instead of the K-Pro. It's cheaper by almost 40% than a K-Pro and works the same way. The only downside of the K100 is that it requires a K-Pro circuit board to be put inside the ECU to allow it to be tuned. And yes, it also has no datalogging; which I dont think is important to me as a casual driver. :)

Installation was very quick and completed in matter of minutes. Tuning was then done by Ah Han and after almost 2.5 hours on the dyno and on the road, Mamba has unleashed few evil ponies and torque! Hehe. VTEC point is now lowered to 5500rpm, rev cut is raised from 8400rpm to 9200rpm, 180km/h speed limiter is removed together with optimized air, fuel and igniton. The figure on the Dynomite dyno machine was 218whp but since I do not have any baseline graph on the machine, I went to JC Racing last week to compare the old and new power. And the result after tuning? Additional 15.4whp and 1.8kg/m of torque made me drive the car like mad for almost a week! Haha.

3rd gear 140km/h ok laa kan?

The revs feel lighter, and 20.5kg/m of torque made higher gear change more fun, especially from 4th gear onwards. Fuel consumption are still maintained and I could still drive 250-270km with RM60 worth of RON97 petrol. Oh yes, the CEL error has also been deleted. The only issue I am having is the blinking immobilizer light. This is due to the immobilizer being disabled in the ECU, but the immobilizer unit is still active. Common issue for 2005 DC5 Type-R (older pre-facelift model doesn't have immobilizer). As long as it's not CEL, I'm good with it.

So that's all for 2010. Mamba is going for a hibernation until the next mod (aftermarket header and bigger exhaust pipings). Looking forward for a better and prosperous 2011.

Cost: RM2,XXX (Brand new)

Where: Tung Chun Racing, or any other Hondata distributor in KL. Price doesn't differ much.

Web reference: http://www.hondata.com/

Merry Xmas Black Mamba! (Part 1)

2010-12-08T13:26:00.005+08:00

So it's exactly almost a year since I bought some awesome stuffs for Mamba but never was installed due to 1. MONEY 2. Time 3. Other important commitments. However I wish to highlight that the parts are still under my posession. The badass ChargeSpeed bodykits are already painted, and the K24 block will be dismantled and built in few more months (hopefully!).

I also noticed that the mood of modding the car will only come during end of the year.. and I'm halfheartedly glad it happened again this year. Mamba is growing older gracefully with the slow ass mods but I trust that the mods done are something that will make the car more fun to drive. Good justification right? Haha.

As I have mentioned in my previous post about the weak hydraulic mounting on the p/s side, it gets worse over time since I am driving the car daily. I kid you not as at today I have broken FOUR units of the hydro mount and thinking that I would be a complete idiot by braking and buying another one, I take the necessary action by purchasing the Energy Suspension mount inserts for the front and rear mounts. With these two mounts are strenghten, I can be assured that the p/s mount lifespan will be prolonged until I get a Hasport replacement unit soon. Oh yes, this mount inserts are also perfect to absorb the force of the additional 20whp came from Mamba's heart *wink*wink*.

The R at the end of the serial no means "Race" version. It is stiffer than the street version

The inserts were, well, inserted into the OEM mount from the outside.

Took them less than 15 minutes to fix these on.

Post Installation Comments:

1. The stiffened mountings deliver vibration to the dashboard during idle. Not too shaky but you can feel it on the steering wheel. It was slightly uncomfortable at first but you'll get used to it after a day or two.

2. Gear shifting are awesomely smooth and crisp at higher revs as the engine now doesn't rock back and forth like it used be on stock mountings.

3. The front end of the car feels very 'tight' especially when heel & toe is performed before entering corners.

4. Most DC5 Type-R owner will face this broken p/s mounting at least once in their life. Should you decided not to invest in other expensive aftermarket/custom mountings or engine torque damper, this is the bang-for-the-buck modification and works well. This issue has been resolved entirely on the Civic FD2 Type-R where another bracket is installed on top of the hydro mount to reduce direct stress on the unit.

5. Costs - RM3XX from Tung Chun Racing, JB.

6. Web reference - http://www.energysuspension.com/

Teaser

2010-12-04T21:44:00.004+08:00

A little teaser of what's coming up next. :) . Too tired to update now.

Update on Crap-ness

2010-12-01T23:07:00.007+08:00

Managed to squeeze my time to go to the workshop today. Drained the MTFIII oil and replaced with 2 liters of Redline Lightweight Shockproof. A short drive back to the office and the 3rd gear crunch has gone completely. I can sleep soundly tonite and rev happily tomorrow.

Note to self not to use the nipis gear oil in the future.

The other thing I reckon today is that the Skunk2 control arm made the car's rear end firmer during cornering. Not much of body roll felt as compared to before and I do feel I can execute faster corner slicing without having to worry the tail to wobble. Thank you Skunk2 for an awesome product.

Conti's Calling..

2010-12-01T17:48:00.000+08:00

Man, I just found out that this post has been a draft for months. I guess I'll just post it anyway.

Another DC5 friend of mine by the name of Fitri jumped to the German ship recently. After enjoying the free Volkswagen cars test drive, Fitri unreluctantly sold off his 2003 DC5 Type-R to make way for this Euro hot hatch - Mk6 Golf GTi. So last weekend (one of the September weekends that is haha) we met and I had the chance to drive (or more like abuse) this car..and well, I can say that I quite enjoyed this Mk6 GTi.. It has more to offer than the previous Mk5 model performance and handling-wise.

The car is purchased brand new and he didn't have to wait long as the stock is ready to delivered to the customer. The car is pretty much stock except for a set of Oettingger 18 inch wheels where he purchased at bargain price.

Not much can be said as I was only allowed to drive around Sunway area. Fella never trusted me to drive on the highway haha. But what I can tell is that this car is very torquey and fast! Even with 4-passengers inside it can still pull to 100km/h within 8 seconds! I can feel that the boost came without any lag from as low as 2,000rpm and that 6 speed DSG is one helluva gearbox. I was entirely sold with it's smooth paddle-shifting action together with that 'explosive' sound it produced when the gear is dropped. Can see the passengers almost snapped their neck when I did that hahaha.

Another thing I enjoyed is the serenity of driving a very well insulated car like this GTi. It's been two years I'm driving a 'track-ready' car with no basic amenities such as under chassis tar, sound insulation and something for the passenger to hold in the car in event of hard cornering. With this car it's the other way around. Everything is so damn quite you can even hear the back passengers whispering to each other! The only thing that I didn't enjoy is the way this car handles during cornering. Somehow It doesn't go to the direction I wanted it to go so I had to throttle off to correct the steering in order to make the car go my way. I was experiencing a little bit of 'fake' feeling with the handling probably due to the electronics such as the TCS, DCC and that 'sport' suspension mode didn't really feel sporty to me. I still believe that a car needs to be driven without all that as it will show how great the driver is in handling the car hehe. Figuring that I might have some fun without the electronic handling aid, my left hand went to turn off the TCS.. but that move was abrupted when I heard a synchronized screaming of "NOOOOOO!!!!" from the owner and 2 other passengers hahahaha. That's when the test drive session ends.

Overall, I don't mind having this as my daily driven car. It's fast, comfortable and it looks a bit softer than the previous model. The wife would look good in this and will definitely come home to tell you her traffic light drag victory she enjoyed earlier :)

Crap-ness

2010-11-30T15:23:00.006+08:00

Disheartening Tuesday. The Honda MTFIII Ultra doesn't blend well with my gearbox. Currently experiencing the irrating 'crunch' on my 3rd gear after the gearbox gets hot. I need to use thicker oil, not as thin as the MTFIII. Hope I can source the Lightweight Shockproof gear oil in Kuantan. Here are some other things on Black Mamba that need my attention and action:

1. Cracked windscreen - Happened during the Pasir Gudang track day. It was a small crack and but a delayed treatment caused it to be longer and more serious over time. Lucky the windscreen is insured but damn, have to wait for 1-2 months to get the glass!

2. CEL error code P1167 (A) - A/F ratio sensor 1 Heater System Malfunction; The beginning of a faulty O2 sensor. Typical issue for a K20. Not complaining at all since my engine has already clocked 100,000km, fuel consumption is still good, and it can be eliminated by 1. purchasing new 02 sensor or 2. Use Hondata to permanently disable the error code (more favourable haha). But most importantly, the VTEC still rocks hard at 5,800rpm! :)

Usual stuff, Unusual stuff.

2010-11-27T20:11:00.029+08:00

Patience pays. That’s what I told my friends who’s been bugging me with remarks like “Woi bila nak update blog woi” and “I think I saw spider webs on your blog brooo”. So today with this post I hope it’ll clear all the doubts you have. Black Mamba is still..ALIVE..and she has received some well deserve (and rare) pampering from me. Be prepared with your food and drinks as this will be a very long post.....haha.

Considering the fact that Mamba needs to do some major stuffs, I decided to drive down from East Coast to Sunway to get the items and get it fixed by my mechanic John of Hiper Racing. Reached Sunway tad early but lucky I have a CL7 Euro-R friend of mine around. Had breakfast and good chat with him before heading off to few shops to invest my savings on the needed parts. Haha.

Shareil’s well done CL7. Matte TC105N with Wilwood 4-pot callipers make this rare sedan outstanding from others.

So then I went to two places, N1 Racing and Samurai Racing (Formerly known as SS Racing) to buy these things:

1. Greddy F4 Pro engine oil

As you have read on my previous posts (under maintenance tab), I used Blitz engine oil for the car. But since N1 Racing has no longer brought in the oil, it was replaced by Greddy F4 Pro oil. The viscosity is similar to Blitz and I have used it for a few oil changes without any issues. Thanks to the robust iVTEC engine that doesn’t need to be lubricated by expensive oil.

2. OEM Honda MTF-III gear oil

The decision to change the gear oil came when some friends told me that the Redline Lightweight Shockproof gear oil I’ve been using ever since can create sludge residue in between the gears. The prolonged usage can cause the gears to be ‘sticky’ and it can damage the synchros over time. Not wanting to take any chances for disaster to happen to my gearbox, I opted to get the OEM recommended gear oil – the Honda MTF-III. One can is 4-liters. Good for two changes. Thank you Desmond for helping me to get this from Exceptional Auto. Let's see what will happen to my gears with this oil.

3. Endless SSS 500deg brake pads

Having driven the car for almost two years without changing the brake pads, I decided to get the same brake pads that came with the car – Endless SSS (Super Street Sport) with the maximum temperature of 500degrees. Pretty happy with this brand as the wear rate is very slow. 23 months with 60,000km on the mileage coupled with few track days doesn’t stop the pads to perform at its best. And there are some leftovers too. Rear pads are still good though, so I guess it will only be changed next time.

This pads can be fitted on Fairlady Z33's Brembo as well.

Macam pad cap ayam je???

Perfectly placed in between the worn out Brembo callipers. Hehe.

Old pads. Still usable..well, for few hundred kms perhaps?

4. Skunk2 rear lower control arm

This is one of the item I’ve been drooling since I got the car and after months of contemplating, I finally made up my mind to get this. Apart from being the ‘bling factor’, the purchase is justified as when the OEM rear control arms were taken out, I found out that the bushes are already torn. Gold was chosen from other colours (including the stealthy black limited edition version) as it appear more visible from other drivers view (drool factor)..hahaha. Took John less than 20 minutes to install this and as soon as it was done I took the car out for powersliding. Nah just kidding. Well upon installation I could feel that the rear doesn’t ‘bump’ as it used to be. Probably due to the harden bush on the Skunk2 arms.

What do you get inside.

The hardware. I farking love the embossed ‘S2’ logo on the bolts.

Say goodbye to the stock control arm. Your service is no longer required haha.

Sifu John at work..Rambut makin kurang dei..

Stock vs S2. Worlds apart. Period.

S2 is thicker but it’s lighter. Senyum sampai telinga.

One side in, one more to go.

All set! Looks damn ganas with the S2 tie bar and Cusco ARB. Rear end mods completo!

Hensem tahap cipan!

Costs:

1. Greddy F4 Pro = RM135/can (4 liters) – N1 Racing, Sunway
2. Honda MTF-III = RM 180/can (4 liters) – Exceptional Auto, Glenmarie
3. Endless SSS pads = RM500/set – Samurai Racing, Sunway
4. Skunk2 rear control arm = RM7XX after discount from RM850 – N1 Racing, Sunway (Must nego till you cry then only you’ll get the discount)

Once everything is done, I took the liberty to snap some spy pics around Sunway....this might be at Hazry’s interest. Hahahaha

John ‘korekking’ a Skunk2 intake manifold for a 300whp K24 project on a.......Civic ES! :D

Remember Aloysius who helped me with the CV joint issue? This is his daily driven 2003 C-West DC5 on dyno. Using full slick tires at the rear. Bastard. Hizam was eyeing at the GT-wing as if it's a naked chick with big boobs. hahahah!

I do not understand why Aloysius, who’s a Mugen freak used C-West bodykits on his car instead of Mugen. Nevertheless, this Mugen MF10 wheels are hard to come by these days and looks effin killer with the Wilwood 6-pot brake kit. Just to make things more interesting, his interior is fully equipped by Mugen! You the man Aloy!

Neo Synthetics gear oil from United States. Highly recommended by Aloy. Might give it a try next time.

This is perfect for Prasath’s 250whp DC5! haha

Last but not least.......Saw this black cat while having my lunch @ the food court. Maybe I should really think of what it said to me..

I'm going for a run now. Till the next mod. :)

Fun Factor - 250whp K20A

2010-11-21T19:18:00.002+08:00

This is Prasath driving in Sepang with his newly built K20A. The engine is pumping 250whp thanks to the extra 0.5mm forged pistons, strengthen internals, Skunk2 stage 2 cams + valvetrain and a perfectly tuned Hondata. Listen to the wild vtec engangement sound and how revvy the engine is. Most of us will think the final drive has been changed with FD2R's 5.0. But the truth is the gearbox is untouched except for a set of Toda clutch and flywheel. With the current power I don't it's wise for Prasath to put in the 5.0 final drive. Ha ha ha.

Hmmmm...

2010-09-21T16:28:00.004+08:00

The recent crash at Karak really attracted petrolheads to google about it eh? Check out the keywords below that lead to my blog. Sorry guys, but the pics were already removed. Let's move on..

Mustakim Rides

2010-09-20T17:20:00.006+08:00

Mus is a good friend of mine. I met Mus in a forum few years back when both of us were driving Civic EF at that time and we shared mutual love with the car. The friendship grows stronger even after both of us have sold our cars and coincidently, he has also picked up running & cycling earlier this year (Almost every weekend we run together haha).

Few years after the EF, Mus went low..until recently when he had 'the calling' I wish I could have...He decided to get a BMW FG650 motorcycle and soon enough will engage in an adventure of his life. While I'm settling down in couple of weeks, Mus is about to embark on his first INDOCHINA trip with his beloved conti bike..How cool is that.

So here's the link to his blog. Make sure you have chips and soda while you read as Mus' journey will be very interesting and inspiring. Enjoy..

http://mustakimrides.blogspot.com/

Back To Black!

2010-09-20T12:20:00.008+08:00

Sold of my Advan RZ last Saturday and temporarily replaced Mamba's shoes with matte 17" SSR Type-F. Not quite the right spec that I wanted but this will do for now. Wedding's 20 days away! :D

By the way what do you guys think of Enkei PF01? The design looks kinda like a cross breed between Advan RZ and Work Emotion. Too bad there ain't no 17 x 8JJ available..

RIP brother..

2010-09-17T12:31:00.005+08:00

I was very shocked. To receive the news that one of our DC5 Type-R friend passed away in a crash early morning yesterday in Karak was very saddening especially during this festive season. I didn't expect that the boys' normal cruising routine to Genting will be the last to Shazwan. He was ahead of the others but it was very unlucky for him to hit the back of a Scania trailer after the Genting-Sempah tunnel (KL bound). He was sent to ICU but didn't survive after few hours of intensive care. Al-Fatihah and RIP to you Shazwan. You're in a better place now.

P/S: Apparently there a lot of crashes involving DC5 Type-R lately. Indeed the car is fast and fun to drive but whatever it is, RESPECT THE SPEED. Drive safe guys.

Pasir Gudang Revisited 2010

2010-07-19T18:04:00.025+08:00

So it's been 2 months since my last post. I'm glad to let you guys know that I have lost 13kgs with the running and diet. I'm very proud of what I have achieved over the past few months but sadly to say nothing's changed on Black Mamba...Yet. Haha. Funds for Black Mamba were channeled to my running gears now. LOL. I have been rather passive on the forum as well but recently when the boys proposed to have a visit to Johor Circuit, I knew that Black Mamba will be there (or "must be there" is more suitable? :P) and screaming with the other Type-Rs on the track.

A date was set and on 17th July the boys came down from KL to meet few of us in JB. Adlan and Farhan drove down together while Azri, Farouk, Ali and myself came the night before. We headed down to Tung Chun to fix few things, had lunch and head off to the track around 1pm. We registered for an hour session which costs RM70 (RM150 if you take 3 hours!) and drove in the pit to get ready. Did nothing much on the car except for adjusting my Tein Flex to the hardest setting and checked the tire pressure. The post-rain weather was beautiful to race so right at 2.30pm we hit the rough tarmac of Johor Circuit.

Did my warm up lap and enjoyed the car about 6-7 laps before cooling down. I notice that the Kumho Ecstas were performing extremely well when it's warmed up and this was proven on T3 where previously when I was using the Eagle RS Sport, the car tend to undeersteer. But with this Ecstas all I need to do was to drop on 3rd gear after the car sliding out from T2 and control the throttle. The grip level did not allow the car to enter understeer mode so it was easy for me to manouvre the steering. I was smiling and laughing as if I was running on semi-slicks..haha. Second round marked Black Mamba's best performance after almost a year hibernating...together with an unexpected thing happened during the battle. All of us went out together and I managed to hold the lead for 4 laps (not bad for a stock car eh? haha) until I heard a loud bang came from the bottom of the car. A good friend of mine was my passenger and he noticed that as well. The thought of something had broken made me slow down and let Adlan, Ali, Farouk and the rest took over and I entered the pit. I check every thing underneath the car and found nothing at all. Everything was in its place. Strange. So I went to pop the hood to cool down the engine and then I had the biggest surprise of the day..the billet Skunk2 oil cap is gone! The oil was all over the engine so I had to get a rag to replace the cap and that's it, retirement for Black Mamba. Only Farouk continued to run another hour and I had the chance to be in his semi-track DC5. Way out of Black Mamba's league..hahaha..

We all ended up the day by having the famous Tepian Tebrau ikan bakar and headed for an impromptu movie later at night. What a way to spend a Saturday with your friends! Enjoy the photos from my camera and two videos from one of the spectators..too bad my friend have not yet uploaded the onboard videos of my run :)

John's 2005 DC5 with complete Modulo Kit and Advan RS

Pilgrimage to meet K sifu for blessing. :D

Tung Chun Racing: The one stop centre for Malaysia K-series owner

Farouk's custom half cage. Mental.

Farhan's brand new 2009 facelift FD2R. I don't fancy the taillights.

Helping Farouk putting on his Michelin full slicks.

I love my gloves.

Ali getting ready.

Adlan's K24 Wombat with new 2005 headlights and Hondata!

A sight many people missed. Black Mamba coming out to play. Hahahaa....

Ali had fun with his new setup: Higher rate Swift springs on APEXi N1 dampers and 1 day old Federal 595 RSR tires!

Farhan taking it easy with his new car. Very not like him at all.

Ali and C200 Merc. The Merc is running on SR20DET!

Azri's DC5 looking ganas with the CF bonnet.

Farhan trying to prove his point of being slow in the FD2R haha.

Black Mamba and K24 Wombat reunited once again. Note the RE30s on the EP3.

John's meaty K20A. Pumping 235whp now.

Premature ejaculation during the last few minutes of the hour. Bummer! Had to go back to Tung Chun to get a replacement oil cap.

Bien's Euro-R CF4. This is a great family car

Not sure what Ali's trying to do here.

Group photo will always be the best during any activities

The girls..Wish we could have more :)

Farouk's free running

Updates? Nahh... :D

2010-05-05T14:14:00.003+08:00

If you guys are wondering where have I been for the past one month, well, I'm still here, and still driving Black Mamba everyday as if its a stolen car. It's just that I am not really focusing on the car at the present moment as I am stucked with my new interest, RUNNING. Yes you heard that right. I have been running consistently for the past few months and will be joining my first ever 15km marathon next week! I truly do not know and understand what has happened to me as I never was a sportsman or a fitness freak, but here I am running every other day in a week and very focused to achieve my goal to enter at least half marathon (21km) in a month or so. Hahaha. Nevertheless, Black Mamba is still well taken care off and the modification progress although slow, will still be carried out soon.

Here are two videos I shot last couple of weeks on the winding road of Karak. I love the route and Black Mamba slices the corners even better now with the sticky Kumho Ecsta XS tires. See you guys soon!

Double R Experience

2010-03-20T01:50:00.008+08:00

If money can be grown on trees then life would be perfect when I can have few dream cars in my garage. And that dream garage of mine would only be 'complete' if the limited edition Mugen RR is parked in between other legendary automotive creations. Having said that, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit and test drive one of the 200 units Mugen tuned Civic FD2 Type-R that was sold within 8 minutes when it was launched in Japan in 2007. And to be honest, after driving the car I wet myself as if it was the first ever time a girl touch me.

I went to KL for few weddings and stopped by at Vision Motorsport to check out Hizam's DC5 that is due to be driven out by now. Led by a car freak by the name of Ijad, Vision brought in a fleet of imported Japanese performance cars including this Mugen RR. When Ijad handed over the key to me I just couldn't stop smiling. When the push-start button was pressed, the 240hp engine came to life, silently. I was expecting the higher compression engine to make some noise but it is as stealthy as any other stock K20AR motor. Well actually the test drive was done in the showroom compound with only first and second gears involved, but that has already made me burst into tears of happiness. The engine came to life at 5200rpm and at that point you should be aware to watch the tachometer as it goes to 9000rpm within a blink of an eye! The torque is massive and the pedal cries to be pressed forever. The pulling power of this 1.2 tonne car felt almost like the lightweight CR-X with B18CR engine. It keeps on going as if the redline is at 12000rpm! The 5 way adjustable Mugen shocks were quit stiff to my liking, but it'll definitely worth on track together with the specially made semi-bucket carbon fiber Recaros that will hug you endlessly.

It'll take forever for me to write about this but one thing for sure, if you have that RM300,000 to spend on a car, by all means consider getting this! With everything Mugen from the engine to the interior, this is not your ordinary Civic. There's a very big difference on buying a genuine car and converting ones. Trust me. Enjoy the pics!

Milano Red can't go wrong on any Hondas.

Aluminum vented hood with carbon finishes and carbon grill.

Mugen twin tip exhaust is very hush-hush. It only screams when the VTEC kicks in. Note the F1 style LED 4th brake light.

18" Mugen GP wheels. This at least gonna set you RM15,000 per set. Brembo comes with Mugen rotors and pads.

Mugen shocks, steel braided hoses, pads and rotors at the rear. Slurp. Who needs 'Green' when you can have red. Hehe.

Souped up K20AR with Mugen internals, ECU and carbon fibre engine bay porn. 240hp generated is monstrous!

The seats that you can't get from Password JDM or JDMLand. Ha ha ha....

Mugen tachometer.

Mugen gauges.

The badge that differentiates this car with other FD2 Type-R.

A memorable photo that I could show to my grandchildren one day...

Stay tuned with my blog as Vision will be bringing another Honda gem - the super limited (coz there are only 20 units in the world!) Mugen FN2R! :)

The First Photoshoot

2010-03-15T18:11:00.007+08:00

Finally!!!! After months of postponement I manage to spend one wet evening for the maiden photoshoot of Black Mamba. Shots were taken using almost complete photography equipments by my good friends Hazry Mivek4doddle and Pejal Patayalama. I'm very impressed with the result although experimenting black car with a dark background caused headache to all of us. Nevertheless, it was a very good experience doing this photoshoot and hopefully the boys will come out with some crazy shots. Thanks to Haz and Pejal!

Behind the scene...hehe.

Hizam & The Return to iVTEC!

2010-03-08T18:12:00.004+08:00

Hizam is one of the coolest dude I've met through my circle of Honda friends. He is one of the few guys known to be very meticulous and precise when it comes to modifying the car. With a list of previous cars like the torquey 2 liter EK hatch and a pristine showroom condition Tommi Makinen Evolution 6, Hizam 'unwillingly' decided to jump ship by getting a Mini Cooper S. A decision that caused unrest to a lot of his friends. Hahah.

Having said that, Hizam survived two years with the MCS. As you can see from the his blog (which hasn't been updated for more than 6 months haha), the Mini was done quit neatly with the only prototype TEIN for Mini and other goodies. But one thing for sure the Mini didn't quite satisfy the flaming modification desire of a Japanese car enthusiast like Hizam. No doubt the Mini is a head turner, but when it comes to modification, the costs can destroy whatever dreams you have for it. Not only that, the options for aftermarket parts are very limited and the styling, well to be honest it looks pretty dull. Furthermore, being smoked by a 1.6 Civic VTEC can cause the owner to breathe fire from the nose. That's very dangerous. Ahaks!

So last weekend Hizam made up his mind after doing test drive on few cars including the RM300K Mugen RR. The Mini will be sold off to make way for..*drumroll*..Facelift 2005 Integra Type-R DC5! The car is entirey stock with black interior and it is a Spec-C (complete with rear wiper, foldable mirror, push start button. Mine is Spec-A. I got none of those.) A very good foundation for a guy who does thing the right way. Hizam paid for around RM150K for the car and it should be out real soon..and that also means Black Mamba will have a new sparring partner. Hehe. All the best to Hizam and his new K-powered Darkside! :D

Azam in Honda Tuning!

2010-03-06T13:16:00.003+08:00

Another Honda fan and a good friend of mine Azam was recently featured in the latest Honda Tuning. His DOHC VTEC powered 1983 Civic photo was selected and published under the very-photo-perfectionist 'OH SNAPS' section! You can check it out in the April issue.

I like the photo so much. Congratulations to Azam and keep on producing wicked photos! :D

Advan RZ + Kumho Ecsta XS = WIN!

2010-02-28T22:13:00.009+08:00

I truly love and admire the legendary Enkei RPF1. Had no issues with the wheels on Black Mamba except for some comments saying it look more like 16s on the DC5. It didn't bug me, well, it did, a little but coudln't think of what to change as most Japan 17 inches wheels with 8 inches width will burn a big hole in my account. And to get the super rare RPF1 with 17 x 8 inches and +45 offset in Malaysia is as good as finding a 1991 CR-X halfcut with 10,000km mileage. Since Adlan has not yet sold his K24 EP3, I offered him to swap wheels with his Advan RZ plus some cash. He agreed, and we set a date to meet in Sunway for the swap. :)

Black Mamba's final moment with the RPF1. Adlan smiling at the back.

I also had no intention of changing the tires as I believe my RS Sport can still serve me for another month or so. But I was proved wrong when I found out two of the tires have only 10-20% thread left! Considering the fact that tires are the foundation of maximizing a car's fun factor and due to safety, I felt it's high time for me to change. So we walked around Sunway and checked out couple of places for Eagle RS Sport, in which the price has ridiculously gone up from RM450 to RM630-650 a piece. Although I'm frustrated with the new price, I still had the gut to ask for the new Yokohama Advan Neova AD08. It would be uber-cool to have both Advans in the form of tires and wheels on Black Mamba..but that dream was once again shattered when the price for 205/45/17 is already at RM750 a piece. You can do the math for 225/45/17. The last on my list was the Federal 595RS-R which the preferred size was also unavailable in Sunway.

Not wanting to wait any further, I gave the green light to the workers at Kin Alignment to wrap the Advan RZ with brand new Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 tires. With a higher rating than the AD08 and a price cheaper than RS Sport, it's the best choice for me at RM500 a piece. Although the thread pattern allow only front-back rotation, the design has already won it's place in my heart.

Took me a while to feel the new tires on the wider Advan RZ. Drove around Sunway and Subang for 30mins and as soon as I hit LDP, the rain came. Perfect time to test the tires on the wet. The Ecsta has already proved it's worthiness as I drove through Penchala Link and took the long S-corner entering Duke. Level of grip in wet seems better than the RS Sport and at 80kmh it keeps on biting till the end of the long corner. I also noticed that the thread grooves are much deeper, which assisted the higher level of wet grip. The next day I drove back to East Coast through Karak and all I can say the tires brought endless smile on my face. I couldn't push the car much harder due to the fact that my right side hydro mount has broken for the 3rd time in 13 months! *&!@#^*!. Nevertheless the ride was smooth and much silent than the RS Sport. The harder sidewalls on Ecsta also helped reducing the understeer and it didn't show any sign of tiredness on any type of corners. Play with your throttle and you'll be slicing the corners like a hot knife on a butter. I will write another review once I hit the track soon..In the meantime to those who seeks tire replacement, I highly recommend you to try this. It may take a while to accustom oneself with the non-Japanese brand, but I can assure you the Ecstas are worth swiping your card with. Hahaha..

Adlan's EP3 with the RPF1. Nampak kecik la Lan...hahaha.

Gangsterer than before hehe.

Newly painted ass!

The Dent

2010-02-24T09:39:00.006+08:00

The worse part about caring your car so much is that one day, a silly mistake could happen and it can break your heart (and wallet!) much worse than being dumped by your dream girl. So this happened to me recently on a fine weekend. It was a sunny day so I decided to give Black Mamba some TLC. Washed the car inside out and gave it a final touch with Meguiars tire shine. When the cleaning session was done, I reversed my car to re-park under the porch. Everything was normal during reversing until I heard ...cracking sound. Shitznel! I've hit my housemate's car parked at the entrance! I jumped out of my car with a mountain high hope that the cracking sound didn't come from the rear lights...and thank god it was only the plate number. But the damage was there on the bumper and a slight ding on the bonnet. Although not severe, it totally killed my good weekend mood that day.

And to make me feel shittier than ever is that....I was the one who moved my housemate's car to the entrance to make way for Black Mamba. *Puts a gun on my head*

Being restless about this, I made up my mind not to wait so I send the car to a nearby workshop for the fix. Painter need to torch the dented part and spray the entire bumper and bonnet. Gonna costs me at least RM300-400.....Wasted...... Oh well, shit happened aite? At least the workshop's signboard below made me chuckle. "Vtec & Turbo only" Hahahaha! I hope the unconvincing-looking bee will not interfere with the repair work....

Photo was taken an hour ago, bumper has already been taken out and sanded. Check out the thick rear beam that sets the Type-R at a higher level than the other DC5. But then again...The incident is one of the downside of having so called 'road legal track car' as your daily beater. No conventional amenities such as the reverse sensors, interior passanger grip handle etc were present....

OG

2010-02-15T19:45:00.003+08:00

This matte DC5 from Max Racing Japan is the most GANGSTER DC5 I've ever seen on the web. The color matches perfectly with the staggered SSR Type F wheels together with Max Racing's aggressive front bumper, vented hood and side steps. Totally awesome masterpiece by the Japanese!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2010-02-12T09:21:00.004+08:00

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Chinese friends and readers a very happy and prosperous new year. Enjoy the holiday with your loved ones and drive safe on the road.

K-Series Intake Manifold Battle!

2010-02-03T11:32:00.003+08:00

Ahhh... Yes.. Finally! The write up that K-series owners have been waiting for! Seven different K-series intake manifold were tested by the Super Street crew with verdicts that might leave you in amazement. Take your time to read the article below and by the end of the day you'll have the idea on what you should be getting for your IM upgrade. Be it power-wise, torque-wise or both. Oh yeah by the way, the price for RRC IM is about RM1,000 and the Skunk2 Pro Series should be slightly lesser than RM2,000. You make the choice! :D

P/S: This article was published in the February 2010 issue of Super Street. Sorry about the watermark tho! It was extracted from PDF.

iPhone Car Mount

2010-02-03T10:53:00.003+08:00

Boredom almost killed me yesterday so I went for a drive around the neighborhood and tried recording video from my iPhone which was clamped on a car stand and mounted to the driver side window. Very amateurish stuff here but it actually works!

The car mount has the agility to be twisted and turned 360 degrees so you can actually focus your iPhone camera lens anywhere you wish to, be it the dashboard view or your face. And with its powerful suction cup, it'll stick on the glass forever. After a few recordings, you just need to do a little bit of adjustment to get a perfect view of what's infront and the screws need to be tightened so it wont vibrate and move during recording.

So for those who wish not to put any tripod in the car, you can try this cheap method. As long as your phone records clear and crisp video, the end product should satisfy you. Thanks to Prasath for the stand..he doesn't need it anymore since he already bought a HD digicam to record his racing action.

Bat From Hell is up for sale :(

2010-01-29T11:56:00.008+08:00

A sad day for me as my friend Adlan is letting go his K24 Civic Type-R EP3. Bigger commitment is coming his way so this car shall make way to the new owner. Knowing Adlan and his addiction to racing he surely will be making a return later this year on track, perhaps with the brand new FD2R...or maybe a continental with a DSG gearbox. We'll have to wait and see :) .

Engine
Basic K24 setup (balanced), and it’s a RBB block so can high rev.
Toda A2 cams Greedy E-manage blue with ignition harness
K&N filter with custom CAI.
2.5” full elbow bent stainless steel piping with custom Js/Toda style exhaust
Koyo dual layer aluminum radiator
Energy Suspension engine mount inserts.
Js Racing engine damper.
Stock 6 speed LSD gearbox with Exedy Super Single race clutch and Kaaz gear oil
Engine has no leaks or squeaks – all worn-out seals/gaskets/bearings/beltings have been replaced.

Currently is running at a modest but healthy 218 WHP, 23.48 Torque – Engine is limited to what the e-manage can currently provide for it. Will easily get 230-235whp and around 24-25 lb of torque with Hondata…maybe even more... I’ll just leave it to the next owner…. Miahahahaha…

Chassis and Wheels
Ori R Springs with Showa Performance Shocks
Ori 17” Advan RZ wheels with Kumho Ecsta KU36 tyres (F) and Toyo R888 (R) – Will also give extra 2 pieces of R888s as spare.
Mintex 500c brake pads (front)Endless 500c brake pads (rear)
Super Pro bushings on the major bushes
Front and rear adjustable chamber kits

Others
All the normal R goodies – Red Recaros (No tears/holes etc), Red R floor mats, R-gearknob, Xenon headlights, Momo steering wheel with red stitching….
Pivot speed meter
Pivot volt stabilizers
Ori Sparco pedals
Kenwood Double Din CD player
Customed rear spoiler
New wiper blades… heheh

Yes this car is tracked, but what are sports cars for? But the car is in good condition, and well maintained, regardless of cost. Mods different la, that one got limit la … Its serviced every 3000km and maintained by Harry of S&D Motorsports (he’s at PowerCube in Sunway for the moment). Its kept under the car porch all the time. Selling coz it’s underutilized. It’s a weekend car only, and even that is getting seldom nowadays. On top of that, I’ve bought a new house which was a tiny bit unplanned, so this has to go for the time being...

Price: RM110,000. (All in)RM107,000. (I take out the Advan RZ and put civic rims or something Taiwan)

Call 012-5200343. Serious buyers pls call, no sms. Preferable viewing times is after work hours or weekends...

The Replacement Emblem

2010-01-25T18:19:00.008+08:00

I am not very sure how I lost the front emblem. Either it was stolen or flew off while I was speeding, which is a bit illogical since it has two screws tighten to the grill. Well, shit happens. Decided not to grieve about this, I bought the replacement last weekend from Exceptional Auto Parts in Glenmarie, Shah Alam and it costs me RM250 from my wallet. So much to pay for this red emblem don't you think so?

You can get almost everything from Exceptional for your 'JDM Type-R' need; from head/block assembly to the smallest thing such as the decals and interior emblems. Since everything is brand new, do come in with a thick wallet. For example, the facelift DC5 front headlight HOUSING costs RM1,600 for one side. That makes RM3,200 a pair NOT INCLUSIVE of the bulbs and HID system. Oh yes, the shop does not have any credit card facility so you might want to bring loads of cash.

Last but not least, the boss man is nottt that friendly so do not expect warm reception once you open their door. Scroll down for the address. If you have the relevant part number you can always call to check on prices and availability before visiting them. Its good to be prepared otherwise you'll be wandering around the shop not knowing what to get.

I found the front emblem part no. from this YouTube video. LOL!

LOL of The Day: Malaysia VS Singapore on Honda-Tech.

2010-01-25T15:13:00.002+08:00

I'm not really a big fan of drag racing, but seeing the endless battle of Malaysian and Singaporean on who's faster/who's got bigger hp/who's got bigger balls will always trigger my interest on this motorsport community. We've seen before on YouTube; few posted videos being flamed by each other (remember the fast Satria which smoked the R34 GTR?). Now the war continues on foreign online forum. Get yourself a cup of iced coffee and a pack of crackers, lay back on your chair and enjoy the show. Regardless of the silly remarks thrown to each other, the EG6 build is simply stunning.

Link: http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2703114

JDM Yo!

2010-01-24T11:12:00.003+08:00

You can get all this somewhere around Shah Alam area. :)

Faking it!

2010-01-22T09:08:00.005+08:00

I had a long chat with Chris that day while waiting for my brake hoses to be installed. One of the burning topic we discussed is about 'counterfeit' products. So recently the Honda community in USA was shocked by the news of AJ Racing - one of the leading Japanese aftermarket parts speacialist - selling fake J's Racing products. Being the official distributor for J's Racing, what they did was simply illicit and downright dirty. Their action that caused a disrupt with the Japanese powerhouse was; Making copies from the original products, packed it up nicely as if it's genuinely 'Made in Japan' and sell it off the customers at the same price (or slightly cheaper). Now that's the easiest way to get more sales right?

This matter has caught the attention of Junichi Umemoto, president of J's Racing and latest development that I know of is that they're taking legal actions towards AJ Racing. I hope AJ will have all the means to defend themselves from the furious Japanese wrath. It is unacceptably painful when you spend your hard-earned cash paying full price for imported parts and ended up getting knockoffs. This sort of business practice should not be tolerated at all and let alone given any second chance.

So the question now would be, who's monitoring the aftermarket parts aunthenticity here in our country? I've seen, heard and almost experienced getting duped but so far no stringent action taken against the so-called 'sole distributor' , yet. A friend of mine, paid almost RM5,000 for a Hondata K-pro but only after a year he found out that his car was actually equipped with a K-100, which is almost RM2,000 cheaper. This gross act of 'profiteering' happened recently and he had almost contacted Hondata to lodge a report but matter was settled swiftly by the seller. So please be vigilant when you're getting parts for your car. A good combination of knowledge, experience and alertness will surely help you getting the real deal.

Fake and genuine J's exhaust. Looks almost similar doesn't it?

Junichi Umemoto's Blog regarding the fake parts: http://ameblo.jp/umemotojunichi/entry-10430432876.html (check out the diplomatically humble letter from J's!)

Consumers respond from Honda-tech.com: http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2710556

Pekan Time Attack - Round 1 - 17/01/2010

2010-01-19T23:38:00.012+08:00

The inaugural Pekan Time Attack Challenge 2010 was held last weekend at the Inderapura Go-kart track in Pekan, Pahang. This event was co-organized by few workshop owners from Kuantan and it was considered the first being done outside Klang Valley. More than 30 cars (the largest percentage came from Honda) participated in the Proton Savvy class, 1600 class and Open class.....in which my friend, Daymen showed his superb driving skills to secure the fastest time of the day with his CR-X.

Enjoy the random shots I took.... Don't wet yourself coz the East Coast cars are banging hard..Hehe.

The course: Poorly stitched using Microsoft Paint. Hahaha.

Eh. Red DC5 Type R? That's a rare sight...

Omar's EG. Looks wicked with the Spoon theme. Just imagine if the K20A resides under the hood.

I smile each time I see EF pass me by.

Law's Wiralution..Wonder why he never drives his Evo 8 MR for racing?

This SM4 Accord is fast.

Old school gangster

Ah Fai's 2L DC2 Type-R

Daymen piloting to victory.

Aaaahhhhh!

Dude, where's my car?

Aaaahhhhh x 100

I'm just gonna wet myself sitting in this seat, top down.

Oh look. Nissan familia is here too!

Bakhtiar's S204. The sound is awesome!

Alvin's 'turbocharged' EK.

Facelift DC5 with carbon fiber bonnet and Mugen Type-S kit.

Ah Poa's beautiful S2000.

A fleet of Savvies..

Nice DC5 asses.

Alvin's damaged rear end didn't deter him from getting third place.

Full-carbon Savvy?!?! No Comment...

Daymen, Baktiar and Alvin with their throphies. Congratulations guys!

The full result.

The Right Way To 'Carbonize' Your Car

2010-01-18T21:09:00.007+08:00

To all DIY afficionados out there, the video I post below is worthful to watch. I think this is the best and most realistic way to wrap your car parts (or the entire car!) with carbon fiber as compared to the typical '3D carbon fiber-look' stickers. Getting the real carbon fiber parts for our car can be costly. So why not spend a little bit of money to get the kit, and take your time to put it on.

I'm just too sick looking at the el-cheapo carbon stickers being applied to the entire car without the glossy finish. That's right mate, there's no way you can clear-coat the stickers to make it look genuine as it will deteriorate over time (in other word - it'll look like shit). Nothing can beat the real thing.

Buy it here: http://www.carbonmods.com/

Goodridge Steel Braided Stuffs!

2010-01-17T21:51:00.007+08:00

Ah....it's my first post of the year 2010. To keep the modification for Black Mamba in momentum, I decided to enhance the braking system of the car. Chris from Pentagon Enterprise made irresistable brake upgrade offer recently for the DC5 owners. The package consists of a pair of J's Racing slotted rotors, a set of EBC brake pads, EBC brake fluids and Goodridge steel braided brake hoses and the total price is pretty decent at less than RM3,000!! Since my Brembo rotors and the Endless brake pads are still good for another 20-30k kilometres, I decided to get only the Goodridge brake and clutch hoses with EBC brake fluids. After all, I'm saving up my money for Black Mamba's new brain.. :-D

The kit.

The steel braided 'fluid transfer system'.

The clutch hose

EBC DOT 4 racing brake fluid + clutch fluid

Out with the old...

In with the new....

Post-Installation Comments:

1. The clutch and brake engagement felt much firmer and stronger as compared to before. Due to the nature of rubber expanding at higher operating temperature, the brakes and clutch get 'tired', 'soft' and became less cooperative to your command after few hours of driving. With these stainless steel braided kit, you will eliminate the issues and the car can definitely withstand abusive braking behavior without any problem.

2. Ensure that the brake/clutch fluid bleeding is being done properly. It happened to me where I couldn't engage my gears at high speed just because the clutch bleeding was incompletely executed! Had to drive back to the workshop slowly to get it fixed. Costs me an hour of my precious time.

3. Costs: RM150 for the clutch hose, RM450 for the brake hose, RM140 for the brake fluids. Free installation. These prices were given during promotion so you might need to check regularly with Pentagon.

4. Where: Pentagon Enterprise - http://www.pentagon.com.my/

5. Product reference: http://www.goodridge.net/

6. Other high end options: J's Racing, Aviation Performance Product (APP), Endless, etc

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

2009-12-31T19:46:00.012+08:00

Happy new year guys. Well, it's been almost a year I own this Integra DC5 Type-R. What can I say after 365 days of ownership of this coupe? To be honest I have been enjoying every minute driving Black Mamba without any major issues and heartbreaking problems. The car is still as tough as a nail since the first day it came out from the showroom.

Thoroughout the year I've made lots of new friends and learn new things in regards to the car. The Type-R fraternity in Malaysia is getting bigger, with more DC5s and FD2Rs being the weapon of choice. I see more DC5s in the East Coast now as compared to last couple of months. Few people that I know has sold off their EG, EK, Proton and moved on to the next level with the Type-R. It's good to see these guys talking in forums, attending meet ups for pro-active discussions and joining the track days. Competition among others are inevitable but everything are in the most healthy way, which I feel very comfortable with. No more kiddie stuffs like being emotional / depressed when losing in a race or trying to be the "king" in every aspects of modifications, etc etc etc (I don't have to elaborate further on this). Maturity has taken it's place in the community.

Whilst I was having fun with Black Mamba, I have also identified the normality of wear and tear of this car such as the faulty O2, Map, TP sensors and mechanical things such as the weak hydro mount and confusing handling setup. I'm considerably ready should any of these happen to me. So what have I achieved in 2009? 208whp with 20kg/m of torque with 2:51 timed run in Sepang (Night run, with a passanger) made me a happy man. The black RPF1 made Black Mamba looks gangster together with few other aesthetic mods. That's about it I guess. Not much has been done but surely more will come in 2010. Few things that was supposed to be done in 2009 been pending for couple of months due to time and funding limitations. With perserverance and God's willing, I hope to complete the major projects as below:

As you know, few months back I have purchased a set of DC5 Chargespeed Kouki bodykit as above photo (full photos here - http://www.chargespeed.com/english/dc5-kouki-b-1-e1.htm) it has been lying around in the paintshop for sometime. I need to raise the entrance to my house porch before I could put it on or otherwise the height will definitely destroy the entire front bumper. Better be safe than sorry right? The demo car above looks wicked with an 18 inch RPF1 but I'll just stick to 17s for now..

I've sold off my Greddy E-manage Ultimate and V-manage recently to fund for Black Mamba's new brain - the famous Hondata K-pro. With this baby installed soon, I have the strongest foundation to fine tune the engine with whatever mods being done. Can't wait for this! Although currently my car is only pumping 200whp and 19.5kg/m torque after removal of the Greddy's piggybacks, I felt the pulling power is much more stronger when the VTEC kicks in (5800rpm). Kinda strange but I kinda like it..It's just that I can't go beyond 180km/h for now. :(

Last but not least, I have purchased the Holy Grail of the iVTEC - The K24 block from Honda Odyssey RB. Hehe. The plan for this hybrid K20/K24 'frankenmotor' so far would be; 87mm forged pistons, forged conrod, and forged crankshaft. If money is not an issue (its definitely going to be an issue as I'm getting married end of 2010!) I will also get other necessary parts to complement the build such as the RBC/RRC intake, bigger throttle body, clutch set, aftermarket camshafts and so on. Nothing fancy about this build as I'm not horsepower crazy. I'm actually looking forward to navigate Turn 9 in SIC on 3rd gear with the mighty 2,400cc N/A torque. Heheh. I'll write about this build once it has started.

Till then, all the best for 2010!

Year End Retreat

2009-12-31T19:08:00.005+08:00

There's no better way to spend your under-utilized annual leave than going to an island far away from civilization with your close friends. So that's what I did last two weeks for my year end holiday. We went to Mabul Island, off coast Sabah for the Scuba diving retreat around Sipadan and Mabul.

I just couldn't resist the temptation to dive and witness myself the wonders of the underworld so I signup for the "Open Water Diver" course. No words can desribe how beautiful the ocean floor can be..the reefs, the corals, the turtles, the sharks and everything else were simply mesmerizing. Since now I'm a certified PADI diver (after going thru the stringent underwater tests that is..Haha) I might consider diving as the secondary hobby after Black Mamba. You guys should consider this exciting (and not too expensive) hobby too..

The association: http://www.padi.com

The place: http://www.sipadanwatervillage.com/?gclid=CIGTpbjHgJ8CFQMupAodB32ZKA

The dive instructor: I seriously recommend you guys to contact Allister Lee here http://allisterlee.blogspot.com/ if you wish to pursue in the recreational diving. He's a very nice fella and and very passionate about the underwater world..Haha. He's a certified instructor with 10 years of experience under his belt and he'll guide you in the entire course..(until you pass the exams haha!)

Aeromirrors Installed

2009-12-28T16:55:00.004+08:00

I have finally installed this new pair of mirrors last couple of weeks so here's how it looked like as compared to the OEM mirror. Obviously my rear view vision has been cut down by almost 40% with this smaller new mirrors. Had to drive around for a while to get myself adjusted to the limited view. Nevertheless, Black Mamba looks way better with this lightweight 'smaller ears'. I'll still hunt for Ganador that's for sure.

Sunset..

2009-12-19T00:41:00.003+08:00

Photo was taken using my iPhone while driving back to KL from the East Coast. It was glorified by the 'Photonasis' software with just one touch. :)

Custom Colored RPF1s

2009-12-17T13:37:00.002+08:00

More custom color options available in the USA for the legendary Enkei RPF1. Currently there are four colors in the market with the matte black being the latest addition in 2008. Don't you just love them?

Photos taken from http://stickydiljoe.com