Double R Experience

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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....