I decided to sell off my trusty 5 y.o. 4G15P last December, and it's finally sold to a Malay owner last week for RM21K. It was a great deal for him I must say, coz besides the very tip-top condition of the car, the plate number 8606 came out as top-prize in Toto the next day he bought the car (I was told the guy wanted to invest RM100 in Toto). *$&%(*$&%($&%...
On the other hand, I've been driving my brand new K24Z2 since 01/01/09, and the upgrade from 88BHP (from 4G15P) to 180PS is pure awesomeness. I'm waiting for the finance to pay out the RM21K, so that I can reflash my ECU and re-chip the EMS. That'd easily boost my K24z2 to an excess of 200BHP! Then it'll be the flywheel... and disc brake upgrades...
More pics and updates soon when I'm free, probably the nxt CNY! Happy "NIU" Year guys and gals!
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Finally, the final part of our Langkawi 2008 escapade, after a good 5-month delay. Enjoying my current week-long leave brings back good memories from the beach, so here goes:
We visited the Langkawi Underwater World, which is a far cry in terms of standards compared to UnderwaterWorld S'pore and Thailand. The entrance fees weren't cheap, but we enjoyed the tour nevertheless.
The man, pre-housemanship, when the myocytes and fibrils were still titanium-strong.
After 2 afternoons of sunbathing with half a bottle of Banana Boat's suntanning lotion washed down the drain, the result was a bit dismal. The mild tanning effect disappeared in a month's time!
On our last day on the island, we raided the duty-free shops for perfumes, chocolates, and hard (non-meconium-stained) liquor.
We got chocolates with authentic alcohol fillings for everyone. I bought a few miniatures of Martells for mummy dearest, and a huge kickass bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu at a kick ass price for future binging session.
To sum it up, the trip was an enjoyable and memorable one. Five months down the road after a gruelling housemanship O&G posting, I'm yearning for another beach trip! Redang anyone?!
Aaaahhh... bitch...
Click here for Langkawi Part 1-5.
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Got myself a new toy over the weekend as my two-month salary invaded my bank account last week! This is a long overdue addition to my arsenal of gizmos, as my last PDA (Sony Clié TH55) is now a national antique.
Tytn II itself is not the latest product from HTC. The Diamond is. But what the hell, the specs between Tytn II and Diamond are about the same (latest Tytn II's are upgraded to WM 6.1), and Tytn II comes with a bad-ass looking qwerty keyboard! Machoism redefined!
Rumours had it that the Diamond equivalent of Tytn II, the HTC Touch Pro will hit the stores around year end. Sony's upcoming iPhone wannabe, Xperia X1 too, will be released around the same time. The impatient K.K. just couldn't wait that much longer, and bought the Tytn II for RM2400.
Coming up: Unboxing Tytn II
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The heart, codenamed 4G15PDuring my recent 65,000km service interval, my mechanic noticed the presence of engine oil and some carbon deposits on two of my spark plugs. The engine is consuming engine oil, he added casually, and further went on and said my 5-year old engine needed a top-overhaul!
Now you may have heard people saying their 10 or 20-year old car needed a total-overhaul, which practically includes dismantling the whole engine, fix all of the faulty components, and putting it back. What is top-overhaul then?
A top-overhaul on the other hand consists of just replacing the valve seals, head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, cleaning of the valve and reposition them. Usually, the mechanic would also replace the timing belt and have the water pump inspected. The quoted price for a top-overhaul ranges from RM500 - 2500, depending of the severity of wear and tear.
Valve seals
A friend of mine suggested to have only the valve seals replaced, because the cause of carbon depositing onto the spark plugs is usually hardened valve seals. Plus, my 4G15P is only 5 years old and had done a meagre 65,000km. Replacement of valve seals requires baring the top part of the engine block, a procedure similar to open-heart surgery but still less invasive than a top-overhaul. With that, I sent my car to my trusted mechanic for valve seal replacement today!
I stayed in the shop for a while, witnessing two valves being replaced successfully by the trusted mechanic's son (he is a suave 28-year old and constantly talking on his cellphone). As there are altogether 12 valves to be replaced, I walked to a nearby coffeeshop for a drink. Minutes later, my mechanic friend called. "Problem!", he said. His son accidentally dropped one of the valve deep into the heart chamber, rendering it irretrievable. He was supposed to engage a gear and cog the piston up to stop the valve from dropping, but apparently he was having some telephone-sex with someone! A supposedly 2-hour operation is stretched to 36-hours! What the heck, I get a top-overhaul done for the cost of valve-replacement, which is less than RM100! Am getting my car back in a few hours time!
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A heavily modded Nissan Skyline GTR
My mechanic friend offered me two free tickets to Asian Festival Of Speed (AFOS '08) at Sepang when I went service my car last evening. I grabbed it without hesitation as we've nothing planned for Sunday!
Honda NSX of the GT Super Series
We saw these two fancy cars at the entrance - the Nissan Skyline GTR and Honda NSX with super wide bodies. These cars will be featured in the coming GT Super Series in June!
GT Super Series!
We reached quite early, at about 9.00 am. The place was still barren. Walking to the grandstand seems like an eternity when there's so few people around!
Grandstand area
The moment we stepped onto the staircase leading to the grandstand area, the blaring engine sound began to roar down the main straight of the Sepang circuit. That signalled the formation laps for the first race of the day - the Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS).
This race is dominated by the super-duper loud Porches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis. There was a lone Lotus Elise too!
Two Porches battling it out
A black Ferrari
Ferrari retiring into the pit
Another Ferrari
Yet another Ferrari!
My favourite car, the Lamborghini Murcielago
It's not as fast or as loud as the froggy Porches, but it sure spells S-U-P-E-R-C-A-R!
Look how fast the Lamborghini zoom past, taken with the Hi-Speed Shutter turned off
Our "Kleenex" earplugs
Next was the ACTS 1500Max category. This category has an engine restriction of 1,500cc for all participating cars. There are strict regulations of engine and body modifications, except the cars' front bumpers and rear spoilers. These cars are not as loud as the previous category, and thus not as fast!
A 6th generation Honda Civic (without high-speed shutter)
Same car, with high-speed shutter
Satria Neo from the Proton Axle Racing Team
The same Neo, with high-speed shutter on
Another Civic
Safety car - BMW 3-Series (likely a kitted 325 Sports model)
We stayed on for the next race, the Formula V6 Asia. These cars looked and sounded like the real deal F1 cars! Fast and furious...
By the end of the race, my camera's battery is starting to go into total exhaustion. I thought I'd charged up my spare battery, but it went dead the moment I slotted it in! Damn tu-lan! The next race was equally exciting, featuring modded BMWs, Honda DC5s, the latest Civics, and a few Puntos and Mitsu Colts!
Leading the pack from pole was this white & blue BMW, driven by newbie Jack Lemvard. The sound produced by his car was almost melodious - soft whirring rocket turbine would best decribe it. I'm guessing it's the supercharger! None of the cars in the field sounded like this car. The DC5s sounded the worst! Lemvard went on to win the race, overtaken by an Integra a few times, but in the end stretched it to a few seconds of lead! Fantastic driving!
We left around noon. By then the crowd had started to get larger, more people are strolling in. We were hungry, there wasn't any foodstall there. I think I might go for the Super GT Series in June, with charged battery pack that is!
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This is NOT a blog! 
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This is my latest, most expensive toy to date - meet the K24Z2! Donned in a beautiful Alabaster Silver Metallic, this gigantic beast is a technological marvel.
The engine bay is devoid of huge gaps/empty space - it is filled with goodies!
The 2.4-litre i-VTEC (codenamed K24Z2), a straight-4, 16-valve DOHC powerhouse produces a max power of 180PS (~177BHP/133kW) @ 6,500rpm. Max torque of 222Nm is achieved @ 4,300rpm. The K24Z2 provides silky smooth power for all driving condition; floor the pedal and the i-VTEC roars once the rpm passes 3,500. Exhilarating!
It comes with a cold-air intake inlet as standard...
... and a strut bar, two of the many items not seen in the lower specced 2.0 VTi.
Interior is all-black, which is sporty unlike the bright-beige + woodgrain garnishing in the 2.4 Camry. Centre dashboard is dotted with buttons which gives it a plane cockpit feel.
I dunno bout you guys, but I prefer the conventional analog meter over the Civic's futuristic digital odometers. The guys at Honda claimed the K24Z2 remains stable and planted at speed in excess of 200km/h, a speed which yours truly had not tested during this breaking-in period.
Spirited driving can be achieved thanks to the "S" mode coupled with the F1-styled paddle shifts. Bring the rpm into the iVTEC zone and the K24Z2 roars.
The headlights themselves are a work of wonder, it is HUGE. Comes with HID as stock, the colour temperature might be around 3,000-4,000. It is bright daylight-white when first turned on, and gradually turns into a yellowish hue. The only mod I did for the headlight was to replace the small light bulbs to superwhite LED bulbs, which costs RM60 per pair.
I liked the above angle the most, which reminisce the 5-Series' sexy arse. Notice the rear boot spoiler a.k.a. "ducktail" from Honda's Modulo, which costs me RM920. It actually did a liposuction effect on the K24Z2's massive J-Lo arse.
The rollers are 17", wrapped in Goodyear's 225/50 R17 94V rubbers. Tire noise can be intrusive with this particular brand, am thinking of switching to Conti rubbers for a quieter ride and grippier feel. It is nonetheless handsome in stock condition.
Germany's Hüper Optik® tinting films wrapped the windows all around, with non-legal blackness covering the side windows. Catch me if you can!
Make no mistake, it is a 2.4 iVTEC (pre-ECU reflash @177BHP)!
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