The Turtle was taken out to stretch his legs last Friday... drive up NS highway to Malacca for a round of golf and up to KL for a day to visit some friends, and hit the saunas...

man... we were going so fast... i could hear the wheel bearings wearing out on top of the supernoisy RT615s on the malaysian highway... yup, past that magic 25,000 km mark leow... not sure if it will grip well anymore in the wet...

funny thing too.. in the wet, all sorts of noises i can hear coming out... is it from the racing clutch??? never happened before change of clutch... like shuddering engine even no clutch depressed, or fully depressed when going tru the rain... very funny...

i got to go check it out before i go on track again...

and i have that nasty feeling that my alignment has all gone skewed... but yet hit 200kmh on some stretches of the lonely highway... deathwish hahaha


KL is truely a city that never sleeps in some parts!! not like singapore... all dead by 4.30am save some food places...

in KL, their 4.30 am sees THOUSANDS thronging the dance clubs and hundreds of taxi double parking - waiting for someone to jump in for that midnite fare... most unbelieveable...

damn.. i really need a GPS to get to all those nooks and crainies of KL and surrounding areas... you can really get LOST in there.

Of course, we parked and locked up Turtle for a day's rest while we took our friend's car... toyota LANDCRUISER no less... fugging moster truck to go around the city, as well as another friend's Renault van... that 1.4 litre turbodiesel.. god.. that thing can move... think i'll go for forced induction in my next upgrade... maybe...

as to the tinting thing... well... no one stopped the Turtle even tho we went tru some road blocks and other things involving policemen...

I suppose the matter is just some unfortunate guy kena screwed by the hungry policeman looking for a quick bonus... and failing to get it... becos the target was not 'cooperative' to give kopi money...


in any case, turtle got a very good stretch of legs, and i will take her in to see the doctor about checking out her wheel bearings all four sides, and see if there is upgraded high-speed bearings available for our humble ES...

it wouldbe nice to have those fitted in if available

last saturday took the turtle out to Kenny's to have it realigned and get my suspensions properly lowered. they seemed a little unbalanced, one side lower than the other, and the fronts were a little too high for my liking although they now clear any and all but the highest humps in shopping centre entrances.

so the adjustments were done... now turtle sits a tight 2 fingers at the back and a lose 2 fingers in front.

it's been a while since i had the chance to inspect the tyres on turtle... SHOCKED to find that the rear tyres had worn themselves smooth in the middle... and the two in-sides supposed to have highest wear, did not wear out as much as the middle i.e. still got thread left although it's below the 5mm depth requirements.

the front tyres are ok... wierd... have not rotated them... so how can the rears wear out more than the front?? in this manner? pressure had been kept at a constant 210 kpA. hmmm... over inflated for the rear??

anyways kenny remarked that my tyres already having problems leow... and i agreed... it's no longer 'track ready' it's worn out... time to go looking for a new set...

been harping on a few models of tyres ... so now it's crunch time... and new players popped up...

Toyo is first choice... R1R

Bridgestone is another first choice... RE01R... RE55S this is a semi slick and i will bet DAMN expensive with a ridiculous wear rate...

Falken is yet another choice... go back to RT615 lol... no...

Hankook came up... RS2 - seems quite popoular for PG use as it is 'cheaper' to run... hmmm... i wonder how it fares on Sepang & normal driving...

Got to get some soon... so read more ba...

.


in the meantime, the interesting thing happened. up to the adjustment of the hotbits coils, there was NO sound, no creaking, no funny noises... after the adjustments... wow... the whole back seems to be making noise as soon as i roll forward the car! interesting sounds coming from i dunno where...

maybe later i go my friend's place to loosen and re-tighten the rear tower bar and lower tie arm, as well as the rear shocks mountings...


most interesting...

Turtle was violated tonite.

Her front passenger door window got smashed in... and passenger side contents ransacked and glove compartment emptied.

Lost items include: Vehicle log card (copy), Insurance certificate, KM service records, all official reciepts for my poisons, International Car polish membership card, parking coupons, white cards, shc decals pack, 2 sets motorola t5500 walkie talkies, tissue packs.

and my best friend's Armani document bag and all it's contents, including some important information, etc.

The window was smashed, but the window film held most of the glass together, and din cause a serious mess, although it was a mess ... anyone who sits onto the passenger seat will have a serious tatoo on his butt...

so after 10 minutes of cleaning - yeah we din leave the place... just my friend stand guard to warn me if anyone approaches or car... the front seat can be safely occupied, and we went to rendevouz with God and o0o who parked at a different place.

ok ok fast rewind back to the front...

Decided that we wanted to have some dim sum and other stuff at the usual place. not much of a jam... and reaching the place, found tentage set up for the chinese 7th mth there. so we went further to park... and so after parking, locking the steering and covering up my stuff we went to eat. I'd tot when he put his bag on the floor of the passenger seat, it shud be safe enough... moreover, it was in front of a row of private housing, and it was bright there.

What was left behind was to me quite a godsent. my smaller sling bag at the back seat was untouched - in it, my digital camera, P910i phone, and various other serious personal items... including my bank book. in the boot, my office laptop... my hear was pounding when i lifted the boot lid to check...

i am considered extremely lucky leow...


on retrospect, i saw some people a few houses away chatting and bantering - it could have been them seeing us walk away from our car, and taking the opportunity.


damage done... front left side window - smashed. top door sill, scratched because of the glass being punched and pushed in. ego.. totally bruised.

and of course, thanks to o0o, i could park my car at his workshop under shelter... and fixed first thing tomorrow morning...

such is the salt and pepper of life, and i'm just glad that the loss was 'minimal' if there is such a word ... such petty crimes are if i catch them (not likely la) I would probably maime them properly... no wonder the middle easterners/staunch muslim law SAYS to cut of the thieves' hands as punishment... now i see it quite justifiable. I will carry out the sentence personally wif a blunt knife and a hammer and chisel (to hack the bones of course)


a chinese saying comes to mind... you go up the mountain often enough, you will finally meet the tiger... I'm glad this one is a pussycat scratch... i can't imagine if Turtle was totally kidnapped, or our lives threatened or lost...

now i know to park where everyone parks, and near to where you are, eating or otherwise so you can see your vehicle. else dun park unless security is present.

lesson learnt.

sorry to hear tt

thanks for your kind words... but dun be sorry... just remember the lessons learnt... we were hungry and forgot a few simple keep safe rules.

and opportunists pounced on our mistake.

damn... Chief.....i hope those muthafarking CBKs will hv their hands infested w a thousand maggots.....

Turtle's shoes are pretty worn out... it's very high time to change them before they slip on me in a corner, or worst, on a straight road in the wet...

dry no problem... they are slick tyres now hahahah....







so hunt around for those targetted tyres ... R1R, R888, whoa... the prices locally are high... and there seems to be no stock in JB... OK look for the Hankook RS2... highly acclaimed, grippy tyres... look just like the AD07 in thread design... almost... and the price... whoa... more ex than the AD07!

sigh... no la...

RE01R... erm... dun have my size... and quotation by some 'lesser known' shops is just cut throat...

OK OK so i'm stinging here... becos anticipating the PG run...

finally called up PH to ask... got... told J that i dun wan old stock, and i dun wan lousy quality... and i will check... haha... he quoted me a nice price...

so down i went, and inspected the goods wif a magnifying glass before committing... yes, made this year... in march... not bad. all 4 pcs... checked the construction visually, no blemishes... ok... price... ok... so go ahead to change...

surprisingly, that day... no need to wait. only one other car there changing tyre... strange... what happened? usually there got like see doctor like dat... long queue... on a Friday afternoon no less... hmmm...

ok so we were 'early' hahaha later the build up started... glad i'm out of the way...

the thing about going to PH is that you must know exactly what you want, and you have to supervise the entire process... if you dun, there is possibility that they did not tighten everything, did not replace everything... actually they almost missed but before i could point out to them they took off my rim and replaced the rubber spacer for the hub... imagine driving without one...

so all was well... good price, not too bad service...

oh yeah... at another carpark 20 minutes later, i stopped to check all the air pressure... sure enough... not even haha one tyre 200 kPa. another 230kPa, one more 210kPa, and the fourth 220kPa... easy... all lower to 200kPa... so much for tyre pressure haha....

this set perhaps i will run it with 200-205 kPa all the way... see how the tyres wear out and grip...

milage on the car odo... 117,000 km... it's getting OLD hahaha... in 3 years.

Turtle's shoes are pretty worn out... it's very high time to change them before they slip on me in a corner, or worst, on a straight road in the wet... Looks over inflated man.. I meant the tires.

dry no problem... they are slick tyres now hahahah....







so hunt around for those targetted tyres ... R1R, R888 whoa... the prices locally are high... and there seems to be no stock in JB... OK look for the Hankook RS2... highly acclaimed, grippy tyres... look just like the AD07 in thread design... almost... and the price... whoa... more ex than the AD07!

sigh... no la...

RE01R... erm... dun have my size... and quotation by some 'lesser known' shops is just cut throat... Yeah your size ain't a walk in the park

OK OK so i'm stinging here... becos anticipating the PG run...

finally called up PH to ask... got... told J that i dun wan old stock, and i dun wan lousy quality... and i will check... haha... he quoted me a nice price...

so down i went, and inspected the goods wif a magnifying glass before committing... yes, made this year... in march... not bad. all 4 pcs... checked the construction visually, no blemishes... ok... price... ok... so go ahead to change...

surprisingly, that day... no need to wait. only one other car there changing tyre... strange... what happened? usually there got like see doctor like dat... long queue... on a Friday afternoon no less... hmmm...

ok so we were 'early' hahaha later the build up started... glad i'm out of the way...

the thing about going to PH is that you must know exactly what you want, and you have to supervise the entire process... if you dun, there is possibility that they did not tighten everything, did not replace everything... actually they almost missed but before i could point out to them they took off my rim and replaced the rubber spacer for the hub... imagine driving without one...

so all was well... good price, not too bad service...

oh yeah... at another carpark 20 minutes later, i stopped to check all the air pressure... sure enough... not even haha one tyre 200 kPa. another 230kPa, one more 210kPa, and the fourth 220kPa... easy... all lower to 200kPa... so much for tyre pressure haha....200kpa at driver's side?

this set perhaps i will run it with 200-205 kPa all the way... see how the tyres wear out and grip...

milage on the car odo... 117,000 km... it's getting OLD hahaha... in 3 years.

yup it looked that way to me too... but checked the pressure was at 210 kPa constant...

could it mean that it shud be less? at 200 or even 190 on normal roads? hmmm...


yes I'm odd sized here.. but most at home in USA or Australia etc where I'm normal size...

na... the one with 200kPa was on the left rear wheel... so really, nothing to do wif me I know I know... they pump higher to compensate for me... but highest 230 was at left front... so they got it way wrong...

so if i wear out these real quick in PG, i'd go for the R1Rs... or T1R if not likely to track anymore till november...or december... wet leh.. maybe do the F1 on a wet track hahaha...

I must say that the AD07 is one step down from the RT615 where confidence and road holding is concerned on the Turtle. Although it does hold the road well, even tho not confidence inspiring, i.e. it twitches a bit, and you KNOW you are at the limit of cornering traction... just dunno when it will snap lose... yet it did not... is an interesting experience by itself. never had it in the 615 going at the same speed... i guess it's limit is much higher...


in the wet, maybe it is quieter than the 615s... because of its more symetrical groves.


just changed out the engine oils and hemp oil filter... the excellium was great ... i din evenrealise that it's been 4+ months since the last oil change... and about 11,000 km since. whoa... so fun to use...

this round, it's the rojak oils... all 5W-40 but from ultron, ultra, and M1 gold. just wanna clear the old stock oil, filtered out of course, and blimey... engine feels good and quiet!!

also just took out the spark plugs and 'serviced them' i.e. brushed it clean and shiny, no wear and tear at all... interesting... and put them back in.


although this round is still 100% synthetic oil, i will change out at 5,000 km or after track, oweing to the shelf life of the oil reaching the limit.

The hotbits are finally really noisy now... after adjustments to height. It could be that the protective layer of rubber absorbers between spring and damper mount being completely removed during the adjustments and it's now metal to metal, and every single movement of the rear shocks can be heard, groaning and creaking at every wheel movement.... i got to bring it back to JB someday soon to have it looked at and see if they can put a new 'bushing' back in to silence the thing... no issue at speed, but first thing in the morning and around car park speeds, you might get jarred into thinking the wheels are going to fall off...

but suspension works wise... i have absolutely no complaints... they work wonderfully... stiff and solidly planted...

i was just wondering... if BC parts can be used wif the hotbit springs... hahaha... but that would be $600 for front and rear change... not worth la... unless there's no hope from JB at all to address the sound issue....

hmmm... just harbouring a thought ...

and if that new exhaust system is legalised, The Turtle would be too damn low leow.... and need to be raised back to 'stock' height to use this system properly... hmmm.....

anyways, The Turtle is functioning quite well now thank you... i shall just keep it that way... no more mods till after the PG run which would be dunno when la...

/

I must say that the AD07 is one step down from the RT615 where confidence and road holding is concerned on the Turtle. Although it does hold the road well, even tho not confidence inspiring, i.e. it twitches a bit, and you KNOW you are at the limit of cornering traction... just dunno when it will snap lose... yet it did not... is an interesting experience by itself. never had it in the 615 going at the same speed... i guess it's limit is much higher...


in the wet, maybe it is quieter than the 615s... because of its more symetrical groves.


just changed out the engine oils and hemp oil filter... the excellium was great ... i din evenrealise that it's been 4+ months since the last oil change... and about 11,000 km since. whoa... so fun to use...

this round, it's the rojak oils... all 5W-40 but from ultron, ultra, and M1 gold. just wanna clear the old stock oil, filtered out of course, and blimey... engine feels good and quiet!!

also just took out the spark plugs and 'serviced them' i.e. brushed it clean and shiny, no wear and tear at all... interesting... and put them back in.


although this round is still 100% synthetic oil, i will change out at 5,000 km or after track, oweing to the shelf life of the oil reaching the limit.

The hotbits are finally really noisy now... after adjustments to height. It could be that the protective layer of rubber absorbers between spring and damper mount being completely removed during the adjustments and it's now metal to metal, and every single movement of the rear shocks can be heard, groaning and creaking at every wheel movement.... i got to bring it back to JB someday soon to have it looked at and see if they can put a new 'bushing' back in to silence the thing... no issue at speed, but first thing in the morning and around car park speeds, you might get jarred into thinking the wheels are going to fall off...

but suspension works wise... i have absolutely no complaints... they work wonderfully... stiff and solidly planted...

i was just wondering... if BC parts can be used wif the hotbit springs... hahaha... but that would be $600 for front and rear change... not worth la... unless there's no hope from JB at all to address the sound issue....

hmmm... just harbouring a thought ...

and if that new exhaust system is legalised, The Turtle would be too damn low leow.... and need to be raised back to 'stock' height to use this system properly... hmmm.....

anyways, The Turtle is functioning quite well now thank you... i shall just keep it that way... no more mods till after the PG run which would be dunno when la...

/

The Turtle is excited... end of month going up to Sepang for a few rounds of fun...

a few things need to be done tho... brakes need to be serviced... does it need to be re-filled with new brake fluid? it's only been 8 months since new dot4/600 fluids was pumped into her... i think not la... shud be ok. rear drums ok too - rear brake takes 3 clicks to lock up gently... 5 to slam lock... suu be in 'good' adjustment.


oils.. haha best topic... now thinking what to put into the engine... motul? or just use excellium gao leow...wanted to try out ows for myself... but still really tempted to use redline 20W street oil for track... just to try out ester based (non-racing oil) there. think i'll put in the 30s this round just to be kiasu a bit although others already did the mugen 20W oil no issue...


got new plugs leow... later will adjust the spark gap a bit before replacing the volkers but that will be like 2 days before the trip up... need FRESH PLUGS hahaha...

tyre pressures.. haha got a shock when i took the pressures of tyres this morning... one of the wheels had below 100kpa of pressure... the rest had 180.

tot kena puncture... now all filled to 190 kpa.. will monitor closely the next few days.

worrisome... it does lose a kpa per day... i will be taking it to a tyreshop to check. if it needs patching, it will have to be the inside patch and not the 'insert' patch...

just wondering which tyre shop in the clementi side does a good ... else just go back to PH and hope for the best ... haha but no hope there la...

must go for a good patch.

it was a screw... it had gone in at a pure 90 degrees... straight in... that's the cause of the slow leak.

ended up patching it in a tyreshop at Tg Katong Rd (my old neighbourhood). He did a pretty good patch. I told him i din wan a 'plug' patch but to open up the tyre and patch from the inside. $15 bux for the patch...

opened up, ground down the rubber around it a bit to take the patch, and aplied will be a good patch... he did quite a good job and it was confidence inspiring to watch... knowing my tyre is properly patched and can withstand high speeds and high heat with virtually no chance of a problem.

one problem ended... the next one come...

going track ma... so wanted to change out the S2000 steering wheel to the nice thick race style steering wheel with the bosskit... so late that nite, do it alone.... unhooked the horn fuse so it won't be noisy, unscrewed the airbag out, opened the centre lock nut (easily done) and tapped the steering outwards... and ... OMG... forgot to release the horn harness and airbag harness... and the steering wheel pulled at those wires and snap...

no the wires din break... but the disc assembly came off and behind it, a white ribbon of wires came unwound...

This ribbon of wires is to allow the steering wheel to turn one and one half turns both directions from centre and still have horn, airbag, signal lights, and other things attached to steering wheel functioning.

SHOCK.... and quickly took out the disc, plus horn and airbag sensor wires... and luckily din move the disc ... so wound back the wires as per original setting... phew... and try to put it back in... can!! but now realised the lock clip cannot clip back onto the assembly!!! it has free play that prevent the clips from locking up the disc...

by now sweating profusely already... haha... cannot on the car, no aircon, so hot... and so stress... die... no steering... how to go sepang??????

sigh... last resort... just hold the disc in place and put the S2000 steering wheel back on... it still fit... and put the lock nut back in place... haha you need to imagine that i had to keep pressure on the disc, keep all the ribbon in there properly housed, and yet get the steering wheel back on, the thread the sensor and horn harness back through that tiny slot and push it all in properly without kinking any wires... wish i had a few more hands... and finally i did it... just put back all the screws and fuse and said a prayer... and inserted the idnition key... and twisted it...


ok car started and all the check lights went out... ops normal... tested turning left and right, ok no issue...

and i sighed a relief and offed everything, packed up, locked up and left. I'd spent almost 2 hours accomplishing absoloutely nothing... and now have a new problem to solve after track day...

.

The next day, i went my friend's workshop to change oil and sparks and filter...

Redline 10W-30, Denso IK-20L, and Hemp filter. and of course, swap out my exhaust for the DNX pipe... no issues there... asked him about my steering ... he also not sure... so i din press... but he commented my steering was loose... (I'd not tighten fully the previous nite) and so he just tightened it for me... not gonna open it till i go back to KM or Espace to let them see if they know how to do...

all this put behind me leow... just look forward to monday leow...

and i went to Kenny's to see if he can check alignment for me ... but since i din make appt, he was too busy... but i suppose i'd no issue as he is confident that the alignment is alright... the car is not sidestepping anywhere... tracks true... will realign later after the track...