More Enhancements in the Pipeline

It looks like we are on a roll now that we have tested and tasted the potential of the little Swift. Little Nickie has indeed grown up much since the epic drive. He is no longer restricted to just a point-to-point car and certainly, calling it a supermarket car adds insults to injury. He has proven that with the right enhancements, this little fella can run with the big boys. Not implying that the car is as good as the Porsches, Lotus or BMW but it held up very well on its own. In any case, the Swift is not in competition with them and the drive was not to prove that the Swift is as good as the company. It was a fun drive for friends to get together and enjoy their passion for long distance driving and dining. They certainly made provisions for the Swift knowing that it has probably only half (or less) the horsepower compared to their cars. The only sensible thing to do is to let them know the limitations so that the convoy is kept intact and safe driving is maintained. If one car breaks down, the whole convoy will be affected. So, we kept to the limits of the least powerful car, in this case, the little Swift.

The next logical thing to do is to enhance the car further so that the rest are not bogged down if the Swift does go with the company again. The obvious power mod as I have mentioned before would be a supercharger but thats taking it way over the top. Until I am convinced that the natural aspiration (NA) enhancements cannot provide the added boost, will I consider a supercharger. Its really a no-brainer to install a supercharger. Its instant power without blinking an eyelid. But, that would be boring because there will be nothing else that needs to be done further. I prefer to take the slow route, it gives me opportunities to learn more about the car and how far it can be pushed. Even if I finally install a supercharger system, all these enhancements will not be made irrelevant.

Exedy Lightened Flywheel. A guy on the forum wants to sell this but he is unsure whether he wants to part with it. Nonetheless, if he does not want to sell his, I will buy a new one. This flywheel is 4.7kg compared to the stock flywheel which weighs 7.2kg. The nett effect of having a lightened flywheel is better throttle response but it also means more revs are required to get the car going since there is less 'stored' energy in the flywheel. It all sounds a bit confusing eg. wouldn't it be the same if I stepped harder on the throttle to give me the same acceleration. The answer is no. For the same amount of revolutions, the acceleration with a lightened flywheel is much quicker compared to the stock flywheel. The quirkiness comes when you need to park the car or drive slowly. You will realised that you need to keep the car on a higher revolution to keep it moving slowly. With a heavier flywheel and the 'stored' energy, the car needs less revs to move off. On the move, the throttle now becomes more sensitive to inputs; lift off the feet and you will feel the revs drop almost instantaneously but when you jam it, you will see that the revs climb much faster and that translate to better torque. With the low gearing on the Swift, this is bound to be a neck bending experience and hopefully, increase the Gs. The logic for me to have a lightened flywheel is so that I can catch up with the others in the convoy if I get somewhat left behind. It does not increase power per se but it helps me to close the gap quicker.

MoMo Quark Steering Wheel and Quick Release. Someone commented that the present MoMo Corse Devil steering wheel looks 'cheap'. As you know, I don't really care what they say and I certainly did not buy this wheel just because someone said my present steering wheel looks cheap. I bought it because I really liked the shape and form of the wheel. It looks really elegant and yet, sporty. Besides, I also got it from a fellow motorhead who thought he was the only crazy guy around to have more than two steering wheels! Eric, if you are reading this, you are the man! Again, I am blessed to have met Eric. Besides being a nice seller, we discovered that we have many things in common, not just cars alone but other stuff. He is also helping me to source for a low hub so that when it is installed onto the quick release (QR), the wheel will not be in my face. The QR I am buying is styled like the NRG one shown below. A quick visit to the NRG website (http://www.getnrg.com/) revealed that they even have a thin version of the QR. Needless to say, that is on order as we speak. In the meantime, I will make do with the present set-up until the thin version QR arrives. The QR is a necessity, not for style. As I have mentioned previously, this was one enhancement I need in order to get in and out of the car comfortably. It also helps that it doubles up as a security measure to prevent my car from being stolen.

Magline HF 601 18" Forged Wheels. These are my dream wheels, 18" x 7.5" ET 42 and weighs 5.5kg according to one website. I would think they probably weigh more like 6 to 7kg. Whatever, they are still lighter than the present 17" x 7" ET 43 57Motorsport G07WT wheels I have right now. They will be a perfect fit on the Swift. I admit that I still love the 18" wheel look on the car eversince I had the OZ Ultraleggeras. More than just the look, the light wheels contribute significantly to better acceleration and reduce the unsprung weight of the car. I also have the option of using either set of wheels for different applications.

Racetech Design RTR 700 Racing Battery. This battery weighs a mere 6kg compared to the stock battery which is almost double the weight of the Racetech battery. Read more about the battery here (http://www.racetechdesign.com/index_files/Page1228.htm) Obviously, the sole purpose of having a lightweight battery is to....save weight, of course. There is only one drawback to having a lightweight battery; it drains faster than normal battery unless the car is used everyday or the battery is trickle charged by using a battery charger. I have recently experimented with some solar chargers but they don't really work so well. I still prefer to use the electronic battery chargers like CTEK. A digital voltmeter will also have to be installed to monitor the state of the battery. The battery bug would be my choice. It attaches directly to the battery and it checks the battery each time before start-up. I will also have a plug-in voltmeter in the cabin to check the voltage while on the move. I don't need to know the voltage all the time and besides, the 12V power supply is needed for other things.

Exedy Organic Clutch. I had this clutch installed previously but removed it because the timing was wrong to have it installed. I was not sure which direction the Swift was going then and having it on the car seems out of place. Good thing nobody bought it when I tried to sell it. Now, its going into the car and the time is right especially since I am going to install a lightened flywheel. These two components somewhat goes hand-in-hand. A stronger clutch will definitely give me more confidence during long drives. It will be harder to work the clutch initially but once it breaks in, you won't know its there.

It is an exciting time for me and the little Swift. I am energised from the last drive and honestly, I cannot wait to hit the road again with the Swift, of course, with all the enhancements done.