Post Analysis of the Epic Drive

For those of you thinking about doing a drive like what I did, here are some personal tips to share with you.

The engine was completely stock except for the enhanced air intake system. I felt more comfortable going on a long drive with the engine in stock form because you never know how after-market parts may fail and fixing it can be a real headache. Where power is concerned, it is more than sufficient taking into consideration that I was in the company of some serious high performance cars. This lead me to consider replacing the stock ECU with a Monster Sport ECU which will increase the power from 125bhp to 140bhp. Although the MX160 supercharger would be the ultimate, I am concerned that it may not be able to handle the extremities of such drives. In any case, the Monster Sport ECU can be retained if I choose to install the supercharger. The additional 15bhp will come in handy during overtaking and keeping up with the rest of the convoy. However, if the company you are driving with are not like the ones I have, the engine in stock form is more than sufficient. The second enhancement would be an oil cooler. Running the car continuously at 4500rpm, the engine oil temperature read 120degC, sometimes up to 125degC. At certain times when it went up to 6000rpm, the engine oil temperature remained stable at 120-125degC. An oil cooler would be useful to lower the oil temperature by 5degC so that it remains under 120degC. However, the speed at 4500rpm is already around 140km/h which is probably the safe speed for the car. 150km/h at 5000 rpm would be the perfect crusing speed but in this present state, I run the risk of overheating the oil. There were times when the speed went up to 180km/h but that would be suicidal to maintain especially on roads whereby anything can happen. I seriously do not see the need for anything else other than these 2 enhancements.

The strengthening of the chassis is a must. Those anti-roll bars and strut bars comes into play. Even the chassis bar provided the extra strengthening the car needed. The price to pay for all the strengthening is that you have a very rigid body that is not forgiving. You will feel every inch of the road and get thrown about like a ship in the ocean. Coupled with a stiff suspension set-up, you better be prepared for a rough ride. However, when the twisty roads comes up, I was glad I had this set-up. It enabled me to throw the car into the corners without any worries. The LSD provided the extra edge so much needed to keep the car in check during the corners. However, the LSD can also get you into serious trouble unless you know how it works and more importantly, how to use it properly. In this area, I am happy with the set-up.

The full bucket seats and harness gave me the security I needed to be aggressive. I know that if anything happens, I would be safe as long as I am strapped down tightly to the seats. However, the inconvenience of climbing in and out is something not easy to get used to especially when we were hopping from place to place for sightseeing. It would have been better with reclinable bucket seats but the price to pay is weight. I am undecided whether the bucket seats are a good thing for long drives. One thing for sure, the cushion needs to be improved. I will be replacing the stock cushions with after-market ones that are thicker and firmer. Being strapped down also means you need to plan your cabin equipment effectively eg. GPS, comms system, etc. I made sure the important gadgets are within reach even when strapped down and more importantly, everything in the cabin needs to be strapped down so they don't fall off when you make a turn or over bumpy roads.

Fuel considerations. One of the biggest worry taking the Swift across the border was the fuel requirements. According to the manual, super unleaded petrol is recommended. This was rather vague and through some research, super unleaded petrol actually translate to RON 96 and above. This was not a problem in Malaysia as they had RON 97 fuel but it posed a challenge in Thailand whereby the highest RON rating is only 95. The manual also indicated that fuel containing not more than 10% ethanol can be used. During the trip, I used the various grade of petrol available including Gasohol 95. In between, I used Roar Nanofuel Technology fuel additive. Coupled with the Broquet B30, I never encountered any knocking of the engine. Everything ran smoothly except for some slight power loss which was not glaring at all. Average fuel consumption was 12.2 km per litre or 8.2 litre per 100km at an average speed of 140 km/h. I have read many comments on whether the Broquet works and even worse comments about the Roar Nanofuel additive. To those skeptics, I can only say that its proven these 2 products work well.

Put back that rear windscreen wiper. I know some guys take them out to save weight(?). You will realise how important the rear windscreen wiper is when it starts to rain. No amount of Rain-X is going to help. Just look at the pictures and you can see that the amount of dirt the rear windscreen collects.

Brakes. The stock brakes are more than sufficient even with stock brake pads. Unlike track driving, long distance driving does not require you to brake often. In fact, since the stock brake pads work at low temperature, it is actually more condusive for long distance driving because it will bite when you hit the pedal. I found out that whenever I had to slow down, I would push down hard on the brake pedal. That gives me an indication of how well the bite is and then I ease off from there to achieve the level of braking I need. Simple and effective.

Car computer. One of the problems I faced was the lack of information with regards to how much further I could travel with the present fuel level. A Scan Gauge II trip computer would be useful so I would know when to top up fuel instead of doing it each time we pull into a gas station. Running on a lower level of fuel would have helped in acceleration yet enough to get me to the next gas station. A Scan Gauge II trip computer is on my buying list.

Driving with the aircon on and off made a massive difference. It came to a point in time when the discomfort was worth it. Only when it became unbearable did I turn on the aircon but only to turn it off again when I have 'cooled' down. It was not so bad in the evenings but I soon realised that driving with fresh air coming into the cabin helped me to stay alert better. On a long stretch of road with nothing much else to do except hold the steering wheel straight, the boredom can get to you and there is always the possibility of dozing off. This is made even worse after a heavy meal. Blasting the stereo did not help. In fact, the stereo was not on most of the time. It interefered with the comms between the cars and you could miss out on important calls by the leader. On the subject of comms, I would need to get an external microphone and speaker combination. I would also need to rig the charger so that it is within easy reach and stays put when the road gets rough.

One thing about the Swift cabin is the lack of storage and whatever storage available is really quite useless; they are either too shallow, too narrow and when you put things inside, there is the irritating rattling noise because of the hard plastic. I taped down the 2 spring loaded tabs on the drink holders because they are jamming things whenever I take them out.

Lights. In order to protect the headlamps, I had them covered with a thin film. The only problem was the shop used a solar film so the intensity of the light was reduced considerably. Halfway through the journey, I was tempted to ripped them off but decided not to as I figured that since I am not the lead car, I could depend on others. Needless to say, I ripped them off the minute I reached home. The correct material to use are clear film like Llumar. But, since I did not have enough time to get a proper job done, I had to compromise on using the solar film instead. The car will be going in for a full clear bra wrapping on the lights and bonnet. I am also considering a headlight washer system. There was a point in the drive when the light throw was only about 20m. This was due to the mud all caked up on the headlights and with nothing to wash it off.

There are a couple of things I would do or carry with me for a long drive like this in future. First on the list would be a collapsible bucket for washing the car or better yet, a collapsible hose. Believe it or not, the car really needs a wash especially if you go through rain and muddy water. A coat of Rain-X or something similar on the rear windscreen will help to reduce the dirt build-up but it won't solve the problem entirely. A better GPS holder is required; one that is strong enough and provide enough reach to the driver so that I don't have to reach out to touch the buttons. An additional 12V power point would be nice; located next to the gear shift lever or in the tray under the audio head unit. This solves the problem of having to switch power cords for the GPS, walkie-talkie charger and ioniser. A multi-plug adapter simply does not work.

In summary, the little car has proven itself to be able to withstand the harsh conditions of a long drive. There is nothing lacking in the car but if you want to play safe like I did, the enhancements made a world of difference. I would think that the car in pure stock form can do the same thing but it would not give you the confidence when road conditions are not great. Of course, if you just slow down, no dramas are going to happen. For me, I wanted to test the limits of the car. In the end, the car beat me. I was a wreck stepping out of the car but the little car seems to be saying, "Is that all you can dished out?"