Sunday Drive

Here are some pictures of the Sunday breakfast drive. There is nothing like good roads, good food and good company as we drove along the B-roads. Of course, it gets better knowing that the little Swift can take all the abuse! As you would have noticed by now, the car is pretty much back to stock. The Dangun side mirrors were replaced by the original side mirrors and yes, we are back to the good old Rays wheels. After so many changes, the Rays looks like they are here to stay.

The pau at this shop are the best! They taste so good, it's amazing. We even bought some home and in the process, wiped out their stock for the day! 

Did you know?

For those of you who are considering replacing some engine parts, did you know that:

1.   The intake manifold has specially widened intake runners and polished internal surfaces that enhances the incoming airflow for high power.

2.   High-lift intake and exhaust cams boost engine performance at high revs for strong, ever-available acceleration.

3.   The pistons are warm forged for strength and are cooled by oil jets for further durability.

Didn't I say that a room full of Suzuki engineers cannot be wrong?

Suspension, Sunday Drive & New Swift Sport

After countless attempts to rectify the suspension problem, I decided to fix the best suspension in the world for the Swift Sport;  it is called stock suspension. Made up of Monroe shocks and black-colored springs, they proved to be the best suspension for all weather, terrain and value for money. Sure, the car sits a bit higher and does not look so cool without that low-down stance but you will appreciate it when you take off from bridges like what happen during the Sunday drive we had today. I do not want to rattle on about how good the stock suspension is but take my word for it, you want a cheap and efficient system, put back the stock suspension. Once again, I say this: a bunch of Suzuki engineers cannot be wrong.

We had a blast during today's Sunday drive. It was a recce trip to see what the west coast had to offer. The roads were nothing to shout about but the scenery was truly beautiful. We also had a taste of what WRC drivers go through because some of the road were really narrow, muddy and bumpy. The cars came back all caked up with mud but more importantly, nothing broke. That is the beauty of a Swift Sport; it has the right amount of power, handling and strength to do almost anything and if anything breaks, it is not expensive to fixed. Here are pictures of where we were today.

Which brings me to the 2011 Swift Sport that will be launched later this year. I hope the design turns out based on the concept car.

Melted Rear Diffuser

How hot is exhaust gas? Very Hot. So hot, it melted the rear diffuser! But of course, if you set up your exhaust system properly, you would not have such a problem. The Supertrapp end caps directs the hot exhaust gas around the disc compared to the conventional straight through system of normal exhaust system. I had wanted to buy a Supertrapp heat shield to shield the plastic diffuser from the hot air emitting from the end caps but never got round to ordering it. The price I paid is a fairly expensive one but luckily, someone was kind enough to let me have his rear diffuser for the time being. Anyway, I have been thinking about going loud. Those single exit exhaust like Sunline 60SS are really loud and light. The lesser weight on the rear might help to solve the rubbing problem that is really annoying. While the situation has somewhat improved after inserting rubber bump stops on the springs, that is probably not the safest method and certainly, not professional. This problem should be solved once I buy over my friend's Tanabe Sustec Pro.

Nickie 2 Suspension 0

Nickie scored another win today in the suspension department. The Monroe shocks which are supposedly indestructible are broken. I realized this during the drive today. The car was tram-lining and steering was wooly ie. I could be turning the steering wheel but the response seems delayed. On top of that, the car was bottoming out rather easily. Initially, I thought it was the 38mm offset on the Buddy Club wheel that was creating the problem. But, it could not be so because when I ran the Rays rims (offset 42),  I also had 3mm spacers on them giving a final offset of 39mm. Anyway, the bottoming out was so bad, the side walls of the tyres were slightly cut.

This is the second set of suspension after the Tanabe GF coilovers gave way not too long ago. Not surprisingly, when we hit the B roads, the suspension takes a real beating with the kind of speed we are traveling at. So, it is back to the drawing board to find a set of suspension that can withstand the beating of our Sunday drives.

Buddy Club P1 Racing II Wheels

The wheel fetish is incurable. These are the latest wheels that I bought. They are original Made in Japan Buddy Club P1 Racing II wheels with an offset of 38. One more mm and those wheels are going to rub the fenders! Nothing more to say except that these wheels are gorgeous! I hope they are the antidote to this dreadful disease. If you are observant enough, you would also notice the top grill is different. It does not have the S insignia but the meshing is the same as the stock grill. I have been searching for this grill for a long time because I wanted it to match the bottom piece. Enjoy the pictures.

Supertrapp End Caps

I have been wanting to put on a Supertrapp exhaust for the longest time. Our laws here demand that all after-market exhaust system needs to be approved by the Land & Transport Authority. After installation, they need to be checked and certified and guess what, you have to pay a fees to get all this done. The Supertrapp end caps circumvent this problem because it is bolted onto the stock exhaust. The question is, how much difference can these few pieces of metal make. The answer; plenty. Due to the design and the way the discs are stacked together, exhaust gas are actually forced out faster giving the effect of a full blow through exhaust. It can also be tuned for more torque or higher end performance. Agreeably, they look silly but its nothing that a can of black spray paint cannot resolve. I was sceptical but after read up all about it, I am convinced now. Those things are awesome and since I had them on last month, the car is a real blast to drive. Don't take my words for it, try it for yourself. They are not expensive and best thing of all, they are transferable.

I took off the tips for about a week to do some enhancement work on the pipings because they were starting to rust. I also wanted to see whether there was any marked difference with and without them. The answer is yes, there is a difference without them. Firstly, the sound factor. Without the end caps, the exhaust sounds thin. With the caps on, the exhaust sounds fuller but quieter. Secondly, performance. I realised there was a substantial loss of torque. Without the caps, it felt like the car is not pulling as strongly as compared to having them on. Thirdly, efficiency. With the caps on, the engine idles more steadily with little hesitation. Without the cap, there seems to be seem some peaks and dips in the engine revs when at idle. Not that this is important but personally, I like my engine to idle smoothly. Fourthly, consumption. Unbelievable, fuel consumption was better without the end caps. I get 13.9km/l compared to 13.7km/l with the caps on. That also means the engine is probably running slightly richer with the caps on.

The tips looked out of place in its original chrome. I had them sprayed black so as to blend in with the rear diffuser.

End of Wheel Fetish

3 years on and countless sets of wheels later, I think this set of wheels is the ONE. It is 17 x 7.5 with an offset of 40. The brand is supposedly Konig but I was unable to locate this model in their catalogue. It looks large for a 17' wheel because of the way the spokes curve out from the centre all the way to the edge. The black and shadow chrome colour sets off the wheel nicely and matches the overall appearance of the car. I got them rather cheaply since they are second-hand. The condition was rather good with some marks which are not really noticeable. I am confident this set of wheel is here to stay. In fact, I have put up my trusty and faithful Rays G57 for sale.

Since the last posting, the car has gone through some substantial changes. The Exedy organic racing clutch and lightened flywheel has been replaced by the original ones. What a difference it makes! I learnt that racing clutch and lightened flywheel are designed for one thing; racing. So, if you do not bring the car to the track often enough, stay away from anything that is designed for racing. The car is so much more pleasant to drive now and my fuel consumption has increased dramatically from 12.3 km per liter to 13.8 km per liter. On top of that, my feet and calf muscles are not sore when stuck in a traffic jam.

The wild rear spoiler has also been replaced with the original rear spoiler. Stock parts are starting to find its way back to the car but not everything will remain stock. There are still areas where enhanced parts will remain.