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.

A Great Day at the Workshop

What a great day I had at the workshop today. For those of you who are familiar with Project S, you would understand why it is such a great place to have your Swift done, be it for regular servicing, repair, maintenance or some serous mods. The owner of the shop, Raymond is a great guy. I think he eats, sleep and does everything else in his Swift less the messy stuff. Seldom would you meet a guy who knows his stuff inside out. His team is equally friendly and knowledgeable especially his chief mechanic. Within a short time, he pointed out all the 'mistakes' that were done previously. It was shocking yet comforting to know that such things can actually happen and it takes a trained eye to spot them.

Finally, after many agonizing months, the LSD is replaced with the stock differential. What a complete change it has been, no more chattering and no more weird steering feel when the clutch is depressed. In the process of replacing the LSD, we took the opportunity to replace the clutch fork with a reinforced one, clutch bearings and installed a RRP clutch collar. All these are good enhancements that gives me the peace of mind I need.

Sadly, we also discovered the front left Tanabe Sustec GF coilover shock absorber was leaking. We suspect the oil seals are broken because the shock could not rebound when pushed in. That explains the funny knocking sound from the front and the constant pull to the left. They were replaced by stock Monroe shocks paired with JIC lowering springs. The car sits higher than before and that is fine with me. Ride comfort is great and handling is not compromised. Besides, we are not talking about taking the car for a real race and for practical reasons like cost, the Monroes and JIC springs are just perfect. They will probably last forever compared to some coilovers who will leak one day.

It was also a good opportunity to do some body work enhancement. The fenders are now endowed with Juran fender mole rubber fender moulding. These things are not cheap but it was definitely worth it. The car looks great now with the black wheel arch. Unlike the original Suzuki wheel arch mouldings which are thick but hollow, the Jurans' are nice and slim, with just the perfect dimension to set the car apart from others. Some rubber linings were also stuck onto the rear, side and front end of the car to cover the gaps left by the sideskirts, front lips and rear diffuser. The blue colored strips looks a bit off but heck, they are there for practical reasons ie. to prevent water ingress. Perhaps, when I could find black colored strips, I will have the blue ones removed but for now, they stay.

The Greddy easy cams were not performing well and some adjustments had to be made. After some tweaking, they are performing at peak now. Since they are adjustable, some tuning was required to ensure its operational efficiency. With the cams adjusted, the car feels rather different now. It seems to have bigger lungs and the transition between gears is much more fluid. Where there used to be a jerk due to a drop in RPM, the cams keeps the revs longer and you do not feel the 'jerk' as much as before. Its still there no matter what since it is a manual car but its much nicer to drive now. The idling RPM has dropped to 650 rpm but that is not a problem as it can tuned up. The other noticeable difference is the linear pull of the engine. Where it used to pull quite quickly but running out of steam just as quickly, there is a sense that the pull is stronger and controlled. No longer do you have to drag gears to get the same shove. Changing over at 4500 rpm is like hitting the sweet spot whereas it used to be much higher. Overall, a very good enhancement but only if installed professionally and tuned perfectly.

A Pivot Raizin Spark Earth Red (Type S) was also installed. This replaces the ignition fuse and is fitted in the fuse box under the steering column. From the short drive back from the workshop, the fuel consumption reading was 13.4 km per liter. Previous readings without the Spark Earth was 13.2 km per liter. That is an amazing piece of electronic gizmo. The car seems incredibly quieter now and cranking up seems much faster. Definitely a good enhancement that should be considered but please have it installed correctly.

Last but not least, a Panasonic LifeWink battery monitor was installed. This thing is supposed to check that the battery is properly charged and warns you when there could be problems with the battery or alternator indirectly. Its a little device that works very well.

The car is being prepped for a long drive back to Hua Hin. As usual, a complete and thorough check needs to be done. Luckily, the leaking shock absorber was discovered or else, it could have spelled disaster. Never assume everything is fine. It never is unless you know for sure, it is.

Club Raze Wheels Installed

The moment of truth finally arrived. Brought the wheels to the regular tyre shop for them to be installed onto the car. As each wheel was installed, there was a sense of queasiness that it would not match the overall image of the car. I have tried to maintain a clean and simple design but obviously, these Club Raze wheels are hardly 'simple- looking especially with the deep dish chrome rim and multi-spoke centre. The color combination was another factor. When the installation was completed, it was time to assess the situation; do the wheels stay or do they go? It took plenty of getting used to but I think the wheels are looking good. Whether they get to stay forever is another matter. For the time being, they do give the car a new perspective.

Wheel Fetish....again

I have always wondered why women need so many pairs of shoes. Now I know. You can never be satisfied with just a few pairs of shoes. Some days you want something really bling and flashy. On other days, you want something subtle and indiscreet. If only one pair of shoes can fulfil all these requirements, then perhaps, the wheel (I mean, shoe) fetish might stop. I have stopped counting the number of wheels I have tried, only to revert back to the Rays 57S at the end of the day. Where colours are concerned, there's the shadow chrome SSW, black BBS, silver Rays and white Advanti. Where size is concerned, there's the 18" OZ and Magline and the rest are 17". Is there something that have not been tried yet? Probably but good sense has stopped me many times not to cross the line. However, I always knew that there is a wheel out there that will be the last one I will ever fit on the car. Could this Club Raze Club 2 wheel be the one? It is 17 by 7JJ with an offset of 42. The centre spokes are matt bronze in colour and the outer rim is chrome. It has a slightly deep dish of about one inch. Not much but enough to give it an aggressive stance. The multi-spoke design should make the rim look aggressive but because it does not extend all the way to the circumference, it looks subtle instead. It is not a lightweight wheel, around 9 kg but with a design like that, I don't really care. Besides, with the kind of driving I do, weight does not really matter. The design struck me as unique and since I have never tried bronze colored wheels before, might as well give it a shot. Only time will tell how long this wheel will last on the car before I swop them again. In the meantime, looks like the Rays 57S are going to take a break again.

Form and Function

We are all victims of the form and function syndrome. Most of the time, we forego function for the sake of form. Obviously, form gets noticed and becomes a good talking point. Manufacturers of body kits thrive on this syndrome to make their money and people get sucked into making their car look different from others. It is like women and their clothes, shoes, bags, etc. No lady would want to be seen wearing the same dress as another in a party. The men probably do not care too much about clothing but when it comes to their cars, it is an entirely different story. In the quest to be different, therein lies the danger of putting form ahead of function. Adding spoilers, canards, changing the entire bumper, fitting some 'aerodynamic' piece of metal under the car to deflect wind, etc all sound rather normal but when you delve into the technicalities of doing things like that, one must understand that they are taking a big risk. Car manufactures spent a great deal of time and effort to design the car they produce. The final product is a consolidation of both engineering and bodywork blended perfectly to achieve the purpose of the car, whether it is a SUV, MPV, sports car or super car. Many hours resulting in many changes are put into the design before the car is finally put on sale. Which explains why sometimes the final design differs from the conceptual design. The Suzuki Kizashi is a fine example. You would never think the car would turn out this way if you have seen the conceptual model. It turns people off when the final product differs from the concept car and this is where, after-market manufacturers come in. They give you a chance to have your own conceptual car by offering different types of spoilers and body kit.

There is nothing wrong with altering the looks of your car to reflect your personality, creativity or financial status. Take note that some of these after-market body kits cost a lot of money. The important thing is: where do you draw the line and how do you know the line needs to be drawn. Some find out the hard way when they get into a serious accident resulting from some power hike modification. Others realize soon enough that what they think is creative is actually gross when people walk past their car and giggle. Nobody can tell someone when, where and how to draw the line. The responsibility lies solely with the owner. If he likes his car in lime green, a spoiler big enough to sit 4, an air filter that gives better 'breathing' ability, my advice is to leave them alone unless you are the one paying for the parts and modifications. Better not pass judgement lest judgement be passed on you.

As for me, my reference point is a simple one; keep it as stock as possible. Through the years of modifying this and that, I have come to a conclusion that one man cannot match the expertise of many white coats who engineered and design the car. So, as you can see, after a cycle of doing this and that, the car will be restored back to as stock form as possible. I have learnt that modification, unless properly engineered and executed will not match the reliability and efficiency of the stock parts. However, car manufacturers needs to make money and where they can cut corners, they will, so long as safety and dependability is not overly affected. Remember that car manufacturers make their cars for the general public and if you are a motorhead, you will soon realise that some stock parts are simply not good enough for your type or style of driving.

Therefore, before you proceed to do any enhancement, ask yourself what you want out of the car. If the car is for going to the supermarket and back, there is really no need for a turbo charger unless you really need to get there in a hurry. In fact, wouldn't the manufacturer have fitted one in the car if they think the car needs it?

I am in the process of removing parts in the car that was not there in the first place. The LSD is first on the list. I was watching the review of the Swift Sport on Fifth Gear and realized that the car handles very well in stock form. In fact, it seems a lot more fun to drive without the LSD. As time goes by, every non-stock part will come under close scrutiny. The objective now is to identify stock parts that are not up to the mark and replace them with enhanced parts eg. clutch fork, clutch seal, bearings, etc... RRP (www.rsrs.jp/en/index.html) seems to be a company who knows what they are doing. Rather than modify, they enhance.

Here are the latest pictures of Nickie. As you can see, the Rays have gone back on the car. These are reliable and solid wheels. So what if they weigh a bit more than a forged wheel, the point is I can drive confidently to Phuket and back and not worry the wheels will fall apart.