kate v3...

This is gonna be a short one. Updates on Kate after her 3rd stage upgrade. :D

Changes made :-

1. Front mounted Intercooler
2. Return Fuel Line
3. Walbro 255LPH Fuel Pump
4. Fuel Regulator
5. Aluminium Piping
6. Remap Tuning with 0.6 boost

Outcome :-

Horsepower - 138.9
Torque - 183NM

Conclusion :-

PRICELESS! :D

kate unleashed!

This has been looong time coming. Got the Kate back after the final mods and tuning almost 3 weeks ago. Been too busy to give a writeup on my baby. Not to mention not much time to drive her around.

First up lets see what the gains are. With a boost of 0.5, the HP is at 109.8 @ 5420rpms on wheel. Not as high as I would like it to be as he managed 125whp with an auto Myvi, but he said it was hard getting the right fuel ratio to match so I won't run too lean. Least its still about 40% improvement or so. How about the torque you say? Well Kate managed to hit 160nm @ 4000rpms. Yup not bad at all. Same thing that crossed my mind. :D

Now numbers are one thing but how is the ride that matters right? Well the day I picked Kate up I couldn't really give her a run. Good ole Murphy's Law kicked in and it was raining cats and dogs. LOL. I finally got to test her out about 2 or 3 days after. Decided to go for a run during my lunch time. ;)

Performance wise I can now feel the pull of the added torque. 1st and 2nd gears don't really give that much of a thrill but 3rd onwards is a real joy. I managed to hit 180kph from 120kph on 5th gear. Previously the car would be struggling to climb in 5th and I would never hit anything past 160kph. As expected there is a lag in 1st and 2nd but that doesn't mean no gains. My old man was the one who commented that its much torquer in 1st and 2nd now. He uses it to hit the sundry shop once in awhile and noticed the difference immediately. Considering hes used to driving his Civic 2.0 I would take that as a compliment. Hehe.

Besides the bolt on turbo. the new suspension is also money well spent. Myvi's stock was stiff and very bouncy while now its as stiff but more secure and doesn't bounce around. The rebound is just about right. Even tried it with 4 heavy adults and it doesn't bottom out. Lowering it to 2 fingers also helps reduce the center of gravity and improve the overall handling. Feel more confident now especially with the added power. Sweeet.

Thats all for now folks. Toodles!

what luck...

Boy what luck I tell ya! As you are aware I was off for a road trip to Cherating over the weekend with Sunshine and Kate. It was Kate's first long drive after the transformation. Everything was perfect till we got back Monday. I had just dropped Sunshine home when my AC seemed dead. Only warm air came out. I found that puzzling and thought maybe it needed some gas.

Didn't think much of it as I was so freakin' tired till I reached towards my home and the damn car was heating up! The needle was all the way to the top. At home I popped the hood and found out the radiator had been drained clean. It was leaking somewhere but all I could think of was how thankful I am that it happened when I was back in Klang Valley.

Imagine it happening while in Pahang or Terengganu?! Who the hell is gonna help me out then? LOL. Now that would have been some serious arseluck! Oh well, Kate is now back at the shop. Turns out a hose clip was loose, so at a certain temp it'll start to leak.

On a plus note is that I told Jeffrey to go ahead and change the suspension and set the boost to 0.5. Will give a better writeup of the gains and ride when I have more time on my hands. Cheerio folks!

turbo kate...

I step into Kate and I see something at the corner of my eye. Anticipation builds. After a month plus I finally got my baby back. Hmmm was it worth the time and money? Then again if it wasn't, least I got a fancy gadget to look at. LOL.

Before I start her uo I head in front and pop the hood. Curious to see the final outcome. Daaamn! After 4 odd years of itching for this I finally have a turbo setup. Beautifully done piping and intercooler all in place. Real fine job by Jeffrey. Nice and clean. A real sight to behold I tell ya. ;)

Now I can't wait to get in and start her up. Before I could ask, Jeffrey says lets go for a spin but alas Murphy's law kicks in. It starts raining cats and dogs. Arrrggghhh. Why does it have to rain on the day I pick Kate up?! Dammit!

Unfazed I started Kate up and went for a spin. Sadly though I wasn't able to test her out. Jeffrey advised that it was only at 0.3 bar as my suspension wasn't safe enuff to boost more. No worries though as I was pushing 103whp. Thats like 30 odd percent increase!

Now am back home waiting patiently. Still raining mad outside. Can't wait for a clear day so I can take Kate out for a proper spin. :D

shes ready...

Guess what folks?! Just got news that Kate is ready to be picked up. Shes all tuned and ready to go. Can't wait I tell ya. If not for work eating up majority of my time I would have gotten her already. Gotta settle for the weekend instead.

Hold on baby, I'll be coming to get ya soon enuff! :D

delay delay...

Arrgggh. Kate has been ready for almost a week now but just cos the dyno is tied up with the multiple drag races over the weekend and the upcoming Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race, they aren't able to tune her. Sigh. No point in me picking her up without tuning as I'll be forced to return to get that done. Dammit.

I miss Kate. :(

transformation updates...

I missed out last week but I promised myself I wouldn't skip this weekend. On Sunday I headed to D'Pro with my mate Remy to check on Kate.

She was looking fine as ever. One thing about D'Pro is that they have a spotless garage. Really makes a difference in my opinion. The car was without any oil stains or marks. Apart from some dust it was like how I left her.

She wasn't really done yet. No intercooler or air intake. Only thing done were the piston kit upgrade as well as the manifold and turbine.

The yummy stainless steel manifold. *droooool*. Can't wait for it to be red hot. :D

Can't really see from this angle but its the turbine. Small IHI RHF 4 ball bearing turbo. Tried to get a good angle but the frame and radiator was in the way.

According to Jeffrey it'll be up and running by Friday. I seriously doubt it but its good news nevertheless as its 1 week faster than planned. He hasn't started the engine yet so hope it runs without any issues. Gotta keep my fingers crossed!

goodies for kate...

I haven't managed to check on Kate. I think now she would have her internals all out laid bare. I wanted to document the whole process and take pictures of every stage but sadly exhaustion got the better of me.

Work is taking its toll and every weekend I just want to bum the time away. Hate looking at the monitor at times cos that is ALL I do 15 hours a day! This weekend isn't any better as I have to provide reports every 3 hours. Arrrgghhh.

On a plus note, I had a nice chill out session with Sunshine at Old Town White Coffee. Yummy coffee and great company! After that we went to Sunway in hopes that Kakimotor will be open. I needed to get some gadgets for Kate before they wrap up the transformation. Thankfully they were and below are the goodies I grabbed. :)

First up an Apexi Auto Timer (black edition). Need this so that my baby can cool down after a run. Being a turbocharged car it the oil temperature can get crazy hot. A decent amount of idle time is needed before shut down so that the hot oil won't choke up the lines. Didn't want to be cheap for this so I got the best timer out there.

Next up was to get a gauge. This isn't something I really need as I'm having a fixed low boost setup but firstly its never too bad to have one, so you know if something is failing and lastly it looks freakin' cool! LOL. Gotta admit at times its nice to have gadgets in the car. Gives a sense of accomplishment as well as excitement.

There are a lot of gauges out there but I settled on the most important which is the Boost Gauge. Didn't really want to plonk down too much on this so I settled for the Taiwan made Auto Gauge. It looks good and it does the job. Now I just gotta figure out where do I place it for security purpose. Last I need is an ass smashing my glass to get hold of it!

Alrighty folks. Thats the lastest update for now. Cheerio...

transformation time...

On Wednesday I received a call from Jeffrey at D'Pro. Their workshop has an opening and they want me to bring Kate in. As posted earlier I have decided to go for a bolt on turbo setup. I know I said it would be done early August but I decided what the heck. Might as well get Kate in now and get her back sooner.

So now am without a ride. Gotta share with my old man which isn't all that bad I guess. Least now I can roll in an 8th Generation Honda Civic. ;)

Will try to get pictures from time to time of the whole transformation process. Still haven't gone out to get the electronics, namely a boost gauge and a turbo timer. Guess I'll do that next weekend when I have some spare time on my hands.

Am missing Kate already. :(

first step...

Ok I have taken the first step. For years I have been dreaming thinking of going turbo, contemplating the cost and pros/cons. Few days ago I finally put pen to paper and scheduled Kate to go in 1st week of August.

The whole transformation is gonna take close to a month. Would be sad not to have a car that whole period. Guess I gotta tough it out till Kate is out. Least it'll be worth the wait. In the meantime I can enjoy my old man's ride. ;)

Am already hearing the blow off valve in my head. LOL. Damn can't wait I tell ya! :D

lightened pulley...

When I changed Kate's disc brakes I also installed another performance upgrade. This time it was a lightened & dampened crank pulley by Mythelogy. It is 595 grams lighter than the original pulley.

Not much gains when it comes to my butt dyno but I would say the throttle is much lighter. Revs climb up much faster even with the AC on which is a reasonable gain. The car also idles at a lower rpm. Can't really comment now on fuel consumption improvements but I don't expect much or any as now my foot is heavier. LOL.

Next up on my mind would be a bolt on turbo upgrade. Hmmm decisions decisions.

new discs...

Like most Perodua MyVi owners, I too suffer from the dreaded warped brake discs issue. Knowing from other owners that claiming warranty doesn't make a difference, I just lived with it while sourcing for an aftermarket alternative.

Almost had the oppurtunity to get a pair of Brembo Max discs unfortunately the group buy didn't fall through. Fortunately I managed to source some slotted brake discs (RM420) for MyVis sold at D'Pro Auto Shoppe. Its not branded but similar in construction to AXT and Brembo.

Haven't really tested em' out as I'm running the disc and pads in first but at least no more juddering from warped discs! :D

kate...

Who is Kate? Well this is loooong overdue. My baby is already 2 years old and I have yet to name her. Time seem to have just flown by. Anyways she finally has a name and its Kate. Now all of the names I picked for my cars have relation to something, be it comics (Betty) or after my dog (Max). This time around its after a character from the TV series Lost.

Just like in the series my baby is sexy, strong, agile and independent. Hehe. This time around its going to be a long term investment. Don't think with the current changes in our automotive policy that I can afford to sell or trade her in the future. So far I've gotten her nice shoes, leathered her up, put in a sweet sound system and gave her a nice growl.

Next up would be some new brake discs, fully adjustable suspension and a nice wax job. Am gonna take real good care of Kate. Then again I always did take care of my cars even if I only had it for a few months. Still my one and only prized asset. =)

new rubbers...

Just got some new rubbers for my baby. Shes going to be 30 thousand kms soon and the tyres are close to running bald. Decided to change it now and grab some trade in value on my current rubbers (Bridgestone Potenza GIII). Woke up early Friday morning and headed down to Klang. Everyone knows its the best place in Klang Valley to get good deals on tyres and rims. I had my mind set on a particular tyre, Michelin Pilot Preceda 2 (PP2).

After roaming around Klang town I manage to find the shop that was recommended by various forums. Before changing was checking out the rims on display but sadly it was too costly to change so decided to just get the tyres. Negotiated with the tauke (owner) and got down to business. After about 30 odd minutes I was good to go.

Been a day now of having the new rubbers and they feel great. My previous ones were rather noisy as it sacrificed comfort for performance plus they were getting hard. The new ones however are a mix of both and boy are they nice. Soft ride with exceptional performance. Haven't tested em' on wet roads yet but from the looks of things I won't be dissappointed. Am very satisfied with my choice. Worth the extra moolah plonked (at least RM50 per tyre).

Now my baby's got nice new threads. My mind is still considering the yummy rims I spotted but think I'll put that plan on hold for now. Way too much money needed plus will be making a loss when discarding my current ones. Oh well, can't have everything right! ;)

scarred baby...:(

Here are pics of the scracthes. Sigh. Poor baby.

someone scratched my baby!!!

Arrgghh. Fucking arsehole!! Someone scratched my car last night in the office. Can you believe it? In the freaking office!! Damn bastard. If you have a problem with me, come see me, don't attack my car bitch.

Sigh. My poor baby. Deep gash on the rear passenger door and the boot. Will post up pics later if I have the mood. Am too sad. Why my car? Why? Sigh.

Update: Looks like I might have the 411 on who did it. Fucking bastard. Hope your car gets into an accident. See how it makes u feel. Watch out bitch!

another audio upgrade...

Ahh got itchy again. Finally bought myself a bigger subwoofer for the car. This time a 12 inch Alpine Type R (picture below). Sadly my amp can only pump 300w into it while the woofer can handle 500w. Now I'm itchy to change my amp to something more powerful. Sigh. Think this will never end la. One after the other. Hopefully I'll be able to sell of my current amp for a decent price and upgrade accordingly.



Am very happy with the outcome though. Much better bass output and it can hit so much lower as well. Not to mention the punch. Damn I wonder whats next. Hmmm. Change my front components to something more musical? Maybe add some rear speakers? Decisions decisions...

new babe in the house...

I've been bugging my old man for years now to change his car. He currently drives a 1997 Peugeot 406 with about 70 odd thousand KMs on it. It was a babe when it came out but as years went by and with all the new cars coming out every other month, it was only obvious for our attention to divert. As he was retired and also does not use the car much, he didn't really want to waste money. I'm not sure how but I guess all the bugging must have worked because he just made a booking for the 2006 Honda Civic 2.0 Sport.

Woo hoo. It'll be ready in maximum 6 months time but expected to be much sooner. We decided on the Pearl Red Habanero (pictured above) which surprisingly is the least liked color. Good in the sense the car will come delivered faster plus there won't be many around. Hehe. Although thats what I thought with my car but before I knew it, the color became the most popular. Sigh. Guess people are reluctant till its seen on the roads.

Now I'm all excited and its not even mine. Can't wait to get the new babe in the house. Think I might just give my old man my car. Its smaller after all and better for him to handle. LOL. Alright I better get back to work. Toodles folks!

my baby got pimped...

Ssup peeps?! As mentioned in a previous post, I got my baby pimped with an audio system recently. The whole setup really blew a hole in my wallet but considering how important music is when I drive, its money well spent. I'm really satisfied with my choices and the overall installation. Due to it still being new I'm still afraid to blast it too much but once I confirm a few things with the installer, I'll let her rip. Plus its still new so gotta let it run it first. Below are some pics of the work. With this I must say that my baby is starting to build her character. Think its time to come up with a name. Any suggestions?

alpine cd player...

front 6.5" components...

4 channel amp and 10" woofer...

overall setup from inside...

audio upgrade...

Finally after months of deliberation, I have finally sent my baby to KKLau (an audio accessory shop in Kelana Jaya) for an ICE (in car entertainment) upgrade. I just couldn't take the stock crap anymore. Shes gonna get herself a pair of components in front, a new cd player, a 4 channel amplifier plus my subwoofer from Betty. Its gonna be a 100% Alpine setup. I'm also doing some sound proofing for the front doors. Would love to soundproof the whole car but its rather expensive. Maybe over time. No hurry.

I'm hoping when I collect my baby tommorrow all will be done without any hiccups. Don't want to be heading back to them numerous times. Can't wait to get her I tell ya. Feel like a kid witha new toy. Will post some pics if possible once done. Wish me luck folks! =)