Color : Black, White
Material : Cotton
No side stitch
No side stitch
Size : S, M, L, XL
Price : RM30
ADDITIONAL RM5 POSLAJU WITHIN WM
ADDITIONAL RM10 WITHIN EM
ADDITIONAL RM10 WITHIN EM
Tuesday 13 August 2013
Monday 12 August 2013
Monday 29 July 2013
B-SERIES MUGEN POWER T-Shirt
Color : Black, White
Material : Cotton
No side stitch
No side stitch
Size : S, M, L
Price : RM30
ADDITIONAL RM5 POSLAJU WITHIN WM
ADDITIONAL RM10 WITHIN EM
ADDITIONAL RM10 WITHIN EM
Thursday 11 July 2013
LEGENDARY: SPOON SPORTS SUPER TAIKYU EK9
LEGENDARY: SPOON SPORTS SUPER TAIKYU EK9
As a Speedhunter it’s quite literally our job to go around and stare at mind blowing cars day after day, a very tough job no doubt. I won’t bore you with tales of becoming increasingly unsatisfied with cars, but I will say that when I visited TYPE ONE last month I was expecting to see the same kind of stuff that I usually encounter (nevertheless incredible in its own right), but this year I was taken back to see an EK hatchback on the rack!
While Spoon has certainly become a very serious force to be reckoned with in the tuning industry, it’s the iconic ’90s hatchbacks of yesteryear that I and many others treasure dearly that boosted them into super stardom. In recent times it has seemed like Spoon had completely lost interest in the Civic and Integra chassis from Honda’s golden era.
Hell there were even times when it seemed uncertain that Spoon was even going to stay dedicated to Honda when they began their campaign of Rigid Collars available for cars. So when I walked into TYPE ONE and saw this beautifully prepped example it was truly heart warming.
Seeing how passionate Ichishima-san was about the project also had a real impact on me about the brand and my previous premonitions about their seeming shift in focus. It’s become clear to me now that Spoon is just as excited by the older chassis as its fanatics around the world are.
Here we see Ichi getting a good look at the progress of the build and giving future work orders to two of his employees while Dino looks on. Even though it’s not a monster GT-R, I’m pretty sure that Dino likes what he sees…
I don’t care who you are, a Spoon brake kit is dead sexy! From the underside of the car you can really start to appreciate the amount of work that has been done to get this chassis up to competition spec. Any other guys out there that are serious FF Honda heads will also notice the rolled and tack-welded upper fender seam – a must for track cars. Also, take note of the air jacks…
There are two in the front and one more in the back to get the car up in the air quickly during a pit stop. The car also uses proper welded tow hooks instead of the lightweight aluminum pieces Spoon Sports sells… sorry fan boys!
Many of the suspension components have remained standard, most likely as part of the rules stipulation for the ST-4 class in Super Taikyu which the car is being built for. However, certain optional factory components like Civic Type-R N1 crank pulley which lacks a groove for the A/C and P/S belts are allowed.
The main modification to the footwork is a set of Spoon’s sport damper system. Spoon has pretty deep connections within Honda’s parts bins which extends to many of the OEM suppliers who in turn also make Spoon’s components; in this case Showa dampers and Nissin calipers. It’s the little details like this that keep Spoon one level above most aftermarket brands.
Around back I found a very interesting rear sway bar reinforcement bracket. It’s common these days for people to use a piece of billet that runs the entire length of the subframe from which you can mount the swaybar, but I would presume this little section is about as far as the rulebook will let you deviate from the standard fitment.
Overall, the entire underbelly of the car is lightly modified but restored to perfection. My god how I wish that the bottom of my EK looked like that! The exhaust system is one of the more loosely regulated items in the S-Tai rulebook, so that sucker shoots out straight as an arrow…
To the rear where it has a single bend to kick up over the control arm before terminating out of the rear bumper sans muffler. Although I didn’t hear it fire up, I can assure you this slip-fit exhaust is extremely loud and raspy, just the way a B-series should be!
The outside of the car follows suit in a very similar fashion, with a few small components changed out from stock. Here we see an extremely rare EC-Works type C mirror, only diehard JDM nuts will recognize these. Perhaps a little strange that they didn’t use one of their own Spoon mirrors, but very cool all the same. The little circular lens affixed to the mirror is for the infrared receiver for the on-board lap timing unit.
Another legendary Spoon piece that seems to have gone missing is the iconic duckbill rear spoiler, but this time around I’d suspect that’s more of a rules and regulations issue. Since the ST-4 class requires the cars to carry a very close shape to the factory vehicle I’d bet that a major aerodynamic component like a rear wing change is forbidden.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t tune it! Ironically, this wing belongs to a lower-end EK4 model rather than the Type-R, so technically it isn’t “stock” but I’m sure Spoon has their reason for using it. TYPE ONE applied their motto of “we know the meaning of light weight” to the rear wing by cutting out the underside and removing the third brake light and all the other plastic bits, leaving a clean metal shell. Pretty clever eh?
Of course a fuel cell isn’t only an allowed modification for endurance racing, but is actually a requirement. The more fuel you can carry on board, the less you have to refuel and that adds up to precious time on the circuit.
Ensuring proper fuel feed is also critical as starvation can damage an engine quickly. Therefore it’s not uncommon to see clever surge tanks and other failsafe techniques applied to cars like this.
The cockpit is pretty stripped down, as you’d expect of a race car. Yet again, another holy grail amongst Spoon collectors – the ultra fancy blue-faced, green-needled EK cluster – is missing. In its place is a no-fuss digital readout which is capable of quickly and reliably displaying any parameters the driver might need. At least the Spoon steering wheel is there!
There’s also a very lightweight Spoon Sports carbon-Kevlar bucket seat installed which should add some saving grace amongst Spoon fanatics. Those with a very keen eye will have noticed the roll-up windows which was a feature on not common on the Type-R and found only on the N1 base model, a car sold by Honda as a more complete version of a body-in-white for racing.
If you’ve been taking notes on the car thus far, you’re probably not surprised to see that the engine compartment is also fairly tame.
Spoon has long been criticized for selling parts that don’t make gobs of power, like the Kevlar intake elbow seen here. But the reason for this part is because that’s about the only section of the induction system that the Super Taikyu rules allow you to change, and any improvement – even a very small one – is worth investigating in Spoon’s eyes.
One of the things I was most intrigued about was the full length radiator with a funky double-waterneck. When I asked Ichi about this I expected he’d say it had something to do with cavitation, but apparently they’ve built the radiator in a way that it effectively has two separate banks and they can only use one half of the radiator at colder events. What a trip.
So there you have it (Spoon) sports fans, a completely new build on an old favorite from one of Honda’s best known tuners. Not a bad way to start your FF mini theme wouldn’t you say?
Credit to Speed Hunters
Monday 1 April 2013
97 OR 95 OCTANE PETROL FOR MY CAR?
97 or 95 Octane Petrol for My Car?
With today’s high petrol prices, every increase even if it is small can affect your monthly running cost and this is more critical if you drive around more often than others. Petrol companies usually offer various blends of petrol with octane levels ranging from 95 to 97 and even designer types such as the Shell V-Power. With the pricing of petrol for 95 and 98 differing by about 90 cents a litre, every full tank you fill up with 95 petrol can save you from RM39.60 depending on the size of your petrol tank (Perodua Viva fuel tank capacity 36 litres). By pumping 95 petrol instead of 97 petrol, if you save an average of RM39.60 per tank and you need to fill up 4 times a month, it works out to RM158.4 per month and RM1900 per year. But, is it necessary to use 97 petrol on your family saloon?
Petrol companies are offering various blends of octane levels to cater to customer demands. Some models with high performance engines, higher compression engines as well as turbocharged engines boosted to higher than factory levels need higher octane petrol in order to stave off engine detonation, knocking or pinking. Engine detonation occurs when the air/fuel mixture burns in an uncontrolled manner. Small uncontrolled explosions in the combustion chamber can gradually cause small dents in the piston and cylinder head that will eventually lead to a complete fracture. Some detonation can be heard especially when you move off from a standstill in second gear. It is the prolonged detonation that will cause the damage to the engine that most drivers fear. While the octane level of petrol can cause engine detonation, other factors such as high engine compression, advanced ignition timing map, too rich or too lean air/fuel mixture, air intake temperature and higher turbo/ supercharger boost pressure can influence its occurrence.
The octane number of a petrol measures its anti-knock quality or resistance to detonation. A 97 octane petrol is more resistant to knocking than 95 petrol. Petrol octane level is measured in RON Research Octane Number and is determined by testing it in a standardized laboratory multi-compression single cylinder engine.
Most car manufacturers specify the minimum petrol octane requirement for their cars and usually factor some safety leeway in their engines. This means that even if a batch of petrol falls to 94 or 93 RON, it will not affect the lifespan of the engine. Generally, most cars and even some turbo or supercharged cars can live with 95 octane petrol. As many of the cars sold in are automatic ones, the slower take-up of the automatic transmission puts less load on the engine and staves off engine detonation. In cars with manual transmission, unless you accelerate very hard, running on 95 RON petrol is very, very safe. Generally, most normal saloons will not benefit from running higher octane petrol unless the EFI Electronic Fuel Injection system has been reprogrammed to make full use of it through advanced ignition timing.
Drivers wanting to try out 95 RON petrol should check the car owner’s manual for the recommended RON requirement and if testing for fuel consumption, fill up your tank at least three times before making a judgment as the fuel injection system of an engine needs some time to readjust itself to the petrol. To determine your fuel consumption accurately, use your trip meter and divide the distance traveled with the number of litres filled up than you will get km/litre. Never use the fuel tank level as a guide as this can be very inaccurate.
In conclusion, most drivers can save money every month just by filling up with 95 RON petrol without affecting the lifespan of your engine. If drivers still insists on 97 RON petrol even if they don’t really need it, oil companies are not going to complain if you want to spend more money at the pumps. Well for myself, I am saving money every month on my manual turbocharged by pumping 95 RON petrol even though I am heavy footed on the throttle.
Credit to Auto Consultants
Tuesday 12 March 2013
RALLY OF KEDAH 2013
RALLY OF KEDAH 2013
0800hrs Rally Headquarters Open TBA
0800hrs Administrative Checks
Road Books issued
Reconnaissance Registration commences
Scrutineering Schedule Published
1000hrs Reconnaissance As per Schedule
1530hrs Pre-event Scrutineering Stadium Darulaman
1900hrs First Stewards’ Meeting Rally HQ
1900hrs Pre-start Park open Jalan Tunku Ibrahim Kota Setar
1945hrs Drivers’ Autograph Session
2000hrs Start list for Ceremonial Start & Leg 1 Published
2030hrs Flag-off Ceremony
Fri 15 Mar
0900hrs Start Leg 1 Stadium Darulaman
1830hrs End of Leg 1 & Parc Ferme
2000hrs Partial Unofficial Classification for Leg 1 published Rally HQ
2030hrs Start list for Leg 2 published
Sat 16 Mar
0800hrs Start Leg 2 Stadium Darulaman
1630hrs Podium Finish Ceremony
1645hrs Post Event Scrutineering Commences
1830hrs Provisional Final Classification published Rally HQ
1900hrs Official Final Classification Published
1930hrs Rally Headquarters Closes
1930hrs All cars to be removed from Parc Ferme Stadium Darulaman
2000hrs Prize Giving Dinner & Presentation TBA
RALLY PROGRAMME
Thurs 14 Mar 0800hrs Rally Headquarters Open TBA
0800hrs Administrative Checks
Road Books issued
Reconnaissance Registration commences
Scrutineering Schedule Published
1000hrs Reconnaissance As per Schedule
1530hrs Pre-event Scrutineering Stadium Darulaman
1900hrs First Stewards’ Meeting Rally HQ
1900hrs Pre-start Park open Jalan Tunku Ibrahim Kota Setar
1945hrs Drivers’ Autograph Session
2000hrs Start list for Ceremonial Start & Leg 1 Published
2030hrs Flag-off Ceremony
Fri 15 Mar
0900hrs Start Leg 1 Stadium Darulaman
1830hrs End of Leg 1 & Parc Ferme
2000hrs Partial Unofficial Classification for Leg 1 published Rally HQ
2030hrs Start list for Leg 2 published
Sat 16 Mar
0800hrs Start Leg 2 Stadium Darulaman
1630hrs Podium Finish Ceremony
1645hrs Post Event Scrutineering Commences
1830hrs Provisional Final Classification published Rally HQ
1900hrs Official Final Classification Published
1930hrs Rally Headquarters Closes
1930hrs All cars to be removed from Parc Ferme Stadium Darulaman
2000hrs Prize Giving Dinner & Presentation TBA
Friday 8 March 2013
Wednesday 27 February 2013
Sunday 17 February 2013
HEADLIGHT RESTORATION PROCESS
HEADLIGHT RESTORATION PROCESS
We’ve all seen car headlights that have turned into a foggy haze. Not only does it look bad, but it’s also unsafe because it can’t produce as much light. Sure you could buy a new headlight, but for modern cars you can plan on paying a couple hundred dollars for a replacement.
I’m going to take you through a few simple steps to restore a headlight. Depending on the condition, you can probably get it back to 90+% of new.
This example had some pretty serious damage to it. I could tell that it had been hit by something as it had pretty deep gouges all across the light. Given the condition, I knew I was going for “better” as opposed to like-new.
For this condition, you’re going to need at least several steps of wetsanding followed by several steps of machine polishing. You also want to tape all around the headlight to protect any seals/trim as well as painted finishes. If the lens has only a mild haze to it, then you should be able to clean it up with just the polishing steps without having to wetsand.
Here I am starting with 1500 grit sandpaper. I started off just like I would with any wetsanding project…go in one direction first, and then alternate directions as you move up through the different levels of paper (cross hatching). Here I started with horizontal passes. I know, I know…my tape job was less than stellar on this one!
Next I stepped up to 2000 grit sandpaper, and I switched to vertical passes:
After about 4 different grits of paper, I switched to the polishing machine with your normal commercial polish to take out the sanding haze and to polish out the finish.
Once again…before:
After:
Since this light was hit with some force, it had micro-fractures all through the lens that was well below the surface and obviously couldn’t be corrected. When it was done, it looked probably 75%-80% of a new one.
One thing to remember is that headlights typically get to this point after they’ve lost their UV protection (some are/were made better than others). Once you polish it out, you’ll need to give it a light polish every now and then to prevent the haziness from returning. This simple maintenance step can even be done by hand.
Don’t be afraid to give it a try. It’s quick, it’s simple, and it can make a big difference in the overall look of the vehicle!
Credit to detailedimage.com
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