Uphill and Downhill with Tougeking in Cameron Highlands

I was suppose to sit in TK's car today and test out his 11k rpm car, but unfortunately there was no back seat and there was Han as a passenger, so I decided to let go of this chance and hope for a sit the next time. So, cut the crap, here's the video, enjoy!

Uphill



TK's car was definitely fast and with him trailing my car, I was tensed up and was burning up pretty fast. Though I believe, I made a little bit of progress and corrected mistakes I did in the last touge with him. I always get overtaken at the 4:30 minutes, LOL, but I guess thats cause my car is plainly overpowered. Time to get a better car (If I can).

Downhill



Going downhill was pretty stressed too. This was my second time driving downhill. (My first time was exactly 1 year ago with my friend Ronny, but I started from foothill to Kampung Rajah) I was still pretty scared and unsure of the touge route, moreso of the A-pillar blocking my view. But overall, I was pretty happy with the result. I guess I'm getting used to the road soon enough :D Hope to touge again sometime.

Unlucky, Removal, Addition and Cool Factor

This morning, I was invited to go to touge with TK, however, I went into a lot of unfortunate circumstances. I was supposed to head up at around 10:30 PM, when my friend Ronny messaged me he is interested to go up and meet TK as well. I didn't mind waiting, but I was rushed by TK, as he was pretty keen to go uphill at that moment, since he didn't want to be caught up in the long line of jam nor the roadblock. When I was on the way to Simpang Pulai, TK called me up and told me he is going himself. Then, moments later, he told me that he turned back, since there was a road block up ahead Cameron foothill. I was already on the way at that moment. I was previously blocked by a Proton Wira driving at 50km/h on the trunk road, slowing down every traffic. It was so hard to pass the car, as there were so many double-lines, incoming traffic and so forth. Finally, I managed to pass him near Gopeng highway interchange. Whilst I was waiting on the red light, I noticed the Proton Wira driving past the red light, as if nothing happened! God, drivers like these should be banned, since they are more likely to cause an accident to innocent drivers.

Whilst on my way passing the Gopeng toll, I was trying to floor my way on the North South Highway to reach Simpang Pulai as quick as possible. Whilst trying to go up the first hill, there was two lorries, trying to race uphill, with speeds of around 60 km/h. God, it was so frustrating and the traffic in front was braking and going. Damn these lorry drivers are inconsiderate. They won't know if they might cause an accident at the end of the line.

So, I passed them and head up on to Simpang Pulai exit. Whilst exiting, I thought I wanted to tackle that bend on the onramp, before ending up in the toll. Suddenly, I noticed a long queue of cars on the road. I braked in time before hitting anything. Unfortunately, my friend, Ronny, lost control of his car, understeered and hit the barrier. Lucky for him, it was just a dented fender and a slightly broken front lamp. Glad he was OK, I felt pretty bad for him. After coming down and checking if there were any damages in the car, we drove on to the Mcdonalds in Gunung Rapat and met up TK.

TK and Ronny had a long talk, about cars, and Toyota cars of course. Han was present too. They were eagerly awaiting us. I can't blame them, since they waited almost 2 hours today. I felt pretty Pai-seh.

Later on, TK helped me install the UR 2-point tower bar. I took out my old 4-point bar, because it took a lot of engine space and I had no more space for my Oil Catch tank. After doing that, TK decided to re-attach the old GT wing that came out of his TE72. Enjoy the pics. I will post up a follow up video that we went to Cameron highlands for touge.

Suzumiya Haruhi 1.5 Metamo Figurine

I wouldn't expect myself to bump into this figurine again, when the actual unit was sold out very long ago. I tried to pre-order from Play-asia.com, but it was sold out instantly! So yeah, I was browsing around Yik Foong Plaza in Ipoh and I accidentally bumped into this unit. The price was RM40 more expensive than the online order price, but it was not too bad , since it was only 20% more expensive than the suggested price. I was hesitating whether to buy or not, but since it is a limited edition and comes in a limited quantity, I realised I had to buy it and eat more Maggi noodles from now on. Well, the best features about this figurine is that it is able to change colors within a certain temperature. According to the box art, if the figurine is exposed to temperatures of 30C and above, it turns red, however if it is exposed below 16C, it turns black. Pretty nifty huh? My brother owns the Yuki Nagato version (another character in the same anime) and does the same between White (above 30C) and Black (below 30C). Here are some pictures, enjoy

Meeting with TK in his house

I've met up with TK at 9 P.M. today, since I just came back from KL today. I was tagging along, hoping to see a major drag event, but it turned out the people backed off and FFK. We met up one of TK's acquitance, who was driving a Ford Escort with a Ford Cortina engine. The owner seemed pretty keen to race TK's KE70 on drag, but too bad TK was riding with my car. Unfortunately, the Ford owner revved his car hard and then his car broke down, 5 KM's away from the meeting point just now. We decided to kepoh and drive towards Simee to look at the condition. All I know the Ford was pretty run down and he should be glad the drag didn't happened tonight, else he would lose big bucks. So, since there was nothing to do, we decided to drive and had Char Kuey Tiow around Gunung Rapat area. The Char Kuey Tiow wasn't bad at all. It tasted much better than the those in KL, most definitely. The price was reasonable at RM3, with some servings for cockles and eggs. Too bad, we didn't get to touge up Cameron Highlands, else it would be pretty fun.

Truck hit the middle barrier and came tumbling down

This unfortunate truck driver crashed his truck into the middle barrier of the North South Highway during heavy rain, then ricochet and flipped the truck. Poor.guy's truck was a mess and lucky he wasn't hurt. This happened a few cars in front of me. Lucky not to have hit that truck

RACE affair : Disc skimming and dumb accident

Today I spent time in RACE skimming my brake discs, knowing they arent grippy and spongy too. They vibrating violently when I was braking hard along the North South Highway. So I've decided to skim my discs today. Took about 1-2 hours of time to skim and cost RM70 with labour. Get to see the master to do his stuff today. Whilst waiting, I got bored and head out for some late lunch. Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside of the mamak shop. It turns out a stupid Putra owner, powerslide his car and banged into an old Volvo 850. Obviously, the outcome was Proton 0, Volvo 1. Look at the severity of the damage! The Volvo 850 was parked and was one of RACE's customers.

This is the 9th car involved in an accident today. Previously at 11AM, I was passing by LDP and there was an 8 car pile up, along the LDP, in front of the Kelana Jaya LRT station. Thank god I've stopped in time, else I'll be kissing the butt of the Myvi, being the 9th casualty. But overall, I'm lucky to have a miss! So, all good for me :D

Coolermaster X-craft SATA casing with 500GB Western DIgital Caviar Hard drive

Bought this hard drive yesterday in Lowyat plaza, at Cycom computer shop. Originally, I wanted to buy the hard drive from PCZone, since it had the lowest price of RM255. Unfortunately they were out of Coolermaster X-craft casing, so I went to their neighbour, Cycom. Cycom, PCZone and C-zone has one of the lowest prices in Lowyat plaza. So, I decided to buy from them due to low price and good service.

The guy help me assembled my drive and it only costs RM390 (500gb drive = RM260, Coolermaster x-craft case, RM130). Overall, it was a good purchase, since it cost more expensive last month and definitely the cost of computer space has definitely decreased. Good investment. I would buy a 1TB if I had the money, or if the case supported 500GB, but I didn't. Here are the pictures of the drive, casing and computer screenshot.

Repairs, Modifications and Dreaming!

Happening day today, when one of my horns for my Neo did not functioned. I've checked out with the local service center and it costs about RM77 for a pair (No, they don't sell seperately). So knowing about that, I decided to do some scouting and I found a pair of Hella Twin-horns. They are rated at 400hz and 500hz, producing up to 110db. Now thats the kind of loudness I need to scare off the rempits or maybe road-hoggers.

So, I bought the Hella horn's (though I wished I could afford PIAA , which cost RM199!) It cost RM75 with installation. Not all that bad, since the shop, Kakimotor was close to me and I've been such a loyal customer to them. The horns were slightly louder and gives out an unique horn sound, which I guess, it would be sounding like a bimmer trailing at the back of your car, but turns out to be a neo! HAHA

On the side note, made some slight modifications to the back of my Neo. Since I've been active in some touge-runs. I guess I deserved a little bit of creativity, sticking a "touge" Japanese character at the back of my car. That 3 by 3 inch sticker cost me RM5 in Racing art studio, but it was all worth it.

Then I went to Lowyat, where I parked in Sg. Wang parking lot (Since they charge RM3 per hour and thats the amount of time I needed to be there). I was there to scout for a 500GB hard disk and an external hard drive casing.

I parked in Sg. Wang, next to my dream car, the Toyota Altezza. How I wish that the white car was mine, instead of my puny Neo. But alas, the Neo is good in handling, which I'm not sure if the Altezza would be able to best it or not. All I could do now is wait for a good deal and buy it!

Mcdonalds meet up with Scav and boy (TK FFK!)

Well, since TK didn't managed to contact me when I was driving. I called him back, but he didn't pick up my phone either. So I missed the touge run, with his friends. Instead, I drove up to Ipoh meeting those guys. We met up in Kopitiam around Hillcity-LA. I was basically lost and was trying to find my way to TK's workshop, but no luck. Then I got lucky and saw Boy's EG6. What luck, LOL.

Anyhows, I was expecting TK, but he never showed up. He probably got tired and switch of his phone, but I don't blame him since he had a heck of a fun time today. So yeah, it was my first time meeting Scav and Boy's girlfriend, PY. It was short meet, but a meaningful one! Seen Scav's older car collection. I couldn't help but drool over his ex-rides. Now, all I hope is that his ride gets fixed and be on the road again! Good luck, bro

Stupid Perdana V6

There's this black Perdana V6, which number plates WLY3xx, is a dumb-f* idiot, who endangers peoples' lives, by criss-crossing on heavy traffic on North-South Highway. I hope that owner gets damned to hell and thats so much I want to say. And you drive like a serious pussy, get serious! ass

Really really bald brake pads!

This morning, I was worried about the brake conditions and decided to go to RACE for some brake pads purchasing. I realised that driving to Speedworks was rather far and reckless, since theres lots of sudden braking traffic in Federal Highway. So I decided to head to Glenmarie, since the traffic there isn't always bad. RACE quoted me RM170 for a pair of SPS ceramic brake pads, with installation. That isn't too bad, since Speedworks is selling RM140 for a pair (and I hate the very very long wait and super arrogant boss, where some of Speedworks' own worker quit due to pressure). These ceramic brakes seem to be a good buy and it definitely goes well with the slotted disc brakes, compared to my original Min Thye brakepads (Sorry, not Mintex, LOL! and they were Proton's OEM) Another plus point is that, their staff is damn professional and good. I've never experienced such first class service, even the lady working there is knowledgable. Kudos to the manger, for running a great joint for car modification. I strongly recommend their services! I will try and drive hard one day, when the brake pad is properly run in and I'll see if they are any of my money's worth.

Hang-out with Bimmersclub and some Team BC machine members

My buddy, Noell, owns a Proton Waja 1.6 Campro manual sedan. However, he is going to migrate from a FF sedan to a FR sedan, which happens to be a BMW520i E34. Sounds like a pretty awesome ride to me, except I have no money!

I was feeling random, since my Pro-hatch and Kansei buddies were busy, so I thought I hung out with Noell. Noell said he was going to hang out with the Bimmersclub, so I thought of following too! Whilst others went up using Karak Highway towards Gohtong Jaya, Noell (and Alex in his car) decided to use the old route, which happens to be the Batang-kali/Ulu Yam stretch. It was the usual playground, except I wasn't using Toyo Proxes anymore. I'm currently using the Falken Ziex ZE-912. These are just budget tires, but for that price, they are pretty much better than Continental Sport-Contact 1, which suprisingly is the same size per piece!

The tires were smooth, there were hardly any screeching, but I didn't go all out, as I haven't familiarise the tyre settings. The tyres seem to be a bit tail-happy. I had to get used to the car, all over again, as if it became another machine. Overall, they are good tires (for that money)

We reached Gohtong Jaya around midnight. We were there first, then the other members who went thru Karak Highway came as well. We spent time chit-chat, drink tea and eating plates of noodles and vegetables. Whilst chatting, I would not have expected to bump into some of TK's friends, which happens that Andrew003 and Zoggee to be there. It was great seeing them, as I've heard a fair bit from TK's blog. It's finally good to meet these great people!

We finished tea-time around 2.30 PM. We were convoying down, until some of us decided to be naughty, haha. I saw the Z4 run past me, so I thought I followed and played along. The Z4 turns out to be a remarkable car, really fast acceleration and great handling. I was only leading around the 1/4 point after Gohtong Jaya, but I lost my lead in the Karak highway, where the Z4 was faster on acceleration. Although I managed to catch up, -whk-'s machine, a Dinan 328i was able to tail up pretty closely too! Suddenly, my car was spraying huge amounts of sparks and the brakes failed to function. It turns up that I have already finished my brake pads, in the middle of the chase! I decided to drive a bit slower, since I couldn't efficiently brake. Whilst passing by Karak toll, I tried to signal the Z4 and -whk-'s ride, but they must be thinking I'm some random stranger! I was hoping they could maybe help me a bit, maybe by escorting/monitor my way home, for those who lives around Subang/USJ area. But that didn't happened! Oh well. Overall, I was scared and I thought I was going to be a gonna. I'm glad I'm alive though. Imagine 180 km/h without brakes!

The Graduate and the Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider 1600

I recently bought a classic DVD, featuring Dustin Hoffman in his teens  years and debut as an actor. He reminds me a bit of the Dumb and Dumber actor, Jim Carrey. The best thing about this movie is the complexity of romance and relationship, that is found in the DVD. Best of all, I get to hear the roaring sound of a Twin-carb engine, from the Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider 1600. It is because of this movie, Alfa Romeo made a special edition called the Alfa Romeo Graduate Spider. Check out the video below as it provides some cutscenes from the movie.

Iron Man the Movie

I have never read the Iron Man comics before. Obviously, Spider-man, Batman and Superman was more familiar to me. Most of those mentioned superheroes were made into movies, Spider-man was made into 3 movies, Batman has been rebooted lately with Christian Bale, which I think awesomely plays the new Bruce Wayne. Superman was kinda OK, but I totally adored how Kevin Spacey becomes the baddy Lex Luthor.

Its hard to see both superheroes and baddies fit in a movie. Obviously, Robert Downey Jr (which I mistaken him as Edward Norton before) plays Tony Stark, owner of Stark Enterprise, that deals with weapons manufacturing. In short, Obadiah Stane (played by bald Jeff Bridges), is a partner, who tries to dispose of Tony, without him knowing it, by setting up an ambush with a terrorists group named The Ten Rings. During that process, he was hurt with a missle blast and ends up captured. He was relived by Yinsen, another captive by the Ten Rings. Well, the rest is up to you to watch!

Nissan GTR!!! 2 of them!!!

After changing my tyres, I decided to kepoh in the shop on the other end of the road. It seems to be RACE, the famous shop that does the Formworks exhaust and Unichip Q for the Proton Satria Neo. Parked right in front, are a couple of crazy rides, LOL! BMW M6, 2 Nissan GTRS, 1 Nissan Fairlady 350Z, Nissan Skyline GTR R34 track car and a Proton Satria GTi. God, the owner must be super-rich, LOL. But its my first time seeing a Nissan GTR, so I guess it wasn't bad to look at it from far!