no name....

if you are also interested in brakes, then you ought to read up on this guy's experience with no-name brakes......

http://www.sg3gwrx.com/index.php?topic=10714.0

What expectation?

I have to get this off my chest..... If not I dun think I can sleep tonight....

So I was driving along Upper Thomson road towards MacRitchie viaduct .....

At the junction of Marymount & Upper Thomson I stopped at the lights behind a car in lane 1..... When the lights went green, we moved off briskly and the front car filtered left in no time....

With the road ahead clear of traffic I did my part to accelerate to the road speed but then I saw something in the mirror ..... Hey what's that?????? A grey car was approaching and FAST!!!! It came nearer and I knew it: a GTR!!!

Now there's no way I can outrun this beast but I can't give way too as there were other vehicles on my left ... Left with no choice I down-shifted, went past the rest and moved to the other lane as quickly as possible before Mount Alvernia.... All without really blocking the beast.... I dun like road hogs and do not want to be one as well.....

GTR right? Surely must be very fast & I was kinda itchy to find out...... So the moment the beast went past I jumped right behind him fully expecting to be torn to shreds but but but when we reached the first bend around Mt Alvernia, he braked mid-corner!!!!!! Oh god I was forced to brake too even though none of us took it fully committed....

Sigh......

Damn..... Sorry for having too high an expectation ... In the end became an anti-climax.....

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Turn here

Seeing is believing as they say....

And before I decide, I must see and touch the kit that may accompany me for years to come.... Not forgetting I am also going to put my life in the hands of these brake calipers & rotors ....

Other than having a kiddish-sounding name, kido brake calipers are well made and confidence-inspiring .....

The anodised finish is thick and even, very smooth and tough.....

Without a side by side comparison, I can't comment on the piston size but they seem adequate for the size of this big 6 piston caliper....

Meanwhile there's also a kit available using used evo 9 brembo calipers, new evo x 350 mm rotors & new mintex brake pads....

Cost? Very very between the 2 ...

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午餐

午餐就是面粉果。

Not that berry...

When blackberry becomes blueberry, the person must be either drunk or hungry.....

But she didn't touch any beer at all and was also fully fed by then....

What happened....

*scratch head*

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different metallurgy......

before i forget, let me tell you that AP road brake calipers are made by casting.....

yeah yeah i must be kinda naive to expect that their lower end kits are using forged calipers......

so maybe i should just cast my eyes at made in taiwan and made in USA big brake kits......

For the max

Earlier in the evening I saw a post in one of the car forums advertising AP brake kits for sale.....

What made the offer tantalising was the price and use of AP brake rotors, brake pads & brake hoses...

$3000 for the 4 piston calipers brake kit...... And that's still cheaper that what unwell is selling with Taiwan brake rotors....

Very very good price if you die die wanna buy AP brakes...

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looking out.....

if u have been following my recent posts, you'll know that i am still in search of a big brake kit for the car.....

and for the past weeks, i'd spent a fair bit of time visiting workshops to find out more in terms of cost and quality......

let me share with you guys my notes, which may come in handy if you are also in the lookout for better brakes......

e'spec (MIT)
4 piston calipers forged
1 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses
brake pads - replacement about S$250
brackets
price about S$1700.....
for 2 pc rotor, add about $500

ats (MIT)
4 piston calipers forged
2 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses
brake pads
brackets
price about S$2800

nashin (MIT)
4 piston calipers forged
1 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses
brake pads - replacement about S$200+
brackets
price about S$1800
for 2 pc rotor, add about S$500
nashin calipers do not have external connecting tubes

jbt (MIT)
4 piston calipers forged
2 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses
brake pads
brackets
price about S$2000

wilwood (USA)
4 piston calipers forged
2 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses - goodridge
brake pads - EBC
brackets
price about S$2400 cash and carry
wilwood FSL calipers do not have external connecting tubes

d1 spec (MIT)
6 piston calipers medium forged
1 pc 320 mm brake rotor
brake pads - replacement about $100+
brackets
price about $1500
d1 spec calipers do not have dust seals

kiddo (MIT)
4 piston calipers forged
2 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses
brake pads
brackets
price about S$1900

AP
4 piston calipers forged
2 pc 330 mm brake rotor
brake hoses
brake pads
brackets
price about S$3700

xyz - not sure
vttr - not sure
wp pro - not sure

pig head....

i read this..... Montezemolo: Our drivers race for the team

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/239812/montezemolo-our-drivers-race-for-the-team/

and i thought.... what a pig......

yes i understand the team's interests ranks ahead of the individuals'....

but then no team is bigger than the sport ..... no team is bigger than RACING..!

CB...!!

Double error

I took out 2 coins: 1 large & 1 medium, ready to pay for a $1.20 drink....

And when the stallholder served the drink, I pushed the coins towards him.... He said $1.20 and then I realised that the large coin is a 50 cents coin ... Of cos I apologised for my mistake.....

There I was enjoying my drink and about 5 mins later, he came back....

And started to give me change...???!! I told him I paid exactly $1.20 ...

He went away looking for the other customer....

Both of us must have been dreaming...

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Against....

The countdown began last year but I tried to push it back as far as I could....

In the end I still have to sign up.... Just for football & espn sports like f1....

Sorry mate...

Chop it....

That Ivy Singh wished for killer-drivers to be hanged.....

Kinda extreme but then I think people who rest their feet on cinema headrests & arm-rests should have their legs chopped off....

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7

No one is at home.... So I fired up 7.1 speakers to watch the race...

Power la haha.....

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Dun touch...

I keep asking myself.....

Can I leave the car alone? As in no improvements and modifications?

Kinda tough when original equipment sucks most of the time....

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Hot stuff

Has anyone been robbed of their iPad yet?

Since demand far exceeds supply, maybe robbers might enter the fray to snatch one or two...

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strictly casual....

u can buy this but never never wear it for work........

if not, your boss and colleagues will never again take you seriously.......

1 week

Maybe I should give myself 1 week to think over if I wanna do something to the brakes..... Is it a matter of want or need? I could end up with buying nothing if I can get my head straight haha...

Since I'd changed to steel brakes lines I can easily complete the package with a set of aftermarket brake pads.... If not a pair of high quality rotors can be an effective upgrade too....

I need some cash to do all these.....

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did you check..???

a few days ago i checked terms and conditions listed in my motor insurance policy ....

and also confirmed with my agent that the vehicle is covered for damages due to flood......

have you checked yours?

 

好美好美

每一次听许茹芸的歌味道都不一样。

每一次都会把我带去梦境里。

好美好美的歌声。人也一样。

A little tune

Here's the best part of a piece of Japanese magic from acoustic revive: it's scarily GOOD!!!!!!

More often that not we are stuck with a listening environment that's not ideal and can only rely on room treatment to save the plot....

Carpets, curtains, foams, diffusor, enhancer, absorber etc you name it...

But this one is different.....

You have to try to believe.... Of cos it's never cheap but the value is doubtless....

24 or 36.....

so what if there's a big range of adjustment for damping.........??? are they really different? or are they all the same?

i'd read a remark recently that someone put made-in-taiwan coilover shock absorbers on a dyno and found that there were no differences between the softest and hardest settings for damping!!!!

yeah in that case, so what there's 24 or even 36 settings.........???

errr i cant verify the story since it's just a posting in a car forum but it could be true .. or it could be a rumour or outright lie....

i cant sat for sure even though my personal experience with these entry level suspension systems, however, tells me they are miles ahead in performance compared to OEM shocks and springs.......

maybe i should fiddle with the settings to find out if my butt is sensitive enough or that it's just hot air.......

too much and too little....

if you try to drink in 2 hours what you usually do in 1 month, what do you think will happen? well 99.9% of the times you will fall sick.....

similarly when there's so much rain in that short period of time, flood is what we get......

can we just build more and bigger drains to deal with the problem..??? but there's only so much space we can allocate for drains and canals right.................

as the weather becomes more extreme, our lives will change....... to be wetter and wetter in months to come.....

i cant imagine if one's mega power amplifiers and loudspeakers are submerged in muddy water.....

take care.......
 

Only one!!!

After I got to know the price, I decided to get a pair to try.... Just to get a feel of how these specially treated silk fibres improve the sound...

When I was about to pay for it, I realised that the price is for a single piece not a pair!!! We had a good laugh about this... Apparently I wasn't the first one to be mistaken & I certainly won't be the last....

Oh gosh that's not going to cut it... Too expensive!!!!

I'd rather get something else...

Ouch ouch....

Inch up....

Subject: Inch up....

Maybe it's time for Singapore to build houses on stilts again.....

Have you seen old houses around Mountbatten & Katong area? Yes, they were built that way as the sea was nearby...

Since the island tends to flood whenever a storm comes about, we have to raise the floor by at least 100 cm.... And dun forget to do something for your car ok?

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One or two?

I spoke to the guy who deals with wilwood brakes... And after that the equation became less certain ..

The choice in question is to either choose a 1 pc or 2 pc brake rotor and each comes with its inherent pros & cons....

1 pc rotor
Durable & reliable
Less susceptible to warping
Made in Taiwan

2 pc rotor
Needs care & effort to bed in for optimal performance & longevity
Made in USA
Additional $300 to the kit price

Hmmmmmm........ More headache...

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kimchi rubber...

even though my attention has shifted from tyres to brake kits, i have not given up on selecting my choice for the next change..... which is perhaps 10,000 km later from now.....

at the CATS carnival last week, the hankook v12 was priced at about 190 for 225/45-18..... and that made me wonder about the korean competition......

so today was at paya ubi to check out the cheaper brand of kimchi rubber i.e. kumho...... in comparison, hankook seems to have a better reputation but also correspondingly higher prices.....

if what the shopkeeper had said is true, then kumho must be a hell of a bargain...... cos it's cheaper than made in indonesia tyres.....!!!

errr..... 150 sing dollars for a pc of 225/45-18..??? is that believable???? maybe....

caveat is: need to check stock with local agent......

Tax u babe

When you see the envelope you'll know it's time to..... PAY ROAD TAX!!!!!

Too good

Blame me for being cynical but I can't help worry when the government of the day is releasing good news after good news: Tourist arrivals & spending, economic outlook and so on...... Which I believe simply points to a impending general election....

While most Singaporeans seem to have a short memory span when it comes to elections, there will always be a group that never forgets.....

All the new good news in the world can never wipe away the bitterness ....

We have seen waves of change in recent years from Malaysia to Japan to Taiwan .... Will there be a significant change to the political landscape here? Will voters here want change for the sake of change?

Well I know what I want but you should always decide for yourself .... Never let someone else tell you what to do, be it scholar, elite, coffeeshop uncles, cab drivers etc...

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going for broke....

a few days ago i met an ex-colleague while browsing at a car accessories store in paya ubi.......  and we spent the rest of the evening catching up.....

from the time i knew him, he's been quite the same i.e. always tinkering with his car....... with bodykits, alloy wheels, dashboard furs, crystals, knobs etc......

this time round he's kinda going for broke......... so what did he do...??

let's recap his job list for the car, a toyota mark X

a.        19 wheels with 245/35-19 eagle LS2000.........  

b.        tanabe coilover suspension (lowered to 1 finger spacing)

c.         VTTR 6-piston calipers BBK

d.        camber kit and rocker arms front and rear

after knowing that he was using 19 inch wheels, i had to know how much he paid for tyres.......

so i asked him a few questions:

Q: what tyres are you using?        A: eagle f1....

Q: f1 v-groove or asymm?        A: non-v groove         so i assumed it was the eagle f1 asymm. non-groove right????

Q: how much?                        A: 330 a pc                so cheap? how can that be? i remember that the f1 asymm is already about 330 - 350 for 225/45/18........

in the end, i went to take a look at his car...... and then i realised it's eagle ls2000, not the eagle f1 asymm.............

anyway his car was in the workshop to install front and rear camber kits....... off came the wheels and only then did i know that suspension system for the mark X is soooooooo complicated: comes with multiple arms and linkages.....!!

i dun think it's wise to lower the car THAT much until camber kits are required to compensate the negative camber........... eventually the costs are too much to handle.... imagine coilover about $1500, camber kits $700++ front and rear each.......

OUCH..!!!!!!!!!!!

 

eat this..!

after searching through the made in taiwan options, here's the american choice: wilwood.....

how? how? how?

go for it..???

or should i just ride through the "i want it so much" stage where all of us go through when the urge to buy is there.....

hmmmm

american?

consider the choices.....

top-end taiwanese big brake kits - about $2600

entry level taiwanese big brake ktis - about $1500

entry level american big brake kits - about $2100

and which will you choose.....????

is being american a mark of quality................ or should i trust the taiwanese to make good?
 

a little bit of humility......

a little humility goes a longgggg way ..... as Mr Piyush Gupta has done, when it's time to apologise, do it.... and do it humbly and sincerely......

for that i respect him..... compare with that parrot hair female CEO: she's a PR disaster......

Potion

Everyone has their favourite CD cleaning & treatment solution and mine has remained the same for over 2 decades....

I am not even sure if it's still in production..... And guess what? It's only my 2nd bottle....

FINYL that is....

itchy list....

i love to daydream occasionally.... and on a monday still bruised from late night football, this is a perfect time to snooze.......

during daydreaming, i managed to draw up an itchy list.....

a.        new tyres maybe 235/40-18 for a better fit ........ for more grip.....

b.        big brake kit for the car, 6 pot calipers for the front and 2 pot calipers for the rear...... for better braking and look

c.        HKS or Fuji exhaust muffler.... for the look and sound....

d.        carbon fiber bonnet...... to cut weight

e.        engine flash mod.......... for more power

f.        sports bucket seats......... for comfort and less body roll.....
 

nice to see not so nice to have.....

sometimes a seemingly good deal may give you a real headache in the long run.......

and so the new KIA soul comes with 18 inch wheels and tyres as standard...... nice to behold but when the time comes for replacing tyres, the costs might just wipe the smile off the faces of car owners....... so just be prepared.....
 

BB

I was checking out nashin 4 pot monoblock brake calipers for the car....

Even though they are made in Formosa, they look pretty good & impressive .... Thick, tough & almost bullet proof in built....

$1400 for a complete set of calipers, 330 mm brake discs, brake pads, brackets & brake lines....

Other sweet offers include the hankook v12 225/45-18 at $190 a pc....

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rubber update 2.....

have you heard of GT Radial...???

maybe you have seen the full-size car decals on cabs or you did not.....

but anyway the point is i did not expect it to be made in indonesia..... and the 2nd point is it's amazingly affordable....... even cheaper than what they taiwanese can offer......

of course after all the niceties we only wanna know: is it good enough...???

the only way to find out is to TRY......

not forgetting another budget choice, KUMHO......... but uncle swears at it rather than swears by it...... hmmmmmmm

Rubber update...

Toyo T1R $275 for 225/45-18
Toyo T1R $285 for 225/40-18
Dunlop DZ101 $220 for 225/45-18
Federal 595 evo $185 for 225/40-18

How?

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watching you......

there are camcorders of many shapes and sizes......

at the top end of the market are the feature-packed full HD video recorders ......

while there are numerous mass market offerings from china / taiwan / hong kong that are as interesting in their own ways.....

unique features that make them suitable to be mounted permanently in a car are

motion detection (great for catching vandals..... and maybe even cats who like to lie on car bonnets??)

wide angle capability

HD recording quality (at least 720p)

long recording capability (using SD card)

easy mounting with suction cup

internal battery with USB charging

loop recording....

we should all get one....... just in case someone knocks into you and then denies responsibility.....

No size?

Visited a tyre shop...

Alas! There is no 225/45-18 size for federal 595 evo... Moreover the shop guy said the wet grip for the evo is not better than the ss.... I guess I have to give the 595 evo a miss then....

When asked about the asymmetric rpm, his answer was so hilarious!! He said, "rpm? I have not sold any." Ha what a reassuring endorsement ....!

Hmmmm....

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current list....

at the moment, these are the choices in the running.....

federal 595 evo

federal 595 rpm

toyo t1r

once i get the relevant prices and feedback on dry & wet performance, i will decide .....

another one

here's another bigwig kuku that does not know how to say sorry....

DAMN you DBS....

regret is not sorry ........

your mistake? just accept it...... from yesterday till today, there's not even a proper apology......

KUKU..... KUKU
 

Full throttle

I didn't realise that things can get so serious. When my colleague bought a deepsea recently, I thought he will end things with another rolex timepiece for his wife ....

Imagine my surprise when he said he's thinking of going all the way to get a Patek, not for himself but his wife ... Not only is he moving up from rolex, he's also prepared to spend 20 big ones this time....

Hmmmmmm....

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Buy la

I was telling uncle Lee, buy la.... 2999 for 46-inch full HD LCD tv...

Force drive

One of the ways to achieve better vehicle emissions is, surprisingly, through turbo charging ..... And we can all see the ang mo cars going this route....

Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes Benz etc are doing it whether it's for big or small engines.... From a 1.2 litre engine onwards to their flagship models....

When is the Japanese response to this big challenge?

I can't wait to see....

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More weak minds...

Concede and knees grow weak?

It happened again and even the samba kings are not immune....

When things dun go according to plan, there seemed nothing was left in the pocket..... They simply fell flat on their faces

Anyway it's extremely gratifying to see them packed off...

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make up....

as predicted, the great romanian ex-diplomat will be put in trial in his own country..... there was never a chance he will return to singapore.....

so what is going to happen.......?

best case scenario: he is found guilty and receives the maximum sentence.....

possible outcome: he is found guilty and receives a nominal sentence...

conspiracy theory: he is found "dead" in prison..... then receives a new identity and get a new life...... case closed.

what do you think.......????

Higher but faster

For the past few days, I met this same Audi Q5 on the way to work.....

He probably stays within the vicinity but it was only recently I begun to notice this SUV... All because on the 2 occasions I was behind him, he tried to shake me off.... He managed to do that comfortably on the straight as there are 2 big road humps on this section .... I had no choice but to go dead slow over the humps; a SUV can just drive over it....

By the time I caught him at the entry into ECP the fun was all gone..... Even though I managed to close the gap...

Anyway god is fair.... And finally there was once he had to follow me!.... He stuck close to me over the humps and I allowed him to go completely over the last one before I stepped on the gas... I must be fair to him right? Then I made sure he stood no chance when we turned into the slip road.....

I hope to meet him again and see what he's going to do next....

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