Flying Colours

One day i suddenly feels that I want to freshen up a bit my engine bay. Since I'm kinda in the mood for DIY session, I've decided to re-paint my valve cover from matte black to red. Remember to sort out the necessary things first, such as sand papers, gasket sealant, new valve cover gasket / plug seal (if needed) and the paint itself. I've painted the cover before (originally it was in silver) and nothing other than paint stripper can do better when it comes to removing paint. After the paint is removed, give it a wash. Sandblast the cover surface to smooth out the old paint that might still sticking Make sure you sand all the corroded spots too. Ensure the cover is free from oil before you set it dry.

Spray a thin layer (or two) of undercoat and don't apply it too much. Choose bright colour or else your paint will look horribly dull (unless that's what you're aftering).

Ok, here comes the important part. You have to let the paint dry. Wait at least about 20 mins each time you apply a layer of paint. It is better if you have a hair-dryer. The heat helps the paint to stick better. Apply a thin layer of paint. Let it dry. Apply another layer. Again, let it dry. I did five layers. Let it dry overnight.

Sandblast the DOHC 16 VALVE wording. Don't forget to sandblast the oil cap fitment area too. You don't want the paint to chirp and fall inside your crankcase. I've decided not to apply clearcoat as I don't want it to look too glossy.

The Sibling; SR16 Neo VVL

The variable valve timing (VVT) war in automotive industries back in 1990's created quite a number of decent engine from different manufacturer with their respective names, designs and claims. Generally VVT split into 3 categories:

• cam phasing (valve timing)
• cam phasing + switching (valve timing and lift)

But despite those variable-names-given, they actually are using more or less the same mechanism. Example; B16A VTEC has 3-lobe camshaft while 4G92 MIVEC had only 2, but cam engagement method for both system are same; oil pressure-triggered.

Nissan introduced this infamous Pulsar VZ-R equipped with Neo VVL SR16 engines; a 1.6L 16-valve 4-banger that rev to 8000rpm and manages to deliver 173 hp (129 kW) and, it came with blue coloured cover rocker. The tri-lobe camshafts design is very similar to the one found in Honda VTEC. One difference is that NEO VVL engages the intake and exhaust cams independently. The intake cam engages somewhere around 5100rpm and the exhaust cam engages at 6500rpm.

From 1997 to 1998, Nissan produced 500 limited edition SR16VE N1 engines which came with the sportier VZ-R N1. They had further upgraded camshafts (high cam duration up from 280 to 288), ported head from factory, increased engine compression, enlarged intake manifold, 8 (yes, eight) injectors and a larger 70 mm throttle body. These engines made a killer 197 hp (147 kW) and tagged with red coloured cover rocker. One thing really caught my intention is, these engines were chain-driven. It's rare to see one especially in a 1.6L Japenese engine which most of it were belt-driven at that time. This minimized the maintainance cost as the chain lifespan is way much longer than belt; period.

SR16 VVL camshafts

Don't Forget the Old Folks

Found it on the net, apparently there's one crazy mofo running 4G92 MIVEC in a rear-wheel'ed 1976 Lancer A72D. The owner claimed it managed to do 13.35 km/L (31.4 mpg), while achieving speeds of 200+ km/h and clocked 0-100 km/h run (2000 rpm launch with slipped clutch) in 7.6 seconds. Beware, in-term of power-to-weight-ratio, this merely 40-years old car probably can smoke a factory-spec CTR (but only in straightline of course).

Lotus Cheap Performance Solution? Campro CPS explained..

After many years of delaying and misadvertising regarding Campro (namely SP4's) engine, our beloved Proton FINALLY came out with the long-awaited valve-lifting engine; Campro CPS. A short brief about CPS which was developed and patented by Lotus Engineering, this engine uses two technologies to achieve the new higher output; camshaft profile switching system which enables a higher valve lift and an electronic VIM (Variable Intake Manifold). A longer intake manifold is used at low RPMs to achieve slower air flow; this promotes better mixing with fuel. The short intake manifold allows more air in faster, which is beneficial at higher RPMs. Variable intake manifold benefits more low-speed torque than high-end power. Therefore it is very useful for saloons, which are heavier and heavier these days. The Siemens-VIM module is built from a durable hard plastic which able to reduce heat soak from the hot engine and light in weight.

The result is 125 horsepower (93kW) at 6,500rpm and 150Nm of torque at 4,500rpm . Since the Campro CPS engine output is higher than the non-CPS Campro, it has an additional water-to-oil cooler near the oil filter placement. It was reported before that Campro has a beyond-normal oil temperature issues if it is driven hard for a while; so an oil cooler is considered as a good add-on from Proton for the CPS. The service center says Proton recommend 10W-30 oil for CPS even though the manual booklet stated the common 20W-50. Are Proton too busy promoting the CPS until they forgot to update their recommended oil specification? Only god knows. Running thick oil in a new engine isn't clever. Tight tolerance engines need thin oil. Please don't say our ambient temperature is hot so we need a thick oil. Death Valley in California is hot, even hotter than our temperature here but nothing 30-weight oil can't handle.

Unfortunately, the vtec-like feature is only on intake side while the exhaust side is still using the conventional camshaft. Compared to the systems in the Japanese models, Proton’s CPS VVT feature is a simpler mechanism without infinite variability; using an obselete 2-step concept, imagine like switch; it either on or off. The effectiveness of the cam-lifting feature is arguable. This is because the serious Campro torque-dip problem was solved solely using the IAFM* module alone (* the vacuum-operated version of VIM). If you compare the power figure for Campro AIFM with Campro CPS, there's not much different in torque delivery, at least, not much to shout about. The only noticeable thing is CPS able to hold the power for much longer and yeilded an extra 15 ponies. Nevertheless, when compared to the base-Campro, the torque distribution from CPS is way better, or at least it look so on the dynosheet. The torque is higher, flatter and stays longer in every rpm range which surely tells that this is a rev-happy engine. It also gained the loss of high end power caused by the AIFM module. I'm not too confident this engine will perform well in Proton's upcoming MPV, the Exora, but it should perform lively in the lighter Satria Neo.

Mind Your Head'er Part 2

My custom made header is giving me such a headache since it hung a bit too low from the ground. Entering basement car park is a nightmare. After numerous scratches and curses, I have decided to get a basic 4-2-1 configuration header, which will give me plenty of ground clearance so I don't have to look like a retard when driving over our non-standardize speed humps.

I hate chromed headers as the decorative layer tend to chip or peel off over time, but yet cant afford for a decent Japanese stainless steel header as they come with a hefty price tag, even for a old rusty used one. To my surprise, the newer batch of Hotbits header for 4G92 is made from stainless steel (but I've no clue what grade they are using). I called Speedwork to quote the price and it was within my budget range. So i went to the Jln 222 PJ branch on that weekend.

Installation took around 1 1/2 hour. One very good tip to remember, make sure you wipe off your finger print on the header before you start the engine. Once the print heated, there's no chance it will come off. You've been warned. After few minutes of spirited run, the header turn into gold'ish colour which really stand out from the crowd of dull black colour all over the engine compartment. The performance of this header is great at low and mid range while my old custom made header was better at high end. Town driving has never been better but a bit out of oomppphhh once the rev is over 7k. I think the 2" collector which is a bit small is quite restrictive for top end power. Nevertheless, in term of performance, price and quality-wise, I think this is a good upgrade. Not the greatest but surely much better compared to the factory manifold.

Deadly Strips

The factory undercarriage sealant serve to protect the metal from rusting and also acted as sound insulator. As this rubber'ish seal aging; detoriated and harden, you may notice louder road/engine noise inside your car. Apart from applying another layer of sealant, the cheaper way is using bitumen strip. Bitumen strip are effective reducing noise, absorbing vibration and sound deadener. The downside of bitumen strips are, they are heavy and once they stick, it's going to be pain in the ass to remove them.

I bought 2 rolls of bitumen strips from a seller in LYN automotive garage sales forum. 1 roll is roughly about 10 meters long and 7.5cm width. Pasting at the spare tire area require less than 1 and half roll. The effect is quite noticeable especially the reduced interior vibration. I plan to stick this thing inside my door and under back seat sometime soon. For you peep who is very concious about putting additional weight into the car, this stuff probably will contribute an extra 3 - 4 kilos. But, if you drive the car as a daily commuter every now and then and wanting to have better driving experience, the additional weight from this bitumen strip is something you can compromise with.

Personal Lubricant

I'm an oil freak. Everytime I went to shopping complexes or hardware stores (let alone the sparepart shops), I will pay a visit to the oil shelf. The price of an average motor oil in Malaysia is ridiculously high; especially synthetics. But if you wander around frequently, you'll be suprise some of good imported stuffs were sold cheaper than our so-called domestic RRP (recommend retail price). Once before Carrefour brought in Europe made Shell Helix Ultra with a pricetag of RM149, which is ard 50 bucks CHEAPER from our local-blended one. How on earth Carrefour manage to do so? With larger bulk quantity and direct order through the manufacturer to cut down the agents or dealer commission. You can imagine how much the dealer make the hell lot of money just by bringing the oil in here and charge addtional 30-40% to the consumer.

By default, 4G92 MIVEC can take any 40-weight oil, be it 0W-40, 5W-40, 10W-40 or 15W-40; either synthetic or conventional will do fine. The thinner 30-weight oil (something like 5W-30 or 10W-30) is preferable if your engine is in mint condition (or after rebuild). If you're losing oil, it means that your seals are overdue for a change or the engine is asking for an overhaul. Remember, putting thicker oil such as 20W-50 might reduce the oil consumption but the problem is still there. It just a temporary solution. Plus, thicker oil is going to rob your engine performance, reduce engine protection during start up and decrease your fuel efficiency.

Keep Silent Please!!

Sometimes you tend to do something stupid even though you already knew the consequences. Take me for an instance, I simply hate an exhaust that can't shut up. I'm ok with bitch-sound-alike at high rpm, but it (the muffler) has to stop moaning at lower rpm. This article was written by me because I; with my stupidity bought this used 2.5" universal HKS muffler at (surprise surprise) Danau Kota late night bazaar. Ironically, there are plenty of mini-halfcut shop around there. They somehow manage to survive and their business seems keep on doing well. It's weird to see sport wheel or self-claimed rare spoiler at the late night market; a place usually people go to buy clothes, cheap g-strings or even fake Adidas shoes.

At first I was a bit hesitate to buy it since I hate loud exhaust but the price and the condition of this muffler was so reasonable and (regrettably) I bought it. I went straight away to the exhaust shop on the next day. The exhaust pipe beside the tank area was cut , put flanges, a decent length of pipe plus shitty welds, it is done. The moment I started the car, I immediately mumbled to myself; "I've told you dickhead, that thing is a moaning bitch!!". It was so loud even at idle. Clearly the Jasma tag on the muffler is some kind of a joke from HKS. Lesson no 1: Don't get tempted with prices so quickly.

The next stupid thing I've done; I manage to sell the HKS muffler for the same price when I first bought it and I've changed to cheap ala-5-Zigen GN+ clone muffler. This piece of crap is even louder than the HKS. The growling exhaust tone make a very iritatating sound vibration and my rear/boot panel keeps on rattling whenever the rev is above 3000rpm. Lesson number 2, don't wash your ass with shit. It still stinks..

Later I bought an used FGK chambered muffler. I've been using this kind of brand before so I'm very confident this time I'm doing the right thing. It was taken from Toyota's 4AGE (but no model was mentioned) with an inner diameter of 2.3". Justifiy from the look, it seems like the muffler is still quite new and I even can wipe off the black carbon stain inside the inner tip easily using tissue papers.

This muffler accompanied with a 2.5" bullet (been using for ard 2 years) is quiet enough and only starts bitching over 4000rpm; very fine to me. Imagine how much money and time I can save if I've think'ed wisely and bought this muffler at the first place instead of those 2 junks. 'Penny-wise and pounds-foolish' the Brits might say.

My Cup of Tea

Credit to : http://www.mirage-performance.com

The Mitsibishi Mirage Cup Cars started racing in Japan as a one make series and for the past few years have been raced in Nurburgring, Malaysia, Dubai and Australia. These cars are lapping Oran Park only 5 seconds slower than the V8 Supercars! Until now, rides in these compact missiles have been reserved for corporate sponsors, competition winners or race car crew only. Each session starts with a briefing in the pit lane, introducing the technical specifications of the Mirage Cup Race Car and explaining the safety aspects pertaining to the ride and how the day will run. Before your ride, you get to try on the custom race overalls and helmets for size. Once you're suited up ready for your hot laps, you will be photographed with the car. With your photo session finished, the engine is fired up. The Mirage Cup car is powered by a MIVEC 1600cc 130kw engine that will rev to 8200 rpm and are capable of topping 200kph. You will be surprised at the speed and manoeuvrability of these Mirages, and once on the track, you will get to experience first hand just what it takes to drive a race car.

The cost of the race car fully prepared is $22,000.00 Aussie Dollars. Details listed below:

1.      Fully Prepared Used Mitsubishi Mirage Race Car Fitted with a 130kw MIVEC
      Production Engine.
2.      Ralliart Supplied/Approved Parts Include:
 a.      Race Programmed Computer
 b.      Close Ratio Competition Gearbox
 c.      Limited Slip Differential
 d.      Evolution IV Brakes & Rotors
 e.      Adjustable Competition Shock Absorbers & Springs
 f.      Competition F.I.A. Approved Roll Cage
 g.      Competition Exhaust System
3.      1 set of Competition PAGID RS4-2 Brake Pads
4.      F.I.A. Approved Window Net
5.      F.I.A. Approved Safety Harness
6.      F.I.A. Approved Fire Extinguisher
7.      4 AUSCAR Alloy Wheels
8.      4 Yokohama A032R 195-55VR15 Control Tyres
9.      F.I.A. Approved Racing Seat
10.     F.I.A. Approved Safety Fuel Cell

Show Me the Number, B16B on the spot

There will be a lot of individual opinions when it comes to "Which is the greatest 1.6L atmo-fed production motor ever" question. Some may say Nissan's SR16 VVL N1, plenty of Mitsi die-hard will say MIVEC and Toyota hardcore fan will bet on their 20-valve 4AGEs. My vote is to the legendary ass-kicking Honda B16B; which came with CTR EK9. Available worldwide (even though it was produced as a JDM; go thank your local junkyard), this masterpiece is a re-work of an already good engine; B16A.

Take note that swapping B16B head into B16A will not make it a Type-R, not even close to it. The internals for B16B were far way better from what the stock B16A is having. Plenty of vital parts right from the top of the cylinder head down to the bottom of the block (which actually is a de-stroke version from Integra's B18CR block) were revised to create this 8400 rpm screamer with an ass-whipping 185ps on the fly. Check out the specification below.
* direct translation
** credit to http://asia.vtec.net/

In order to increase the power output by 15 hp, and the max RPM by 200RPM, the engine goes through many upgrades. It should be noted that the B18C spec.R's cylinder block is used for its endurance.

The translations for the numbered labels in the diagram are:

1. Cylinder Head - Complete port & polish
2. Exhaust Valve Spring - High-lift, dual-layered spring
3. Sparkplug - High-heat-type #7 platinum plug
4. Pistons - High-compression, low-friction, custom pistons
5. Connecting Rod - High-output, high-durability, lightened, custom conrod
6. Engine Stiffener - Aluminum die-cast, high-durability, one-piece type
7. Crankshaft - Full-balancer, 8-weight, high-output, custom crankshaft
8. Inlet Valves - Lightened inlet valves
9. Inlet Valve Springs - High-lift, flat-surfaced, dual-layered spring
10. Camshaft - Wide-angled, high-lift, high-durability camshaft
11. Intake Manifold - High-RPM type.

Engine specifications between 4G92, B16A and B16B.

The camshaft profiles (wild cam) change from 4G92, B16A 160ps to 170ps and finally to B16B are :