Hotbits Coilover

I've been saving for quite some time for this stuff. My initial intention was to get my ride height a bit higher than now. Well, I could get a set of non-short stroked absorber for that which is much cheaper, but at the same time, I also hate high ride height, especially on Satrias. The easiest way is to get a set of coil over. At first I was quite tempted to get those cheap coil over set. But considering that I always have this high expectation behaviour in term of durability, comfort and handling (of course), I've decided to go for this Hotbits coil over. Please be warned, whatever the seller convinced or promised you, this type of suspension is ALWAYS going to be stiffer than the average absorber. I found it's a bit funny when people change to coil over or adjustable (much more common word nowadays) and expect it to perform as good as stock suspension in term of ride comfort.

Installation wouldn't take much time but setting the ride height is a really pain-in-the-ass. My mech took around 3 times to set the height at each corner of the car. Even that, I still think that the ride height at the back was a bit higher than what I wanted. So, back at home, I did it myself. Put swearing and sweating aside, I managed it in 1 hour plus. At first, the comfort level was shockingly terrible. It was so freaking hard la wey. Then, after riding around 300km, the comfort level began to improve. Now, after more than 800km of traveling, the comfort is in acceptable level, well, at least in my book.

7th Year Facelift

To be frank, I'm bored with the same look of the car after owning it for merely 7 years. While Mirage Cyborg R bumper may looks decent, the current price of it is really pain in the ass. Plus, I try not to give an opportunity to those boys in blue to get an extra income from me, if you know what I mean. So, the cheaper option is to get Wira/Satria SE front bumper, together with grill and lip. This bumper isn't an OEM from Proton so the build quality is so-so, but definitely far better than fibre-based bumper that you can find at car accessories shop.

I always had this skeptical feeling when buying thing such like emblem from accessories shop. I always thought that they are selling ripoff item at a cost of arms and legs. For an instance, the front non-genuine emblem from one shop at my place cost RM25 and I found the genuine one at MUCH MUCH cheaper price at Proton Parts. Who said genuine part is always expensive? Must be those taukehs.

I've sprayed the centre grill of the bumper to flat black. It's much a trend nowadays. Eventually, this tend to give fresher fierce look, well, at least in my perspective though. It's hard to have a impressive facelift without churning out hefty amount of money. After sticking a few old newspapers and a few of paint layers, everything is done. Yeah, it does look very common but what the hell. Those so-called rare JDM bumpers also can be found almost everywhere on the road.

Broken Clutch Pump

My gear shift quality was degrading as the car gets older. At first I thought the synchro condition is getting worse but to my finding, it was the leaked clutch pump that make my gear crunches all the time especially when cold. There was no oil left in the resevoir. Shit, I've saw some oil stain at the lower part of the pump and some on the firewall but it never crossed to me that the pump has fucked.. i mean, spoilt. Silly me. And belief it or not, I've never change my clutch oil since swapping to this engine. Pity the pump never get the same pampered attention like the engine gets.

But after taking off the pump, it clearly looked like the pump has already past its' peak for quite some time. The rubber bush has went hard and swelled. Even if I took care the clutch oil, this pump eventually will fail one day, but a bit later I guess. Since it is almost impossible to get a brand new Made In Japan part with reasonable price tag for this car nowadays, an OEM clutch pump from 4G92 Wira will do the trick. Beside, the pump looks exactly the same.

The mech had a hard time to fit the new pump. Later it was discovered that the new pump was for Proton Waja. It seems like the spare part guys when asleep while searching for the pump. Soon after the designated pump arrived, the installation was quite fast. Now, the gear shift is much better. The gear grinding is still there and I'm thinking of using a lighter weight of gear oil. Redline 70W-80 again? Maybe...

When Anime and Oil Collides

As you may know, Japanese always came out with crazy ideas be it a television program, fashion or even, in this case, a girlish motor oil. Featuring 3 underage hot looking chicks wearing short skirts on the label, this Lucky Star Eco Engine Oil came with peach smelling fragrance(!). It came in two grades, either 0W-30 or 5W-40 (which most probably are synthetics) and were tagged at ¥2,520/L. Both are API SM rated. Ok, while the oil spec may look decent, the label on the package failed tremendously. I mean, people may get confused between this oil and kid's shampoo. Some more, it's going to look weird when you see some dude that you know which owned such a bad ass car queuing at the counter to pay for this oil which pretty much look like Sailor-moon kinda-like personal lubricant. This oil might be a direct competitor for the famous Ultraman Oil. As you may know, 3 chicks is always gonna win when competing with a man in tight whitish spandex with blinking light on his chest.

A Little Too Busy

Spark Plug Cable @ Ignition Spark Wire

Ignition wire or spark plug cable is a cable composed of one or more electric conductors and covered by insulation. In short, those wires are nothing other than conductors. Although most new ignition wires will perform the function of conducting coil output to the spark plug, what is important is EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) suppression. All electronic devices can be effected by EMI emitted from ignition wires. As production vehicles age, engine management sensors and wiring deteriorate and become more susceptible to EMI radiating from improperly suppressed ignition wires. To be truly effective, ignition wires need to be EMI suppressed for a reasonable time, while having the ability to maintain good conductance without overloading other ignition system components.

I been using NGK Power Cable for quite some time since it came when I bought the engine. I keep on wondering how old exactly that cables were since I've been using it for 4+ years and I have no idea how long it has served the last owner back in Japan. The trademark blue coloured cables were already turned to black. So when I opted to change those cables, I saw an advert in local car forums selling this new Quadcore 10mm cables for 4G92 MIVEC at a fraction of the price of the new NGK Power Cable. Pardon the name of the new cable. It really reminds me of Intel's Quadcore family processors. It was given that particular name since it has 4 inner core wires. Yea, but still...

When I pull out the NGKs, one of the rubbery boot plug was badly hardened and inside it, a small part of the metal tip was chirped off. A quick inspection later reveals that all the remaining wires were still acceptable in condition. This is one of the reason why big names put big tags on their product. The brand brings quality assurance. The new Quacore cables didn't snugged into the plug hole as perfect fit as the NGKs.The boot plug also look less durable. But these new cables did perform the task well. The car starts on every first crank. Power and fuel consumption did remain the same though.