DILYSI #18: Frasiers Hill

Pic 1: The group setting off - Dinesh right at my rear. Note DARK skies.

After a long hiatus on the DILYSI sessions and doing a recce trip 2 weeks back, DILYSI #18 took place last weekend to none other than Frasiers Hill. I have had many sessions to Frasiers Hill in the ER34 and before that in my Proton Perdana V6. I really love the route and what it has to offer in terms of driving enjoyment.

What is different in DILYSI #18 was the weather. This is by far the worst ever weather I have had going up Frasiers Hill. It was raining pretty heavily thus the roads were drenched! To add more drama, as we get closer to The Gap, the roads were littered heavily with leaves and tree branches. Add a couple of fallen tress and landslides, it really does gets very unnerving.

And I was driving a little bit faster than I should in these sort of conditions. Not a really wise thing to do I must say. All the seven of us (2 ER34, 1 BCNR33, 1 BNR32, 1 ECR33 and 2 A31) would probably be finding it a bit of a handful to drive hard as we got nearer to Frasiers Hill, and as the weather worsens.

There's some incidents enroute and the drive was cut short. We didn't even make it to The Gap. We were probably 5 km away to that. Oh well, as long as everyone is ok. Not sure when will the next DILYSI be .......... somehow I think I might want to retire from driving my ER34 like I've just stolen it and my life is worth half a penny.

Pic 2: Turning in after Ulu Yam town


Pic 3: This is how bad the condition is. Rain, wet roads and loads of leaves


Pic 4: Turning back as a fallen tree have blocked the road


Pic 5: The group just hanging around


Pic 6: EJ's ER34, Temujin's BNR32 and Wai Chun's A31


Pic 7: Loki's BCNR33 and Alvin's ER34


Pic 8: Feez's ECR33 and Temujin's BNR32


Pic 9: A monkey enjoying its meal


Pic 11: Inquisitive fellow this one

DILYSI #17: Frasiers Hill, the recce

Pic 1: The ER34 at its fave playing ground

Unbelievable but my last trip to Frasiers Hill was exactly two years ago! And the last Drive It Like You Stole It (DILYSI) was one year ago! Oh man, looks like I have been in hibernation for way too long. I still love driving on touge (mountain roads) but it's just that family commitment (and age!) kind of somewhat deters that from happening for quite a bit. Or maybe I'm just plain lazy!

I've been telling myself to do a recce trip early this year. Somehow, I never get to do that until last weekend when my touge buddy Alvin pesters me that it's about time we revisit our old favourite playing ground. Plus he has just converted to manual transmission on his ER34 so I guess it's also a shakedown run for him. We were joined by Bhagwan who decided to have a cruise most of the way. He came with a leaky radiator and a huge unsecured boom box in the trunk. Hahaha

It's mostly a recce trip to check on the road condition and also if there's any changes to the routes. I'm pretty happy to report that things were almost just like before except some parts of the roads now are better BUT it's still the good old road surface mixture that we love. Smooth roads dotted with some that have ruts on 'em. Some damp stretches, wet leaves and sand on some parts, dips and undulations and not to mention, low overhanging tree branches that scrapped Alvin's car. LOL

What changed a lot was up in Frasiers Hill. Old buildings were refurbished and gone were the mamak stall that we used to hang out a long time ago. The tiny little coffee shop that we used to have breakfast was also gone and supposedly moved up the road. We went to this new food court sort of building where we had breakfast. Yummy burgers were available and so were great Nasi Lemak. Got to try that next time.

Pic 2: Alvin and Bhagwan

With my stage II upgrades, I find that my driving pattern had to change too. I had to keep the engine on higher rpm to so that I have sufficient boost coming out of corners. I tend to row between 2nd and 3rd gears lesser too compared to my previous setup when going towards The Gap.

The best part of this drive besides the great company was that the roads were practically deserted. All the way to The Gap and up to Frasiers, we practically have the whole road to ourselves. I'm driving as if it's a one way street utilizing all the roads on front of me. It was a blast and most definitely won't be too long till we come up here again. :)

Till the next DILYSI.......

Pic 3: Lovely roads ...


Pic 4: ... with lovely bends


Pic 5: Parked at the 'entrance' to Frasier Hill


Pic 6: Alvin's ER34


Pic 7: Waiting for Bhagwan


Pic 8: The three chaps that got nuttin' to do on a Sunday am

DILYSI #16: Genting Highlands

Pic 1: Grouping up

Well theoretically, I shouldn't call this a DILYSI session since I am not the organizer but just an invited participant but for the sake of easy of reference, I'll call it DILYSI anyway.

The route this was from Ulu Yam to Gohtong Jaya and up Genting Highlands. Not my favorite route but it'll do I guess. It has been exactly 11 months since my last DILYSI. Yea man, it has been that long! What the hell .....

Pic 2: Enroute


Pic 3: Grouping up before the drive

Pic 4: Be afraid when this is staring at you from the rear

I would like to focus this entry about my 'feelings' on the ER34 after my Stage II upgrades. The car definitely has more power and torque but I think the original setup is far better suited on the twisties. The turbine now spools later which makes exiting out of tighter corners a real drag as one has to wait for the turbine to spool before you get any action happening.

With so much torque on tap (well more than previously), throttling out of fast corners or long sweepers will see the tail coming out. In fact, the ER34 tail was sure like a happy dog. It kept wagging around coming out of corners. That's on 255mm width tyres! And they're Yokohama AD07s, sort of like your street-legal semi-slicks. What the ......

I had to have the ER34 on low boost throughout the journey to make it more 'easier' to drive. :(

So yeah, it's now much harder to drive on the twisties as throttle modulation is crucial. I must admit I got scared shit countless times when the ER34 tails out more than expected.

Back to the drive; after the twisties of Ulu Yam, the group stopped for breakfast in Gohtong Jaya before proceeding up to the Coffee Bean in Genting Highlands. Over there we were greeted by the sight of loads of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus. Some were leaving as we arrived. Superbikers were in full force too. There's just so many of 'em. We were all congregating at the same place. :P

What's surprising is that, upon arriving, we were guided by the local coppers to park by the side of the road right outside Coffee Bean. Very convenient indeed. :)

Allrighty then, check out some of the pictures I took. There are also some videos of the drive. Do enjoy. :)

Video 1: ER34 heading up to Gohtong Jaya


Video 2: ER34 going up Genting Highlands with a FD3S RX-7 and a R35 GT-R

Pic 5: Spot the odd one out


Pic 6: R34 rear end looks huge compared to the Porsches


Pic 7: The Jap pack


Pic 8: Regular readers will find this car looks familiar (it was white previously) :P


Pic 9: Clean FD3S and a wicked looking CBA-R35


Pic 10: Privileged parking up in Genting Highlands :P


Pic 11: Superbikes from BMWs to Kawasaki and KTMs to everything in between


Pic 12: Couldn't keep up with this F430 coming downhill from Genting Highlands


Pic 13: F360 Modena twin stove round lighs


Pic 14: Twin round lights on the CBA-R35, F360 and also F355


Pic 15: This VR38DETT is packing massive power


Pic 16: This FD3S is freaking loud. Straight pipe yo!

How times have changed ...

These set of pictures were taken about 1 ~ 2 months ago by wifey when I was tinkering with some 'toys' on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Yes, instead of helping out with housework I was busy getting my hands all greasy. Chuckles.

Pic 1: Tinker tinker


Pic 2: ....tinkering

Hey, at least I'm at home and not going berserk on the touge roads. LOL :D

But of course priorities will definitely change with the arrival of baby Alicia last week. I'll be busy with day to day needs and pampering of the cute 'lil girl. Hehehe

I think my ER34 Project will also be on hold for at least for a couple of months until I settle down stuffs in the house and at the workplace. I hope I still have the will to get the project done up for the car as time and financial is of essence now. Most of my parts (some minor parts have yet to be procured tho) are ready to be installed and together they will make a little more serious whp in the ER34. The interior will spot some minor changes too. :P

Pic 3: Jack-in-the-box? These has got to be on hold now....

But for now, my parts bin is chucked into a corner just chilling around. The contents must be wondering whether they are gonna make it into the ER34 or be posted for sale to fellow Skyline owners around the globe. Maybe I'll post up the items one at a time and gauge some response. :)

Furthermore, the ER34 has sort of been relegated as a 'furniture' in the parking lot. I haven't driven her for more than 2 weeks already and I foresee that situation to linger on for quite a fair bit. I think I might need to shop around for a car cover to keep her warm. Any recommendations? :)

Errrrrr yes, the ER34 is sort of officially not a daily driver nor a weekend car. If I live in a huge mansion, I'll park her in the living room next to my sofa. LOL :D

But fret not my driving friends, after a "Drive It Like You Stole It" (DILYSI) hiatus of 5 months (God! Has it been that long?!?!), I promise I will find time to go for my drives again. The DILYSI session shall be back on track soon! :)

And to the bro that's selling off his blue monster, wwwwhhhhyyyy?!?! I need a crazy dude to pressure me when we go touge again. Grrrr.....

I promise I'll go slower and drive more sanely, afterall Baby Alicia is waiting for me at home. So don't sell can ar? :-)

Pic 5: Baby Alicia. Ain't she super duper cute?