Up close - Nissan GT-R (R35)

Pic 1: The new Godzilla, the Nissan GT-R

The new Nissan GT-R created waves of excitement in the motoring world. I guess it's now the must have and one of the most admired automobile for the younger generation. Surprisingly even with the high price tag of RM700,000 (USD213,240) there is already quite a number of the R35s running around in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Up until now, I've only admired them from afar but thanks to bro Leonard, I've got the opportunity see one up close.

The particular unit is coated in Super Black (KH3) and looks simply stunning. You've got to be seeing it in the flesh to appreciate the beauty of this 'monster' and get an idea of how big the car is. Admiring the car up close there's a couple of items that I didn't know existed in the car like the flush-mounted aluminum door handles and the built in Electronic Toll Collection System (ETC) which is a automatic fare collection system for the highways in Japan.

Pic 2: The Electronic Toll Collection System card slot

The packaging of the engine is very neat with the washer reservoir, brake fluid reservoir, etc.. all hidden under neat covers. The VR38DETT twin-turbo V6 acts like a work of art on display under the aluminum hood. :P

Pic 3: The VR38DETT ~ 3.5 seconds for the century sprint

After seeing many videos of reviewers tinkering with the set-up switches in the centre panel, finally I've got the chance to flick it up and down myself. Allowing changes to gear shift characteristics, damper settings and stability control settings to be adjusted according to driving conditions; that's a very cool toy. But even cooler is the multifunction display. It's a bit slow to switch between displays though. But hey, it looks superb!

Pic 4: The dash

The Brembo brakes are massive at 380mm in diameter front and rear with two-piece floating-rotors coupled with 6-piston front and 4-piston rear monoblock callipers. I think they are bigger than my dinner plates at home. :O

I tried sitting at the rear but even with my average Asian height, my head is already touching the ceiling, or rather the rear windscreen. I doubt those seats will be used as the footwell is almost non-existent. Hahaha :D

Here are some more pictures of the beast......

Pic 5: Huge Brembos behind 20" super-lightweight forged-aluminum wheels

Pic 6: The meter display. Note the paddle shifters for the GR6 dual-clutch transmission on the steering wheel

Pic 7: The simple yet functional centre fascia

Pic 8: Ultra cool multifunction display

Pic 9: Rear view of the R35. Note the whole rear is practically one piece of bumper!

Pic 10: Exhaust note at idle produces a menacing deep growl

Michael Krumm Ready to Claim Third Malaysian Victory at Super GT‏

Pic 1: The Xanavi NISMO 2006 GT-R making 'dough nuts'

Two-time Sepang Super GT winner Michael Krumm today provided a sneak preview of the hot battle awaiting at the upcoming 2008 Super GT International Series Malaysia at Sunway Pyramid and immediately declared that he was ready to claim his third victory on Malaysian soil.

Driving the Xanavi NISMO Skyline race machine, Krumm, who is a two-time overall champion, thrilled the crowd at the open car park area as he drummed the machine to its thunderous roar and making squeeking ‘dough-nut’ spins around the open car park area.

Speaking at a press conference before the Street Demo, the German driver said the 2008 Nissan GT-R machine would be ‘much more powerful’ than the one used at the street demo; adding the race in Sepang would be an exciting thrilling affair for the fans. “What you are about to see here will just be a small portion of the real action that would be happening in Sepang next weekend; it’s just to give you a feeling of the atmosphere of the race,” said Krumm, who would be partnering Japan’s Masataka Yanagida for the race.

We shall see what happens this coming weekend...... :)

Pic 2: That's Micheal Krumm in the background

Front mounted intercooler ..... yea how I wish

Pic 1: If only........

This is not a mod post but rather a post to express my wish for a front mounted intercooler for the ER34. Been wishing for the ER34 to have one mounted up front instead of the puny factory side mounted intercooler.

Currently when boosted higher than the factory boost level, power will only increase up to a certain level. Any higher boost and the ER34 actually drops in power. This is due to the increase in air intake temperature. With a larger front mounted intercooler, the drop in intake temperature provides a denser intake charge to the RB25DET NEO and allows more air and fuel to be combusted and thus increasing the power output of the engine.

Sigh....talking about air fuel ratio, the ER34 is running pretty lean at the moment. Need to do something really soon. :(

The ER34 is a money sucker!!! Grrr........

Pic 2: How I wish........

Okuyama Carbing Front Lower Arm Bar Installed

Pic 1: The Okuyama Carbing Front Lower Arm Bar

Yea, finally got time to get the Okuyama Carbing Front Lower Arm Bar installed on the ER34. It simply bolts on to the left and right front suspension arms' mounting points via the factory nuts.

Any difference? Can't really tell until the next drive.

Sigh...I miss 'driving' the ER34. :(

Here is how it looks like.

Pic 2: "Front" indicates the front of the ER34

Fuel price increase yet again

Pic 1: The ER34 at a petrol kiosk on the day before the fuel price hike

The Malaysian fuel (gasoline) price will be increased tomorrow on the 5th June 2008. Yet again! Yes, we Malaysians has seen the steady increase of fuel prices over the last decade. So uhmmm......it's nothing new nor it is not surprising to most if not all Malaysians.

Here is the history of the fuel hike over the years:-

Before 1990- RM 0.89/litre
year 1990 - RM 1.10/litre (increased RM 0.21)
01/10/2000 - RM 1.20/litre (increased RM 0.10)
20/10/2001 - RM 1.30/litre (increased RM 0.10)
01/05/2002 - RM 1.32/litre (increased RM 0.02)
31/10/2002 - RM 1.33/litre (increased RM 0.01)
01/03/2003 - RM 1.35/litre (increased RM 0.02)
01/05/2004 - RM 1.37/litre (increased RM 0.02)
01/10/2004 - RM 1.42/litre (increased RM 0.05)
05/05/2005 - RM 1.52/litre (increased RM 0.10)
31/07/2005 - RM 1.62/litre (increased RM 0.10)
28/02/2006 - RM 1.92/litre (increased RM 0.30)
05/06/2008 - RM 2.70/litre (increased RM 0.78)

As you can see, this time round, it's a MAJOR increase, the highest increase ever (for now). Word has it that it may even reach RM 4.00 a litre sometime in August this year. That is madness. The government always stresses that Malaysia still has one of the cheapest fuel in the region. Yes that is true but those countries are not petroleum producing nations. Have they ever compared fuel prices with countries that have petroleum production like Malaysia? For example, fuel prices in the below countries are:-

If fuel prices are increased but there are other alternatives like public transportations, then there is a cheaper avenue out; but public transportation in Malaysia is not convenient nor planned properly. A car/motorcycle here is a necessity item. The car population is an amazing 500,000 vehicles every year (out of a population of 27 Million)!

At the moment us Malaysians are worried about the domino effect this will entail. Cost of transportation will go out, prices of food will increase, electricity tariffs will go up, and basically everything else will be costlier. If only our pay are increased proportionately. :P

To help offset the increase in fuel prices, the government introduced a cash rebate of RM 625 per year will be given to owners of private cars with an engine capacity of up to 2000 cc and pick-up trucks/4WDs/SUVs of up to 2500 cc. For vehicles over 2500 cc, there will be a reduction in roadtax of RM 200 and for motorcycles up to 250 cc, a rebate of RM 150 annually.

As for the ER34? Every 50 litres I pump in now is an additional RM39.00.

Sigh......

Pic 1: The ER34 looks at the rush to fill up before the fuel price hike tomorrow

Hyundai Coupe GK 2.7 (Tuscani) with an ER34?

Pic 1: The Hyundai Coupe/Tuscani GK GT V6

A few people were surprised to see me pottering around in a Hyundai Coupe (GK) over the weekend, thus I've decided to write a 'lil bit about the car. The Hyundai Coupe (also known as the Tuscani) I was driving is the 2nd generation GK model GT V6. It has a 2,700 cc heart mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Producing 172bhp @ 6000 rpm and 245 Nm of torque @ 3800 rpm, it is more than adequate to potter around town and be one of the faster cars out there.

Interestingly, this particular Coupe/Tuscani is the ONLY unit in Malaysia. Bought into the country in the year 2002 by the distributors of Hyundai in Malaysia, this unit has remained in the custody of the distributor all these years. So yeah I guess it's as rare as a Ferrari F50 or a Maserati MC12 here in Malaysia. :D

Pic 2: Interior shot

So how does it drive? Hmmm.... where do I begin?

Lets start with the 'feel'. Stepping into the car, one would notice the low seating position, you sit really close to the ground which is a plus. In the cockpit, the instruments are safe and predictable. Illuminated in red, it oozes out European style. The semi-bucket seats are a joy to be in and the availability of a sunroof is great. The visibility out could be better though. The high waistline and wedge shape of the vehicle makes parking judgments an art to master. :P

The six speeder transmission is something one would expect only to find in performance vehicles out of Japan or exotics from Italy buuuuuut hey, it exists in a Korean marque. Not too bad eh? The only issues I have with the tranny is that it's too heavy; requiring effort to row the gears. It could also be slicker and feels less notchy. On the plus side, the throws are really short. Much better than the ER34 I must admit. :O

Pic 3: The six speed tranny

Pic 4: Nice supportive semi-bucket seats

I do find difficulty in performing heel-and-toe with the pedals as compared to the ER34, but maybe because I suck. LOL :D

The steering is more weighted than the ER34 giving out more feel. The ceiling height is very low, I only have perhaps 2 inches or so of ceiling space. With a helmet on, I think there will be friction.

Driving the V6 engine brings me nostalgia as I reminiscence of my time with the Proton Perdana V6's 6A12 engine. Smooth revving and gave out a nice purr to it. The Coupe's Delta V6 engine could do with a higher rev limit than 6,500 though. It also sounds pretty quiet; nothing a bigger and freer aftermarket exhaust can't fix. :)

Pic 5: The 2,700 cc Delta V6 heart

Is it fast? Well it's not all looks and no go. Doing the century sprint in 7.2 seconds and all the way to a top speed of 233km/h, it's more than fast enough for a lot of drivers out there.

Overall somehow I feel the Coupe is more 'sportscar-like' in feel than the ER34. Think about it; a cramped interior, poor visibility and a car that requires effort to shift it's gears are traits of supercars of yesteryears. The ER34? It feels and drives just as easy as any decent Japanese sedans out there.

Ok, you guys can shoot me now. LOL :D

The most interesting comment I got driving the Coupe/Tuscani is this, "Did you change car or sprayed your car red?". I was stunned at first but it was kind of hilarious actually. And yes, it's a girl who asked that. Hahahahaha

Pic 6: The meter cluster

Pic 7: The centre fascia

Here are some pictures of the GK with the ER34. Enjoy!

Pic 8: Side-by-side with the ER34

Pic 9: Front view with the ER34

Pic 10: Comparing the rear view with the ER34

COMMENTS ANYONE?

Accord Skyline in the making....

Pic 1: R34 headlights on a CD Accord

The other day, I came across this fifth generation Honda Accord (CD chassis) that is undergoing a conversion to a R34 Skyline look. The owner has already fitted in the front headlights and rear taillights from the R34 Skyline. Along with it I also spot the R34 GTT Altia front bumper and stock rear bumper ready to match.

Note the huge wheels that is jutting out from the wheel wells. The wheel arches has been cut to accomodate them! Those wheels looks to me like the Rays Engineering Gram Lights T57-RC. I bet the final look of the vehicle will widebody style.

Can't wait to see the final product. :)

Pic 2: R34 rear lights on the Accord

Pic 3: Check out the wheels