Rust at strut tower area

Pic 1: Time for polishing....

I just drop by my painter to check on the ER34. The newly painted ER34 just started it's polishing process and all the new body parts have been painted as well. Now, we are waiting for the delivery of new wire mesh for the front bumper. I've left it open before and scooped up crazy amount of leaves during our hill drives. So lesson learned; best to wire mesh up your air dams. :)

Pic 2: Some rust at the strut tower area

On another development, there were some rust on the strut tower area in the engine bay which were there when I got the car. Since the ER34 is at the painters', might as well get it sorted once and for all. Of course some part of the engine bay will be repainted. As you can imagine, this will take an additional couple of days.

Looks like she is going to be stuck at the painters for another week before it is all done up. Since I'll be flying off abroad tonite, I think I'll only be able to see the final outcome on the 4th week of this month. Shucks!!

Pic 3: Spoiler-less also looks good eh?

ER34 makeover update

Pic 1: The ER34 in the spray booth - front view

Popped by my painter today to take a look at how the ER34 is doing. She is finally painted after 13 days with my painter. Geeez! Told you he is slow with his work. LOL :D

I guess it will be end week before I get hold of her. There's still a lot to be done before the ER34 is ready to hit the roads. Oh by the way, I've sold off my IMPUL 534S front bumper. Instead I've replace it with my other spare unit. Yes I have 2 of the bumpers. :P

Here are some pictures of her in the spray paint booth after an hour or so after painting.

Pic 2: The ER34 in the spray booth - rear view

Pic 3: The front of the ER34

Pic 4: The rear of the ER34

Pic 5: My new front and rear bumpers :)

ER34 undergoing makeover....

Pic 1: The ER34 at the painters

I haven't driven the ER34 for the last 10 days. I've left her at my regular painter since then. For those who know where I go, you'll know how slow my painter works due to the many OEM jobs he gets and exotic cars that goes to him.

I popped by to take a look yesterday just to see how she is getting along. I reckon she should be done by the middle of this week (fingers crossed!!). I took some pictures for you'll to take a look. I doubt I will be able to update this blog after the makeover due to some assignments abroad.

I will update when I find time to do so. In the meantime, here is what's happening to the ER34. :)

Pic 2: Side view

Pic 3: Where's my bumper and headlights?? :P

Pic 4: Rear bumper, rear lights and rear spoiler gone missing?? :P

Pic 5: The stock ER34 rear spoiler

Pic 6: Rear light covers, door handles and rear spoiler stands.

Pic 7: Side view

Pic 8: This is something new :P

A visit to Langkawi Island

Pic 1: The 12 metre high eagle

Had a short little break on the island of Langkawi over the Hari Raya holidays. Didn't really get to do much or see much of the island but still managed to visit the some attractions. Drop by the Underwater World, Panorama Langkawi Cable Car, Eagle Square and the Perdana Quay.

I did spot some nice JDM cars on the road. Saw one red S14 Silvia modded quite tastefully and a Z32 300ZX. Other than that just saw a pair of white Mitsubishi FTOs. Too bad didn't manage to snap any pictures tho.

To get around the island one would of course have to take public transportation which can be quite a drag thus renting a car would be ideal. What car? Obviously it has got to be a Nissan! There are only 2 Nissan makes for offer; the N16 Sentra and the X-Trail. Got the N16 Sentra Sport edition with only 13,000km on it's clock! Like new I would say. The Sentra is very nice to drive and are good overall except it could do with a tad more power. Langkawi roads are a mix of uphill and downhill thus it's a chore to climb steeper inclines with a 1,600cc engine and a fully laden car. There are some nice twisties in Langkawi but one has got to be wary of monkeys scurrying across the roads and cows wondering into your path. LOL :D

Pic 2: Touge roads in Langkawi??

Didn't have much to blog about anything more automotive related. Just thought I'll share some pictures with you all. Oh by the way, Langkawi Island is duty free just like my previous post on Labuan Island. Beer here is really cheap. A can of Asahi beer costs RM2.20, a can of Foster's cost RM3.20, a can of Victoria Bitter RM3.90 and a can of Budweiser only costs RM3.00.

Ahhhh.....such heaven.

The next time I'm here, I'll got to go snorkelling and also drop by the magnificent beaches of Tanjung Rhu.

Pic 3: The N16 Sentra - front shot

Pic 4: The N16 Sentra - rear shot

Pic 5: The Panorama Langkawi Cable Car

Pic 6: The Panorama Langkawi Cable Car

Pic 7: The sky bridge suspended across Mount Mat Cincang and another mountain

Pic 8: The view up from the mountain

Pic 9: This catfish would be great steamed!!

Pic 10: Weird looking seahorse at the Underwater World

Pic 11: Corals?

Pic 12: Looks like underwater mushrooms

Pic 13: Polly wants a cracker?

Pic 14: Penguins are funny little birds in tuxedo

Pic 15: Beautiful koi fishes

Pic 16: A ship docked at the Perdana Quay

Pic 17: An Australian Yacht at Perdana Quay

Pic 18: A miracle in Langkawi? Metal bar suspended by a wire?

Bugatti EB110 spotted in Kuala Lumpur

Pic 1: The Bugatti EB110

Over here in Malaysia, there is a definite chance that we will never see some legendary cars on our soil. Cars like the McLaren F1, Ferrari F40, Noble M12, Venturi 300 Atlantique, Noble M12, Koenigsegg, etc...

Yesterday while driving, I spotted a car approaching mine fast from the rear. The frontal area is somewhat distinctive but I can't immediately pin point what car it was until it overtook me. It took me a while to finally realise that it's a Bugatti EB110.

Bloody hell!! There is a Bugatti EB110 in Kuala Lumpur! Who would have thought that someone in Malaysia actually owns a Bugatti? This Italian supercar was penned by the very same designers who gave us the legendary Lamborghini Miura and Lamborghini Countach.

I was in a little Inokom (Hyundai) Atos 1.1 GLA when I spotted the EB110 thus you can imagine the work I had to do to keep up with the EB110 to snap these pictures. Luckily the roads were not wide open, else this car would have gone in a flash.

This beast has a 3,500cc 60-valve, quad-turbo V12 powering all four wheels through a six-speed gearbox producing 542 hp, enough to propel the vehicle to 336 km/h!

Pic 2: Rear view of the Bugatti EB110

Pic 3: Stunning even after so many years.....

Pic 4: The Inokom Atos 1.1 GLA camera car. LOL :D

Drive It Like You Stole It #10 - Bukit Tinggi

Pic 1: The cars of DILYSI #10 @ Bukit Tinggi

Today we had our 10th Drive It Like You Stole It (DILYSI) session. Taking another route apart from our usual Frasiers Hill, DILSYI #10 brings us to Bukit Tinggi. Now this is an interesting DILYSI as the cars that joined comprises of two colours only. i.e. white and yellow. As such shall we call it the "Ambulance" and "Taxi" edition of DILYSI? Muahahaha :D

There were 3 ER34s and 2 FD3S. We met up at our usual meet-up point before heading to Bukit Tinggi via the below route:-

Batu Caves - Ulu Yam - Batang Kali - Goh Tong Jaya - Karak Highway - Bukit Tinggi

This route is not as hardcore as the Frasiers Hill route but nevertheless we clocked in about 140km of driving leaning on the enthusiastic side. :P

It's nice to hit the roads of Ulu Yam again after our last DILYSI last month. I tried to keep myself a bit restrained as the front tyres aren't exactly in tip top condition. Darn I need to save up for new tyres now. Sigh..... :(

After Ulu Yam, we turnoff towards Goh Tong Jaya via the backroads. Here, we bumped into another group of driving enthusiasts that comprises of a myriad of cars. I'm not really a fan of these roads but nevertheless had a great time carving through the bends. One of us had a 180 degrees spin here; but thankfully he and his ride escaped unscratched. Phew....

Pic 2: White smokes at the rear of the pack...??


Pic 3: Porsche Boxster S with billowing smokes from its rear


Pic 4: A closer look at the Porsche Boxster S. Smokes had lessen after a while...

The whole bunch of us stopped by the police security gate for a regroup. Here, we were joined by the sight of the other groups' Porsche Boxster S that came with white smokes billowing from the rear of the car. Not a pretty sight I must say. I think there must be an oil leak (added 26th Sept - Boxster S suffered coolant leak instead of the mentioned oil leak) somewhere that got burnt by the hot exhaust pipes. Soon after, we left the other group for a quick breakfast bite in Goh Tong Jaya before proceeding downhill to join back the notorious Karak Highway to the Bukit Tinggi exit.

Pic 5: Breakfast stop at Goh Tong Jaya

Pic 6: Breakfast stop at Goh Tong Jaya

Charging up Bukit Tinggi was a bit nerve wrecking initially as there were sand patches in the first couple of corners. Got to be wary of those! Further uphill, the roads were cleaner and off we go charging into corners after corners. The bends here sweeps longer and wider as compared to the short and tight corners up in Frasiers Hill. Naturally, the speed would be a 'lil bit faster here around the bends.

The last time we were up Bukit Tinggi was in DILYSI #06 way back in August 2007. Naturally, there could be some slight changes after a year. And lo and behold a couple of speed humps at the top of the hill appeared out of nowhere! Worst part is that it's not painted in stripped yellow! I was caught off guard and the ER34 crashed over the damn speed breakers! Jason (Sakakida) and Wayne whom was right behind me were not spared either. Lucky I did not scrape the bottom of the ER34. Funny thing was the cover of my tweeters came flying out of it's socket when the car landed. Hahaha

Up in Bukit Tinggi, we stopped by the Rabbit Farm but a little breather. We were all caught by surprise to see the carpark size shrinked to a tiny fraction of what it used to be. The huge carpark next to the helipad was undergoing some construction to turn them into shophouses! There goes another rendezvous point of ours. We stayed here for a little until we were politely 'chased' off by a white guy that was apparently in-charge of the premise.

We were told that we are taking up carpark space for genuine visitors to the Rabbit Farm. Hmmmm....as far as I can see there were only 3 of 4 other cars in the viccinity. So much for visitors. This place must have deteriorated quite bad as I remembered the Rabbit Farm was a popular haunt for families with kids during weekends.

Pic 7: Parked at the Rabbit Farm - front shot

Pic 8: Parked at the Rabbit Farm - rear shot

So be it then. Off we head off downhill back to Karak Highway for a stop at the Genting Sempah R&R to continue our chit-chat session until we decided to call it a day and head back home. Hmmm....this must be one of the earliest time we finish a DILYSI session. I reached home around 11:30am; just nice for my next outing out with the other half. :P

Here are some pictures of the day......

Pic 9: Left to right: Nasrul, Jason, Woay Chee, Steve and Wayne

Pic 10: Ambulances and taxis

Pic 11: Ambulances and taxis

Pic 12: Nasrul's mean ride

Pic 13: Jason aka Sakakida tailin'

Pic 14: The corners of Bukit Tinggi