S-Flow to Straight Flow Hotbits Muffler

My previous muffler setup was S-flow due to the ride was on auto mode. After the conversion to manual, Mr C had suggested that the back had to be cleared off. This is to gain some high end torque.

Coincidently, my friend, Vincent was looking for a straight flow end muffler as well. So, I just asked him to get me the same muffleras his :). We wanted a straight flow with a low sound resonance muffler. Our friend, James had been using this muffler for about 3years...and he strongly recommend this muffler coz it was very quiet-straight flow muffler. ;P.

And he ordered 1 for himself too, coz his existing muffler showed signs of old age. ;D. So, Vincent ordered a total of 3 mufflers from his friend from KL. He got bashed up by his fellow friend for getting so many mufflers at 1 time. Haha.

Later when the mufflers arrived, Vincent and I went to POI Exhaust to get it installed. I had changed my exhaust header at this same shop. Previous article was HERE.

Hotbits muffler - Quiet-straight flow...


Under the car...S-flow...


Hotbits in...custom tail pipe...need to redo it again soon.. :P


The welding spot...


Fixed a flange for easy and exchangeable in future...


Closer look...



Well, after the changed of this muffler, butt dyno tells me that not much difference. But after a few days driving it, my butt dyno gave another reading. Hehe. The response was better and the willingness of the RPM needle to climb up was much more faster. When going for top speed, it felt smoother. In sound wise, it was perfect. Very quiet when cruising on the highway and not disturbing others. Hehe. Great deal on this muffler. ;D

Auto - Manual Conversion - Final

It's been a few weeks since I got my ride back. I guess it is time to give my point of view for this conversion. :P. Well, it is not a professional review, it is just a personal point of view of myself.

I'm impressed and very much satisfied by the workmanship and all the detailings that Mr C had put in. It was very clean and neat. If I didn't tell anyone about this conversion, I guess the person who was viewing it will think that this was an original EK3. ;)

All the wirings had been done up neatly. Sockets relocated according to EK3. Any missing brackets had been replaced. It wasn't the best engine bay but I'm still satisfied with the works. :)

We found out that the bottom of the engine was leaking when doing this conversion. After checking, it was the oil pan area that caused the leaking. So, a new gasket had been replaced. Then Mr C need to redo the wirings under the dashboard. I got scolded when he saw the bunch of messy wires under the dashboard. :)

The previous owner was the culprit. Hehe. So, Mr C had redo the wirings. To be able to do all the wirings, he will need to take out the air cond parts under the dashboard. So, I guess it is time to give my air cond a good service. :P

Well, enough for the long process. Let's view some of the end result photos. :D

Neat and clean...


Clutch oil container on it's place (just like original)...


Correct position of the pedals?...yes, very comfortable...


Gear lever with original EK9 shift boot...but with a replica EK9 gear knob...


Inside view after glove compartment opened...


No sign of any wires under the steering wheel...


Gear box internals before the casing been mounted back...


Another view...


Before cleans up...


After cleans up...


From the photos above, you can actually see that all the wirings below the dashboard had been tuck in and hidden. Very neat and I like that very much. Nice job on that. :)

What can you see from the before and after photos? Not much a different, but the obvious part was the inlet manifold area. That area no longer messy with all the cables and wires. The throttle cable had been reposition according to the original EK position. Changed the battery terminal connector to the snap on type. Much more convenient for battery thieves to steal my battery. Haha. :)

As for the performance wise, I must say that it is far more better than auto. The response was fast and great. No more lagging for the power to be delivered. ;P

I guess this is a very worthy upgrade. ;D

Auto - Manual Conversion - Part 2

Here's part 2. Hehe. :)
Work still on going this weekend. There was still a little finishing job had to be done. As for now, everything was in place. I predicted that my ride will be out in this few days. Hehe. :P

Work progressing...


Very clean starter..


Gear lever and linkage in place...


Pedal set in order...but still very messy...


Gear mounting and etc all done..


I wonder if there is part 3 for this topic? Hehe. I don't think so. I will update the final outcome of this auto to manual conversion in the next post. Plus...I will try to explain what's the difference between driving an auto and a manual tranny (from an amature and noob driver point of view). Hehe.. ;P

Auto - Manual Conversion - Part 1

Well, after keeping quiet for awhile, it's time for new updates. Before this, I bought a B18cR 4.4fd LSD gearbox. After polished and serviced it, everything was kept away. Now, all the necessary parts had arrived and the show had begins. The conversion from auto to manual had started. :P

It takes a lot of patience and hardwork to get evrything nicely done. I gave this task to Mr. C. Hehe. ;)

Currently had started to take out the auto gearbox. Auto gearbox out, but manual not yet in. Why? Coz everything had to be cleaned before going in. Engine block, body firewall, steering rack area and lots more. I took this chance to get the whole engine bay cleaned up. Hehe. :)

For the clutch pad, due to budget constrain, I chose Honda original clutch pad. Mr C called it 'tiger skin'. From the clutch pad appearane, it does look like tiger skin (yellow with black stripes). :P

Auto gearbox is out...


Before...


After...


Can you notice the difference between before and after. Look closely, the engine block was cleaned. Lots of thick oil accumulated at that area. Mr C will have a check later. :)

Then I notice that there was minor leaking at the oil pan area. I think it's time to change the gasket of the oil pan. More $$$ needed. I'm way out of budget. :(
Anyone would like to sponsor me? Haha ;P

Well..more updates in a few more days...

Dato Sagor Circuit, Kg Gajah - Outing with Swifters

Yesterday joined Swift Club Malaysia members convoy to Dato Sagor Circuit at Kg. Gajah, Perak. They joined a mini race organized by Cari.com (if I'm not wrong). There were 8 Swifts, 1 SX4 and 1 Mini Cooper. Oops..forgot to count me in, Civic. Hehe. :P

We started the journey early in the morning. Reached the circuit at 9am. After registration, drivers briefing and souveniors giving, they all headed into the circuit for a free practice time slot. Very challenging course. :)

I didn't join in the fun coz my ride had some problem previously. Need to fixed it before put it in the track. ;)

Convoy on the way to Kg. Gajah...


A part of the track...


A fast Satria...


Another fast car...


D2 sponsored fast Satria...


Another view...


Marshall of convoy for the day in action...hehe


Driver from Cameron Highland...


Cute Swift (cannot see those cute stickers)...

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

Went to Poon's Photo on Saturday and got this lens for my new toy. This is the cheapest lens from Canon. It's a prime lens best suits for potrait photos. Will upload some photos in my photography blog with this lens soon after I got the chance to play with it. :)



No more budget for next month. :(

Check Engine Light On

Well, it's been awhile since the last post. :P
A few weeks back, I was running my ride without vTec function. It's because everytime vTec engaged, this 'check engine' light will appears in the meter panel. It's very frustrating to off and restart the car everytime this pop up. When this light came out, it surely something is not right.



Last week I sent my ride to my mechanic Mr C for check up. He tried to get the diagnostic data from the ECU but failed. Looks like some wiring messed up during engine swap by the previous owner. ;P

Well, Mr C opened his 'secret manual'. Hehe. Then he tapped on directly from the ECU socket to get the data. Problems found. There were 2 issues. Load error and VTEC solenoid valve error. I started to smell money flying away now. :(

For load error, most probably due to wiring issue. Can't do anything much. Had to live with it untill can find a part that was missing.

For the VTEC solenoid valve error, Mr C swapped it with 1 of his 'collection' of VTEC engines. Just the valve only. ;P

After the swap, I test run my ride and engaged with the vTec as many time as I can. After 6 times, the same problem pop up again. :(

Went back into workshop, and Mr C reset the ECU and touch up a bit the wirings. Then he asked me to hop in. Problem SOLVED. Unbelievable. Then he swapped the VTEC solenoid valve with my original valve. I tested it again. No more light popping up. :)

Till today, I still can't figure out what went wrong. Maybe some loosen socket gave a wrong signal to the ECU. Not too sure. But anyway, now I'm happy to vTec-ing my ride. Haha. :D

Canon EOS 1000D with kit lens

Got a new toy for a new year. Hehe. :)

There will be another blog relating to my journey into photography. ;P
http://my-podz1.blogspot.com/

Canon


Canon EOS 1000D


After much information form the net, 1000D is a good gear for beginner like me. It was the cheapest DSLR for entry-level. Hehe. :P

For information about this gear, follow this link - Canon EOS 1000D

Happy Chinese New Year

I would like to wish everyone in the world...

Happy Chinese New Year

(graphic courtesy from Princess Bumblebee)

Puma Drift Cat II

This is one of the stuff for my Chinese New Year celebration from Princess Bumblebee. Hehe. :P

Drift Cat II

B18CR S80 Gearbox 4.4fd LSD

After more than a year hardship, finally I managed to save enough $$$ for a auto-manual conversion. ;P

I asked Master Chung to look for a nice and suitable gearbox for my ride. Frankly, I'm attracted to B16B (S4C) EK9 gearbox. 4.4fd with helical LSD. That's really nice. ;)

1 day, Master Chung called me and told me that he saw a nice gearbox laying on the floor at halfcut shop. He asked if I'm interested to get it. I thaught I would be getting an EK9 gearbox. But he told it was S80 B18CR gearbox. I was shocked. I asked myself, should I take it? Well, my mouth faster than my mind, a yes just pop out from my mouth. Hehe. :D

Then a day after that, I went to his shop to have the 1st look at the gearbox. It doesn't look good from outside, but the inner parts were so clean and nice. Then I got a lesson from Master Chung. ;)

He agreed to take out the inner parts to check everything internally. And some cosmectic work need to be done. The gearbox housing is going to get a nice and smooth polishing till it shines. Haha.

Just got it...


LSD?


nice? dirty? bad? ;P


S80


internals...1,2,3?

Japan...;D

LSD? FD?

smooth and nice

helical?

polished...hehe..

enough shines?

better than just got it..hehe..

Now the quest to get all the parts for the conversion is going real fast. But the ship from Japan was too slow. Haiz. ;P

Hopefully can get some good news from Master Chung soon. Till then...stay tune. Haha. :)