Short Ram Intake

The latest carbon fiber goodie to make its way into my engine bay soon ~ is a short ram intake chamber (ARC design) + generic open pod filter. Theoritically, the short ram design gives better throttle response & helps the engine make more power, especially in the low to mid rpm region, as the larger intake reservoir improves driveabilty; & at the same time also adds a more pleasing induction sound to the engine when under acceleration ~ pretty much the the famous whale-penis intake which is so synoynimous with VTEC engines. Coupled with the cold air intake funnel kit, this setup should give my engine a much improved breathing capability across the whole rpm band. =)

Seafood Pouch

This is what they call a 'Seafood Pouch' ~ & it's one of the finest tasting alternative cuisine i have never heard of, until now. It's basically a heavenly assortment of the sea's finest ~ mussels, scrumptious prawns, fish (not sure what fish), sliced squids; swimming in a delicious nyonya-like tasting concoction of gravy ~ all wrapped in a pouch of aluminium foil (hence the name) & grilled to perfection. I heard that this fusion cuisine is already quite well known in Sibu, but one of the few (if not only) local eateries that serve this unique cuisine is a restaurant called Applegreen Cafe obscurely located in one of the shoplots in MJC. They've just started operating very recently & the signboard has yet to come up; but nevermind that, as the saying goes, where good food is served, word of mouth will help spread it like wildfire. =)
Their website's: http://applegreencafe.ning.com/ which, should be helpful to pinpoint the exact location of their premise.

Drift Vs Grip Driving

~ sideways action featuring the Drifting King, Keiichi Tsuchiya in his legendary AE86. The emerging drift sports in the global scene may have been partly ignited by the cult anime series "Initial D", but this is the man behind it all; also known as the Godfather of Drifting who almost single-handedly popularized the drifting culture since the 80s.. & it was the inspiration of the touge drifting culture that conceptualized the "Initial D" series, in the first place. So drift or grip?

3 Way VTEC Dogfight

FD2R Vs B20 EK9 Vs B16A EG6 ~ 3 generation of Civics worthy of the legendary 'R' badge battling it out on a trackday in Sepang. This is VTEC battle at its best! Viewed from the cockpit of a superbly fast built B16A EG6 ~ it even gave the much superior all new FD2 Civic Type-R a run for its money!
I dream of indulging in trackdays like these, after having 1st hand experience riding shotgun in my own ride in a similar autocross event. It's addictive! Though my ride is still far from being track worhty ~ there are still various aspects to be addressed ~ cooling, handling & braking...

anime tracks ~ con't

Have been following a lot of anime series lately, since having my ride stuck at the painter's have somewhat limited my mobility, especially during off-work hours. These are 3 of my favorite themes from the recent anime series i have been watching / completed.

#1 Macross Frontier 2nd Opening Theme: LION ~ this song just captures the essence of the series. Macross Frontier is one of the most recent installment of the quarter-of-a-century old Macross franchise; ~ so is the animation styling, a throwback to the 80s... too old school to my liking; but it's got strong character development & a genius plot which, compelled me to stick to it through thick & thin right to the very end. At the end of the day, i've been converted into Macross fan. *i still love Gundams though*

#2 Naruto Shippuden 3rd Opening Theme: Blue Bird ~ A song of liberation. This series brings back a lot of fond memories of my internship days in Penang from a couple of year back. Back then, the Naruto-craze had just begun; my housemates being crazy all over it, i recall waiting in anticipation for each episode to be aired weekly, downloading them conveniently in office & catching every single episode together on a laptop in our tiny little rented flat.... come to think of it, my ex-room mate even looks like Naruto! =p
The series has long established since, going into the 2nd season after a couple of hundred episodes... one i still enjoy watching sparringly, despite having missed some stretch of episodes here & there in the middle.

#3 Gundam 00 Season 2 1st Opening Theme: Hakanaku mo towa no kanashi ~ need i say more.... one of the most anticipated series in my list. Impressive tracks to go with captivating action graphics & animation... the real plot is just beggining to unravel in season 2... Just watched it up to episode 4.... can't hardly wait for the upcoming ones.... i'm just a sucker for mecha anime series~! ^_*

anime tracks

Stolen R34 GTR

Just helping a fellow Z'thian forumer spread the news & join the search for his stolen precious baby.
It's a Bayside Blue colored Nissan Skyline R34 GTR with number plate JHM35;
Chassis no: BNR34-004751
Engine no: RB260725904
The car was stolen yesterday afternoon from the owner's apartment basement parking lot in Damansara Perdana; may likely be on the way to be shipped/smuggled out ~ here in East M'sia, may not be a probable destination, but still a possiblity. If sighted anywhere near you, please notify the police or 012-6900120
For details please click HERE.
* I feel your pain, blood, sweat & tears. Hope you'll get it back in one piece*

when the going gets tough at work meetings, sometimes restrainers like these are necessary... got to love 'em Taiwanese sense of humour (direct translation for 'speak no vulgar language'). Yet another quirky souvenir from Taiwan ~ thanks, brada!

Park Here!

need a tire change? park here. they'll be glad to help you do half your job.
This is the most creative 'No Parking' threat sign i've seen so far... =p

15 days & counting...

my ride still looks like a crash scene...



& right at home with these messed up buddies...

damn that cracked windscreen... ~! oh, how my pocket bleeds... -_-"

that MR2 has since morphed into a much less thrilling EF2... damn~! once bitten by the boost-bug now i long for a pocket rocket as a daily driver... i'll own one, or perhaps a couple... one day...

replacement ride

* remedy for my speed fix... too bad it's status currently is UDT (Unscheduled-Down-Time), just after one night, due to a terminally ill battery? It sucks to be without a ride, again... -_- "

Velocity Go-Kart

There's a new activity in town for speed junkies; paid the newly opened Velocity Indoor Go-Kart for a visit yesterday afternoon ~ I need my speed fix; hadn't had any since i dropped my car at the paint shop earlier last week. Business starts from the afternoon, with the happy hour rate ~ RM20 for a 10 minute session, from 1pm ~ 5pm; & RM24 from then onwards. 10 minutes may sound like too short a duration but trust me, by the end of the session you'll look like you've just stepped out of a sauna & feel drained like you've just completed a gym workout... 600s of hard driving, constant battling with the steering wheel for control, sustained scrapes & bruises here & there from crashing out really puts a toll on your body... is no joke... but for the thrill of it, i can't wait to get on another cart & put it through the paces again! =D
The course itself is quite small in size, with multiple of sharp corners & a couple of U-turns, which makes it a low speed course; so much that the circuit layout actually looks like a D1 drift course. Overall, it's a fun & twisty circuit to tackle where you can throttle all the way & just occasionally modulate the brake to throw the cart into a drift to pull it around & through the bend.... the pull of the G-force & the raw yet responsive steering feel & handling of the ultra low riding cart.... so this is what grassroot drifting feels like... i like =)
It's also got an online laptime tracking system... only managed a best of 20.25s, which is almost 3 seconds of the record laptime....i'll gun for a sub-20s next time. Poor laptime = too much drifting or spin-outs & crashes... ouch! my consolation prize was a bruised thigh from yesterdays session; from crashing right on into the barricade wall after understeering when powering out of a corner... hehe... & i can't wait to do it again! =D