Finally changed my 'FrankenBenz' headlight to a more modern looking projector type... The original headlight is broken and is beyond repair... And frankly speaking, I don't really see the point in repairing if it is even possible... With this new headlight on, the whole car looks so much more modern and not forgetting menacing!!! Not going to do 'HID' as I don't want unnecessary trouble from the authority... The illumination from this new projector headlight is so much better compare to the old one... The light from the old headlight is really dim and driving at night is not something I look forward to... It is a different story now...

To be continue...

Recently, I found that 'FrankenBenz' is handling weirdly and not forgetting dangerously!!! The whole car seems to move around quite a lot and the rear is really prone to skid especially during the rain... I didn't suspect the tyres as I've just change is less than 3 months ago... I'm suspecting some bushes or arm link that might be broken or maybe the alignment is out...

Have a peek at the rear tyre and I'm shock to see that both rear tyres are completely bald!!! It looks exactly like a slick tyre!!! I'm scratching my head as why this happen because it is less than 3 months old!!! Have a look at the front and I'm equally shock... Still got a lot of thread wear in the middle but one is bald on the outside while the other is bald on the inside... That means I'm running on negative camber on one side and positive camber on the other side... Although still got a lot of thread wear on the middle part, but these two tyres are consider useless if you ask me... 

Can't really afford to keep buying expensive tyres I decided to try 'Achilles' tyres which originated from 'Indonesia'... Those into motorsports might be aware of this brand made famous by 'Japanese' drifter 'Daigo Saito'... 

I tried one of their best selling tyre which is the 'ATR Sport'... I don't expect much from this tyre as it is really cheap compare to the likes from 'Japan' or 'European' counterpart... I can buy two of these with the price for one well known 'Japanese' brand tyre!!! But surprisingly I'm amaze at what it's on offer... I find it rather comfortable and quite quiet... Other than that, I can't comment much as I still don't have the time to give it a good thrashing!!! Under normal driving, the grip is good even during the rain... So initial impression is good!!! Noise level is not too bad also... 

As for the rear, I've decided to give semi slick a try... I didn't go for 'ATR Sport' as it doesn't have the size that I want... For the front, I'm still running with 225/40 and the rear I'm sticking to 255/35... 'ATR Sport' only have 245 or 265 section tyre... Since I got a good price on the '123S', I'm thinking to myself why not give semi slick a try as I've never driven on semi slick before... There are two models available which is the '123' and '123S'... The only difference is the thread... 'S' is suppose to be use for drifting as there's more thread compare to the normal '123'... So what it means is it will last longer compare to normal '123'... 

Once they fitted the tyres back to my car, the rear end transform instantly in terms of look... So much more aggressive compare to the 'ATR Sport'!!! I really regretted to opt for the 'ATR Sport' for the front as it looks so docile in comparison... Wanted to change the front to '123S' but it doesn't come with 225 section tyre... Only have 235!!! Damn as 235 will hit the fender when goes over undulation... Going to make my suspension a lot harder so that I can go for 235 section tyre in the future!!! No comment on the driving yet as well as I've just change it recently... 

Okay, tyre issue solve... So now back to the question on why my rear tyres ended up bald in less than 3 months time??? One of the rear arm link bush is gone as well as the alignment, camber, toe and castor!!! Everything's out!!! Spend a small fortune just to get it back to spec (more expensive than a piece of tyre god damn it!!!)... And now 'FrankenBenz' is handling well and no more twitchy rear end... What I'm hoping for now is that the rear tyre can last much longer after what I've done!!!

To be continue...

Is been a while since I last posted something about 'FrankenBenz'... Ermm what a minute... Not only 'FrankenBenz' as I've been neglecting my blog for quite some time!!! Taken these pics a while back when I'm seriously thinking of selling it... Luckily I change my mind!!! Phew...

 Sexy ass???

Almost time to change the rear tyre of 'FrankenBenz'... My record is 3 months for a set of rear tyres to go totally bald!!! It looks just like slick!!! Didn't do anything stupid like burnout... Just that the setting of the whole chassis is out... So it accelerated the thread wear triple fold??? No more fancy or expensive tyres for the time being!!!

Next project will be the headlight as the current one is really old and broken... Don't know whether to go for the original or aftermarket one...

 I'm loving the DIY carbon fiber center panel!!! Look so much meaner with the 'Nardi' steering wheel...

Old engine bay pic with the puny 'HKS' air filter!!!

To be continue...

After changing to a much BIGGER intake, I believe the time is right for 'FrankenBenz' to have a new piggyback ECU after the disastrous 'Unichip'!!! I'm going for 'GReddy E-Manage' and I'm opting for the basic version which is the 'Blue' version as I think the 'Ultimate' is a bit overkill for my application... I just want an ECU to adjust the air fuel ratio and also the ignition timing which the 'Blue' can handle without much problem...

Hooking up the ECU is very straight forward unlike the 'Unichip' (not as easy as most tuner are not so familiar with it)... After hooking it up, it is time for dyno tune up... I was really ecstatic as the power is much  higher comparing to the time when I'm running 'Unichip'... But too be frank, I don't really know whether is because of 'E-Manage' or the BIG ass air filter that is making the power... But I assume that both contributed to the increase... 

Last time 'FrankenBenz' is making 246.52whp running 'Unichip' with 1 bar of boost... Now, 'FrankenBenz' is making 260.19whp!!! with 1 bar of boost as well!!! Besides that, torque figure went up as well from 301.34Nm to 331.22Nm... I'm really happy with the result!!!

I've been running the 'E-Manage' for a few months now and no major issue so far... But the engine did died on me on a few occasion and it can be restarted right after that (it happens when someone step on the wiring loom)... So no major problem if you ask me and I highly recommend this to those running '1JZ GTE' engine... 

To be continue...

Recently I got bored of the 'HKS' air filter and wanted something BIG as I find the 'HKS' filter is way too small for the 'Toyota 1JZ' engine... So I went out sourcing for the biggest air filter that I can fit into the engine bay of 'FrankenBenz'... And I'm in luck as I managed to find one and it comes with a pretty good price!!! Introducing the 'AEM Dryflow' air filter... 

Made in 'USA' yo!!!

Just look at the size!!! 

Size comparison between the 'AEM' and 'HKS'... Huge difference!!!

 'HKS' air filter with original plastic intake pipe... 

 'AEM' with custom aluminium intake pipe...

Ta-dah... Now the engine bay look so much nicer and not forgetting better intake due to the size of the filter... There's definitely some different as I find 'FrankenBenz' pulls a tad harder when using the 'AEM'... Now who wants my original 'HKS' air filter??? 

To be continue...

My newly installed 'Dastek Unichip Version Q' is officially taken out from 'FrankenBenz'!!! Just after two freaking days!!!  No doubt the whole car felt a lot lighter and it boost much stronger but it is a pain in the ass as my 'FrankenBenz' keep stalling!!! The best part is you need to wait for some time (if you're lucky, 10 minutes and if you're not, almost an hour!!!) before you're able to start it again!!! 

On the first day, everything was fine until I encountered this problem... It started right after the engine died... So I thought this might be an isolated case and nothing to worry about... The very next day proved my theory was wrong... It was a hellish day for me as 'FrankenBenz' kept stalling and stalling!!!  At first I thought the fuel level is low and it needed some fuel... So I parked it at the roadside and walked to a nearby petrol station... Pour the petrol in and tried starting it but to no avail... Plugging and unplugging the the original ECU a few times but still it won't start... Waited for another 30 minutes or so and decided to give it a try and viola it started...

Call the workshop that installed the 'Unichip' and told them about the problem and they asked me to drive it to their workshop and let them have a look... Drove my car for less than 300m and the engine's dead again!!! Tried starting it a few times and it just won't start... I have enough of this shit and took out my trusty 'Victorinox Swiss Army Knife' and cut off the  wires tapping to the original ECU... Luckily my boot got a roll of electrical tape... Put in the car key and twist it... No more problem and it started like a charm... The downside is the car felt so much heavier after dismantling the 'Unichip'... But at least the car's moving!!!

Call the seller and told him about his faulty 'Unichip' and he's gentleman enough to refund me my money as he's giving me a week warranty... So 'FrankenBenz' is back to basic for the time being... But not for long!!!


To be continue...

I'm sure a lot of you out there heard of 'Unichip'... It is a piggyback ECU made for petrol and diesel engines... It is famous for it's capabilities which almost matches a standalone!!! But too bad it is not so famous in 'Malaysia' as there are not a lot of tuners around... Unlike 'Greddy' famous 'E-Manage', you will need a special equipment to adjust the fuel...

Found myself a good used unit of 'Unichip Q' (not the latest... latest one is Q+) and decided to give it a try... I always like to be different and I'm those who don't like to follow the norm!!! When I first got a glimpse of the unit, I was shocked as it looked really small!!! It felt very solid and tampering is almost impossible as there's not a single screw in sight!!! 

Since only a handful of tuners around, I decided to go to one of the most reputable one which is located in 'Sunway'... 

Besides being compact, the amount of wiring needed to hook it up is as minimal as possible!!! Just a few wiring required to be tap onto the original ECU...

During setup, the tuner encounter some problems with the 'Unichip'... The whole unit went limp and it can't detect anything at all... There is no communication between the 'Unichip' and the laptop!!! At first, we thought the problem might come from the 'Dastek' fuel controller device... Borrow one from another workshop and the same thing happened!!! Plugged in another 'Unichip' albeit an older version and there's communication  between the two devices... So meaning my unit is faulty then!!! Damn... 

So the tuner decided to do a reset and flash it again... Insert the require map and viola there's communication!!!

Strapping onto the dyno machine and is time to find out how much horsepower the '1JZ' is churning out!!!

In standard form, the '1JZ' is churning out slightly less than 200ps on wheels which is around 253ps on engine (base on 30% transmission and drivetrain lost)... Looking at this figure, I'm pretty sad (but is normal for a standard '1JZ' to put out these kind of numbers) as 'Toyota' quoted 280ps on standard '1JZ' engine... Currently I'm running on 'RON 95' instead of 'RON 97' so I assume there's some number lost because of the lower 'RON' rating as 'Japanese' like to use 'RON 100' for their performance engine!!!

After tuning with the air fuel ratio (original ECU is way too rich!!!) and retarding a few degrees of ignition timing due to knocking and also increased the boost from the standard 0.8 bar to 1.0 bar, the '1JZ' churn out a respectable 246.52ps on wheels which is around 320ps on engine... Not too shabby!!!

After tuning, the whole car seems lighter and no more boost cut!!! Normally it cuts at around 0.9 bar... The torque is much stronger as well as the car pulls much harder compare to before... As a conclusion, piggyback ECU is a MUST for turbocharged cars as it liberate a lot of power just by turning up the boost a bit and dialling the air fuel ratio...

To be continue...

Recently changed all four of my 'FrankenBenz' tyres to a more pocket friendly brand... Quite frankly I've never heard of this particular brand before... It was recommended by the tyre shop owner saying that this tyre is very good as the price is cheap and the performance is above average...  All these while, I only used top brand tyres as I believe a good tyre is really important as it is the only contact you have with the road...  Unfortunately, my wallet is complaining about the high prices that the branded tyre command!!! So I got no choice but to try out the cheaper alternative...

The tyre that I've changed to this time is call 'N3000' and it is from 'Roadstone' (never heard of it!!!)... Upon a closer inspection, only I realized that this brand is actually a 'Nexen' tyre which is from 'Korea' (and I've heard of it!!!)... Frankly speaking it does boost my confidence up a little bit when I know that the tyres are actually from 'Nexen'... 

The tyres are really cheap and I save around RM800++ for all four tyres... Each tyre is around RM200++ cheaper compare to my previous 'Dunlop' (which is not the most expensive in the market!!!)... So looking at the price, I did not have very high expectation from the tyres... 

After using the tyres for a while, I'm beginning to like it a lot!!! The ride felt more pliant and road noise is definitely lower compare to the 'Dunlop'!!! Turn in is about the same and I don't really feel any difference in out right grip right now as I don't really push my car hard!!! So sometimes it is kind of waste to use high performance tyres!!!  The 'N3000' is doing a really good job currently keeping my car on the road... So the next test will be a round up 'Genting'!!!  That's all for now and I will do an update on the tyres when I found something be it pros or cons...  Till then...

To be continue...

Got myself two sets of rear boot rubber for my 'FrankenBenz'... The original one is in a very bad shape... In fact there is no more rubber... Just bare metal as you can see from the pic below...

After installing the 'AMG' ducktail spoiler, the whole boot became very heavy... So a lot of people tend to close it like they close other cars!!! Slam it down HARD!!! So you can imagine what happen when they do this... My heart drops to the floor when you hear the metal hit against each other!!!

 Without any rubber to absorb the impact!!!

The new boot rubber install!!! Nice...

 Oops... Out of focus shot as it is raining and I'm running for shelter!!! 

To be continue...

Recently, I've been toying with this idea of selling 'FrankenBenz' and get something cheaper to maintain especially on petrol bills!!! (I've not driven 'FrankenBenz' for more than two weeks now as I've send the 'ECU' for repair... took more than a week for them to sort it out - will blog more about this later... in fact I just got my car back tonight)... But after getting so used to 'FrankenBenz' power and torque, ordinary car will not suffice... So what other car that have the ability to thrill and go gentle with the petrol??? I'm thinking about high revving naturally aspirated (NA) car of course... Before driving a turbocharged car, I used to believe that it will save fuel when you're not boosting it... I'm so very wrong (this does not apply to puny continental turbocharged engine)!!!

So 'NA' is the way to go... But what kind of 'NA' engine??? Rotary is definitely out of the question as it drinks fuel like you drink cold beer during a sunny day!!! Continental engine is out of the question as well as famous potent 'NA' engine are either too BIG in capacity or too expensive for me... So left the usual  three 'Japanese' so to speak... My criteria is very simple this time... 2.0 liter is the max for me... 'Nissan' have the SR20 Neo VVL engine that packs a punch but their car is a bit boring expect the hard hitting 'GTR' and 'Skyline' of the past... 'Toyota' have a very nice engine and it wins me over with it's amazing technology... 5 valves per cylinder coupled with individual throttle body (ITB)!!! Presenting the famous 4AGE 20V engine!!! The only downside to this engine is the capacity which is only 1.6 liter!!! So left 'Honda' which is really famous for it's high revving 'VTEC' engines... From the humle B16A --> B16B --> B18C --> B20B till the mighty K20A, you will definitely find an engine that suit your needs and budget... For me, I'm inching more towards the newest K20A engine which came with 220hp standard coupled with a 6 speed manual gearbox!!! Plonk the engine in a humble 'Civic' and you got yourself a giant slaying car!!! Yummy!!!

'Nissan SR20 Neo VVL'...

The very famous 'Toyota 4AGE 20V' aka 'Blacktop'...

The almighty 'Honda K20A'... But still...

NOT as mighty as this!!! 'Toyota 1JZ-GTE' which is also the heart of 'FrankenBenz'!!!

Like I mention earlier, I just got my 'FrankenBenz' back less than one hour ago and the moment I step on the accelerator, all my previous thoughts are gone!!! What 'NA' or 'VTEC'??? 6 cylinder and a pair of turbochargers are the way to go!!! The power delivery is super smooth and addictive!!! I just can't get enough of it... Will continue boosting tomorrow!!! Will update the status on the 'ECU' repair in my next blog post... Besides, I manage to get rid of the bell tinkering sound too!!! Till then and happy boosting!!!

To be continue...

Finally managed to get a used good condition rear parcel shelf for 'FrankenBenz'!!! I've been looking high and low for this item ever since I decided to start 'Project FrankenBenz'!!! This is the only part that betrays the age of 'FrankenBenz' and I can't wait to get rid of it...

The first aid compartment is in very good condition... Everything is still intact...

This rear parcel shelf is from a newer model and it is slightly different compare to the one on 'FrankenBenz'...

As you can see from this pic, the speaker cover is in dire state... Notice the different in design??? The new one is definitely better looking!!!

Last time, the mechanic relocate the speaker because the original place can only fit in a 5" speaker while the new one is 6" (better sounding and much easier to source!!!)... This time I insist that the speaker must be in the original place but the magnet can't go through it!!! With some brute force and the help of a plier and hammer, we manage to bend the metal surrounding the speaker area and make the hole just big enough for the magnet to go through... Use some extremely sticky tape and tape the speaker in place... Viola very clean and nice looking rear parcel shelf!!!

To be continue...

Did I talked about the screeching sound emitting from 'FrankenBenz' in my previous post??? I did talked about the inability for it to rev pass 4000rpm occasionally... Before this happened, 'FrankenBenz' started to have some really strange noise and it only occurred occasionally... So I did not pay much attention to it... Bad idea!!! Really bad idea as I found it the hard way...

I was on my way back from work and I stopped by a petrol station to feed my hungry 'FrankenBenz' (which is always hungry for petrol!!!) and everything went fine until I started my car... I heard a loud 'klong' sound and my voltmeter reading drop from the usual 14.++ to around 11.++... I quickly stopped my car and pop the hood... To my horror, the whole alternator sits on the radiator piping!!!

There, the alternator rest on top of the bottom radiator piping!!! How the hell the alternator managed to drop is beyond me... But after some inspection I found the culprit!!! Culprit for the screeching sound as well as why the alternator managed to come loose... The screeching sound came from the belt turning the waterpump, aircond compressor, crank shaft pulley, alternator as well as power steering... As the alternator came loose, it's position is off and it cause the belt to slip and screech... 

As for why the alternator drop is really simple... The alternator is screw to a bracket from the waterpump and the bracket decided to snap and this cause the alternator to drop... So in order to fix the alternator back, I will first need to replace my waterpump which is still in very good condition!!!

Luckily I was at the petrol station when this happened!!! And I'm really lucky as the petrol station attendant gave me a foreman number (my foreman refuse to come to my aid as I'm too far away and he told me to tow my car back to his workshop!!!) and I got nothing to lose and gave the number a call... After explaining it to him, he said that he was able to help me... Luckily this does not happen a day later as I'm going outstation the very next day!!! 

This foreman have no prior experience with 'Toyota 1JZ-GTE' engine but he have vast experience on 'BMW'... In order to take out the waterpump, basically the whole front part of the engine needs to be dismantle!!! Everything including the radiator up till the cam pulley!!! I don't know what the 'Japanese' is thinking when they designed the '1JZ-GTE' as the amount of work needed to take out the waterpump is mind boggling!!! I really appreciate this foreman that came to my aid as the amount of work needed would definitely put a lot of people off... If I'm the foreman, I will definitely ask it to be tow as this is not a job that can be finish in an hour time... But the foreman is professional enough to finish the task at the side of the petrol station!!! 

It took the foreman more than five hours to finish the job!!! By the time I reach home, it was already 12am in the midnight!!! I'm really grateful for the foreman as he did an excellent job reviving my 'FrankenBenz'!!! Now 'FrankenBenz' is back boosting happily...  

Shit!!! FrankenBenz is getting temperamental again... Notice something wrong with it today... Normal driving she's behaving rather nicely... But when I tried to ask more from her, she started to protest... Don't know what is wrong with her but it seems like it can't rev pass 4000rpm on third gear... I tried pedal to the metal on 1st and 2nd gear and everything seems fine... 

When cruising normally and stepping on the gas then I encountered this problem... When it kicked down to 3rd gear, the rev stayed at 4000rpm and it just won't go pass it... If I kept my foot down, it cut off the fuel just like hitting boost cut!!! And worst still I heard bells ringing and I can't pinpoint the location...  I can see that the fuel consumption is getting from bad to worse these few days!!! I'm thinking about 'ECU' problem which is something quite normal for '1JZ-GTE' engine especially from 'JZZ30 Soarer' which happens to be the donor for my 'FrankenBenz' heart!!! Might be spark plug as well as the time for changing is just around the corner... Hopefully nothing serious... Damn she's been behaving very nicely nowadays and shit happened!!! 

Previously I've changed my passenger side aircond lourve and now is time for the middle one to go... I managed to source a used unit that is in great condition and decided to take the plunged (as it was not really cheap!!!)...

As you can see, most of the inner fins are all broken and I can't adjust the air flow from left to right... If I'm driving alone, this is not really an issue but if there are a few passengers on board, I will have trouble to please all of them as the air flow is all on me and I can't do anything about it...

The old aircond lourve basically disintegrated the moment I took it out!!! Well not surprising as 'FrankenBenz' is already 23 years old!!! In fact, I find it astonishing that it managed to stay in such  condition after all these years... This is indeed an over-engineered car in my opinion!!!

To be continue...

My previous 'Drag and Drift' aluminium radiator lasted only nine months before succumbing to it's death!!! I've tried reviving it a few times but still it gave up on me... I got no choice but to change it (as I need to constantly add water and it left me stranded on a few occasion!!!)... After Googling around, I found out that aluminium radiator is getting ridiculously cheap!!! Obviously these are replica but still usable... In fact I think the built quality is on par with the previous one which cost twice as much!!!

Nicer looking radiator cap as well and it can withstand to 1.3 bar!!! Does it really work at 1.3 bar that I cannot guarantee... But 1.3 bar is better compare to a measly 0.9 bar from my previous aluminium radiator!!!

Embossed 'Greddy' logo that looks really nice...

Still using 'Mitsubishi Evo III' radiator as I don't want the hassle of refabricating all the mounting point...

Don't really know what causes the leak... I suspect the air-cond condenser hitting the radiator hence causing it to leak... Is better to change it as I don't really wish to get stranded again just because my radiator leaks!!!

So how is the replica radiator doing???  I've been using it for a few months now and I must admit, it is damn good if you ask me... Don't really expect it to last as the price is really dirt cheap... Two BIG thumbs up for me!!!

To be continue...