Happy Birthday, Malaysia!

Image courtesy of Masterfile

Proton R3 Amprex Wins MME2005!

The jubilant Proton R3 Amprex Racing Team. Pic courtesy of Autoworld

After taking pole position at the 2005 Merdeka Millenium Race, the Proton R3 Amprex Racing Team took the chequered flag convincingly.

Malaysia’s top driver Tengku Djan ended a long personal five-year wait to claim the Merdeka Millennium Endurance (MME) crown; which he described as a bigger victory for the modified Lotus Exige 300RR than his personal glory.

Partnering former Japan GT driver and owner of Amprex Motorsports Genji Hashimoto and Tony Riccirdello of Australia’s V8 Championship, the trio from Proton R3 Amprex Racing Team completed 279 laps of Sepang’s 5.543-km circuit to beat the defending champion from Honda Malaysia Racing.

A BIG congratulations for the Proton R3 Amprex Racing Team for a splendid performance. A definite step-up from the disappointment of the Super GT.

OVERALL RESULTS (TOP SIX FINISHERS)
12 hours – Sepang Circuit (5.543km)

OVERALL WINNERS
1. Tony Ricciardello/Genji Hashimoto/Tengku Djan Ley (Lotus Exige 300RR) 279 laps

CLASS O
1. Tony Ricciardello/Genji Hashimoto/Tengku Djan Ley (Lotus Exige 300RR) 279 laps
2. Nicholas Thomas/Clive Bates/Joe Sevack (Porsche 996) 269
3. Firhat Mokhzani/Eric Yeo/TJ Chin (Nissan Skyline R34) 265
4. Patrick Ng/Khoo Beng Swee/Khoo Kay Hong(Lotus 340R) 260
5. Tseu Chan Kee/Faizal Zelman Malik/Wira Dani Daim 253
6. Fahrizaz Hassan/Erwan Azizi/Azizi Yom Ahmad (Mitsubishi Evo 7) 239

CLASS A
1. Hiroki Katoh/Eddie Lew/Farriz Fauzy (Honda Civic 2.0) 278 laps
2. Rueben Wong/Ng Eng Tiong/Jeff Wright (Honda Integra DC5) 266
3. Desmond Soh/Apathorn Karnasuta/Piti Bhirombhakdi (Mitsubishi Evo 9) 266
4. Ryo Michigami/Kunimitsu Takahashi/Tommy Lee (Honda Civic) 253
5. Shirjahan Ghouse/Freddie Chen/Jacky Ng (Honda DC5) 251
6. Jeffrey Wong/JP Chin/TP Chin (Porsche GT3) 251

CLASS B
1. Mark Eddy/Grant Johnson/Francois Jouy (Proton Putra) 250
2. Mal Rose/Peter Leemhuis/Richard Gartner (Proton Putra) 250
3. Shamsul Bahareen/Lim Hock San/Chin Hwa Lip (Satria GTI) 250
4. Khair Nur Ariff/Chung Kum Chew/Nizam Yazet (Satria GTI) 249
5. Choo Yong Choon/Lau Seng Kiat/Azwan Ahmat (Satria GTI) 244
6. Kazumi Mikami/Deanna Yusoff/Phillipa Yoong (Satria GTI) 244

CLASS C
1. Chong Fu Seong/Ee Shedden Joon Joon/Harry Chai (Honda Civic) 248
2. Loo Shok Sian/Wong Tziak Joe/Tan Kok Lam (Honda Civic) 242
3. Lee Soon Sing/Tan Kah Kin/Khoo Chee Yen (Mitsubishi Mirage) 236
4. Thomas Ong/Ee Peck Keong/Ee Peck Kim (Proton Satria) 235
5. Kenny Lee/Tai Choo Wei/Jimmy Ng (Honda Civic) 232
6. Philip Tang/Ong Yeo Han/Gun Kim Seong (Honda Civic) 228

Full write up on Autoworld

Proton R3 Amprex Takes Pole Position

Proton R3 Amprex Racing made amends of their disastrous debut in the recent Malaysian round of the Super GT series by taking control of qualifying for the 2005 Merdeka Millennium Endurance (MME) race at Sepang Circuit today

The partnership of Tony Riccirdello, Tengku Djan Ley and Japan’s Genji Hashimoto all tops their respective qualifying sessions with the Australian V-8 driver clocking the fastest time of 2 minutes 13.970 seconds to take pole position in tomorrow’s sixth edition of the MME

After qualifying yesterday, the grid had been reduced from 93 to the 77 cars in line with the race regulations that allowed a maximum of 77 cars for the 12-hour endurance race, which would be flagged off by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy at 11am tomorrow.

Full report available from Sepang International Circuit site.

The R3gister – The Unofficial Resource Site for Everything Satria R3 LEV

An all-new Satria R3 specific blog has been setup by me and prozac, with contributing writer Andrew a.k.a Jakuzzeeman. We’ve christened it The R3gister – The unofficial resource site for everything Satria R3 LEV.

The site will showcase information on the Satria R3 and future R3 cars – including specs, performance mods, testimonials, first-hand reviews, news and other related testosterone-filled activities for R3 and car enthusiasts. We will also work on a FAQ pertaining the SR3, which should answer the most asked questions.

It is a site run by owners, strictly non-affilliated nor endorsed in anyway, by R3.

Enjoy!

You’re Beautiful – James Blunt

I am addicted to this song. Thanks, Hon, for introducing this to me. Brilliant voice, beautiful lyrics, excellent song. This goes together with my Howie Day, Five For Fighting and Lifehouse collection. Brill.

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I’m sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won’t lose no sleep on that,
‘Cause I’ve got a plan.

You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
‘Cause I’ll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don’t think that I’ll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
‘Cause I’ll never be with you.
You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it’s time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Source: Lyricsdomain.com

MIVEC RS

Was scrummaging the net looking for info on MIVEC gearboxes and stumbled on a wealth of information, thanks to the NZ-based MIVEC site, one with quite a bit of Malaysian presence. I found info on the MIVEC RS and some detailed specs. Impressive to say the least.

Power rating is 175bhp at the flywheel.

RS version has:
Titanium valves
Different cam profiles
Different air intake
40kg weight reduction
Heavy duty gearbox output shaft
Heavy duty clutch linings
Different 5th gear ratio
Lightened flywheel
Quick shifter
Strengthened lower suspension arms, front and back, with heavy duty bushes
Reinforcing plates on trailing arms to increase camber rigidity
High ratio steering rack (2.9 vs 3.1)
Increased steering pump flow with cooler
Larger proportioning valve in brake master cylinder
Modified fuel tank reservoir outlet to reduce surge
Double accelerator return springs
Water cooled oil cooler
50mm extractors
High flow catalytic converter & low pressure muffler
Thinner glass
No ABS
No central door locking
Manual windows
Manual door mirrors
No rear wiper
No clock
One speed intermitent wipers
Air conditioning as an option
30mm less ground clearance
Stiffer shock settings
Front 15 inch 2 pot ventilated disc brake option
Helical LSD option
Choice of about 4 different computers
White only body with black mirrors
Extra body spot welds
Different centre console
Flame resistant interior
No boot carpet
No underseal

Good stuff!
Sounds like something R3 would do! Salivating as I read more!

Me. Designer, prostitute.

My endeavours into motorsports and being an absolute car freak has left me broke. Before I sell my youthful body to the horny, desperate public, I am generously offering graphic design/web/multimedia and coffee-making services in exchange for a much-needed MIVEC LSD gearbox.

Currently running a Powerzone LSD kit with the standard F5M22 1.8 gearbox, but find it inadequate when autocrossing.

A MIVEC LSD gearbox would be a neat addition to my Stage 2 Satria R3 with its higher final drive and longer first gear ratio. A real LSD is certainly a welcome feature. FYI, the product code for MIVEC gearboxes are the same as the stock 1.8 ones, with exception of the ending four letters, which also denotes if it is LSD-enabled or not. Refer below:

F5M22-2-XRWE (LSD) (MD970429)
F5M22- 2-XRGE (LSD) (MD971903)

These are sourced from the CA4A MIVEC. Excellent MIVEC resource here.

So here I am. Short of being a prostitute. Need services? All ready to barter, doods.

BTW, also have a set of MIVEC Cyborg front bodykit consisting of bumper, spotlights, fenders, signal and headlamps for sale as a package. RM450 – cash and carry.

Zerotohundred.com Down

Zerotohundred.com, every petrolhead’s favourite, bookmarked virtual hangout has been down since this morning. No idea why, but ZTH has been experiencing problems with server overload and also malicious hacker attacks since last year.

Hope it comes back online. I need my daily ZTH fix!

Satria R3 Stage 2 : Reviewed

From the start, the performance-bred, track day special Satria R3 developed exclusively by Proton Motorsports a.k.a Race Rally Research or R3 for short, had always promised and delivered an engaging ride – a no-frills, no nonsense driving experience. With its reinforced, rally-style spot-welded chassis and finely tuned suspension, the SR3 oozed confidence in and out of corners, being absolutely at home on twisty, windy roads.

The communicative chassis was always eager to please, to be pushed to the limit. So much so in fact, that it almost needed that extra torque and horsepower to realise its true potential.

Enter Stage 2.

As promised, R3 is offering Stage 2 performance hop-up kits and components for not limited to Satria R3 owners, but also to the Gen.2, Wira 1.3/1.5/1.6, Satria GTi/Putra/Wira 1.8 and the Waja. Covering powertrain, drivetrain/suspension and styling components, Stage 2 offers even more power, and even better ride and handling.

Stage 2 Engine Upgrade
Despite having 120bhp at the wheels in stock form, the SR3 lacks depth in low-end, much like its SGTi brethren. Power only comes in at 4,000rpm, before pulling strongly to 6,500rpm. The Aussie-sourced but R3-spec regrind high torque Stage 2 cams, on the other hand, show a different side of the 4G93 lump. A much more intense, darker side that is. Coupled with a pair of intake and exhaust pulleys, the cams give the SR3 a much-welcomed boost in the low to mid range. My SR3, kudos to expert tuning by R3 engineers, drive 136bhp to the wheels. That’s a huge gain in power over stock, merely with a cam and pulley upgrade.

Power delivery is very, very linear and starts as low as 2,500rpm. From then on, it pulls and pulls till 7,300rpm! There seems to be an extra spike of power at 6,000rpm, and the obvious intake roar rewards you – not quite VTEC; subtle but no less addictive – an indication of how willing to please the venerable 4G93 lump has become. The spread of torque is pretty amazing. A brief test on the NPE brought me to 200km/h in 4th gear, at 7,000rpm with still some torque to spare. Upshifting to fifth saw 210km/h easily on the speedo. Impressive.

I am eager to post some figures especially 0-160km/h and 100-200km/h times.

Power and torque is addictive, and certainly makes a huge difference in everyday driving. Unnecessary to feed it too much revs now, as the torque in low-end is sufficient to easily power the car from standstill or low speeds. On long distance drives, you almost need an additional gear because it still feels torquey running in fifth at 150km/h.

Stage 2 Suspension Components
In addition to the engine upgrade components, R3 had sponsored the Stage 2 lower arm bushes and bumpsteer kit. A 4-point lower arm brace is in the works, and will be installed when it is available. It’s pretty amazing how much difference changing 7 bushes can make. As experienced first-hand during the recent SSO (Street ShootOut), the car is very sensitive to steering input, throttle modulation, braking and weight transfer. The steering is communicative at all times, with excellent feel all-round. I loved how I needed to minutely apply lock during slaloms and the car would tuck in neatly. The feel is so direct that, I found myself just too numb, almost beginner-like, when handling the car. The tail-happy nature of the Stage 2 SR3, as what Stan described as “probably the most oversteery FF car he has driven”, is a welcome feature, especially in tight turns like in autocrosses and autokhanas. Throw it into a corner, left foot brake and/or yank the handbrake, and the car would oblige with a neat 180, without complaint.

On the road, the car oozes confidence and is very planted. The bumpsteer kit really helps on undulating road surfaces, and if you are Malaysian (or have been driving in Malaysia), you would know that it’s pothole-laden, sometimes uneven in many stretches. Drive it fast and hard and it will consistently feed you with input and compliance. The wonderful thing about it is that it can be ‘naughty’, if you want it to.

Ultimate hot hatch? Hmm…close, very close…
It’s a very engaging car, the Stage 2 Satria R3. Perhaps this should have been the stock Satria R3 from the start. That may have silenced the critics who were not convinced of its performance. It may not be THE ultimate hot hatch, but it is, in Stage 2 form, I believe, the hottest handling, most affordable performance hot hatch, in the market today.

Want more from your SR3? You know what to do.

R3 SSO 3dot 5 Batu Kawan, Penang : Post Mortem

Over. My Street ShootOut campaign at Batu Kawan, Penang over the weekend came to an end early Sunday afternoon. With much fanfare, tire-screeching and sideways action, the 3dot5 campaign mimicked the previous one – i.e. fun, challenging but no podium finish, no Top 5 position, not even points (nope, not even one Minardi-esque one!). Grrr.

Friday Night Arrival
Stanley and I arrived in Penang Island late Friday night, surviving some heavy traffic before Ipoh. With the car stripped to further lighten the hot hatch for the event, my Satria R3 sans its rear seats and trimmings felt plenty good, especially after its major 20,000kms service, early in the day. With R3-spec Stage 2 cams in place, the car felt torquey across the range, with power coming in as early as 2,500rpm. What the Stage 1 stock Satria R3 lacked in the low-end, the Stage 2 engine upgrade certainly proved uncharacteristically pokey with some serious punch in the low and mid range.

Saturday : Test Day
Testing started on Saturday afternoon, after car scrutineering and a course walk. Stan ran first and almost dinked the car at a narrow cross-over, missing the curb by inches. The course had swooping left and right-handers coupled by several fast straights and and hairpins; and of course the customary slaloms. Having been set-up in a car park outside the Batu Kawan stadium, the course consisted of two parts, adjoined by a single narrow lane.

I took it easy on my test-run, to get a feel of the course. Even at slow speeds, the confusing course got me going the wrong direction once or twice. I found the A-boards rather distracting, and the cluster of cones misleading in some areas. With the Stage 2 bushings, car was also tail-happy, and found myself in a oversteer situation under braking. A little spin ensued after failure to counter the loose rear end. Regained composure and completed the course.

Many actually got lost as well, some more so than others! Was quite amusing watching some powering through the first couple of corners, then gradually slowing down, getting lost, then running around like a chicken without a head. Heh. Funny.

The benchmark during testing was 77seconds, set by Hammond Lai. The R3 boys had earlier tested stock cars on the twisty course – an Arena which did 81s, a stock Stage 1 SR3 also 81s and a stock Waja 1.6 – 83s. How an Arena can match a SR3′s times, I do not know. Perhaps an error?

The engineers and mechs from R3 were actually very eager to see how Stan and I would fare, with the Stage 2 kit. Unfortunately, times were not recorded due to us spinning out the course.

Sunday : Race Day
Come race day, Stan and I stripped the car further by removing the front passenger Recaro bucket seat. Another 12 kilos of unwanted weight literally thrown out the door. Familiar faces and cars were there including current Hung class champ Hammond Lai in his trusty 1.8 Civic, the Khong brothers, How WK (many times 1.6 class champ), Julian Pang (also many times 1.6 class champ), Raymond in his Toyota MR2. This round also saw Perodua sending a team of drivers and cars, which was pretty interesting – a track car Kelisa and also a mental MyVI with rollcage and all! Was also cool to see what the Proton Savvy was made of, with Ian Khong at the wheel in the Pre-Viagra class.

The mean MyVI track car scorches! Picture source: YS Khong

A turbo-charged, rear-wheel driven Waja? You bet!

We set up camp beside the R3 support vehicle (howdy neighbours!), who showcased their outrageous rear-wheel driven race Waja, to be fielded for the dorifto event. A rear-wheel 2 litre turbo-charged Waja you say? Stay tuned. Will elaborate on the car later. Besides the Waja, the famous SSO Satria driven by R3 Head of Marketing, Khaidi, was set to scorch the circuit later. Here’s thanking newrin, Foz, Prozac and Andrew for their assistance in setting up the tents and all. Cheers guys! Our very own little pit crew. How cool is that?

Timed-run 1
Stanley had set a clean first run, and I was pumped up to do the same. Helmet in place, gloved hands on steering and body firmly strapped in with the TRS harness, I was slightly nervous at the starting line. Countdown ensued…5…4…3…2…1…GO! I was off! Launched the car at around 3,500rpm with a little spin of the front wheels due to the sandy tarmac. Almost redlining in first gear, the first 90 degree left turn was taken with zest. Took it briefly to 2nd gear, then had to heel-and-toe back down to first on the first crossover, which was basically a 180 degree turn. Prior to entering the following left sweeper, I grab 2nd gear. The sweeper was understeery, no thanks to the sandy pitch, and had to modulate throttle to keep it tight. Turned in to approach the slalom. I love slaloms and with the Stage 2 car, needed just minute steering input.

The Verne-powered Satria R3. Looks fast, but not! Picture source: YS Khong

Kept it very tight although I found the slalom shorter than during the test-run, therefore needed a dab of the brakes. Exited the last cone on the slalom which led to a left and short straight. Was actually a little tricky here, as the car’s rear stepped out under slight braking. I was sideways literally and had to modulate throttle and counter-steer. The long sweeping right was taken wide to set-up for the next succession of cones. Took it as straight as I could, leading to the first hairpin. Braked late, then heel-and-toed to first gear, right lock of steering then a dash of handbrake to get the rear out. Easy peasy. Kept it in first for the 2nd cross-over, the one Stan almost curbed a day earlier during testing. Was turning in at low speed when the rear stepped out! Aarrgghh. Braked but touched and hit a Proton A-board, which fell. Damn it. Anak Cina pertama langgar A-board! Waduh! My first ever A-board! Recovered, but at least 3-5 seconds lost. The crossover then led to a straight which i took punishingly, heel-and-toed then handbraked at the 2nd hairpin.

Contestant 171 and 2, heading towards the finish…

The succession of one left and right cones after led to a series of 90 degree left sweepers, which taken in sequence was more like a long, sweeping left. The two cones after the hairpin was where the car spun during testing, the rear unsettled under braking. The left sweeper was absolutely understeery. Combination of sand and water puddles dampened any form of speed. The slalom before the finish was effortless navigated, but clocking a good time was out of the question, after the A-board incident.

Stan clocked 81.68s, which wasn’t at all great, while mine was poor 91.19s. Absolutely crap, if you allow me to say so.

Timed-run 2 and beyond
I was all psyched up for the 2nd run, going through the map layout again, just to briefly refresh my subconscience of the course. Determined to set a good time, I uttered to myself to push hard. First sequence of corners went without hassle but on exit of the left sweeper, car spun! I had lifted the throttle slightly to approach the slalom, but unexpectedly unsettled the rear. Countered and throttled but was obviously too late. Precious seconds were lost, and although the rest of the run was mainly clean, I posted a time of 92.96s, even worse than the previous effort, much to my disappointment. I could not believe I spun, especially not where it happened.

Powering out of a left turn…

Stan seemed to have nailed a good run, with a very clean negotiation of the course, but actually came out slower than his first with a 82.17s. By this time, Khaidi in the SSO Satria had already set best time of the day with 74.49s. Hammond a close 2nd with 76.47s.

My position at this point was somewhere at the bottom. The PITS (pun intended!). I was already slightly deflated at this point, although still eager to do a nice, clean run. Tail between the legs but in full gear, I did my third run. It was cautious, I have to admit, and really not to my nor the car’s full potential. Came out without hitting A-boards or spinning out of course, but not quick. At the end of the day, my 85.19s was good for a disappointing 10th place. Although only 0.1s off 7th place, occupied by pro go-karter Nurul Alis @ Kiki, it wasn’t a consolation. At 85.19s, I was sharing times with bottom-league Pre-Viagra (1300cc and below) class participants!

Hammond, currently top of the table, managed one of the fastest runs of the day with 75.63s, pipped slightly by Khaidi in the SSO Satria. Stan, in his final effort, scored a commendable 78.83s which placed him in 4th overall. Not fantastic times, but good enough to score some points. Happy that my partner-in-crime had come out, guns-ablazing in the Top 5, but wished I could have shared that space there with him, like at SSO 1dot5, Danga Bay, where we were both in the Top 5.

Post Mortem
The car is fantastic. As responsive and direct as they come. Kudos to the R3 team for the tweaking and tuning. I’d like to write about the car performance with the Stage 2 upgrade, but I’ll leave that for another time. What I really need to do now, as I told Stan, is to practice and adapt to the car. During the SSO, it was very obvious that the car was far more sensitive to throttle input, steering, braking and weight transfer than stock. Perhaps I was numb or just not sensitive enough to the ‘new’ characteristics of the handling. Stan adapted to the car a whole lot quicker. It’s funny when you think about it, since I own the car! But hey, like they say, good practice makes perfect, and to quote The Terminator – “I’ll be back!”. Stronger, quicker, better!

Congrats to all winners!
Results can be downloaded here. (PDF format)

Will likely participate in the KKS Autocross in early September. Will take that as a practice session. Till then, keep your eyes peeled on the Waja turbo, and review of the Stage 2 Satria R3!

Oh btw, fellow SR3 owner Foz @ InCube has some extra pics. Visit his blog. (Warning: Some understanding of ‘bahasa pasar’ required!). Also surf on to cryogenesis and Nurin’s for even more pics.

Note: Naniyo sha garo means “what the fuck are you doing?” in Japanese. Hehehe. Thanks, J. Luv ya, you sweet, funny thing!