The 2006 Singapore Motorshow - Stories and Pictures

I managed to visit the Singapore Motorshow on a weekday this time. For once, away from the madding crowd and the opportunity to take my time with snaps and viewing the cars and gals on display.

Before the show, news reports lamented the lack of major brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar. However, the show didn't disappoint. With Subaru as the largest promoter, the show was graced by the rest of the Japanese brands - Honda, Suzuki, Toyota, Lexus and Korean carmaker Hyundai. The show also saw the launch of Chinese brand Geely - billed as the cheapest small sedan in Singapore. Not to mention the showqueens that were there to brighten up the show.

Then the next highlight of the afternoon was Russ Swift's Subaru stunt show - being there on a weekday has its advantages... :)

More pix like that above are in the link below

http://motorshow.autowebasia.com

Till next time, cheers!

Goin Pimpin'....

Anyone saw the latest on MTV's Pimp My Ride? They've gone international.

Ok, so i sound like i've been living under a rock for the longest time..... pttth...
We've gotten used to PMR pimping cars that look like trash and have some DIY frankenstein mods, but the latest episode I saw kinda blew me away.

It was the episode of this Polish guy with a Trabant (is that how u spell it?) that was all sputtering and choking when he started it up, and each body part looked like it was gonna fall off. The folks at PMR did a fantastic job - i thought the Trabant came out looking very Mini-esque after that... perhaps it was inspired by the ol' Cooper.

Anywayz, my one grouse about the show - they talk a lot about the bodywork and ICE, but almost nothing about the engine mods... seems to be a case of "nice to look at, but not so nice to drive"?

So, should I start pimping by 2.4T silent killer?

Changing Your Air Intake? Read This First

One of the first mods that i did with my 7th Gen Civic was to replace the stock air filter with a K&N drop in. While that gave some additional gains in terms of throttle response, I soon discovered that a change to a cold air intake system would make a more significant improvement.

With the cold air intake, one thing to note is to ensure that the intake pipe is not placed in a position that is too exposed to rainwater should heavy rains fall. An effective solution during the installation of the cold air intake would be to install a shield for the cone filter to ensure that only the dense cold air enters and not water. The shield also serves an addtional purpose of reducing the amount of heat entering the engine block.

Read more about tuning your Japanese Ride here.

2006 Honda Civic - the 8th Generation

The Eighth Generation seems to be growing in numbers - maybe it's just me paying more attention to these new Hondas.

The ride looks fairly impressive, with the 1.8 and 2.0 i-Vtec engines. On its own, the car looks fairly aggressive, but with a customized Mugen Kit and some exhaust and cosmetic mods, looks like we're ready to take this car into mod-zone.

One thing I couldn't quite figure out was Singapore distributor Kah's decision to bring in the 1.6l version. Was it to compete with the Sylphy's and Lancer's out there? Couldn't really be, cos the 1.6 Civvie is almost 20 grand more expensive. With a reduced stroke from the 1.8l powerplant, the car at best seems underpowered.

Of course, the 10 grand reduction from the existing 1.8 model could entice fresh Civic buyers wanting to live the VTec experience.

When funds permit, I'm looking at trying out the 2.0iVtec and live the Honda dream again. Potential mods to consider include -

Stage 1
K&N Cone air filter, Denso Iridium spark plugs, Pivot volt stabilizer with grounding cables, air intake enhancements, E68, Capsule

Stage 2
Hotbits custom headers, Supersprint catback system

Stage 3
HKS F-Con Z, Apexi VAFCII, Apexi NA turbo timer
18 inch prodrive rims with Potenza rubbers,
Coilovers and struct bars/tie bars
Mugen bodykit, internal gauges for vacuum, water temp and air-fuel ratio


Should make this a mean ride. If you've any suggestions, let me know!

Squeezing Out Every Last Ounce from Your Honda VTEC

I sold away my Honda's APEX'i SAFC last week. It's one of the few electronics that I had salvaged before handing her to her new owner.

I used to own a 7th Generation Honda Civic - the ES version. The experts called it a disappointment after the huge success of the EK Type R's and the 160 bhp SiR's. In any case, that was a different time and during the 4 years I had my ride I tried to squeeze every ounce of performance from it that I could afford.

From my first trips to Paya Ubi, then to Woodlands and even Johor Bahru, every new addition to the car was about making it mine, making it unique, and most of all, one of the fastest auto trans ES8's around.

In Tune Up Your Japanese Ride, I talk about how I started with simple spark plug changes and air filter upgrades, to replacing the extractors, the cat converter, and then the backbox. Also then worked on the throttle body and the electronics to produce more hp and torque at the wheels.