Saturday, June 19, 2010

JDM pedal...

ordered something to cheer myself up from the internet... don't fancy RAZO pedals... cannot really afford Ralliart or STi ones... an almost similar replica one will do... LONZA... generally cheaper compare to the other 3.... looks good too...



too excited to fit it on till i forget to clean it up first... haha...



it feels pretty good... far better compare to cheapskate plastic ones from car accessory shop... now i can heel-n-toe adi....

Falken Zeix912...

well... yeah, its a downgrade from Michelin Pilot Preceda 2 (pp2) to Falken Zeix912... its all about budget...

there is not much choice available in ipoh... i wanted to find Hankook V12 or Bfgoodrich G-sport, but both ran out of stock... the new Michelin Pilot Sport 3 was high above my budget... not to mention RE001 Adrenalin...

anyway, i was deciding on either Zeix912 or Parada Spec-2... as i compared the sidewall stiffness of both tyre, parada ones were much much softer compare to zeix912... i weighs 52kg and the bare tyre could not even support my weight... parada was also having disadvantage on hydroplaning... so, zeix912 is more of an all-rounder...



it measures 195/50/R15... unidirectional tyre... from the look of the thread pattern, it does not seem promising... side block was not as thick as other performance tyre... well, at least it is jz a little bit softer on the sidewall compare to pp2...



installation was done at Weng Cheong Tyre Shop along Kuala Kangsar Road Ipoh...

see how bald my pp2 is... it had served me well... plus saving me from numerous close call from minor to serious accidents....



as i exited the shop to the main road, i tried swaying the car left and right... steering not as crisp... the car does not follow to where i steer... i took it to the winding roads and tried running-in the tyres even more... grip and traction is far less compare to pp2... especially at higher speed corners, i lost confidence going through at speeds...

after more running in of the tyres, grip and traction improves gradually... but its still below my expectation if driven enthusiastically... grip and traction easily reaches its limit... slide is controllable due to lower speeds... on water-cutting performance, i experienced hydroplaning at 120kmh in heavy rain along NKVE... another downside...

overall, i would recommend this to normal regular everyday drivers who DOES NOT drive their car to the limit... if u are a motor sports guy or touge often, skip this tyre please...

driveshaft... final chapter...

finally after struggling with drive shaft reliability issue, finally i got it replaced with an original one... the mechanic claimed this drive shaft is manufactured by GKN, which is also the same manufacturer for Proton original drive shafts...



as from the photo below... comparison between the GKN unit and the much cheaper china-mali drive shaft... will get it compared with Proton original drive shaft if the GKN ones matches with it...



currently having minor wheel alignment problem though... probably the drive shaft have not settled in yet... as many mechanics will say, new drive shaft will feel tight the first few weeks... let it "loosen" a little first only see how...