.. Dedicated to the child in you ..

Any of you a Petrolhead? Join my community

2009-09-15T02:01:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

It's me again. My site has been up and running in its beta mode for a few weeks now. Got a few users and around 8 vehicles on the showcase.

I'm inviting all you guys to come and join my site and put your car up. I'll be adding a community functionality and a few shops for sellers like Petco, Advan and JJ Lanka to advertise their items for sale for you to view a online mall without leaving home.. :)

Also you can add your own items which you have at home OF YOUR VEHICLE which you feel you don't need like old stereos, tires, etc so that anyone interested can contact you through the site.

I'm making this a non-profit site as I want all of us to have easy access to info and to be able to overcome the issues when it comes to our cars.

Remember this site is not meant for only SL. Due to its wide applicability I'm marketing it in Aus, UK and Netherlands so if anyone of you doing any unique developements for cars or anything at all you can put it on the site.

Hope to hear from ya'll soon.

Thanks,

Mr. Hachi Roku

Site Admin

www.PetrolinMyVeins.com

My Brand New site for youuuuuuuuu

2009-08-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

If you're wondering why my blog has been quite for a while, I have a very good reason.

I've been making my OWN site for all you petrolheads. I'm almost at the go-live date for my site and I'm starting to market it around the local and international community with all my friends and even foe.

It's called www.PetrolinMyVeins.comand it's a site for all you petrolheads to meet, share thoughts and figure out problems with your vehicle.

It's not necessary that it has to run on petrol. :)

The site will have a few facilities for you guys;

1. Chat room for discuss issues and find a solution quicker than on a forum

2. post your own car online (for free)

3. Publish your own blog posts on related items

4. Sell/Buy performance, spares for/from your vehicle

I hope I'll see some of you active on my site in the near future and I'm hoping that this community will grow and will help all of us in Sri Lanka to learn from our friends from abroad.

Signing out.

Mr.Hachi Roku

www.PetrolinMyVeins.com

What your all-time Favouritest car?

2009-08-14T04:26:00.000-07:00

Just a small poll I'm trying to run to figure out what type of cars all of you guys like. This may or may NOT be a car at all. It can be a 4x4 even.

I don't have a single favourite, but can be summaried to the top 3..

They are:

1. AE86 - Trueno

2. Evo III

3. McLaren F1

A Land Cruiser for sale

2009-07-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

I was driving to work last week and saw this. It looks gorgeous.

Yes its for sale and it's in Pita Kotte. If you're interested in checking it out just let me know or driving down Thalawathugoda road till you meet the Ananda Shasthrala grounds and you'll see it just around the corner..

The Bugatti Veyron VS the McLaren F1

2009-07-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Guys, this is a 6 minute video you'd NOT want to forget.. Ever..

Streets of Colombo

2009-07-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

Watched Transformers today. I really don't know how to explain how much I loved it. I mean could it get any better; robots that transform into vehicles. It's a dream man.. It's heaven....... :)

I'm sure many of you loved the movie as much as I did. I would've watched it even if it ran for 4 hrs more which is more than what I'd have done for Watchmen but strangely, yet not surprising, I liked it.

It's been a while since I posted some of my grotesquely amateurish pics taken of cars I've come across while driving around Colombo and today I have a few for you...

1. I took this pics from a famous underground car park right after Transformers :). It's an Evo VI..! This car is for sale if I'm not mistaken. You can check out Auto Lanka for confirmation. It's just beautiful. The First model of the Evo's which cannot be achieved through a conversion. This is due to the Evo and stock car body differences.

2. Oh yeah, a pimp-mobile. Maybe not the most coolest but just wanted to let you know that the latest Patrol is here in SL :)

3. The A6 is quite a common one in Colombo but the thing that caught my eye was the big square exhausts at the back. Looked wicked. Not sure whether is a dress up or whether it was a tweaked A6..

4. Well this is a no-brainer.. Mercedes SLK 200. I first came across this in Need For Speed 4.. I loved it and would LOOOVVVEEE to drive it for real!

I have a few more cars lined up for profiling. If you're interested in putting your car up online just let me know. I have a teeny-weeny site coming up dedicated to all your car lovers, I'll put it up there without any fuss :)

Keep it floored brother..

www.PetrolinMyVeins.com

Behold the Ferrari FXX - Fastest Car around Top Gear track by over 7 seconds!!!!!

2009-06-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

If the looks of this doesn't get your testosterone running at boiling temperature then I suggest you go to your doctor. I just felt such a rush when I saw this car on Top Gear last night. It just gave me shivers when I saw this car on the screen.

It's just beautiful. The Ferrari FXX Evolution has nothing sexy about it. Just full black (which is the only one of its kind AFAIK and own by the man himself; Michael Schumacher). It was doing a round on the Top Gear track and you could see the ceramic disks glowing in a hot orange due to the braking and is there anything more cooler than that???? I love it.

It's got 860BHP and over 600Nm's of torque makes this an unbelievably fast car. Shaved of over 7 seconds!!! I mean 7 seconds off the Top gear lap time from the Gumpert. That's phenomenal.

Yet it's tad bit slower than the Veyron on the 0-62mph test clocking around 2.7seconds which is around o.2s slower than the veyron but around the track the Veyron is over 10 seconds slower.

There're some rumors going around that this car, though costs 1,000,000 Pounds (GBP) cannot be taken home. It comes with an entire package of racing track time and all that but at the end of the day you have to return it to the Ferrari factory. A bit weird I must say but I guess it works for some..

All in all I think Ferrari once again has the fastest car in the world and it's a beaut!! I love it..

Stig is Michael Schumacher??

2009-06-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

I just watched the 1st episode of Top Gear's 13th season and they revealed the Stig. But.. for some reason I'm not convinced.

It was Michael Schumacher!!!

Well it HAD to be someone with unearthly driving skills to pull off the times Stig was achieving but I was assuming it wasn't one single person but..

I am just a bit skeptical.. Well lets wait and see.. :) The secret is out finally?

www.PetrolinMyVeins.com

20v Black Top Conversion Tutorial for the AE86

2009-06-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, this is a very important tute which I'm going to share with ya'll.. It's the bible in the world of AE86 lovers; the conversion tute for the Black Top 20v engine.

Embrace it, love it and cherish it. I found it online on a random site. The link is http://www.phuckdrifting.com/20Vinstall.html. Thank me later..... :)

So here goes........

For now this will be a short hand guide to installing a 20 Valve either from the AE101 or AE111 into the AE86 chassis. I will not go into wiring issues do to the fact that is a case by case basis.

*this will be a guide on top of what basic knowledge you should already have, like already knowing how to remove the factory 4A-GE engine.

1.) Assuming you already have both your original 4A-GE and fresh 20 Valve motor out of the vehicle. Place them on the floor next to each other.

2.) First start by Stripping off the necessary components off the original motor. These parts include; Header/Exhaust Manifold, Clutch and Flywheel Combination, Engine Mounts, Engine Stiffener Mounts, Clutch Driven Fan, Alternator Belt, Alternator, Alternator Bracket, and Radiator Hoses.

3.) Prep your new 20 Valve motor by stripping off what you do not plan to use. The Power Steering system off the 20 Valve motor is useless, throw that in the trash, the AirCon system from the 20 Valve motor is trash throw that away. All engine mounts, Alternator Mounts, and AC mounts are now trash as well. KEEP THE UPPER ALTERNATOR BRACKET, the one that helps support your OIL dip stick.

4.) Now transfer your factory 16 Valve exterior engine parts to your 20 Valve motor. Which include engine mounts, alternator mounts, etc etc…

5.) You’re probably stuck at this point aren’t you? You’ve noticed that you cannot properly bolt on your passenger side engine mount also known as the engine mount on the intake manifold side. There will be a small metal protrusion sticking out of the motor where your engine mount is supposed to bolt up to. Grab yourself a good set of vise grips and clamp onto this little metal piece. Tug and turn away until the piece has come free. If you cannot pull the piece off, pull out a hacksaw or dremel and cut it off.

6.) You’re still probably stuck aren’t you? You cannot figure out how you can properly bolt on your factory headers. Upon matching up the original headers to your 20 Valve motor you will notice that the two end bolts of the header do not align up with the bolt holes on the new motor. Anyway, easy fix…take out your hacksaw and cut away the end of your header. You will not need to cut off much, just enough that you can clearly see the bolt holes located in the head of the engine. About half of the bolt hole on the header is enough to be cut off. Once you’ve cut off the ends of the header, you should be able to reuse the supplied 20 Valve bolts that have washers and bolt on the header with no problems.

7.) Currently you should have almost a complete motor assembled ready to drop in correct? WRONG…you forgot your Clutch and Flywheel Combination, but wait…don’t go on and bolt on this yet. You need to head down to the auto parts store and purchase yourself a Pilot bearing for the 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS Rear Wheel Drive. Using a similarly sized socket lightly tap in the new Pilot Bearing into the end of the crankshaft of your engine. Once you’ve done this and your bearing is seated under the Taper in the crankshaft slot you can now proceed to bolt on your Clutch and Flywheel. Be sure to use a clutch alignment tool to align your clutch correctly.

8.) Now you should be ready to drop in your fresh 20 Valve motor…but wait…you have to cut your firewall…This is a time consuming task, you can either bang your firewall until its ready to tear, or you can cut away the firewall. The AE86 does not need to have its firewall cut, it simply needs to be banged until the firewall almost wants to tear from being banged so much. I cannot exactly say where you need to bang your firewall, but this is more of a trial and error situation. I myself am using a Waterline Relocation kit which I highly suggest if you can afford it, but it isn’t necessary for the motor to run correctly. Also be sure to plug up your factory waterline heater lines. You can use rubber caps with hose clamps, or if you have some other method like JB weld or something that you know will work that is absolutely fine.

9.) Oh before I forget you will also notice that you will not be able to reuse your factory engine stiffener braces. You will be able to use the passenger side brace though.

10.) alternator choices? you can use your 20 Valve alternator, or your 16 Valve alternator. I actually prefer the use of the 16 Valve alternators due to the cleanliness, but either will work. If you plan to re-use your 16 Valve alternator install your factory brackets and then your alternator assembly. If you plan to use your 20 Valve alternator which is fine, you will be required to change your connector from the 16 Valve to the new 20 Valve connector for this to work.

11.) One thing I’ve almost forgotten. On the 20 Valve waterlines there will be a white sensor which is usually broken that sticks out the side of the unit. It is an not required sensor which is for your factory gauge cluster. If you are to reuse your 20 Valve waterline unit this sensor cannot be used for the fact that it will hit your firewall. You can reuse it if you like, but you will have to cut your firewall for it to fit. If you plan to have a functioning coolant temp sensor, but cannot source the correct sensor, your factory 16 Valve sensor bolts directly into the hose outlet in place of the broken 20 Valve sensor.

12.) You should now be able to install your 20 Valve motor. By now you should have some questions? Power Steering? AC? Oil Cooler? Oil Pressure Unit? Fuel Line? Black Cylinder thing next to strut tower? answers for your questions… Power Steering and AC, will not be used on the 20 Valve motor. You can reuse these objects if you remove your 16 Valve crank pulley and have it shaved 3mm’s. once done install this pulley onto your 20 Valve motor and you should be able to have full access to your Power Steering and AC. Oil Cooler? the factory 16v oil cooler BARELY works if at all…if you would like to use an Oil Cooler purchase an after market oil cooler and install that unit. The 16v unit would be pointless to install into the 20v motor which requires high oil pressures. Oil Pressure Unit? simply swap this Bell looking object to your 20v motor. The 20v motor uses a simple dummy light which is useless. To remove both grab yourself a cloth and a good pair of channel locks or vise grips. Remember…Counterclockwise to loosen bolts.

Fuel Line? If you want to get it working easy, you can get yourself a metal barb and join your 20 Valve hose to the old 16 valve hose using hose clamps. If you want to make it nice, and spend a lot of money you can have someone make you a steel braded setup.

Black Cylinder next to strut tower? This is your factory charcoal canister. You can simply remove this or you can keep it there and make it function as factory. If you plan to remove this unit make sure you install a breather filter or plug up this line with a hose clamp and a rubber cap. If you plan to keep this unit in tact you can simply install the vacuum hose back to the original 20 Valve position.

Another dilapidated beauty left to die..

2009-06-14T02:27:00.000-07:00

It's good to be back on my normal schedule and home on a beautiful Sunday evening; the day b4 the hated Monday morning. I come with some good.. and bad news.

I've been busy and running errands for the past few weeks like crazy and in one of those drives I saw a beautiful thing just staring back at me. I instantly fell in love. I got reminded of love at first site. It hasn't happened to me in a while, so it took me by surprise.

It was a beautiful single cab 4x4 and from the 1st glance looks a GMC. But I might be wrong. I just wish I could buy it off the ungrateful SOB who's done this great crime of throwing away a beautiful americana.

It like my somewhat strong liking towards the South American Chicas or simply known as latinas. I just wanted to have this baby. But had to decide against it as I have a huge cash guzzling event happening very soon :)

So if any of you are interested in this please do contact me and I'll give you the details to go see this chica..

I'm sure you can bring it to former glory within a million rupees and really cruze arounnndd Colombo with a ride that you know is one of a kind. But with that comes the problem of finding part for it so beware...

www.sportstunned.com

Toyota Sprinter Trueno VS Toyota Supra..

2009-05-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well think again. A Trueno with a Supra engine IS. Soara as he is known in the world of AEU86.org, is going completely NUTS with this car. A "car" that looks like a Trueno but actually nothing in it is a Trueno other than that passing resemblence of one.

This car has been claimed to have 800PS... 800 PS????? Where on earth are you going to use that much of power. Even the Koeinigsegg hardly has 800 BHP!!! This guy is crazy. If you need to see his invention personally please go ahead..

http://www.aeu86.org/viewtopic/hachigo/t/4328/start=125/postdays=0/postorder=asc/highlight=

That engine is just a piece of art and wait till you see the turbo manifold. Just a heart thumping piece of MAN ART... No romantics allowed.. :)

So all of you are here for the Trueno VS Supra drag right????? So here you go..

http://repka.tv/video/23941/

Don't worry the link is safe :)

Mike's Hachi Roku from the Netherlands..

2009-05-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody. It is time for the Hachi Roku Taster and today I will bring to you the most beautiful Hachi Roku I've seen for a while.

It's owned by a Dutch AE86 lover and once you set your eyes on it you'd know how MUCH he loves that car. I'm still at a loss for words. I'm quite certain all you AE86 lovers would leave your girls for this beauty.

Let me 1st give you a translation to the name Hachi Roku. Its Japanese for eight-six as in AE 8-6. Now that we've come passed the name lets move to the titillating items.

I came across this car a few days ago in the AEU86.org site.

I was strolling through the pages leisurely when I came across Mike's post and I just couldn't get my eyes off this beast. It was the most beautifully done up Trueno I've seen in a while. The very first thing I wanted to do was to share this beauty with all you guys.

So here you go; the 1st teaser of this car. I'll post more if you guys like what you see. I'd love to see some requests:)

Jaguar XF in Sri Lanka

2009-05-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

I was at Cinnamon Grand the other day for a dinner and on my way back I saw this baby parked on the side. First I thought it was an Aston and I was very very excited as I still haven't seen the 2 DB9's in SL. But when I got closer I saw that feline emblem that just gave me goosebumps. It was just beautiful to look at. It was like looking at a girl with a beautiful body from head to toe.It was just beckoning for attention with such elegance. Nothing obstructive in the line of vision, it smoothly flows down to every angle I can find.

The front grill is bad ass and the rear is just a master piece. I just love it. Who said SL is a war ridden country. Enjoy boys... I know you'd like this..

Car wanted.. Toyota IST

2009-05-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. I've been quite silent on my SportsTunned posts but at least I've been buidling my site slowly for all of you. It should be out within the next few weeks and all you may put up your precious cars on it for reference purposes. The site will be mainly used BY all of you sports car crazies TO HELP the sports car crazies.

So now for the main reason for this post; I have a friend who's looking for a car. A genuine buyer.. :) The following words are his own so if you have a car that fits the picture please write....

Suran says:

"What follows might be put done as most of you as being very unmanly-like. But when I have my own car I want it to give me the least trouble, hassle and inconvenience. I'm not too big on "the driving feeling" or whatever you may wanna call it.

So here goes.

I want a car that's small and at the same time sexy. By small, I mean a car that's enough for me and a few peeps to ride in, not an unnecessarily long car that can even cover the isle of Mannar in a time of rain. The way I see it, if you do away with the extra long bonnet and the “wagon it be draggin”, you leave a lotta room on the road and in parking spaces to manoeuvre. And, there's a smaller chance of me bumping into someone. So a hatchback type deal would be the way to go.

By sexy, I mean an uncommon and well thought out design. I mean just look at all those damn Toyota sedans out there. To me most of them look the same. The same goes for the Hondas and the Nissans. Some of them are different just by the lil logo on the snout. And speaking of the interior, I want the works. Full option and then some, if possible. Boo to the plain old slider switches. Give me something nice looking and radical.

I don't want a big-ass V6 engine or whatever. Something that'll get me from point A to point B without emptying my wallet will do just fine.

Well, to cut a long story short, I've got my heart set on a Toyota Ist a.k.a. Scion xA in the USA. It's small, looks damn sweet from the outside and has everything and the kitchen sink on the inside. It supposedly can do about 14 km to the liter with a 1300CC engine, and has even got Xenon lights that I don't really care about.

So, I'll take mine in Red if you please, failing that, in Blue or Black! "

Remote Control cars Drifting..

2009-05-10T01:10:00.001-07:00

I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these YouTube videos. These are tiny RC cars that'are drfiting. At times you can't even tell whether they are actual or fake cars because they look so realistic with low profiles tires, lowered suspention and LSDs and the whole lot. Until you see the guys with the remotes in their hand you'd think it's a set of japanese teenagers drifting in their weekend drivers.

I'll guarantee that you'd get addicted and want to buy a RC car.. I certainly did..!

Story of a Land Cruiser – slumdog to muddawg..

2009-05-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

First of all I apologize for the corny heading. I just couldn't resist it..:) :)

I'm going to tell you a little story tonight. It's about an old SUV that was left on the side of the road by some ungrateful humans to die. This is not about a rusted old geezer that just died after it carried out its bidding for the humans. No, its about a geezer that DID its bidding and was left on the side of the road to die AND THEN revived to do MORE for the humans; specially to its owner who painstakingly brought it back to life.

The day it was discovered lying on the side of the road:

Once it was carefully "ambulanced" to the BJ Cruiser Hospital it was stripped and the surgery started almost immediately:

Once the chassis was completely removed of rust and all deadly diseases that would haunt later was painfully removed and the BJ was given a bit of its life back.

The BJ with partially healed wounds:

Straight off the Cruiser Hospital:

And this is what a bit of make up and hair do can do for it:

Look at that beauty, with big tires and the soft top. Looking very healthy, sexy and masculine all at the same time :).

And it's very obvious why the BJ was brought back to life this way. It was to do this:

First steps are always slow but once the BJ gets the hang of it you'd wonder how did you live without it..

Slowly it recovers it's old vitality and passion for the water:

Guess BJ's got some friends :)

It's been a while since the BJ came out of the hospital and it seems a million years has gone passed since those dark days of lying on the corner of the street while its juniors drive by with their horns tooting m0ckingly.

A prime example where man, machine and nature in sync:

The muuuudddddddd and the BJ loves it, just like those elephants running after it :)

oh wow.. Now its posing to the camera.. Nice :)

Am I seeing BJs tail sliding out a tad bit here?????? hmm.. very nice..

BJ is now more adventurous than ever thanks to its owner, a famous wildlife enthusiast/photographer. With that we end this fairytale story of a poor old Land Cruiser that was saved from the clutches of fate and put back on earth to standby another satisfied owner.

I will part with this beautiful photograph taken by BJs master himself which is just, to me, seems to be a personification of the centuries old question: Man, machine, nature: are they right together??? You decide....

On the right Track.

2009-04-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll . This is my first post so be

good to me :) , the previous day i was watching a very famous brand of SUV crawling its way through a puddle of water close to thummulla and it got me thinking as to what has anybody done to revolutionize the most basic concept of an vehicle the "WHEEL"

I have always been a fan of the great wilderness and enjoyed every minute of it .. During my years spent away from my mother land in a place where sand was the basic thing you saw day and night , it had always amazed me on how a 4x4 weighing almost 2 tons ( in some cases) , would easily glide its way along the soft sand that would simply sink a human .Hence my obsessions for the concept of 4-wheeling began , i have to admit that unlike some of the other posts i am still a amateur to the whole scene but i had to share this cool mod with you'll

Firstly i was amazed and made my mind up that it had to be a custom job, but the simple fact it is is not , Its called MATTRACKS. (www.mattracks.com) The cost varies from about $3500 onwards and come in different specs , but the best thing about it is mostly available for all standard 4X4 you find here .

It is equipped with a unique independent system that the manufacturers say wont even damage the environment the way a wheel does :) furthermore the mobility on one of these things are pretty dam amazing , it can virtually go on any terrain and totally outwits the concept of the standard tyre and only takes a few minutes to add one (like changing a flat tyre)

and the best part if no more FLAT TIREs :)

Well don't believe me ? , Go to YouTube and be amazed by the clips you see.

Imagine a couple of these things here , i am sure the enthusiasts here would have alot to say about it :) , Let me have your views , i would like to learn more as to why such things are not used in Competitions around the world ?

Sr Zonda

My Trueno

2009-04-26T07:44:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, hope you had a lovely time voting for the next best embezzler of the year.. and keeping the sad tunes on, it's going to be one of these articles where everyone clicking on this link would be going "oh geez, not a freaking Trueno" but yes things are that bad in this country. But for me it's all good as my car's there to cheer me up. Today I treated her wounds slowly and painfully. 1st I removed her air filter and tenderly placed it on the floor prior to getting furious with the spanner for not being able to turn the screw for the radiator. Once I'm done with my swearing and thrown the all nuts and bolts allover the garage for making me work so hard (huh.. got them good....), I removed the battery.

Once all of these were removed I started my refurbishing job. Cleaned the radiator and bled the cooling system. As my radiator is anyway a leaky one I think doing this regularly would be good for my car. Once that was done I cleaned the battery mount area and put the battery back on without the plate which it normally sits on. This plate has been the culprit for the dent that's on my hood as the negative terminal seems to be jutting up too much..

Finally took my Apexi Power Intake air filter out and washed it. I'm a bit worried about washing it but now that I've done it no use of worrying. I was recommended to wash it by my mechanic (all so well known as Nadeera) and I hope the filter would be fine. I also did a quick research online but there was mixed feelings about washing and blowing it with pressured air.

Then came the hard task of putting them all back. I'm so bad at this but surprisingly I got it working fine and the car came to life without any hiccups. But let's see once I start driving it around this week.

So all-in-all a good week for my Panda. I changed my spark plugs back to my NGK Iriway 8s after I had to remove them in an unfortunate incident few weeks ago.

I'd like to hear from you guys about my car; whether you like the looks of it or not. The Trueno is an iconic machine around the world inspiring thousands to take up Drifting like it did for me. Well I'm no drifter but I'm building my car so that I can with minimal affect to its setup or having to replace bushings each time I take it for a spin.

What do you think of my photographing skills?

2009-04-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

As you might have already noticed I brought you a nice BJ40 yesterday. I hope y'all liked it :) There are a few more pics left over from that photo shoot, my 1st ever photo shoot; where my excuse for the inartistic pics was the cam I was using.. I'm sure I can do a better job with a better cam. :) I highly doubt though...

Another one for the Mud crazed 4x4 enthusiast..

2009-04-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

After a long day at work there's nothing like coming home to a nice hot bath and a warm glass of milk and that's exactly what I didn't experience tonight. 1st thing I did after I got home around 12 mid night was to get ready for this article. So here goes..

Last weekend I went and met a good friend of mine, who has a BJ40 fully modified to be a awesome off-roader. On the same day I happen to bump into yet another a good friend who had brought this Hilux after a nice wash. So I happen to have my dinky cam and with the limit intelligence I have, I figured that there could be a nice photoshoot and so took some pics. Let me know what you think of them.

I had a lovely time taking my own photographs and got really really sun burnt.. Probably broke a few laws as well by putting the jeep and hilux up on the steps.. So I'll be in jail only if any of you snittttch.... So let's see...

By the way this beauty is for sale.. Anyone interested let me know. FYI, it's a very well maintained and my friend takes care of it like his GF; take it from me mate.. Got the 2B 3 liter engine underneath that hood so you know its powerful too..

Want to increase your horsepower? Here are some tips..

2009-04-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

Finally got sometime for my blog. Been so busy that I've been having some 16 hour working days for an entire week. Hectic and underpaid!! :)

Anyways, I wanted to do this article for sometime now but never got the chance. Now that I'm also carrying out some performance upgardes to my car I thought may I can share a few views with you and maybe here a few ideas from all you out there...

So here goes.. From the research I've done its quite important to look at a few things under your hood and quite easily achieved ones at that. I've gone a bit cheap and quoted the rest from one of my research sites but I don't think I can do a better job of explaining the points of improvement (http://www.jdmenginesamurai.com/performance_tuning.htm)

1) Get more air into the engine: Modifying your car’s intake system is one of the easiest and biggest performance boosts you can make for a reasonable price. Increasing airflow into the engine provides oxygen needed to burn more fuel. More fuel means more power. It’s a modification you can easily do yourself, as the parts are easily installed with little or no modifications needed. AEM makes an easy-to-install hybrid intake system just for JDM swaps. Another popular brand is K & N.

There are two types of systems used in the tuner community: the short ram (also called warm) intake or cold air intake. With the short ram intake, the air filter is still inside the engine compartment but it is located as far away as possible from the engine. This system has less restriction and uses a higher flowing air filter to get air into the engine. You can expect a 4 to 8 hp gain from this system. The system most desirable is the cold air intake system, which runs a longer pipe and locates the filter low in the engine compartment. You can expect to see a 15 horsepower gain after installation and tuning. It costs around $150.00. A bypass valve is important to install, as it helps to keep the engine from getting bogged down with water if the car happens to splash through a deep puddle. The bypass valve costs $50.00. Check brands to make sure a bypass valve is offered when buying a cold air intake system, and make sure it passes your state's smog/emissions guidelines.

2) Get more exhaust out of the engine: As more power is produced, the need for a freer flowing exhaust system is more prevalent. Getting exhaust to flow out the engine efficiently helps the engine to draw more air into the air intake, thus producing more power. Installing a Cat-back exhaust system will provide the level of engine noise and performance you desire. A cat-back system is all of the exhaust components from the catalytic converter back, hence the name. There are after-market systems available for almost all makes and models that are made of stainless steel, mild steel and titanium. Mild steel is cheaper but rusts easily, so if you live in a wet or snowy climate, you'll want to steer clear. Stainless steel won't rust and is polished for a high-quality shine that will give your vehicle a smart, individual look. Titanium is lightweight and attractive with a steep cost—up to $300 more than a stainless steel system. Expect to see gains of up to 6 to 25 horsepower and 5 to 20 foot/lbs of torque. DC Sports, Trust and Tanabe are popular brands that offer cat-back systems for under $700.00.

Things to keep in mind when choosing a cat-back system: future modifications, clearance, and emissions. If you're planning on upgrading to nitrous, blowers or turbo, you'll want to install a larger diameter pipe. Beware, larger isn’t always better. Too large of a diameter in exhaust pipes can disrupt flow patterns. If you're looking to lower your car’s ground clearance in the future, then go with a system that's suitable, as you don't want your new exhaust ruined on a low driveway or a speed bump. Also, before purchasing, make sure your new system will pass all emissions standards to avoid registration/emission problems or even tickets from the long arm of the law. You can also install an exhaust header to replace the exhaust manifold. An exhaust header is a tubular exhaust manifold that allows exhaust to leave the engine
more efficiently. DC Sports and G Reedy are popular brands offering headers in the
$200.00 to $500.00 price range.

3) Get more fuel to your engine: Now that you have more air for the engine and a way to dissipate engine waste, the engine is ready for more fuel. More fuel burned by the engine equates to more power. As you increase the fuel needs of your engine, you may want to change to a high-volume fuel pump or an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. A high-performance fuel pump by Venom sells for $185.00. AEM makes a fuel pressure regulator for $150.00. You can also install a computer that helps to control fuel flow. G Reddy offers a product called eManage, which is an after-market computer that connects with the
ECU and helps to manage fuel and air flow, among other things. G Reddy also offers a program for your computer to help track changes for more efficient tuning. It’s available for around $320.00 and G Reddy offers technical support if you purchase one of their systems. Keep in mind, the unit should be professionally installed to insure that all of the modifications work with the ECU and the system.

4) Get better spark to the engine: Now that you’re burning more fuel, you need to have a more efficient means of getting more spark to the engine. The spark ignites the fuel, which creates horsepower. Installing an after-market high performance ignition system such as MSD or Exel will help to get a more efficient and powerful spark from the spark plugs. Systems are available for under $500.00.

5) Improve engine performance: Accessories such as the water pump, oil pump, cooling fan and alternator rob your engine of precious horsepower. Installing a new drive pulley system will reduce the amount of horsepower stolen from the crankshaft to drive the system. A lighter weight pulley is made of aluminum, comes in a kit with all of the accessories, and is easy to install. AEM and Unorthodox Racing offer drive pulley systems for $160.00. You can expect to see increases of 6 to 10 horsepower.

Happy tunning guys!!!! Love to hear from you about your point of views....

Best find of the year so far...

2009-04-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, my life is complete!!! It all started maybe, roughly a month ago when I realized that there're no girls whom I know (including my fiancé) who loves the car I just would die for!! And this made me feel really empty :) How can the ladies NOT love this cutiee?? ==>

So I started my endeavor in finding (even a single) girl in this world that loves the AE86. It took a few weeks for me to figure out that it's a hopeless case. Then... last night, I saw a post on the Poll I started in the AEU86 (my post @ AEU86) which put my search to an end. A girl had posted a comment and dropped the bomb (in her own words) on all of us! She not only confessed her love but also introduced us to a whole bunch of beautiful girls to our complete disbelief.

These ladies are from Ireland and they know how to keep their Hachi's nice and sweet! I love those cars; they are beautifully maintained and they know their driving, I tell you that.

This is NikkiRoku's car and I think its one of the best in the site:

This is Maryann's baby and I love ittttt!!!

And THE BEST LOOKER is from Edwina (probably because my weakness for the coupe):

Finally the ladies themselves (you can find them @ http://ae86girls.webs.com/):

So there you go, we aren't alone, these beautiful ladies do what they love the most; love the AE86 and I think that's awesome!!! Now, I can rest in peace........

Fuel quality standards.. Are they properly enforced in SL? Is the fuel being pumped to your beloved car actually what they say it is?

2009-04-14T00:54:00.000-07:00

What you do you think the answer to this somewhat simple question?

Is the fuel you pump is actually worth the amount you pay for?

Knowing our politicians and money crazed businessman it is highly likely that the "petrol sheds" in Sri Lanka are adulterating the processed black gold and making us incur a cost most of cannot and will not tolerate.

There were rumors spreading during the fuel re-pricing days that all the filling stations were pumping 90 octane petrol instead of 95 octane at the 95's price. This is absolutely unacceptable if this rumor happens to be true. But how do we know whether this practice that happened during the price drop is still happening or not? The chances are it still is because once you find out a cheap profit making strategy it's hard to get rid of it even if you wanted to!

Another popular filling station related folklore amongst us are the fuel pump meters which runs at a faster speed than the actual fill rate resulting in the car being filled lesser than what you pay. In the end it's us, the poor citizens of Sri Lanka that suffers from this. Our small salaries (without bonus OR salary increments) get used up to pay more for lower quality fuel.

Let me ask you a few questions:

1. Do you feel that you car purrs better after pumping 95 or even 90 octane at certain filling stations?

2. Do you feel your car gives out more power when pumped with 95 against 90 octane petrol?

3. Do you suspect that the fuel meter is always way too fast at the start?

Well I’d like to hear about this from you, all of you and maybe even more!! I’ll run a small poll pertaining to this and depending on your comments I’ll launch my own investigation into this. It would be kickass if you could help me out guys!! This is for all of us!

My beloved AE86 Trueno

2009-04-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

Finally I've decided to have a post for my car, my beloved AE86. I bought this baby in October 2008 and it's been quite reliable though it has quite a bit of work to be done on it. Most of the problems came due to the ignornace of the mechanics in SL but hey, that's just a fact of life here.

I've got a few mods done this car:

1. LSD

2. E-brake

3. Intake (Apexi)

4. Exhaust (Greddy barrel)

5. Iridium spark plugs

6. Dampening adjustable shocks

I want to modify her so that she can be used on the track as well as drifting. I'm assuming that a track/drift adaptable car can be easily switched to a drag car as and when needed.

So my planned upgrades are:

1. 20V conversion (blacktop and I'm looking for now still)

2. Brakes

3. Suspension

4. Bushing (prothane kit all-around)

Well that's all I could think of right now.

I'm sure there's quite a few AE86 fans out there in SL. So I'd love to hear from you guys about your ideas and pics of your cars if you own one as well (even an AE85).

Pick of the week - Jana's B4ast

2009-04-09T00:46:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! How is it going? The six-day long holiday started today and so I decided to publish my pick of the week as I had some time in hand before I gave my (beautiful) Trueno for a good cut and polish.

Before I introduce my guest let me ask you a question, what would you get reminded of if I say this car has a turbo charged boxer engine? I'm quite sure you'd get the right answer on the 2nd try at least! It can only be either a Impreza or a Legacy, am I correct?

Well, my pick of the week is one of the best specimens of the Legacy B4 (2000 model) in Sri Lanka and it is just absolutely gorgeous. It is immaculately maintained and my friend Jana, is going total freakish on that car. I’m sure he loves that car more than his wife and daughter ;). I’m sorry but that’s how much this man loves his car!!! Well maybe equally, to be fair..

The B4ast's Spec:

Engine

Type: EJ20

Cylinders: straight 4 – boxer

Displacement: 1994cc

Maximum gross power: 280ps/4,500 rpm

Maximum net torque: 345Nm

Aspiration

Turbo

Suspension

Front: Bilsteins (stock)

Rear: Bilsteins (stock)

Brakes
Front: 13” Disc – 4 piston (stock)

Rear: 12” Disc – 4 piston (stock 4)

Stock Options

Momo steering

Black/Black full leather

Body-kit

Transmission
Automatic

Performance Upgrades

Forged pistons

Greddy race bearings

Platinum-tip spark plugs

RSK Twin Turbo

STI9 Bypass/blow-off

Pivot voltage stabilizers

Apexi Turbo Timer

Swoosh JDM Electronic Turbo Boost Gauge

4” exhaust barrel

Accessories

Pioneer FHP5000MP double-din (50RMS x 4)

Fusion Subwoofer (400RMS)

Infinity speakers (50RMS for main and 25RMS for Tweeter)

Speedline 16” rims

225 Bridgestone Potenza G3

Well, what you do you think? Nice? I think so too. We should cherish cars like this in SL. Yes, they might not be good on fuel or on practicality but who cares about that when the package looks this good eh? Exactly! I'm yet to drive this to comment on the handling and the accelaration but I'm told it's pretty quick.

I will leave you with some more pics of this B4ast for you to drool over.

I hope you liked my pick of the week. For now I'll be signing off with the hopes of brining yet another beautiful machine very soon!

For the 4x4 Enthusiast - i

2009-04-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

This thread is for all you 4x4 groupies:) I'll be bring you some nice looking 4x4s owned by a few of my friends. These beautiful looking things might give you an idea on how you could upgrade your 4x4 if its still in stock condition.

My 1st pick is a BJ40 owned by one of my friends. He loves his 4x4. He's a hardcore 4x4 fan and he's done this BJ40 up quite nicely.

I've added the BJ40's spec:

Engine
Type:   Model B Diesel engine,
OHV Cylinders:   straight 4
Bore and stroke:   95.0 x 105.0mm

Displacement:   2,977cc
Compression ratio: 21.0
Maximum gross power:   85PS/3,600 rpm
Maximum net torque:   20.0kg-m/2,200 rpm
Diesel tank capacity:   62 liters

Suspension
Front: semi-elliptic leaf spring
Rear: semi-elliptic leaf spring

Brake
Front/ Rear drum

Accessories
Soft-top, Original Diesel, A/C, Power steering, Alloy wheels, New 33x15 MT Off-Road tyres, Pioneer CD setup, Snorkel, Halogen head lamps, Fogs, bucket seats

Here are some pics for your enjoyment!

By the way this BJ40 is for sale. The asking price is around 1.625Mil. Let me know if you are interested. I'm quite sure the price is negotiable :)

Tommi Makenin at BMI.. Man he's fast on ICE!

2009-04-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys and girls. Hope you liked the AE86 rally car. I've a AE86 lover so I'm totally biased on that one. But this one anyone should love. Its Tommi Makenin at BMI (Best Motoring International) taking some of the Japanese professional drivers for a ride on the 2003 WRC Subaru Impreza and man were they going to get the ride of their lives.

Dori Dori (Drift King) and the rest of the gang got their share of the ride with the awesome driver and he just showed what these WRC drivers are made of! Guts and balls and more guts and balls. He's bloody doing 200km/h on the ice with tires you could buy off the shelf.

You just need to watch this!

I just love rally driving and I just wish in Sri Lanka rallying was more popular and more money would pour in so that the drivers don't have to care about the car more than their driving. Well anyways that's just me doing some wishful thinking. Hope you guys enjoy these classic videos!!

Till next time

AE86 Rally car.. A Driver with a lot of Cojones!!!

2009-04-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

You guys just got to see these YouTube videos. This guy is just the epitome gutsy drivers or as I call it "Driving with Cojones". His name is Ivo Kilpis and I believe he's Latvian. Pure Guts and balls man..

Just check this guy out on the ice!! He's just driving sooo beautifully. Its just mesmerizing. And that engine sound....!! Damn..! Music to the ears. Man I can't wait to get my Blacktop and get those ITBs opened up! Just want the world to experience the Blacktop goodness.

Now check this video out. If you thought the one on top was good, then think again. This guy has that "never say die" attitude. I'm sure anyone else with a crash like this would give up but NOOOO, this guy continues..

Enjoy boyzz..

Lovely!

Every petrolhead just got to love some music right?

2009-04-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Good day to you.. I'm going to write a small article which might seem totally unrelated to what this blog is alllll about but I tell you, that it is more related to cars than you might think.

Music! That's what I'm going to talk about. I just added a small YouTube gadget to my blog and while adding some Drift videos I stumbled upon a lovely intrumental done by Andy Mckee. I've listened to a couple of his albums and they just take your breath away so this song is not so different from them.

All you petrolheads know how it feels to love your cars.. Passion runs through our veins and it makes us seek for better things in life and without that what are we? My theory is; if you're passionate about one thing then you definitely can be passionate about something else as much if you let yourself and for me cars and music stand at the same level. Some might get offended at this comment but hey, that's life and you cannot expect many of the same everywhere!! :)

Sad times for the Panda

2009-04-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody, its been a while since I updated my blog. I've been busy with my car as it had a few issues with its driveshaft and few other minor things. Took it to the mechanic and ended up issues becoming worse.

I'm going through what most of you experience when going to lankan garage. There's no love for the work they do and these garages definitely don't understand the 1st thing about a tunned/upgraded car. These guys thought there's something wrong with my handbrake as I have an E-brake and had pulled some wires out from the inside. Now I have to fix that on my own!!!

After this horrific experience from which, my heart hurts still due to the pain it has caused my car, I've completely given up fixing my car up with a normal garage. Next time around it'll be the "big Project" where I'll be making my Panda a kick as Drift/Track car with a Big brakes system, nice coilover set, a good exhuast system and specially a 20V Black top.

I'll keep all of you updated.

Hachi

P.S. If any of you find out where I could get a 20V 4A-GE please let me know..

Best set of Coilovers for your Performance Car

2009-03-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

For anyone who wants to get their suspension upgraded here's your guide. The rating were done by the users of www.aeu86.org. These coilovers are for Drifting, rally racing and even drag racing. These are the top most popular sets of Coilovers and they are ordered based on its popularity;

1. Greddy Type S

2. MEGAN SS

3. D2 RS

4. KSport Pro

5. custom coilovers (e.g. HTS short strokes and springs of different brands)

These can be brought down to SL through a few guys. Contact me if you need their contact details. I'm thinking of ordering the D2 RS so that's going to kill 135k of my rupees :(. But the ratings are skyhigh for the Greddy Type S. I'm a bit worried now. It seems the D2 RS doesn't adjust as much in real life as it does in its advertisement.

Keep me posted with your ideas guys. Let me know what other items you'd want to see here..

Performance upgrades in Sri Lanka..Hmm do you have a chance??

2009-03-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm a fellow petrolhead just as you are and I own an AE86 which is just lovely to drive and I just love the way it always seeks my attention through some sort of malfunction or even a nice little wheelspin when I don't expect. A rather sexy creature for people with acquired tastes like me. I'm a huge Knight Rider fan so I guess that's obvious.

Though my car has mods on it already like;

1. exhaust (greddy Trust)

2. cold intake (apexi power intake)

3. shortshifter

4. driftknob

5. damper adjustable coilovers (GAB)

6. LSD

7. Perf Spark Plugs (Iriway 8s)

to find any upgrades is quite a hassle and in Sri Lanka it's even harder find a garage or mechanic who'll passionately make sure your car is ok, suggest and provide all services that'll make it go faster and handle better.

I want to change this.

I want all of us to get together and break this money-minded, quick-fix attitude and map those rare garages and shops that will provide performance upgrades.

There are enough and more talented people in Sri Lanka who actually do such stuff and build exhausts for overseas markets, aero parts, ect., it's just that WE in SL are oblivious to this. I want this to end right now!!!!

I'm putting up a site called www.sportstunned.com which will bring all these pentup frustration to an end. I'd love to hear from you guys on this and see what you guys think of this. The site is currently under construction so don't be too dissappointed. But let me just get the word around and all you car lovers will thank me for changing SL's mindset of doing up cars for the better.......:)