malaysian..?????

[Safariworld]

Cleong, are you guys joining a open track session at Pasir Gudang or have you rented the place? I would really like to meet up. But its quite a drive from KL for a day trip. Anyhow, what time will you be there?

[cleong]

We are joining an open track session that runs from 1-5pm. Assuming no last minute pull-outs we should have about 5 or 6 Yaris turning up, plus a few miscellaneous cars. You need shoes and helmet if you want to track your car. It should cost RM$120 for the 4 hour session.

We are meeting up at about 9am to cross the border into Malaysia, so do give us an sms if you're coming down.

[Safariworld]

Cleong, have you guys considered coming to Sepang for an open track day? I recall that the Vios Owners Club Singapore did that about a month ago. There is actually an upcoming Sepang track day for July. However, its organised by a 3rd party and not the track itself hence the fee is slightly inflated. Heres the link:

http://www.hpcevents.com/register.htm

BTW, is there a Singapore Yaris club forum?

[cleong]

yes.... www.yarisclub.com.sg

Sepang's a bit big already, maybe when we've done Pasir Gudang we'll try Sepang next.

[Safariworld]

Smurf, you are in Sabah, right? I think they had the audio cover since the time their car appeared on Xtremekar magazine. When I was at the shop, they asked me if I wanted to buy it but I'm sticking with the factory audio. They're quite helpful actually. I bought the RS rear bumper reflector from them

[smurf]

Originally Posted by Safariworld

Smurf, you are in Sabah, right? I think they had the audio cover since the time their car appeared on Xtremekar magazine. When I was at the shop, they asked me if I wanted to buy it but I'm sticking with the factory audio. They're quite helpful actually. I bought the RS rear bumper reflector from them

yea ...i'm at sabah........
its really hard to get yaris stuff here..

[leowhy]

how's the trash out in pasir gudang?

[cleong]

The day started out wet, grey and gloomy, but when we got to the track after lunch, the track was bone-dry, it was as cool as we can expect for a tropical afternoon, and it was all good to go for the track!

In a bid to avoid stressing the car too much I planned only 5 laps each time I went out in addition to one warm up lap and one cooldown lap. I found the car suffered from a lot of corner entry understeer, maybe I was just entering corners way too fast. But the brakes held up and felt good for the duration of each run.

I also paced a Suzuki Swift Sport down the straight and found that the Yaris doesn't give up very much in terms of straightline speed. As my 5 laps were up, I didn't stay with him long enough to see if its cornering was better than mine, but I would feel that would be the case.

I got a little bit faster max speed than Marc (nurburgring) (I recorded a 154kph down the back straight). However I suffered from pretty bad understeer which resulted in quite a lot of front tire scrub. Didn't really cross my mind to reduce tire pressures till toward the end of the session, when I really didn't want to go out anymore.

Also had a run with a Proton Gen 2 Coupe/Satria which was surprisingly quick. I could overtake him (and he graciously gave way) but I found it hard to shake him and pushed too hard trying to lose him. He may have just wanted to follow me instead of being followed by me! Haha..

I clocked a similar lap time to Marc, he is very smooth and consistent while I was all over the place. In addition I was making mistakes all over the place. So technically I had the marginally faster car (manual vs. auto), but he was the better driver.

I clocked near 20 laps. I went into JB with 3/4 of a tank, and filled up on the way home (I did 12.5km/litre which is not bad considering I was on high revs all the time I was on track). That, and quite a lot of Michelin rubber I'd left on the track, plus a bit of coolant lost. I didn't feel that my car was flexing too much, although I felt that the car hops a little through high-G corners when the suspension starts bottoming out.

Hopefully we will see a better turnout next time.

A few photos to show that we were there (too busy tracking to take action pics)


Getting ready to go in!


Having an empty boot makes for a lighter car.


Post tracking and its time for the cars to hit the showers!


One of our friends......


......is Takumi!

[eTiMaGo]

that black one with the smoked out rear fog/turn signal looks real good!

and say hi to Takumi for me pls... he's my hero, can he send me some tofu?

[leowhy]

so that is indeed an AE86... :)

cleong, i remmeber u lowered the spring of ur yaris right? still experince understeer? hmm... guest mine will be worse since its still in stock condition? BTW, do u add any strut bar/antiroll bar?
the highest i got on straight roads so far is around 140kph only... haven't really stress my car too much yet... :P

one more question... from the photo, why i get the impression that the black yaris looks "longer" compare to the silver one? isiist just my eye?

[cleong]

Enter any corner way too fast/hot and you will experience understeer. That was what happened to me. I really should have been using my brakes a lot more to slow the car down and transfer some weight to the front (steering) wheels in order to negotiate the bends. I have no strut bars and I am still waiting for a proper rear antiroll bar (Ultra Racing's ARB look very poorly designed).

The black car looks longer because it has an aftermarket bodykit. Out of the three Yaris that did laps, two of them were automatics, only mine was manual.

[cleong]

In Singapore, F/R RS bumpers cost between S$1400-2000. The RS tailight is S$300+, TRD wheel is probably the killer item. Why not go with a light set of SSR or Volks or something? TRD springs are around S$500+ but you can get Tanabes/Teins around S$400 fitted.

[leowhy]

Originally Posted by strayato.hirzaki

oh, they do carries an impressive range of optional upgrade for yaris. the dude there show me a digital offline catalog and it was such a long list. i did ask them to quote me for the following items :-

1. front RS bumper
2. rear RS bumper with rear foglamps
3. RS taillight
4. TRD 17" 5 spoke wheel
5. TRD lowering springs

and ZOMGBBQSAUCE! the amount came up to 10k+! (exclusive of installation and paint job) so uhh, i was thinking to head over to sunway's modding heaven and see if i could get a better pricing there. well, if you have enquiries, you could drop them a call @ +603.9221 6168 / 3168 :)

Originally Posted by cleong

In Singapore, F/R RS bumpers cost between S$1400-2000. The RS tailight is S$300+, TRD wheel is probably the killer item. Why not go with a light set of SSR or Volks or something? TRD springs are around S$500+ but you can get Tanabes/Teins around S$400 fitted.

WOW!!! that's expansive...

guess that's the price we hae to pay to get "improvements"...
gotta work alot harder d...

[strayato.hirzaki]

Originally Posted by cleong

In Singapore, F/R RS bumpers cost between S$1400-2000. The RS tailight is S$300+, TRD wheel is probably the killer item. Why not go with a light set of SSR or Volks or something? TRD springs are around S$500+ but you can get Tanabes/Teins around S$400 fitted.

hmm, true true. yeah, i had my eyes on some OZ wheels, kinda fancy them but i heard it's not really practical for driving around town filled with potholes and uneven road as those tiny puny shaft will get dented and crooked easily. yup, i'll heed your advice, most probably, will go for Tanabe NF210 / DF210 for that perfect drop

[cleong]

OZ Superleggeras? They're light and sensibly priced. I guess if you used a tire with a tallish sidewall and enough air pressure you'll get away with most of the hammering. I'm of the opinion that the good lightweight Japanese forged rims are designed for track use and would stand up to day to day driving easily. It is the lightweight Taiwanese rims that distort over time.

[eTiMaGo]

Originally Posted by cleong

OZ Superleggeras? They're light and sensibly priced. I guess if you used a tire with a tallish sidewall and enough air pressure you'll get away with most of the hammering. I'm of the opinion that the good lightweight Japanese forged rims are designed for track use and would stand up to day to day driving easily. It is the lightweight Taiwanese rims that distort over time.

Indeed, pay close attention to the top part of my rim:



Although that was the result of an unfortunate encounter with a large reflective block thing in the middle of the road, I had to swerve to avoid a stupid bike, and CONK!

Thankfully it's just the outside lip of the rim, the damage is basically only cosmetic...

I'm going for 16" next time

[rx100]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

Indeed, pay close attention to the top part of my rim:



Although that was the result of an unfortunate encounter with a large reflective block thing in the middle of the road, I had to swerve to avoid a stupid bike, and CONK!

Thankfully it's just the outside lip of the rim, the damage is basically only cosmetic...

I'm going for 16" next time

i'm using Advan RGII 16"...

[cleong]

Friends from Malaysia, how say you guys? A rendezvous at Cameron Highlands, and a blat through the winding roads in and around the area (particular Gua Musang)?