Cooling Coil for Modern Cars.

New car now days have to take off the dash board just to remove the cooling coil. Check out the Hyundai (Inokom) Matrix which have to remove the whole dash board console. (Roughly will need 8 hours to complete the whole cycle as there is plenty of screw and bracket to remove and assemble.

Even Avanza have to remove dash board to change the cooling Coil, but the design is much better. It has less bracket and screw to remove. (Roughly need 3~4 hours to complete).
















So I really like old design better as it only need to remove the glove box to change the cooling coil and it only need 1~2 hours max to complete. So what the hell is automotive engineers are thinking now days?

Work Place clean 5S

Office Desk cleaned up. I really need to clear my head and have a proper direction. I was confused on my own responsibilities at work but now it is all crystal clear. My direction given by management is clear and have solid boundaries. Need to work harder obviously and with proper authority given together with the responsibility.

Fixed Cabin Noise Problem

I have this funny problem of having a strange noise when the car vibrates due to bump or whatever.... a weird ticking noise. So i have been hunting for the source of this sound for more than 2 months as it comes and goes away.
Finally today, I managed to find it. I tapped the door panel of the right front door and the left front door. The right door sounds solid but the left one have slight clinking sound. So I removed the floor panel and found the 4 screws locking the power window motor to the door is loose. I tighten the 4 screws and installed the door panel back on. After doing this, both doors have same tap sounds..."SOLID". I was so worried that it is some suspension issue, but lucky it is not :)
Just some info to share.

CAI Improved version (Full set Picture)

Needless to say, there is some flaw with my DIY CAI prototype and I finally have these flaw fixed today. Some of the issues are:
1) Intake dimension not fit to bumper hole (Fixed by changing new intake design).
2) Water and dust can was suck directly into filter box. (fixed by changing out let design to have gaps).
This is less than RM10 and snap fit, it is solid with 2" diameter anti collapse.

Update: Just tested it with OEM filter.... feel is good and expected power comes in after 2.5 RPM, ramp at 3k onwards till VTEC and goes wild. :) (I love it)

1 Minute Warm UP! (Tech tips)

I have came across an article Yesterday night on car warm up. It is interesting and actually enlightening to me. I used to warm up my car for more than 5 minutes everyday which is WRONG! Very wrong indeed and now wonder my FC is so bad.
For old carburetor engines, long warm up is ok (maybe good too). But for fuel injection engines, long warm up is a bad idea (Why? see below). So now I only warm up the engine for less than 1 minute and drive slowly to let the engine heat up gradually.

This article is from Mother's News, please give all the credit to them.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Ask-Our-Experts/Green-Transportation/Car-Engine-Warm-Up.aspx
"Although you might think it’s easier on your car to let it sit and gently warm up, doing so is a bad idea for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it does indeed waste gas.

The vast majority of cars on the road today use electronic fuel injection. When your car’s engine is cold, the computer tells the fuel injectors to stay open longer, allowing more fuel into the engine to help it run cold. As the engine warms up, the injectors let in less fuel and everything returns to normal, so to speak.

The problem is, letting your car sit and idle is the slowest way to bring it up to operating temperature because it’s generally sitting in your drive at just above idle speed. And this method to warm up also invites other problems. Remember that modern cars are equipped with a multitude of devices to help them run clean, including a catalytic converter (sometimes three of them), a device in the exhaust system that works to burn off unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust stream. A cold engine emits a far higher percentage of unburned hydrocarbons than a warm engine. Unfortunately, the average catalytic converter can’t process 100 percent of unburned hydrocarbons even in the best of times. Importantly, the catalytic converter needs high exhaust temperatures to work properly. Throw in a cold engine emitting a high percentage of unburned hydrocarbons, repeat several hundred times, and you can end up with what’s called a “plugged” converter. In a nutshell, the converter becomes overwhelmed and literally ceases to function. This won’t happen all at once but over time, the end effect is the same: poor mileage and significantly dirtier exhaust.

The best bet? Even when it’s 10 degrees F outside, start your car, let it run for 30 to 60 seconds to get all the fluids moving, then drive off gently. Your engine will warm up faster, your exhaust system will get up to temperature faster so the catalytic converter can do its thing, and you’ll use less fuel. Which is what you wanted all along anyhow, right?

If it's below zero outside, it would be a good idea to give the engine five minutes or a little less before you drive off into the frozen wilderness!

— Richard Backus, editor in chief, Gas Engine and Motorcycle Classics magazines"

EK4 for Sale (4 door 6 Gen Civic)

Hi ALL,

My friend is selling his original EK4 B16A Manual (4 door) 98/2000
Items:
1) Changed to 99 dahboard.
2) Piggy back E-manage.
3) Extractor 4-2-1 5Zigen (Jasma)
4) Suspension Tein Hi/Lo Soft/Hard.
5) Original Spoon 15 inch RIM (4 hole)
6) Original EK4 Body and Interior.
7) EK4 Chassis (No major accident)

Minor Touch up required on:
1) Spoiler.
2) Body paint (Current pain color is similar to Wira Dark Blue)

Price: 48k Nego. (Loan should be around 20k)

Please call Owner: Ah Keong (012-2832556) for more detail.
Thanks for viewing.

DIY Air intake Filter Update.

Finally I managed to find the comparable foam filter material. It cost RM25 for 1" X 2' X 3'. So I cut out one piece and prototype installed it to the HKS cartridge. I have also snap some pictures comparing the OEM filter vs the DIY re-furbished filter. After installing it, I can feel Air pulling into the DIY CAI opening. Will drive the car tomorrow to feel if there is any difference. If this works then it would be very economical for me to DIY install the material to any filter cartridge (OEM needs to be cut and modify a bith to prevent the foam filter from being sucked into the intake. Currrent HKS have the green barrier designed to it.

Update 30 July 2009: I have tested the Filter, indeed the air pull is much greater but there is a trade off. Dust and small particle (especially water droplets) can sip pass thru it. So my conclusion is Sponge filter does have improved air flow but it can only trap bigger sand particles. Dust and water droplets may escape. My verdict is "Go back to OEM filter", it is cheap and effective to filter if couple with CAI. (CAI does direct more air but it also carry dust and water droplets).