Sorry to all the drift-lovers out there, I don't like drifting because I don't like the feeling of a car "losing" control even though it's a controlled-losing-control. I just never liked the feeling of the tail of my car going side ways. I prefer much stability and grip power at fast corners, just like in Formula One.
Well, not to compare my humble ride with F1, but after 8 long years of upgrading the handling, finally it has come to this satisfactory stage where I am happy with. I started with installing stabiliser bars because back then, I can only afford bars and not a set of coilovers.
Here is the list of bars I have :
- 4-Point Tower Bar
- 3-Point Rear Bar
- 3-Point Fender Bar (Sorry, no picture)
- 4-Point Lower-Side Bar
- Rear Upper
- 19mm Anti Roll Bar
It is interesting how these bars work when it comes to tight corners, it is just superb how you can feel the steer response, but these ain't the contact point between my car and tarmac. I have tried numerous sizes of wheels and tyres. When I got my car first, OEM fitted 205/45 R16, with some silverstone tyres that I thrashed in less than a year, I opted Falken 522 using the OEM wheels.
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| The worn out Falken 522 ready to go |
This set is not too bad, grip in dry, and durable, when it comes to raining, you just can't get it to work. So, I changed my wheels and tyres again when the Falken 522 worn out, this time, I have 205/40 R17 x 7jj with Falken 912.
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| Fresh - Falken 912 with 17" |
I'm impressed, grip in dry and wet condition, the only issue is, 17" wheels kill the top speed, I hardly clock pass 170kph. After 2 cycles, I decided to go with 195/55 R15 x 6.5jj on Falken 912.
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| Smaller wheels doesn't look that bad right? |
So I have now gained back my top speed, I can manage 195kph, but handling was sort of compromised. On the same set of wheels, I then fit in 195/50, now, this is perfect for me, why? because the same time, I have a set of hi-lo adjustable shocks installed. Superb!
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| The ride height was set to almost similar to OEM settings, didn't want the car to be too low |
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| How you like the ride height? |
As times go, I began to feel that its not enough, a new set of hi-lo soft-hard is in position, plus pillow ball joint. If previous settings are superb, this is heavenly. Currently I have 2 sets of wheels, for normal daily drive, I have 195/50 R15 x 8jj offset 25 with Toyo T1R;
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| Here's my rota wheels, still with the old Falken 912 |
and for my race, I have 195/50 R15 x 7jj offset 38 with Bridgestone RE002.
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| This is marvelous, any condition, it will bite on the tarmac and never let go |
Oh yes, I have joined a race back in December 2013, my first time attack, I got myself a full face helmet, and there was I, that feeling in the track is so much difference from "racing" on public roads. Well, like I said, it was my first race, so my time sheet was quite bad. Nonetheless, I had fun, and I learned much more about what my car can do. Will definitely join the upcoming race, will see how I perform then.
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| My helmet! |
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| My lucky number for the day |
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| And there I was in action, photo credits to the owner, someone took this photo |
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| Look at my time, its just awful |
So, after 8 long years, transformation here and there, trial and error, here stands my humble ride, my faithful ride.
Please feel free to have a look on the photo slideshow I have made for my ride : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_b42z-l-co&list=PLr9XvbJpFtULOiUloAI38ZaRFHAfr4dNF&index=2
Disclaimer : All action sequences were test in strict accordance to Malaysian road laws and regulation. No drifting was conducted and all images were used for illustrative purposes only.
