Preview: Proton Preve

Yes.
The car is officially launched today by the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

I've tested the car immediately after its official launch together with one of my friend.

Below is the summary of what I think of it, (based on a 30 mins test drive), posted here.

==========

nope...

the acceleration is so so.... the 205 NM dont make itself felt... 
frankly if u ask me.... i feel the acceleration of a FD2 can match this car


the interior wise, feels solidly put together but the overall packaging could be better <-- bashers will take this as a poorly build interior as they will not understand what is overall packaging.. poor them 

(as much as i think the interior can be better, this is a right step as compared to the interior of previous proton's)

as a typical proton, its the driving dynamics of this car even with traction control off (in the wet), (sorry to those on LDP earlier for terrorizing u guys), that really shines... brakes are solid, steering feel is excellent, lane change stability is there, the chassis is well composed no matter how i try to shake it off balance (hand brake corner in taman megah)..

very big thanks to the folks in taman sea showroom for giving me this extended test drive with my friend...
and we are sorry for burning the brakes... the brakes faded when we returned the car... (yes u can smell them, brake smell i meant)
 

cant wait to see what the R3 boys can do to its already well sorted chassis...


P/S: 
no, i am not paid.... and if u would ask me, i would think they can do better with the interior and oh yeah, bigger brakes please. preve brakes is smaller then those on the exora bold 

A video of the drive:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150701299891494

(If you can't see it, sorry, its shared from my friend who was with me that time)

=================

A more comprehensive personal (together with better quality pictures la of course, how good can a phone captured picture be?) will be done once I go for a second drive this weekend.

For now, the above is my initial opinion.

Feel free to discuss.

Thank you again to the folks from Taman Sea branch and not forgetting my friend who recommend me to this branch.

[Review] Rapid Stop 800C Brake Pads

Some of you should have already known what is it that I've mentioned in this post here.

For those that is in the dark, its the Rapid Stop 800C Brake Pads.
Rapid stop brake pads is distributed by Maddriver's Garage.
You can either visit the facebook page or alternatively the official web page here for more information.

I've gotten hold of this brake pads through my trusted folks at EA Autoworks.
A many thanks to them for holding this brake pads for me.

This is how the packaging and brake pads look like in flesh.


Installation of this pads is done by myself.

After all how hard is it to replace a brake pad once you got the hang of it.
I will post up a guide on how to replace your own brake pad soon.

20 minutes later, this set is finally installed into position.


How does it look close up?


OK enough about the photo's and nonsense text.
I know you all is just waiting to know how does it perform. Is it worth it?

I've installed this brake pads just before this trip mentioned here.

So what a nice timing. I get to go on a trip and to test out this pads at the same time.

NOTE:
Remember to run in your brake pads after installation.

As I have to meet the guys at a pre-determined point, I take the journey to the meet up point as a chance to run in the brake pads.
As the highway is clear (early in the morning maaaaa), I get to accelerate and brake as and when I like and the best chance for heavy + late braking is just before the 3 toll plaza's I need to pass.

Now after running the pads in.
How does this thing bites?


How good does it bites?
It bites harder then the Rapid Stop 550C and the Pumatec 680C that I've used.
Of course la, 800C pads ma. Use logic la.

With the same pedal pressure, I am able to bring the speed of the car down much faster compared to the 2 pads.

After getting used to the pads biting feel, I began to push (as in brake later laa) bit by bit.
As expected, the pads just keep biting.
The moment my right feet applied some pressure on the brake pedal, the speedometer count goes down quickly.

Happy with the performance so far, I look forward to the downhill from Genting.

Frankly speaking, before starting the downhill, I half expected the pads to cook before the 2nd checkpoint if I am to do late braking.

With that in mind, I started the journey downhill. Those who are familiar with that area knows that there is shit-loads of bumps going downhill.
Taking that as a stopping practice, I put the pads through their paces. Braking hard and late just before the bumps.

The pads is still biting hard when I reached the first checkpoint. With this confidence, I continue to push.
Reaching the 2nd checkpoint, I am happy to say that this bugger is still biting with no sign of fading.

Now since this is a high-temp brake pads, how is the performance from cold?
My advice, becareful and remember to warm the pads up by riding the brakes when you start off from cold. Ride it for maybe a good 30 seconds or more and you are good to go.
Braking hard from cold will not slow your car as fast as you would like.

How about the noise?
Surprisingly it is not as noisy as I would expect. Apart from some "scraping/scratching" sound while reversing, there is hardly any audible noise coming from the pads at all.

Overall, I would recommend this pads to those junkies who are into super-ultra-late-ultimate braking.


Ok jokes aside, this is for those who are really into braking or are looking for a few jump in braking performance for their vehicle.
Brakes is very important as everyone can go fast, BUT can they stop faster?
:)

A rough measurement in comparison to the Pumatec 680c brake pads stopping power, I can bring a Satria Neo from 100-0 a good car length earlier.
NOTE:
This is just a rough test (butt dyno style). It is not official. I take the tiang lampu as comparison.

The price for this is easily much more then the regular Rapid Stop 550C and Pumatec 680C brake pads.
Its up to you to think if it is worth it or not.

For me, I feel that this set of brake pads somehow bites more then what my tyre can grip causing the ABS to engage almost everytime I do hard braking.
Not that I am complaining as I am loving every minute of it.





Where to buy?
Contact Drex Chan laaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

[Preview] Rapid Stop Secret Brake Pads

Coming soon.



HEHEHEHEHEE.



Wait for it.
Coming real soon.

Update.
Review is up here.

[Review] Works Engineering Performance Billet Camshaft Review - Part 3

Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 2 here.

Finally its time for the figures to be revealed.

*Drum rolls*



As mentioned previously, a dyno run is done before the installation of the performance camshaft so that we know roughly how much gain we will get.

This is the figure that we have prior to the installation of Works Engineering Performance camshaft.


After the dyno, the camshaft is then installed into the car as per Part 2 here.

Unfortunately, an incident happened a couple of days later.

What is it?
My engine blew while cruising home on Federal Highway.
This is where things start to get interesting and this incident deserve a post by itself.
So be patient and the story will be unfolded to you.

To cut a long story short, since the engine blew, I have no choice but to rebuild the engine again and this engine rebuilding warrant another post by itself.
The juicy details will be shared there. So once again, please be patient.
=P

After the engine is done being rebuild, it is then back on to the dyno to get a stock reading.


The process is repeated. Works Engineering Performance Camshaft is then re-fitted and this time, everything looks fine on the surface.
The performance camshaft is then allowed a grace period of 1 week to so-called "run-in".

Then its time to hook the car up on the dyno and check out the power gain.


By now, sharp eye reader will notice that something is not right somewhere.

Let me show it to you.
(I know you all are dying to know) =P

Suffice to say, the result is indeed shocking. Friends who were with me are also shocked non-the-less.
How shocking is this?
Check it out below when I overlap the stock and Works Engineering Performance Camshaft readings.


The Green line is the stock readings.
Red and Blue is the reading for Works Engineering Performance Camshaft.

Indeed a shocking result and even the tuner has nothing to say but just smile.
I too was shocked beyond words.

Power gain is almost nothing and instead I totally lost power across the entire RPM range.
Tuning was done by adjusting the cam gears and it brought no improvement. Power is still lost across the entire RPM range.

Consultation is done here and there. Phone calls are made. Views and information are exchanged but the result is still the same.
Power loss across the entire RPM range.

We then gave up and unhooked the car from the dyno.

Plans is then made to return Works Engineering Performance Camshaft for a refund.

After much hardship, time and money spent, the result at the end of the day is totally disappointing.
The performance camshaft did not function as it is supposed to.

Conclusion is?
This product fail and it failed big time.
Initial theory looks promising but when it is time to delivery, Works Engineering Performance Camshaft fall real short of its target.

My advice?
Don't even consider this product. Simple.
The after sales service from the distributor is equally horrible and disappointing.

But I'll leave the judgement to you guys. You guys decide if it is worth it.

Cheers.

[Review] Works Engineering Performance Billet Camshaft Review - Part 2

A long delayed post on my experiences and review on this product.
So sorry for that.
Finally got my lazy ass around to post up part 2.

You can refresh your mind by viewing part 1 here.

As mentioned previously in part 1, I was hooked and decided to give this product a try in my own humble Satria Neo.
First time in my life playing with cars that I've actually change the parts inside the engine head itself.

So where else to get this thing installed?
It is done at my usual place. EA Autoworks.

As this is a first installation, we have come up with the following plan to see how much gain will this camshaft provides.
Before installing the camshaft, we will send the car for a dyno first to get a reference figure.
After installation, we will then hook the car up on a dyno again and then the power output.

An appointment is then made to get this thing installed on to my car.

As planned, a dyno run is made first at GT Auto in Sunway.
Sorry figure will not be disclosed for now.



Then it is off to EA Autoworks for the installation.

Drove the car into the reserved area and work begins almost immediately.

The engine mounting is removed to gain access to the crank pulley.


Loosening the crank pulley.


Cam cover removed.


Spark plug cables removed and time to loosen the engine head.


Removing the placeholder of my intake kit.


Engine head removed.


Head bolts require removing before the camshaft can be taken out.


Head bolts gone.


Taking out the stock camshaft.


Camshaft gone !! The hydraulic tappets as seen here.


Inserting the exhaust part of the camshaft. Looking sexy eh?


Intake and exhaust camshaft installed and being lubricated.


Head bolts being placed back on.


Tightening the head bolts in place.


Lubricating the head bolts.


Checking the head bolts.


Engine head cover back on. Moment of truth is getting nearer.


Spark plug cables being put back in place.


Cam gears back in its rightful place.


Checking all connection.


Tightening the engine head back in place.


Tightening the crank pulley.


The camshaft is then tuned using the adjustable cam gears that I already had installed a long time ago. The cam is then tuned accordingly until a smooth idling is achieved.

After everything is done.


Everything looks fine and dandy right?
Now its time for the million dollar question.

What is the gain like?

This my dear readers, will be made known in part 3 where the full experienced of this product in whole shall be revealed.

Stop the guess work. It has been revealed.
Part 3 here.

[Review] Rapid Stop 550c Brake Pads

Finally a personal review of a product that I have been using consistently on my Satria Neo.

Rapid Stop 550c Brake Pads.

A little bit of history here.

Rapid Stop Brake Pads is the brainchild of a certain ex-rally driver. This product is currently distributed by Maddriver's Garage.

Introduced to the market about 7 years or so ago, Rapid Stop brake pads target market is those car owners who want better stopping power then what the factory brake pads can offer.

Back to the review now.

For this product review, I will not be using it on a Satria Neo as the Neo is now using a higher temp performance brake pads due to its owner, which is me by the way, requires a much better braking performance than this brake pads have to offer.

So for this review, it will be fitted to a bone stock standard Proton Saga Iswara Aeroback.
By the way, this brake pads is part of the Project 4G-Series that I've mentioned before here.
Initially the brake pads is supposed to be at "Stage 2" where the braking performance is worked on. The reason it is brought forward because the brake pads is already at the end of it's service life.

So what else to do but to fit this brake pads in.

This is how the packaging looks like together with the brake pads.




Fitting the brake pads is standard procedure.
It is done at the usual place.

This is how the brake pads looks like when mounted on the calipers.




After the pads are fixed to the car, it is then run in by doing a few hard acceleration and braking at the nearby roads.

I guess this is where everyone is looking forward to.
How does it perform?
How good it is?
Does it fade?
etc etc etc

After a few days or 400++ km of using it, I can very confidently say that the car stop much better compared to the stock brake pads.

A jab on the brake pedal while cruising at 100 km/h, will see the speedometer goes down to 80 km/h as compared to stock where I need to hold on the brake pedal longer to get the same effect.

My own braking distance test shows that at 80 km/h, this brake pads comes to a complete stop easily 1.5 car length shorter compared to the factory brake pads, bearing in mind this is done without locking up the wheels.
(P/S: This is by no means an official result, just my own humble test & experience)

Sorry, no usual test track review here as this car is meant for a daily A-B run around car, not something that you use to peksan.com.my with.

A few late braking here and there while driving around, the brake pads perform up to expectation. You can feel the car stopping much faster compared to the factory pads.

How about performance from cold?
No complains here as this pads is almost good to go from cold. Bear in mind though that you can hear some noise if the brake pads is really cold. It will go away after the brake pads is warmed up. This noise will not be as noisy as those on the Pumatec Perform 680c Brake pads.

Does it fade?
Of course it does fade. Like doh.
But I have yet to experience brake fade with this car.
On the Satria Neo, it is too long ago for me to remember the time it took to cook this pads, so I can't comment much here.

Overall verdict?
I would strongly recommend this brake pads to car owners out there who want a better braking performance on the street and the occasional sunday drives.
It might cost slightly more then the factory brake pads, but the stopping power you get from it is very much worth it.

Track junkie alert !!
This is not the pads for you to use in a track race as the operating temp of this pads is only up to 550c.
On the track, any driver can easily heat up their brake pads to temperature beyond 550c. So wise up and use the appropriate equipment for the occasion as Russell Peters said, "be a man, do the right thing".

Where can you get this?
My usual place. EA Autoworks.

Price?
Reasonable.
(P/S: Come on, move your own lazy butt and ask them yourself)

Cheers.
d(^_^)b