.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

After I went to Batu Caves for Thaipusam...my car broke down on the way back, it actually seized up..

I smelt burning.

I wondered?! Then I noticed the temperature was rather high, oh dear....the coolant was topped up which means there was a problem with the cooling system.

I managed to get the car home, and to the mechanics the next day. But by then the Head Gasket had blown and the oil was leaking out of the seals..

Turns out the stupid water pump failed!

Oh dear indeed.

I was planning an overall anyway...but the gasket was unexpected, as I had just ordered new tyres (mine were condemned already, Sepang finished them off I think).

Plus I was planning to overhaul anyway (port and polish etc) as my car just passed the 100,000km mark!

So I added a couple of extras...

Anyway as my mechanic would say, the damage was rather 'heavy'.

ENGINE OIL Q8 F1 - RM184.00
OIL FILTER - RM18.00
HEAD GASKET 0.4mm HEGAMI METAL (JPN) - RM350.00
K&N AIR FILTER - RM320.00
SPARK PLUG NGK IRIWAY NO.7 - RM230.00
TO SKIM CYCLINDER HEAD - RM80.00
TOP OVERHAUL GASKET SET& OIL SEALS - RM100.00
WATER PUMP - RM160.00
RADIATOR COOLANT - RM60.00
EXHAUST MANIFOLD (FOR MIVEC) USED - RM150.00
PORT AND POLISH INLET AND EXHAUST - RM400.00
SERVICE INJECTOR - RM180.00
OIL CAP SEALS - RM8.00
MACHINE GRIND VALVE INLET AND EXHAUST - RM300.00
STAINLESS EXHAUST FROM MANIFOLD TO BACK BOX - RM1200.00
LABOUR TO TOP OVERHAUL AND REPLACE WATER PUMP - RM200.00
PIRELLI TYRE 195/55/16 - RM1,120.00
WHEEL ALIGNMENT FRONT AND REAR RM25.00
CAMBER - RM25.00
TOTAL - RM5,110.00

Maggi for next 3 months I think.

Sorry update was late today, had mega meetings, and no car yet..

Car is ready tonight, can't wait to hear the engine, should sound like brand new, w00t!

It better do anyway..for that much money can almost buy a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR!

A1 Grand Prix is the first opportunity in any area of motorsport for nations to compete on a level playing field. It is a series where technology and innovation are deliberately equalised and performance is determined by human bravery, skill and excellence. Team and driver combine to create their advantage and the winning nation raises its flag in celebration.

I went to the the 14th race of the A1 GP series yesterday, the weather was pretty much atrocious and I couldn't get close enough as I didn't have track access so I was limited to wide shots.

The crowd was pretty good and the heavy rain and flooded track certainly added to the drama, there was quite a few spins.

It was quite a long wait for the rain to stop.

The wait was boring...so I took pictures of random stuff.

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So as I briefly mentioned yesterday, I did indeed go the KL 2006 Motorshow at PWTC.

The Car Parks were all fulll...had to park at a private car park down the road a bit from Pan Pacific.

$20 to get in.

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Yesterday I went to the motorshow at PWTC, which was nice. Then some banquet dinner thing.

Yeah most guys weren't really looking at the cars (That's the new Lotus APX btw, nice looking car). I recognised quite a lot of the car girls, maybe from pictures, or blogs, forums, hypertune etc.

One recognised me though which was nice

There's nothing like a pretty girl mouthing "Are you ShaolinTiger?" dressed in leather whilst posing on a RalliArt Evo IX!

Oh yeah..there was some nice cars too.

Today I'm going to watch MyTeam vs Malaysia at Bukit Jalil, go MyTeam!

Check more here.

As I've just read MyTeam is some kind of football based reality show, seen as though I don't really watch TV I completely missed it.

Will post more later, after it's all over (probably tommorow).

Does this club have more than one member?!

WTF?

Is the radio signal so lousy in Malaysia that you really need 6 antennas to pick it up properly?

Or did he think his car would go faster?

Or is it just to look COOL?

Sorry but in my books, he loses 1000000 cool points for this..

Bad, bad bad..fail, go home, do not collect 200.

Antenna boy was spotted in 1-Utama new wing near the Cinema.

..to be another corporate drone driving a boring 3 Series BMW?

Even worse, why take a 9 year loan and buy a Kelisa? With the interest you can pretty much buy another car.

Yah I know cars are a necessity here, not a luxury, I know that, the public transport is so abysmal here I had to get a car ASAP or I was just stuck in the appartment festering, oh for good public transport.

I always wonder why people buy cars and break their balls to pay them off just so they can look better in front of their peers or something.

9 years of composite interest, the current rate is 4-4.5%, so let's say 4% for 9 years, that's 36%.

36% of interest, if it's a Kelisa, that's about 36,946, let's say 40,000 on the road.

36% of 40,000 = 14,400

That's huge, you can buy a decent second hand kancil for 15k.

You are being raped.

Then a BMW, that's a RM280,000 car for a decent 3-series.

36% of that? You don't want to know...a massive RM100,800, 100k you are paying to some shitty bank for an overpriced boring drone car to fit in with your peers.

100,000 RINGITT

Why do people do it, this whole Asian Face thing baffles me sometimes.

So they look good in front of their peers? So they can impress the girls? They break their balls paying RM3000 a month out of their RM5000 salaries so they can drive a BMW.

Then they drive the goddamn beemer at 80km/h in the fast lane because they can't afford the petrol to go any faster..

All of this adds up to Road Rage incident in KL.

Back to the point anyway, why spend so much on a car, why, what's the point? Why burden yourself, even with my 5 year loan I feel pain, that's why I took a lump sum and reduced it by a year..

20% of the value of my car, just for lending me the money to buy it, that's cut-throat man.

The necessity of cars and the poor public service allows the banks to become cut-throat loan sharks.

And the government with it's over inflated prices for overseas cars, it all adds up to a poor consumer at the end of the day, plus we still have to pay Road Tax for roads with holes in and tolls...The tolls which shouldn't even be there any more.

Does this guy think he's flying a 747?

Does he not realise he's actually just driving a Honda Civic?

Ahbengs can afford some nice cars nowdays eh, just a shame what they do to them after they've bought them..

Spotted at Penchala Link toll booth..