Tag Archives: Goodyear

Mini Hari Raya Gathering : Wangan Session and Goodyear DuraPlus tire review # 2 (20/9/2009)

It is a tradition for us to  have a meet up during the many  festive holidays that our multi national country celebrates. For this Hari Raya we had a  gathering in Sunway for a mini Wangan session to a secret location  😉 . Bringing the panda AE86 to  a meet such as this ,perfectly  exemplify the term ‘ Bringing a knife to a gun fight‘  especially in the presences of 500WHP Skylines ,Type Rs and a couple of souped up Hondas!

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However there was a reason for this . I was given a set of ,         Goodyear DuraPlus to do a review a while back. Testing it in drift application had me using up the rear but the fronts we still as good as new! I had actually bought an extra pair of DuraPlus and found that this gathering was a perfect opportunity to test these tires under these condition. Being H rated tires, the Goodyear DuraPlus’s maximum recommended speed rating is about 210Km/h which is about as fast as my AE86 could go. As this test was being conducted by the seat of my pants ,without the aid of any form of scientific measuring device ,all I could conclude was

A)Low tire noise. while this fact may not bother some performance orientated drivers , I do find that the lack of humming or noise emitting from the tires gives me more confidence traveling at speed. Furthermore, the lack of tire noise allows you to hear other things that might be a warning or tell tale  signs on your car’s condition (ie: pinging)

B)Structural integrity; as expected , the tires did not developed an form of thread deformity or such after a number of high speed runs. This doesn’t come as a surprise as we had found similar results during our drift testing , which I believe is more abusive to tires!

C) Less rolling resistance. To be perfectly honest, the sensation of having less rolling resistance may just be a psychological effect from reading the product brochure 🙂 But somehow I felt the car was a lot smoother at 33 psi pressure in the tires  compared to the others I have tested. So don’t flame me on this 😛  One good indication of the lack of rolling resistance is from the fuel economy performance but i think  you’ll understand that in this case there’s an exception

Anyways here are the pictures of the cars that turned up that night

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MICCOS Drift Challenge 2009 ,16th August 2009

Since we had withdrew from our role as organisers of  the  MICCOS Drift Challenge , Ivan Lim from  Binter Singapore and I  had decided to participate in supporting in the event whom had  newly appointed organiser, Feinto-D on the helm.Ariff did not compete in this event as he had gone off to salvage his placings in the GRA event held in Sepang on the same day.

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As mentioned earlier ,our withdrawal from the event was  due to the absences of safety equipments , like water barrier, tire barrier, cones, fire extinguishers and etc and due to that, the newly appointed organisers had to alter the course to a much   smaller course which in turn is  a much  slower course with  much  more run off space. This was a wise move as at the edge of the course , there’s a steep downward  slope which we fear might cause cars to come barrelling down if they were to veer off the course!!

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Binter’s Toyota Chaser was sent to Malaysia earlier for Ariff to work on the handling set up of the car

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Due to other commitments, we had  missed out the Saturday’s practice,but  we arrived early enough on Sunday  morning to get enough practice .

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Driver’s briefing by the judges Loyai (Team GT-Radial) and Along (Team Toyo).

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After briefing ,we were then given another 30 minutes of practice.

As we were in Group C. We had enough time to drop by the cafeteria at Maeps Exhibition Hall D to grab our lunch. It was full of stalls with local flavors.

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After lunch break, it was time for qualifying . I had some great practice runs earlier but when it comes to qualifying  the weather changed tremendously .As the  temperature drop so did my grip level. Due to my lack of experience with the Asymetrics tires, I had trouble adjusting to the tire and totally ruin my runs thus not being able to get into the best 16.

As for Ivan Lim, he was very consistent with his runs and he qualified at 5th place. Since not qualifying, I became  his spotter during the tandem battle to help him as he was going against  driver’s that he had no experience with.

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Unfortunately, the rain came pouring down heavily immediately after the best 16 driver’s briefing. . Due to bad water irrigation on the car park, the track is all flooded so the competition was held up.

It took almost 45 minutes for the rain to stop and all the top 16 drivers were given some runs to get use with the wet surface of the track.

Ivan had to go against with Kevin Rajoo on his 180sx at best 16, with such , which he  managed to stick by Kevin and won the round ,  credit to  the great performance of the Goodyear Eagle RS-Sport on his Binter Goodyear Toyota Chaser for the  win

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At best 8, Ivan had to go against with Tan Tat Wei from Team Bridgestone in his Toyota AE86.A small and tight  track , along with  wet surface tends to favour the smaller cars, especially  when it comes to tandem battles. Both of them had good  runs but the judges gave an extra advantage point for Tat Wei for keeping closer to Ivan while following. Though losing out at best 8 ,Ivan did a great job drifting his  newly setup Chaser! He was alot more precise and confident while drifting.

Having qualified 5th and losing out on best 8th earned him  5th place overall in this competition. Great job Ivan!

GRA Round 3 @ Sepang 16th August 2009 ; Goodyear Asymetric on the podium!!

Since we withdrew from our role as the drift competition organiser for the MICCOS event. I had decided  to participate in GRA’s round 3 and try to salvage whatever position I had since I had missed GRA round 2 due to the clashing of dates of Formula D Singapore. In round 1, I was running 2nd in Pro OD class and I hope to get a least a top 5 by the end of the series.

I have always enjoyed the GRA competition as not only the experience gained from entering such an event has help me to improve as a driver but also because the event is so well organised , kudos to Mr and Mrs Ian Khong!!

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Mr and Mrs Ian Khong  and Mr Tang MAM steward

The other competitors competing also make up the reason why its such a joy to be part of this Auto cross event! With Top pros such as Ivan Khong , Andy Kow, Mike Ng and Mickey Teoh ,all willing to share their experience and are extremely generous with tips and advise on improving your runs!!

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Two of my sifus; Mike Ng and Mickey Teoh

This round is said to be the fastest out of the series , with cars hitting in access of 160km/h on the straights. A total of over 60 participants made out of Pro and Beginner categories
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Lim Joe Han with his V8 Cefrio winning fastest FR NA class and the Bling bling award!!

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Joe Han showing us his is slim enough to fit under the car’s undercarriage without the aid of a jackdscn2184

Tina showing us her bolting skills 🙂

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Yoong’s run were extremely clean and fast!!! He was running on a killer combo of RS sports in the front and rear..thanks for the tips bro..

As usual Yoong was super fast that day clinching the fastest overall time and 1st place in Pro OD with almost 3 seconds ahead from 2nd fastest Andy Kow with me trailing Andy by a hair below 1 sec!!

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Yoong practicing his pose to the camera when recieving his 1st place trophy during the award ceremonydscn2245

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Yoong 1st!!!dscn2315

Andy Kow recieves 2nddscn2304

Me in 3rddscn2303

Ivan Khong in 4th

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The S13 which I was competing in for this event was fresh  from FxOpen event we entered the week before. Running on Eagel Rs sport in front and the Eagle F1 Asymetric in the rear, I was fairly confident that this set up would be perform well  for a competition  of this genre as tyre tempreture would not be as high as it is as compared to drifting. This is in regards with the Asymetrics which I felt , behaved  a lot differently  from the normal RevSpec we usually run behind ! What I really was impressed with was its low tempreture performance which I think would come as a bonus here in GRA. Looking at our used Asymetrics we had from the Malacca event, I had noticed that tire wear was more evident on the inner side of the tire, a clear sign of the soft wall technology these tyres had incorporated in its design.  It was then apparent that, due to inexperience , we were running too low of a pressure thinking that it  will give us more grip.  So I decided to run on a slightly higher pressure and see how it performed.dscn2341

The tyres performed execptionally well, worthy of its 5 star ratings it had received in reviews. So much so that I had not only placed 3rd fastest in the OD catagory but also 3rd overall!!!This I believe is the first podium finish for Goodyear Eagel F1 Asymetric in a competition in Malaysia!!!

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Yipeeeeeee

BBC Knowledge: TOP GEAR @ Fusionopolis Singapore 30th July 2009

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Being aired in Korea, Indonesia ,Hong Kong and starting on 1st August 2009 on StarHub  TV in Singapore, BBC Knowledge has a line up of documentaries with captivating insights into places, cultures,science and technology, history, business and the human body and mind ,which sets the international benchmark for factual entertainment.

One of the shows that is aired on this  channel is non other than Top Gear. Known as UK’s premier motoring show, Top Gear appeals to a wide range of audiences which not just limited to people who like cars! Said to be a first class entertainment show,statistic  has shown that  40% of the viewers are women! With presenters  giving unbiased reviews on cars or other modes of transportation while doing their best to wreck them ,Top Gear is also known for its extreme and original challenges and stunts.

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Do women really  find these men attractive?

This is where I come in; I was invited to give an introduction on my driving background and engage in a discussion about the above’s  challenges and stunts with the members of the media present to this BBC showcase event. Three clips were taken from the show ; on the first one , I had to elaborate on how it was done and choreographed ( in the driving sense rather than production)   and the risk  that the presenters were  facing doing them . The other two clips  were much simpler where I had to lead a discussion  on a challenge which Top Gear attempts to  dismissing the misconception that the  general public has on performance cars and modifications. As serious as all this may sound, the sessions was pretty laid back and somewhat filled with laughter and rowdiness which I am sure will make Jeremy Clarkson proud!!

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Posing next to the BBC Knowledge bunting

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Having a sneak preview of the clips before the media arrives

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Being briefed by Rhonda and Siti from Fulford PR company

Besides BBC Knowledge, a channel targeted to children was also being showcased. BBC CBeebies has a collection of programmes that is intended to nurture the child’s imagination and curiosity about the world around them. With titles such as Mister Maker and In The Night Garden, the child is introduced to a land of stories, discovery and entertainment.

It so happens that we had brought our daughter, Johanna,  along for this trip and was glad when was offered to allow her to take part in their activities for the kids segment!

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Johanna ,like a real trooper , was all prepared way before the segment. She even brought a little tote bag with her kiddie essentials along with her

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Like a professional, she set about introducing herself as soon as she arrived.dscn1988

A little product review was carried out …dsc02260

Johanna finds coloring helps her in easing the tension and pre event jitters….dsc02257

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and not wanting to be influenced by peer pressure, did some by herself…dsc02254

She even picked out what she liked and did a good job of expressing it to those attending..

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….nothing like a little nap to recap and review on the day’s event..

We spent a night at the loft studio where the event was held. Called the Fraser place, it was a prefect example of how  a clever design could make full use of such a limited space . A very pleasant place which we will definitely go back to.

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Formula Drift Singapore Advance Tech Inspection @ Goodyear Malaysia Headquarters 20/6/2009

Held at the Goodyear Malaysia headquarters in Shah Alam, the Advance Tech Inspection had the vehicles of the  Malaysian drift teams thoroughly examined for the up coming Formula Drift Singapore PRO/AM series coming this early July. Conducted by trained and certified Formula Drift inspectors, Ricky Lin and Benjamin Khoo , the vehicles were made sure to meet the stringent technical and safety requirements as specified by Formula DRIFT Holdings LLC. This was in line of Goodyear’s goal of  elevating the standards of drifting in Malaysia to international levels through it support and collaboration in this event !

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The light showers night before made the weather was nice and cool

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Tengku Djan was eager to get the his cars inspected that he came an hour early to be first in line!

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Benjamin and Ricky at work

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A number of the press were present that day and were given a brief overview of the event and which also highlighted the importance of the technical inspection that was  being held that day.

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Marketing Director K.T.  Law giving an introduction of the Advance Tech Inspection

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Marcus Lim , GM of Binter Co Pte Ltd, giving a brief overview of the Formula Drift Pro/Am series

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Ricky Lin explaining the steps and procedure done during the technical inspection

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While Benjamin Khoo ( Black shirt with red trimming) looks on. Seen here also is the multitasking Puay Ling (right) taking the role of a photographer too

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Yoong’s pristine ride had the photographers buzzing with excitment

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Fento D’s , Loyai showing off his new colors..

Formula Drift Singapore road show @ Shaw Towers 13/6/2009

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Cheaka and I were invited by Goodyear Singapore to participate in their Formula Drift Singapore road show held at the Shaw Towers on Orchard road on the 13th June 2009. Since they wanted to use Cheaka’s 180sx for their ‘Design the Formula Drift car decal’  competition , I decided to bring the panda AE86 along as a precaution, as the 180sx was still in amidst of running in its’  freshly built engine. . We drove down a day earlier ,which went smoothly, till we reached  the 2nd Link exit when  suddenly I heard a loud clank followed by what sounds like something bouncing off beneath the petrol tank and off the back of the AE86. The car then  started to make loud metallic noises whenever it went over bumps at the rear which I casually  thought was  just the exhaust hitting the under carriage due to a broken or loose  mounting. However the car felt unsettled every time I turned which indicated something much more serious. We promptly  stop by the road to take a closer look but couldn’t seem to  find the cause ( the fact that it was raining didn’t make it easier). So we decided to drive at ‘limp mode’ all the way through the border  and into Singapore. Thankfully we arrived safely to the hotel; The nice people at Goodyear Singapore had put us   up in the arty yet comfy Hotel RE which so happens to be the official hotel for the Singapore’s Formula Drift leg this July 4th 2009

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Early next morning, we were greeted by, a sleepy looking, Ivan Lim and his  buddy ,Ben, They both led us to the Shaw Towers where the crew were busily in admist of set up.

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Located right on the sidewalk in front of Shaw Towers off Orchard Road

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Cheaka finds the right spot to park her car..

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Adam(black tank top) ,who is also a drifter,was commission to do all the stickers and  Jason from Pit Crew ( with T shirt )

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Marcus from Binter, the person responsible for bringing  Formula Drift into this region

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Since it was still early and we were only suppose to be there at 12pm. We decided to grab a quick bite for breakfast at a Mamak restaurant

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We then proceeded to Ben’s place while waiting for Ivan to freshen up a few houses down the road

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Ben showing us his uber high tech multiple screened gaming console in his bedroom..He has tons of gaming memorabilia which includes a life sized Final Fantasy sword!! This dude will be getting a drift Supra shipped to Singapore pretty soon!

When we arrived back at Shaw Towers at noon the place was already set up with all the cars nicely positioned and the display booth and buntings erected . The following are some of the photos of the activities that took place that day

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Tommy getting a member of the public to fill out a questionnaire , with Regina ( white skirt) in the background

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Tommy working his charms again

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Ian, Ivan and Ben showing me the different examples of the typical Singaporean postures while lepaking on Orchard road

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Nick, the MC of the day, interviewing Cheaka and I

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Ivan with his female fan

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Ivan with more of his female fans

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Contestants for the Design the car decal competition..

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They had 20 minutes to cut out a design out of the  colored sticker sheets given

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One side per team

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A crowd started to gather..

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I was given the daunting task of judging the contest as both sides were equally as good

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Winners of the first competition that day..

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Ivan’s fans all the way from Thailand…I asked to be included in the picture 😛

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The second group of contestants busy at work

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The whole roadshow crew which consist of Binter, Pit Crew and Goodyear Singapore

When we got back to the hotel, I took a good look underneath the car and was shocked to find that the bolt the held the rear suspension strut to the axle  had came off and was just hanging there!! We tried going around the shops to find a replacement bolt and bushing but were to no avail. Thankfully, the ever resourceful Ivan had tons of bolts and bushing at this house  and was able to find one that fits. He even laid down on the road to help me fix it..For that I really owe him big time!!!.. thanks buddy!!

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Soon after, Winston, a former drift student of ours came over with his extremely cool Porsche to hang out at the hotel parking lot

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I really want one of those!!

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Lepaking…

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...while Ben starts  ‘Jay Chowing’

The night ended with supper at the Newton Circus food court  before the leaving the next day.

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