1st June 2008 Day trip - FR Part II
Gentlemen, start your engines....
Drove next to the petrol station to meeting up with the assembly and explaining my delay at the petrol station due to the uncontrollable gushing incident. Bro John was there, minus the iconic Chicken Wing rear spoiler that had become his trademark signature. There was another Type R there - apparently from Pentagon, so the url sticker says. There in the midst was the Evo that everyone was expecting too (sorry, I'm unfamiliar with Mitsubishi cars, so unable to give details on make and trim). Glancing around, I see the rest of the high-profile cast of 8GCC around, but I'm still a bit shaken by the refueling incident for words to start flowing. Besides, I had to finish my coffee from McDonald's before we began our run.
Shortly after that, we got into our rides and started out engines. I stowed away my GPS - I won't be needing that for this part of the trip.
I switched to S and engaged paddle shift mode. Tried to keep the revs high by holding the upshifts, don't know if that would help to burn off the fuel in my tank - at least so that it was not right up to the fuel cap....
Well, the trail began, a long string of FD's. I was somewhere in the middle of the line, two Type R's ahead of me. The FD's drove in an orderly fashion to and increasingly out-of-town surrounding. Somewhere along the line, the Evo had managed to glide pass me and position itself together with the Type R's - I think they will have their own evaluation run after this. Final last right turn and we were lined up at the foot of a gentle incline.
"Hmm, I wonder, are we there yet?" I asked out aloud.
"This should be it," replied Wai Yee next to me, "That sign over there says 'Ulu Yam' doesn't it?"
Suddenly, the definite answer to my question came clearly to us, as, with roaring engines and exhaust notes, one by one the cars in front started to shrink into the distance. The Type R's and Evo darted forward with and disappeared from sight at the first left bank. Sorry, that was the last I ever saw of them on the trail
So who ever the whole thing, please write the FR about stock FD2R, modified FD2R and Evo.
For the record, as of this trip, my car is basically fully Autofoamed (wherever got hole - pump!) and fully soundproofed (to keep noise out and keep the music in) as well. Bars, I have front strut bar, rear anti roll bar. Stock springs on Koni FSD shocks connect my chassis to my stock 16" rims and Yokohama dB501 tires. Brakes are stock, save for Goodridge SSBH's.
Anyway, I dropped to M1 and floored the throttle. My foot hit the floor and my dear FD2 moved forwards, picking up speed in an urgent yet controlled manner, nothing like what I experience while riding Ah Wei's FD2R. I remember at some point, Wai Yee had one hand up on the ceiling handle - didn't see where the other hand was, but I'm sure she had braced herself in anticipation for the upcoming ride. Somewhere between 6.5K and 6.8K, a flick of my right fingers and we're in gear 2. By then, we were on top the first significant corner - nearly a hairpin turn to the left. Now, I had no idea what to expect, so I generally braked to slow down, put my foot back on the accelerator and turned left. I maintained my heading with the wheel, slowly increasing the throttle through the turn. Ultimately, the laws of physics issued a reminder of the limitations of my comfort-based tires, with a gentle scraping sound that meant the tires were losing their grip. I modulated my right foot to keep my FD2 on the threshold of grip, noticing that there was no understeer (of course-lah, FF car what...) and also, no oversteer as well. Car turns, not too much and not too little, just starting to slide sideways, it seems. Peripheral vision did not see any flashing VSA light, as usual, which I think will only come out when we start to spin, not when ABS or sliding takes place.
Well, due to the sharpness of that maneuver, I was actually only traveling at low speed, but it didn't take much to start sliding. This more or less confirmed my experience immediately after Autofoaming and soundproofing my car - didn't realize how fast I was going, so took a 90 at 80....
By now, it was Benny in front of me with another unidentified FD. I tried my best to stay on Benny's tail - there was no intention to overtake him, as we were not racing. It took me some experimentation to find the optimum speed and steering angle to take corners without sliding. Wai Yee was helpful to provide feedback based on whether or not she detected any sliding in the last turn. I think that maybe I slid only 2 or 3 times total, so I was getting the hang of it already. Due to focus on control, I did hit the rev limiter a couple of times. Anyway, the nature of the road at Ulu Yam made it practical to shift only up to M3 (you will never hit redline in M3).
Before the start of the run, Bro Ed did issue a reminder to keep on our toes to watch out for debris and obstacles. He was right. There are the occasional road kill (unidentified species, too flat to tell) and some "Genting Sampah" (litter bugs even here). At some points, we did slow down to admire the scenery. Too bad I could not stop and take some pictures, otherwise the rest of the FD's would surely be wondering if something had happened to me or not.
Next trip to Ulu Yam, I will surely stop at the scenic areas. Wai Yee had her hands full already, so no need to hold camera to add to the complication.
Now, I know I was in the middle, but there was no one tailgating me. Found out later that directly behind me was Bro Blackhawk - since there was no one "poking my rear", I could focus solely on driving. There were some stretches that allowed for overtaking, and overtake I did when necessary and safe, where the road was clearly in sight with no oncoming vehicles. The typical overtaking move - right signal, move to other lane, overtake, look until car is visible in rear view mirror, left signal, change back to original lane. Not the tailgate, swerve right, cut left Mat Rempit-style that we always receive from those two-wheel menace....
Anyway, back to the story. Before long, we pulled up along the road side along what appeared to be a kampung of some sort - some buildings and a bus stop here.
Short rest, where I managed to a word or two with Bro Ed, John, Blackhawk, Jacky. Before long, we were off again, and the next stop was somewhere underneath the cable car station to Genting.
This was time we took lots of pictures, from our side Hanne and Ah Wei checked out the Central members rides (lots of new poison to see). One thing, here also got mosquitoes, so cannot remain still for too long....
Finally, we proceeded to Gohtong Jaya, for some breakfast, after which there is more checking out of rides:
hmm, what's everyone looking at?
After everyone's stomach is full ( for those who can't take it, I guess they don't eat too much.... ), we made a strategic decision - since we came all the way from Melaka, why not try out the legendary BTBR trail as well...?
I raised an eyebrow, but then, if we could get to KL in time for lunch, I'm game....
Continued in Part III....
Gentlemen, start your engines....
Drove next to the petrol station to meeting up with the assembly and explaining my delay at the petrol station due to the uncontrollable gushing incident. Bro John was there, minus the iconic Chicken Wing rear spoiler that had become his trademark signature. There was another Type R there - apparently from Pentagon, so the url sticker says. There in the midst was the Evo that everyone was expecting too (sorry, I'm unfamiliar with Mitsubishi cars, so unable to give details on make and trim). Glancing around, I see the rest of the high-profile cast of 8GCC around, but I'm still a bit shaken by the refueling incident for words to start flowing. Besides, I had to finish my coffee from McDonald's before we began our run.
Shortly after that, we got into our rides and started out engines. I stowed away my GPS - I won't be needing that for this part of the trip.
I switched to S and engaged paddle shift mode. Tried to keep the revs high by holding the upshifts, don't know if that would help to burn off the fuel in my tank - at least so that it was not right up to the fuel cap....
Well, the trail began, a long string of FD's. I was somewhere in the middle of the line, two Type R's ahead of me. The FD's drove in an orderly fashion to and increasingly out-of-town surrounding. Somewhere along the line, the Evo had managed to glide pass me and position itself together with the Type R's - I think they will have their own evaluation run after this. Final last right turn and we were lined up at the foot of a gentle incline.
"Hmm, I wonder, are we there yet?" I asked out aloud.
"This should be it," replied Wai Yee next to me, "That sign over there says 'Ulu Yam' doesn't it?"
Suddenly, the definite answer to my question came clearly to us, as, with roaring engines and exhaust notes, one by one the cars in front started to shrink into the distance. The Type R's and Evo darted forward with and disappeared from sight at the first left bank. Sorry, that was the last I ever saw of them on the trail
So who ever the whole thing, please write the FR about stock FD2R, modified FD2R and Evo.For the record, as of this trip, my car is basically fully Autofoamed (wherever got hole - pump!) and fully soundproofed (to keep noise out and keep the music in) as well. Bars, I have front strut bar, rear anti roll bar. Stock springs on Koni FSD shocks connect my chassis to my stock 16" rims and Yokohama dB501 tires. Brakes are stock, save for Goodridge SSBH's.
Anyway, I dropped to M1 and floored the throttle. My foot hit the floor and my dear FD2 moved forwards, picking up speed in an urgent yet controlled manner, nothing like what I experience while riding Ah Wei's FD2R. I remember at some point, Wai Yee had one hand up on the ceiling handle - didn't see where the other hand was, but I'm sure she had braced herself in anticipation for the upcoming ride. Somewhere between 6.5K and 6.8K, a flick of my right fingers and we're in gear 2. By then, we were on top the first significant corner - nearly a hairpin turn to the left. Now, I had no idea what to expect, so I generally braked to slow down, put my foot back on the accelerator and turned left. I maintained my heading with the wheel, slowly increasing the throttle through the turn. Ultimately, the laws of physics issued a reminder of the limitations of my comfort-based tires, with a gentle scraping sound that meant the tires were losing their grip. I modulated my right foot to keep my FD2 on the threshold of grip, noticing that there was no understeer (of course-lah, FF car what...) and also, no oversteer as well. Car turns, not too much and not too little, just starting to slide sideways, it seems. Peripheral vision did not see any flashing VSA light, as usual, which I think will only come out when we start to spin, not when ABS or sliding takes place.
Well, due to the sharpness of that maneuver, I was actually only traveling at low speed, but it didn't take much to start sliding. This more or less confirmed my experience immediately after Autofoaming and soundproofing my car - didn't realize how fast I was going, so took a 90 at 80....
By now, it was Benny in front of me with another unidentified FD. I tried my best to stay on Benny's tail - there was no intention to overtake him, as we were not racing. It took me some experimentation to find the optimum speed and steering angle to take corners without sliding. Wai Yee was helpful to provide feedback based on whether or not she detected any sliding in the last turn. I think that maybe I slid only 2 or 3 times total, so I was getting the hang of it already. Due to focus on control, I did hit the rev limiter a couple of times. Anyway, the nature of the road at Ulu Yam made it practical to shift only up to M3 (you will never hit redline in M3).
Before the start of the run, Bro Ed did issue a reminder to keep on our toes to watch out for debris and obstacles. He was right. There are the occasional road kill (unidentified species, too flat to tell) and some "Genting Sampah" (litter bugs even here). At some points, we did slow down to admire the scenery. Too bad I could not stop and take some pictures, otherwise the rest of the FD's would surely be wondering if something had happened to me or not.
Next trip to Ulu Yam, I will surely stop at the scenic areas. Wai Yee had her hands full already, so no need to hold camera to add to the complication.Now, I know I was in the middle, but there was no one tailgating me. Found out later that directly behind me was Bro Blackhawk - since there was no one "poking my rear", I could focus solely on driving. There were some stretches that allowed for overtaking, and overtake I did when necessary and safe, where the road was clearly in sight with no oncoming vehicles. The typical overtaking move - right signal, move to other lane, overtake, look until car is visible in rear view mirror, left signal, change back to original lane. Not the tailgate, swerve right, cut left Mat Rempit-style that we always receive from those two-wheel menace....
Anyway, back to the story. Before long, we pulled up along the road side along what appeared to be a kampung of some sort - some buildings and a bus stop here.
Short rest, where I managed to a word or two with Bro Ed, John, Blackhawk, Jacky. Before long, we were off again, and the next stop was somewhere underneath the cable car station to Genting.
This was time we took lots of pictures, from our side Hanne and Ah Wei checked out the Central members rides (lots of new poison to see). One thing, here also got mosquitoes, so cannot remain still for too long....
Finally, we proceeded to Gohtong Jaya, for some breakfast, after which there is more checking out of rides:
hmm, what's everyone looking at?
After everyone's stomach is full ( for those who can't take it, I guess they don't eat too much....
), we made a strategic decision - since we came all the way from Melaka, why not try out the legendary BTBR trail as well...?I raised an eyebrow, but then, if we could get to KL in time for lunch, I'm game....
Continued in Part III....
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