Intro
Ulu Yam. Bentong Raub BTBR. Just the mention of these names causes a stir amongst motoring enthusiasts. Known for their twisting roads, it's not a wonder that these stretches have been unofficially voted as the best real-world test of car and driver.
Hailing from Melaka, none of us were familiar with these parts. Benny nonetheless organized a road-trip and with much luck, we received a good response from the Central members, who came along and joined the event. It was a good opportunity for us to meet up - as we'd rarely chance upon each other, besides the occasional meetings at merchant's venue like GC, Quicksave and KLAuto.
The journey begins here....
5.00am - Petronas Station @ Cheng. That's when and where we decided to assemble. Had to get up early - 4.00am to be precise. With a good nights' sleep and a good alarm clock beside me, I managed to get up and make it to the scene "reasonably close" to the stipulated time.
On my way, stopped by to pick up my navigator, Wai Yee, who would be riding shotgun with me for the entire trip. Besides being busy with the GPS, she also held the role of communications officer (walkie talkie), providing language translation whenever necessary.
Once our ranks were filled, we headed off, Benny taking point and Hanne assuming the role of sweeper (something that he's accustomed to, having played the role in several previous convoys).
We headed down through the trunk roads towards Simpang Ampat, staying off the highway for as long as we could. The gentle curves in the road did their job of warming us up, as well as fully awakening those of us who are still groggy from sleep...!
Even in the wee hours of the morning, we encountered a cocky Vios, who insisted on us clearing the right lane for him/her, instead of driving past us through the clear, left lane. We ignored that fellow, and let the Vios pass (no point wasting petrol so soon). In any case, my experience with the members of the currently offline Toyota Vios Club Malaysia have confirmed that in a straight line, Vios wins on acceleration, Civic wins on top speed (but I guess you all know that already....).
We got to the highway, and cruised towards KL. I was second in line, so I noticed Benny's ride bouncing up and down with the undulating terrain like a mexican jumping bean. Must be those coilovers that were a tad harder than stock - good for the smooth unblemished tracks like the Sepang F1 circuit, but then again, we're on stock Malaysian roads here....
Reaching the Sungai Besi toll gate, we stopped by the 24hour McDonald's at the Petronas station, to answer the call of our stomachs. For me, I took a breakfast meal - the burger ("muffin" actually, Wai Yee kept correcting me) looked deceptively large on the overhead display at the counter. The actual thing was slightly smaller than my clenched fist. Ah, well - it'll have to do....
A short while into our breakfast, Benny received a call from one of the central bros - already at Batu Caves! So, finishing off our food, we made it to our rides and hit the road once again.
Took a left towards Cheras and followed the MRR2 towards Batu Caves. Traffic was light so we made it to the Shell Petrol Station where a battalion of FD's and a REAL Evo was waiting in reception.
Damn fuel pump....
Now, I had 4 bars of fuel left. Ordinarily, that would take me ~100km or so. However, I had no idea where exactly we were heading, how long was the trail, and whether there'd be another petrol station within range. I didn't want to be caught dead with no fuel, like going up a creek without a paddle, so I decided to fill up. Now, here is what I found out. The stupid fuel pump did not auto stop!!! Standing next to my car, I could here the change in the sound as the fuel tank was almost full (like when you try to fill up a bottle at the faucet, you can hear a similar change in sound too). Suddenly, I saw raw fuel start to gush out of my car like a waterfall after heavy rain. Reflex action kicked in, and I instinctively squeezed the pump and stopped the flow of fuel (luckily it took me about 1 second to react). I was stunned for a few seconds after the fact, before my mind rebooted. I closed the fuel cap, noting that the petrol was just at the brim of the fuel tank (and thinking to my self - hmm, Vpower is not actually blue-lah). The sad thing is that there was no petrol attendant coming to help or to even look at what was going on. These people, when got nothing, come and ask you if you want to wipe the windscreen, now when need their help, no one in sight....
There were 2 indian guys on motorcycle looking at me in amazement. I laughed at them and told them exactly what happened (otherwise it looked like I was trying to wash my car with petrol). They laughed along with me and talked about it in their language as they rode off.
I looked around - not a can of water in sight. So, I grabbed the nearest equivalent - the sponge that they used to wipe windows, and repeatedly washed my car body, tired and rims, trying to splash as much water on my brake rotor as possible ( luckily, we drive normally. If I had been braking hard, I assume my rotor would be hot enough to cause combustion of the fuel with dire consequences....
).The rest of the team apparently did not know what was going on, and were wondering why I was taking so long to refuel....
Well, when I was satisfied that I had splashed enough water on my car to wash away all traces of fuel (and hopefully, the remaining fuel evaporates), I drove over to the assembly of Civics (and Evo), noting that I am now driving an FD fully laden with fuel (sorta like a fat petrol bomb). So, I would be able to test out if this would have any significant impact on performance (although the primary concern is whether or not anything would spill when I cornered and get on the rotors again). So, my navigator / comms officer now had the additional task of checking my six in the rear view mirror to see if there was any trail of smoke or fire due to petrol leaking onto my rotors.
Continued in Part II....
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