Convocation

It's been a real struggle balancing work, personal life, my studies and of course playing with the Slowtra these past 3+ years but I'll have to say it was worth every blood, sweat and tear. I graduated with an MBA in Supply Chain Management from UUM on the 1st October 2011. In comparison, the last time something like this happened more than 15 years ago was a walk in the park as I had nothing else to worry about then except passing my exams. I have a very very long list of people to thank for all the support, encouragement, advice and even rubbing some sense into me including my wife, family, current and previous bosses, friends, brudders, colleagues, etc. Won't bore this blog with details but you know who you are :)

Having achieved by academic objective I'll have to say I am pretty satisfied and look forward to really utilizing what I have learned.  However there is still one more thing I tend to dream about a lot. A motorsport engineering degree/masters from the likes of Cranfield University. Unfortunately I suck real bad in Physics and getting older by the day doesn't turn this into a strength. At this point of time this shall remain a dream but who knows? Life is full of surprises and like a box of chocolates you'll never know what's gonna come along with the chocolates.....

ARP Head Studs Here!

2 to 3 weeks turned out to be more than a month but me correct ARP head studs have finally arrived. Oh and Pos Laju charged me RM150 to air freight ten incorrect head studs back to the States :( Next time just use regular registered snail mail. Picture of the correct head stud.

The QG18DE requires 10 (there are 12 head bolts but the other 2 is non-load bearing) M10 (Metric 10mm) head studs. Price came up to 470+ smackers not including shipping and any tax for 10 head studs + same quantity washers and 12-point nuts. The reason the price is so reasonable is because I took the closest equivalent off the shelf head stud versus commencing the design and manufacture of custom head studs which would have cost me thousands of hard earned ringgit. Many thousands.

Per Greg (my supplier and boss of GSpec Performance) my head studs are same as the KA24DE. Here's another piccie. If you think you're going to make big power (>500hp) perhaps you can drill the block and try 11mm or larger diameter head studs. I'll stick to 10mm since I'm not.

Picture below shows the stock head bolt versus the ARP head stud assembled with washer and nut. The ARP head stud is about 12mm longer but I've confirmed with Toby there will not be any clearance issues.

As you can see from the picture above the thread length is the same compared with the incorrect head stud. Am working on ARP main bolts now which I'm hoping no praying will not be as problematic. Also need to order some fastener assembly lubricant.

Stripdown

Finally after some ten months work has started on my engine. Engine is in mint condition. During a phone conference Chief Engineer Toby was like "WTF! Your engine looks like it has less than 1000km". Pictures below courtesy of Bro Jacko who went walk walk around snap pictures for me as I am more than 350km away from the work being done. Thanks Bro!

Engine oil is clean and all the bearings are in great condition with no scuff marks or scratches. Picture below of the crankshaft. You can also see the stock main bolts and main bearing caps in the picture.

Per Bro Jacko engine must be from a Klingon warbird as there were some Klingon marks on the rods. Rod is very thin.. Toby mentioned "funny pistons are dished but stock compression is still high" (9.5:1)

Cylinder head being put through the degreaser for cleaning. The intake and exhaust ports are small! Like the ones on a Mitsu 4G13/15. This is a 1.8 engine mind you. Compare it to an engine 10 years its senior the famed Mitsu 4G93 and you can see the glaring differences in port size. Apart from the lower compression this is one of the reason why the QG18 makes 128ps (claimed) compared to 133ps (also claimed) for the 4G93. If you need to ask the larger valve heads are the intake ports. Some cylinder head development work is definitely required!

First need to build up the bottom end starting with some nice forged pistons. There is very little metal between the cylinder bores hence the QG18 is practically maxed out in terms of cylinder bore diameter. Have settled for only a 0.5mm overbore which should suit my 81mm bore Ajusa headgasket nicely. My K1 rods should also hopefully be here in October. ARP head studs are on the way (finally sent last week) and design work has commenced on the main studs. Also need to source for some decent bearings preferably performance coated or WPC treated. More to follow.

BC Racing BR Series Coilover Suspension Installed

Like my brakes me coilover shocks were also installed @ Northern Garage. Before installing I took some measurements of my ride height with the Nismo S-Tune shocks. Measurements were taken from fender to ground as stated in the Nissan FSM. Fronts were 640mm while rears were not equal at 650mm left and 640mm right. In comparison the B15 ride height is stated in table below

Installation was relatively painless. Picture below of the front coilover compared to the Nismo S-Tune shock. Weight for both were surprisingly the same give or take a couple hundred grammes.

Picture of the installed front. Rears are 1 kilo lighter than the Nismo S-Tune (4kg vs 5kg).

Picture of the rears compared to the Nismo S-Tune.

The front damping adjustment knob.

Rear installed.

Took quite a while to find the rear damper turret top as it is in a place where the sun don't shine. At one point had nearly all the carpeting and seats removed to locate the turret top. Once done it was a synch to bolt the damping adjustment extenders to the coilover damping adjuster knob.

Had to make slot holes in the carpet trim to be able to reach the damping adjustment extender knob without having to remove the carpeting.

Ride height can be adjusted without removing the front wheels but you will have to remove the rears (to adjust ride height). I settled for a 645mm front ride height while rear was set at 640mm after alignment. This is about 1.5-2cm lower than stock with 17" rims with 215-45 series tyres. Picture of the Slowtra with this ride height. Will go lower for track days but going lower for daily driving is just looking for trouble unless you don't do multi-story car parks nor have an abundance of speed bumps at your work place.

Damping was initially set at 6 clicks from full soft and then 5 as the damping settled. I also tried 7 and 8 clicks and while the Slowtra handled better my old butt preferred 5 clicks for daily driving especially with the abundance of pot holes in Penang and mainland roads.  At 5 clicks I would say the BC Racing BR is feels about 15% stiffer compared to the Nismo S-Tune. Haven't tried full soft but wouldn't be surprised if it ends up feeling softer compared to the S-Tune. With the stiffer springs I am having going full soft might not dampen the spring sufficiently during high speed though I have yet to try. I would say the BC racing BR does very well in terms of vibration and harshness. Even at 5 clicks there is very little dive during hard braking compared to the Nismo S-Tune. Body roll is minimized. Damping is very controlled with little hint of harsheness despite much stiffer springs. The rebound action is pretty quick and the car doesn't bounce around when riding over road undulation/uneveness. Corner turn-in is faster and the Slowtra's agility is really transformed.

Noise unfortunately is problem due to the abundance of metal to metal contact especially with spherical bearing top mounts. The rears in particular is prone to squeaking especially if the coilover is not kept clean. I am also getting something akin to a scrape sound when going over steep speed bumps from the front right (driver's) side. A call to Daniel from BC Racing Malaysia on this problem came with the recommendation that I should use Autosol on the piston rod. Errr.. The sound does not seem to impact damping hence at this point I'm still observing for further if there are other issues.

I would recommend the BC Racing BR RH series if you are primarily concerned with handling but have no grouch with noise. There is always the ICE to help :) The external build quality is as good as it gets (even better than the Nismo S-Tune) and likewise the damping with little evidence of low speed harshness compared with lets say early gen Hot Bits coilovers I was using once upon a time on my first car. One can feel the difference even with one click change in damping adjustment. The only problem is the noise though going to rubber top mounts would lessen it. Just don't expect stock like no sound. Can't have your icing and cherry to go with the cake.

Rapfix II Steering Quick Release and Short Boss + Momo Model 78 Steering Wheel Installed

I know I know.. Nine months is sufficient to make a baby but that's the length of time between me getting the Works Bell Rapfix II steering quick release and short boss, determining the steering wheel model and fitting the whole hog. Having a long Raya hol helped else it would have taken even longer.

Having contemplated the likes of OMP, Reverie and Sparco I still ended up with the one I am most intimate with - the Momo Model 78. For those that have been following me since the SP days will recall I used the Model 78 on the SP. The key feature that made my decision was the grip shape and contour on the Model 78. Oh and cost too with the Momo coming it at ~760 smackers from Demon Tweeks compared to (shudder) more than RM 2K for a Reverie carbon steering wheel not including shipping costs. Thanks Bro Mugil.

Compared to the airbagless SP installation took quite a bit longer at more than two hours. The stock steering wheel airbag module is held in place by two Torx bolts and an electrical connector for the horn and airbag activation. Works Bell supply the original Torx wrenches to remove the airbag. Picture of the airbag removed. Be very very careful when removing the airbag. Don't want any explosion...

Picture of the back (reverse) side of the airbag module.

After removing the airbag module, loosen one nut to remove the stock steering wheel. The stock steering wheel + airbag weights a ton compared to the Works Bell and Momo.

Start installing the short boss and quick release. Picture below of both installed. The dangling thing is the horn. Works Bell also supply the resistor circuit to ensure the airbag warning light does not lit up permanently. These guys have thought of everything and more to make the installation as seamless as possible.

I used the horn grounding plate from Works Bell rather than the one supplied by Momo. Momo has changed the horn button since I used the same steering wheel more than five years going to a smaller horn button that rest on the boss kit/quick release rather than on the steering wheel. I honestly prefer the "old" Momo Corse horn button. Picture of everything test fitted.

The Model 78 is bolted to the female half of the Rapfix II quick release via six titanium countersunk bolts from Baller Bolts. Picture of the steering wheel.

Close up. Ti bolts also available in blue, green, gold, purple and burned finished if you desire more bling.

Reverse side showing the connectors.

Lotsa fakes around so make sure you get from a reputable Momo dealer

Everything fitted.

Feeling is so much more precise than the loose feeling stock steering wheel although steering effort is slightly increased. Reach to the steering column stalks is slightly more than stock though manageable for me. Ladies might beg to differ though. Definitely less than on the SP with the much longer Momo boss.

And now for the classic trick race car wannabee piccie. Sorry couldn't help it :)

Seats are next as the Slowtra reverts from a luxurious leather interior back to plain old cloth. Right now the Slowtra can attack corners pretty well cept there is nothing to hold me in place. Try my best not to take another nine months.

New Rolling Stuff

Got new front wheel hubs. Ordered from Nissan USA but made in Sushi land. Part number is 40202-4M405. Pretty fab casting quality.

Rears later. Also got NSK wheel bearings. Figured I might as well change the wheel bearings when I press out the original 85K km hubs and wheel bearings. You can order the wheel bearings from Bro Nick over at the MY N16 forum. If you need his contact lemme know.

I also ordered aluminium alloy rim centre hub rings to replace the stock plastic ones. These are from Ultralite Wheels in the UK and are forged 7075 aluminium alloy. All N16s and B15s use a 56.1mm hub centre. My Work Emotion CR Kai is 73.3mm as can be seen below.

The Ultralite centre hub ring that fits is the one from 66.1mm to 73mm. Part number is self explanatory - YD-HR73661A.  Comes in a pack of four. Ultralite does not sell direct but you can easily get these from eBay. Available in any colour so long as black. Picture of the centre hub rings. Looks loads better than stock sunkist orange if you ask me.

Am still undecided whether to go for a slightly wider front track utilizing 10mm wheel spacers and longer wheel lugs. H&R make pretty decent ones that are a direct fit and with the lug pattern I want (4 lug 114.3 PCD).

Ajusa MLS Head Gasket

Until Cosworth or a similar big gun steps forward this is probably one of the better if not the best head gasket you can buy for the QG18DE. The stock headgasket is probably good for 170hp and maybe 200hp with conservative tuning but elevate the power output way beyond that it will not reliably hold the power in the long run. You can read about why Ajusa in the B15U forum.

The other competitor would be the Fel-Pro Permatorque MLS. I did contact another popular head gasket manufacturer - Cometic but they told me they did not have the CAD files and at most would only be able to come up with a copper head gasket. The Fel-Pro Permatorque MLS is only available in one bore size - 80.5mm bore hence my piston overbore would be limited to 80.5mm or less. I decided to settle for the Ajusa as it comes with a 81mm bore size.

As I could not find this head gasket from the States I decided to contact the Ajusa head office in Spain. Typically large corporations could not be bothered to answer to small customers like myself but surprisingly Ajusa did. Even better still there is a Malaysian distributor located in the Klang Valley - O.E.M Conti-Parts Sdn. Bhd. (telephone: +60378779963)

A couple emails and phone calls later I placed an order for two units of the Ajusa head gasket. Three months later these arrived via a container ship. If you do not want to wait three months and want to utilize air freight be prepared to double the price.  Bro Jack helped me to collect the head gasket. Picture of my head gaskets below. All pictures courtesy of Jack too. Thanks Bro! Part number is 10145400. Part number for QR25DE engine is 10145500.

Close up. The gasket is three layer hence the MLS (multi layer steel) acronym. Per B15U forum the top and bottom layers are steel while the middle layer is aluminium.

Hopefully with my ARP head studs this will hold the power and be reliable.

Dietary Supplements Part 4 - Titanium Nuts for the BC Racing BR Coilovers

Decided to replace the nuts on the front top mounts with titanium items. Each top mount for the BC Racing BR Series coilover damper utilizes three metric 8mm nuts so I ordered 6 in total. The rears will be replaced at a later date when budget is available. This time round Hyperbolt was cheaper than ProBolt hence my decision was simple.

Picture below of the titanium flanged (washer faced) nuts

Compared with the "stock" mild steel nuts that came with the shocks.

Fitted. I decided to get clear coloured anodized nuts rather than the more bling blue or gold coloured anodized versions.

Shocks are going in very very soon. Probably this weekend.

Work Emotion Wheel Lineage

Found this interesting piece of information on the web regarding my Work Emotion CR-Kai rims. From my Jap books and own research the information is pretty correct.

The original Emotion series rims by Work Wheels are sourced back to early 2000 and there are 3 different generations since the inception.  There were also 3 different manufacturing processes used during the different generations and also a host of available custom order finishes. Below is a breakdown of the different generations including identifying features of each. Please note this is for the real Work Wheels from Japan. Knock-offs and fakes need not apply. You can see these on the road everywhere nowadays unfortunately.

First Generation - Work Emotion

• Pressed forged or medium/low pressure cast
• Generally glossy colour paint
• Custom colours available but at additional cost
• No rim lip flange as on the CR-Kai
• Not much spoke definition
• Forged versions only available in 15", 17" and 18" diameter and were simply called "Emotion". A forged rim is lighter than a cast version.
• Medium/low pressure cast versions in 16" and 17" were called "Emotion CR"
• Medium/low pressure cast versions in 15" were called "CR-Kai"
• Single bolt holes only.
• Some available bolt patterns were discontinued when the 2nd generation was introduced around 2004

Second Generation - Work Emotion CR

• Low pressure cast
• Glossy colour paint
• Custom colours available but at additional cost
• No rim lip flange as on the CR-Kai
• Spoke definition is more akin CR-Kai - utilizes a beveled edge to make the spoke sppear sharper and thinner
• Forged version discontinued
• Slightly different casting method - low pressure
• Single bolt holes only

Third Generation - Work Emotion CR-Kai

•  Low pressure cast
• Matt colour paint
• Rim flange lip
• Spoke definition utilizing beveled edge to make the spoke appear sharper and thinner
• Additional "dummy" holes apart from the bolt holes
• Multiple finish options including chrome, black, matte/glossy

Picture below of my Work Emotion CR-Kai illustrating the features

During TAS (Tokyo Auto Salon) this year Work introduced what appears to be the fourth? generation of the Work Emotion CR series called the Work Emotion CR-Kiwami. Kiwami means "sublime" or the "highest" in Japanese. Apparently the spokes are now thinner and with a more aggresive taper. A new casting technology is utilized called Work Flow-forming Technology or WFT. WFT allows a thinner yet stronger rim section which reduces weight and yet not at the expense of strength. Picture below of the new series.

The CR-Kiwami is available in 15" - 18" sizes but unfortunately no 4 lug 114.3 PCD at this point. Also per Work's website the CR-Kai is still being sold at this point along with the CR-Kiwami. For how long I don't know so if you're aspiring to own these rims get them soon.

More Engine Development Blues - Incorrect ARP Cylinder Head Studs

Apart from having a better stronger head gasket, having a stronger cylinder head bolt is essential to providing optimum sealing especially if the engine is going to be making twice or more of its original horsepower.

ARP or Automotive Racing Products is reknown in motorsport for being the preeminent fastener source. ARP customers include Nascar, IRL and Formula 1. Unfortunately ARP does not have any off the shelf cylinder head studs for the Nissan QG16/18DE engine. This means the only way is to get measurements of the stock head bolt and send to ARP for the nearest equivalent. The shipping to send the stock head bolt to the US ain't going to be cheap so I inquired if I could purchase a stock QG18DE head bolt from Nissan US and have it sent to ARP for measurement. The answer is yes but Nissan only sells in minimum quantity of 5 bolts so I would have to purchase all 5. Anyway I did so and a couple weeks later the ARP equivalents were here.

Picture below of the stock cylinder head bolt including part number - 11056-4Z000

Picture of the ARP head stud I received including 12-point nut and washer. Material is ARP2000 alloy which is stronger than the standard 8740 chromoly alloy. ARP2000 is capable of achieving a clamp load of 220,000 psi while 8740 chromoly alloy can be heat treated to deliver a tensile strength of up to 210,000 psi. In contrast regular stainless steel is rated up to 170,000 psi. There are stronger alloys out there than ARP2000 but cost will increase exponentially and ARP2000 already is more than up to the task of holding the power I am expecting to make.

 
Close up on the 12-point nut

You can clearly see the difference in thread length and overall length. A quick email to my supplier confirmed the mistake.

So I now have to send the incorrect studs back to the US while my supplier sends me the correct ones. This will take a couple weeks.

Stop Press! - Email from my supplier - From ARP: There were only 4 in stock @ ARP when this order was placed. The ETA on the other 6 needed to complete this order is 2-3 Weeks.

This means by the time I get the correct head studs it will be a month or more :(

My Nismo G-Attack S-Tune Shocks are For Sale! (SOLD)

My shocks have got to go else it will end up taking up good space in my store room. Fronts are four years old and probably due for replacement but there are still no leaks to-date and I'm still running it today with no issues. Might last several months or a year. Who knows at this point? One side of the rear shocks sprang a leak very late last year probably due to a rear tyre blow out incident I had and I promptly replaced both sides. The rears have since done about 6K km so will probably last another good 3 years or more depending on your driving style and the condition of the road you drive on every day. I am asking for RM 400 drop dead for the whole set including springs. A new set will set you back RM1.6K or more. A pair (front or rear set only) will set you back ~RM 1K max so you are still making a couple hundred ringgit savings when the time comes for you to replace the fronts.

Serious enquiries pls contact me via email or call 012-4990807. Do not sms me for fun asking for best price. This is the best price!

Update: Shocks have been SOLD! Bro Amin, do let me know your driving impression :)