Rays Engineering Gram Lights 57S Wheels + Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Tyres

OK, I know my BBS RK + Michelin PP2 tyres are only about 7 months old but the more I look at the Slowtra the more I felt the car looked a little bland with silver coloured wheels. Bronze, Gunmetal or Black wheels are seriously required to make the car look less Uncle like. Getting more expensive the more I look at the car.. Midlife crisis again or maybe I should just stop looking at the car?

For a long time I was really again contemplating the SSR Type C to the point that I was going to drive down to Sillypore just to install the rims. Lotsa office work and my house reno prevented that. Then one night I was researching my old Option/Option2 mags for some other thing when the Gramlights 57s ad in the October 2003 issue of Option 2 magazine caught my eye. Love at first sight? More research soon had me thinking these were perhaps the right wheel for me. For one thing The GL 57S (short for Rays Engineering Gram Lights 57S.. phew, the Japs/Rays are really wordy) are cast rims so should prove cheaper though heavier than the Volk Racing TE37s I was also crazilly considering. No kidding. Ask Jacko on that. The 57S is also unfortunately very slightly also heavier than the BBS RK by bout 200 grammes but what the heck! That's not going to make much difference to the Slowtra's performance or lack of. Was also thinking bout shudder the Nismo/Rays LM-GT4 but that was unavailable in the size I wanted nor the Slowtra's fitment. Anyway budget and logic got the better of me and I soon decided I was gonna go for the Gram Lights 57S. It helps when TE37s are on backorder till July and the price for 4 rims would set me back more than 6K! The 57S is only RM4.5K. Rays wheels are definitely not cheap!

I was going to order the 57s direct from Japan but then decided to give my usual tyre guy at Goh Swee Hin a call to see if perhaps he was able to get the 57S. The Gods of branded wheels must have been shining on me that day when he said he could get those wheels. Better still he can trade in my BBS for decent price. Thank you Mr. Goh @ Goh Swee Hin Jalan Dato Keramat! The only downside to all this was that my rims would take bout 2 months to arrive from JDM land.

Again the Gods of branded wheels must have shining on me again when Mr Goh called me a scant 4 weeks later telling me that my rims had arrived. Unbelievable!. Pix below of my 57S still in the box. There are 2 rims per box.

My wheel specs

Pix of the 57S removed from box. Lovely! Quality is simply unbelievable and simply the best even compared to the like of SSR and BBS. Find it hard to believe the 57S is a cast wheel as the quality and surface finish is more akin a forged wheel..

My rims were manufactured on May 9th 2007. Very new..
By this time the poison had really set in deep and I decided I was going to also get myself some new tyres as I could also get a good trade-in price for my PP2s. The PP2s while having excellent grip in the wet had a wee bit too much noise for my liking at low speeds. Plus the sound was getting more after bout 7K+ of mileage. In the end my choice was limited to the following 3 makes as I wanted similar or better performance (ie grip, steering feedback and roadholding) of the PP2s while giving less noise (hopefully):

• Continental Conti Sport Contact 3 or CSC3
• Bridgestone Potenza RE001 Adrenaline
• Bridgestone Potenza RE050A

The Conti CSC3s unfortunately was not avail for my size while Mr Goh doubted the RE001 Adrenalines would be considered an "upgrade" over the PP2 so in the end I settled on the RE050As per his and my Bro from The Star Motoring Anthony Lim's recommendation.

Per Tire Rack on the RE050A:

"The Potenza RE050A features a high grip tread compound molded into an asymmetric tread design, where a continuous center rib, large tread blocks and stable shoulder elements provide responsive handling, high-speed stability and traction on dry roads. Circumferential and lateral tread grooves are aimed to pump water out from under the tire's footprint to minimize hydroplaning and aid wet traction. Internally, the Potenza RE050A features twin steel belts reinforced by spiral-wrapped nylon to stabilize the tread area and enhance handling, high-speed capability and ride quality while minimizing weight. The fabric cord body and hard rubber sidewall filler help blend ride quality with steering response and lateral stability"

Unfortunately each tyre cost Rm650 per tyre for my sizing. Arrggghh! On Bro Anthony's very strong recomendation I bit the bullet, enlarged my wallet and ordered the tyres which dutifully arrived about a week later. Pix below of my tyres.

Closer pix showing the thread patterns and label. Label says "RE050" but tyre sidewall says "RE050A"

Personally I prefer the Conti or Michelin thread pattern to the typical Japanese. Pix below of all the accessories for the 57S. The air inlet/oulet valves are lightweight aluminium anodized black. Sweet! Stickers are DIY. The adapter key is for my Rays lugnuts (not supplied with rims). Centercaps are optional and very expensive (1500 yen/RM44 per cap) but Taukeh Mr Goh ordered for me FOC. Have elected to temporarily not use the center caps as it makes the Slowtra more racecar looking Fnarrrr... There are proper instructions in English on mounting the tyre to rim and maintenance. A first for a Jap wheel manufacturer. Both my previous SSR and Rally Sparco wheels came with only Jap instructions.

Pix of tyre mounted on the rim waiting to be balanced.

More rims waiting to be deflowered!

Installation, on-wheel balancing and alignment took about an hour plus. Also took some time to WD40 and clean my Nismo shocks. Pix of the new wheels and tyres on the Slowtra.

Closeup this morning before application of the "Gram Lights" decals

Took me bout an hour plus to apply the 4 decals (one per wheel) and wax the wheels. Rays did not provide any instructions so I used the ad in my Option 2 mag for reference. What do you think? Personally I feel things look less cluttered without the "Gram Lights" decal.

A closer shot

Close up of the lightweight aluminium valve. These valves can be purchased separately but a set of 4 will set you back around RM150 (1260 yen each) depending on the exchange rate. Valve covers alone are RM5 each. Ouch!

Being a motorsport oriented wheel there's loads of clearance for larger multi-piston calipers. Wilwoods here I come! :p

Close up of the center cap which I'm currently not using. Should I?

That's all for now. More writeup once I get some decent mileage on the RE050As..

Rear Disk Brakes Wanted!

As you know the N16 manual pathetically comes with rear drum brakes as standard so it's time to upgrade. TCM/Nissan is really unforgiveable for this cost saving exercise as even Kia Spectras come with rear disk brakes. I'm willing to pay decent cash for a good/excellent condition N16 SG-L/XG-L rear cut. Those crashed cars with the front wiped-off would do nicely. Alternatively I'm looking for the complete rear beam assembly complete with calipers. Have contacted TCEAS on this but they don't seem too interested. A new rear beam alone (not including calipers, etc) costs RM3K btw so don't ask me to get only new parts as the whole exercise will cost >5K!

I can source the other parts including the disc/rotors, rear parking brake assembly and brake hoses myself. Have in fact already purchased some Pro RS stainless steel braided brake hoses. The Pro RS branded braided hoses are claimed to be sourced from Eaton Aeroquip so should be decent quality. Shame about the Goodridge lookalike packaging though.

Anybody with leads on some decent N16 rear disk brakes please please contact me. Don't let my spiffy new brake hoses gather dust and feeling lonely in my cabinet..

Mine's Mine - More Beauty Shots!

Here's more takes by popular demand. Close up of the side plate below. Side plates are connected to the wing via 2 M6 allen socket cap head bolts.

Top View. Nice contrast with the Slowtra's new boot silver paintjob. My regular Painter did a massive job but he ain't cheap!
Another shot!
Side view

Last pix before things get too dark. IMHO the Mine's Multi Select wing manages to look aggressive yet subtle at the same time.

Mine's Mine - Installed!

Finally had some spare time to get the Mine's Multi Select Rear Wing installed today. Installation was relatively painless taking only bout an hour. All that needed to be done was to ensure proper placement of the spoiler before drilling 4 holes for the mounting brackets/legs. Before doing that you have to remove the stock NVH carpet mounted to the bottom of the boot lid. I did junk the supplied rubber washers for the base of the wing's mounting bracket and had washers cut from thicker rubber supplied by a Bro. Also replaced the stock mild steel bolts, nuts and washers with stainless steel items. Oh, and once you install don't forget to adjust the angle of attack and ensure everything's tightened properly. Don't want to have the wing or plates fly off and sushi someone when you're at speed!

Pixs of the wing below before installation. The wing came with everything including the side plates installed but I dismantled them for some decent waxing! Disassembly also showed me the wing is not 100% carbon but primarily frp with carbon only top and bottom layers. Very expensive for the retail price but the quality really shows especially in the perfect weave of the carbon. Did not weight the Mine's wing but I'm convinced it's lighter than the Nismo lip spoiler having carried both.

The machined from aluminium mounting legs. The wing is adjustable for angle of attack only. Height is fixed. The base can be pivoted a couple degrees to the right or left to help ease the installation and placement.
First installed pixs below.


Should I stick a Mine's sticker to the Slowtra? Talk about mid life crisis :P

Have to admit it looks damn good and not too Beng! Even my mech that's normally not into rice or carbon admitted it look good. Come to think of it, this is the smallest lowest spoiler I had. My first car, a Wira 1.3 had the 1.8's tiang gol spoiler while the SP had the Mirage Asti High Spoiler which was also quite massive. More pixs to follow once I get the car back. Have sent it for painting to fix the holes drilled earlier on the boot from the abandoned Nismo carbon spoiler/lip project. Ouch!

Got Matt Bronze Wheels?

This ad first appeared in October 2003 issue of Option 2 magazine but never caught my eye until only recently . All this after nearly four years. Thank God I didn't throw away my old Option 2 mag collection..

All will be revealed in due time but no promises. Pls be patient :)

Detailing - Autoglym

There's nothing more satisfying than admiring the shine of your car after a couple hours of your own muscle, sweat and sometimes blood! Nobody cleans and details my car but myself. Have been using Autoglym products for close to a decade and nothing comes more highly recommended when it comes to cleaning, waxing and polishing your car. Below are the Autoglym products I've used most. Warning they're not cheap! All the products in picture above will cost more than RM300 if bought one shot. No joke.

Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner

Careful regular washing with Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner removes traffic film and greatly assists in preserving the finish and appearance of your vehicle. It's also perfect for maintaining the wax/gloss finish of your vehicle. Get yourself a decent sponge and shampoo the car from top front to rear then the bottom part of your car. Leave the wheels last.

Super Resin Polish
This used to be my mainstay cleaner/polish/sealant but has since been superseeded by the Ultra Deep Shine. I still use it for areas less exposed to the elements plus it's much cheaper! More prone to leaving spider webbing marks if you are not careful compared to Ultra Deep Shine. Autoglym Super Resin Polish contains low molecular weight resins which provide exceptional cosmetic effect and protection from most environmental hazards.

Ultra Deep Shine
This is the bees knees man and is my mainstay cleaner/polish/sealant. Specially formulated using the finest modern polishing and coating technology to impart a tough durable finish to a wide range of paint colours, new or old. The shine it leaves has to be seen to be believed. People who have seen the car cannot believe that the paint is years and not days old. You start the car with the Ultra Deep Shine first. Use a decent clean cotton cloth. I have used the Autoglym Perfect Polishing Cloth previously but am not too partial to it plus I find it overpriced. You can get cotton cloth in packs of 3 from places like Tesco. Cheap and good! Takes about 3 hours to do the Slowtra. Buff the car with the cloth & Ultra Deep Shine first then leave it to dry. Wipe off once the Ultra Deep Shine dries to a haze . I usually start with the bonnet then roof then doors/sides and finally bumpers.

Liquid Hardwax
Previously used the Extra Gloss Protection but this last loads longer. Cost much more too unfortunately. Formulated with tough synthetic resins and waxes. Once you have completed the Ultra Deep Shine portion you then apply this to the polished part of the car. Leave to dry for about 2 or more hours then wipe off with a clean dry cotton cloth. After than run your hands over the car and enjoy the smooth/glossiness. Smooth as a baby's bottom they say. All in all detailing the car with Ultra Deep Shine and Liquid Hardwax will take me most of the day (around 6-8 hours).

Leather Cleaner and Leather Care Cream (not in picture as I ran out)
Good for cleaning your leather interior. And No you can't use this on fabric. Once you've cleaned the leather interior apply the Autoglym Leather Care Cream. Autoglym Leather Care Cream is a carefully blended emulsion containing soaps and natural oils to protect and moisture the leather.

Instant Tyre Dressing
I use this not only for my tyres but also for exterior plastics and vinyl. Works a treat on the headlights and foglights too! A bit overprice though so if budget's tight use some other product.

Will talk about non-Autoglym detailing products I'm using next..

Redline MT90 Transmission Oil

The N16 manual gearbox is not the quietest and famous for whining especially during slow 1st-2nd gear traffic jam gear speeds Penang is famous for. Bloody irritating unless you crank up the ICE! With mileage now approaching 20K km it was time to replace the gearbox oil anyway and I looked around for a decent synthetic transmission oil that would help reduce the gearbox whine while providing adequate protection and minimizing transmission loss. Having used the excellent Redline 75W90 previously on the SP my 1st choice would again be from Redline. Will not be using the 75W90 on the Slowtra as it's rated GL5 and besides I would not be using the friction modifiers in the 75W90 as the Slowtra does not have a limited slip diff. Using the 75W90 would just increase gearbox wear. You have been warned! The service manual states that gearbox oil with 75W90 viscocity and GL-4 rating be used. Referrencing Redline's web page led me to the MT-90 which is the correct specification transmission oil for my gearbox. I settled for the MT-90 rather than MTL for the comfort of additional protection as the Slowtra is not a race car. Man this sounds like a condom or birth control advertisement! Those with auto-gearboxes can look elsewhere.

However it did take some time to order the MT90 as it's not common unlike the more popular MTL. Northern Garage ordered some for me (Thanks Ah Loy) and a stock of MT-90 arrived in about 2 weeks. The N16's big fat manual gearbox needs about 3+ bottles as one MT-90 bottle is listed at 1 quart (0.946 litres) thanks to the American's love of everything non-metric. This means that you have to order 4 bottles unfortunately. One bottle is around Rm55 so total cost is RM220. Definitely not cheap! Picture below of the MT-90 sitting in my room

Closeup
I had the Slowtra checked in yesterday (Sat) for tranny oil change at my usual workshop. Decided to skip TCEAS as I'm not partial to paying big bucks for a simple gearbox oil change. Only cost me RM8 labour at my usual place. Pix below of the bolt plug (in red box) which needs to be loosened to drain the gearbox oil.
Took some time to drain out all the gearbox oil. I would leave things for at least 30-45 min before refilling. Cleaned the underside of the Slowtra with healthy doses of WD90 during this time. Pix below of fresh MT90 being pumped into the gearbox. Car next to mine is my Bro CP's 200bhp Proton Satria Monster!

Driving home from the workshop the differences were instantly noticeable. Gearshifts felt slicker and the tranny whine is less but unfortunately not 100% eliminated. The downside is more pronounced tyre roar at slow speeds now. This means there is less tranny whine to mask the tyre noise. All in all a decent investment!

Nissan N15 DTC (German Touring Car) Racecar

Was digging thru my old racecar archives to post in the N16MO forum bout how to properly lower your car and I found this. Thought I'll just go ahead and blab a bit since the Pulsar/Almera N15 is the N16's Daddy. Might be late 90s touring car technology but this is still state of the art as far as I'm concerned and shows how much effort goes into a race car despite everything looking stock externally. Red boxes below show how much the top suspension mount has been raised to ensure sufficient suspension travel after extreme lowering. Engine uses a carbon plenum (inlet manifold) and single throttle body. And just look at the size of the blue anodized oil catch tank! The compression must be stupendous for a naturally aspirated engine to generate so much crankcase pressure. All major plumbing is via AN fittings and stainless steel braided hoses. Lesser ones are silicone. Major investment here alone.
Engine mount is fabricated from a block of solid aluminium to minimize engine movement. Obviously NVH comfy comfy is not a factor in a racecar.

The engine in it's glory after disassembly from car. Huge throttle body!

There are bellmouths for each cylinder in the inlet manifold

And here is the camshaft. Now that's what I call duration and overlap!

Rear suspension assembly below. Anti-roll bar is a very yellow blade type, adjutable and goes thru the spare tyre well. All links are spherical bearinged. Like the N16 the N15 uses a torsion beam rear suspension configuration. Rear dampers are running helper springs (black) and the main spring (red) is linear type and extremely stiff from the looks of it (how fat each spring coil is).

Cockpit nothing much to look at except Pi Research datalogger and integrated digital display. Pedal box assy is hinged from the floor. Rollcage tubing runs through the dash.

As trick as this might look it's still relatively Group N+ (production) based and nowhere near as developed as the old school touring cars such as the BTCC Primera. Will do an article on that stupendous piece of technology when time permits..

Mine's Mine - Teaser

This arrived yesterday from Japan via EMS/Pos Laju courier service. As expected finishing is flawless and good enough to lick! Plans are in place to install and paint the boot lid in due time when I'm not doing my house. Stay tuned for a full lowdown...

Oh... plus I think it's time to get some trick forged wheels. See how things develop..

DK Schweizer Leather Seat Upholstery and Interior Trim

The stock fabric upholstery adourning the Slowtra's seats really suck big time and make an otherwise pretty classy interior look really bargain basement cheap. Frankly I don't know what TCM was doing when the design for the seat upholstery was chosen. Anyway I decided to go for DK leather upholstery after being introduced by my school classmate and Bro. DK Schweizer is an established company in Bolehland having supplied many auto manufacturers including Chevrolet, Proton (ok.. save your Proton jokes pls. IMHO the leather upholstery in the latest Waja is actually pretty decent), Honda, Ford, Mitsubishi, etc. More details in DK's webpage.

Design of the leather upholstery is courtesy of Bro Fooyc (Thanks Bro!). I think this design is very sporty and contemporary with the perforated leather trim looking ala Brabus Mastik leather. This is a great relief as leather upholstery can sometimes look "Ah Pek". I choosed a dark grey colour rather than black for practical purposes. As you know black colour is really good at absorbing heat while going too light a colour means that any dirt or stains on the seats would show up easily. The leather material is imported from Germany and the upholstery is full leather unlike some oem leather upholstery which actually feature PVC for the sides of the seat for example. I also had the centre arm rest cover and shifter boot done up in leather. Wanted to do the steering wheel but unfortunately the machine to test the SRS airbag is only found in KL. This means that I will have to dismantle my steeering wheel and then send it to DK KL for wrapping. The whole exercise takes about a week which means that I can't drive my car during that period. Boo Hoo! Too much hassle if you ask me. Anyone want to lend me a N16 steering wheel?

Installation was pretty quick and painless. I checked the car in around 10am in the morning and everything was done by 2pm. The whole exercise cost me 2000 smackers which is very reasonable when you look at the quality of the work and the fact that the upholstery is full leather.

Pix below of the front passenger seat. The grey is actually darker but my Olympus camera had difficulty resolving the correct grey shade. The interior classiness and ambience really went up a notch after doing the leather upholstery.

Rear Seats

Close up of the perforated leather centre section.

Door trim

The downsides? Well apart from the higher cost, leather can be a pain to maintain if you always want it to look supple and soft. Also the leather material retains heat better which means that things can get sticky if you're the type that sweat a lot like me. Overall I'm very happy with the DK leather upholstery. Have received lotsa compliments on the leather upholstery and wifey really loves it compared to the beige leather/PVC upholstery in her Optra.