Aoi-chan's Quickie - 7/10/2009

It been quite a while since i wrote anything on Aoi-chan. Most probably it's because she's running fine and dandy as usual and nothing out of the ordinary happenned to her since the last post. But glancing the mileage meter this morning, it seems that she'll be needing her regular periodical maintenance. That means taking her to the "doctors" again. And taking into account that it's at the 80,000km interval... more might need to be done. Monday? Tuesday? Dunno yet, but wahtever it is... i'll need to brace my wallet for it. Ouch!

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 27/8/2009

A few rain after the fiasco of Aoi-chan's paintwork, Aoi-chan looked sparkling if not truly clean and clear.
Regarding the fiasco, here's what happened;
1. Got on the Federal Highway sometime ago with my fiancee heading to my parent's house
2. Aoi-chan got splattered by some stuff near one of the construction sites lining the road
3. Upon arrival, dismissed stuff on as dust
4. Left it there until the weekend to wash off (the thing happened on a weekday)
5. It rained a few days later. Realized that the stuff is actually cement once it started to harden after the rain dried up
6. Panic! Sent Aoi-chan for a quick wash. Told the guys to scrub off whatever is possible
7. Aoi-chan's paintwork was in a partial mess afterwards (told them to stop scrubbing halfway, ONLY after realizing i made a terrible mistake of telling them to do so)
8. Made things worse when i tried to do the remaining job myself
9. Gave an emergency call to a fellow friend and sent Aoi-chan on a full-body polish (planned to have a respray if it didn't work)
10. Aoi-chan looks better with the light scratches gone and the deeper ones less apparent

There were some weeping scenes in between the numbers but were edited out by the censory board... me (huhuhu...)
Well at least all's right with the world now... or maybe not. Noticed this morning that Aoi-chan is making a new noise. It seems that the engine will sometimes whistle around 3000-4000rpm. And the funny thing is that it can be heard over the already rough sound of the engine and with the windows all up. I sincerely hope it's just the effect of the rain last night plus the few puddles i went through on the way to work. Will have to monitor this... Eeeeep!

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 14/8/2009

I've finally been able to open up Aoi-chan's rear tail lamp cluster... and it isn't as hard nor does it hurt Aoi-chan that much. The trick lies in putting one of your hand below the tail lamp whilst the othe hand hold the top as an assistance. Then you pull it outwards a bit, twist anti-clockwise (for the LH side, Rh twist clockwise) and hey presto! You're done. Celebrating the fact and knowing that i didn't buy a spare bulb, i swith the partially burn one on the RH side to the still working one on the LH side. Perfect! But then again, whenever i buy the bulb i'll need to do this all over again... Huhuhu... Still a tedious thing to do this DIY fixing thing.

p/s: Don't, whatever you do, accidentally put you hand close to your lips/mouth after or whilst doing any DIY jobs on your car. You'll then accidentally lick you lips and then... "Gross! What the heck just went in my mouth?!!!" --> I hope you get it

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 6/8/2009

A light bulb, a seat structure, the suspension and the latest is the engine.
These are the items on Aoi-chan that's giving me problems. The worse being the seat structure. As you all know, i've fitted a SSCUS full bucket seat on the driver's side. The entire original seat was taken out and a new structure was put in to enable the bucket seat to be anchored to Aoi-chan. Now, as i found out yesterday, this particular structure has weakened a bit on one side due to the unnatural loading caused by my effort in going in and out of Aoi-chan. The result is that everytime i turn left (even at slow and not-so-sharp left turns), the whole seat would flex, causing me to misjudge the entry speed and line. And that my friends... is a bummer on a car that likes to go around corners.
Regarding the bulb, it's the main one at the right tailamp cluster. Funnily enough, as with the front ones, it's not easily accessible. I tried opeing as per the service booklet; failed. Tried accessing it from the boot (inside); failed. The thing is that, i could've just went to the shops to get it done, by seeing how hard i struggled and scratched Aoi-chan... forget it.
The suspension? Well... i dunno whether it's true or not; could've been misjudged by the seat. i'll conclude that one later.
The engine? The peculiar sudden rev of the engine that was due to faulty connection between the engine speed sensor happened suddenly this morning. i'm hoping that the sensor still works and the wires need some maintenance. If it's the sensor... then my pocket is doomed.

Aoi-chan... don't do this to me.... Huhuhuhu

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 24/7/2009

Noticed that ever since the e-biogreen incident that Aoi-chan's fuel consumption is getting worse. It's like it's not stable anymore. God how i wished i didn't try that thing out.

Another thing which i notice is a metallic scratching sound coming from the right rear seat squab everytime i accelerate (slow or fast). That too is starting to drive me up the wall...

Maybe i should remove all extra seats (the rear ones) and lighten Aoi-chan up a bit. That way the fuel consumption might just improve, and the scratching sound will be absent. Kill two problems with a couple of seats. Nice!

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 6/7/2009

Bang! Ouch....

Bang! Ouch....

Bang! Ouch....

BANG!!! OUCH!!!!
... and so it goes on. I know how i've always been 'banging-on' about things when i have an issue with it, but this is the sound of my head banging onto Aoi-chan's roof rail upon entry and exit... literally. And some mornings are the worse than others (hence the last sound of the above)
I dunno whether it's me who's getting taller, or i might need to re-adjust my entry and exit procedure (the bucket seat requires it, if not i'll just make myself an idiot all over again... like the first few times). Hopefully i don't bang my head too hard (i'm sure it'll happen again and again) and lose conciousness... that'll be way too embarassing that i'm afraid i might need to wear a mask to drive next time, just to hide my identity.


On another note.... don't for whatever reason, use RON95 petrol if you can pay the extra difference for the RON97. Although there's no issue with the RON grade, the issue lies in the extra 'ingredients' or additives added in the petrol to enhance it's properties and performance. i tried a tankful of the Shell's RON95 petrol last week; no issue with the engine's function, no extra noise, no knocking sound, same exhaust boom... good. Press the pedal on an incline... good grief! My legs feel more powerful than this! The pickup of Aoi-chan's engine was gone. All that's left is me biting the steering wheel to pass the sudden extra 'feel' of time lapse...

And so to the next item. Had tried e-bio-green thing (google it) in Aoi-chan and the result is... "as-usual-not-up-to-the-claim-by-the-smiling-and-VERY-talkative-and-persuasive-promoter-and-her-fat-boss-standing-nearby" outcome. In other words, crap. Yes it does 'improve' the FEEL of having a more powerful and responsive engine (they claim it actually ups the engine output, rubbish), but the claim of extra mileage is... frankly speaking a total bull. Aoi-chan's fuel economy actually dropped by 10% (against their claimed extra 10% mileage). This, again is another reason (i've got loads) of why i hate the so called additives for your car.
IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!

Done.

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 11/6/2009

...oh shoot! DA-BUSH!!!!! Hisssssss....... *The sound of me busting the front left rim and tyre of Aoi-chan.

And that, along with the 70,000km oil change cost me nearly RM700 of my dough. Ouch. What's more, my now fiance was beside me when this happened. Thank God i didn't spun out of control or just fall down the cliff. And thanks too to the old Tapah-Cameron Highlands route for almost busting Aoi-chan's windscreen on the last trip and busting the rim and tyre combo on this one.
And thank God again that it's only the two and nothing more. Good and very robust supsension system then.

All is well now, somehow there's this awkward feeling that the rims are slightly lighter at two corners; all in all 3 rims needed to be 'fixed', 2 from the incident and 1 from the normal road abuse... thanks roadworks department... 'THANKS' A LOT! But amusingly, Aoi-chan feels better at tackling corners. Honestly, if i were blindfolded and told to drive her, i could've been fooled that i'm driving a brand new Savvy.

Anyhow, next oil change is scheduled at 80,000km with the gearbox oil scheduled to be changed then as well... wonder when was the last time i changed that.
Gulp! Sorry Aoi-chan~