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~

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 19/5/2009

Noticed that Aoi-chan had passed the 68,000km mark a few days ago... and she's ever closer inching to the dreaded 70,000km mark. Although the normal oil-change (and quite possibly some the brake pads as well) isn't much of a problem, the clutch change is. Or is it?

The thing is that, even though Aoi-chan have been in the track and went to Genting a couple of times (a couple? yeah right) and that the service centre guy recommending the change at 70,000km mark, i still find the clutch to be working properly. There isn't that wheezing feel when i'm driving her up a slope, there isn't that detached feel everytime i change the gears... it all seems, dare i say normal.

Which when given a bit of thought isn't that odd. Knowing the fact that PROTON R&D engineers do test the cars and the engine plus transmission components to the limit (i know, coz i've seen some of it), it is likely that my excursion to Genting and Sepang track is just like another day in the sun. Hmmm.... will monitor Aoi-chan's conditon first and see what's what at the 70,000km mark. But frankly, if there isn't any difference... it'll be shifted to 80,000km.

Errr.... should i apologize to Aoi-chan? Hmmmm... nope. Hehehe

p/s: Aoi-chan seems to drink more fuel recently. Still can't find the proper reason as to why that's happening. Will share here once that's found out~~~

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 29/4/2009

Aoi-chan passed the 65,000km mark just recently, which means i have to prepare some dough for the upcoming engine oil change and the clutch replacement i've been banging about in previous posts. Somehow or another, based on the timing, i'm guessing it'll be somewhere in June... which is rather troublesome as i've also to factor in the roadtax adn insurance fees due then. Nuts.

But then again, that's the least (least???) of my worries. A few kms back, Aoi-chan started developing some rather annoying and worrying creaks and rattles somewhere from the back. Dunno if this had started before or after the recent alignment, rotation and balancing i did. Still trying to figure out what it is, and hope it's nothing critical.

Hopefully... Insya-Allah. Gulp!

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 21/3/2009

It seems that me and Aoi-chan met quite a few other Savvys while tackling the task that i'm currently doing (see main blog). There's the Savvy-boy, SavIT, Idiotic Fundrive and a couple more owned by the SAVOC members. Is all well? I'd rather not stray to that topic...
Anyhow, on Aoi-chan, after that 60,000km maintenance and timing belts change she had developed some stupid whistling noise. Very apparent at idling and sometimes could be heard whilst moving at around 40-60km/h. It isn't that loud, nor is it irritating but when coupled with the stupid rattling sound of the gearknob... i just want it to stop.
Haven't been lucky in my quest for the racing clutch, and if that continues right up to 70,000km, i'll just have settle for the standard stuff. Boring really when you know that the car can handle that much more, but the kit isn't in existence to make it happen. Shoot

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 10/3/2009

At long last, the first phase of Aoi-chan's 60,000km service is done. Current bill so far; RM1064. Yikes!

But at the very least, the engine feels better and a bit more powerful (psychology effect perhaps?). But the clutch still feels like the weak link. Oh yeah, that and the shock absobers haven't been replaced yet. Based on a suggestion from a knowlegable person, i'm still looking around for a racing or better than original clutch sets. The shocks will be replaced at the same time as well.

Genting trips are still avoided, but for the better of the current situation.
Hope everything goes according to plan~~~

Aoi-chan's Quickie - 10/2/2009

The mileage meter is now showing 59,000++km and the 60,000++km mark is looming ever closely. Gotta admit that Aoi-chan isn't in her best of health right now. The clutching action is becoming more and more sluggish making hills (uphill of course) becoming more and more of a challenge. Trip to Genting at this time? Not a chance.

Still, i need to figure out how much will i need to burn in her next visit to the doctors; planning to go and get a quotation from the workshop and the list of parts to change. That way, i'll be able to minimize the cost by buying some parts at the Co-op of Proton (who doesn't want a 30% discount on parts at this time of financial crisis?). I'm betting on RM4k max. Let's just hope it doesn't exceed that.