AHIRU

anyway... here it it... my humble micra K11... small hatch ftw!!!


i call it AHIRU = 'duck' in japanese... coz it reminds me of one...
this micra was gonna be my daily driver but then i found later how much fun driving it lol... my other car is nissan too... but its getting to costly to run daily and impractical. i went to winton (regular), sandown and wakefield with the Z, but i think i will try with the micra too... :P should be fun!

here is my other car


if i may, i will start writting my blog and updates on my micra here :)

Tachometer gauge - smoked (AHIRU first mod ^_^)

well the MICRA LX doesnt come with tachometer... so i had to install one yes i know i dont need it... but i have spare RPM Gauge lying around in my garage... so why not... its was a birthday present from frank... thx man...


smoked gauge... the car only rev to 7200rpm... for now ... but the gauge shows 10000rpm for future room of improvement... jk

thx for C2888 for his help in doing the wiring... wouldnt be able to do it without his help...

the installation was pretty straight forward... blue wire from distributor, hooked to signal cable of the gauge. the power cable from ignition, and ground cable to the steering metal holder...

what percentage tint is that you've got on the micra??

you've done well with all those prices mate! can be tough to find good value parts sometimes, people always trying to rip ya!

35% tint darkest legal i think.... well i hope... :) its a backyard job, but he bought a really good quality. he did it for 7 years and we never have any problem with his job... i can give his contact if you want...

yeah, i know... i almost got rip off few times, but its always safe to call around and compare prices...

where abouts is the tint guy located!! id be interested for $150!! i know a few others that would be very interested aswell. it looks great ay

haha..i know of your nick flameboy from organising those EXE trackdays..knew you had a 350z didnt know you got a micra though

Haha my mate sent me a pic of your micra 'cause he saw it on OzMazda forums. Told him to get that car onto the cruise... didn't realise it was yours, haha!

When I looked at that pic down the bottom I thought.. "wait, why has he go two steering wheels in there?". Makes sense now after seeing the pic of the two inside the car ;)

Looking good.

---dens

ah... ur in sydney...

i can organise a 'tinting' day for melbourne member. this guy is great he got 7 years experience and he did a fast 1 hour job. he hates doing micra tho coz he said the back window is pain in the ass (it too round and bubbly).... :P

ah... i still have the 350Z... im planning to put abit more camber (-3 front) on it, so it will be ridiculous to drive it daily... i need abit more grip at the front for the next trackday. the zed is currently in repair as the roof got damaged. insurance job luckily.

we will have another trackday soon, and guess what?? now that i have the micra too, me and few friends (starlet EP with 4AGE 20V, Starlet GT, jazz, echo, gets, etc) are planning to make a small hatch war!!! :P it would be fun seeing 15 little hatch racing around winton... good fun! lol

lol... 2 steering wheels... one for me, one for my gf... :P jk

ah, ur friend is in ozmazdaclub? i used to drive an SP23... thats why im there... im a long time member there...

here is a bit of my other background...

here is my previous ride: [MERAH] mazda3 SP23... was a good fun until the gearbox blew... twice... :P driver error tho...


i did 1:51sec for my first time ever @ winton 3km track...



some video at the drags:

i did 15.0s 0-400m at heathcote. (header, catback, CAI)
*the big dent on the door is from great ocean road. :(




and this is my current ride beside the micra: [MERAH] 350z track.



*thx to jason / Unco and celicaJim for the photos...

so here it is, My Video from the last EXE track day:

sorry for the initial D background music... :P i can't help it!... my inpirations! and my noisy passenger kept screaming, i can't help not to yell too... :P BANZAI!!!!!!!

Hi!When are you guys organizing for track day with all the hatch backs?

aren't u in japan? im in melbourne...

日本人ですか？わたしのかのじょはさいたまからです。。。

Yes!i live in japan most of the time and come back here for holidays.
日本人じゃないけど、日本に住んでます。

my first dyno was on the 08/12/2007 (EXE Dyno Day)

my micra did 46.3 KW ATW.
mods: custom PVC intake (scroll up for setup pics), 14x6 with 185/60/14

nothing special :P but its a start...

here is the video:

moved

awesome! dope wheels! :o)

that is one sick looking mazdabater

nice work dude

hey flameboy, i have the mag with your mazda in it nice car!

thx mate... it was a nice FWD, good handling and grip, fast around the corner too... abit lack of power tho... :P

dude it was you!! my name is adam, found your car here i knew it was a micra. i was the blak eg civic down the mountain hwy few nites ago and my brother was the red rolla with 4AGE said it was a white charade overtakin him. i'm pretty sure it was a micra when i saw u wen pass and i saw u agin stopped at the BP on bwd hwy so im sure. u were quick dude. iwent tru that road almost everyday but cant keep up. what do you have under the hood? ur lucky not meet me at trafficlgith as u wont have anywher to run haha do u leave aroun there? nice wheels :) btw u need to dump it!

hi adam... nice to meet you, thx for editing you post. please dont get me wrong, i dont want anything like that being discussed in the forum. i just think its pointless. u should've email me if you have any questions.

as i said i wont admit to anything :), mt hwy are pretty dark at night so you could be seeing other car.

btw... micra doesnt look like charade!!! >:(

hmmmm maybe ur brother think it a mira... which maybe similar to a micra...
i don't think australia get mira, i never seen one here in australia... i could be wrong tho...

sorry dude. :( but yeah im pretty sure not many white mica wit blak bumper, gold watanabis n open grill around hahahga. i dont think australia have mira. and i went pass bp station twice to makesure it was a micra. anyway who ever it is i want rematch! :)

lol... then i think you should make announcement... not here... :P

i think its watanabe not watanabis mate... :D

i think its better go to the track mate ^_^ i dont drive thru mountain coz i'm a pussy :P too scared...

Miras have been sold in Australia. I've seen a couple of differentt models around.

Oh do you have any pics of your tacho install? I'd like to install one when (hopefully) I get a Micra. Cheers! :)

we get them, but they are called a cuore...

here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj0w0xo2ChY

ooops... my bad :P

Winton Trackday by Tampered Motorsports - 6 / 11 / 2007
first PB set on the Micra: 1:54.4650

thx to charlie Kang for the pics:




many ppl asked why i didnt bring the 350z, and why would i bother wasting my time with micra... well my answer is:

1. i would bring and drive any car to the track anyway...
2. at this stage i'm not going any faster with the 350z after 4 attempts resulting in 1:41s. i promised myself to try a different change then back to the zed again. sometime you didnt realised that you have overlooked few simple things just because you have been taking it for granted...


well this is my first time in the micra, 1.3lt 55kw 103Nm, 800kg. spec on the day was DIY PVC intake kit Razz, nissan pulsar front brake + RDA slotted, im using low treaded bridgestone that i got free from dan c2888... its 185/60/14.... thx dan... they are still very good compared to the bald one i has previously...

on the first session of the day i was lucky to be able to clocked PB of 1:54.4650... after that, i never get close to 1:54 anymore (was only 1:55-1:56 with few slower run with passenger)

at first, its abit hard driving the micra, coming from the 350z... i used to have all this torque and any mistake i made wont be significance as i can just plant the accelerator and it will look like nothing has ever happened...

with the micra, i have to try so hard to keep the momentum up. the slightest mistake i made will cost me few sec and i will never see those sec again coz i just dont have the power to make up for it. this reminds me alot how important it is to shift the weight properly and keeping the momentum around the corner... get all the braking done before the corner, and only brake when you really need to, no more messing around, accelerate all the way whenever you had a chance....

i even got few oversteer that i would never be able to catch if i havent driven rwd before... and lift off on micra is a no no. its eaither im on the brake, or on the accelerator.... never in between....

at the end of the day, i was surprised that the micra has reminded me few things about driving that i have forgotten since i started driving the 350z. it is a great little car with a great solid built. perfect gear ratio for its power made the car feel more sophisticated and not slow at all... i must say i love the micra and will definitely keeping it for the long term along with the 350z....

Overall results on the day: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?06/11/2007.WIN.P1
Individual results: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?06/11/2007.WIN.P1.I

i bought this Pulsar GA15DE throttle body from yahoo auction (thx to mic - MYJAPS). its from a jap spec pulsar. it bolts onto micra CG13DE engine and it has bigger diameter...




45mm VS 50mm :)




installation are pretty straight forward, unclip all harness, remove 4 allen key bolts and unplug the coolant hose.




i decided to bypass the coolant hose. hot coolant goes thru the TB and heat up the TB, this is to prevent the TB from stuck / freeze on extreme cold weather. removing this made the micra pull stronger thru rev range coz of colder air that goes thru the TB.









Link




after the install, it ran really crap on 2000rpm onward and wouldnt let me rev higher than 4000rpm, which is really weird. i asked around and ppl suggested it might be the in built AFM, so i decided to check it out.





so i pull the GA15DE TB out again and install back the CG13DE TB on my micra. T_T damn...








the plastic connection to the AFM is broken. this could be the problem. but i cannot pull it out after removing the 2 screws. so i might have to open the AFM module...








so i prey open the silicon seal and open the metal cover. then i re-heat the solder join and remove the top PCB. still nothing wrong with all the connections








now i get to the main 3 AFM connector. it turn out that one of the connector wire is broken / cut








the broken connector removed and replaced with some other wire with similar size. then i solder everything back together.






havent really test it out again. will update with PART 2...





but now the stock TB + coolant bypass has been really great! it pulls stronger and no more performance drops / hesitation after caning the car for a while...

i have decided to patch up the hole in the grill... so here is the work in progess...

basically just bog bog bog. then sand sand sand... to be continued





i replaced the ugly go kart steering wheels with the new momo wheel i got for my birthday from dan, shaun, and ying... thx guys




it has smaller diameter than stock and the old go kart one, so its BAD for parking coz my car dont have powersteering... but its bloody good for corners yay...





the old go-kart one...




NEXT:

LESS ROLL... talking about reducing body roll. micra needs one really bad. my shocks are almost dead when i bought it... on the first trackday, the micra didnt tip over, but i would love abit less body roll... hahaha

so i decided to do cheap upgrade: doubling stock sway bar (http://www.exe-crew.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2687) since micra have plenty of space under the car due to thin lightweight swaybars setup. light weight could also mean another sets wouldnt hurt that much...


so i managed to sourced free stock swaybar off another micra forum member. thanks to Don / Fred.... i just have to pay for $30 shipping. and it arrived today yay!

*WARNING: BORING ESSAY. if your eyes hurt, please skip it, and scroll down to the photo section*

EXE + CircuitClub Trackday - Winton Raceway, 23rd May 2009
Been more than 6 month since my last trackday. i was really looking forward for this day! working overseas made me miss australia road so bad. in jakarta, it was all the traffic jam, stuck for 2-4 hours daily and driving auto made me miss australia open road and my manual cars (altho recently i have convert my E30 in jakarta to manual)

i borrowed semis from Dmag / Darrin... thx bro... but turned out that the MX5 wheels couldnt fit the 60mm micra's bore.... so i call around and irlan lend me his red Simmons 14x5 which i was worried about fitting the 185 semis on it. on the day, i found that the rear left semis is leaking air from between the tyre sidewall and the wheel lip. pressure was dropped to 18psi, while the other 3 tyres was perfect 29psi cold.

i also did a quick mod on my rear swaybar. i bought another set of stock swaybar last year and i put 2 rear swaybar together with hose clamps (dan tought me) and i cant wait to see it works... *will upload picture later*

Practice Session
2:06.8500
2:03.5300
2:00.3600
1:59.6500
so i press on with 29psi all around except for the leaking one. i put 32psi on it coz i found higher psi leaks slower... i went outside for the first time after a long break with mei as my passenger, and i shit myself on the first bodyroll... altho i quickly getting used to it after few laps... didnt dare to push yet coz i wanna see how the leaking one held up.... the good thing is, mei seem to like my driving style

after the session finish i went back to the pit and checked the pressure. all tyres were fine except the one that leaks has dropped to just below 20psi... so i figure that i would loose about 12 psi every session... and then i decided to pump it up to 40psi... that way i got to pump it up after every session...

Session 1
2:02.5200
1:58.5100
1:56.8600
1:58.7500
1:56.8500
time to start pushing... mei wouldnt stop hanging by the window like monkey with no banana... this session was abit crowded and everyone is getting used to the track... i did a long battle with Johnny OTR driving CrazyRay's Jazz... the micra starting to feel 'normal' to me... i mean i am getting used to the 'leaning tower' condition...

checked the pressure after the session and it dropped to 35psi... so i leave it at that...

Session 2
1:55.9400
2:02.8300
1:56.2600
1:57.6400
this session mei and i went out as the first car... because the problem with micra, i really need to get a clear lap, because all i have is cornering speed and with 120kmh top speed on the main straight and 43kw atw, there is almost no possible way for me to overtake anyone in group A on straightline... so i thought being out first will atleast get me a good clean lap... i was wrong... i hit the traffic again after the first lap... LOL... but at least i got the first lap clean... i finally dipped into 1:55 for the first time on the day... my target is at least to get close to my previous 1:54 PB...

check the pressure again and the leaking one drops to 32 psi... so i figured, maybe the problem is fixed woohoooo

Session 3
1:57.8500
1:56.7100
1:56.3600
1:58.9300
1:57.2400
this session i asked mei to get out of my car... LOL... coz she is too heavy (may even be the reason why the rear tyre leaks )... i thought that i could gain an extra tenth faster... so kicking her out by giving her food to distract her and ran off to the pit and drive off to the grid line... success!!!

but God wasnt on my side and punish me for leaving Mei behind... and i went slower LOL... well i was stuck behind every car one after another... and when i was about to back out, i saw like 2 cars behind me anyway... and the car starting to feel abit funny...

so i went out and check the pressure again... the leaking one dropped to 18psi... so i pumped it back up to 40psi... the other 3 are holding nicely at 32psi... this wont affect anything since appearently you only need 3 wheels to go around the track with micra...


Session 4
1:57.5800
1:56.1200
1:58.1400
1:57.3800
1:55.6500*Fastest lap for the day*
so i beg for mei forgiveness for leaving her out of the previous session, and ask her back into my car... and this time i ask drew to drive together! mini battle!

this is the best session i had as the whole session i this me and drew got a clear lap... it is not because i was fast... but it is because everyone else in the GROUP A has gotten faster so i never can catch up to them LOL...

me and drew start with a mild play and then progressively getting faster and faster... but the pressure from drew making me starting to use 2nd gear on most corner except for turn 1 and 2.... and then it suddenly kicks me... "oh yeah... i think i should've used 2nd gear all along lol"

well the session ended and i got my fastest lap for the day... 1:55.6s, while drew dipped into 1:54s for the first time...

checked the tyres pressure and it has dropped to 20psi again... pumped it back up to 40 psi.


Session 5
2:01.7000
1:55.8100
1:55.6600
im ready to hit the track even harder... i decided to use 2nd gear on all corner this time... and i also told me to lean where i am leaning towards to keep the car balance... lol... but too bad the session had to be cut off early due to red flag. but i managed to hit 1:55 consistently with 2nd gear on all corners... and i can hear my swaybar at work...


Conclusion:
im getting rusty i did 1:54.4650 with street tyres back in 2007(http://silasba.blogspot.com/2007/11/back-from-winton-154s-with-micra.html)... and i couldnt even get close to that with semis... i only manage to do: 1:55.6500 with semis... :S but i will be back and i will practice more...

the semis does give benefit on extra grip on the micra, but having the extra grip plus stiffer swaybar (refer to my awesome mod ) combined with stock suspension from 1995 made the car felt like its on jelly land... *boink boink* this doesnt bother me after few laps...

with the semis, i felt like the car bogs down a little when accelerate out of the corner... and i got lower top speed (didnt even finish the 4th gear unlike when i was using the G Grid streets) this doesnt bother me too as i just changed my driving into flooring the car basically since the entry of the corner till the exit... and just yank the steering wheels... the micra responded well to it and change direction to wherever i point at... at one stage i felt like my car was on 2 wheels

the doubling up of rear swaybar without the fronts upgrade make the micra taily... i think i had to counter steer on few corner (turn 1 and turn 4 / first hairpin)

MORAL OF THE STORY:
semis is still better than street... u just gotta drive it harder... lol... alot to learn... :S i failed to deliver a PB but at least i had alot of fun... till next trackday... hopefully the zed will be back on track soon

anyway, here are the photos taken by Sylvester Teoh, THANK YOU!!! he managed to take the tripod action from the bunker on the hairpin... i edited the color and cropped them in photoshop... look how far the rear wheel was off the ground... LOL


this ones are taken by Anja. i edited and cropped them. nice work anja! and thx...


and this ones were take by famous Matther Mead (matthewmead.net)... hope he dont mind i borrow them for my blog





she didnt vomit... she didnt cry... she hit her head on the window couple of times and once on the windscreen when i lock my brakes... she didnt even scream for help... O_o *

Grill? what grill?

ok i have left the grill off the car for almost 2 years now... planning to do something about it... make it more... 'air flow' friendly....

here it is...




now the grill is darker than the worn out matt plastic bumper... *sigh*
gotta do something about that later...





Gotta Fart Faster


bought this hurricane header from Liverpool Exhaust NSW when i was in Sydney on my wedding photo job...



will install them later after i fly back here in march... can't wait!

Squat a little bit lower aye?

Thx to 'Dens' (Christophe) for the K-Sport Coilover... it comes with pillow ball head, top knuckle bolt camber adjustment (little bit), adjustable height for the base knuckle and spring purge for front and adjustable spring mount for rear. also damper adjustable too...


Yay!!! :)



abit of top camber adjusment :P



front installation...



put it to max negative camber... still need abit more... might get camber bolts later (looking at tom)




my rear left stock strut is dead... push both of them and one push back up after a while while the other one remain the same length... i dunno if thats normal...




rear installed...




POSING TIME!!! :D its sat abit lower at the front... but has raised the front abit since... :)

can't make everyone happy

well... either you like it or hate it :) i always wanted to do something panda-ish hahaha now i just need two big black floppy ears for the roof :P


and beside i am not game enough to do the whole car matte black yet like my friend, ying... http://speedhunters.com/archive/2010/02/11/guest-blog-ying-hua-gt-gt-a-starlet-gt-from-down-under.aspx



Masking...


spray bottom half matt black!!!






thanks for irawan for helping me putting the mesh on the open grill...



hmmmm i was wondering why melly keep taking photos of me from the back... this is why...



Final result :) and YES... i know the red pin stripe isn't straight... :( i sneezed :P anyway its just a sticker and can be redone later when i have time.... we did all the masking, painting, and pin striping under 3 hours... thx to melly and irawan for their help :)

Nice copy and paste there with my name and all :P I didn't say it over there but I must say I do like it... though I wouldn't miss the crooked red pinstripe if it went, haha! Nice work man.

---dens

That cold air induction is gold!!
Might have to give it a crack once my beast is back on the road!

Sticker

put a Jap sticker on AHIRU.. it says "Silas' Duck" / SIRASU NO AHIRU / シラスのあひる

Revolving Red Lights

its finally here!!!! :P hahaha

*photo by Kenny KTHL. i edited it manga style, added arm and hand gun, siren beaming light, police front badge and twin red fog lights, etc... translation: "あめてください!!" = yamete kudasai!! / please stop!!...

EXE CREW TRACKDAY @ WINTON - 23rd May 2010
Previous PB @ winton: 1:54.4650
Current PB @ winton: 1:50.0600
overall result of the day: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?23/05/2010.WIN.S6.Y
video: at the bottom of this post...

the track related spec are: Header, catback, K&N intake, brand new adrenalins 185/60/14, K-Sport coilover, Camber bolts, remove back seat and spare tyres...

alignment:
total front toe -1mm
front camber L -3.3 R -3.2
rear camber L 0 R -1
total rear toe +4.7

its been 1 year since i have been to winton in the micra, and this is my 3rd time in winton with micra...

Session 1
this was the practice session... quite a bit of traffic and had to overtake few cars.... micra is bad at overtaking :( so i am thanking everyone that letting me pass by slowing down on the straight... i got 1 free lap at the last lap and i was lucky to break my previous PB by more than 2 seconds... pretty surprised when shaun told me...
1:56.4900
1:52.3280
1:52.3950
1:52.3840
1:51.9380

Session 2 *TIMER NOT WORKING*
sayaka was in the car as passenger... it was a good lap and according to race chrono i was doing around 1:52s.... i only have few laps as i had to pull out due to my bonnet latch opening halfway after few ripple strip hopping...
8:15.2700 - LOL

Session 3 *Fix the timer position*
few traffics along the track... no clean lap... but overall still good fun... however the car starting to feel abit slippery... so i decided to check my tyre pressure afterwards and it was 40 psi... o_O hahahaha so i knock it back down to 38psi....
2:05.8740
1:53.9600
1:54.3100
1:52.6860
1:53.7210
2:00.9690

Session 4
this session i had 4 quite clean lap as i only have to overtake 1 car each lap and everyone was so nice to let me pass right away...
2:00.3360
1:54.7620
1:52.8440
1:52.6550
1:52.4980
1:52.1480

Session 5
with Jules as passenger in the car... this was one of the most busiest lap but extremely fun lap as i slide more than 10 times and did massive slide on turn 4 and lucky enough to held it all the way like a RWD lol... it was so much fun that me and jules spent most time giggling and yelling hahahaha... it was a shorter session also my slower one as i spent most time sideways than straight... so i decided to check the pressure and all the outer tyres (left) jump to 42psi and the inside tyres (right) was 40-41... moral value: sliding = tyre temp + pressure goes up :P
1:54.4430
1:54.1820
1:54.0490
1:59.9340
1:57.9490

Session 6
decide to do it alone this time... i put the pressure all the way down to 32psi... and it works like a treat.... i was thinking higher pressure works well for street tyres... i guess i was wrong... will stick with 32psi hot next time around. it was the combined session of A B C... it was the best session of the day for me... and i was taking turns with adam's AW11 to lead and follow... that one happened to allow me to do my fastest lap of the day while racing adam... :) thank you mate... it was my best neck to neck experience of the day... so much fun!!!!
1:54.8890
1:52.7500
1:51.3590
1:53.7050
1:50.0600
1:53.2720

by the end of the session, my brake was cooked... the brake pad is nearly gone, the brake fluid overflow and the brake feel spongy along the way home... will need replacing soon...

this is one of the best trackday i've ever been and i have missed all my adrenalin fixes for a year it felt so good to be back!!!

feedback from the new mods installed:
header - alot of top end pulling power and ahiru didn't ran out of breath anymore... keep pulling till the limiter...
catback - raspy and knocking the arms... hahaha bad! but works so i cbf changing it again...
the negative camber really makes the car turn at higher speed... i felt it so planted to the ground even when i feather or flick it around... the car become extremely easy to drive fast around the corner... just point and shoot :)
the coilover - i am a noob in coilover settings, so i just set to the hardest... in the future i will raise it abit more because at the moment it bounce around at the corner exit, and that costing me time... i reckon once that fixed i can be in 1:50 more consistently...
the adrenalin 185/60/14 - lol this is just the right amount for the micra at this stage... my first trackday with the worn old tyres was enough for the soft stock suspension, but then the semis i borrowed from darrin for my 2nd trackday was bogging the car alot on the exit (too much grip?)

so i am 90% happy with the car atm... just need to fix the bouncing at the exit, better brake pads and brake fluid and abit more power hahaha :P

RaceChrono Graphs:

Best Lap Graph...


Best Lap VS Optimum Lap


Hi Lo Speed




here are the video of my best lap chasing amills (adam) AW11:


will upload the highlight longer video of all the laps i recorded later...

Inspires me to find more time flogging the car round a track and less time working :)
good work mate, will see you on a track sometime soon!

thx mickey... :) i still need to setup the coilover properly to fix the wheel hop on the exit...

Cool stuff, I love what you've done with the car, very unique and it's great fun to change one things at a time and notice the differences.

Also that last video you did was fantastic, great editing and layovers, top job! :)

thx mate... the half black at the bottom is just to give the car abit longer appearance... less bubble kinda look...

the video is all done with basic imovie... thank you again for the comments...