Snake oil sellers and other cons

Seems like there's a whole shit load of gadgets to improve performance or save fuel. How many of them actually works or are we just plain stupid to believe these advertisements?

Anyway, here is an interesting read from the Consumer Energy Center.

Report from Consumer Energy Center

Looks like the Broquet may be over rated afterall. But the upsize fuel pump definitely works.

Cheers,

Pictures from Motor Show

Went down to the Motorshow on Sunday after John's detailing session. Not as crowded as I thought it would be. Anyway, here are some pictures.


Lexus SC430


Toyota F1 car


Toyota "Soap" concept car


Subaru S204 - the one that Ah Seng from Ah Seng Aquarium wanted!


Lamborghini


Another Subaru but in the magic orange color. Nice!


Suzuki LC concept car - so cute!


Mazda MX-F Roaster Coupe

Anyway, committed myself to a 3M sound proof packaging. Going to do the roof and the under carriage next. Hope it helps. Also got the 3M air con filter. Only S$35. But it comes with a free magazine (worthless) and a 3 months subscription to the worthless magazine. More importantly, it comes with a complimentary air con flushing worth S$55. Now that's good value. Thanks to John for the tip.

John and I also went around testing the Dauf and the Zenga GPS systems. In the end, we picked the Zenga over the Dauf one. Only S$800. More details on that later.

Cheers,

Original Door panel lights

It's been sitting around for quite some time since I got it. These are the rear door panel lights. I ordered it with the whole door panel and got the leather bits wrapped again.

Finally got around to wiring up the lights at Audio Concept last week. Bought 2 sets of Luxer LED lights for it too. Total cost for setting it up at Audio Concept was S$80. This is what the light looks like.



And the finished result!! However, I made the wrong choice on the LED lights and it's now freaking bright. Will swap the original bulbs back again.

Next project will be the lights for the front door panels. But this is a bit complicated as the door controls are on the wrong side for Taiwan Toyota Wish. We'll see...

If all goes well, total project cost should be just under S$1100. But don't bang on it being completed anytime soon...

Cheers,

Can the fierce get fiercer?

How to make a fierce ride any more fierce? Ask Raymond!!!

This is what the tail end will look like if he changes it to a two tone effect, matching orange with blue. A very aggressive and bold color combination.



Since he bought me lunch yesterday as well, I decided to do up all the front options for him....

Let's start with the basic option..



Just the bonnet spoiler, front lip and side skirts with the rear spoiler.



Then we add the eyelids....



Then we add the sun shade...



Next comes the body stickers..



Finally even the window visor...

There! All the combination for you to choose. Please take note that the color is only as a guide to the placement location. The actual results will be more 3 dimensional as there will be gradation and depth from reflection.

This is truely going to be a One aNd Only edition!

Cheers,

Wish Club meet up 16/11/06

Went to meet the guys last night at Sin Min Golf Course for a gather and it was quite a turn out. Plenty of fully modded rides as well as new comers looking for inspiration.

Everything single vehicle in this picture is a Wish and there is more on the other side of the parking lot as well as behind me.


Another view of the thirty over Toyota Wish that turned up for this gathering. Too bad the camera ran out of battery after a few super long exposure. Forgot to charge it yesterday. Shame.

Cheers,

Broquet installed

Installed the broquet about 2 to 3 weeks back but didn't update here. It was a spur of the moment thing. Done at Merlin, together with the TRD blue brake pads.

So far, the engine is not substantially quieter. But the car is definitely more noisy due to the larger fuel pump. No improvement in fuel efficiency so far. Then again, the car does feel more powerful when moving off. Less slack.



The Top Fueller 80 itself is located behind the engine. More discreet. The fuel pump is located below the left hand side passenger seat. So they had to cut my sound proof mats to get to it.



This is the fuel pump. Also the culprit behind the whizzing sound in the cabin. Wondering if I can do anything about it. Justin says that it's better when it's run in. I think it's more of a case of getting used to it. Before talking to Justin, Robin and I was squatting and exploring the underside of the car trying to located the "new" sound. Funny!



These are the V8 intank units which cost about S$195 each. I put in only 3 sets. Total cost for the whole thing is about S$1900.

The Top Fueller 80 with 2 V8 intank unit usually goes for S$1670 (list price from agent). So what I paid is just list price from the agent. For those interested, the Top Fueller 80 package is discount from S$1670 to only S$1350 at the Motorshow. Add in a fuel pump (which they don't really recommend) and you'll still save about S$400. Can consider.

Cheers,

Aerosports Speedometer

Finally. The day has come for me to install the Aerosports Speedometer. Had it for months but had to wait till my 10,000 km servicing before I install it. So immediately after servicing my car at World Auto, I drove down to Audio Concept with Robin, Kenny and Justin to fix it up.

Here's a last look at my old meter. 10,964 km on the odometer.


And here's my new meter!! Picture without and with flash.


Incidentally, the parking light and fog light indicator lights up with this meter. And I've relocated the foglight switch to the stick control. Now I have one free button.

Cheers,

3rd servicing

It took more than 7 months before I finally hit 10,000 km. So the car is now due for it's third and final servicing at World Auto, Hup Long's authorised workshop. Actually, the location is not too bad and plenty of Toyota Wish there all the time for their servicing.



This time round, I brought my own oil as the Forge engine oil seems to have some credibility issues. Although the usual certification are there on the sticker, the origin of the oil seems questionable. Besides, I've already bought the Texas oil during the last outing with Anthony. So it's S$40 labour charge (which they claim is an admin fee) and S$12 for the oil filter. Got a free car wash and vacum too!

From now on, I'm free to choose any other workshop. Will be considering Recardo (as recommended by Henry) or RiverView (as recommended by Andrew). Let's see how it goes.

Cheers,

Club ONO

Was talking to Justin about the rides really getting very personalised. Perhaps we should start an unofficial club.

How about Club ONO? It's actually an bastardized abbreviation for "One aNd Only" and also a phonetic pun on "UNO", meaning one.



We know for sure that there will be an one and only Original Toyota Twin Sun Roof comming. Another has a Special Edition Spoiler. Then there is the Bonnet Spoiler. Of course there is the smoke tail lamp with smoked garnish (coming)... I'm sure we can think of something for everyone.

Let's see if the idea stick.

Cheers,

Customised Engine Cover

Justin is horrible.

He send me this MMS the other day. He knows that I have always wanted a painted engine cover. Very poisonous.



I believe this should be from the chap from Audio Concept. Custom paint job and definitely not cheap. If I recall correctly, he did the radiator grill cover in blue too.

Anywyay, I'm comtemplating a simple red version with the spark plug section cut out. Then I can install Ignite REV from T.M.Works. The list is long.......

Cheers,

Toyota Number Plate Frame

The shiny chrome number plate frame from Toyota! Having kept it for so long, I've finally decided to put it up.



Our number plates will fit perfectly. But you'll need to drill two holes. Now that the exchange rate is favorable, Lim got this at only S$58 a piece. I got mine earlier for more than S$70. Actually, I still haven't put up the rear one. I really need to buy a screwdriver.

Incidentally, this picture is taken by my phone camera. Much better that that crappy shit that I used to have.

Cheers,

p.s. Hope the "BOSS" don't mind me using 8181!

Giant Arm Rest

It can be done!

It's finally a reality. Today, the wolf has a much more regal pad to rest it's paws. The original puny armrest just don't make the cut.



Utilising the original armrest on the driver's side, this modification extends the length and thickness. 17 inches long and 7 inches wide. Also enough for you to hold your wife's hand while you are driving. I'm sure this modification will meet with your other half's approval. But don't expect it to be cheap.

Cheers,

p.s. For X model owners, this arm rest will have angle control, like your original one. For X'E model owners, the angle control option is unfortunately not an option.

New Toyota Wish Commercial

Looks like there is a new TV commerical for Toyota Wish again in Japan, featuring Nakata as usual...



The blue X Aerosports makes it appearance again!

Cheers,

Sub woofer enclosure

This is probably what Raymond is going to install in his car. Customised fibreglass subwoofer enclosure. This is the raw unit.



When fitted, it sits flushed with the boot enclosure and the sides level up pretty nicely. There is even a slot for the right boot light. Obviously the boot light will have to be relocated outwards. A small modification that's easily done.




This design allows the the seats to be used without obstruction, as can be seen from the photos. However, you will not be able to access the toolkit on the right compartment so easily. Also, the Original Toyota Touneau Cover will no longer be an option as the original intended storage when not in use will now be occupied by the subwoofer footprint.



When completely installed, this is what it looks like. If I recall correctly, it takes up to 2 X 8 inch subwoofer. This version from Thailand seems to takes 2 X 10 inch subwoofer. Might be an overkill.



Wonder if it's too much bass and the rear passengers will find it too uncomfortable? Can't wait to see the real thing.

Cheers,

Computer finally repaired!!

Hurray!!

Finally fixed the home PC. So now I have access to all my Japan photos again. Will share them here when I get the chance.

Cheers,

Unique Rear Garnish

Here's something of interest that I saw in Taiwan...

Rear door garnish with JDM Wish logo die cut. The cut out portion is lit via EL light strip. Very slick work.



Wonder if it's legal in Singapore...

Cheers,

It's up!!

Up on the ride in no more than 90 minutes after it arrived in Singapore!





Really quite a piece of work.

Cheers,

Another first in Singapore?

The unique rear spoiler again...

Basically it's bolted on to the stock spoiler. However, you need to custom fit it to the spoiler to get the correct angle and drill two holes. As such, you need to leave your original spoiler there for fitting.

Since we could not bring our stock spoiler and leave it there and there as not enough time to order a new set, the boss agreed to let us take his spoiler first instead! Great!!!



So.... it's on the way to Singapore!! Bet it goes well as Orange (matching with blue), even if you don't want to respray it. Another first and only in Singapore and definitely very fierce on a blue Kenstyle Wish that I know.

Cheers,

p.s. Notice the very nice shark fin antenna? No more problem with the antenna bending forward when you open the trunk. Original Toyota.

New spoiler for Toyota Wish

Two new add on spoiler for Toyota Wish! For those who aspire to be pilots. The spoilers are Abflug style add on, which allows you to use the existing third brake light on your existing spoiler. Here's one of them.





This one is more rounded. Cost about S$240 each.

This is the sharper type. Fixed on the X Aerosports/Z model spoiler.





So any pilot wannabes? Not available in Singapore yet.....

Cheers.

Goodness! Wish Overturned

Happened this morning at Woodlands Ave 5, as reported by some members in My Car Forum. New face lift X model, most likely to be still stock, judging from the antenna, brake lights, exhaust tip and tyres. However, the paintworks looks glossy. Well maintained.



Given the fact that Toyota Wish is already lower than most MPV, it's amazing how did this happened. Must have mounted the kerb on the left at high speed while turning right. Interesting to note that in the face of this fiasco, the driver still have the courtesy to turn on the hazzard light. Commendable.



So.. all the more reason for John and Robin to lower their rides. And the justification for the wider tyres. Safety first.

Cheers,