New rims & tyres shakedown

The reasons I opted to upsize an inch up on the Pocong is merely trying to get more steering sharpness and a kind of retaliation for Federal RSR 205/45/16 prices that soared from RM350 all the way to RM440 per piece. And having Ah Tee of HupShun Sunway played his party peace of manhandling the calculator played significant role too.

The plan to save tyre replacement expenses on short and long term is going well too when he offered me grippy and ‘potong air’ Bridgestone Potenza RE001 Adrenalin 205/40/17 at RM380 per piece. But 205/40/17 is a tad too narrow for my liking and that have got me insisted on 215/40/17 and boy oh boy the price of that size from the same brand and type is almost RM100 dearer per piece due to the fact that it’s made in Japan and kind of odd size too. Having a long day from attending a long boring meeting between different government agencies and prepping up for conference made me kept my eyes closed and let the magic card to its work.

The end result of this so called engineering enhancement has become a little bit of nuisance I must admit. Even though the SA70 is a lot lighter than BBS buttercups, because of higher rotational mass, I felt somewhere between 5-10% laziness of getting more GGGG from acceleration and it rides 100% a lot firmer than what some Fiesta owners complaining of a harsh ride from their ride. That’s not all, the RE001 Adrenalin has a wee bit softly sprung sidewalls and that’s NOT GOOD AT ALL!

Having finished up done a presentation to GIS professionals and academicians in the user conference held last week, I’ve decided to do shakedown test on how this new setup would be doing using our very own ‘Nordschleife’ – Batu Caves - Ulu Yam – Batang Kali - Genting route today! But before starting to gunning it out, a quick stop to Shell to dial 36psi front & 34psi rear and I accidentally pour in Shell V-Power Racing retailing RM2.70!

Just after turning right towards Jalan Sungai Tua, I gave the Pocong a quick spanking, flat 2nd and 3rd averaging 100-120kmh left-right-left uphill turns and immediately I feels the grip traction is a wee bit nervous and greasy on turn in. Then after passing rest area on my left doing circa 140ish downshift from 5th to 3rd immediately the car went being nervous again this time the rear end getting a wee bit too naughty then only start grip around 70-80 through tight sequence of turns. I’m not sure whether 36/34 psi combination a bit too much for the tyres or the moulding compound still yet to torn out from this donuts.

On the bright side, the steering on the other hands feels almost as good as Federal 595 RSR with lesser flexing throughout the turn. Getting on song with the uphill long sweepers at high speed is surprisingly easy and stable but I must admit a bit bouncy and droningly noisy on uneven surface. There’s also not so noticeable difference in terms of GGG running 17” which is about 2.5% bigger overall diameter radius than stock but the Pocong will get lazy on lower speeds because of the bigger mass inertia.

Upon reaching Batang Kali and line up Pocong for uphill tight twisties, again the turn-in feels nervous then only starting to provide good grip throughout the turns. Not as brilliant as RSR but good nevertheless. And because of an inch up on the rims, the mid corner grip is very good. Just like the MCS, I can almost mesh the throttle out of the corner. Great! And reaching the multiple speed bumps, the car doesn’t need to crawl like turtle to avoid getting bottom up.

That is about some comments I've so far on the tyres on fast road driving but I will try further pushing it once I found the right balance. I’m pretty content with this RE001 but it’s not the sort of tyres that can be in the same league as RSR, AD08 in the enthusiasts/track ready level. Having said that, I’m thinking it would last longer and a bit more friendly when going through standing water on the roads. On another note, I need more power... time to start thinking on new intake, exhaust, fmic and perhaps Shrick cams. As for my tyre preference?? Still RSR!! No question about it!

RM2.70/litre...sekali sekala tak apa la

I would be more pressing you harder on you next time!

Shiok sendiri drive

Saturday, 3rd October. Woke up slightly late and waited for the rain to ease off a bit then only warm up the Pocong for a shiok sendiri drive which has been overdue for quite sometime. And while it was still raining, I dropped by at AVS Auto to collect Azdilizan’s breather valve which its price has gone up slightly to RM85.

Just passed 11.30am, the rain has been sober a bit and decided it’s a good time to kick off the drive. Before that, STP octane booster has been poured in to the tank which itself was already brimmed with Techron 97. Delightfully to report, it gives better response but I prefer AfterBurn more :)

The route I opted was Jalan Gombak (route 68), Genting Sempah, uphill roads of Genting Highlands halfway then onto B66 route downhill towards Batang Kali where 1 schedule stop for break at in-law’s place before proceed back home through long weeping road of Ulu Yam (route B23).

I was taking the car easy along the Jalan Gombak at least until passing the JHEOA hospital not to piss off everybody’s morning. In a way, it’s a good thing that the surface was still wet means I’d be able to know how the RSR behaves in these conditions. This stretch of road comprises mainly narrow and tight left-right sequence of corners where normally spookily serene. Not surprising, I felt the car was a little bit slippery but much more predictable on how it losses grip than Contis and F1 GSD. Steering feel is now much tighter and backed by strong turn-in and mid-corner grip just feel so endlessly good. I’m still acclimatizing myself to get used to this sort of performance. And God the RSR makes the Pocong nippy through the bends!

Reached the Genting Sempah roundabout and heading up kicking off the 2nd leg journey with mainly uphill 2 lane roads. I’ve to say though, these tyres in a way draining the energy of the car as though the tyres surface was full of chewing gum (I was about to say sticking to the tarmac. Before this, I did say 178hp is enough, now nope I need 200hp to get the car in psychopath mode again. Still the midrange doesn’t disappoint where I was mostly on 3rd & 4th to keep the K03s turbo on song.

Reached the Goh Tong Jaya roundabout, I exited the uncle Lim’s and took route B66 and began to descend towards Batang Kali but this time comprises of lots of fast sweeping corners. By then, the surface began to dry (well almost anyway). The RSR started to show its true pace. It just grip, grip and grip everywhere and such persistence attitude the Pocong has now, only at times I was the one who chicken out as it roll towards ditch while the RSR stays permanently planted to the tarmac. As I was nudging 180 at some points, I began to noticed that additional stuff like braided hose and if budget persist, better pads are needed because the brakes was not at optimum. Not to say it has faded a lot though, just not strong enough to shave speed while you’re having the G and descending. Upon reaching the t-junction, I headed off to in-law’s place for a short break and that allows me & wifey some time to tease two hyperactive cats hehehe

While having a break, a quick look at the four tyres shows minimal or zilch wear on the sidewalls but the car’s backside shows plenty of dirt and front rims was blacken by dust!

Just passed 5pm, I continued final part of this SS drive towards home via Ulu Yam. I wouldn’t say it’s my home course or anything resembling the matter but a familiar territory is more like it. It has much more high sweeping corners and less vertical differences compared to the earlier route B66. I’d say on this route, RSR easily able to handle 10-20kmh faster at any corners than Conti easily. There’s so much assurance through the feel, turn-in and mid-corner grip, and it does that in serenely spookingly quiet. And when it let go, hell will break loose without warning.

I know I’ve been blabbering for quite sometime now and I’m going to say it again, RSR is such a bang-for-buck mod when it comes to feel, grip and handling. Though it’s marginally more expensive than other UHP tyres but if you look at the prices of AD08 which is nudging RM580 a pop, this is the one to go.

And for the Pocong, as I’m happy with the grip it has now, there’s some more works to do to enhance the steering feel as you know when it comes to handling, the steering feel will either makes it or breaks it. This I quote from Djan’s comment in CBT article. And once getting the bushes done, I’m expecting to be happy for a while.

The route

I wonder what EJ going to say about this

The kecik was being so restless

Looks cute but notoriously hyperactively naughty

No signs of tiredness but obviously dirty

Quest for ideal handling & grip is half way there!

RSR it is!

The stock Continental ContactSport 2s already showing signs of tiredness and all have went past minimum indicator. At 32k kms mileage, funny enough to report, I felt the dry grip is still tenaciously good for all around performance tyres almost like when it was new only the wet traction or specifically aquaplaning resistance were not. Still during balik kampong trip, the car happily cruising at 90-120km/h without much drama during the rain.

Goodyear F1 Asymmetric definitely out of the list not because I don’t want it but because 205/45/16 size is not available, same goes to Revspec RS. Azenis ST115 isn’t available anymore and Ziex 912 isn’t really true successor to it. And original Contis are too pricey to justify. After months of mind juggling, it all came down either Federal 595 RSR or Michelin Pilot Preceda 2 and at the end I opted for RSR simply because the Pocong needs tyres than can mask its handling impurity.

Woke up awkwardly early this morning, had the car brimmed with Techron 97 fuel, pickup up a friend (the negotiator hahaha) and off we go to a tyre shop, non other than Jooi Seng, Klang. I was told I’m in luck because they’ve last 4 pieces available. RM390 per piece of RSR, RM10 for stainless steel valve each, RM24 for alignment and RM45 for dented rim repair which amounting to RM1669 excluding GST and 2.5% credit card merchant fee. Once Malaysian style negotiation ended, the towkay agreed to tone down the price RM1540 after trade the old ones RM100 (I was hoping of RM200!) and some other ‘have-to-discounts’ and no merchant fee!

Installation was no brainer and they even took the liberty of washing the rims completely inside out before fitting it in. Seems like this time around their customer relation is have taken another step better than what already good in recent years.

But my so called luck ran out of pocket when the foreman a.k.a alignment sifu told me both sides of front lower control arms’ bushes have cracked! *Sigh* Whiteline kit is inevitable then! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJaZ4yLCTeg

It started raining minutes after getting the keys. In the wet, capability of this RSR is still a notch down compared to Contis and Vredestein Sportrac. That’s not really a bad thing because personally I rated these two as the best in the wet, better than F1 GSD3 and ST115 which are also ultra performance tyres mind you. For semi slick, it’s darn good indeed. Where the R888 will struggle at 60 kmh, this RSR can still cruise 110-140 kmh without much drama on the wet.

And when the road surface became 80% dry, on the way back home, I started teasing the RSR through a sequence of left-right-left corners from Glenmarie towards Jalan Kemajuan Subang and from there to Federal Highway entrance. For street legal, it’s the best I’ve experience yet! Lateral grip is just phenomenally brilliant and never once felt overcooked. And if you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know Pocong doesn’t have clean, direct, and positive steering feel but with the RSR I’m amazed it managed to mask this problem nicely. At this point, some may ask if it’s better than AD07. This though I couldn’t answer specifically because I haven’t used one but I do note that AD07 is more skittish in the wet than the RSR.

Road noise is quite well controlled just like Contis but not as serene as the ST115 but I’m sure it’ll get noisier like lorry after sometime. Given that its sidewall is pretty stiff, I’ll be toning down the pressure to 33 front and 32 rear (cold) and begin to learn more about this Taiwanese made tyres and at the same time bedding it properly before having a shiok sendiri sunday drive via Ulu Yam road this coming Sunday to visit my sister-in-law and her two notoriously hyperactive cats.

Freshly made in week 28 2009

Pretty thick!

Out goes Conti to make way for RSR

Installation done ... waiting for alignment

Cracked lhd lower control arm bush

Cracked rhd lower control arm bush

Bedding in time before coming Sunday!

This Year Target Splurge (so I Hope)

After getting it reflashed, bigger brakes and lowering sport spring, driving the Pocong now is almost satisfying. Hehe ‘almost’ means, there’s something in the pipeline, I wonder when it’ll ever end :(

Goodies in mind targeted to further improve suspension for street use with minor sacrifice on comfort. Naturally I’m looking to H&R for answers. Expensive they may be but worth every penny considering how well engineered products they’ve been producing. These three are my target this year:


H&R ARB

Unlike the use of steel plate, H&R ARB made of 50CrV4 steel alloy - the highest tensile strength apart from carbon fibre. It just doesn’t end there, it has forged ends and urethane composite bushings that eliminate squeaks and doesn’t require lubrication. 26mm front, 25mm rear diameter, hopefully can improve lateral stability and cornering grip, while reducing body roll.




H&R ‘Triple C’

Practical terms as camber screw. Need this to dial more -ve camber to the tyres. Can’t afford to have Camber Plates, this ‘Triple C’ will work just as good for street use.


Federal 595RSR

Stock Conti CS2 already nearing its half life, time to scout for replacement. Although it rolls at tight corners due to soft sidewall, on high speed corners, it provide tenacious grip for everyday tyres (to me at least) and one of the tyres to have on rainy day by far. Having heard many positive reviews for 595RSR on Polo, I’m aiming these in another 15-20k clicks considering through grapevine, someone got it for RM350/piece at Jooi Seng. Awesome thread design eh?




Apart from these three, I’m looking to get it breath better (through the use of after market DV and turbo inlet pipe) and better cooling (Forge SMIC is way too expensive) but if these are in, my pocket gonna blow real hard. Haihhh…