Clutchin'

As the gymkhana trainings went, it became more and more obvious that Hagane's clutch was getting more and more worn out. The fact that when I bought the car it had a thick floor mat that did not allow full travel of the clutch pedal probably did not help in giving the clutch a long life. Aside from the acrid smell of the burning clutch plate that filled the cabin every time I gunned the throttle, the clutch was slipping more and more, and it was time to do something about it.

The clutch options for the '06 and earlier generations of Toyota Vios is not that wide, and since Hagane is in the first place my daily driver, I opted to stick to an OEM clutch. Furthermore, with Singapore's road conditions and long traffic jams during the peak hours, I thought I would be the wiser without a hard racing clutch or something the like.

Thus I procured myself an Exedy clutch and headed to LTM Performance for a helping hand in installing the new parts.

It's a rather straightforward affair, that only takes about 4 hours when you know what you're doing and you have the right set of tools. All there is to it is to unlpug the airbox (to reach the gearbox under it) and the starter, then lift the car, remove the driveshafts and bring the gearbox down. Once this is done, the clutch will be exposed and all after removing a few bolts, can be taken off to reveal the flywheel. Seeing the plain heavy stock flywheel was a poor sight, and I was very tempted to go source a stronger and lighter one, but this will be for another time. The clutch was the priority.

 Above, left: The old clutch in place. Right: The gearbox separated from the engine.

 Above, left: The stock, heavy flywheel. Right: the new clutch in place.

Once the gearbox is brought down, there is direct access to the clutch so all there is to it is to take it apart, have a good laugh at how worn out the old clutch is, put the new one in, reattach the gearbox, the driveshafts, starter and air box and voilà job done!

 

The old vs the new. note how faded and flat the old clutch is - no wonder it was slipping!

The result is beyond words - I rediscovered a new car, more responsive and powerful. Love it!

Project Hagane - Back in White

After about two long weeks of waiting, I finally received a long awaited call from LTM Performance.

Hagane was ready.

Without waiting any further I quickly made my way there and when I saw her my heart skipped a beat - gone was the over-common grey car, Hagane was now wearing a gorgeous white gown. The fenders, widened and properly smoothed looked perfect and promised to be nicer on my tyres with little to no rubbing. The black highlights on the lower part of the rear bumper, roof, side mirrors and front grille brought a tad of differentiation and confidence to Hagane. 

I had the cold air intake revised and instead of having it stick out of the fog light cover, it was now integrated in the front bumper. The only mishap I found was that the funnel was sprayed white instead of black, but this would be rectified soon.

Inside, the three gauges on the A-pillar complemented the tone set by the tachometer with white numerals and red hands. I will now be able to keep an eye on the all-important temperatures, especially in sunny and hot Singapore.

As a final touch, I added a black sunshade covering the top of the windscreen, underlined by a red line, acting as driver recognition (mine is red, 'cause I like red!).

Following this, I right away went for a little night shoot, loving every aspect of my white Hagane.

Project Hagane - Workshop Time!

Time for an update!

It's been a while and a lot has happened since the cold air intake; I'll try to follow the timeline and give you every step of what happened since...

So yeah, the last update was about my DIY cold air intake. Fun. Could do better, though.

Let's do better then!

 

I started off by buying three NRG gauges to keep my engine in check in view of the abuse of gymkhana. The set consists of the basics: water temp, oil temp and oil pressure. This should give me enough info to keep my engine within normal operating temperatures and anticipate overheating.

Following this, I acquired a 4-2-1 exhaust header to improve on the low end power I will need for gymkhana.

While I would have loved to install all this myself, I opted to ask for LTM Performance's help to make sure the gauge sensors were installed properly, as well as the headers.

Dropping off my car at the workshop, I felt it was about time to address my hammered out fenders and the chipped paint on those. I gave the instructions and gave my keys, leaving my car in LTM Performance's hands for a long two weeks.

 A few days after dropping Hagane off, I swung by LTM Performance to check out on the progress. The gauges were being installed, with the sensors finding their place under the hood while the a-pillar cover was removed to install the gauge emplacements.

The fenders were still bare metal, but this time they were properly stretched and smoothed. As Hagane was jacked on one side so that the mechanic could access under the engine to install some of the sensors, I was given a preview of how much more travel the wheels could do under full compression, and I was now sure that rubbing was not going to be a problem anymore.

 

I then left the workshop not to come back before Hagane was finally ready... Stay tuned to see the gorgeous result!

Project Hagane – Shocking!

During the time I was saving for my suspensions, I decided to spend small dollars to change Hagane’s looks and differentiate her from all the gun metal grey Vios I saw on the road everyday (and trust me, there are tons of them!)

 I started by getting a new black sunshade (with a red stroke, for recognition) and a gloss-black roof sticker wrap to go with. I then complemented the looks by adding a few more highlights to Hagane.

Armed with some sand paper and a can of black paint, I sanded down and sprayed the side mirror covers and the front grille. Nothing like a little bit of elbow grease to get closer to your car, so I took my time, and patiently sanded down each part before applying four coats of black paint.

 

Once the parts sprayed and the paint dry, I purposefully omitted to add a final protective coat of varnish just in case if I want to touch up the paint, and proceeded to put the parts back in place. Instantly, my little grey Vios showed a little bit more character, which was complemented by the upgrade I have waited the longest to get – new suspensions.

It took me a long time to get there, and thanks to my boss and friend, Hong, I was finally able to get a set of STD Standard R3. STD Standard is a Taiwanese brand that produces a selection of street-to-race-ready shocks. The R3 model features damper and height adjustability with front pillow-ball top mount. The front shocks also feature adjustable camber for more dedicated use. Or for looks, as those who never bring their cars on tracks say.

 With that said, it was the first and only time where I was eager to get STDs. Pun intended.

While I unfortunately did not have the time, knowledge and tools to install the coilovers myself, I turned to LTM Performance for the installation. On the same day that I dropped my car off, I went to pick her up and my heart literally skipped a beat when I saw how low and aggressive she looked. Gone was the awful space between the wheels and the fenders, and with the spacers giving her that aggressive stance, Hagane turned from common to a real looker. At least to my eyes.

This is when trouble started. While this version of the STD Standard R3s were made for Toyota Vios, the addition of wide spacers (especially at the rear) was never taken into account by the brand, and even with rolled fenders, the rubbing between the wheels and the fenders was horrible. Horrible to the point where my rear tyres now sport and extra groove.

The next morning, I brought my tortured beloved car back to the workshop, and the good guys at LTM Performance had my rear coilovers sent back to Taiwan for some customisation. The shocks came back with greater height adjustability and everything was set back in place. To make sure the tyre torture would not happen anymore, I also asked for their help to knock the fenders out a bit more at the rear. The process chipped the paint on my rear fenders, and added some grunge to the overall rugged looks of Hagane.

Unfortunately that last part was not done up to my expectations, and the rear now sits still a bit too high to my taste and still rubs occasionally, while the front is just perfect. I will soon follow a friend’s recommendation and go to a shop that provides good fender knocking before finalising the rear suspension’s height to make Hagane at the same height at the front and rear, thus avoiding bringing unnecessary added weight on the front axle.

To finish her looks, I once again picked up the sand paper and spray can and underlined the rear bumper with an added touch of black.

I just love how Hagane looks now, and while the spray job is not perfect, the money it required to do it (under $15) makes it much worth it. Once I fix those rear fenders, I will finally be able to get the perfect height and the exterior/stance works should be done, excluding a nice new paint job.

On a funny note, while I totally love the way Hagane sticks to the asphalt, my dear girlfriend and a few other passengers tend to not enjoy the so called “bumpy” ride that Hagane gives. Too bad, right?