Time Really Flies

It's been three weeks since I got my car and it really does seem like yesterday when I went to pick up the car from the dealer in Old Klang Road, well it was more like Sunway near Kontena Malaysia. The first few weeks are always a headache when one picks up a second hand car. I thought it being a two year old car, there won't be much headaches, but I was wrong. Firstly, the battery that they gave me for the car was a little dodgy. I was contemplating on switching it over from my Mazda, but in the end I just left it where it was.

Secondly, I had the tyres changed and lock nuts added. The second week was spent having the sound system installed. The sub and the amp went back where it should belong. It was sitting under my bed gathering dust, think of it as a long vacation for them. While the car was in the accessories shop, I found one little mess. The carpets on the passenger side was wet, literally soaked. I was thinking, "Gosh, not another leaky car". At first I was hoping that it was the aircond water, but later on it kept getting wetter and wetter. The soundproofing material was soaked. I had to tear it out to have them dried for a week before I could put it back in. It was on Christmas eve when I took my car to SS2 and had a major service performed. The bill came to about a thousand ringgit. Had to have the radiator top replaced as the bleed valve was cracked. The brakes were crappy and I changed the transmission fluid. Didn't know that Honda fluids cost double the price of normal automatic transmission fluids.

At the same time the spark plugs were almost burnt. I remember reading a week ago about the new Iridium sparks, which costs RM 65 per piece. They last about 80,000 km and I thought what the heck. Told Ah Heng to change it anyway. Then it was down to the leaky part. Ah Heng inspected the interior and it looked more like it was coming from the windscreen. He took a hose, sprayed water on the windscreen and sure enough, water was dripping inwards like an open wound. Dammit, more troubles. That was when I paid a visit to Ah Keong. Come to think of it, I have never been to his shop ever since he moved. It took him the usual one whole day thing to get the car fixed. Sigh, that bit still is the same.

Well, hopefully now the car's up and running. Everything's been serviced except for the timing belt and water pump. It'll be another 10,000 to 15,000 km more before I have to do that. In the mean time, I'm gonna have to build up a buffer in my savings.

The New Car

It's been a week since I've gotten the RX and I must say it does not have the overwhelming power that a turbo has, but it sure is comfortable. I took it up to Ipoh last weekend and the drive on the highway was pretty relaxing. Unlike my previous cars, which were low and had a low bassy exhaust, this car had the handling characteristics of what I would deem boring. Not that boring was bad, but it takes more getting used to than I thought.

The Civic was pretty quite on the highway. Apart from a little tyre noise that the car suffered because the tyres were badly worn, the car was actually quite. A little wind noise at speeds above 130km/h, but it was something that I could bear with. Had a little trouble holding my speed when it rained a little heavier. The car was aquaplaning, which was bad. Luckily I was already at the Simpang Pulai toll when the roads were covered with a layer of water, which was why I went to Klang yesterday to get a set of fresh tyres. They were already out of the Falken (semi-rain) tyres that I bought for my Mazda last year. I would switch them over but it's not the same size. As years go by, the automakers seem to want to make life more difficult for current car owners. They don't want you switching existing parts that you have on your old heap to the new car. Sure, the Civic had 16" rims, but the tyre size is 205/50/16. My Mazda's tyres are 205/45/16", which would affect my speed a little.

If you are still pondering the question, "What has he done to his car now?", well dare I say the car is still pretty much standard. When I was done with Klang, I went to a few accessory shops to find a bush kit for my Momo. To my surprise, the car is too new and there were no shops selling the particular bush kit for this model. The closest I got was an offer to import one from Singapore, which would set me back RM150, which is 200% more that what I would normally pay. I think I can live without the Momo for another few more months. I'm sure by next year they should be bringing in some soon, I hope.

Yes, I know I have broken the unthinkable rule, Henry in an Automatic transmission car and no turbo? Are pigs flying?

I wanted to get a turbo car, but it's either too pricey or too old. Wanted something a little more updated, which was why the Civic fitted the bill. The VTEC's nothing much to shout about. The only consolation is that the car is very comfortable to drive, though I have no freaking clue why I still get a lot of Toyota Vios drivers tailing me all the time. Why, do Vios drivers have something against Civics? Sorry Zoe, no pun intended.

I also thought yesterday was high time that the HID kit went back into service. After taking them out for more than a week, I believe they got the little rest they needed and were to be drafted back for active duty to serve my night driving needs. The Civic's headlamps are a lot more larger and the HIDs really does brighten up the roads. I would take a photo but no thanks to the thief who broke into my house and stole my camera, I'm left with my phone, which gets horrible resolution. I wanted to get another camera, but I think I'll wait for the insurance claims to come through.

Goblet of Fire

Last Saturday was the first time I watched a movie in the Gold class cinema of GSC. There's a blardee lounge for you to relax and the cinema's seat is a lazy man chair! Shit, I could just sleep there while watching a movie. It was so relaxing and it does not help when you've spent the whole day playing Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

The movie was pretty great, though most of the story has been shortened. Even though it was editted, the movie was quite long. I think if they told the whole book, I think they'd need a two part movie. Hmm, is it just me or does the books get thicker as the years add on. Maybe it's just the font that they print it on.

The cinema's pretty spacious, something a little different. But I guess it's really worth it cause in HK the price of a normal ticket is almost the price of a Gold Class ticket. Actually I've always wanted to see what all the fuss is about watching in Gold Class. Looks like it's really something different. Thanks to Andrew who bought out the whole cinema, otherwise we really would not have caught the movie.