Uling

White Hatch

2011-03-29T00:12:00.000-07:00

About 8 months ago, I purchased my dream car!
A 1995 3-door Honda Civic! Hooraaaah!

I'm always fascinated by 2-door (well, the 3rd door/hatch is not for passengers anyway) cars eversince. I fell inlove with Honda hatchbacks, be it the CRX, EF, EG, or EK, especially when watching them during Macapagal PDRF races, illegal street racing in Libis and even in PTCC races on TV.

Now I finally own one - an all-stock, last model (1995), U-plate one!
It's not cheap though, because U-plate EG hatches are somewhat rare and I have no idea why.

To date, there are some really minor parts that I changed due to a limited budget and time since I have to save money for my little boy who will be born on April 8. Yes - 10 days from now! Hoooraaaaah!!! :) :) :)

Here are stuff that I installed:

- OEM grey cupholder
- OEM armrest (short)
- JDM climate control --> I just got this from my tito for free so might as well use it since I changed bulbs.
- Mitsuba Alpha Horn 2
- JDM wing (EG6 long LED brake light)
- Vision shiftknob
- Repainted wiper arms and changed to Unipoint soft wiper blades
- Changed rear wiper blade
- Fixed headlight relay
- Adjust valves then changed engine oil
- Check wheel alignment and align steering wheel
- Replace tail light and brake bulb

I still have some parts that are with me, but not yet installed:

- Amber corner lamps
- Sparco full bucket seats (Speed)
- Sabelt 4-pt harness
- OEM power side mirrors with OEM switch
- Fender (stock has a dent)

For the next couple of months, after all the major expenses for our baby and if I have extra cash, here are some parts that I'd love to have:

- EG gauge with tachometer
- Integra seats
- Front/rear disk brakes
- Power windows and sidings or door set assy
- Roof cut maybe
- Then comes heart transplant, paint job, etc etc

Pictures will be posted later or tomorrow cuz I'll be busy tonight - gotta clean Uling, the car is "tampo" already. :)

2010-10-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Ride

2009-10-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

Uling: Black AE101

It was bought brand new by a close family friend and was sold to us after 3 years. I was in grade school then but I still remember how it first looked when we acquired it - Sun visors and sidings were still wrapped with plastic, the dashboard and steering wheel were scratch-free, and the interior still smells and feels like brand new.

As of today, October 13, 2009, here’s a list of installed/added parts:

Engine:

4A-FE with stock internals
Custom grounding kit
JDM 2-row radiator
Simota short ram intake
4A-GE ST header (custom flange by Obet of Bitoy Exhaust)
2" inner diameter pipes with 18" resonator
Tanabe Hyper Medalion muffler
Apex'i Super Air Flow Converter II

Rollers:

15's Rota Sub-Zero (Cp-035 copy) *Repainted by Promaster wrapped in 195/55/r15 Yokohama S.Drive

Stopper:

JDM Levin front big brakes
Bendix brakepads

Stiffeners:

KYB Excel-G shocks
RS*R lowering springs + 1" lifter all around
Levin OEM 3-point front upper strutbar
M7 suspension bushings

Other:

Sprinter grille
Momo Pilota 1 steering wheel
Eclipse In-dash CD player head unit
Mitsuba Alpha Horn
Osram All-Season headlight bulbs
Generic el cheapo foglamps

The Man Behind the Wheel

2009-09-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome and congratulations for discovering this page! This is my first attempt to write a blog. Hopefully I will be able to update this. This blog will be about me, cars and the local racing scene.

I was always fascinated by cars since preschool when I was collecting matchbox toys.

My real passion for cars started when I was in high school. Maybe it’s the same feeling as how an engineer loves math or how an IT professional is interested in computers.

My uncle runs a small auto shop in our garage that has been there since I was a kid. I started spending most of my afternoons in the garage watching my uncle work on the car while chatting with his customers. Soon after that, I was helping him out with simple tasks like changing spark plugs, handing out tools, replacing air filters, etc. I guess this is where it all started.

I joined local and international forums and started to read and learn from people who have the same interest. Internet was my primary exposure to racing until I watched a couple of PDRF drag racing events in Macapagal.

After graduating from college, I was then very much frustrated and at the same time, excited to work. I was very frustrated because I was begging my dad for him to lend me money because I badly wanted a Honda. But only in fairy tales where all wishes are being granted - Now I am stuck with a Toyota.

After roughly 3 months of working, I was able to come up with my own money to spend on the car. I then rushed to Banawe and get myself a generic strutbar and a Simota intake. And wow, I felt like it gained a lot! Haha! Yeah right… Thanks to my first job, I was able to religiously make maintenance checks and repairs with the car - Suspension, tires, engine, A/C, battery, etc.

Five months after all the maintenance stuff and some bolt-on upgrades, I decided to take it to the next level. I met a guy in a forum and he is a PTCC driver. He invited me to join their club’s trackday at BRC and offered a free lesson, so I went. It was quite humiliating to see that most of the people there were really into racing and I can tell that they are hardcore racers. Not to mention that they were driving Imprezas, Silvias, an S2000 and a Porsche (dunno the model, but it was turbocharged).

During the same year, I also had my first taste of autocross and damn it was difficult! I couldn’t get the same thrill that I had in a circuit where I get to enjoy the speed in the corners and the straights right after exiting a corner. It is definitely not my type of racing.

Now that I have discovered that circuit racing appeals to me more, I took another level up by joining “Run What You Brung”. It is a time attack race held at SIR. I placed 5th in the slowest bracket. I was really sluggish maybe because I spun out 180 degrees in turn 1 with just a car away from hitting the concrete barriers and that got me scared big time! It could also be because my racing line is aweful and SIR is a technical track unlike BRC.

I joined another trackday at SIR and the RWYB event will be held the following day. I was prepared this time. New grippy tires were installed; I slapped in a set of lowering springs and changed the stock header. I was eyeing to shave off 2 seconds from my time and guess what, I was 5 seconds faster! Woohooo! Before the trackday ends, I was able to ride shotgun to the same owner of the Subie that I rode shotgun at BRC, but now he was driving a Tiburon. He showed me his racing line and I keep remembering it because it will be the same line that I will use for the competition the next day. Too bad I wasn’t able to shakedown my car using the line because it was already late in the afternoon.

In the RWYB event, I wasn’t able to get a place in my bracket but I was really happy because after my last run, I saw the timesheet and it showed that my best time was 4 seconds faster than my best time the day before! Another wooohooo moment! I was able to cut 9 seconds from the first RWYB event and up to now, it kept me thinking: Where the hell am I losing 9 seconds when I was going flatout when given the chance?! LOL!

I hope that I will have a faster time the next time I race. I hope that the 15-year old car will last and will still be competitive. My experience makes me very eager to race again. I want to go faster. I want to feel the fear everytime I take a corner. Let’s support the local motorsports scene!