DIY Short Shifter
i picked up a spare standard gear shifter for $10. thx to tracy for picking it up for me 
basically the shifter was shorter at the part above the pivot point and extended at the part below the pivot point. in this case the top is shorten by 70mm, and 30mm extension at the bottom. dan did all the cutting welding...
to remove the shifter in micra, i hard to do it from under the car. its just above the secondary cat converter.
because the short shifter has longer bottom part, its rubbing the heat shield above the cat conv. so i decided to reshaped the heat shield to make some clearance...
green dotted like was the original shape. blue line is the shape after i bent it
put the spare gear know i had lying around in the garage. its off ford focus.
thx to shaun for helping me
here is abit of video of the short shifting after the installation.
Link
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
DIY Short Shifter
DIY Cold Air Intake (CAI) - PVC piping
DIY Cold Air Intake (CAI) - PVC piping
with only 55kw at the engine, micra pulls pretty hard from factory. i think its because of the gear ratio and the lightweight body... but as usual, it still felt restricted...
ok, so i tested the micra in a 'safe controlled environment' 
so, i'm making this cold air intake, hope it will help the response and help the starvation at top end... originally me and shaun made it just a short ram and run the pipe to the side of the engine, but i cannot be bothered buying another agled PVC to make the air feed to the pod filter... so i recided to collect direct cold air from behind the front grill.
i bought 1 meter of 65mm PVC($13), 90degree 65mm ($6), and 45degree 65mm ($6), acrylic gap sealer ($1.50), insulation tape ($12), 65mm coupler ($2), PVC pipe braket ($1.30)... the intake pod filter is free, from shaun(thx man)...
here we go:
i make up the first mock up, to make sure i can close the bonnet
the pod filter that i get from shaun has metal surround and its separable from the rubber mount. since the inside has no funnel shaped rubber, i decided to split the pod filter and put one funnel inside using 65mm coupler
so, i heat up the end of the coupler with heat gun and push it against a normal plastic funnel.
here it is once its done. nice little trumpet... probably most ppl think it wont make any different. i just think every little bit counts.
put the PVC funnel back into the pod filter
reattach the rubber mount
now pull out the PVC funnel, it should stop once the funnel reach the rubber mount neck. this will make sure that the funnel sits at the bottom / exit of the pod filter
here is the inside view
since the pod is going to sit between the grill and the header, i made a aluminium shield to cover it from radiant heat.
mock up setting done...
clamp it with PVC bracket and made up an 'L' shaped metal bracket to hold the pipe in place.
i put this protective insulation tape to protect the piping from engine heat. it might me overkill here (coz PVC might have some sort of heat resistance already), but i better be safe.
i use the stock nipple from the stock airbox to mount the return hose to the intake.
Cold Air Intake is done... its not exactly pretty... but its cheap
Test Drive: after the CAI, i amost reached 140kmh in 3rd gear... it used to stop pulling at 6000rpm... now it pulls all the way to 7100rpm... and shift up to 4th and i reached 160kmh and still pulling hard... i had to stop coz shaun yelled "COPS! COPS! COPS!"
here is the video of the CAI sound. nothing new... just like any other CAI. ^_^
Link
stock spec of the micra K11
stock spec of the micra K11 that i found on the net...
Engine CG13DE: DOHC 16valve 1275cc 4 cylinder
Bore & Stroke (mm) 71.0 x 80.5
Compression ratio 9.5:1
Block: Alloy; Head: Alloy; Firing order 1, 3, 4, 2
Power (kw) 55 @ 6000rpm; Torque (Nm) 103 @ 4000rpm
Drivetrain Front wheel drive
RS5F30A gearbox open centre differential
Gearbox 5 speed manual
1st 3.3333:1
2nd 1.9545:1
3rd 1.2857:1
4th 0.9268:1
5th 0.7556:1
Reverse 3.4167:1
Final 3.8947:1
Mass (Kg) LX: 810kg
Front suspension Macpherson struts and swaybar Macpherson struts.
Rear suspension: 5 link beam axle with panhard rod and swaybar
Front brakes: solid discs; Rear brakes: drums
Fuel capacity (l) 42; Fuel consumption (l/100km) Highway: 4.5, City: 6.1
Turning circle (m) Conventional: 10.1
Steering wheel turns lock to lock: 3.8
0 - 100 Km/h (sec) 10.7; 400m (sec) 17.37
Overall Length (mm) 3695
Overall Width (mm) 1585
Overall Height (mm) 1430
Front Track (mm) 1360
Rear Track (mm) 1325
Wheelbase (mm) 2360
Maintenance & problem
Maintenance & problem
since i pick it up, the car has been great, but some minor problem due to it age and hasnt been used by the previous owner... still this particular micra pulls harder than the others that i test drove a while back...
what i did last night:
- the set of new spark plugs
- new fuel filter
- spray carby cleaner to clean the AFM and carbon build up
- take off the side moulding
thx to mic for helping me do this...
and coming soon:
- replacement door hinges coz the old one has worn
- short shifter
Tachometer gauge - smoked (AHIRU first mod ^_^)
Tachometer gauge - smoked (AHIRU first mod ^_^)
well the MICRA LX doesnt come with tachometer... so i had to install one 
smoked gauge... the car only rev to 7200rpm... for now 
thx for C2888 for his help in doing the wiring... wouldnt be able to do it without his help...
the installation was pretty straight forward... blue wire from distributor, hooked to signal cable of the gauge. the power cable from ignition, and ground cable to the steering metal holder...
MICRALICIOUS!!! YUM!
my new cute little flying white things on victoria road. well it took 10min to get to 150kmh
anyway, i started looking into compact class coz:
1. i needed an extra transport to carry my wheels and tyres, so i dont have to make 2 trips to the tyre shop (the zed can only fit 2 wheels at the time)
2. the Zed is going for a repair for the next 2-3weeks to fix the roof, guard and bonnet (after indecent up skirting incident)
3. $30 for 450km VS $85 for 520km and both are flooring it... lol...
4. they're just too cute to resist!! lol
been trying to decide for a while whether to get a Starlet or Micra... both are a great little car and i would be extremely happy having either one of them. but then i came accross this cheap deal on micra that i just couldnt resist... so Micra it is.
so here it is 'AHIRU' or アヒル means 'Duck' in japanese... lol i love ducks, and i had few ducks back in indo... i would have one here if my dogs werent a ducks/birds eater... (my dogs has killed more than 10 birds, 6 chickens, 2 possum, and 1 cat in the pass... whatever sneaked into my backyard, if its a dog, it will get humped... if its not a dog, it will get eaten... T_T)
well... we like ducks
anyway... here it it... my humble micra K11... small hatch ftw!!!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
EXE CREW TRACKDAY 30th sept 07
EXE CREW TRACKDAY
30th September 2007
winton 3KM track
this will be my last one for this year unless i can find a way to source new sets of semis (mine is finished).
the new mods this time is cusco front camber arm, it gave me front -2.4 (up from -1.4 with RSR spring) and i set the back to -2.1 (up from -1.2). this mod made me corner harder with penty of grip at the front, but the trade off is i had to be very precise on my driving. i had to choose the correct line. in the past, even if my line was off, i can still corrected it without having the back loose... this time, the car is more tempramental but agressive at the same time. turns in very2 sharply which gives big grin on my face every single time...
since last trackday, i tried to start using 3rd gear on all the corners except for long left sweeper (turn 3, i use 4th there). i was able to corner very smoothly and my turn 7 is alot better now (thx to kenny, i stole this from him the last time i sat on his car
since i fixed the APS exhaust, by putting the X pipe on the APS, i got alot more mid range and i was able to get plenty of torque on turn 4-5-6... although i lost 4kw atw with the Xpipe, but the car overall felt alot stronger...
i lost it few times coz my tyres are getting slippery, but thx to shaun and mic, the amateur drift practice and skidpan (thx kev) really helps... i unconsciously saved the car few times... i guess sideway is not as scary as it used to be (but still enough to make me hold my breath for few seconds)
everything seems alot better and i can drive alot smoother... but somehow my best lap time, is still abit slower than my previous time... maybe there is something that i do that still wrong... i believed that a better driver might be able to do 1:40 in this car, as the current setup is near perfect compared to my previous setup... i'm running out of ideas... i tried to be consistent and tried all different sort of stuff... at the end of the day, i had to give up coz i got very low thread left on my semis. it is getting dangerous as i lost it at turn 9 coming onto the last straight before the S bend and nearly hit a wall (someone put dirts on turn 9 at the last session)... massive lockups and big flat spot is what i got
but 4 trackdays in the 1:41s means that i have maxed out my ability to go faster. the problem now is to find which bad habit that i did, that creates the 'barrier' for me to go faster...
i was going to install the next mod if i break my PB this time, but now since i didn't, i had to punish myself and left that mod lying around in my garage for a little longer.
*thx to noojin for the nice photo...
my Winton 3KM lap time record
--------------------------------------
* power dropped, but the car is alot faster, more torque and better overall... no more back pressure loss...
** new stuff / mods
*** personal best
detail individual lap time from 30th sept 2007
practice session: had to end early coz it was red flagged, couldnt get a clean lap...
1:49.2910
1:42.5240
1:44.0150
1:48.9530
session 1: i had Jerry / JDMZ33 as passenger, this was a good session, i got few clean lap
1:51.2800
1:42.1140
1:41.3520
1:42.1290
2:00.7060
1:42.3840
1:41.9860
1:44.1880
1:41.7720
session 2: was my best session. i had no passenger and the last 2 session, i got no interruption whatsoever
1:49.0880
1:44.2420
1:41.5810
1:42.1600
1:42.4000
1:42.9640
1:41.6970
1:41.2250
session 3: had Luke as a passenger, this is my favourite session, with 4-5 car battle in the last few laps... never got a clean lap but its so much fun!! the back of the car getting loose and the tyres had not much grip left...
1:50.5970
1:42.9630
1:42.1600
1:43.7110
1:42.6620
1:44.9250
1:54.7280 *spun off turn 6, ripple strip hit my cross member >_<* 1:44.7700 session 4: had lionel as a passenger. this session is my worst, i had massive flat spot from previous session, and then i drove out to check what noise it is, coz i thought my wheel nuts was loose. then after i drove back, i got another massive spun down the straight, nearly hit the wall... 1:47.6400 1:44.4720 3:57.7420 *had to get out to the pit, and check the car* 1:55.8530 *massive spun, turn 9 was dirty, someone must've came off and flick all the dirt into the racing line* 1:45.4000 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:45.1420 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:46.7340 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:46.9080 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:45.3640 *had to slow down on turn 9* thx for reading, i will post some pictures soon... it will take me some time to saved up for new semis, so next one, i would use street tyres (since i got few spares in my garage already)... more photos: http://flickr.com/photos/14475808@N02/
i started recording in-car video on session 3 and my battery finished 2 lap of 4th session. youtube only allow 10min max per upload, so i had to choose the best 10min... which is session 3 from the 3rd lap... it get insteresting towards the end where 3-5 cars together bumper to bumper... where most of them left me on the straight, some even left me on the corner... (T_T) give me more power oh dear lord...
so here it is, My Video from session3 from the end of 3rd lap :
Link
sorry for the initial D background music...
the best laptime results for all cars on the day:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?30/09/2007.WIN.P1
and this is the individual times from all the cars on the day: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?30/09/2007.WIN.P1.I
other vids from the day:
Group A - http://youtube.com/watch?v=omvSDTA8I80
Group B - http://youtube.com/watch?v=GF3EowAkF7M
Group C - http://youtube.com/watch?v=iH1WmepOmEw
Group D - http://youtube.com/watch?v=BRYhemjlsZk
Group E - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgCpB0Xzkk
