As one gains knowledge and experiences, there is a hunger to want to find out more...
This hunger in turns brought forth the passion....
And that is all how it started..
I am a late starter when it comes to cars. My first foray into the car scene was during my army days, where me and my drivers' buddies would take the military vehicles and go about our nightly patrol duties in the very military base where I spent most of my army time. Our conversation would revolve around cars, and of course our dream of ever owning a car.
My first ride was that of a blue Toyota Vios, a humble, day-to-day family sedan. It was also the very first drawing block where I have experimented installing the various 'so-called' performance goodies and witnessing the effect that the installation had on my car. I was introduced into vehicle modification through reading the local car magazines, and being a newbie, I was naturally excited by the various parts and promises of performances that come with each and every one of them. Needless to say, I have to pay that "learning fee" to satisfy that curiousity of wanting to find out the extent of the effects of the upgrades. Well I have my ups and downs...let's just say I should have done abit more research before committing myself to the advertised products with the promises of increase in horsepower and performance.
Unknowingly I was bitten by the 'mod bug' and infected with the 'mod disease'. The Toyota forum was the next place I came upon and invested my time in it. There I was able to find more dedicated information with regards to my ride and subsequently gain more knowledge on performance tuning for my particular made of vehicle. Still that did not stop me from trying out different products: air intakes, exhaust mufflers, extractors, lightweight pulley, performance clutch, fuel pumps, injectors, suspensions..... I was as unsettled as a rowdy kid, and wasn't able to find the right 'feel' for my ride, even with the different mix-and-match of products. It took me quite a while to realize that information on the forum wasn't a 100% accurate, as the presence of advertisers and product sellers tend to offer biased views towards the products they are selling.
From then on, I did my own researches whenever I have the intention to change something. This I done by matching my hypothesis with the various facts that I could sourced online. From then now, I used my own past experiences as well as my newly acquired knowledge to make a more informed decision with regards to doing tune-ups. Sadly, by the time I realized this, my blue car had already been so seasoned with mileage, damages and wear-and-tear arising from past accidents and use that I have to sell it off.
Thankfully I am able to acquire from a good friend his very own Vios (same made, same model) whom I knew he had taken very very good care since Day 1 on acquiring his car. The best part was however, this car has been sold to me with all the performance parts intact, and mind you, parts that comes from revered tuning houses like HKS, RS*R and JUN. Besides, the car has been tuned by local tuner Speed D, and what a difference it was when compared to my first car! This was exactly the effect that I have craved for so long, and I have never regretted till now.....
The Vios was meant to be a light compact family sedan by its manufacturer Toyota, and the tuning philosophy, in my own opinion, should vastly differed from that of tuning a performance production vehicle like the Mitsubishi Evo or the Subaru Rex. Also to maintain a close degree of street legality would mean that the car should be kept in its naturally aspirated form with its original 1NZFE engine intact. This would mean that there only so much horses that could be extracted keeping to the above constraints. The expectation arising from this tuning philosophy is not to expect stratospheric gain in output but in fact focus on increment in the power-to-weight ratio and possibly firming up the otherwise soft and lacklustre handling of the stock car. Fret not however, as a lightweight compact like the Vios could still be fun to drive after performing some tune upzz! An increment of an estimated 15 horses and 30Nm of torque (with tuning and parts thrown in) would allow the driver to feel a positive difference in performance as compared to the stock car. With a more responsive engine that could pull more strongly across the rpm ranges, the effect on a lightweight car like the Vios could be well manifested.
Some photos of the car, or Speed D 'stock' car, as the tuner calls it:
The vented CF bonnet is the latest in addition to the car. However I would have preferred if the bonnet has been sprayed to the same glossy Mica Black to match the car's color!
See the HKS Silent Hi-Power muffler peeking out from underneath! As it's name goes, it is quite a silent muffler at idle and only gets more audible as the revs climb...
Another original HKS product! The prev owner has left behind the HKS Super Flow Reloaded air filter with HKS stainless steel intake pipe. The pipe adds some chrome to the otherwise dull engine bay!
The car now sports 15'' Prodrive GC10 rims shrouded in sticky Yokohama AD08 tires for improved handling on the streets. Even on the street I would still prefer a negative camber of 1.5 as compared to negative 1.0....
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