New Wheels for the New Year (and Christmas!)

At long last!

I finally found a set of Spoon copy wheels. Bought from "Autobat" from HCP, the same guy I bought my doors and front bumper from. Had it installed for P65 per wheel and also bought Kyo-ei Steel Black Lugnuts for P850.

Here are some pics:

Unmounting tires from the steelies

Out with the old

In with the new

Installing

New Look!

The Distributor Leak That Makes Me Sick

There's a leak below where the distributor meets the engine.

Well, don't worry, it's a cheap and easy fix -- a P60 OEM part called distributor o-ring is the answer.

Step 1: Mark your timing by using a ruler and pencil.
Step 2: Unplug all electrical connection to distributor and high tension wires (make sure you remember which hole the wire you unplugged belongs).
Step 3: Loosen the bolts holding your distributor to the engine.
Step 4: Pull out the distributor.
Step 5: Look for the short shaft and look for the small circular rubber ring. Take it off by cutting or pulling. It would easily snap due to age.
Step 6: Put clean oil onto the new o-ring. Slide in to install. (just like how slide in your favorite "rubber" LOL)
Step 7: Put everything back reverse of how you took them off. Clean the mess you made.

Enjoy!

The Best Slick Substance for Your VTEC Engine

A lot has been asking about which oil would be best for your VTEC engine. I have long asked the question: Would a fully-synthetic oil do better for your stock, daily driven engine compared to an ordinary, cheap mineral oil?

The answer dumbfounded me. It is NOT. Oil is just that... oil. It protects internal engine parts during start-ups and high-revs and it doesn't matter from where or what material it is made from, it performs as the lubricant it was designed to be. The cheap mineral alternative will give the same level of protection as your expensive P600 a liter synthetic oil. One thing that you need to consider though is the weight or viscosity of the oil you are buying, and you should refer to what the car manual suggests. If you pour in light oil, then you may have oil leaks all over if your seals are not in good condition. On the contrary, pouring in heavy oil, would add extra load on your engine and would increase your gas consumption.

So back to the question: What's the best oil for your VTEC engine?

I'll take the advice of Mr. Ichisima, the president of Spoon Sports JAPAN -- the world-famous Honda Tuner. Taken from Temple of VTEC Asia.

One question that have always been asked whenever Honda fans discusses about VTEC is that issue of the best engine oil for the engine. While there are many different brands of oil available on the market, many with great specifications, some even with a "Formula-1 Pedigree" (e.g. Mobil-1), I think the answer by Mr. Ichisima, president of the famous SPOON SPORTS Honda specialist tuner in Japan during his interview on issue-1 of BEST MOTORing International, is the best and most concise. Mr. Ichisima said it simply for engine oil, the "price per litre" is no indication of suitability, i.e. a multi-dollar oil will not necessarily work better than the cheaper alternative. He goes on to make a firm recommendation for the best engine oil for your Honda engine, the oil available from the dealer is probably the best. Personally, I think his recommendation makes the best sense.

Well, having said that, good news is upon us. Have you ever heard of the Honda dealerships' promo on oil change? Honda Philippines Quick Change Oil Promo

With this, I change Scratchy's oil every three months and this way, my D16A always gets a frequent supply of fresh, clean oil to make it last longer. You can't do that with fully synthetic oil considering its price, right? How many months before you change your oil?

UPDATE (1-05-2012) : Is the P875 promo still available? Last time I checked, it's now up to P1,085. Too bad, everything is becoming expensive. Click link for the new promo: http://www.hondaphil.com/ver2/promo/changeoil.php

JC Electrical Marikina Makes My Day... the Wrong Way!

A certain Jojo of JC Electrical in Marikina made my day yesterday. 

I went there to have my cold starting problem checked, knowing that they are experts when it comes to electrical stuff. I entered their shop and greeted by a friendly, big, long-haired guy which I knew from another deal prior. Told him about my problem and endorsed me to a middle-aged man named Jojo.

Conversations of me and Jojo went like this:

Me: Boss, hard starting ako pag malamig yung makina.
Jojo: Ah ganun ba? Check natin ang karga (gets the volt meter). Sige, start mo tapos buksan mo lahat pati headlights (my car starts in one click because I just used it).
Jojo: Okay, naman ang karga ah.
Me: So, ano ang problema? Wala din naman CEL.
Jojo: Malamang sa grounding lang yan ng kotse mo kasi bagong pintura ka. Linisin ko nalang yung contacts. (He cleaned contacts of battery-chassis, chassis-ground wire, and ground wire-tranny)
Me: Hindi kaya sa distributor? (Holding the new o-ring) Magkano magpakabit sa iyo nito?
Jojo: Naku, kailangan ko baklasin yung buong housing ng distributor mo niyan (pointing to the distributor cap).
Me: Talaga? Sure ka? Kaya ko nga gawin yan, wala lang ako gamit.
Jojo: Edi ikaw ang gumawa.
Me: (Going back to the original problem because I don't want to argue any more) Okay na kaya yan sa grounding lang? Paano kung ganun pa rin?
Jojo: Okay na yan.
Me: Sige, salamat boss (then handed him P50)
Jojo: Isang daan! Wala nang singkwenta ngayon!
Me: (Jokingly) Talaga boss? Mahal naman. (Smiling while handing the P100) Naku, baka di na ako bumalik niyan ha.
Jojo: (Turned his back) Edi wag ka na bumalik!

And the WORST part of it: NOTHING was fixed!!!
Same cold starting problem. The only difference is that I'm P100 poorer.

Good job JC Electrical Marikina. Because of the great service you showed me, I'll take Jojo's advice to never go back.

Some photos of the shop:

Scratchy's Parts for Sale

Since all the forums I am in don't allow posting of items for sale any longer, then I will be posting my for sale items here.
I'll update this as often as possible and will be posting the most recent pictures that I have. Happy shopping!


1. CF Spoon Wing for EG Hatch, used for a week and very fresh bought for 8K - 6.5K only!

2. Brand new OEM 3M Nomad Car Mat Regular, 5-piece set, sells for 3.5k in Ace - Out of Stock

3. P70 OBD1 ECU (Stock ECU of D16A SOHC VTEC with P08 head. Same as P08 ECU) good for rechipping, original manual! - 8,000 only


4. Original OEM Honda EG "Civic" script decal (for light-colored cars) - 600 each

5. EG Hatch Right Door Shell Lata (no kalawang) (shell only/best sa mga nabangga/kalawang) - 1,500 only

6. EG Hatch Left Door Shell (konting kalawang) - 800 only

7. EG Hatch Tail Gate (shell only) - 800 only

8. Fresh EG PH Evaporator (bolt on para sa mga nasiraan, on the left of the pic) - 900 only

9. EG Hatch Inner Tail Lights - 1,500 pair

10. 2-piece wing for EG hatch with Stanley brake light (not LED) fresh! - 1,500

11. KYB Super/Excel-G Shocks Front L & R (Good condition) - 2,000 pair

12. Tanabe NF210 Front (pair) Lowering springs for EG/EK - 3,000 pair fixed

13. EG OEM Condenser with OEM Fan (Newly flushed and good condition) - 900

14. PH12 Distributor with OEM SOHC Hi-Tension Wires - 3,500

15. PH12 OEM 4-1 Exhaust Manifold w/ Heatshield - 1,000

16. Complete PHDM EG Hatch Interior Fresh! (Comes with front and rear seats, front and rear sidings, interior trunk cover, trunk carpet, hatch board etc.) - 8,000 very negotiable

17. Brand new and unused OEM Honda Valve Cover Gasket for PH12 - P600 sa casa, 350 nalang

18. EG Alternator (Newly bought from Rey's electrical, used for 1 month) - 2,000

19. Civic Hatch Gas Tank (Very Fresh Carb Type) - 1,500

20. OEM Civic Hatch Exhaust Pipe and Muffler Set (Long pipe and Muffler set, no flange header side, you can use your existing) - 2,000 set neg

OPEN FOR SWAP BOLT-ON SPOON COPY N1 MUFFLER.

Audio Items:

Targa X-120 12" Subwoofer with ABC Box
Targa lifetime warranty from Daiichi
ABC Box made by Jeff Tan
2.5K for both

Aura RPM Plus 12 Subwoofer
350W RMS power handling
Most powerful Aura 12" Sub
Lifetime warranty from Daiichi
3k

RFS: No use in Gathers interior

Big items pick-up Vista Verde, along Imelda Avenue

Normal schedule:
Imelda Avenue Cainta or Eastwood/Calle Industria, weekdays after office hours around 8-9PM.
Katipunan Shell in front of La Vista during weekends.
Vista Verde Cainta: Weeknights or weekends.[/b]

09167815445

Scratchy's JDM Retract Side Mirrors Get Stolen

Saturday morning, outside my friend's house, I found Scratchy defiled by heartless thieves. All the cars parked in that street lost their side mirrors. Scratchy was just at the wrong place and and the wrong time.

I scoured Banawe to find a replacement but failed. The mirrors are rare because those are for the auto retract side mirrors that are different from the rest. The only answer is to buy a whole set again for P3,500!

Running out of options, I decided to head to DZ Racing in Banawe to buy me a Spoon copy side mirror.

There are three copies to choose from:
1. All plastic with blue lens - P3,500
2. All CF with blue lens and auto adjustment - P8,800
3. Actual copy of the original Spoon with auto adjustment - P10,800

Knowing that I can put my the money to OEM stuff, I decided buy the cheapest. Made of plastic, the shape is close to the real thing. The original Spoon however is made out of carbon fiber.

I'm happy with the way it looks on the car. However, I think I need some time to get used to the small mirrors and limited view.

EDIT: Sunday night, my advertisement in the HCP forums for the OEM retract mirror paid off. I found a set for P1,000 and bought it.

(Finished) Scratchy's Awesome Paint Job that Renders it Scratchless

After all that waiting, we have finally come to this. This is the time I bring home Scratchy from Pau's shop. Check out the finished product.

If there are still people not using broadband, beware, this post is full of photos!

What do you think of the outcome? More pictures coming in the next posts.