Something about Tyres

It’s been a while since I last wrote automotive related stuff..

Today, I would like to share something about the thing that I have just replaced on my little puppy (the name of my car) a couple of weeks ago- The Expensive Rubber.

Before I get started, I would like to send my best regards to our beloved government, chiefly the ministry of transportation. If there haven’t been so much of “nicely” paved public roads, whereby the potholes are as easily available as the speed trap cameras that they are implementing in the country and mended as cheaply as KANGKUNG, otherwise you wouldn’t get such an important piece of information from me.

The above photo shows the predicament I was in (indicating that I could go sideways?). The lucky bit was that this tyre didn’t explode right at god-knows-where I hit pothole, which gave my some time to do some survey on tyre selection.

There are a few things we need to look at while choosing the correct tyres- type, size, brand, and of course price. And I will discuss each of them one after another.

Type:

Generally, there are 3 types of tyres- performance tyre, comfort tyre, and normal tyre. Performance tyres are for those drivers who like driving fast on the road at any conditions, be it wet, damp or dry. Comfort tyres are for those people who appreciate peacefulness and comfort while travelling and can’t be bothered to go very fast on roads. And the normal tyres are for normal people.

Size:

Most of the cars in the market would not have any issue with size, as those standard sizes are easily available in the market. My little puppy is going a bit extreme. The rim is the maximum size my car can possibly fit in, to keep the fender to tyre gap as small as it possibly could. That’s just a joke. Having the biggest rim in the world for this purpose is what those ah bengs like to do and I am not one of them. To me, bigger tyres simply mean tons of grip and better handling. For this very instance, size matters when it comes to tyre selection. I have to go very low profile to avoid tyre rubbing against fender. The tyre size that I looked for was 215/40 R17. This size is super odd and not easily available in the market. I was having hard time to look for one; hence, I decided to downsize a little bit to a more standard size- 205/45 R17, for better quality tyres. This size is only 5mm per side narrower and a couple of millimeters taller.

Brand:

Brand is important. Different manufactures produce tyre differently. The products that they are offering give different characteristic and driving experience (only sensitive people could tell the differences). Ones have to try out each brand to know which brand is more suitable to them. My tip on this- always go for reputable brand, even it costs you slightly more.

Price:

Pricing is highly dependent on the aforementioned factors-for the types of tyres, performance tyres tend to be the most expensive, as it requires some serious engineering design on them; follow by the comfort tyres which require some not that serious engineering design and then follow by the normal tyres which don’t require much engineering. While for size, bigger and wider tyres tend to be more expensive and vice versa. Brand wise, reputable brands (such as Pirelli, Michelin and etc.) tend to be more expensive.

I hope this short and concise article gives you the details that you would like to know about tyres.

So, what did I choose in the end?

My choice is Michelin PS3, which is best known as the performance tyre that doesn’t compromise much on the ride comfort. It’s slightly more expensive than other tyres, but I hope it’s worth it. After a few weeks of running it, I can conclude that the PS3 is softer and grippier than the previous tyres it was running. Now, it’s down to how long these goodnesses can last to prove if it’s worth the price…

TEST DRIVEN: The New Mark VII Golf GTI

To me (and maybe to many people as well), Golf GTI has always been one of the most practical cars, a perfect all-rounder that money can buy in the market. Quite ashamed that I have only driven the Mark VI out of so many versions and I fell in love with her the moment I stepped on the pedal. Now, there’s a new one! And I could hear that she’s calling me to try her out!

Golf GTI is an easily likeable machine that only the car enthusiasts would appreciate as many people would probably go for other makes if they were to pay the same amount of money.

Why enthusiasts love Golf GTI so much?

There are many reasons to explain this and I will be discussing one by one now.

First of all, Golf GTI has always been a practical car since the Mark I. There’s always been a connection between the practicality and the philosophy of designing this car since day one and this connection has never been broken. Much about the same story with the new one- 5 doors hatch with decent space for up to 5 adults, rear folding seats (in case you need it to transport something big, like a cow maybe?), economical powertrain that produces decent amount of power and you get all the things that you possibly need in a car in term of safety and entertainment.

Secondly, the Golf GTI is a subtle looking thing- it’s practically a performance-oriented Golf with GTI badges everywhere inside and outside the car which remind you that you are driving a GTI! Despite the pumped up body kit, the signature red stripe (this time round, the red stripe has gone berserk, it is even conquering the head lamps), slightly lowered ride height and the set of wheels which is slightly bigger size and blink a bit, this car is not uncommon! From every single angle, it looks simple and timeless. I won’t get bored seeing it every day!

After appreciating the aesthetical aspect of it, it’s time for me to step into the car and have a roll with it. The moment I stepped inside, immediately I could spot a few differences and realized that the new GTI is not as well equipped as the previous one- The leather seat and Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) don’t come as standard anymore, instead, this is a RM 10,000 optional extra (they called it a “Tech Pack”). Shame Oh Shame. VW is named as People car in Europe. The built quality is rather decent, not top notch, but the cabin is an easily likeable place to be in on a day-to-day basis despite losing some kits as standard. Also, you will be losing handbrake lever, what you get in return is an electronic button for you to push and pull, yobbos don’t get to do handbrake turn anymore! Despite a slightly revised power plant which churns out 10 more horsepower and a lot more torque, you’ll also be getting the stop-start system as standard.

In fact, the aforementioned changes are just minor changes/ dealer to strip away some of the least important kits to gain more profit. The major change of this new model is the chassis of it. This is something you won’t realize until you really have a go with it. It’s a Masterpiece. The Golf is actually one of the first few models that is being built based on the latest MQB platform. It’s slightly bigger that the previous model, but what amaze me is the weight they have shed- a whopping 40+kg (according to some websites). The amount of weight it loss and the amount of torque it gained are simply the recipe for us to go faster without visiting petrol station as frequent as other fast car.

The delivery of this thing is progressive and smooth. You won’t be getting the kind of surge (when you hit certain rev range) that you get from some big turbo cars. The stopping power is as good as the way it moves. The main selling point of all GTI- The handling, needless to say, it’s still exceptionally good, in fact it’s better than the previous generation, thanks to the new and more advanced XDS+ electronic differential lock and of course the chassis coming from the latest platform. The steering is nicely weighted, feeding all the information/ response that you need from roads. The stableness of this thing will directly/ indirectly boost your confidence to tackle every single corner at insane speed. The ride is very European- firm yet comfortable.

All in all, the Mark VII Golf GTI is still one of the best hot-hatch money can buy in the market. It may not be the fastest, but that’s not the whole point of having GTI, really. The people who will hit the dealer to get one are always practical type who have a slightly higher budget to get a proper front wheel drive hot-hatch without compromising any bit of practically. This is the kind of machine they can use to ferry their spouse or kids around and have fun with it alone at the end of the day.

It’s indeed a very good car, a perfect all-rounder for a small/ young family that has 4 to 5 members, but paying more for getting less will always be the reason that baffles me from getting it. I am a car enthusiast, but I am sane and logical too…

Car Buying Tips..

If you have a feeling that it’s about time for you to get yourself a car, all I have to say is that you are now reading the right thing.

Buying car in Malaysia and Singapore is never an easy thing. Sad to say, our countries have been charging us highest tax on automobile purchase around the globe. Many other countries, like UK for instance, most of the teenagers can afford to buy a car by just working through their summer holiday, you could actually get a pretty decent secondhand car at just a couple of thousands quid; while for the same amount of money in Malaysia, you would probably get an old junk car, let alone in Singapore where a few thousand quid can’t even get the paper (COE), which is why we tend to think a lot while purchasing a car in either of the countries.

To do it right, I devise a “do & don’t” list and the things to consider/  take note while purchasing a car.

First of all, you need to ask yourself a question: “Why do you need a car?”

The answer can be varied, but the answer of this question would most probably be the deciding factor of what you are going to buy. If you are ordinary person like me, the next deciding factor would definitely be the budget. Everyone has a budget on certain thing, be it a high one or low one. With the budget set, it will definitely filter out some options for you to choose from.

Useful tip 1: Try to control the monthly car installment to be less than 20% of your monthly income. If you are a car lover/ petrolhead like me, you can pay a little bit extra to get something that you want.

With all the options you have on hand, it’s now your turn to further filter out more by the look, feature & equipment, size & type, used or new, brand, performance, fuel consumption and many other considerations that you might think of. After second round of filtering, I believe you don’t have much option left. It’s time for a test drive.

Useful tip 2: Do not buy a car without even testing it. I know people do that all the time, because they have no idea what to be tested. They buy the car purely because it aesthetically attracts them. I feel sad for those people. I will scold you for doing it if those people are a close friend of mine.

You might ask: “What should I do during the test drive?”

This is a tricky one, but I will try my best to explain, so that you could have a fruitful test drive experience. Test drive doesn’t mean pure test driving. Of course, the very first thing that gets to experience all this when you arrive to dealer is your eyes, you have to literally see the car and feel the real thing, as what you have seen before might just be what’s on the pamphlet or internet. Be reminded, you have to see the car from different angles, as some cars don’t look good at certain angle. Once finished seeing it, you should touch it, feel it, sit in it, sit on every single seats to feel the comfort and the room you get out of every single seats, and then adjust the seat to your driving position, feel the steering, the overall built quality, touch the buttons that you could find (I’m sure there are plenty), and some other things you might have interest in.

What’s next? It’s the actual test drive. Some people test drive a car as though they are having a driving test. Well, they are not wrong, but what they have done is rather incomplete. A complete test drive session shall consist of slow, cruising and spirited drive. Why? You might ask. Different driving mode is for you to test different things out of the car.

You have to get started slow speed every time you go for a test drive to get familiar/ get a feel of the car. What you need to feel out of this first session is:

1. The pickup/ acceleration of the car from standstill or slow speed. A car with very good pickup is really what we need mostly for daily driving.
2. The brake must give you at least a decent stopping power. It’s better to try out when you are not travelling very fast yet.
3. Gear change, if it’s an auto transmission car. The smoothness of the gear change is very important as I believe no one would like to drive a jerky car. Despite that, the speed of gear change is quite important as well. The faster the gear change, the lesser power you lose; the lower rpm the gear shifts up, the better fuel consumption you might get. The gear ratio is another thing that we should look into, will discuss more in future. 
4. Feel the overall size of the car if that’s the size you are comfortable with.

Next, you need to get the car up to cruising speed. This is the speed that we normally do on the highway/ when there is no traffic jam. Below is what you need to feel for this session:

1. The engine rev count at cruising speed. Standard modern car should rev to about 2.5k rpm at the speed of 110kph. The reason why this is important is because the higher the rev count, the more cycles the engine is running, the more the engine prone to damage. and more petrol will be burned normally.
2. Cabin noise should be considerably quiet, so that you can have a chat or enjoy the stereo in the cabin.
3. Steering feel and handling- good cars should normally be stable, handle well and give you sufficient feedback from the steering, as this is the only channel you can possibly get feedback from the ground. Good handling & good steering feel give you a sense of security, which will then boost your confident while driving; while poor handling car is dangerous, it might get you kill anytime. Avoid them anytime…

Lastly, it’s time for some spirited driving. The spirited driving here doesn’t mean hitting top speed or anything. I personally don’t recommend anyone to do that. Spirited drive, to me, means drive the car as fast as it possibly can without having any sense of dangerous. The sense of dangerous here means whether you’re in control even though you are travelling at very high speed (says, 150kph-180kph).  Of course, different cars give you different feel, hence you have to feel it yourself. Things to test out in this session:

1. Try to keep the engine rev as high as you can, best if you manage to upshift right before it gets to red line. Why doing that? You might wonder. This is so called a “power band” test. Every engine has its very own characteristic. You most probably will get some information out of it while driving it spiritually. You would know at what rpm you will be getting most power and at what rpm the power will start to drop.
2. While you are doing spirited driving, one of so many things that a car enthusiast would care about is the exhaust note. Good exhaust note gives them more “mental” horsepower!
3. To test how fast the car can go and how it gets to very high speed.

Reminder: Don’t do anything silly while test driving car. Get familiarized with the car and get to know where is the safety limit of the car is utmost important before doing any high speed driving.

After seeing, feeling and test driving the car, it’s your call to judge whether the car is worth buying. No one can help you on that one as this decision would normally bog down to the first question I requested you to ask yourself.

Useful tip 3: Before you make any decision, if budget is an issue, it is your due diligent to check the running cost of the machine, in particular, the engine type and capacity (which has a close relationship with maintenance cost and road tax that you are paying every year), insurance per year, fuel consumption, tyre size, cost for regular oil change maintenance, maintenance interval, warranty duration (which gives you peace of mind over this duration) and many more that you could possibly think of. Buying secondhand car is a completely different story, it’s all about luck. Try to get as much maintenance history of the car as you possibly could from previous owner is one way to cut down the risk involved. Stay away if you have no fundamental knowledge about it or try to get a professional/ friends who know about it to do it for you. Find me if you will… 🙂

Getting a car that you love is very important, because car is a thing that will definitely be depreciated anyway (except for those classic or vintage). Get something that makes you feel happy to drive it every single day and never get bored with it!

Well, buying car is somewhat similar to falling for somebody, don’t you think?