You Know When...

... your Skyline is NOT that special when a pillion of a motorbike or the passengers in a car passes you by, slows down, looks at your bumper, lets out a big sigh, and speeds away because you don't have a big ass intercooler.

I guess that's why they call it intercooler... because it's cool.

Stain 4 (What Stain?)

I picked up my seat today right after work. Got the car washed and the popcorn vacuumed.

As you can see from the picture below, the passenger seat is now minus the stain. Of course it's cleaner and smells nice too. In comparison, the driver's seat now looks absolutely horrendous, but mind you that's not pee stain. That's just water stain. Apparently, my daughter wanted to grow fungus there. I will send it for a wash soon. Maybe after CNY.

Anyway, I was half expecting the seat to come back looking brand spanking new. It did not. It's just... clean. I doubt that there's anyway to bring back that new fabric luster (if you can call it that). This, actually, strengthens my resolve to find a second hand bucket seats and wrap it with S&M leather.

I guess this series ain't over yet. ;)

I really need to get another 'family' car.

Stain 3

I didn't think this 'Stain' series would go on, but it seems to take a life of its own.

As you already know, my mini-me relieved herself on the passenger seat recently, causing discomfiture to my wife. Of course the piss mark didn't exactly portray good hygiene either.

So, in the interest of not letting my car be a breeding ground for germs, we sent the seat for a much needed disinfectant treatment at one of the auto spa in Sunway. It should be done in one day, but since it was raining when I dropped it off, I just have to come back some other time. Cool thing about that is, I get instant weight reduction, thus improving on my power to weight ratio!!! Hahahahaha....

... anyways, I'll have to clean the rest some other day, probably next weekend. But till then, here are some pics from today.

Passenger seat MIA.

Once they took off the seat, guess what we found: an umbrella, a pair of shoes, and some pop corns. ;)

p/s: What do you guys think of the GTT emblem? Cool to have or not?

Caliper Color

Folks, I need your opinion. I want to respray my calipers, but I'm undecided as to which combo is the best. Below are some examples. You may also suggest what other colors that you think might look good on the car.

Thanks!!!

p/s: I hope you can see the color difference. I don't have any better pics. Click to enlarge.

Red caliper with black letters.

Gold caliper with red letters.

Red caliper with white letters.

Blue caliper with white letters.

Black caliper with red letters.

Stain 2

Something funny happened after I posted the article about my sullied seats courtesy of my youngest diaper wetter. After looking at the Picasso inspired artwork, my wife told me to wash the seats. Being the uber practical man, I explained to her that there would be no point in washing the seats because the kids will shit, piss, and spill on them until they learn bladder control and improve their motor skills.

Buuutttt... being the supreme opportunist and ever understanding husband, I suggested that we buy new leathered bucket seats. To my surprise, she said OK. What?!

The standard plain pee-stained semi bucket Skyline seats.

So, off we went to Sunway to scout for seats. Actually, what I had in mind was - and don't judge me for this - the Taiwan made SCUSE seats (told you not to judge me!). Those were the only ones I've seen already wrapped in leather. The Recaros, Brides, and Sparcos were mostly donned in fabric.

Arriving at Kakimotor (I hope I got the spelling right), we scanned the seats on display. Full bucket seats were definitely out of the question, mainly because... I just can't fit in one. It has to be the reclinable ones suited for my 2-door engineering masterpiece.

Seeing my over-nourished plus size, the salesman recommended the black SR4 Recaro with the grey center gradient that had the word Recaro printed on every line. I test sat on the seat and my butt gave it two cheeks clenched approval. It was a perfect fit. Even the price was not as obscene as I thought it would be - around RM5k a pair. But like I said before, the Recaro is fabric.

So, I told the salesman to bring down the SCUSE leather seat. On the looks department, I think the seat looks great - neat and elegant, black leather with red stitching. But once I sat down, it was a different story. First, it was a bit tight on the sides. Second, it didn't have enough padding to support my burgeoning buttocks. My ass was screaming for me to get off from it, which I duly obliged.

We left dejected. Since we were there in Sunway, I told my wife that why not we just go into few more shops just to see how many parts I can't buy (apparently a lot). The next store we went into had a pair of 2nd hand red Type R seats. They look OK, no tear whatsoever. Only the color was a little faded, but acceptable. The price - RM2k... for both!!! (Please tell me if this is not cheap).

Then I had an epiphany - why not get a decent 2nd hand seats and have it upholstered in leather! There are few advantages doing it this way:

1. 2nd hand seats are cheaper.
2. I can choose the material and color.
3. I can send the seats without having to leave the car overnight.

Excited by the revelation, my wife again said OK. Wow! All I needed to find out was how much does it cost to sew the cowhide on. I remembered that Leo had put up a post of the shop that did his interior, so I looked for that particular entry, found the number, and immediately placed the call.

When I told my wife the price (front seats, back seat, side panels), she said that's cheap! OK... again!!! If I had known that she would say OK to everything, I would have told my two princesses to pee all over the car, maybe then I can trade it for an R34 GTR!!! Hahahaha... :)

Anyway, all that's left is getting the funds to execute this brilliantly conceived plan. Who would have thought that pee stain could have such a significant mark, pun intended, on the course to pimp my ride. :)

p/s: I Photoshopped the picture above to get an idea on how the interior would look like with different color combo. Which one do you like?

Looks like the interior of the Civic Type R. What do you think? Nice?

I somehow prefer this one more. Again, what do you think?

Bucket Seat 2

Now this is what I call 'bucket' seat. :)

My daughter sleeping comfortably in the bucket seat.

Stain

I recently underwent a performance evaluation (PE) with my boss. One of the topic of discussion was my tardiness. What?! For someone who drives a 'fast' car, I have always been late to work, obviously unintentional. *wink*

I'm one of those people who prefers to work smart and not hard. I don't think you can have both because they would cancel each other out. If you're working hard, then you're not efficient enough. It's like walking up 16 floors, when you could have easily waited for the elevator.

One way to work smart is through delegation, as I recently found out. I embrace it, kiss and caress it, and I squeeze the delegation juice till the very last drop - it's that sweet and good. Therefore, I don't actually see a need to be at work early.

However, being the outstanding company man that I am, regardless of my alleged tardiness (totally relative), I am always trying to improve on my arrival time to appease the powers that be. I've tried driving like I was running away from a crime scene, but the traffic jams negate this valiant and noble effort.

More often than not, I would just wake up earlier than usual, but this 'solution' seems very wrong on so many levels. First of all, it requires me to sacrifice sleep - not just my sleep, but my wife's and my two kid's because they form the variables to my coming-to-work-early equation. I just think it's unfair... for the kids, of course!

Secondly, by going out early, I'm hitting the morning traffic. I end up spending more time on the road than if I left the house half an hour later. A static Skyline in a jam is not a happy Skyline.

Then there's Murphy's Law. Almost every single time that I made the effort to reach the office before my boss does, there would always be something unexpected, like what happened to me yesterday. For all intents and purposes, I was way ahead of schedule until the unpredictable happened.

One, after consuming her milk, my eldest decided to chuck it all out along with the scrambled eggs I made for her - a 3 second magical dairy fountain display courtesy of bowel discombobulation. Thank God, she made it to the toilet just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, the projectile vomit did not meet the minimum distance requirements, falling short by mere inches, thus soiling my daughter's pants. Thinking on my feet, I chose to work smart by 'Febreezing' the area in question, leaving no trace of the regurgitation smell.

Two, my youngest was asleep when I carried her to the car, gently propping her up against the inclined passenger seat. When I returned to the car after the puke incident, she had moored herself at the edge of the seat, face down, legs dangling, hands outstretched as if to anchor her from falling off. I thought she looked comfortable and cute, so I didn't disturb or move her.

Upon reaching the baby-sitter's house, I carefully flipped her over and carried her out. It was then that I noticed a stain mark on her pants. Curiosity got the best of me, so I put my finger on the area where my skin's dermis layer detected dampness. I looked down to the car seat and, to my horror, I discovered that my daughter had, in fact, marked her territory with her urine. The good thing was that the territory was not big, just a small patch on the grey on black Skyline semi bucket seat. Again, I 'Febreezed' the marked location to prevent the ammonia from asphyxiating me while I was driving.

I captured the evidence. Now, no one would want to seat in my car.

Both mishaps cost me enough time to make me late by 7 minutes. Unlike the stain on the seat, the stain of my boss' negative impression of me would not be easily taken off. In due time, I have to earn his trust, show him what working smart (coming in slightly late) and not hard (coming in early and lose sleep and petrol) can achieve. Hopefully, he will understand that tardiness is actually... underrated. :)

p/s: I was not paid by Febreeze to advertise their product, but if any representatives of Febreeze, here in this blog, wants to strike an advertising deal, please do drop me a note. I look forward to become your cyber ambassador.