Triple Threat: Awesome Threesome Part 3 (Video)

Its finally here!

The video footage from our S13 photoshoot and Bukit Tinggi drift run.

You'll be in for a surprise at the very end hahahaha! Be sure to watch it in full HD!

Kudos to FotografiaDeLyzard and his team of visual engineers!

Lastly, a big shout out to awesomepowered.com for organising and getting everyone involved in this great endeavour! 


The Awesome Threesome! from FotografiaDeLyzard on Vimeo.

Triple Threat: Awesome Threesome Part 2

Great news guys. The second instalment of the three part Silvia series is out! My S13 looks so good in these pictures.

So head on over to http://awesomepowered.com/2011/09/silvia-feature-awesome-threesome-part-2/ and enjoy the pics.

Heres a few that you might like :).

Triple Threat: S13 Coupe Video & Photoshoot

Last week, I decided to do something different to the usual Sunday drive up Ulu Yam.

Very last minute but it has been on the cards for awhile now - to organise a proper video and photoshoot of S13 Coupes, in and around Bukit Tinggi and Ulu Yam. The reason behind this endeavour was to help promote and provide maerial for two motoring websites which are owned by some friends of mine. They are http://awesomepowered.com and http://www.drift.com.my/v2.

The plan was simple, get three S13 Coupes owned by myself and two other friends to come along, accompanied by support / chaser cars. The convoy assembled early Sunday morning and the Coupes were joined by a Nissan Grand Livina and a Perodua Myvi. They made for ideal support cars seeing as both had wide rear opening doors, so as to allow photographers to film and take shots of the convoy.

Our first stop was Bukit Tinggi and the convoy made its way there via Karak Highway. This afforded us the opportunity to take some highway / wangan shots. For those not familiar with Bukit Tinggi, its a small town in the Bentong district of Pahang, Malaysia.

Upon reaching the foot of Bukit Tinggi, we had to stop and get the filming gear ready. Our arsenal consisted of a couple of DSLRs and ContourHD portable cameras.

We then proceeded up the hill, along it's many winding and twisty roads. This was my first time at Bukit Tinggi and now I realise why its such a popular destination for motoring enthusiasts. This is also where the Berjaya Hill Climb is held annually.

Since I was too busy driving at the time, I'll let the professionals wow you with their work, which will be released soon. They really did a good job in capturing our cars in motion. No mean feat as the red S13 was nearly always in sideways motion!

After burning rubber and leaving skidmarks all over Bukit Tinggi, we made our way back onto Karak Highway and headed up Genting Highlands. While on the highway, we took the opportunity to once again capture wangan style and line abreast shots of the S13s. We even managed to capture fly-by and tunnel run videos! Heres a sneak preview of the what to expect:

Upon reaching Gohtong Jaya, which is the midway point to the top of Genting Highlands, the team took a break and grabbed some much needed sustenance. One of the photographers had brought his Macbook along and this allowed us to view the footage that was captured earlier. Needless to say, we were quite pleased with the end result. With a bulk of the work already done, the last part of the shoot was to take place at the Gohtong Jaya helicopter pad. It looks down onto the valleys below and would make for a very touge-like setting - definitely a good place to end the day. It was blistering hot by then, as it was nearing 2 pm in the afternoon. This is how myself and most of the others got sunburned - something we only realised much later, well after the photoshoot.

I'll leave you with these shots but stayed tuned for future updates as the official photos are currently being processed by our team of photographers. I'm especially looking forward to the videos that were captured! Truly an awesome powered day.

Subaru Isle of Man TT Record Attempt - A must watch!

If you guys haven't watched this, you seriously have to. Especially the last bit where the driver, Mark Higgins (Isle of Mann native and multiple rally champion), talks through the "moment" at Brey Hill when he momentarily loses, and then regains, control of the WRX STI at more than 250 kph!

The in-car and out-car footages weren't sped up and the video comes complete with overhead helicopter shots. You can actually see the heli from the out-car video feed, as it flies ahead of the Subby, throughout the attempt. Lastly, watch it all in glorious 1080p HD. You won't regret it!
 


Subaru of America, Inc. has released a new YouTube video of the 2011 Subaru WRX STI setting an all-time course record for the historic Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The 5 minute 25 second video highlights in graphic detail the speed and drama surrounding rally driver Mark Higgins' lap that averaged 115.356 MPH. After the run, Higgins talks through the "moment" at Brey Hill when he momentarily loses, and then regains, control of the WRX STI at more than 150 MPH.

Driving a US specification 2011 Subaru WRX STI, Higgins achieved speeds of 162 MPH and a lapped time of 19 minutes 37 seconds over the 37-mile track, navigating more than 200 corners.

"This is one of the most daunting tracks I have ever driven, and the most terrifying," said Higgins, a Manx native. "We were only able to get two practice runs and on our second practice I had the biggest "moment" of my career. We had a passenger on the run and so coming into Bray Hill at more than 150 MPH, the extra weight compressed the suspension more than on previous runs and shifted the Subaru to the left and then right as I corrected--it was a real tank slapper. The whole thing went by so quickly that we never slowed below 110 MPH, and then we were back on the power. It was amazing and the helicopter shots really show just how hairy it really was."

The WRX STI was a production US spec car running a standard 305 HP turbocharged boxer engine. Some safety modifications were made. The Subaru was equipped with a Lifeline fire suppression system, Hockley Motorsports roll cage, motordrive competition seats, Mintex brake pads (but stock calipers and rotors), and a louder open exhaust to warn spectators of the on-coming car. The speed limiter was turned off to allow a higher maximum speed; off-the shelf Tien springs and dampers were added to accommodate the numerous high-speed jumps on the circuit, sending the WRX STI almost four feet off the ground. The car ran on street legal Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires.

Contemplating getting a GoPro HD HERO Wide camera

After watching a friend's recent attempt at recording a drive up the twisty roads of Ulu Yam, I've been intrigued with the idea of making a video myself. And so I've been researching on whats the best equipment available out there on the market for the filming of car events. These are the two contenders which are available for purchase in Malaysia:

  
Specification Comparison Chart (courtesy of http://www.helmetcamreview.com)

	ContourGPS HD 1080p	GoPro HD HERO Wide
Suggested Retail Price	RM1280	RM1299
Included mounts	Goggle and flat surface, extra stickem pad	Vented helmet, headband, 2 flat surface, 2 curved surface, adjustable pivot arm, WP housing* with add'l open "audio" back, 2 quick release mounts
Included cables	USB	USB, HDTV and RCA
Software	Online download available	No
Lens/Field Of View (FOV)	110 deg. on 1080p, WVGA 135 deg. on 960p & 720p	127 deg. on 1080p 170 deg. on 960 & 720p
Adjustable camera settings	via software: Time, 4 video quality, audio gain, bit rate, contrast, exposure, sharpness, spot/center/avg. metering	via camera menu: video settings exposure metering
Video settings	1080p@30fps 960p "full frame"@30fps 720p@30 or 60fps WVGA (848x480 @60fps)	1080p@30fps 960p "full frame"@30fps 720p@30 or 60fps
File Type/codec	QuickTime .MOV/H.264	MP4/H.264
Battery / included	rechargeable lithium - yes	rechargeable lithium - yes
Battery run time	3 hrs (as per Mfg.)	2.5 hours (as per Mfg.)
Internal memory	No	No
Memory Storage	MicroSD up to 16GB	SD up to 32GB
Memory included	Yes - 2GB	No
Still photos?	No	Yes - 5 mp, several modes
Digital zoom?	No	No
Remote or LANC	No	No
weight w/battery	4.4oz	6.3oz in wp case*, 3.5oz without
Size L x W x H	3.75" x 1.27" x 2.15"	1.6" x 2.77" x 2.5" (in case)
Weather resistance	"water resistant" Not WP without WP housing - NOT included	Yes, only with WP housing* (included)
Other notes:	GPS tracking, Rotatable lens, dual laser sighting system Online video hosting/posting	*housing must be used for mounting of camera

Judging from the reviews and user feedback from numerous sites on the internet, boths products have their strengths and weaknesses. In my case however, I'm looking for a camera that provides high quality footage and ease of editing (the GoPro camera excels in these two areas). Mounting and ease of use are secondary since the camera will mostly be mounted inside the car (the Countour camera is easy to deploy and is less of a hassle to mount). So whats the verdict? 

Have a look at this video comparison between the two cameras and I'm sure you'll come to the same conclusion that I arrived at:



Oh and check out this awesome GoPro video of a ProSports car race between Porsches and Jaguars as they battle it out at Laguna Seca.

Update (pictures taken after the fire): R35 GT-R catches on fire after colliding with a Volkswagen MK6 Golf GTI

Once again, for the whole story as well as the video of the crash, head on over to to this blog entry. For theories behind the subsequent crash and fire, you would want to read the previous update before this one.

Now onto the pictures! These were taken after the fire had died down, showing the burned hulk of the R35 GT-R and whatever else that survived the inferno.