Review: Whiteline Performance Suspension

Since I'm a big supporter of Aussie made automotive products, I've decided to write a couple of short reviews on a few of them for the benefit of the Malaysian motoring public. Besides Whiteline, theres Haltech for your electronic engine management needs, Disc Brakes Australia (DBA) for rotors and Turbosmart for wastegates. The Aussies make pretty decent stuff and I'm using all those brands in my cars.

As some of you might have noticed, I am currently using Whiteline Performance Suspension bushes and sway bars on my GT-R.

I actually started using Whiteline on my cars since my student / working days in Melbourne, Australia. Great people to deal with over the phone and easy pick up at your friendly neighbourhood Pedders Suspension shop (they have a tie up with Whiteline). Pedders is a chain of suspension tuning shops which can be found in many Australian towns and major cities.

Anyway for everyone's knowledge, Whiteline suspension suspension products are actually manufactured in South Korea but design and testing is done at their facility in Somersby, New South Wales (near Sydney). Whiteline recently had their swaybars TÜV SÜD certified, so that they could be sold in the EU. They are pretty much up there in terms of quality seeing as European standards are quite stringent when it comes to automotive parts.

As with most automotive parts, a company's product is as good as how well it does in motorsport events. Whiteline parts are used in major events such as the recent World Time Attack Challenge (WTAC) that was held in Australia. A Whiteline equipped R35 GT-R took the number one spot in the Open Class category and several cars in the Pro Class (like Mercury Motorsports' R35) used Whiteline swaybars. Whiteline parts have also found their way into the rallying scene. WORKS Motorsport's Mitsubishi RalliArt SST participates regularly in Rally America, The Oregon Trail. Whiteline has been supporting the WORKS car with adjustable sway bars, alignment products, polyurethane bushings and aluminium bushings.

I'll leave with you some pictures of Whiteline's NSW facility. If you're looking to improve the handling of your car or wanting to refresh tired suspension parts, check Whiteline out as they cater to a wide range of makes and models, from Subarus to Volkswagens.

http://www.whiteline.com.au/ 

Heres one of their sway bar stress testing machines:

Sway Bar Blanks being fashioned on site for testing purposes:

This is their stockpile of swaybars at Whiteline warehouse / HQ in NSW:

S13 Update: Engine Rebuild

With the R33 GT-R nearing where I want it to be in terms of performance and appearance, I've decided to focus my attention on the S13 Coupe.

As such, the car is currently underdoing an engine rebuild. It will be sporting a new turbo, forged pistons, intercooler and a whole lot of other performance parts. I am targeting for the rebuilt engine to make 380whp to 400whp. I'm looking for useable power and not large hp numbers, seeing as this car is meant for the track. I might upgrade to a Garrett GT30 in the future (for top-end power) but I first need to familiarise myself with the car and its handling characteristics.

To this end, the following parts have been requisitioned:

• Garrett GT2871R Ball Bearing Turbo
• Tomei Cam 270 Procam
• Tomei Valve Spring
• Tomei Cam Gear
• Tomei Rocker Arm Stopper
• Trust Type R Intercooler (GT-R spec)
• Titan Retainer
• Supertech 86.5 Forged Piston Set
• Cometic Metal Head Gasket
• OEM Rebuild Gasket Kit for SR20DET
• Turbosmart Ultra-Gate38
• Jun Intake Manifold
• Custom Banana Exhaust Manifold
• Custom Exhaust System

Some of the parts have arrived while others will be brought in according to when they are needed (like the turbo for example). From time to time, I will be posting up reviews on some of the rebuild parts.

At this moment in time, my S13 has had it's engine bay resprayed and the car is currently being fully rewired. The reason for this is that the rebuilt engine will be controlled by a Haltech Platinum Sport 1000 Engine Management System (EMS). The rewiring is also for peace of mind.

Stay tuned for future S13 Updates!

The Tomei parts have already arrived

The SR20 taken out and the engine bay being prepped for painting

My S13's engine bay has been repainted white! :)

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.

R33 GT-R Update: Nismo Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arm and Cusco Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods

I actually installed these some time back but haven't had time to sit down and blog about them.

As some of you might well know, the GT-R is a 14 year old car and a lot of things get worn out as the years roll by. Hence, its imperative to refresh certain areas of the car, like the suspension, as it might pose a hazard to the driver and other road users. Its also a pain to drive around with a worn bushing or a less than functioning rear arm, as the car's ride tends to suffer as a result. More importantly, the GT-R's handling is much improved when newer and better suspension parts have made their way onto it's chassis.

Note the condition of the 14 year old Nissan factory rear lower a-arm - worn out!

This I can attest to after experiencing the before and after effects of something as simple as installing aftermarket adjustable tension rods. Its like night and day - suddenly you have the confidence to take corners at high speed and the car feels so much more controllable. The turn-in motion is also greatly improved and the car feels flatter as it pivots to where you want it to go. The rear also benefits from the strengthened a-arm plate as it's less affected by road irregularities and feels more planted when the car accelerates. 

All of this is multiplied in terms of driving pleasure as you get a sense of rightness about the car's condition and overall driveability. As I have said in previous posts, once you install one aftermarket suspension part, you'll be hooked and will have to the urge to change everything as a result of the positive effect they will have on your car.

The nice and shiny (and adjustable) Cusco pillow ball tension rod

The Nismo rear lower a-arm set looks right at home in the passenger side rear tyre well of my GT-R! :)

And so till the next suspension upgrade, I'll leave you with RHD Japan's description of the recently installed parts:

"The NISMO Rear Lower A-Arm Set - Strengthened R33 is part of the NISMO Suspension Link Series and were created by NISMO to provide true suspension performance for Nissan drivers. Included are the strengthened bushings to provide better feedback through cornering to make the vehicle more predictable. These are for true suspension performance, and are recommended to anyone using sport suspension and tires. The Nismo Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arms are a great way to refresh your vehicle`s suspension components by removing the aged arms that came stock from the factory. All units come in the Nismo silver color. These are stronger than the standard Nismo units because of an added plate on the underside to provide more strength against pressure and stress". - RHD Japan

"The CUSCO Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods Nissan stop the movement and flex that change the geometry on the front suspension under hard braking and cornering and drifting. These Cusco Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods help with stability and predictability when drifting or racing the car hard. They also improving initial turn-in response. They are designed to work with stock suspension or nearly every aftermarket system available". - RHD Japan

Worth Watching: World's Greatest Drag Race!

With an empty airstrip and eleven of the best drivers cars in the world, Motortrend puts on the world's greatest drag race. 

Read the entire 2011 Best Drivers Car story here:
http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/1109_2011_motor_trend_best_drivers_car/

Worth Watching: Nissan HR31 GTS-R

"A lot of people don't understand. I don't have expensive hobbies... I don't go out and buy expensive shoes or clothes or anything like that. My hobby is my Skyline" - Ash Cosgriff

Couldn't have put it better myself. Good on ya mate.


Ash and Mick talk Skylines - HR31 GTS-R from Daniel De Silva 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: Awesome Threesome Part 1

Good news folks. 

Awesomepowered.com have finally released their pictures of the photoshoot that my S13 Coupe was involved in. This is the first part of the S13 special - the second part will contain the video footage that we caught last weekend. 

So click on the link below and checkout the awesome pics!

http://awesomepowered.com/2011/09/silvia-feature-awesome-threesome-part-1/

In the meantime, here are some of the pictures they took of my coupe:

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.