Ajustment Period part II

The following day:

Josh, Regie, Fred and I was excited to time the ignition of my car. Karl, our new classmate decided to hang out with us. Regie also fixed his blinker because the driver side failed to light up when he tried to check his car alarm.
After fixing it, we fixed the timing of my car asking our prof, who happened to be just pulling out from the driveway, the right amount. He said 10 deg before top dead center. And so we set it to 10. After adjusting and checking the idle rpm with aircon, Regie wanted to give it a couple of sprint to check. We all decided to tag along with me riding shot gun on the passenger side. He gave it a go on the stretch of Chino Roces to Magallanes underpass. Whoa, I never thought my car could go that fast. Karl even shouted, “Bat parang mamamatay na tayo?!” Regie, a regular racer and a co- owner of a performance shop in Bicutan was pleased with the way my car ran. He maximized all the forward gears and powershifted only on the redline. My car is more than ok for a daily driver, he said. I should compliment my k&n intake with a freeflowing muffler to really maximize the power, he added. My plan of having my car turbocharged before this year ends will go as planned. But between that time and now, I'll be more contended with my almost stock car. The tuning made my car better. In terms of power and fuel efficiency, my car drove like it juts got out of the showroom.

Adjustment Period

8:10- After the class in Powertrain and Chassis, we went outside the school for the usual cigarette break. Josh, Regie and I decided to finally push through with our plan of adjusting the tappets of my car. This is to finally put an end to the annoying knocking sound in the 1,500 up to 3,500 RPM.

8:15- The three of us plus Fred, the funny guy who works in Chevrolet, decided to help along with us. We started getting the necessary tools from our won car's trunks.

8:20- My girlfriend arrives in the school's garage with snacks and drinks in tow. I'm so fortunate to such have a really pretty, hot, ever supportive and thoughtful girlfriend.

8:25- We started working with the tappets adjustment. Our professor dropped by to check us out.

9:30- We are working on the last set. The second cylinder. Because we decided to adjust the tappets according to the firing order. As in any other 4 cylinder cars, the firing sequence is 1-3-4-2. Unfortunately, Fred mistakenly adjusted the adjacent screw, the third, and not the second. So after working on the last, We decided to start the car. My girlfriend was so excited. But to everybody's dismay, the engine bay sounded like there's someone using the typewriter underneath the hood.

9:32- Yosi break again.

9:35- We started working on it again. This time deciding to align top dead center using two full cycles only. We all forgot the pairs the can be worked on during the first rotation. My good buddy Regie wasted no time in calling up none other than Bong of H3- a very popular tuning shop located in Antipolo. He said over the phone that on the first rotation, intakes 1 & 2 and exhausts 1 & 3 can be adjusted. The remaining tappets intakes 4 &3 and exhausts 4 & 2 can be adjusted after the second rotation.

9:40- My girlfriend tried to sleep at the backseat of my car.

10:00- She woke up because she can't stand the mosquitoes feasting on her blood.
10: 30- We finished adjusting the tappets and placed back the valve cover. I started the car and alas! The car purred like a contented cat. My girlfriend got so excited that she forgot she's grumpy.

10:40- We all left the school tired but nonetheless satisfied. The blood (thanks to the ginormous mosquitoes) , sweat and tears (well, almost) because of the costly mistake made by Fred were all forgotten and made it all worthwhile.

Josh said he'll bring his timing light tomorrow to complete the tuning.

Defender '69

My classmate decided to bring his other Rover Defender to school today. After three years in the shop for repair and restoration, the classic off- roader has finally seen the streets of Makati. Here's a photo of my classmates checking out heart of the car. Pardon the quality of the pic, I only used my phone in taking the shot.

Childhood Memory

Magnolia Ice Cream Parlor. This joint is special because it brings me back to the time when things are just simple and the roads are very much less congested. During our elementary days in Bene, when our parents gets the chance to leave work earlier, they would fetch us up and treat us for a movie in ATC. Alabang Town Center was known as Alabang Twin Cinema then. After the usual family oriented -flick from the spouses Nestor de Villa and Nida Blanca, or TVJ and Aiza, we would have fun recounting the highlights of the movie over spaghetti, burger, and desserts such as Ernie and Bert and milkshakes in Magnolia Ice Cream Parlor, located at the basement of ATC. Unfortunately, as Ayala Malls started to develop the area, the ice cream parlor closed shop.
So when I discovered that they opened a branch across Mall of Asia in Pasay near Hooters, I decided to check the place out and relive the memories. Sadly though, the place dissapointed me. The burger and spaghetti is just not the same as they used to be. Well, I guess I just have to come to terms that indeed, you just can't bring the past back.

Porsche Cayenne's Heart

Porsche Cayenne's v8 engine in the Porsche Training Room. After our lecture, I decided to check the engine out.

Street Specs

I regularly visit this shop along Banawe every Sunday for my car's usual car wash. I chose this shop over others because they use the line of detailing products that I myself use, Mothers. This car nut's haven is relatively new and owned by a couple of car enthusiasts. What is interesting about this place is that the owners are fans of different car makes. Two of them worships Hondas, One is a solid Toyota fan and the last one swears that Nissan is the best. While waiting for my car to be totally cleaned inside out, I told them our plan of having it turbocharged. To really convince us (me and my good friend), one of the owners even suggested that we ride shotgun on his turbocharged ek9 to get a feel of what an FI'd civic would be like.
His current set up puts out 270 horses at the wheels. My plan is to just reach the 200whp. For the first run, he set the boost controller to low. I was a speechless. But on our 2nd run, he set the thing up to high boost. Damn, me and my friend was just ecstatic and all we can do is say expletives at a rate of 80 curses per minute. It is unfortunate that we weren't able to catch it on video. Anyway, thanks to the great guys over at Street Specs in Banawe. It won't be long until I bring my car over to your shop again. Not for the usual car wash, but to have a kuhol system installed.

The car on the pic is the twin of the type r we tested. This one puts out a staggering 500whp.

Gas

Slowly, the fuel prices continue to rise as the weeks pass by. Why is this so? I hope it doesn't go back to the 60/ liter rate. As I have personally observed, the best place to have your car filled up is at the Macapagal Blvd. Shell, Jetti and Petron there sell their fuel at usually 2 lower than usual price per liter in the metro. It's a good thing that I frequent the area for food and malling and the occasional tambay for watching 'street tuning'. So when you get the chance to be near the area, it is a good decision to drop by your favorite gas station and say, “full tank na nyo!”

Kuryente

The auto electrical module started with just me, Roland and Regie. Soon after, Joshua and two new classmates joined us in the Toyota training room. Our teacher handed out to us Toyota manuals and an electrical board that looks like this. We were also given a box that seemed like the ones used by high rollers when carrying money to the casino. Or drug dealers when exchanging goods. Anyway, the brief case was a container for all the parts of an electrical circuit.
Here's an outline of what the teacher discussed for the night:

Here's a short video when we created a series/ parallel circuit.

Lexus

On my way to school, along south superhighway, I chanced upon this truck loaded with Lexus vehicles. I guess the proposed plan of Lexus setting up a dealership in the country will finally push through. We've heard of such news that the said dealership will be open to the public last quarter of 08. Well, I guess its better late than never. Despite the global financial crisis, I'm glad that somehow investors still push through with their plans of doing business here in the country.
Here's a couple of the snapshots with the RX350 upskirt and GS460's ass showing.

Tune Up

It is important that diesel engines be regularly maintained in order to maximize the potential of the engine. It not only makes the engine more efficient, but it also helps the environment by minimizing the noxious fumes that come out of the usually stigmatized dirty vehicles that roam around the metro.
The most crucial component of the diesel engine that needs to be maintained and checked are the fuel pump, fuel nozzles and the compression of the cylinder.
Below is a simplified diagram of what a typical fuel pump of a diesel engine looks like:
Key components to watch out for are the timing of the fuel pump.
The injector nozzles should also be checked (please refer to your car's manual for the interval of the check up) The procedure is pretty and straight forward.
A simple device called compression tester is an important tool in tuning up a diesel engine. Depending on the recommend pressure on the cylinder (this varies according to vehicle make and model) The end of the device is placed at the nozzle of the cylinders, one at a time, and check whether or not the cylinder maintains the recommended pressure for the engine to combust properly and efficiently. Things to replace in order to address this issue: Piston Ring, Cylinder Gasket, or maybe even cylinder head. The parts to be replaced will vary depending on the results of both the wet and dry compression testing.
The condition of these three parts of the diesel engine will have an enormous effect on the performance of the engine.
In a nutshell, if your car emits a dirty black smoke, most probably, the cylinder compression is below the recommended pressure.
However, if the emission is whitish smoke, most probably, the timing of the fuel pump is off. A simple tuning of the fuel pump will do. While you're at it, it would be a good decision to also check the compression of the injector nozzles. A simple compression testing will make a lot of difference. Believe me, after we have adjusted the timing of the fuel pump and carefully calibrating the fuel nozzles, the engine assigned to us was emitting a much better and more environment friendly smoke.

Here's a photo of my classmates cleaning the fuel pump and calibrating it afterwards.

Diesel Power

Second day of class and I was amused on how quickly we were able to get our hands on an actual engine to work on. We were instructed to borrow equipment from the tool shop.
We were divided into two groups.
We get to open an old 6 cylinder diesel engine from Isuzu. The other group went on to work with an inline 6 engine from Nissan. Carefully we get to take out all the peripherals attached to the engine like fuel filter, oil filter, fuel pump, fuel injectors, flywheel and all the components inside the cylinder and block like pistons, connecting rods, crankshaft and cams. It took us the whole period just to disassemble the whole engine and identify the parts.
I know I sound really boring and it would be more helpful if my post was accompanied by some pictures. Next time I have the time, I will definitely post some pictures.
One thing I learned from that day's session is that you have to be familiar with all the components of the engine. I will present a basic diagram of the basic components of a diesel engine.

Here's the engine we worked on. (note the size relative to the guy in the background.)

All New 2009 Integra Type R

First Day of Class

I'm supposed to enroll in the Gasoline Engine Basic Module since my car runs on gasoline. Unfortunately, the class was already filled up and I have to settle for the Diesel Engine Class. The class only have a limited students at a time to ensure that everyone gets to really focus during the hands- on exercises.
Two of my classmates also came from UP and one of which shares a common friend with me, a brod of mine in CAS.
Five of my classmates were old timers, meaning they have taken modules before and there were only two of us newbies in the class.
All of us share the same passion. To learn more about cars. The symbol for freedom and adventure.

Two Rules:
1.Be safe. You must wear shoes and pants all the time.
2.Don’t be a sissy. You must not be afraid to get down and dirty.

That’s pretty much it.

First Day of Class.
We had a very brief discussion on how Diesel engines came about. Such creation was conceived by the German engineer Dr. Rudolph Diesel. (No, he’s not in any way related to Hollywood star Vin Diesel.) Our teacher differentiated the Diesel engine from the other type of internal combustion engine, the gasoline engine.
In theory, both engines utilize air and fuel in order to produce combustion. However, such transformation from chemical to mechanical energy are done differently. Gasoline engines use spark plugs in order to ignite the fuel and air inside the cylinder. Diesel engines on the other hand only utilizes compressed ( and in the process hot) air to mix with the finely sprayed diesel fuel. Such compression is sufficient for the mechanical components to move.

Break- in

Iskolar ng bayan’- that’s me when I was in college. From my first course I took I have learned the economy of under- developed countries and when it got to the point that the faculty is actually pushing us towards being the future insurgents, I shifted to political science. There i was able to grasp the whys and hows of how our government work, on how it came to be, and all the nagging questions that come into my mind whenever I have questions about the government. were answered. After graduating, I immediately entered law school. My fascination on the political system and most particularly on the judicial department has made me do so. I have endured three years before I finally called it quits. Thereafter, i entered several business ventures with my law school calssmates who’s equally interested in earning while studying. I was proud of how I can easily earn by tapping the right people at the right time. After awhile, I decided to pay back the university responsible for my education and employed myself there. With my legal background, I was responsible for the Memoranda of Agreement of the office with various agencies. Matter of fact, I also drafted the Proposed bill for the nationalization of the services being offered by our office. I have always been fascinated with how things work especially in this day and age where internet and information technology is all the rage. It was more than a privilege on my part to be learning from the great linux demigod eric pareja. It was a great year learning simple networking stuff and some basic HTML lessons but inside me dwells a restless soul, eager to go after what I really want in the first place.
Now, I am enrolled in the top automotive and technical school in the country. I just finished my first module and I intend to finish all of them this year.
The first time I stepped into the machine shop of the school, with all those tools and the scent of oil, the sound of engine purring, i knew exactly where i belong.
You see, I have two siblings. My older brother is now a doctor- radiologist, happily married with a colleague. And my younger sister is also taking up medicine, she’s about to graduate this coming March. They talk about pretty much the same stuff, and know the same people because they’re both member of the same medical fraternity and sorority.
They’re both happy and contented in the field they are currently in, because it’s their dream even when we were kids.
It’s now my turn to go after what i really want. And that is fixing cars and understanding all the minute details that make or break a car’s symphonic movement.
I know there are lots of people out there who’s into automotive stuff and how it works. This blog will be my simple way of sharing what I have learned in school and at the same time an outlet for me to rant or rave anything motoring related. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride..