Proton Wira upgrade - progress update June 2016

I had made several plans but as they say, the best of plans of mice and men often go awry.

First of all, there was an issue with my hand brake. It was getting loose and so I went to my nearby Proton service centre, Senaxis Sdn Bhd and got it fixed. They changed a few things including the brake pump (RM79.50) and brake fluid (RM10.60)as well - I was not sure why they needed to do that. They also replaced a faulty brake lights (RM21.20). All together it cost me RM111.30 including GST.

Anyway, I later discovered that the brake was still not working and decided to go to my favourite mechanic - Paul who owns Pusat Perkhidmatan Kereta Pelangi  at Sunway Damansara Technology Park. He fixed the brake in a couple of minutes and I also changed the radiator cap.

While I was there, I talked to Paul about the terrible vibrations when ever the car as at the traffic lights or idling anywhere. According to him I needed to change the engine mounting. So I decided to leave the car and get it done.

When I picked it up two days later, the car was so quiet it felt just like a new car. The damage was RM461. This includes RM285 for the mounting set and RM150 for  labour. Bloody GST was RM26.10.

I then got the power window fixed as well - one issue that has plagued Proton cars for a long time.

Also realised that the two rear tyres were nearly bald and replaced them at a nearby tyre shop - Wah Hoe Tyre services. 2 Continental tyres + balancing and alignment cost me a total of RM339.20. Was a bit annoyed as they changed me more because I used my credit card. Apparently if you  pay cash, I can get it about 10% cheaper. I wish they had told me earlier.

In total I have spent a total of around RM1000 on my car alone, so all the upgrades I had planned have to be pushed forward to the next month,

Proton Wira upgrade - progress update May 2016

A number of guys have been asking me how my Proton Wira upgrade is getting along and my answer is sadly, "Not much".

Since my last update: Proton Wira modifications under RM1K project: Part 2
I have made very few upgrades to my Dad's old Proton Wira which has in fact become my car - to drive to Work, fetch the kids from school, etc. The main reason behind the delay is probably because of my stubborn insistence on doing most of the work myself - DIY, and various other reasons - too busy with work and the kids, lack of a proper garage at home to work in, lack of tools, blah blah but I realise most of them are excuses I make to myself.

The thing is that I have a conflict in my head/ heart going on deciding whether it is worth it to spend so much money on an old car when I could just put it down for installment on a brand new car which comes with no headaches for at least 3 years. Maybe it had to do with the numerous people telling me to get a new car, including my parents and even my daughter.

There were a few incidents as well - the car air conditioning started having problems and then I noticed engine heating up. Later I found out that the fan was not working and had to get it changed. Then a lady reversed her car onto mine - fortunately the damage was not that bad and I it took just half a day to get the bump repaired and repainted at the paint shop near my house. Finally, the dreaded power window failure happened. Now the right hand window can't go up or down. Just made me realise how Proton's lack of quality control, especially with regards to the power window, totally destroyed customer loyalty and lead to the troubles it is currently facing now. However, the fact that I have no debts makes me really reluctant to get a new car - I will be paying off debts to the banks for at least 6 years.

If I do eventually buy a car, it will be paid for in cash and I plan to buy a Mercedes A class, or maybe a BMW 1 series. I prefer a small zippy car. However, it is definitely going to take some time to accumulate the amount of money needed and who knows, by then we would all probably be using driverless cars by then.

 I did have some work done.

 1. I changed the emblem in the front from the green - golden one to the new silver-black one. I got it cheap at Brothers. Definitely looks better.

 2. I also changed the old worn out gear stick cover to new ones. Bought the new cover online on Lelong.com.my. Installation was fairly easy.

 3. I then had my steering wheel changed as well to a Fake Momo from Brothers. I have no idea how they can get away with selling fake items. Fitting it was also a pain as their workers (new staff) took ages to fit it on my car.

I hate fake stuff and ended up regretting buying the steering almost immediately. I tried removing the Momo logo sticker on the middle of the steering wheel and it now looks terrible. This is something I have got to change soon to a genuine Momo steering or maybe a Nardi, but spending about RM 500+ on a brand new steering wheel is something not on top of my priorities right now.

4. One thing I knew I could do myself quite fast were the pedals. So I bought Ralliart pedals from the Maxaudio site and installed them myself. The easy part were the clutch and brake pedals. However, to install the accelerator pedals, I found out that I would have to drill holes in them. In the end I ended up super-gluing them on - using super strong Araldite glue.

5. Finally I had Ultra Racing strut bar installed in the front. I thought I would do myself but I could not shift the crews even a few mm and finally had to go to my favorite garage where Paul and his team installed. The car handing dos feel better with less body roll after the installation but I may be imagining it.

I have a list of things I plan to do on my car, so wait for my next update.

Proton Wira modifications under RM1K project: Part 1

A couple of months back I wrote about "Rejuvenating an old car - repairs on a Proton Wira 1.3 M". Well, I was having a chat with some of my friends, discussing the pros and cons of repairing and modifying old cars over buying new ones.

I feel that Malaysians in general take good care of their cars but once they pass a certain number of years, apart from irregular service, they kind of stop replacing worn out parts, there are dents and scratches everywhere, rust in various parts are left untreated, their headlight turn yellow with age, the bumpers are nearly falling off and the you tend to hit the speed bumps whenever you go over them as the shock absorbers are way past their due date.

The dilemma facing a lot of owners of old cars is that you do not want to repair/ replace the parts as "it is an old car" and you are thinking of upgrading to a newer car. But you continue driving the same car until one day, the bumper falls off or worse, breaks down in the middle of the highway. A friend was telling us that it would cost thousands to repair/replace everything in his old car which set me thinking: How much modifications/ improvements can you do on your car with just RM1000?

I was lucky I had the ideal car for this project - my dad's old Proton Wira Aeroback. Based on the Mitsubishi Lancer platform, this car is a favourite among car modification enthusiasts in Malaysia, mainly because of the wide range of accessories and aftermarket parts available and of course the affordability.

The car is still running beautifully without any major issues. As mentioned in my previous post, the timing belt had been changed last year and I recently had the shock absorbers and a few other parts changed. However, it was clear that the car had seen better days. The paint is pealing off on the rear bumper, the Proton logo in the front has also fallen off.

Of course I have to clarify that all the mods I plan to do are mostly remedial and/or aesthetic. I do not plan to do anything related to performance enhancement or the engine. I also plan to do most of the work myself whenever I can to reduce the cost and keep under the budget.

First of all, I had to think about all the parts which were essential. So I went about replacing the old wipers. I bought Genuine Bosch (BE17+BE20) Proton Wira ECO Wiper Blades for RM54 on Lazada. This is one of the things that we can do ourselves and do not need to go to a workshop for. This is not my first time and I had the new wipers on in a couple of minutes.

Next I sent the car off to painting specialist M. Spray Work in Taman Mayang Jaya and got the rear bumper painted. The big ugly patch on the bumper was really lowering the image of the car. That cost me RM200, which took a big chunk out of my small budget. However, Mr. Tan did a really good job and the bumper looks as good as new.

Before

After

Sometime back I had read an article on car soundproofing kits which helped to reduce vibrations and noise in the car. After a bit of searching online, I found a seller -Fsmotoersport on Lelong.com.my, selling soundproofing kits for Proton Wira cars. It cost me RM40 for the custom made bonnet soundproofing kit and it finally arrived day before yesterday. The pieces were custom cut to fit the spaces on the car bonnet and the experience was like doing a jigsaw puzzle as I had to figure out which piece went where. There was no need to use glue as the pieces were self adhesive with easy peel away backing and it was all done in less than half an hour. I was quite unsure whether it would work but was quite happy after driving around our neighbourhood. There is a noticeable reduction in the engine noise.

before

After

Of course, I also had to get a new emblem/logo to go on the front grill. The font looks quite plain without the logo. I initially thought of replacing it with the original "old" Proton logo - the one with a star and crescent moon but then while going through Lelong.com.my, found someone selling the new Proton Tiger logo/ emblem. Though it is meant for the Proton Iswara, I think it will fit perfectly on the Wira as well. It cost me RM19.90 and I am waiting for it to arrive.

All together I have now used a total of RM313.90 which leaves me with RM686.10 for other improvements.

What should I do next?

Read: Proton Wira modifications under RM1K project: Part 2