Spent almost 12 hours today beefing up the my ride for CNY holidays. This year more was spent on the ride itself for CNY than myself.
Early morning were spent at BA Segambut to get the lower joint assembly and swivel/universal joint to solve the steering freeplay and clunking issue. Also bought the left inner fender liner/wheel arch cover aka daun pisang as old one was broken as ter-hit stray road objects on the way to Bukit Putus last week. Went to Albert's place to get the parts replaced.
Albert detected some oil leaking off the flywheel. Decided to hold off the repair until after CNY.
Went straight to TITAN which is located 2 blocks away. Well, many may ask, why TITAN?
Below are the candidates that were shortlisted during my selection of absorbers:
- Bilstein B4 (RM1k)
- Bilstein B6 (RM2.1k)
- Bilstein B8 (RM2.6k)
- Koni Yellow Sports (RM2.6k)
- TITAN (RM2.6k)
TITAN was chosen as it was the most cost-effective (mono-tube which meant it should outlast the twin-tubes, serviceable at only RM100 per stick with 2 years warranty and 2 free tuning service). Customisation is another key feature which trumps the rest. The ability to customise the damping rate meant that the shocks can be customised in every way possible, according to the driver's preference.
First requirement given to Uncle Richard is the shocks must not be too hard/harsh. Criterias required are firm and composed but yet comfortable. Just like the M-tech II absorbers. Uncle Richard has advised to re-use the original springs to ensure shocks are well balanced.
Removals of the old shocks is a breeze, took less than 15 minutes for all four. It's the customisation part which took the longest. Total time spent were 5 hours in total inclusive of installation.
No photos were taken during the installation as was rushing to BA Segambut and then SS2 to exchange the wheel arch cover as the part is incorrect. Despite the M-tech kits, car is still using the normal air ducts and wheel arch with P/N 51718193811.
Here's a short review (pardon me for my noob-ness in car handling jargons):
- Car felt more planted than before.
- Steering input is precise and sharp. Car felt more in control.
- Braking performance improved. Should be contributed to less nose-dive since shocks are harder than the old Boge.
- Absorbers are firm, composed but yet not crashy nor harsh. Felt similar or better than the Bilstein B6, which was tested some time ago on anaksarawak's ride.
- Going through potholes, bumps and uneven surfaces are surprisingly comfortable. Firmer than the old ones but definitely not harsh at all!
- Ride height is slightly lowered with 3 fingers front and 2 fingers rear (Used to be 3.5-4 and 2.5 for the old Boge). Running in the the shocks will take 1-2 weeks, which the drop may be lower after that.
- Have not tested high speed performance yet. Shall report in more later next week.
All in all, it's a decent upgrade/purchase. Been putting off the plan for some time and kinda regret why didn't I do it earlier. The shocks are just great, composed, which is what I really need in order to join the weekend rempit sessions.
In the last few drives the car were just all over the place. Floating and bouncing around whenever the are wavy and uneven roads, heavy understeer etc. The Bukit Putus drive is sort of the last straw.
The saying is "Power is nothing without control".
