How to make your Caldina Gt-Four a monster.
Perpetuity was last month's metaphorical introduction. This month's bonanza consists of the following; amazing flying sheep, chocolate tortillas and the stoic pursuit of brake horsepower.

Cruising along LDP, picking my nose and getting lost in thought, I came to realize a persona of the Malaysian driver's psyche which undoubtedly surprises and irks me at the very least. The current interest in the tuning industry, where cars are modified and fettled with by trained automotive engineers and the occasional village handyman, has merely proven the adage of ‘humans never get enough'. We always strive for more power, more money, more this more that. Now that's apparent, no surprises there. What does get my knickers into a twist though is the fact that some fellow motorists are totally misled while doing so.

Don't tell me you honestly believe that blinking neon under-lights, fluorescent in-car lights and all that rubbish actually looks cool? Not to mention small Protons with gargantuan GT-style wings? Can gantung baju. And since we're on the subject, how about painfully mismatched branding, a prime example being RalliArt stickers on a Kancil, or better still – big “Tuned by Razo” decals. (Razo makes gear knobs-lah for god's sake!) However, in true Jedi mind-trick style, I'm stating that this is NOT a thinly veiled attack on ‘ricer boys'. Taste is a trait painfully lacking in the average Malaysian motorist. But then again taste is developed in close association with choice, which we, the public consumer in Malaysia just aren't accustomed to, thanks in no small part to sky-high import duties and questionably dubious governance of the motoring industry. Ah well, rant done. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it. Back to my Caldina then...

The meaty result we gained last week from installing the Apex'i AFC Neo was 10bhp at the wheels, a jump from 175 to 185 hp on wheels. Meaty, but is it enough? The answer's a resounding NO. More power please, thank you. The main justification behind installing the Apex'i AFC Neo air/fuel computer was so that we would be able to accommodate any other major engine modifications with ease. Which essentially means that now we can wring the bitch for every bit of power it can muster. Hi I'm Shamil, I dream of force inducted flying sheep.

Before resuming with my power-hunting endeavors, it was duly assessed by our panel of experts (Hah!) that the footprint of the vehicle was not safely adequate if subjected to high speed and aggressive driving stresses. IF. That, boys and girls, in no way whatsoever means that I drive beyond the allowable limits of our public roads. Scoff. That having been decided, we went scouting for the right set-up for the car. Discussion with a fellow Caldina owner who was using TEIN Super Street Dampers (incidentally one of the most street friendly models on offer from TEIN) revealed that they would render my car a passenger-unfriendly motor vehicle with constant annoying jiggles, bumps and shakes taking center stage. Totally unacceptable, as me wife would've clipped me round the ear. Ouch.

After a thorough and varied discussion/tech-talk session with Desmond from N1 Racing, we decided to opt for the “Dress UP Master S.Tech” sports spring set from TEIN instead. It dropped the car by 18mm and added a 25-45% stiffening ratio. Reason being was the fact that it was a set-up option that wouldn't ultimately sacrifice the drivability and altogether utilitarian purpose of the car. The installation was performed well and in a rather quick 2 hours, as is always the case with team N1 Racing's immaculate professionalism. This new set-up endowed the car with a constant and consummate control with a weightier and edgier steering feel. Through the long sweeping corners the car now exhibits great poise and a sharper turn-in proved the difference in slower, tighter bends. It didn't manage to cancel out the body roll completely, but rather put it in check with only harder and more abrupt corners managing to entice its presence.

To coincide with the installation of the new springs I'd purchased a set of spanking new Yokohama A.drive R1 rubbers and also 17” Work Emotion CR Kai replica wheels, all from Hup Shun Tires in Sunway. Having just set foot on our tropical shores, the new addition to the formidable ‘Yokohama .drive' family has already proven it's worth, as some significant advantages gained is that now the car just putters along quietly, if you can deem full throttle, seat wetting speed, last minute braking and lunging into corners as “puttering”. My judgment – a true quiet road holding performer, just like the brochure promised. In a happy conclusion, the confidence and control that I gained from the 4-wheel drive/TEIN springs/Yoko rubbers package was positively awe inspiring. In other words, it was a ‘pulse throbbing, tires squealing at adhesion limits while cutting the apex' kind of awe inspiring. Yet another bombastic way to describe I'm driving really, really... committed. Now that, discerning readers, is money well spent. (Ergo in layman's terms - RM 5000 down the well-traveled motorsports drain).

Next in store for our upgrade express is a 5” K&N air induction kit offering zero resistance along with custom piping and heat shield. Which according to our resident tech geek (nee Edmund ‘Laundry' Turner), should be good for another 10bhp at the wheels. Hopefully this induction system, when coupled with my newly purchased original TRD Sports exhaust muffler designed specifically for the Toyota Caldina will allow me to scratch the exciting surface of 200 sickly sweet horses on wheels. Ahh...such unbridled joy can only be found in the holy quest for road power. Hold your breath for the next installment. No really, hold it till next month's issue comes out.

And oh, I was kidding about the chocolate tortillas.

Product(s) and price:
TEIN Dress Up Master springs - RM 990
Replica 17' Work Emotion CR Kai wheels - RM 2500
Yokohama A.drive R1 (4pcs) - RM 1250

Contact:
TEIN Springs: N1 Racing, 03-5636 5557
Yokohama A.drive R1 tyres: YHI Malaysia, 03-7804 9880
Replica Work Emotion CR Kai wheels: Your favourite tyre shop should have them, they're everywhere.

Part 1