EU to make Daytime Running Lights compulsory by 2011

It seems that the European Union has announced that Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) are compulsory from 2011 onwards.

Apparently having the DRLs on can reduce accidents. I wonder if this would mean the rest of the world may also make DRL compulsory in the years to come...

Component Speakers

Hi all... please help me with some advices, I'm getting new component speakers and currently narrowed down to the follow 3:

1) Helix Dark Blue 62

2) PHD brand

3) MBQuart Discus 216

Which one of the following would you buy if it was you?

Thanks !

Toyo T1R Tires

I just got brand new tires for my ride.... the 195/55/R15 Toyo Proxes T1R ! The tire thread are as above!

Tire size calculator!

Hi folks...

This is a very useful tire calculator for you all . So that when you upgrade (or downgrade) rims size...you know what is the correct tire profiles to use to ensure that the speedometer , brakes etc... works fine...

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp.

Engine oils technical stuff website.

Here's the link for all the technical details for engine oil.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

Special thanks to bro Garlic!

Engine oils recommendations.

currently I'm driving a 2004 CS3 Lancer GLX Sports ..

Next Change oil mileage 75,000km thinking of the following engine oil to use next...

either

1)Pennzoil Platinum 5w40
2)Redline Engine Oil 5w40
3)ELF 5w40
4)Mobil 1 5w40
5)Motul 300V 5w40
6)Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 <- Currently on this
7)Castrol 5w40

any comments or recommendations or more recommendations?

Any sponsors can directly email me ya? tcmjoe@hotmail.com

Mercedes SLK

The Mercedes SLK (which stands for Sportlich (sporty), Leicht (light) and Kurz (short)) is a 2 door roadster manufactured by Mercedes Benz. The first generation is the R170 SLK which is from 1997 to 2004. A picture of this first generation Mercedes Benz is pictured below.

In 2004, a 2nd generation SLK was built and it is still in production today. The front of the new SLK looks like the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and it has been quoted by some to be the "baby SLR". The picture below shows the top of the line SLK 55 AMG.

For more information of Mercedes SLK, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_SLK-Class

Alternatively, if you want to buy one... goto : http://www.mercedes-benz.com/content/mbcom/international/international_website/en/com.html

Tires Information Help!

Hi... here's something useful for those who wishes to know more about their vehicle's tires information.

The tire specifications are usually as follows: 195/55/R15 where

195 = 195mm is the tire's section width which is measured from the inner sidewall to the other sidewall.

55 = tire size's sidewall height, so for this case, it is 55% of 195mm

R15 = indicates the rims diameter..in this case..it is a 15" rims construct.

Interested readers can goto http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=46
to read more!

Next, comes the manufacture date of the tires, which can be found on the sidewall.

a 2607 indication on the side wall means the tire was made on the 26TH WEEK OF YEAR 2007. So the first 2 digits indicate the production week of the year and the last 2 digits indicate the year of manufacture.

Always remember to choose new tires!

Information about CNG in Singapore

Here's some update for those interested in CNG conversion or driving CNG converted cars in Singapore. As of Feb 2008, there are 3 CNG stations in Singapore:

1) Jurong Island
2) Mandai
3) Jalan Buroh

And the incentive of fitting a new car with CNG technology is that there is a 40% rebate of your car's OMV.

So, actually, the rebate will probably pay for the CNG conversion!

Choosing the right petrol grade for your car

Here's an article from www.sgcarmart.com that is very interesting read of choosing the right petrol grade for your car. Enjoy :

http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=64

K&N High Performance Air Filter (Includes cleaning instructions/advice)

Hi Folks,

I just installed the K&N High Performance Air Filter (part number 33-2105 (pictured above)) for my Mitsubishi Lancer... It seems to really improve the pickup of the car as compared to the stock disposable paper filter.

I got the K&N filter from my friend who has changed his car... Therefore I just have to buy the K&N Air Filter cleaning kit and clean up the filter myself before dropping it in. Personally I would think it is more economical and environmentally friendly if you change to a cleanable air filter as compared to continuously buying disposable air filters to replace your car's air filter.

Two brands that are worth considering are

1) K&N Air Filter
2) Hurricane Air Filter (stainless steel)

If anyone out there would like to sponsor me with a Hurricane Air Filter for comparison with the K&N Air Filter... I'd love to accept your offer :)

Anyways, back to the K&N Air Filter...

It is really advisable that you clean the K&N Air Filter yourself! As the air filter takes time to dry and re-oiling the air filter is quite long. So if you ask someone to do it for you, he/she might speed up the process or put too much oil too quickly and that is really not very good.

Here are two webpages that are helpful for those of you who have K&N Air Filters and plan to clean it soon...

1) How to clean the air filter : http://knfilter.com/cleaning.htm
2) Listen in to Chapter 8 on advice on Cleaning: http://knfilter.com/audio/audio_book_mp3.htm

Please note that it is better to let your air filter dry naturally and wait for it to be completely dry... (may take up to several hours depending on weather).

Also, after oiling, let the cotton (wick) soak the oil for about 40mins and see if there are areas to touch up (uneven red surface on both clean and dirty sides) .

After re-oiling, Before installing the air filter back to your car, let the oil set in the filter for AT LEAST 1 hour so that the excess oil can drip off and also serves as a guide in case you over-oiled.

These are my personal advices but for the professional and official advice, goto the 2 webpages listed above.

I would write about the hurricane air filter. But I dun have it..haha...

Latest Euro N-Cap results

On 19th December 2007, Euro NCAP releases the results for six cars: the Daihatsu Materia, Mazda 2, Honda Civic, Mercedes Benz C Class, Renault Laguna and the Volvo V70, which were all put through Euro NCAP’s rigorous testing process.

In the Supermini category, the Daihatsu Materia received 4 stars for adult safety while the Mazda 2 received 5 star ratings.

For Small family car, the Honda Civic (Euro model) received a 4 star rating.

While for Large Family cars, the Mercedes Benz C Class, Renault Laguna and the Volvo V70 all receive the 5 star rating for adults safety.

However, Euro NCAP is disappointed to see that none of the cars achieved higher than three stars for pedestrian protection.

Details of the individual ratings of the respective vehicles can be found in the following links:

Daihatsu Materia
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/daihatsu_materia_2007/305.aspx

Mazda 2
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mazda_2_2007/306.aspx

Honda Civic (Euro model)
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/honda_civic_2007/307.aspx

Mercedes Benz C Class
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mercedes_benz_c_class_2007/308.aspx

Renault Laguna
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/renault_laguna_2007/309.aspx

Volvo V70
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/volvo_v70_2007/310.aspx