The ORIGINAL. That is the standard whereby all are measured against. I hope I'm right in saying that Performix Plasti Dip is the original or the brand that made rubberized coating mainstream.
What I'm reviewing is the Plasti Dip where all try to use the name in search of rubberized coating, like Kleenex, Panadol, Xerox, Velcro and so on. I'm using Plasti Dip to Dip my faded plastic Registration Plate holder. Faded black plastic is basically black plastic that become grayish white.
I've gotten the spray can of matte black for RM65 at the local detailer that I go to wash my car (I should post some experience with that shop). It would cost around RM60 from KL. Consider the shipping cost, it's a steal as I'm testing one can.
Basically, I've just finished rubberized coating the registration plate holder, and will be spending the year viewing the long term resilience of dip.
According to the can, 4 coats of dip and drying time of 30 minutes in between would be sufficient. That's approximately half a can.
It smells and I had my air purifier in the room where I spray painted it. Maybe I should have done it in a well ventilated area.
It works well and I'll update after I've installed it onto the car.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
The Inspira Dairies: 20 months ownership review
I had the car for 20 months, approximately 27,000km. It was pretty much trouble free from the car itself, apart of the incident when the grass cutter shattered my rear passenger window possibly from the bush cutter. The incident shed some light on owning the Inspira in Miri, Sarawak.
1. You have to wait for parts. I mean, wait two weeks for the replacement window glass to arrive. They were not too expensive (though it was reimbursed by the contractor that did it) even though you had to wait when you purchase the part from Proton Parts Centre. My personal opinion is that the supply of spare parts are not that great in East Malaysia.
2. The competency of the Authorized Service Centre for some of the service technician for non-routine task, including replacing my broken rear passenger window. What happened was they broke the door moulding that is basically the part that is between the window and the door which is meant to keep water and dust from flooding into the door leaf when it rains. Yup, they broke that part. Let this be a reminder to always hover over any repair or work done on your car, if not you would have not known that it was broken in the process. My thanks to the contractor company for reimbursing that part as well since I would not have had it broken from the Service Tech if I didn't I have my window broken in the first place.
3. Yup, the rubber moulding cost more than the glass and I don't know why.
4. Depending on your budget and how you plan to maintain your vehicle, your cost will vary. I've used Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 since the first oil change. It is a fully synthetic formula that cost a pretty penny, basically RM57/liter off the shelf (4 liter and 1 liter packs). The reason it would cost a bomb is that, the sump requires 4.3l of oil and you need to buy 5 liters. Why? I don't drive as much as I would like which would have the open bottle of oil have the limitation of 3 months shelf life. I change every 6 months due to degradation of oil and engine oil filter design.
5. Mitsubishi parts are somewhat expensive in ways you would not expect. Don't expect Toyota / Proton Wira prices for parts.
6. Due to the long lead in arrivals of parts, I might consider to stock up on certain critical spares that might impede on the functionality of the car. I'm talking about the clutch issue that Inspira faces, basically the hydraulic assist pumps (master and slave units - usually slave) would fail. That is basically the only major mechanical issue that the car might face. Based on forums, there are no predictable mileage that the failure would occur which makes preventive maintenance challenging.
7. You need to rev the engine to above 3000 rpm to get it lively. My car is stock apart from the cosmetic update. Due to the engine mapping to save fuel, the engine is usually stays in the low RPM. How low? At idle it sits at around 600 rpm. Due to possible design of the engine bore and stroke (I could be wrong on this), the engine revs at a slower pace from 1500 rpm to 3000 rpm (it seems slow to me, some might say that it is lazy at that period). This is the waiting time you have to get used to. Once above 3000 rpm, you get to feel the urgency of the engine and you start to move fast. I like it that it docile and quiet in the low range and lively once you strangle it.
8. It's heavier and has less steering feedback than my Satria, but I can still communicate well with the road from the Inspira. Compared to other cars that I've driven, the steering rack is faster and tighter while still manage to provide good amount of feedback and small turning radius.
9. It's comfortable and stable at 150kph. Yup, that's East. Malaysia for you.
10. Would I regret my decision in getting my Inspira? Nope! There is very good online knowledge and support from forums (lowyat.net) meaning you are not flying blind with ownership, even though Proton might not be as supportive for this bastard of a car. Why did I call it Proton's bastard? Proton basically used the knowledge of assembling the Inspira from Mitsubishi to develop the Preve which is their legitimate child. Well, bastards have their charm and you can plug in a 4B11T as someone in the forum has done.
11. Don't buy this car because it is cheap, cause the maintenance would cost the same as you would a RM120,000 car. I think that I've covered this in a post previously. Buy this car if you want to have a manual and want to tune and mod this car. It is a platform car; before you ending up buying the Subaru STi or the Honda Civic Type-R.
My wife seems to enjoy the car and that's rare.
1. You have to wait for parts. I mean, wait two weeks for the replacement window glass to arrive. They were not too expensive (though it was reimbursed by the contractor that did it) even though you had to wait when you purchase the part from Proton Parts Centre. My personal opinion is that the supply of spare parts are not that great in East Malaysia.
2. The competency of the Authorized Service Centre for some of the service technician for non-routine task, including replacing my broken rear passenger window. What happened was they broke the door moulding that is basically the part that is between the window and the door which is meant to keep water and dust from flooding into the door leaf when it rains. Yup, they broke that part. Let this be a reminder to always hover over any repair or work done on your car, if not you would have not known that it was broken in the process. My thanks to the contractor company for reimbursing that part as well since I would not have had it broken from the Service Tech if I didn't I have my window broken in the first place.
3. Yup, the rubber moulding cost more than the glass and I don't know why.
4. Depending on your budget and how you plan to maintain your vehicle, your cost will vary. I've used Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 since the first oil change. It is a fully synthetic formula that cost a pretty penny, basically RM57/liter off the shelf (4 liter and 1 liter packs). The reason it would cost a bomb is that, the sump requires 4.3l of oil and you need to buy 5 liters. Why? I don't drive as much as I would like which would have the open bottle of oil have the limitation of 3 months shelf life. I change every 6 months due to degradation of oil and engine oil filter design.
5. Mitsubishi parts are somewhat expensive in ways you would not expect. Don't expect Toyota / Proton Wira prices for parts.
6. Due to the long lead in arrivals of parts, I might consider to stock up on certain critical spares that might impede on the functionality of the car. I'm talking about the clutch issue that Inspira faces, basically the hydraulic assist pumps (master and slave units - usually slave) would fail. That is basically the only major mechanical issue that the car might face. Based on forums, there are no predictable mileage that the failure would occur which makes preventive maintenance challenging.
7. You need to rev the engine to above 3000 rpm to get it lively. My car is stock apart from the cosmetic update. Due to the engine mapping to save fuel, the engine is usually stays in the low RPM. How low? At idle it sits at around 600 rpm. Due to possible design of the engine bore and stroke (I could be wrong on this), the engine revs at a slower pace from 1500 rpm to 3000 rpm (it seems slow to me, some might say that it is lazy at that period). This is the waiting time you have to get used to. Once above 3000 rpm, you get to feel the urgency of the engine and you start to move fast. I like it that it docile and quiet in the low range and lively once you strangle it.
8. It's heavier and has less steering feedback than my Satria, but I can still communicate well with the road from the Inspira. Compared to other cars that I've driven, the steering rack is faster and tighter while still manage to provide good amount of feedback and small turning radius.
9. It's comfortable and stable at 150kph. Yup, that's East. Malaysia for you.
10. Would I regret my decision in getting my Inspira? Nope! There is very good online knowledge and support from forums (lowyat.net) meaning you are not flying blind with ownership, even though Proton might not be as supportive for this bastard of a car. Why did I call it Proton's bastard? Proton basically used the knowledge of assembling the Inspira from Mitsubishi to develop the Preve which is their legitimate child. Well, bastards have their charm and you can plug in a 4B11T as someone in the forum has done.
11. Don't buy this car because it is cheap, cause the maintenance would cost the same as you would a RM120,000 car. I think that I've covered this in a post previously. Buy this car if you want to have a manual and want to tune and mod this car. It is a platform car; before you ending up buying the Subaru STi or the Honda Civic Type-R.
My wife seems to enjoy the car and that's rare.
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