driving

How far is 100,000 km?

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Dresden

I travel a great deal and during my travels I have become quite good at gauging distances. I was in Dresden a couple of years ago and we drove down the famed German autobahn (where there are no speed limits) to Berlin, which took about 2 hours. The distance between the two points are about 200 km.

Autobahn

I have also climbed Mt. Kinabalu when I was in my 20’s. I went with a bunch of friends to Kota Kinabalu and we did the whole beach and islands thing, but also scaled the highest mountain in South East Asia. I was the only one among my friends to make it to the summit.

Mt Kinabalu

That was 4,095 meters. It’s only 4 kilometers but it felt like it was a lot longer than that!

Mt Kinabalu Summit

I also lived in Melbourne for over 5 years and at the beginning I didn’t have a car. That meant walking. 20 minute walks were not uncommon, to catch the inter-campus bus from Clayton to Caulfield as I was studying in two different campuses.

Melbourne Driving

Even after I got a car, it didn’t make sense to drive all the way to the city. Melbournians seldom do due to the high CBD parking charges, tolls and congestion charge/levy. I would park in Huntingdale and take the train to the city.

Melbourne Tram

Melbourne has a really good public transport system, with buses, trains and trams linking everything so I’ll rather spend 30 minutes in the train where I can read, update my blog (yes, I started sixthseal.com when I was in university) and talk to people.

Kangaroo

The reason I’m talking about distance is that it’s very hard to imagine just how far 100,000 km really is. I saw a billboard for Goodyear Assurance DuraPlus, saying that it’ll go for up to 100,000 km and I was trying to figure out how far that is in my head.

Goodyear Assurance DuraPlus

The circumference of the Earth is 40,075km, so you can drive around the world about 2 and a half times!

The Goodyear Assurance DuraPlus also comes reinforced with DuPontTM Kevlar for added protection, and together with its internal TredLife TechnologyTM this delivers tremendous value through being a longer lasting and durable tire. It also uses an advanced carbon based tread compound with higher carbon content for higher resistance to road wear. This set of tires is also optimal for precision driving with an Asymmetric Tread Design placing more rubber on the outside shoulder for increased grip.

Kevlar

That’s one durable tyre! I can’t imagine driving up to 100,000 km on a set of tyres. To my experience I would normally need to change my tyres around once every 2 years due to my heavy duty driving (I drive a lot to other states like Penang, Johor, Ipoh and Melaka to hunt for good food and travel). I just can’t believe how awesome it would be to save up the money on tyre maintenance and reinvest it back to my travel and food fund when I am on the hunt! smirk

Check out this video. It’s a very inspirational one and it’ll give you a sense of just how far 100,000 km really is!

I’m seriously considering purchasing a set of Goodyear Assurance DuraPlus – the mileage is second-to-none. I’m also interested in the Goodyear Worry Free Assurance which protects tyres against road hazards. First, let me explain what Goodyear Worry Free Assurance is!

Worry Free Assurance

Worry Free Assurance allows you to bring your damaged tire back to the dealer where you purchased it to claim a new one with your original receipt and the Goodyear Worry Free Assurance card. This is valid up to 6 months from the date of purchase, so think of it as additional insurance against road hazards, especially with the various debris at MRT construction sites. I personally think this is a very good initiative from Goodyear (they are the only tyre provider that offers this program), especially for us who stays in the suburban areas where construction works seems to have no end. I live in Kota Damansara and with the ongoing MRT construction, the condition of the road is not really in good form. Not that I am complaining – I am happy that the country is investing in infrastructure, but the road condition is really not friendly to my tyres. Now, these worries can be eliminated with Worry Free Assurance! Of course, there are some terms and conditions but they’re very standard. I believe as long as I don’t damage my tyres deliberately, I’ll be well protected.

Adolf Wagner

I love seeing the world and I’ll love to do that someday. Drive around the world that is. It is technically possible, if you hop on cruise ships for the oceanic parts. 🙂

Have an issue with a car? Check the services from Canadian Towing.

Related post: Mini Excavator Rubber Tracks.

Shell FuelSave Challenge 2014 starts now!

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sibu

I realize there is one thing that my humble hometown has that not many other states have – a traffic garden! I come from Sibu and we have a miniature town complete with small stop signs, lanes that have directions and even mini traffic lights! It doubles as a favorite jogging spot but that was how I learned the fundamentals of driving by pretending to be a car on my cycle as a 9 year old kid.

rtm me

I was quite involved in local events back when I was working in Sibu and I remember Shell did a traffic event there too.

shell station malaysia

However, there’s something more exciting coming up and there’s going to be auditions in Johor Bahru, Kuantan, Penang, and Selangor! The 6th Shell FuelSave Challenge is back!

shell fuelsave

The Shell FuelSave Challenge is an annual driving event which showcases how easy it is for everyday individuals (that’s you and me) to become advocates of fuel-saving and be awarded when they practise the Shell FuelSave Tips, coupled with the use of Shell FuelSave 95 – a Fuel Designed to Last Longer per Tank.

fuelsave 95

Interesting fact: Did you know that UPS in the United Sates almost never make left turns? Their courier delivery service trucks makes a right turn 90% of the time to save on fuel! This was actually tested in an episode of Mythbusters and it turned out to be true!

The episode of Mythbusters was dedicated to “hypermiling” and refers to a series of techniques for energy efficient driving.

Shell FuelSave Tips #1: Keep your tyres at the right pressure. Correctly inflated tyres are safer, last longer and improve fuel economy.

tyres

Shell FuelSave 95 is formulated with Active Efficiency Ingredients designed to improve fuel and engine efficiency as well as save costs. This year, participants will be able to enhance their knowledge on making smart choices on the road though the Shell FuelSave Challenge, which will have both a real-life and online component where you have the opportunity to win exclusive prizes and rewards!

Shell FuelSave Tips #2: Use air conditioning sparingly. Air conditioning puts added strain to the engine and uses fuel to operate, limit use to particularly hot days.

fuel consumption

Shell FuelSave Challenge 2014 is back and you can join the driving challenge that will test all your preconceived notions of fuel efficient driving! You think you can squeeze the most kilometers out of a single litre of gas? This challenge is for you! There will be four regional winners (North, East Coast, Central and South) for RM 2,000 each and the best of the best will come together for the National Finals! Just register and stand a chance to win the RM 20,000 grand prize!

Shell FuelSave Tips #3: Avoid carrying excess weight. Extra weight affects your fuel efficiency. Keep your boot and back seat clear of unnecessary items that just add weight to your vehicle.

driving challenge

You can also participate the Shell FuelSave Journey after registering online – there will be tasks and “missions” that can be completed by just answering a few questions and clicking a mouse button. This is the online bit if you’re more inclined to participate in a digital format. There will also be exclusive prizes and rewards even if you don’t make it to the Driving Challenge!

Start your engines now at the official Shell FuelSave Challenge page!

Buying a new car or just thinking about it?

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bugatti veyron

I’m part of the latter. I’ve driven my faithful Vios for 7 years now and I’ve found myself browsing around to see the latest car news and what car to buy. A lot of people gravitate to heavy news sites but I think the success of a car site is that it’s accessible to people who don’t know a lot about cars (or newbies rather) but yet is still fulfilling enough for the hardcore crowd who wants all the juicy, technical stuff.

live live drive

It needs to capture both sides of the market and I’ve found LIVE LIFE DRIVE to be one of the sites that I browse just about daily nowadays.

It has just about everything you’ll think of, from the latest news to a widget on the side with the most researched cars with immediate star ratings and a link to the review in question,

research cars

I found that feature most useful when buying a dSLR and loved the sites that has it – it shows what cameras (or cars in this case) are popular now – they’re popular for a reason, and shows you a quick rating with a review hyperlink. It’s perfect for those who’re strapped for time or just wants to see what the popular options are.

The other awesome feature which I first found useful when shopping for a dSLR (which come to think of it is a lot like a car) is this:

livelifedrive

You can browse News, New Cars, or Buy a Car by the manufacturer! This is very useful if you’re only interested in, say, Euro cars or have always bought from a Japanese brand like Honda.

The interesting thing about LIVE LIFE DRIVE is that it’s actually a print magazine. That’s where it’s origins are from but all the news and articles are also available online.

I found the Price List feature to be very useful too!

installement

It lists all new cars and shows the full price as well as the average installment price per month so you can quickly browse through and see what you can (or cannot) afford. smirk

That’s the research part of buying a car, or just browsing for news if you’re interested in automotives. There’s also a site where you can actually purchase a new or used car!

carlistmy

It’s called Carlist.my and the best feature of it is that it hooks you up with used car sellers. You can browse by various search parameters or just by price.

You can also choose whether to buy direct from a seller, dealership or sales agent. It’s very useful for when you want to make that step to purchase a new car. 🙂

carlist

There’s more than 119,000 cars for sale on Carlist.my and for those kiasu ones amongst us (hell, who isn’t?) there’s a feature to compare prices of the car you intend to buy too!

lamborghini miura

It’s a great sister site to LIVE LIFE DRIVE and the place you go when you reach the point where you stop thinking about buying a car and actually do something about it! 😉

Driving to Cameron Highlands

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arrive

I drove up to Cameron Highlands over the long weekend with my girlfriend at 6 am in the morning. I consulted Google Maps and wrote down the directions from my place to Tapah. It wasn’t very difficult once we got on the PLUS highway but we still managed to get lost coz we didn’t realize the NKVE highway is part of the PLUS expressway.

speed
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (of the accelerator)

I managed to clock a decent speed once I got on PLUS, managed to hit nearly 180 km/h driving on the fast lane before switching from D to 2 and maintained about 190 km/h. My girlfriend wouldn’t take any photos of the speedometer after that, preferring to hold on to the passenger side handle with one hand braced against the glove box.

fail
Tourist destination peace of mind for travelers – FAIL

The toll costs a cool RM 19.20 so it’s about RM 40 for a return trip – make sure your Touch ‘n Go card is loaded with the appropriate amount coz we had to reverse (much to the annoyance of the cars behind us) and switch to the cash lane due to a lack of credit in the card.

lata iskandar

We managed to reach the Lata Iskandar waterfall after about an hour of driving. The Lata Iskandar waterfall is a popular rest stop for people driving up to Cameron Highlands.

lata iskandar waterfall

The Lata Iskandar waterfall is a magnificent sight with (very cold) water from the highlands rushing down a steep cliff. People can be seen frolicking in the water and generally chilling out before heading towards Tanah Rata (the main strip of Cameron Highlands).

lata iskandar us

It’s a great spot for vacation photography too – the “I was here” type shots. 😉

fake strawberry

I didn’t get to eat a real strawberry then but the next post will be on the Big Red Strawberry Farm where we picked our own strawberries. 🙂

Scattered as fuck

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Oh man I haven’t laughed this hard about something for ages. 🙂 I
was driving my car and got a cigarette out and opened my window. I
searched around my pockets for my lighter, lit the cigarette and threw the lighter out of the window
(!). It was sooooooooooo funny I had a laughing fit for 2 full minutes,
complete with tears and real belly laughs. hahaha! My friend, who
didn’t see the incident, was puzzled by my apparently unprovoked mirth.
It might not be funny to everyone, but it cracked me up to no end coz
it reminded me of the last time a similar thing happened. That was a
couple of years back, I had bought a new pack of Marlboros, got one out
and offered the pack to my companion. She took one, and threw the nearly full pack out of the window!
hahaha! That was so funny, and we had laughed so hard I nearly crashed
into a lamp post. She didn’t know what possessed her to do that, but
thought it was because her mind suddenly thought that the pack was
already empty. I didn’t know what I thought when I threw the lighter
out today, but I’m glad it happened coz I haven’t laughed so hard while
not on cannabis for a long time. It sure feels good to REALLY laugh. 🙂

BTW, I’ve noticed myself making silly mistakes like typing “I’m”
instead of “I’ve” and “anyway” instead of “anyone”. Possible brain
damage or just scattered as fuck? I wasn’t like that before.

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