Heart failure.....

The Chin Chin La underwent its first trip to the dyno shop. It was excited, as was i. Though initially i was there just to check out the real life gains of using a voltage stabilizer, it turned into a experience and trial/test run to see how much the Chin Chin La had progressed since being endowed with some helpful go-fast parts.

I must say when the car approached the dyno i was starting to get excited and yet worried. Worried that my car would not perform despite the help it got from all those parts i installed. And excited to see what it would really do.

RUN 1
3rd gear tops and out and the results are in!!! I couldn't wait i saw the 1.... i felt a lump in my throat... Could it be? Could the Chin Chin La be close to achieving 120whp (Short term goal)? My hopes were shattered when my eyes gazed upon tne 2nd figure to follow the 1. A zero, a damn zero... This was not looking good. I was thinking to myself maybe the temperature was wrong or something. But then i looked outside it was raining cats and dogs humidity and cool air was at its peak for performance delivery when it comes to Malaysia. The last number was a 7. I hit 107whp (Wheel horsepower) and 108wtq (Wheel torque - pound per foot). I was highly unimpressed.

RUN 2
Hoping for a better result and some fine tuning we went in again. Once again 107whp and 108wtq. So, much for discrepancies.

RUN 3
Same as the last, no change at all.

I had a chat with the dyno guy after the run. He says the timing is really off, too advanced maybe even the timing belt may have gone wrong! The car was jerking and bucking like a wild horse being fed a rotten carrot or something (Not funny just a metaphor). After retarding the distributor cap to adjust the ignition timing, we tried one last time.

RUN 4
Well, lets just say suspicions were confirmed. There was something seriously amiss with the Chin Chin La. The timing belt may have thrown a tooth and was causing my car to skip timing which could result in my engine blowing. Or, my tensioners holding the timing belt and cam pulley were not properly tightened. Who knows! I guess it is off to the workshop ASAP to get another working timing belt and inspection done on what has been going on with my car.

I guess, that trip to Penang could have been the cause of it all along and i am fortunate enough that the car still functions. So, 1 new timing belt and cam pulley cover and it should be good to go. I will definately be returning to LINKS performance in Sunway for another dyno run. They were really nice about the whole thing and gave me some confidence in knowing how to diagnose the problem. Plus, i was told that a big hinderance was the timing skipping and, that perhaps i might have been closer to my goal of 120whp than what it showed today! I can't wait to get the Chin Chin La fixed and ready to rumble again.

Just a minor bypass operation that could cure the whole problem :) Wish me luck!