4 Years On-the-Road

The car was registered on this day and rolled out of the showroom EXACTLY four years ago. It was one of the first batch of Peugeot 308 THP140's to arrive on Malayan shores.

Still in pristine condition with very low mileage - just clocked 60,005km. No major issues. 

Accident free and  still sparkling clean inside & out ...

Nite Trip to Kelantan

As usual, as a "nite-rider" I'll be driving just after mid-night. I always prefer to travel in a hatch-back than in a D-segment saloon because the former like the 308 can provide a comfortable [golden-club like] sleeping berth for any passenger in need, such as an elderly father/mother, grandpa/grandma or a mother with a small baby...

As long as you are shorter than 5' 6" there is more than enough space for a good nite sleep in there...

With this arrangement, the 308 still can accommodate three adult passengers + a driver comfortably without sacrificing space for the luggage - of course you need a cargo net.

The 308 remains as the only C-Segment Car in my garage

Looks like this trouble free C-Segment Hatch is going to stay longer than expected... [already grounded all Peugeot 40-Series]
The 308 looks outdated now when compared to a freshly baked hatch from a not so popular European marque though...
Meanwhile, for me it is no longer an urgent need for a coupe' at the moment. Instead, looking forwards to replace the old D-Segment family coach, ... or just get a little battery-powered or hybrid A-Segment city-car to complete the fleet of A, B, C and D-segment collection in my garage.

Will be back...

I'm still alive and active but pls accept my apology for not be able to update this blog often. Lately I'm too busy la. I'll be back after my car is 2 yrs otr or has clocked 40,000km wecf...

The car has just clocked 33,000km after being abused for 20 months. Apart from the battery, no other part has been replaced as yet. Looks like tyres and brake pads will last as long as the spark plugs.... i.e beyond 40,000km.

Tyre condition after 33,000km of abuse

The reason for the extended km is because I drive the car mostly for long distances... unlike those who drive in cities who spend more time on brake pedals than the accelerator...

I'm happy with the car. Probably I'm just lucky to own one of the least problematic 308Turbo on Malayan soil to date...

Thanks again for visiting.

Cleaning Car Has Never Been This Easy

Not everyone worries too much аbοut how clean his car іѕ while there аrе others that аrе obsessed with the state οf their ride. Probably there are also people who spend a lot of money to keep their cars in tip-top mechanical condition and even having them cleaned and detailed аt high priced car care places.

There are also who wаnt tο DIY with proper equipment - what u need is a water high-pressure cleaner. A set of portable ramps can also be useful...
At 120bar [1680psi] couple with rotating and pulsing dirt blaster head cleaning cars has never been this easy - especially at those dirtiest corners such as tyres, wheels, brake callipers, wheel_arch, undercarriage, etc...

Tyre, wheel and brake calliper: before and after high-pressure cleaning

Just spray and wipe-to-dry. The result...
... sparkling clean in just a few minutes.

OMG! I Need RM10,000 for my 308T!!

I had just spent RM400+ on the 30,000th km service and that was nothing...

It has been estimated that for the next service @ 40,000th km [after 2yrs] I need around RM10,000 to keep the 308T running. Nothing wrong with my car actually but Believe it or not?

At 40,000th km the car needs...
1. Normal service ... RM400.oo+
2. Replacement of tyres, brake pads/disks, s/plugs, brake fluid, coolant, etc...... around RM3500.oo
3. Road_tax & Insurance .... around RM2000.oo
4. To pay saman e-koq .... RM2100.oo
5. 'Firmware update'... say, RM2000.oo+

Total RM10,000.oo++

Kenape... tak percayier?

Final Words on Peugeot 308 Turbo

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard...

April 30th - Peugeot 308T is a '2-car-in-1'
After owning, driving and testing the car for more then a year and clocking just over 20Mm I can conclude that:

"The 308T can either be driven for performance or for fuel economy. NOT both at the same time tho'. "

Apart from high-speed stability [excellent!] the overall handling and comfort are acceptable but not up to any Peugeot standard character I've ever experienced before [2o4S, 5o5SR, 4o5GL, 4o5SRi, 4o5SR, 2o6B...] . Not even close to Peugeot 405 and 505. Peugeot/Bestari 206 is more agile than the 308. Peugeot 308 rear suspension still need refinement.

In general the car performs beyond the ordinary even though it is not up to a hot-hatch standard. Peugeot 308 can be described as a performance family hatch. Nothing more. Nothing less.


PERFORMANCE - Don't play play...

Wonder why Peugeot 308 tops the list for century acceleration?
Horse power isn’t actually what makes a car accelerate. It is the torque - which is the twisting force generated by an engine. Peugeot has 240Nm torque - the highest amongst cars in the list. For instance Mercedes E200k and BMW320i have only 221Nm and 200Nm respectively!


FUEL ECONOMY - UTM to UUM on less than one full tank
Left UTM @ Skudai around 10:00pm, drove 2+km to the nearest Petronas Stn to feed AHW308 with RON95 to the brim then drove north along PLUS to UUM near Chang-Lun. Only one 'pit-stop' at Behrang. The car was driven on AutoCruise around 95~115km/hr. Arrived at the destination just before sunrise. The remaining fuel was enough to drive for another 60km!
On-board computer tells the average fuel consumption was 6.6iter/100km for the 797km trip. The best average was 6.2liter/100km from JB to Sg Besi Toll Plaza - similar to previous economy drive. Read also RON97 vs RON95 and Wrong Tips on Fuel Saving.

click for
PREVIOUS POSTs



Frequently visited pages:
Fuel Consumption

Performance

uncle's DIY
Car Size Comparison

Motoring Myths
RON95

AHW308 First Year Anniversary Pictures

It has already been one year since AHW308 rolled out of the show room. Today the car was parked on backyard patio for general cleaning and then for photo session...

Almost show room condition on the outside...





... the cabin and the power plant still look like new. Virtually no stain, no dust, no oil residue...


What about undercarriage condition?



still look ok?

what about underneath the engine?

ok? no?...

These are the results of the actual DIY detailing...





no! its not C-rra Glow... C-rra Glow doesn't shine at undercarriage...

it's uncle's Gloss


click here for some of the detailing work done.
more pictures coming....

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |

DIY: Suspension, Steering and Braking System Cleaning/Inspection @ 20,000km

AHW308 is now almost one-year old OTR. Just clocked around 20,000km. It's the time for another round of under_carriage/tyre_well general cleaning and inspection.

The most important inspection for safety are the Suspension, Steering and Braking System besides Tyres. Tyre inspection and rotation were done a week earlier.

After cleaning, the inspection began...

Steering and Suspension System
All links/joints and rubber bushes/boots are perfectly OK. Nuts and bolts are also tight. No loose one..


Braking System
Brake fluid level and all brake lines/hoses. OK
Brake pads. OK
Brake disks... sudah makan sikit. By using a Vernier Caliper ...

... front brake disk thickness is 25.32mm [new disk thickness was 26.20mm]. Sudah makan 0.88mm sahaja after one year. OK dan boleh tahan lagi tu...

Rear brake disks are virtually no wear and tear at all [yet]...


Drive Shafts
Drive shaft boots. OK
Shafts still look perfectly OK in gunmetal color. No rust at all! How come in AW forum got ppl complain their shafts oredy rusty ah? Never clean after use meh?


Read also DIY: General Cleaning/Inspection [@10,000th km]
p/s Sunday Jan 17th, AHW308 will be re-test driven to and fro Fraser's Hill...

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |

Better Place for GPS Device

Mounting Garmin NUVI GPS on suction pad to the windscreen is quite common but it could be too far to operate. There is a better place to mount it, especially for a second set...
.__.
... simply by sticking the suction pad onto the circular plate that comes with the package then insert it into the compartment below head unit.

No drilling, no screwing and no cutting needed. It just perfectly 'ngam' in there.

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |

Pre 20,000km_service Inspection

my308 is now just a couple of thousand kilometer away to clock 20,000km after 10 months of 'abuse'.

Thanks to AW forumers [especially Alan Wong] to share their misadventure on some warranty issues. To avoid similar bad experience I will send my308 to the authorised [not auta-rised] SC a few hundred km before it touches the warranty millage. I had an experience too with my 206B at an authorised SC to send the car for scheduled service just after clocking 30,000km and found out the belt tensioner bearing damage was just hundreds of km beyond the said warranty millage! I had to reluctantly fork out additional RM700+ to replace it [including workmanship].

The written 100,000km or 3-yrs [w.e.c.f] warranty is not for everything. I gather some of the unwritten warranty at different millage:

Tyres and alignment: 1000km
Battery: 20,000km
Bearing, belting and some moving components: 30,000km

Since then I always spend some time to inspect the cars before they are sent to the SC to identify any fault if exist. I don't mind wasting a few hours of weekend prime time as long as most of the faulty parts are recognised because I'm doubtful the mechanics at most SCs will carry out 100% inspection.

BTW thanks to a SC which replaced the whole rear windscreen after discovering its damaged rubber seal . It would be better if they also replace the whole car to solve the infamous 'pulling to the left' issues which could not be solved by just realignment because in my opinion it is due to the suspension/chassis geometry. I remember a popular German marque recalled its cars just because of the improper design and location of fuel tank on certain model many yrs ago!

Notwithstanding, above all Peugeot 308 is the best 1.6 liter car/hatch I've ever owned and driven - it is always the largest, the safest, the fastest, the best handling and the most comfortable car in the same category and price range. Why settle for less on Japanese, Korean and local cars?

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |

DIY Car Polishing and Waxing

Week 3 Nov 2009

I don't normally pay much attention on car detailing other than normal washing, cleaning and vacuuming until yesterday when I discovered cat_claw scratches on front wing and bonnet.

Normally when it rained stray cats would find higher and warmer place to enjoy good sleep. Nothing better than car bonnet. They are not human being - nothing much to say. Further more they are guards against rats and mice. So give and take la.

I used Soft99 rubbing compound to buff off those scratches in combination with Kit MaxWax to give truly shiny finish. For unscratched surface I applied Waxco Metallic & 2K car polish. The result was near show-room gloss again.

As the momentum built-up I applied Kit MaxWax to the barolo-red car to see if the later produced better gloss than the lunar mist. When compared head-to-head the barolo-red [maroon] color shines better.

I felt motivated and didn't mind to spend the whole day on Sunday 22 Nov 2009 to polish and wax both cars. I just used my left hand to do the buffing and waxing - no machines were used. The results were very high gloss, high reflective surfaces on both cars...

I also used Kit MaxWax to polish headlamp and tail lamp plastics. Very tiring work but satisfying end results...

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |

Personalising my308

Week 4 Oct 2009
Everybody 'dares to be different' even at the extreme to personalise his belongging . Me too. Have been thinking how best but simple way to personalize my308. Besides NZline bodykits, what about this "308T"?

.. and placing "Turbo" badge in front of the intercooler?

Hope my308 doesn't look like ahbeng's with these lite personalisation... but I have seen a moonroof 308 with KR lights, he heee!!!. If u ppl spot a Lunar Mist 308T just blow ur horn 3x ya [toot.. toot... tooooooot!!!]

"Peugeot is Engineered to be Enjoyed" and understanding Engineering enhances ur enjoyment to another level...

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |

THE Test for "the Way I Drive" Part 1

[updated Oct 26th 07:29am]

Bangi, October 25th, Just came back from another weekend trip [this time was 900+km only - to and fro Penang including kawasan2 yg sewaktu dengannya] with a bunch of die-hard and seasoned Peugeot lovers. We drove the car w/o worrying on fuel consumptions and speed limits [and speed traps] but SAFETY for passengers, pedestrian and other road users was always our FIRST priority.

Before crossing over to the Island we stopped over at Juru Autocity to meet Behcw to see and feel his 308 performance on P-tronic Tuning Chip, he also gave us some useful tips on how the connections were done. Thanks Beh. We were impressed, but do I need one?In Penang, we joined another group from PCM including its president, abang.K
This time around I had an opportunity to carry out yet another important test for the stock [unmodded] 1.6 liter EP6-DT prince engine running on RON95.

The burning FAQ -"What is the maximum speed of an un-modded Peugeot 308Turbo on RON95?" - The following are the answers;

From Garmin GPS: 210km/hr
Note: the moving average speed has been brought down due to the 2-day traffic crawl, otherwise it should be around 170km/hr avg. on PLUS. It took about similar number of hours [five hours KL-Penang-KL] on PLUS and crawling in Georgetown and Butterworth!

From Datalogger: 212km/hr

Speedometer/Techometer Reading: 214km/hr
I don't exactly know which is the most accurate but all readings are NOT LESS than 210km/hr and it was on RON95!

[Expecting better performance from those who have installed P-tronic Tuning Box and running on RON97 fuel]

I had established an approximation on RON95 fuel consumption [at current price of RM1.80/liter] for Peugeot 308Turbo as:

sen/km = Speed in kph/10 [with +- 10% margin for steady speeds between 100kph~200kph]
e.g
@110kph:10.0~12.0 sen per km.
@150kph: 13.5~16.5 sen per km.
@200kph: 18.0~22.0 sen per km.

Frequently Visited Pages:
| Home | Fuel Consumption | Performance | uncle's DIY |
Car Size Comparison | Motoring Myths | RON95 |