LEV#007 Satria R3 for sale
December 2004
85,000kms mileage
Shell Helix Ultra 10W-50 Full-syn
Road tax till Feb 2009
Stage 1 spec – 145bhp

New timing belt, bearings
New engine mountings
New R3 suspension set
New paint + R3 livery
R3 license plate

Mods
R3 Gear knob
R3 Steering spacer
R3 Stage 3 4-1 performance header
Pipercross performance drop-in filter + cold air intake
R3 Stage 2 suspension bushes
Powerzone LSD kit

Protected by tracking + recovery system – Captor (worth RM1,950) and Radiostar (worth RM700)

RM58K only negotiable. Private sale. View to appreciate.

Drop me a line at vernon.chan[a]gmail.com for serious enquiries.

The just concluded R3 Time Attack Challenge 1dot6 over the weekend was both exciting and fun. I returned home without a podium finish at the end of the day, missing 3rd place by just 0.5seconds, but that’s the way it is in sport. Will be back to battle another day most definitely. Find a detailed write-up on The R3gister!

A huge, massive thank you to R3. First and foremost for bringing racing to our roots. Overall, a well-organised and smooth-running event. Kudos. And secondly as sponsors of Stage 2 parts for my car, including moral and technical support.

Also a big hand to new sponsors Silverstone tires (thanks Russell Palmer!), Ultra Racing, Racecraft, Kazuto Garage and Tufoil!

Technorati tags: R3, Satria R3, autocross, racing, cars, Race Rally Research, Ultra Racing, Silverstone, Tufoil, Kazuto Garage, Racecraft, D1 Grand Prix

The clutch is slipping like hell. I am bedding in new brake pads. Team Tze Racing, the racing team I am part of with race partner Stan, have secured a couple of new sponsors – Silverstone (semi-slick tires), Kazuto Garage (Enkei RP01 rims!) and Racecraft (carbon fibre bonnet!) for the 2006 season. We also look forward to having Triniti clutches to support our campaign in the coming events. Big thanks to R3, Ultra Racing and Tufoil who have supported us all this while, too!

Hell, slipping clutch or otherwise, I am ready. I am sooooo ready!

Technorati tags: R3, Satria R3, autocross, racing, cars, Race Rally Research, Ultra Racing, Silverstone, Tufoil, Kazuto Garage, Racecraft

The site will showcase information on the Satria R3 and future R3 cars – including specs, performance mods, testimonials, first-hand reviews, news and other related testosterone-filled activities for R3 and car enthusiasts. We will also work on a FAQ pertaining the SR3, which should answer the most asked questions.

It is a site run by owners, strictly non-affilliated nor endorsed in anyway, by R3.

Enjoy!

Power rating is 175bhp at the flywheel.

RS version has:
Titanium valves
Different cam profiles
Different air intake
40kg weight reduction
Heavy duty gearbox output shaft
Heavy duty clutch linings
Different 5th gear ratio
Lightened flywheel
Quick shifter
Strengthened lower suspension arms, front and back, with heavy duty bushes
Reinforcing plates on trailing arms to increase camber rigidity
High ratio steering rack (2.9 vs 3.1)
Increased steering pump flow with cooler
Larger proportioning valve in brake master cylinder
Modified fuel tank reservoir outlet to reduce surge
Double accelerator return springs
Water cooled oil cooler
50mm extractors
High flow catalytic converter & low pressure muffler
Thinner glass
No ABS
No central door locking
Manual windows
Manual door mirrors
No rear wiper
No clock
One speed intermitent wipers
Air conditioning as an option
30mm less ground clearance
Stiffer shock settings
Front 15 inch 2 pot ventilated disc brake option
Helical LSD option
Choice of about 4 different computers
White only body with black mirrors
Extra body spot welds
Different centre console
Flame resistant interior
No boot carpet
No underseal

Good stuff!
Sounds like something R3 would do! Salivating as I read more!

Currently running a Powerzone LSD kit with the standard F5M22 1.8 gearbox, but find it inadequate when autocrossing.

A MIVEC LSD gearbox would be a neat addition to my Stage 2 Satria R3 with its higher final drive and longer first gear ratio. A real LSD is certainly a welcome feature. FYI, the product code for MIVEC gearboxes are the same as the stock 1.8 ones, with exception of the ending four letters, which also denotes if it is LSD-enabled or not. Refer below:

F5M22-2-XRWE (LSD) (MD970429)
F5M22- 2-XRGE (LSD) (MD971903)

These are sourced from the CA4A MIVEC. Excellent MIVEC resource here.

So here I am. Short of being a prostitute. Need services? All ready to barter, doods.

BTW, also have a set of MIVEC Cyborg front bodykit consisting of bumper, spotlights, fenders, signal and headlamps for sale as a package. RM450 – cash and carry.

The communicative chassis was always eager to please, to be pushed to the limit. So much so in fact, that it almost needed that extra torque and horsepower to realise its true potential.

Enter Stage 2.

As promised, R3 is offering Stage 2 performance hop-up kits and components for not limited to Satria R3 owners, but also to the Gen.2, Wira 1.3/1.5/1.6, Satria GTi/Putra/Wira 1.8 and the Waja. Covering powertrain, drivetrain/suspension and styling components, Stage 2 offers even more power, and even better ride and handling.

Stage 2 Engine Upgrade
Despite having 120bhp at the wheels in stock form, the SR3 lacks depth in low-end, much like its SGTi brethren. Power only comes in at 4,000rpm, before pulling strongly to 6,500rpm. The Aussie-sourced but R3-spec regrind high torque Stage 2 cams, on the other hand, show a different side of the 4G93 lump. A much more intense, darker side that is. Coupled with a pair of intake and exhaust pulleys, the cams give the SR3 a much-welcomed boost in the low to mid range. My SR3, kudos to expert tuning by R3 engineers, drive 136bhp to the wheels. That’s a huge gain in power over stock, merely with a cam and pulley upgrade.

Power delivery is very, very linear and starts as low as 2,500rpm. From then on, it pulls and pulls till 7,300rpm! There seems to be an extra spike of power at 6,000rpm, and the obvious intake roar rewards you – not quite VTEC; subtle but no less addictive – an indication of how willing to please the venerable 4G93 lump has become. The spread of torque is pretty amazing. A brief test on the NPE brought me to 200km/h in 4th gear, at 7,000rpm with still some torque to spare. Upshifting to fifth saw 210km/h easily on the speedo. Impressive.

I am eager to post some figures especially 0-160km/h and 100-200km/h times.

Power and torque is addictive, and certainly makes a huge difference in everyday driving. Unnecessary to feed it too much revs now, as the torque in low-end is sufficient to easily power the car from standstill or low speeds. On long distance drives, you almost need an additional gear because it still feels torquey running in fifth at 150km/h.

Stage 2 Suspension Components
In addition to the engine upgrade components, R3 had sponsored the Stage 2 lower arm bushes and bumpsteer kit. A 4-point lower arm brace is in the works, and will be installed when it is available. It’s pretty amazing how much difference changing 7 bushes can make. As experienced first-hand during the recent SSO (Street ShootOut), the car is very sensitive to steering input, throttle modulation, braking and weight transfer. The steering is communicative at all times, with excellent feel all-round. I loved how I needed to minutely apply lock during slaloms and the car would tuck in neatly. The feel is so direct that, I found myself just too numb, almost beginner-like, when handling the car. The tail-happy nature of the Stage 2 SR3, as what Stan described as “probably the most oversteery FF car he has driven”, is a welcome feature, especially in tight turns like in autocrosses and autokhanas. Throw it into a corner, left foot brake and/or yank the handbrake, and the car would oblige with a neat 180, without complaint.

On the road, the car oozes confidence and is very planted. The bumpsteer kit really helps on undulating road surfaces, and if you are Malaysian (or have been driving in Malaysia), you would know that it’s pothole-laden, sometimes uneven in many stretches. Drive it fast and hard and it will consistently feed you with input and compliance. The wonderful thing about it is that it can be ‘naughty’, if you want it to.

Ultimate hot hatch? Hmm…close, very close…
It’s a very engaging car, the Stage 2 Satria R3. Perhaps this should have been the stock Satria R3 from the start. That may have silenced the critics who were not convinced of its performance. It may not be THE ultimate hot hatch, but it is, in Stage 2 form, I believe, the hottest handling, most affordable performance hot hatch, in the market today.

Want more from your SR3? You know what to do.

With my modded Stage 2-powered Satria R3, I am looking at a strong showing this time round, having just missed out on points in series 2dot5. I’ve dropped from 5th in Championship standings to 8th, therefore determined to finish at least in the Top 5 to score some valueable points. Stanley, partner-in-crime, currently lies 5th (dropped from 2nd).

For the first time ever, I will be officially bearing the Race, Rally, Research (R3) brand, as a sponsored driver. R3 recently offered sponsorship in support of my SSO campaign for the year, up till 2006. Acting as a marketing tool for R3 is indeed an honour, and in gratitude, I am committed to doing well in the series.

Podium finish? Very possible. Wish me luck, people!

Fastest SR3 on the planet? Hardly…

It was also no consolation that my partner-in-crime Stanley a.k.a Ninja_iga and I practiced handbrake turns in a simulated autocross environment at the 1Utama car park. The same car park where the SSO 2dot5 Drift event was held just days before. Armed with cones and a strong gut and left hand, I was smoking the Yokos with left handed, handbrake assisted turns, in anticipation for at least 3 potential handbrake turns for the SSO 2dot5 Time Attack course.

Come race day on Sunday morning, having just slept 3 hours the night before, Team TTR which consists of Stan, Prozac (the other SR3), Val a.k.a Whit3puppy (female contestant!) and Alex, our trusty crew member, were in high spirits despite suffering sleep deficiency. Andrew, another SR3 owner, was there to support and cheer us on.

Running pretty much in stock trim with the additional LSD kit fitted, plus a bottle of octane booster to prevent any form of pinging/knocking to the engine, we also ran stock tire pressure settings. Merely clearing the car of any lose items and removing the spare wheel, we were banking on our limited driver skills and the car, in stock form.

The course was quite challenging, the most challenging so far in fact, as compared to previous SSOs. A combination of fast straights and sharp hairpins, the course was met with part enthusiasm and part nervousness. Stanley and Prozac did some above average 79s runs in the Hung class we participated in, the fastest being previous winner Hammond Lai in his 1.8 Civic, low 73s. I managed a crappy 82s on my test, just trying to get a feel of the course.

The course was definitely fast, sandy and rather understeery in many turns, posing some problems (some quite major!) to front-driven cars, my SR3 included. Did not help that my front Yokos were balding at an intense pace. Bald! Barely 17,000kms clocked, geez!

My first timed run saw me improving by 3s from my test run, but far from impressive. Eventual winner Hammond obliterated and demoralised everyone with a 71s run, beating even the Rocco (1.8 class and above) category cars. Incredible. Stanley scored 78.67s and 78.64s for his first and second runs respectively, whilst Prozac 79.52s and 79.05s. We found the course understeery, maybe due to the sand, maybe due to the bald tires, and maybe we were simply trying too hard. Absolutely no answers. I had to yank the handbrake to counter the understeer, by forcing the rear out. This helped somewhat, but not enough to better my times by much. In the end, I scored an improved 78.2s in my final run as compared to 79.39s and 79.14s in previous, not too distant from Stan’s best of 77.14s. Prozac scored a close 79.05s, not bad for his first ever SSO event.

Team TTR and supporters in full force!

Final result and standing for Team Titan Racing (TTR) – Stanley – 8th. Vernon – 9th. Prozac – 11th. Hammond went on the win fastest time of the day with 71.43s. Absolutely fantastic time. There were some surprises this time round, much attributed to a faster course overall.

I had a good time nonetheless. Always fun, autocross events. Looking forward to the next round! Down, but definitely not out!

Full results should be out on Race Rally Research by tomorrow.

Efforts to diffuse the intensity has so far been futile as personal insults, at times involving fathers, mothers and the family dog, litter the thread.

I find it amusing how one car can cause such controversy. I’ve heard that no publicity is bad publicity, but this borders on the ridiculous! True, the Satria is a rebadged Mitsubishi Colt sourced from Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), and has been around for at least one and a half decade. And true, if my math skills have not failed me, it is an old platform.

Having said that, R3 simply took a tried and tested platform (the Satria platform is still raced in some countries) and improved on it. And thus the Satria R3 was born. Out of the intention to release a performance-bred, no-frills car for the enthusiast. This is the first effort, mind you. Without sounding like a kiss-ass Proton groupie, I’d say it is a good effort, though far from perfect. The AMG, M3, Brabus, Ralliart, Honda Type-R and Nismo comparisons are unfair for the 20-man strong outfit which probably had their fair share of hell with corporate Proton just to see the project through.

The Arguments
This is so typical of Proton, taking an old car, giving it a bodykit and new rims, then selling it as a new ‘special edition’. Look at the Proton Saga SE, Wira SE, Satria SE. Same old bloody engine! Same with the Satria R3. And it’s expensive! Anyone could have given it a SGTi bodykit, Recaro seats, MOMO steering, big brakes and suspension. What a rip-off!

Why use an aged platform when Proton has the Waja, Gen.2 and Savvy to work its magic on? From a purely enthusiast point of view, R3 took a base platform that worked, improved it, redefined how it performed and handled, then marketed it as Proton’s first official performance-bred product. The key word here is ‘factory-backed’. Reassuringly, a car with performance parts fitted that is backed by factory warranty. And 2 years at that.

The Satria/Colt/Mirage platform has been around for quite a while. This translates into plenty of spare parts, and availability of aftermarket modifications, many local. It makes perfect sense from a business point of view to make full use of the platform. From the bodywork, to carbon fibre bits, exhaust system, strut bars and suspension components, the SR3 consists of parts developed by well-known local tuners.

Remember, this is R3′s first effort. The Savvy R3 Concept already shows that R3 is serious about its upcoming projects. From way back when the Satria R3 was first conceived, it was said that the ‘R3 treatment’ would be applied to every single product in Proton’s stable. R3 versions of the Gen.2, Waja, SRM and PRM should see the light of day in the near future.

The Satria R3 isn’t just a slap-on job. It took research and development and lots of testing to get the level of performance it proudly bears at this point. Mods you do not see, like the spot-welding of the chassis translates to a great handling car. When you look at the SR3 as a whole package, I dare say you will not find a comparable performance-based new car at that price point, local or otherwise. At RM78K, it’s just a RM5K premium over the more luxury-based SGTi.

My SGTi does 7.8seconds in the century sprint. Why is the lighter, more expensive SR3 slower than its predecessor coming in at slow-poke 8.6seconds?

Without insulting any SGTi owners, it is a well-known fact that the original manufacturer claimed performance figures of 7.8seconds for the century sprint is over-optimistic. Even with the more powerful MMC ECU-based EMS, pre-2001 SGTis manage around 9seconds at best. Siemens-based SGTis are a tad slower at 9.3s, mostly due to emission standards compliance. Looking at the math, the power-to-weight ratio of the SR3 is simply more superior as compared to any SGTi, be it MMC or Siemens-based. Quoted power output figures of 105kW, is also slightly higher than its SGTi variants (103kW).

To summarize, the 8.6seconds 0-100km/h is a proven, honest-to-God figure. No over-optimistic marketing bullshit. This has also been backed by dynos amongst some SR3 owners. 120whp, true to spec.

Don’t buy the SR3. It’s a waste of money. Better off spending the money to buy a Avanza. Or a MyVI. Or buy a 2nd hand 1.3litre Satria, stuff in all the goodies and you will still have cash to spare for 2 teh tariks and indomie rebus (with telor mata kerbau some more!)

If you think buying a 1.3litre Satria, seam-welding it then stuffing in equivalent or better performance bits into it is a smarter idea, then go ahead. But it won’t be a new car. And ever heard of chassis fatigue? How about manufacturer backed warranty? No? Ok. One could easily tread this route, as do many, but look at it this way, R3 has done the R&D and packaged the SR3 with attractive, proven bits of kit. It also is giving you 2 years worth of warranty and support. It is also giving you exclusivity with the rest of the 149 owners.

The MyVI and the Avanza are good cars in their own right. But they are NOT performance cars. It is silly for the SR3 to be compared to these cars. Different target market. Different requirements.

Still not convinced?
Let me tell you why I like the SR3. I’ll break it down to 10 principal reasons just to keep it short and sweet. Alrighty, this is Verne’s SR3 Top 10 List:

Numero uno – the handling. It is an excellent handler with different characteristics to a SGTi. The SGTi is a good handler too, no doubt, but has handles different. This is apparent when you observe how a SGTi takes a corner as opposed to a SR3. The pitch, the roll. Different. Strut bars, custom damping, bigger front anti-roll bars, 10mm drop in ride height. They all contribute to the superior ride and handling. The damping of the SR3 is not overly stiff. Some people are shocked at the damping rates – just 2.5kgs front and 1.8kgs rear.

No. 2 – Better brakes. The front and rear cross-drilled discs coupled with Mintex is brilliant.

No. 3 – Top class steering feel. This is a major plus. No feeling of lifeless, over-assisted power steering. This is what is lacking in most cars. The feel is direct, much like driving a go-kart. Autoworld Malaysia likened it to driving a Mini. Direct, point-and-steer. Brilliant.

No. 4 – Better seats. The Recaro SR4 is firm and offers excellent support.

No. 5 – The Momo Tuner steering with supplied boss kit.

No. 6 – The stock anodised front and rear strut bars.

No. 7 – The rubber. Yokohama Advan AD07s are the stickiest road tyres in the market. Nothing comes close. FYI, the whole ride and handling feel of the SR3 was developed around the AD07s which is what gives it the confidence and grip on the tarmac.

No. 8 – The lightweight 16″ Advanti rims. Less unsprung weight translates to a lighter and more responsive car overall.

No. 9 – The full exhaust system. The tuned length stainless steel 4-2-1 header all the way to the cat bypass pipe to the free flow piping. Slightly bassy and pretty quiet at idle. Being non-restrictive, this is a performance feature.

No. 10 – The CF bits – carbon fibre spoiler and cam cover. Lightweight and trick-looking.

Notice that I haven’t really mentioned anything cosmetic. This is simply because the SR3 isn’t about bling-bling. Not that it is not aesthetically pleasing. It’s not about being a chick-magnet although to a certain extent it is. It isn’t about looks and making people’s heads turn when you swing by. It’s about driving. And true to its claim, it is a driving experience to savour. Every single time you step on the fun pedal and swing it through those tight bends. The looks, in every sense of word, in understated. No unneccessary body extensions and accessories. And yet, it does have presence.