Roof sound deadening project

Sound proof my car roof over the weekend.

However, it took me several months to brave myself to start this project. I have tried searching for instruction on how to dismantle the roof covering and to my disbelief, I couldn’t find any information. With no experience and never seen it done before, it gave me more uneasiness to take off the thin layer of sheet covering with zero prospect of reinstalling it back.

However, being a member of TOCM, Malaysia unofficial Toyota Avanza Owners Club, it have helped me to gain confidence as I have learnt many valuable tips and completed various DIY project. RDS was one of the first project that I completed and it was the project that gave me the insight to how to start this dismantling process.

Starting by carefully and slowly sliding off the RDS (as it might rip off the fragile plastic covering), it exposes various clip-on plastic board that covers the A & B pillars. The coverings comes off easily by plying them off with bare hands, just be careful not to break any of the clips! Then the sun shades, passenger support holder, rear view mirror, internal lighting etc. are easy to take off by simply unscrewing their bolt with a Philip screw driver (the only tool you will need in this project). Finally, with everything unlock, just unhook the plastic sheeting that clings to the side of the roof. Don’t worry, even though this simple step of pulling the sheet off the side can be unnerving, the reward at the end when you see the final part expose is speechless.

Shockingly, Avanza’s inner roof is bare with nearly no insulator, which explains the noisy tin can orchestra sound when it rain- I can’t even hear myself think! And with virtually no sound proof material inside the roof lining, except for a few small pieces of recycle looking cloth form that are flimsily glued to ceiling, it took me no time to expose the bare metal by tearing the foam off and clean up the sticky residue.

Then in goes the Dynamat Extreme :)

Dynamat was chosen as I have used it on various part of my car and as a proven product, it should withstand the tropical climate as my car often get exposed to the sunlight heat. Looking at the specification, with working temperature up to 70c, it should not melt (finger crossed)

To reinstall, the most difficult part will be hooking back the plastic sheet. They need to be pull and tug into their original position, starting from one edge, slowing work your way to the other end. It can be daunting but not to worry as it will clip into place if you apply enough tugging pressure and I did it single handedly. For the rest of the accessories parts, just follow the step by step instruction backward.

As a conclusion, this is one of the most rewarding DIY project that I have done, rap test it and you will know what I meant. The car felt solid and traffic / wind noise was reduced significantly. I have not tested it in the rain as it haven’t pour this week but I am sure it will be 100% better than stock condition including the new facelift model.

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Duration Time taken to complete this project :3+ hours. Dynamat used : 3 pieces if used sparingly. 4 1/2 piece will be ideal. Good luck and mail me should you need any help.

Eclipse CD7200 mkII

For goodness sake, someone buy me this unit!

Eclipse CD 7200 mk II
Launched 2008, 7200 model is the latest top of the line car mobile audio CD player
from Fujitsu Ten

I have been trying to resist this contagious ICE virus ever since I caught it a few months back and I admit that I failed miserably. Every time I tried to stay away, it just keep coming back. For people that have gone through this stage, they can surely relate to my experience as the need to upgrade become endless. It's incurable, no matter how strong is your will!

What happened to need and necessity?

Well I guess it went out the window when I personally tested out the unit today. To make matter worst, there were other units on display for comparisons!

Initially I was eyeing Mcintosh 5000 with 24bit DAC but found out that it was way over my budget and wanted the ever beautiful Mcintosh 460 instead. So I did a little research and I guess I over did it and ended up having too many choices. From Nakamichi 700, 500, Pioneer P9 to Clarion 9255 but finally decided on the 7200 as it offers the best overall value for the sound quality and features among the various models that I have looked at.

At the showroom, beside testing out other brand, I had the chance to test out other Eclipse models such as 2100 with the 5100 and against the 7100. And the 7200 somehow stands out more with clarity and power. Maybe as a dead head and powered by a new 24bit DSP with the 8 volts, the output produce is more clean. Couple with more voltage being sent from the HU to the amp, the gain on the amp won't have to be turned up as much to match with the HU. Compare to the conventional 4 / 5 volts, the 7200's 8 volts provide more headroom, meaning less chance of the amp clipping? That's if you have a good quality amp to utilize all that beautiful voltage.

Other than the great sound quality, sadly nothing else impressed me about this unit. If not for the copper plate chassis and gold plated connectors, the cheap plasticky feel and look of the face plate totally puts me off. As for the 6 selectable pattern illumination options to suit car interior and personal taste, they are annoying and bright with no option to switch them off!

True to Eclipse tradition, the 7200 is full of features; x over, time alignment, parametric EQ : PEQ, online audio customization, it also comes with USB connector, Bluetooth (BT) connectivity for phone and ipod friendly (*ipod connector sold separately). However, maneuvering the vast menu is no easy task, especially with the light cheap plastic dial knob and its strongly advisable not to use them while driving!

With all that said, I still want it as it has great audiophile sound quality. So, some kind soul out there PLEASEeee buy it for me! :)

Excuses

I hate hearing excuses.

My mother for example has a chronic excuse offering trait and never admit any of her mistake and will some how find some excuses even if she is in the wrong. She is so afraid to be perceived as incompetent. Thus she can persistently and defensively make up excuses and she often succeed with outsider but she can never fool me as I can see through her like a block of glass. Probably its the up bring in her family as I noticed this clearly in her family members too. Excuses are plenty and always made to justify their actions and remove any blame off themselves. A bit kiasu in my opinion. Sadly, my sister inherited this bad trait of hers, although her intentions at time are good but its just plain lame to me.

I spoke to my little sister on the phone last night about her Chinese New year home coming plan. Btw, she is not little anymore, at 30 something, blessed with a little 3 year old daughter, they now resides in the UK after her husband (lets call him KS) received a job offer there a few years ago. We talked for awhile and the topic came to their house in KL which they bought when they first started working after graduating. When they left for the UK, the house was left empty for a time being and later, her sister in law move in, then brother in law with his wife move in and God knows how many people are staying there now.

And it came to the point where little sis told me that KS might have to cut short his Kuching trip short to return to KL as he need to find people to fix the house. Apparently, the house has been leaking for a while now and I asked her why didn't KS's brother or sister fix the problem or get someone to fix it. She said they did requested but no action was taken and she somehow had to give an excuse for them, saying that they didn't have the time and was busy with their work crap! What kind of excuse is that? and most intriguingly, WHY?

Living in the house for so many years (as a close relative) and they can yet ignored the leak for so long. A leak on roof can lead to many other damages, I can't imagine the state of the house now. It got my blood boiling when little sis added that the house's gate had also broken down, the lawn is like a safari jungle and yet she gave excuses for them. I do not know what gives.... With my sister's excusing trait plus KS family trait, too many 'I don't care less' attitude? I am just guessing here as I do not know KS's family and don't think I like to meet them either after hearing this horror story.

I just can't stand people making up excuses to cover up mistake, imperfection or to protect their self ego. And I must admit that I used to make up excuses for myself but I have thrown that attitude away because I don't want to end up as a chronic excuse maker. As seen in my mother and her family, they often believe that excuses are justified but over time, their words and beliefs just don’t match, and they tried to change them in order to resolve the internal “disconnect.” The mental processes of dreaming up excuses is both emotionally draining and personally demeaning and in the end, your own self-respect suffers, even when someone else is unaware that you’ve covered over the truth.

So please, stop making excuses and live a truthful life.

Eagles CD

Last weekend, I finally had a listen to the Eagles CD - Long Road of of Eden which I bought during my recent Singapore trip.

And its been in my CD player ever since. Oddly, I bought a bunch of other CDs but it never came to mind to test this cd as I was more interested in the demo test track cd that I bought. What a mistake! :)

Where did I buy them? I was supposed to shop at Delphi shopping center, the home AV center in Singapore, but due to time constraint I never made it there and instead I grabbed a few cds at one of Gramophone store located at the basement of Ngee Ann City Takashimaya shopping center along Orchard Road. They do have a wide selections of CDs but for serious Audiophile enthusiast, Deplhi Center is still the way to go.

The Eagle Cd that I bought came in a twin CD pack and had about 20 songs. At SGD22, it came in paper bag packaging and its stated that the CDs are manufactured in Singapore. The recording details are reasonably good, so it was not bad deal I thought, although xrcd format are available but they only contain 10+ selected songs at double the price.

Have a listen to them at their site, I am sure you will love them.

Busy being fabulous is among my favorite.

Singapore Visit

Despite a bad month in September, the holiday to Singapore was a great change.

The trip was planned a while back after I found a great deal on Malaysia Airline (MAS) website, Zero fare for a round trip from Kuching to Singapore and back! Even with the airport taxes, surcharges etc. added in, the trip still cost me less than RM500, which I thought was a great deal especially when I can enjoy all the full fare perks (meals, baggage allowance, seating arrangement) and save me on time and transportation charges if I go through JB.

Accommodation and transport were all taken care with first class. I even get to be driven in BMW latest 335i convertible, a 200 merc compressor and not least a family oriented volvo xc90. Coincidentally, F1 first night race was on when I arrived that day and I managed to catch glimpses of the race. Great atmosphere and the sonic sound from the F1 cars were just describable. And most of all, super organization skill from the expected Singaporeans, this I take my hat off to them.

Singapore F1 grand stand as seen from the ECP drive by

Golf was not on the agenda but I managed to squeeze in a game, courtesy of an invite from Latuk who is a member of the prestigious Sentosa Golf Club. And I cannot argue when they say it's undisputedly Singapore's most exclusive and beautiful golf club. (Check out the green fees >> HERE) Its also the home to not one but two of the most scenic yet challenging golf courses in the region - Serapong and Tanjong. Serapong is the venue for Asia's richest National Golf tournament Barclays Singapore Open. Great layout and maintainence, truly in a class of its own.

Teeing off at par5 Serapong

And there was a lot of food, in between the few restaurants, we had a mixture of hawker food such as Singapore Laksa, chicken rice, prawn mee, we even had pizzas with champagne! And besides stuffing ourself near to death, there was the, Shopping! The FX exchange was painful though, 2.4 ringgit to a dollar. Need time to recuperate.

HK next.