Pop the hood!!!: Can you name these engines?

Can you name these engines? I'm sure the gurus will ace this "test" in their sleep. But the point is, these motors are such eye candies!

Enjoy!

(A shout out to these entries from B2B XI! And yes, I know most of them are Hondas.)

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Bumper to Bumper XI: Car Gallery

Bumper to Bumper is one of the most sought after car shows in the country. Gathering the creme de la creme of car entries, this is why it is one of the few ones that I wait for every year. Happened on December 5-6, 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds, now on its 11th year,  B2B11 did NOT disappoint.

The entries were delicious. I felt so full I think I burped. And as expected, I came out of the show with my passion refreshed and replenished.

A mixture of old school Japs, American classics, tuner cars, drift cars, 4x4s and even an 8-wheeler truck! I did five rounds, looking at all the entries. Two hours of non-stop walking and I still didn't want to leave. But for those who didn't get to go, allow me to show you what you missed. Oh, and boo you. You missed a lot. :)

Ladder Events Production's Jonathan Chio with the Certified B2B Babes!

There were less old school cars this year but this stunning classic 1968 Corvette in the Total tent makes up for it.

This Mitsubishi Evolution VII is all stock and it should be. Nothing done to it, and it is still one of my favorites (as always).

Dating A Car Guy: My Top WTF Moments

Source

Being a car enthusiast myself, I am naturally attracted to men who share the same passion as I do. But even though I essentially understand the reason behind their douchey car-related decisions, any woman, car girl or not, would want to smack the heck out of these car guys.

Here are a few of my real-life dating experiences when I wished aliens would just take all car guys away from this planet...

Bumper to Bumper XI: A Theme Park for Car Crazies!

Bumper to Bumper is back! And its happening on December 5 and 6 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds!

I am a certified car show nut. But, there are only a few car shows I look forward to and Bumper to Bumper XI is most definitely at the top of that list. So when it was time for their press conference, I was literally one of the first ones there!

                         

Being the longest running car show and automotive lifestyle event in the country, if a self proclaimed "car guy" does not know what "B2B" is, he should be stripped off of that title. Now on its 11th year, Bumper to Bumper XI features the biggest production setup in any car show in Asia. Yes, in Asia.

JDM Tires and Magwheels: Revive Your Rims!

As any car enthusiast would know, all it takes to make any stock car look a bit more sexy is a nice set of rims. I have always looked at rims as a car's "crowning glory", the cherry on top, the sweet kiss that seals a car's look all together. So when it was time to get my car's first set of aftermarket shoes, like any life-altering decision, it took me eons to finally decide on getting an 18-inch VS-SD by Work...(dramatic pause)... It was like getting a diamond ring.

I got the rims used. So needless to say, it was definitely not in mint condition when I bought it three years ago. It had scratches, chips, gutter marks, bent lips and chipped paint. It had it all. So for the longest time I have been itching to have it refurbished. But I was just too picky in choosing a shop to hand my "diamond ring" to.

Enter JDM Tires and Magwheels... One week with them and my rims looked brand spanking new! You can remove the rivets on there and see each and every one perfectly shiny. Flawless paint. Every nook and cranny squeaky clean, it really left me in awe. I shrieked like a girl when I got them back. I fell in love all freakin' over again!

Here's another one of their works of art-- 17-inch Sebring rims. Originally silver mesh turned to stunning gold. Look at how that lip was polished too. Oh mama!

*For rates, scroll down to the end. :)

Car Show Politics

I remember eons ago when I was just starting to get into cars, how car shows were such a big deal to me. There wasn't a show too small or too big. Any car show would give me the same thrill, just being able to go. This was the time when I was still learning, and I didn't know squat about the who's who of the car scene. Decades later, I realize how I miss those times. 

Sadly I have to admit that my love for car shows is hanging by a thread. The excitement wearing off very slowly but I can definitely feel it. 

NOT AN EXAMPLE.
Source: SuperflyAutos

Pacific Drift Championship: A new reason to crave burnt rubber

So I was just sitting around the house last Saturday, planning to have a very busy do-nothing-day when a quick scan on social media led me to a startling discovery. There was a new drift competition in town and it was happening as I was stewing in boredom at home! Being a drift nut that I am, I refused to miss it. So from laying on the couch listening to birds, I was in the car driving to CCP in a span of about seven minutes.

   So far, you can count with one hand how many drifting competitions there are in the country. So this is an extremely exciting news for all drifting enthusiasts like myself. So thank you to Extreme Concepts PH and Ladder Events Productions, we have...(drum roll please) the Pacific Drift Championship!

 Aside from the drifting competition itself, they included two additional back to back events to go with it; the Form and Function Car Show and a red carpet movie night of the Fast and Furious 7 premier! Three awesome events mashed into one!

As soon as I got out of the car and smelled the burnt rubber in the air, my adrenaline started pumping. Followed by the music of high revving engines and screeching tires, aahh.. heaven. I knew the competition was already in full swing so I literally jogged to the entrance, and immediately secured a spot with a good view of the track. If you go home with powdered rubber all over you, you definitely got a good spot.

DIY: Trying out the ELEVO Headlamp Polisher

When I got my car Ace, his left headlamp was so blurred, he kind of looked like he had a black eye. I inspected it for leaks but didn't find any. So I guess it was due to the lamp's old age. Headlamps are exposed to heat and cold and dry and wet all year round so it's almost inevitable that the plastic turns into this blurry, yellow-y thing that just drives me nuts. Especially when it's paired with a crystal clear one right? All cars should have sparkly eyes. :)

I tried a couple of things to restore my headlamp back to it's original glory. I tried cleaning the heck out of it with different soaps and detergents, but it didn't work. I tried the popular myth of brushing it with toothpaste, and that also didn't work. I still haven't gotten over wasting that whole bottle of Colgate.

So after a while, I got impatient and decided to replace that black eyed headlamp with a new one. But I just could not give up on it because there are numerous headlamp cleaning products out there that I can't wait to try out. Just like this ELEVO 2 STEP HEADLAMP POLISHER. Let me read to you what it says on the box...

"ELEVO 2 step Headlamp Polisher is a revolutionary product that specifically cleans and polished headlamps for a clearer vision. It cleans dirt and stubborn yellowish stains effectively and protects headlamps against harmful UV rays. It is suitable for all plastic glass and glass head lights."

One box costs P279.75 and I bought mine from Ace Hardware. It comes with a headlamp polisher soft cloth (orange cloth) and a headlamp protector sponge (yellow square sponges)

I love how it doesn't just clean the headlamps (step 1), but it protects it too (step 2). Hence, 2-step! Sounds promising right? So let's try this one, shall we? D.I.Y. time!

AUTO CON: A much needed car fix satisfied

I haven't gone to a car show for quite some time now. Mostly because I can't get my lazy butt out of the house and endure the horrible traffic. But when a friend of mine told me about a car show that was going to be held 30 minutes away from my home, I was in. So last March 21, 2015, I was off to Circulo Verde to get my much needed car show fix.

Drum roll please. An event brought to you by LowNSlow, D2 Racing Pilipinas, Magic Bullet, Resurs, Sportline and Total... Welcome to AUTO CON! 

I think there were at least a hundred bewitching entries but here are the cars that made me stop and gawk. Let's begin, shall we?

MY TOP PICKS!

When I saw this Toyota Altis by Liberty Garage, I was totally floored. This is the first Altis I've seen on air suspensions. But aside from that, the tint-less glass with the stunning purple paint is irreproachable. Combined with those simple but elegant 8-spoke, 18-inch bronze rims, with the hint of blue from the lugnuts is perfection. I am such a sucker for clean set ups, and this Altis is the perfect example.

I mean, come on! How ridiculously beautiful is she?!

Ocean's Harvest Buffet: A new seafood buffet experience

Marriott Cafe brings you, their delicious, scrumptious, I'm-so-full-I-want-to-go-to-bed-now, Ocean's Harvest Buffet. I bet you have never experienced any sea food buffet like this before.

When my brother, The Pickiest Eater in the World, told me we were going to a seafood buffet, I thought, sweet! I automatically imagined myself in line at the buffet table filling my trusty plate with steamed shrimps, baked mussels, grilled fish... oh and I hope there's tempura! I would have been satisfied if I got what I had imagined, but once I entered the Marriott Cafe, I knew I was going to get so much more.

Marriott Cafe's Ocean's Harvest Buffet is not your run-of-the-mill seafood buffet. If you're expecting a typical buffet, that is not what you're going to get.

Aside from the glorious cooked dishes on the buffet table, what makes it so special is that Ocean's Harvest Buffet gives you the "fresh catch of the day" bar. A whole ice bar filled with stunning fresh seafood awaits you. Among the stars are the Dusty Jack (Talakitok), Parrot Fish (Samaral), fresh local grouper (Lapu-Lapu) and local Seabass (Apahap).

My Hiromi Kajikuma Minute

I will never forget the first time I watched a drifting car right in front of me. It was during one of those fancy car shows in Manila where in all I expected to see was some bad ass import cars and annoyingly sexy models that keep getting in the way of my shot. Little did I know, it was a trip that would basically change my life.

It was your usual car show. Cars here, models there. I was getting a bit bored when I heard through the loud speakers that there was going to be a demo by a Japanese race car driver named, Hiromi Kajikuma in the back parking lot. I had no idea who that was but the magic words; "Japanese" and "race car" stuck to me so naturally, I went straight to the parking lot and secured the best spot I could, with clueless expectations.

Source: Hiromi Kajikuma Facebook Fan Page

Shell Unveils New Motorcycle Oil

It's safe to say that Shell motorcycling lubricants has always been the top choice for our Philippine bikers out there. Even with all the aftermarket oils available, Shell has always been the go-to brand and with good reason. Affordable, reliable and it definitely gets the job done. So I got all giddy when I got invited to the launching of Shell's new motorcycle engine oil. Shell just gave our bikers another reason to be excited for their next oil change! And being a major Shell fan girl, I felt like I was going to a red carpet event!

 
 Okay, okay... I'm not going to keep you waiting. So without further ado my biker boys and gals, Shell proudly gives you... Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology... oh yeah...(pause for reaction)

Looks delicious right? But what is PurePlus Technology anyway?

What type of car guy are you?

 If you enjoy car meets as much as I do, and have attended roughly a hundred of them too, I am pretty sure you are very familiar with these types of car guys you'll encounter at your usual car meet. Enjoy! :)  

DIY: Replacing the Engine Thermo Switch

Inspecting for leaks, check. Cleaning the dirty radiator, check. Removing a busted thermostat, check. After all that shebang, Ace is still overheating. I know, right? There was a moment there that I wanted to jump off a cliff. But finally, we figured out what the heck is wrong with my cooling system. Drum roll please... its was all caused by an itty-bitty thing called the Thermo Switch.

"A thermo switch sometimes called a fan switch is a temperature sensor. Usually close to the radiator in your vehicle engine this device is the one that switches on the fan as soon as the engine/ radiator reaches a set temperature." - www.autosensors.co.uk

I can't believe it was staring us in the face the entire time. I had no idea about thermo switches until that day but why didn't I check the fan? We tested it and confirmed that the right radiator fan really wasn't turning on. A total facepalm moment.

So anyway, I was surprised to find out how easy it is to replace a thermo switch so I went ahead and tried it myself. Didn't have my nails done yet so it's perfect timing for a DIY session. :)


WHAT YOU NEED:

• A brand new thermo switch (of course)
• 24-inch open wrench
• A glass of soda and chips to reward yourself when you're done.

To Thermostat, or not to Thermostat?

 An engine thermostat works during cold engine starts. It has a valve that prevents the water/coolant to flow in the radiator when the engine has not reached it's normal operating temperature yet, therefore helping it warm up. Once it reaches the normal operating temperature, the thermostat opens up and lets the water circulate.

I don't know about you, but in my circle of car guy friends a large percentage of them have already removed the thermostat completely from their engines. I have always had this debate in my head why this is and if it's advisable to do so. It was a bitter-sweet feeling when recently, Ace put me in a situation that would help me come to a conclusion. My engine thermostat gave out. Major suckage.   

It happened right after I had the radiator cleaned (tried Lavramon) in Sucat. I was driving home, listening to Mariah Carey songs, all smiles with my newly cleaned radiator, when my eyes locked on my temperature. It was so high that it almost touched the red line. I believe my exact words were, "#@$% ^&*#@!!!" So I had no choice but to drive it back to the shop.  

We found out that the thermostat is stuck closed, clogging the water way, therefore making the engine overheat. My mechanic's solution was just to remove the thermostat completely. He said it wouldn't cause any harm to the engine except for the fact that it would take more time for it to warm up and reach it's normal operating temperature. It was already 5 PM and all auto-supply shops are already closed. So even though I was reluctant, I had no choice but to give him the green light. So now, Ace is running thermostat-less.

Honda Accord Thermostat

Although I trust my mechanic and although Ace is running fine without a thermostat, it still bothered me knowing that my engine is missing a part. So I decided to ask a handful of my car gurus. Should I have a thermostat? Or should I ditch it completely too? Here's what I gathered...

"Lavramon"... a sexy name for a radiator cleaning machine

A couple of months back, Ace (my 6th gen Honda Accord) has been having temperature problems and I found out the cause the hard way. I was driving along Ortigas when the temperature suddenly shot up and I could hear pressurized water coming from the engine bay. I pulled up in the nearest gas station and found out that a hose near the engine block has cracked and is spraying water everywhere. I got it replaced right away. While I was at the shop, I had them check all of water hoses if they were all in good condition and I got a thumbs up from the mechanic. It got me thinking about Ace's cooling system...

 Ace's radiator is filthy. It's filled with rust or mud or who knows what that brown substance is. So I thought, while all the hoses are still good, it's a good time to try out having the radiator cleaned to ensure a healthy cooling system. Meet... "Lavramon". Sounds like a sexy love machine.... well, sort of is. Specially when you say it with a hard rolling R. Lav-rrrrrrrramon. :)