Author: Angelina Soul

  • Honda Civic Engine Vibrates in Parking Reverse Transmission

    This page is contribute to all Honda Civic FD owners who have engine vibration, roughness, rattle, rumbling sound or other similar situation when the transmission is set to Parking (P) or Reverse (R). Model years affected are 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Read the symptoms properly and see if it is similar to what you have experienced. If so, continue to read on to find out the right solutions and share your thoughts here.

    Symptom 1: One great early morning, you get into your Honda Civic as usual and start the car. The engine vibrates seriously and it sounds like it is going to break into pieces. The vibration happens when you put the transmission in Parking or Reverse. Instead, the vibration goes off when you put the gear in Drive (D), D3, 2, or 1. However, the car does not produce the same vibrations in Reverse or Parking after you have been driving it for a while. In the evening, the car engine doesn’t give you any vibration, rattling sound or rumbling sound.

    Symptom 2: The car engine vibrates when the engine was cold. It sounds like the engine is touching the car body. The engine vibration is gone when the engine is hot or when you speed up. Take a look at the mileage it is exactly 117,000 km (72,700 miles) and the car is 9 years old. This symptom is reported to us by Ashley who invited us to check out her Honda Civic while the mileage has just hit 100,000 km (62,137 miles).

    Honda Civic Engine Vibration Solution

    Well, the engine vibration may sound very scary to the owner of the car not knowing what happen. Do not panic because this is a common problem for most 8th generation Honda Civic owners. It happens when the engine idling or the transmission is in reverse. Here’s a little homework that you can do to your Honda Civic.

    Step 1: First, open your car hood and locate the right side motor mount as shown in the image here.

    Honda civic engine

    Step 2: Once you have located the right side motor mount. Squat down a little bit and check on the spacing between the bump stops. The spacing between the bump stops should be approximately 1 cm for a good motor mount. Check and see if the bump stops hit on each other. If that is the case, it is time to replace the motor mount with a new one because the old motor mount transfers the engine vibration to the body.

    Honda civic motor mount

    Step 3: The motor mount (some called it engine mount) part no is 50820-SNL-T01. For beginners, it will take you about an hour to replace the part. Instead, an advance mechanic will only need 30 minutes to replace the right motor mount.

    Honda civic motor mount

    Step 4: This is a photo to compare the old worn motor mount and the new one. The motor is hydraulic and it obviously has a lifetime. Take a look at the photo below, the old one is obviously worn out and look old. The new one is showing an approximate 1 cm between the bump stops.

    Honda civic motor mount

    Step 5: Once a new motor mount or engine mount is replaced, it should look like this. A new motor mount is cost THB3,419 from Honda Thailand and it should cost in between $100 and $150 in United States.

    Honda civic new motor mount

    Some other useful information for Honda Civic FD owner: Honda Civic Fuse Diagram and Basic car maintenance schedule (car maintenance schedule).

    At most of the time, this issue does not relate to bad spark plugs. Does the information shared here solve your problems? Please contact us and let us know if your problem could not be solved after the motor mount is replaced with a new one.

  • Hate Your Mini Cooper Back Seat? Here’s an Awesome Idea…

    Mini Cooper back seat

    Hate your Mini Cooper back seat? Here’s an awesome idea for you to deal with it. Dani Goulet from United States has converted his Mini Cooper R56 back seat to a very useful cargo space. With a piece of custom made trunk mat, Dani successfully made his car boot looks like factory made. In order to match the trunk mat with the car, orange is chosen.

    Mini Cooper rear seat

    Notice there is a huge MINI Countryman badge fitted on the trunk mat. Isn’t it is beautiful? It is unnecessary to buy a new Countryman badge since you are doing this for your trunk. There are many used MINI Countryman badge on sale at a cheap price on eBay.

    Mini Cooper rear seat

    Why not convert your rear seat to something like this if you don’t use your back seat at most of the time? It makes your car lighter in terms of weight and gives you more space for luggage and baggage. This kind of conversion is simply brilliant and very practical for MINI Cooper owners who often travel few thousand miles during holidays.

    Mini Cooper back seat
    Photo credit: Dani Goulet

    Do you customize your own car or your MINI Cooper in a different way than others? Please do not hesitate to send us an email to malaysiaminilover [AT] gmail [DOT] com if you would like to publish your car photos here.

    Mini Cooper back seat idea

  • Gymkhana Round 3

    Gymkhana
    The Ultra racing Gymkhana Challenge Series Round 3 has just finished. It was the last Gymkhana event for 2014 and also the last race for 2014 after the Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack. The venue was held at Speedway Plus Circuit USJ Subang Jaya Plus R&R. Race were separated into two main categories which are Precision Gymkhana and Open Gymkhana. Racers who joined Precision Gymkhana are not allowed to drift, skid, or make a turn with handbrake. On the other hand, drifting, handbraking, and skidding are allowed for Open Gymkhana. (more…)

  • $15,000 Custom Classic Mini Cooper

    Mini Cooper White

    When it comes to custom cars, it is either extremely cool or tremendously ugly. Cool in terms of making people feel “WOW” when they see the car. Ugly in terms of making people feel “NAY” and don’t feel like to take a photo of the car. Today, we are going to show you a custom Mini Cooper that will make you feel WOW. The owner of this white body black roof Mini Cooper has spent more than $15,000 to customize this car. Together with the car price, the cost of this car has come to a total of nearly $20,000. What?? A $20,000 Mini Cooper? Yes, it is!

    Mini Cooper White

    So, what makes this car so expensive? You can get a brand new 2015 Mini Cooper in the United States with this price tag. The car paint itself has cost more than $2000 (approximately RM6000). The owner ordered everything new from United Kingdom and that is one main reason that sum up this huge car price for a little Mini.

    Mini Cooper 13 inches wheel

    As you can see from the photos, the car is spiced up with a Zeemax look-alike custom body kit and a set of 13 inches Minilite sports wheel. Brand new stainless steel front grill, bullet side mirror, Aston fuel cap, Mini Cooper badge wings emblem, and many more to be mentioned. Look at the rear of the car, it comes with twin fuel tank. A classic Cooper style. Do you know how much the right hand fuel tank costs? It is about $350 dollars from MiniSpares UK.

    Mini Cooper White

    As for the interior, everything is custom build. Custom dashboard, custom air-conditioning, and a lot of extra gauges have been installed to the car. The seats are wrapped with genuine white leather to make it look clean and comfort. Do you still remember the previous custom Mini that was shared in MalaysiaMiniLover.com? The light blue two-seater classic Mini Roadster, Mini Shorty, and the matte black Mini Cooper with scissor doors. Which one do you prefer?

    Mini Cooper White interior

    Take a look at the engine bay, everything is so shining! The engine shines bright like a diamond! 1300cc paired with a 4-speed gear box feed with twin carburetor. Aluminum radiator, chrome master brake pump, and chrome wiper motor are a few significant parts under the hood.

    Mini Cooper engine 1300

    Mini Cooper engine 1300

    What do you think about this white Mini Cooper? LIKE or Dislike? Share your opinion with the comment features here. In a nutshell, if you want to customize your own car, make sure you do it nicely with creativity otherwise a lot of money will be wasted.

    Mini Cooper White

  • Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack!

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack
    December 21, 2014 was the final round of TimeToAttack race organized by ZeroToHundred. The weather was good and it was windy. It is the perfect weather for all kinds of sports cars to roar in the circuit. Outside of the track, there are many super cars appeared to show off including the Lamborghini Huracan, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lamborghini Aventador, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ferrari F430 Scuderia, McLaren MP4-12C, Audi R8, and more to be mentioned. Walk around the pit, you will see a few dozens of Nissan GT-R R35 flood the circuit with 545-hp twin-turbo V6 engine under their hood. At the car park, there are also a few familiar car parts brands promoting top racing car accessories as well as giving some merchandise to spectators. They are Volkswagen, HKS, Yokohama, Advan, Renault Sport, and Sparco.

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Other than the Nissan GT-R group, the second biggest car club that deluges the Sepang International Circuit is the Toyota Vellfire Owners Club in Malaysia. More than 50 Vellfires appeared at the car park and they are definitely adding colors to the race.

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    It is really no fun to drive in the Sepang International Circuit if you don’t have a car that produces at least 200 hp. Except the GTRsss, the Honda Civic Type R is another interesting group to check out. There are at least 15 Honda Civic FD2 Type R appear at the race and any of them is producing at least 222 horsepower.

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    How can a racing event without hot car girls and pretty Asian car show girls?

    Hot Car girls at Sepang International Circuit

    Nissan 180SX, Nissan Silvia S15 (driven by Malaysian Girl Drifter Leona Chin), Honda Civic EK, Renault Megane RS250, Nissan Skyline GTR 33, Renault Clio RS, Mitsubishi Evo 8, Mitsubishi EVO X, BMW E46 M3, Mitsubishi Evo 9 RS, Volkswagen Golf R, Audi TT-S, Honda CR-Z, Volkswagen Scirocco 1.4TSI, Mini Cooper, Honda Integra DC5-R, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Porsche 911 Turbo, Mazda RX7 FD3S, Toyota 86, Porsche 997 911 Turbo, Honda S2000, BMW E90 320D, Subaru Impreza GRB STi, Lotus Exige S, BMW E46 M3, and Mazda MX5 are a few more cars that we can see on the track on Sunday.

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    TimeToAttack Sepang Internationl Circuit race is basically divided into 6 groups and they are:

    • Group 1 (EUROS & GT CARS)
    • Group 2 (GTR & SUPERCARS)
    • Group 3 (NA & TURBO SUPER STREET)
    • Group 4 (STREET TURBO)
    • Group 5 (STREET NA)
    • Group 6 (TIME ATTACK MACHINES)

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    If you would like to join the next race in 2015, make sure you have read all the rules and regulations and prepare yourself for the next race! The fastest driver for 2014 is Desmond Soh who drives a Mitsubishi Evo 9 TAM clocked a blisteringly fast lap time of 2:14.903, setting a new lap record!

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack! Gallery

    For those who missed this event, you can enjoy more photos after the jump. (Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photo)

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack

    Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack Sepang International Circuit TimeToAttack