Fully Synthetic Engine Oil for my Wish

Engine oil is what i felt like writing this morning!!! This is a fairly wide well covered blog and i am sure many has wrote their opinions. Before i jump straight into comparison; of course those that i have used, i need to define certain boundaries; my objective of doing so is trying to maintain consistency in my own personal point of view. Its about my 1.8l Toyota Wish using only Fully Synthetic Engine Oil from the day she depart Yokohama Dock. i am assuming she is with Toyota Genuine Oil (don't really know what type). Every oil change will come with an oil filter change. The first 1000KM on her i decided to flush her out and put in Shell Ultra Helix 10W40; about RM 200 oil for 4L. The next 10000KM, 20000KM, 30000KM and 40000KM i have used Shell Ultra Helix 5W40. Don't ask me why i stick to it.... i guess convenient and resist to change. Ride was smooth using this oil and it doesn't degrade much over a period of time. By the way my usual service interval is close to once a year. hahahha, i don't drive a lot in a small Penang Island. Based on my observation, new oil is brownish, yellowish and golden color. Viscosity felt with fingers are smooth, which means good.

At 50000KM service interval i took the plunge and switch engine oil to BHP Sy

nGuard 8000. Why? heheh simple the cost of the 4L 5W40 Fully Synthetic BHP Oil is dirt cheap. RM99.. yea no kidding, its a one time promotion by the way. The oil is pretty much similar to Shell Ultra Helix 5W40 in layman.

At 60000KM service interval i tried Petronas Syntium 5000. Why? heheheh again it comes with a tea set which i kind of felt for it. The marketing strategy works... at least on me. Other than this influence, i was influence by my fellow Wish forumers as well. For 4L 5W40 i am paying about RM200 with a gift. Not bad right as compared to Shell, of course not dirt cheap promotion price. This oil is a little different as compared to the earlier two. When new its color is fairly pale and clear yellow; Looks like water than oil to me. The color turns quickly to golden once its heat up by the engine. I felt this oil is not as good as the previous two; it degrades fast for the fact color changes too rapid and fuel consumption is slightly poor towards the end of use life.

I just can wait to change oil at the next service interval. The Petronas oil has not live up to my expectation. At 70000KM i decided to change to Castrol Edge 5W40, this time no gift or promotion, its the advertisement that constantly interrupted our favorite movies air time. Yes you guess it right the one advertisement where they mill saw the entire car into half just to show us how clean the engine was when using its oil. Price is around RM200 as well and the felt and look during new is just like Shell and BHP. I don't like this oil because it

degrades fast too, just like Petronas. At the end of use life about reaching service interval, you can fell the engine isn't running as smooth and fuel consumption is slightly higher as well.

Now at 80000KM i have changed oil again, and in the mean time i decided to blog about my experience. I have change to Voltronic 5W40, recommended by my trusted service center.

Cost is also around RM200. for 6 years engine oil price in malaysia has yet increase significantly. i have no idea why and don't have the intention to find out either, but if you have read my blog and decided to commend for the interest of public pls by all means do so. Back to the oil, when new its like Petronas type, watery, pale clear yellow color. I am not judging yet as its still too

early. Time will tell and stay tune.

Refurbishing good old 3 & 5 wood

Sell or not to sell.... on and off this come to my mind and guess what... i decided to keep it.

for?..... ocassionally bring to the driving range and keep it as a buddy set.

what i did is refurbish the clubs so it look brand new. :~)

1. first thing first remove old paint and blemishes... Key ingredient to nice brand new look after repaint. I used fine grid sandpaper with a bucket of water. after sanding here is what it looks like... bare naked.

2. next is take time to clean it and tape it. tape all areas that do not require paint.

3. next spray desirable color... i picked black and 2 layers. second layer shortly after first layer is dried.

4. finally with a layer of clear coat... and walah...

Nike SQ Dymo Str8 Fit 9.5* Driver

Its been awhile i stop blogging....instead of giving a thousand reason why am i not writing i'll just apologize. Its my bad for not putting priority into this blog spot for awhile. OK, get back to the title, first of all i would like to clarify this beautiful picture are a courtesy from web search, i just collage them together with the name and model on the picture's bottom left corner. What's this about? Its a review and i'll bet you, if you do a search there are a thousand more reviews on this club...

I am lucky and unlucky, having happy and sad mix feeling with this driver. The bright side of it, this is an excellent driver if anyone is looking for distance. Having said a small size build like me can drive this baby a long way, carry alone is 250m; don't talk about roll. The shaft is an excellent shaft from UST; their newest Axiv Core Technology. with the shaft mid kick, even a 9.5* degree loft plays like a 11* or 12*. Perfect launch angle with a proper tee off. So what's the sad part of it? Well, i only manage to own it for 2 weeks and it was sold to a nice gentleman/golfer. The shaft is good but flex ain't suitable for me. I need stiff or x-stiif shaft. So i sold its and get myself a Nike Victory Red driver with Aldila Voodoo S-Core Stiff driver.

Going back to Dymo, i love round shape driver head, the Dymo2 is a square one. The sound of the driver is nice, but maybe a tad louder for driving range. The sound makes you want to hit another shot with it. Nike really puts lots of effort into this i believe, the sound alone makes you feel you are actually driving longer distance with it. The Str8 Fit allows you to adjust the club face 8 different settings; neutral up right, neutral flat, open 1*, open 2*, close 1* and close 2*. I have the setting on neutral up right and the ball flight/trajectory is perfect. The only problem i have is the regular flex 59 gram shaft that when i do a full swing ball will draw/hook. stiff flex is nicely specs at 63 gram, but too bad this used driver i have got don't really give me a choice. In short, performance of this driver really makes me happy. Apart from performance, the appearance is a nice combo as well, call me bias, but i love the yellow/black colored shaft, so much better than blue or green or red.

Head cover is all right but i wish its a little longer to protect the lovely shaft from other irons rubbing and knocking. You know that's the reason why most of the driver head has that ugly socks looking thing... to protect driver shaft. Str8 FIT, what's this? all i can say is marketing gimmick and trending, Taylormade started of with MWT follow on with FCT, so Nike and Callaway have they naming convention as well, it all boils down to adjustability and fine tweaking without spending a lot. At the end of the day we all wants to play like the US PGA pros right? They are blessed with custom fitting, we are blessed with golf technology and industry that continuously giving us more.....LOL. With Str8 Fit, you don't get the entire luxury of a custom fitting equipment, but you can at least get a taste of it and all the what if (limited) you have in your mind. Forget about shot shaping if you are an avid golfer, with the 460cc very forgiving head, you can hardly shot shape with this driver, it will just wants to go straight, high trajectory and long flight.

with time limitation and i just wanted to itch off my urge to write this review, the write up is a little hasty and unorganized. so just read it and get yourself all pump up to test drive this nice driver Nike has invested. not to mention now its a steal at a price tag of USD$199 only at major golf store/ebay.

For Sale: Mizuno MX-200 - SOLD

Mizuno MX-200 Irons 4-SW total 9 clubs

True Temper Shaft XP Regular

Iron 4 to 7 is super deep mill pocket & 8 to SW is cavity back

Innovative Y-Tune Technology provides a massive sweet area for unsurpassed forgiveness.

Grain Flow Forged, 1025E Pure Select mild carbon steel provides the ultimate soft, solid, consistent feel.

Durable double nickel chrome plated finish

Modified U-grooves produce the ideal spin rate for maximum playability in all conditions.

More aggressive, triple cut sole design for consistent playability from all types of lies.

Online Golf

What's this blog about? well i am sitting in front of my computer and blank stare at the screen before decided to blog about this topic "Online Golf" After this i'll be heading to bed get ready for another day at work.

There are several good golf forum that i want to bring into my blog as starters. www.freegolfinfo.com, www.4gea.com, www.golfwrx.com are among the 3 i most visited while i am still in States, lots of nice folks hang around these two forums. what do they do? buy sell threads are among the famous. OEM discussion are second popular; club making comes next. there are still many threads organized to let people from all over the world share. In malaysia there is www.mygolf.com.my, www.kakigolf.com.my and its exactly what the other two mentioned earlier is all about.

The other online golf that i use is www.fairwayfiles.com. So what's this about and whats the difference mentioned previously? I use this to keep track of my game - my true game. Its sad to say Malaysian golfers are "BUAYA" breeder. As i recall, back in States everyone brag about how good they are or can be at the course/score. In Malaysia its the other way round you cheat to have a higher handicap to cut some slack - make a mistake or two and you still can win the game - yes we bet either big sum or small treat. Back to this website, its very useful to track your game and thats what i use it for.

In US there are many online store and the famous Ebay to get your golf equipments - easy access to your stuff easy money flies out of your pocket. In Malaysia the norms are buy golf equipment from shopping mall, independent golf shops ad pro shop on the course - limited.

So far i find it difficult to get a good website on OEM clubs review, i guess feeling is pretty subjective and hard to put it in words. In US hyper golf market like Golfsmith are among golf retailers that offers demo, money back as in you can try the club for X mount of dollars (not the full amount you pay for a club - far less). Like the idea right? too bad in Malaysia is limited to non existence, i have heard KL has such one shop that offers this service (super duper service). Whats good about this? LOL well you can try till your pants drop and buy the one not only you like it but love the outcome when you use it. In US i only have one sets of clubs but back in Malaysia i have sets of clubs...why? the problem stated above and not to mentioned its an expensive trail and error. Some of my buddies have loads of bags and clubs just sitting around in the house. Talking about buying power we are paying through our nose to get them.

OK, time to go to bed...... for anyone that come across this blog would really appreciate if you can leave some comment on good golf links, discussion, reviews. thanks

ZZZzzzzzz.....

Golf - Taiping Golf and Country Club - Perak

Taiping Golf & Country Club is also known as Bukit Jana Golf. Its a Par 72 6428 meters from the blue tee. The course is always soggy; it rains almost everyday. Today we finished at around 4pm and it started to rain on us already. The operating hours are a little weird, on Monday the soonest tee time is at 11:00a while the rest of the days starts at 7:00a. Currently the shower room is under major renovation...then where to shower after golf? lol you have to do it in the pool side shower. No lockers so keep an eye on your belongings.

Overall the course condition is good provided it rains constantly and consistently. The fairway grass is cow grass and the management is doing a good job in maintaining their greens. Today the greens are a little too long (i guess they are preparing for the coming weekend tournament); the putting speed is outrageously slow - i mean snail slow - todays putting pace is totally off. The green is still Bermuda and its packed and surface is smooth. We encountered only the fist 3 holes with top soil. I am puzzled why only 3 holes as well. Tee box is alright as you notice signs of usage. They are not the best but suffice. Despite lots of down pour Taiping Golf has little water hazard and they are not apparent - most of them are swamps... Due to the high humidity the ball tends not to fly. I am playing about 240 - 250m meter drive but only manage 200m + here; playing here you must remember to take one club extra to make up the distance.

Today i am still without my trusty MP600 driver. What did i use? well one of my flight mate is kind enough to borrow me his Taylormade R9 422cc with Speeder 569 Stiff shaft. The club feels a little light for me but this driver is straight as an arrow. I am totally buy in on this newer technology.

Par 3 are long i didn't bring my 5W so i tee them off with choke 3W, two is marking at close to 200m while the shortest is 163m; anything short will land your ball into swamp, the other Par 3 is also quite interesting; 170m with water hazard guiding in front. There is 4 par 5 and the first tee is the longest par 5. the course is designed to give golfers a flavor of "Wow this course is long feeling" a whopping 570m factor in the density its like playing 600m + distance. Fairway as mentioned is cow grass and its quite forgiving, i managed to play single ball throughout the 18 holes. Bunkers are scares (my personnel opinion) so not even one trapped me. Talk about bunkers, hole 6 is their signature hole (if i am not mistaken) the bunker is deep (more than a person's height - see it yourself in the picture) and bigger than the green guarding in front. From a distance you can actually see a creek separating the fairway and the green.

Club house is nice as well; we had our lunch there. I had a cheese beef burger ( i am conservative) and it wasn't bad at all. The only complaint i have is the service is slow but courters. We played 5 + hours and 1 hour is on lunch break. The golf terrace is only serving us and another table. There is resort and its a good family get away trip. The club house swimming pool is nice as you can see the course. Pro shop is small and i didn't manage to go in. Buggies are electric and well maintain. Before i forget the course is buggy on track and every now and then Marshall with motorcycles will be checking on rebellious golfers that don't abide to rules.

AGN only pays RM39 for a weekday round; not to sure about weekend rates but if not mistaken its RM20 more compared to weekdays. I would definitely play here - but i'll make sure we tee off in the morning and finish the 18 before 3pm to be safe form the rain and lightning/thunder.

Golf - Bukit Jawi Golf Resort - Penang

I thought i have lost these photos..... They are at least 2 years old and i have heavily PS them with edge soften effect...a little too much. I am not planning to revisit Jawi anytime soon so i'll use these photos for the blog for now. In future if i play there again i'll take more photos and split the blog to hill course and lake course. This is a 36 hole course and they name it Hill and Lake course; apparently lake course has more water hazard. What does Hill course has? hahaha...about everything you can find on the lake course....just kidding, significant difference is the distance; Hill course is slightly over 7km long. The photos here are a mixed and i can't differentiate them.

I played lake course one or two times more than hill, so the impression is better on the lake. Like hole ten is a short par 4, a chance for birdie with a good draw drive and let the ball kick down towards the green. Hole 15 (i believe) it a par 3 with water surrounding it (can see it in the picture). and cables you see are from lake course as well, if not mistaken its hole 8 and 9. Overall the course is in very good shape most of the time. Many Koreans play here; there are golf packages for them and if not mistaken there is also a youth program held here. Why am i not playing here more often than i should? since the course is one of the best in northern? simply b'cos its costly, on weekends the rates for guest is RM200 and if member sign you in its RM130; weekdays guest rates are RM130 - at least these are the rates i get which i think is a little too much.

Club house is big and nice but i don't quite like the design and pro shop is small consider a 36 holes course, with many rooms (resort), and a big shower/changing rooms. The swimming pool area is nice as well - my colleague had his wedding there - garden style.

lake course is about one par 5 shorter than hill measured from the blue tees, so to many its still a long course. in general the par 3 are well mixed; short mid and long irons play required, but far more important is accuracy is highly needed. there are several holes going back towards the club house has water hazard in play on the approach shots; hole 9 is one of them. All par 5s are reachable in 3 and for long hitters 2 is very manageable. Hole 5 is a very short par 4, down hill and many has tried one shot into the green - but the green is not sight able from the tee box. hole 3 and 18 are par 4 with water hazard off from the tee; tee off at least 220m (approximate) to pass hole 5 water hazard and 200m (approximate) to pass hole 18 water hazard. fairway and greens are very well kept, one of the very rare course which still has Bermuda grass on both. Tee box is alright; big and small and some show signs of heavy usage - divots. greens are soft and fluffy - the management really fertilized their greens, speed is quite consistent and condition is good for ball to roll.

Only if the fees are a little more affordable and or AGN resign them into the package - or else i don't see why i want to go there and play. Course is good but not that good for the money.