Thursday, March 22, 2012

R35 GODZILLA CRUIZE17th&18th MARCH (ATS @ Cameron)

Once again , it was that time of the month when a rest area became a rendezvous for this inaugural cruise for petrolheads and greasy hands fan boys,souped up R35GTRs to be exact.
Morning sunshine illuminated and eccentuated the silhouette of the chunky shape GTRs
As the place started to pile up with R35s by decent numbers ...
The organiser cum pro tuner gave some briefing inregards to the "R35 excercise program".Coz this time ,it ain't juz about the highspeed wangan shananigans but uphill and downhill touge were also included.As most people know ,Cameron Highlands are the largest hills in Malaysia. It's located in Pahang's north-western corner of Malaysia, at an altitude of 1,829 meters with a spectacular winding roads available.Therefore,several COBB mappings have been inserted to the GTRs for maximum paddleshifting actions....
as usual ,routine check ups were performed before the convoy....
breathtakingly beautiful beasts at its finest!
Owners were getting to know with each other,some were interrogating about other cars hefty mods done so that they know who they're chasing or being chased!
This time around the sweepers were a 2 continental V8s ,the BMW 645 and this beefy looking Audi S5.Geared up with H&R lowering coils , few milimeters of spacers to give that proper stance and a valvetronic exhaust kit gave it a louder throaty scream via a H-pattern box heel & toe mayhem.A sweeper with a twist.....
since everyone was pumped up...
more than 20 Godzillas rocketed the freeway...time to roll out!
Heading northbound of the North-South Highway, the GTRs fled into the horizon as several packs were formed naturally...the ones that were enjoying the pleasure of this cruise,the ones that wanted to get more 'umphh' from their R35s and the ones that were in their flat-out modes!
Enroute to Cameron Highlands, there were a couple of stops in the itinerary apart from fueling and regrouping....so one of it is to go to the Central region which is called Kuala Kangsar , the royal town of Perak, Malaysia...
...where another few R35s are joining all the way from Penang ,devotedly supporting ATS Automobile since the previous cruise made.They arranged for the rest of the convoy a lunch on the second stop at a club house in Kuala Kangsar
Not long after, 1st fuel stop been made...
Those 2 continental V8s resting side by side....
Waiting approval from the owner for some sick wheels to be installed soon...
Those CCFL rings daytime light on that GTR is so stealthty looking as if it was aiming for its prey in one of those hide-outs.....
Before the convoy, some of the owners had their rotor discs and pads upgraded, new tyres,new wider offset rims for better handling and safety....
while others upgraded in the engine departments and transmission strengthen components just to keep up with the veterans...
as the cruise rolled out ,a slight traffic build up experienced by the participants due to a road collision between a sedan and a really antique car done up for a wedding!!! nobody had the picture of it but no one was injured
so we carried through the journey ,....
highspeed
And the S5 decided to get into the fun as well
like any other convois,if 1 car starts to tease,then the rest will play that cat & mouse games !
Not long after that, the convoi took the "Kuala Kangsar" exit...
The traffic was slightly congested since it was noon time...
The 1st stop at this fruit stalls with a couple of GTRs from Penang gave us a warm welcome...
The guys took a breather for a while ...
...discussed and compared about their temperature and boost etc before heading....
...for lunch!
Kuala Kangsar filled with royal and military heritages...looking towards a fighter jet from a GTR's cockpit really tells that it meant to be a COINCIDENCE!
The carpark started fo fill up..
with hungry beasts and owners!
Being V8s or V6s its all about torque......!
Everybody had their chit chats and laughs among the participants
After lunch, its time to head to the final destination so last fuel up were done before heading uphills of Cameron Highlands...
some of the R35 experienced fuel tank compression when it was in half empty where the fuel spitting out due to the too much gas kicking out even after 1hour lunch stop..
as others calmly waited...
and reassembled before hitting the highway again..
to the final destination ,Cameron Highland......
...neverending R35s onsight!
Once again the Audi joined in the shananigans!...
and warmed up everyones hands & feet senses....
as the rest of the packs felt the itchiness and joined the rumble..
Not long the convoy exited to an intersection of 'Simpang Pulai' that leads to Cameron Highland..
after push and shove through the toll booth...
one last formation..
...before heading uphill..coz after this its all about maximum attack and some the packs won't see them upfront until hotel checkpoint
As the 645 cleared from the toll booth everyone selected the R MODE!
towards a spectacular 30 kilometers of winding roads goodness...
the cats and mouse chase began..
pleasant scenery starting from the bottom of the hills
Once the front and middle packs started their chases...
...its hard to catch up given the fact the inter-mitten civilian vehicles....
and the ones that were coming down from those blind corners..
not long the convoi reached their destination
Cameron Highlands fills with lushness vegetations...strawberries ,teas, salads...&...
Landrover defenders!...
Slight showers at the top of the hills...
its a haven for old beat up landy...
the Century Pines Hotel gave the convoy warm welcome...
and participants checked in ...(fingers were numb after the paddle shifting mayhem) and gave the vehicles a rest at the parc ferme
The journey were supposed to be continued for downhill drive to the town of IPOH for a seafood dinner and a midnight drive up back to the hotel but due to the rain continued pouring again ,so it was a group decision to abort because the wet course would've been too risky and nobody wanted to witness a million dollar pile up...
so dinner & coffee up in the hills...
and a private nite out for the convoy!
The morning after....a good breakfast buffet for the ones who woke up early the ones that survived from the hangover..!
Everyone were packing up and ready to check out as this S5 and the World War 2 german fighter plane inspired vinyl wrap R35 did...
While others waited ,some of the owners went for some last minute pickings...
Strawberries picking to be exact.A great "souvenir" to be bring home.As Cameron Highland post varieties of other commercial cultivation as well ,for local and export markets...
How could one dislikes having waffles,fresh plucked strawberrys ,whipped cream and ice cream toppings BEFORE lunchtime!...
The convoy assembled ,checked out and....
did a short drive to the lunch spot
It was a balcony top restaurant situated in a golf resort..
Steamboat buffet,a chinese delicacy was served
Everyone was stuffed and estatic about the downhill run soon
Again another shot of this World War 2 german fighter plane inspired vinyl wrap R35 from the side
Time to roll out!
A slight shower up in the hills, but on the way down it was dry everyone were stoked about it.As usual ,several packs were formed naturally... everyone was fast downhill. But this S5 was playin around havin fun with the boys (apologies for the footage quality) Stay updated coz more pics, footages and write up of the convoi comin soon, in progress folks!