Click here for more pictures from the auto show…

Here’s a little bit of background with my cars. The 325i/E46 began with a hard start in the morning and the car goes into limp mode due to some transmission control error. This precautionary measure is to protect the transmission from a very costly damage. But the error can also mean an already malfunctioning transmission. We are talking $5,000 here in repair! Aside from the tranny error, the thermostat was also found stuck open which attributes to the car being sluggish. This car has already 80,000 miles on it so the whole cooling system is due for a preventive maintenance anyway before it can do harm to the engine. It means, replacing the thermostat, water pump, expansion tank, hoses, a bunch of sensors and flushing the coolant. Phew! Listing those parts makes me go broke! Upon my further diagnostics and electrical troubleshooting, I concluded that the alternator is what’s causing the transmission control error. Basically, the alternator is not putting out the correct voltage, which is needed by the transmission’s computer module. I called up the shops and of course they won’t concur and wanted to do their own diagnostics. That translates to more mula from my pocket!

And that is just the E46. My Z3 was acting up too and throwing a couple of error codes. Sometimes, it doesn’t start when its cold. It also wouldn’t hold idle and stall when decelerating. It would also hesitate in the low RPM range and bogs and surges when running. I scanned the problem and gave me a Camshaft Sensor and Cooling System error. This is an easier one, I just had to replace the sensor and the thermostat.

So with all those problems I mentioned above, how much really are we talking about here? A typical BMW dealership will charge $100 to $180 per hour for labor and a certified independent BMW mechanic can charge $60 to $80. The dealerships around my area charge $120/hr and my goto indy (independent) shops charge $75/hr. Just for the record, do not take your BMW cars to just any auto shops that you know of. Most of the repairs involve a know how of the many electronic modules in these cars – which I hate! And stay away from the dealership as much as you can So anyway, my indy shop quoted me for almost $900 dollars just to do the cooling system on the 325i. Another $800 to replace the alternator. And for the Z3, it’s $300 to do the thermostat. Then they have to diagnose the camshaft sensor problem (which I already knew) and that will cost me at least $60 and an hour labor to replace the $160 part. Let me do my quick math here… did all those things just added up to be around $2,200!!!

I certainly would not pay that much for something that I can do on a weekend. So thanks to their detailed quotes because I was able to order the parts myself and saved some money too from buying it online. The parts on those two cars totaled to only about $700. I spent one entire day to fix the two cars and pocketed $1,500 worth of labor. It should have only taken me 4 hours if it wasn’t raining and I didn’t have to look online for procedures It’s still worth spending a day with my cars and at least I’m confident that they were taken care of and I don’t have to worry about a sloppy job done by some mechanics.

With all these money that I saved, it’s just right to give something back these holidays. I normally send money to my relatives in the Philippines but this year, they will get something extra

This day calls for a toast. I just became an official Ducatisti today! I picked up my new Ducati 848 at Moto Italiano in Santa Cruz. My wife took a few hours off so she can drive me to the dealership and take my pictures as well . When we arrived in the dealership, my bike was still in the stand and being worked on. They put in some fresh oil and cleaned it up too. After an hour of waiting all the paper works were done and the bike was ready for me to take home. You could see the grin on my face while I put my gears on and started the bike for the first time.

Getting out of Santa Cruz from Highway 1 to 17 was a pain. We were sitting in mad traffic for half an hour just to get to 17. The underseat exhaust of the bike was getting too hot and it was burning my hiney. I couldn’t split lane because I had to guide my wife on our way back home.

Here’s my first impression about the bike:

My ride home was about 40 miles from the dealership so it was a good distance to put the bike into test. When it comes to power and torque, there’s no doubt that the 848 is more than capable on the street. Leaving the dealership, I was able to gun it and to be honest, it scared the bejesus out of me. Although, I didn’t feel the surge up until 4K RPM. This is my first V-Twin or L-Twin so I don’t really know what to expect from it. I also noticed the rev limiter and the engine backs off just right pass 10K RPM. I’m used to revving my 636 close to the red line before I shift, that’s about 12K to 13K RPM. I don’t like shifting early. I’m a little bit disappointed with the narrow RPM range of the 848. I’m probably not used to the V-Twin yet but I kinda miss the smooth delivery of power from an Inline-4 engine.

The handling of the 848 is superb. I’ve ridden the zig-zag of highway 17 before with my 636 and I thought that bike handled it well. To my amazement, the 848 made it even easier for me. It’s a very well balanced machine. The steering feels kinda heavy but once you start leaning the bike, it just glides. It’s very stable and I could tackle every corners with ease and confidence.

When it comes to ergo, the 848 has the worse body positioning for street riding. It is very agressive and was more designed for track use. I felt it very uncomfortable but it is something that needs getting used to. It puts a lot of pressure on my wrist and it does hurt after a while. Like I mentioned above, the underseat exhaust gets too hot when the engine temp reaches 180 degrees. But once the bike is moving, it doesn’t seem to bother me anymore. A lot of 848/1098 owners complain about the side mirrors too. I can see why but it doesn’t really affect me. I have problems with the 636’s mirrors being unusable too. What I do with the 636 is, I have to move my elbows inward to check the mirror while in the 848, I have to move my elbows outward.

In spite of some of the negative feedback I have about the bike, the 848 is still a keeper for me. The bike is just stunningly beautiful. I just need to get used to the V-Twin power and I should be set. Oh, did I mention that I stayed in 3rd gear all the way down to San Jose. I just couldn’t get a chance to shift it up to 4th gear. I always run out of road. The 848 has plenty of power between first and third and it’s more than enough for street use.

As for my parting words, THE 848 IS AN AWESOME BIKE AND IT ROCKS!!!!

Wohooo! I finally got my Ohlins Steering Damper for my kawi and installed it tonight. This is one of the most important upgrade on a bike if it doesn’t have one. Even if it does, you would want to upgrade it to Ohlins. They are the leader in motorcycle suspension technology and a respectable brand in the racing world. Their linear (piston-style) steering damper is the highest quality damper available. It has 16 adjustable settings (clicks) for maximum tune-ability and control. The oil inside the damper is always kept under pressure to avoid free play. Two years ago, I had a bad tank slapper while riding my bike on the freeway. I hit a series of bumps causing my front wheel to go airborne. This is one of the reason why a steering damper is necessary. The damper helps stabilize the steering on a sport bike. A lot of riders ask if they will really benefit on a steering damper or is it just another bling on their bike. It is a defensive mechanism. It’s just like your leather jacket. If you think leather jacket can save your skin from a crash, a steering damper can save your life. At least, from now on, I can ride my bike with more confidence because I no longer have to worry about violent wobbles on my steering.

I’m an avid goer and I have never missed even one show. But to tell you the truth, I’m not fully satisfied with this event. They need to show more concept cars to make it more enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, I still do enjoy the new cars and a small number of concept cars that they bring in every year. At the very end of the building, there’a room full of exotic cars – Lamborghini, Ferarri, Bentley, Royce, Aston Martin, etc… sigh, I can only dream about these cars. They always place a barrier rope for these precious cars because a lot of people line up to see them and you don’t want to scratch a $250K mortgage payment, i mean car.

A lot of interesting car are gonna be on display this year. The (My) most awaited 2009 Nissan GTR ( a predecessor of “Skyline” GT-R in Japan) will be on stage too. I can’t wait to see this beast. I’m also excited to see the new BMW M3 with the new V8 engine. Not that I have any plans on buying either a GT-R or an M3… hint hint.

Some of the exotic and concept cars that you will see in the event are the $1.85 million Bugatti Veyron, Chevrolet Camaro “Bumblebee” in Transformers, Dodge Demon, Chrysler ME Four-Twelve and many more.

I officially launched MidsizeTrucks.org today, a forum for everyone who has interest on midsize truck pickups. It features all models of midsize trucks such as the Chevrolet Colorado, Dodge Dakot, GMC Canyon, Ford Ranger, Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma and more. I created this site so people can have a one stop site if you they are looking to buy a truck or meet fellow truckers and talk about their rides. Soon I will add more contents on the site like truck descriptions, specs, comparisons, reviews and more, which I believe will be very beneficial for people who are doing research about midsize trucks. I can tell you that forums were my number one source for helping me in my decision when I was shopping for my truck. If you have a midsize truck, please sign up and I hope to read your posts.

Here is my new Frontier Nismo. Isn’t he gorgeous? Look at those muscular fenders, those big off road tires… vrooom… vroom… lol. Well, excuse the crappy picture quality, it was taken from my camera phone. This is just the beginning of lots of fun ahead of us

On our way home, we saw a black Crew Cab SE parked on the street. All of a sudden I started liking the Frontiers again. After seeing the black crew cab truck, I decided that I’ll get a Storm Gray Crew Cab Nismo instead. The darker color and the extra cab in the back adds a better appearance to the truck. My reason for wanting a king cab is to have a longer bed but when I saw the crew cab in person, it’s not that short at all. So I called the same dealer again and they found one but no audio package and tonneau cover. I don’t care too much about these packages since these can be added on later. The Nismo Off Road package is actually better than the LE that I wanted at first because this one has Bilstein shocks installed and equipped with an ELocker or Electronic Locking Differential. So the deal went through this time but I won’t be able to pickup the truck until tomorrow night because it will be coming from another dealership 90 miles away.

The dealership that I’m dealing with has a storm gray King Cab LE with premium audio package, tonneau cover and tow package. I can get it for the invoice price plus a $1500 cash back from Nissan. This a sweet deal and it is definitely better than the quote for Tacoma with TRD Sports package. I can already smell the scent of a brand new truck