Wira upgrade project September 2017 update

I have done a few minor upgrades to my old Wira since my last update (including the engine mounts as mentioned in my last post).

1. Roof moulding.

The old roof moulding was cracked and you could see the metal inside, I tried to get this fixed at the nearly Proton workshop but when I went there, they did not have it in their stock. One of the guys went on to dissuade me saying that it would be very costly and that it is very difficult to attach and may fly off while driving, blah, blah, blah. I was quite annoyed the way sometimes mechanics talk to us - like we are fools.

Anyway, I went over to the Proton Wira Malaysia page on Facebook  and found a seller. I contacted him via Whatsapp and transferred the money after getting a quote. I was pleasantly surprised when I received it the next day. 

I had no idea how it was attached and there were no videos on YouTube either. I guess I should have made a video. I gently pried the old moulding out checking for the clips and it came off quite easily.

There was a lot of junk underneath and I cleaned it up. As I mentioned before, taking it off was quite easy but fixing the new one presented a few challenges. The clips on the roof went in quite easily but the ones in the front by the windows simply would not go in. I guess this was what the Proton mechanic was talking about. I solved this by arranging the clips so that they would go into the original spaces and putting a bit of superglue. It has been a few months, and they have not come off.

2. Number plate holder.

My old number plate was partly cracked and the numbers were in different shades - older ones were yellow while the new ones were bright white. So I decided to change the whole thing. Bought a number plate frame older from Lazada for RM28. Slight different from the original as the length is less but is taller. It has the Proton logo and the words "Spirit of achievement". I got this done at a shop in Kelana Jaya.

3. Seat Covers.

The car still has the original seats and you can see some wear and tear. I was initially planning to changes the seats to new sporty semi-bucket Recaro or Bride seats but they cost a bomb. Even the fake ones cost more than RM500. So I decided to go for the seat covers until I could afford to buy the seats. I found these nice looking covers on Lelong.com.my - black with red stitching. The are supposed to be semi-leather whatever that means. They cost me RM180 for both the front and back seats.

Putting them on were not as easy as I thought they would be. I also had to cut out holes to attach the headrests. They did look good when they were finally on but I realised that I would need to take the seats out and staple the covers to the seat underneath to prevent them from running around. however, I have not been able to get around to doing that. 

Actually matches my steering wheel.

3. Daytime lights.

Most modern cars now have daytime running lights. Actually this is not something new and even my old Volvo S40 had them. I had them installed at the same place I replaced my car number plate. However, they do not come on automatically and I will need to switch them on before driving. 

installing the lights at a nearby worksop

Off

On

4.  Bonnet Struts (Hood Dampers)

Finally, I decided to install bonnet struts. Besides looking great, they are quite useful when you fiddling around the engine bay. Got this pair of  yellow ones on Lazada. You only see these on the luxury cars. However, they only cost RM60 for the pair and I sometimes wonder why Proton does not install these on all their cars.  

They were really easy to install and I am quite pleased with my DIY skills.

There are so many things I want to do but I have to decide which ones are a priority.

1. I need to change one of the tyres but I am seriously considering upgrading the original 13" small steel tyres to 14" alloy rims. Some advised me to go for the 15" which will definitely look better however, I have read on various forums that they affect the power of the car and also affect the fuel consumption. Apparently 14" is the sweet spot.

2. If I change the tyres, I may as well upgrade the brakes as well. Seriously considering ventilated front disc brakes. I asked the Proton workshop if I could change all the tyres and the brakes with the ones on the Iriz. I was hoping to hear them say that it might be possible but they told me that it would be quite difficult as the cars were quite different and it would be really expensive. I asked how much? The lady replied,  more then a thousand.

3. The car also seriously needs a complete paint job. I have touched up some of the scratches and they look OK from far but looks quite bad when you get close. I may also need to change the rear bumper as some fool banged them and left without saying anything. Now it has a crack in the middle. Asked the friendly paint guy near my house and he quoted RM2000 for the whole car.

4. Other minor upgrades I have planned besides the big ones above include window tints (good quality and legal), minor upgrades to the engine including  POD filters, iridium spark plugs, exhausts and maybe the ECU.

However, I am also worried whether these upgrades would affect my car insurance. I am specially worried about the exhausts as I do not want to attract attention from the cops and possible car thieves. I have also read that changing the POD filters and exhausts do not make any significant difference to the power of the car apart from being more noisy. What do you think? Would love to hear the advise of other car mod lovers who have gone through the same process.