Its events like these that I do love and enjoy, for the first time in Kuwait I see a tuning event at this level. With Bumper2Bumper, GulfRun, and Top Speed Motors. Top Speed Motors is an Automotive Performance company who have experience modifying every type of Japanese, Italian, American, and German cars, they have been top winners in several races across the US, and from I have seen these guys know what they are doing. It was surprising to discover that a Dyno such as this even existed in Shuwaikh, I have heard of a few dynos in different garages but they were always in these quick fix garages and not the best setup. This is the first corporate company that I have seen that has its own Dyno, and GulfRun working with Bumper2Bumper they pulled off a very cool event.

They had a Nissan GTR on the Dyno which was getting tuned, and these guys at Top Speed Motors knew what they were doing. These guys working on several machines earlier in the week, they got another 80 bhp at the wheel for a modified ’12 Mercedes C63 and that thing is a beast. The event was taken over by the number of Nissan GTRs, and the one on the Dyno got some impressive numbers but I couldn’t remember because of the ringing in my ears from the crazy exhaust and the flames that came out of it.

They got a 2 Door CTS-V on the dyno which got a decent 585 bhp at the wheel and a very decent amount of torque. The whole event was a lot of fun, it felt like the precursor to GulfRun, a lot of people getting their cars tunned and tweaked. I was annoyed I didn’t take full advantage of these guys being here since my Beemer needs a bit of work, its been a while since anyone looked at the computer. But they were here only for a week and they were working on two cars a day from day to night to give each machine the right amount of attention, and they were extremely helpful with all the questions. It seems this may not be the last time that Bumper2Bumper, GulfRun, and Top Speed Motors

There is always something special about a well kept garage but this house in Tokyo takes it to the next level. The client told the architects his requirements and they had 185 sq. meters to work with to make this project successful. The one main requirement is that it can store all 9 of his cars and they are visible from his living room. They ended up making a pristine garage with one lift to make the Lamborghini Countach Anniversary Edition viewable from the living room, now that is a nice view. The interior feels like a showroom rather then a living room, needs some more color and more of a personal touch to look lived in.

Link: Autoblog

While I was driving two weeks ago in the Landcruiser a sudden whining sound started, when ever I stepped on the gas. I knew something was wrong but I didn’t know what exactly and luckily I was close to home.

The odometer was at 154’000 Kms and I recently did the 150K service a couple of weeks back so I’m surprised something went wrong. I thought it would be a minor issue and would be resolved quickly. Dropped off the car at Al Rai Toyota Service on Wednesday, they said Thursday is a half day and I have the car back on Saturday. I thought that would work out fine for me. I got a call early Thursday morning with a list of items and a quote of 450 KD, I was about to start shouting on the phone because he basically wanted to replace the gear box and other items in the car. I told him that you recently did a 150 K service and supposedly checked all these items, I argued with the guy on the phone for about 15 minutes and told him that I will be passing by in the afternoon before they close. Got in by noon and the guy had a different tone, and the Egyptian manager was trying to explain. I told him I will pay for wear and tear such as replacing the clutch, but items that should have been checked at the 150 K service is something they will replace but I won’t be paying for it. After making me wait for about 30 minutes, I had the original parts list and told them they are going to replace all that they listed, and they came back to me with a 340 KD quote which is a huge difference.

They started working on the car on Thursday, but I didn’t get it back until Monday because even when I picked it up on Saturday it seems nobody bothered to do a road test drive because the huge whining sound was still there and turns out it had nothing to do with the gear box. Once they fixed that the car has been driving like it was when I first picked it up 10 years ago, the gear box felt solid and the change smoother, not so loose as it was before. Al Sayer service is probably the best in Kuwait, but sometimes you do have to get into an argument.

Parts Replaced:

• Front Axle Assembly
• Clutch Assembly
• Bearing Kit
• Boot and Cover Assembly Kit
• Bushings
• Front Shocks Seals
• Radial Kit for Shocks

Its only about 10 days until the GulfRun event and things are picking up. I haven’t spent this much time in garages in a long time, but its a lot of fun getting things to fit right. Everyone had a list of things that needed to get done, new brakes, new race tires, alignment, new fluids for the engine, transmission, and brakes, and a long list.

My car has been in the garage for almost two weeks now and hopefully it will be done soon. Just waiting for one main ingredient to complete it. So I was helping the guys with all their tasks and so I was driving the support vehicle around filled with lots of parts from brakes and fluids, rotors, to racing tires and special rims. I haven’t driven a Chevy pick up truck in a long time and this was very funny, the car kept making weird noise but it does well to drive in a straight line.

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A multi-tool always comes in useful, but this one is a little different then the usual multi-tool. When thinking of a multi-tool I think of swiss army knife, I don’t think there is anyone that hasn’t had a swiss knife at some point in their lives. This Spyderco Multi-tool is very different as multi-tool, it is more functional the the small pocket tools.

Features:

• Full Blade
• Functional Pliers
• Screw Drivers (+,-)

Price: $76

Link: UnCrate

They took Robo at night with the new exhaust system, ready to be fitted. I was getting axnious at night wondering what the guy did with Robo, where is he parked. Is it a clean area? Whats happening? Is it secure? I dont know! But I really woke up next morning called the Tristar Garage because I knew what time the mechanics come in. I wasnt going to nag them too much, but I was only checking at 8 am who was going to work on Robo. I know all the mechanics there personally. I have modified Robo so much! I love the way he looks, Robo looks agressive ready to transform into a 10 foot autobot.

Then I got a call at 12pm noon that everything went smoothly and the exhaust upgrade looks great and sounds great! I couldnt have made a better choice. Im lucky that my work is in Shuweikh. I managed to finish up early and head over to the garage! And all it cost me for the install of the exhaust plus the pick up and delivery was 23 KD! I couldnt believe it was so cheap! These guys do an amazing job and they are reasonable! Now thats great service! A+ service in my opinion, I know there prices might be over MSRP for the bikes, but its worth it with this kind of good service! And it seems that I am not the only happy customer a lot of people that I talk to who have had experience with them is really happy with everything!

After getting my bike home, I got in some old jeans and t-shirt, and gave him a thurough wash. It was great! After looking at the end result I went upstairs took a shower and relaxed!

This place is called Extreme Garage, its run by a young entrepreneur who has good mechanical skills. I found this place through a friend since it came recommended. They work on some nice cars such as SL55, Range Rover Sport, Dodge Ram SRT-10, and they work on normal cars such as Caprice, Nissan Sunny, Toyota Camry, and other vehicles. They install Lift Kits, Drops Kits for many type of vehicles. They also do body work and audio work. They have a very clean garage and extremely well priced. They have some really good people working there, the manager Shaji is a good shop manager, and this shop belongs to a young Kuwaiti guy who also works in the shop at different times. What I like about it is that the owner worked on some cars when I would be passing by sometimes. He really knows what he is doing, and it isnt corporate owned. They will do anything you want them to do, and they will tell you what they cant do. I even saw them painting a jetski. They will show you sample paint work if you ask them to, and they give you qoutes for any damaged vehicle. I saw a mangled up SL 500 and two weeks later it looks brand new, and they did a really nice job with it.

They are located just behind Safat Alghanim, if you exit from fourth ring road and take the exit for Safat Alghanim, you make the U-turn, and then you take the last right before Safat Alghanim and drive down a bit, then the garage will be on your right.

Contact: 4743412

So the other day my friend came down the morning to get into his Dodge Durango before going to work. He calls me up on his way down, and Im talking to the guy about food and stuff from the damn morning. While he was starting up the car I heard someting in the background like it was a big explosion, and I all I could hear from him was *#$% *@#(* #$%*$ (I add words here).

He gets out of his car and there is a fat lump in his hood. So I while Im on the phone with him, I redirect my way towards his house and fly over. 10 mins later I am there! The battery inside the car EXPLODED! Literally! It caused a huge dent inside the hood, as if someone punched it from the inside! There was battery acid every where! I reminded me of the blood from Alien and you could here the hiss! So I called a tow truck, and I told him not to touch the inside of the car. It was towed to Al Mulla to have it fixed. Ok we thought they would call us with a reason.

He is one light and cautious driver, and he takes the car in for service and getting everything fixed at the dealership type of person. So they have all the records and everything has always done at Al Mulla even though for their bad service! His car for a four year old car is in pristine condition! If that happened in my Landcruiser I wouldnt be surprised since I drive it like its a tank (which it is), but then again its built by Toyota.

Then the Al Mulla garage calls him and tells him it will cost him 495KD to fix the car! To fix the hood, repaint, new battery, new air compressor fan (it was damaged), wiring was damaged, car ECU was melted/shocked, and a few other things inside the car needs to be replaced because of the damage. He blew up and I would have to! He was shouting at them like crazy! They said its not their fault, and it isnt covered under the engine warranty even though he just had his service done a month ago! They were being ass’s about it! And this with their company buying lots of cars from them, and him being considered a VIP customer. He is paying as much as someone would pay to have a Porsche Turbo fixed! He was pissed, but they said they cant do anything about it. He wanted to slap the crap out of them, and we knew they were over charging him on parts, but they said they already took 200KD off the bill. That means it was orignally 695KD!!! Thats crazy! And they dont know why it exploded, and they wont cover it! And this with him paying for extended warranty!

Lesson Learned: Never buy a car from Al Mulla!

He will sell the Durango when he can!

So its been getting hot as hell in Kuwait and my 15 KD tint was just not doing the job! So i decided that I needed to upgrade the tint on my Landcruiser to something that can do the job and keep me cool to a certain degree. My SUV is sitting in the sun all day long, at work there is no covered parking, and its parked outside at home so you can imagine how “toasty” the steering wheel and gear stick feel like. And its takes a little bit for the car to cool off, about half the driver to anywhere! hehe! So I decided a few weeks back to go ahead and get a real tint which stops the heat and keeps the car a few degrees cooler. And there are four places in Kuwait, and here is there information

I was asking about two things a full tint for all the windows, because it doesnt matter what degree. You can have it clear or a little dark, or completely dark. And I was also asking about frontal protection, they put a layer of plastic across the front of your car which keeps it from getting scratched. This is really useful, beca

Sun-Less (Its still under construction, but some info is there)
4828834
150 KD For full tint (time: 4 hours) (Lifetime Warranty)
140KD Frontal Protection (time: 4 hours)

Zibart
4834099
150 KD Tint (time:6 hours) (Lifetime Warranty)
130KD Frontal Protection (time: 1 Day)

Lumar
4835522,
160 KD Tint (time: 4 hours) (10 year warranty)
140 KD Frontal Protection (time: 2-3 Days)

V-Kool
(I couldnt get a hold of them, there number with Kuwait Yellow pages was incorrect number)

All three of them have very clean garages, so you pretty much go by the small price difference or by the attitude of the people working there. Most the people were very nice and explained all the details. And they explained why they needed the long times, which I understand if they are going to do good work.

I went with Lumar since I was happy with the person I was dealing with, and they do the tinting inside the showroom. So now that the Landcruiser is completely tinted it feels a lot better. The car feels a bit cooler inside and the seat isnt burning anymore like it used to. The steering wheel and shift stick are still hot, but I can hold on to it, but overall they did an amazing job. It looks as if there is nothing from the inside, but from the outside its seems its like its lightly dark. I dont like the tints where its pitch black, this is just a light tint overall for the whole car.

Tint:
The difference between the high quality tint and low quality tint is two important things. One the clarity of the tint itself, low quality tint you can see lines or scratches in the tint and its shows that its dark on both sides, meaning if you get a dark tint it will look dark from the inside. The high quality tint is clear so you dont see any scratches, and because of the higher quality it seems as if you have no tint or a light tint from the inside, but from the outside it shows a much darker hue. Also the most important part is that the higher quality tint protects your car from the heat, and that is something the low quality tint does not do.