Picture courtesy of Victor Chen
Ridiculous or otherwise, my palms were sweaty. My 30-year old heart was racing as I nervously clicked around the booking site. When it was finally over and booking of the car done, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was one of the 150 owners of a Proton performance hatch! A Satria R3!
From the moment I set eyes on it and collected the keys, I knew I had made the right decision. As much as I was attached to the 1.8-litre single-cam Persona, I knew then that the SR3 was THE car for me. No matter if it is a Proton and all the negative sentiments that surrounds the brand. This car… is just SO me!
30,000 clicks, two tire changes, four track days, two sets of brake pads, numerous autocross events, 15 additional horsepower and Stage 2 mods later, the car still offers so much daily driving thrill.
Oh did I tell you? A pre-SSO tune-up (big thank you to Sohaimi, you da man!) unleashed a shocking 153.8-horses at the flywheel (135.5whp) and an astonishing 19.9kg/m (195Nm) of torque (17.5kg/m atw or 171Nm atw). With a torque curve as linear as it is possible, the car is truly responsive. Low-end to midrange power is phenomenal. I had never expected those numbers, especially not needing to port the head. Mad. Will post the dynochart once I get it scanned.
With each little mod and tune-up, this little black beast is heading towards being labelled the ultimate hot hatch, for me at least. Just missing the clutch upgrade, limited slip differential, hydraulic handbrake kit and short shifter. And of course the R3 Stage 2 coilover kit (still under development), which would be a welcome addition to an already fine-handling car.
Notwithstanding the VW Golf GTi and Ford Focus, the Satria R3 certainly deserves its label as a ‘hot hatch’. Ultimate? It very well could be. As they all say, never say never!
Calling all SR3 owners – What’s your story? How has your SR3 treated you? How have you treated your SR3? Tell me, tell me!
Technorati tags: Satria R3, R3, Race Rally Research, Proton, motorsports, autocross
ur post makin me damn jeles lahhhh… SO MUCH WHP! with cams and what other tuning u got?
Just cams and pulleys mate! I have Sohaimi to thank for the finetuning on dyno!
what he fine tune? is he a r3 personel? wah.. he tune campulley degree and ign timing? can he dynotune my campulleys and safc when i get the camshafts too? btw… is the superstreet camshaft THE stage 2 camshaft?
Yes, Sohaimi is one of the engineers. He rocks. Dyno-tune sessions cost RM200. Not sure about SAFC, but most likely possible.
Cam timing + ignition timing is fiddled with, yes.
The R3 Superstreet camshaft is the same as the Stage 2 one, you are accurate.
hmm can do safc? that sounds great! 200 bux for tune all my goodies sounds damn good. hmm does it include installation of the cams? after fix my banged up car, must start saving for em liao. thanx for the info!
Call Amin and double-check with him.
thanx but not so soon… now really no cash… have to fix my damnd banged up car. T_T
can this setup be done on a non R3 4G93? putra??
interested le…
anonymous,
Yes, it can. Same engine, although different ECU. Should see some similar gains despite the fact that it is optimised for Siemens.
I can guarantee you at least 12% gains over stock with the cams and pulleys. That’s over 15whp without effecting everyday sensibility and driveability.
I had mine done minus the cam pulley (with Amin’s advise) and the dyno chart shows 141bhp…not bad and yesterday I broke my top speed record at 211 km/hr…Wow at least its a lot faster then the ship I used to drive he he. I simply love it though there are rooms for improvement. Best of all I’m proud by the effort made by R3 to make this hatch ‘the best handling in its class’ good job guys and don’t let the political rambling distract your objectives. The day I sat my eyes on my babe #133 its been a honeymoon ever since, concured with you crash..no regrets ..only ..joy. It’s the man-machine interface of Sr3…as if we are one….what the point of having a car if there is no joy in driving it.
Well said, Cdr!
how to blog? me blur
I dont know how a 30 year old man does it but he has well pulled it thru. Just 18 months short of him & with wedding bells ringing thru, i am still amazed at how Crash has outdid himself in the true spirit of SR3. It has never been easy to keep up w the ride. Even at 15K mileage, i have already fallen short of maintaining at tip top.
As a sales person, the ride has proven flawless at taking me from point A to B in minimum time. UP to 5 appoinments a day with max safety at top speed.
i am even more amazed to see you win competition & still have time to kepp the r3gisterter up to date. Maintain good job, you deserve all great things coming.
SR3 #103
neca,
Thanks for your kind words and your support!
It’s not the cheapest car to maintain, I can tell you that, and we all have to make little sacrifices here and there to make it happen
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