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Singapore is located in the tropics, with frequent downpours and some of these can be torrential. If you look up the weather channel or app, it's quite hit and miss, but occasionally, our weather guys get it right. This afternoon was one of them, and there was a pretty big downpour coming back from the goat farm in the Choa Chu Kang area, all the way back to my home. So I had to drive on single lanes, dips, potholes then hit the expressway, and the PIE has stretches which are covered in water. Not submerged mind you, which is requires another skillset, but basically there is a few inches of water on the surface and that can be even more dangerous. I witnessed all kinds of driving patterns and as a means of getting it off my chest and also to share and solicit tips on how best to navigate such roads in safety. So here goes TLDR Firstly, make sure your car is up to shape. That means proper tires that aren't slicks that are worn to the barest. Brakes that work, headlights, and other parts that have been regularly serviced. If sending your car for servicing is proving to be too much, maybe it's time to switch to alternate transport. If everyone doesn't do it, the person who suffers will be us, ourselves as we may think we won't knock into others, but others with shoddy tires and brakes will hit our cars too. Either way, there can be lives and limbs at stake. Now let's get into some car features that are desirable and we should make sure they work. ABS - in this day and age, every car should have it, but well, given that some local drivers would rather get nice leather seats and forego safety features, some of the important things that protect us can be neglected. DRL - daytime driving lights make us visible and in particular, a sensor that turns on the lights when it gets dark is important. I've seen drivers driving at night, who are blissfully oblivious to the fact that their headlights are not turned on The distance monitoring and auto brake mechanisms are not compulsory and I know some have said it doesn't work, but I've had plenty of times where the system has proven to be a real boon and I am grateful for it So let's come to the kinds of drivers we may see First are the blur sods, who don't turn on the lights in a storm or downpour and don't care about making themselves more visible Then come the leeches, these chaps drive way too close to the front car, and you should at least double the braking distance in wet conditions, but they continue to drive as though they are surgically attached to the car in front The slammers are next. They are often related to the leeches, since they drive so close that they need to slam the brakes in order to avoid hitting the car in front. Other slammers will slam on the brakes whenever they anything they are not familiar with, such as a puddle, so they hurtle along at speeds where they are not in full control of the car then slam the brakes when there's water, and either hydroplane or skid. Either way, it's not good for those drivers around them. Avoid at all cost. The weavers are next.. signalling is optional for them, and they will go from the outer lane to the middle and back with no car for the cars around them. Sometimes they may even be holding their handphones. How about driver awareness? So, knowing how to drive in wet weather is very important, and given that floods occur here far more often than the claimed once in 50 years, well, we should be aware. For deeper water, some basic notes: - know your car - what's the clearance? Most sedans and MPVs won't be higher than 155 or 160mm. And you need a lot more to wade through anything more than a puddle - don't slow down, but instead downshift a gear or two and step on the gas. Keep the water from entering your tailpipe I love my paddle shifters. In fact I use them in manual mode most of the time, even though I have an auto (DCT). In such situations, it's really easy to drop two gears and rev up and then go one gear up and accelerate - look ahead, are the road kerbs visible? Chances are, if they are gone, it's too deep for your car unless you have a Pajero with a snorkel - see where other cars have gone and follow, but not too closely so you don't drink their backwash or worse, they stall and you're stuck - if water does stall your car, that's not good news, so it's best to avoid going in so you don't regret. Unless your wife is about to pop, it's not worth it I'm not expert, but having driven locally, and overseas a fair bit, in all four seasons, I have seen quite a few road conditions, but I'm still learning. If you start to skid, don’t panic! Remain calm, even if you lose control of your vehicle. Try to keep a clear head and steer in the direction you want to go. DO NOT slam on the breaks-this will make you slide and overcorrect. Hydroplaning while in cruise control will cause your car to go faster than if you were driving the car manually Do not touch electrically-conductive surfaces. Metal surfaces in your car are dangerous if you're driving in very close proximity to lightning, since metal conducts electricity easily (leading to electric shocks). If you're driving in very close proximity to lightning, it's best to pull over, activate the emergency blinkers, turn off the car, and keep your hands in your lap until the storm is a safe distance away. I once drove in UK during the storm of the century. I was going up to York, when a huge column of water hit me on the highway and I lost visibility for a few seconds. It felt like ages, and thankfully I was in a C Class, which held steady and I just resisted hitting the brakes, and instead let it coast. I had also taken note of the road so before that, so I wouldn't hit the railing but it was rather unnerving. So back to my road trip. It began in sunny conditions, but the weather forecast predicted heavy rains, so I rigged for wet conditions, and kept a large brolly handy for my family. True enough, it poured just as we decided to go home. So along LCK road, just outside the farms, the roads dip and there are also small streams adjacent that may overflow onto the road when there's a downpour. My suggestion is to sit it out in a coffeeshop somewhere first if possible. If not, then pay attention to the techniques to go through wet roads posted above. Also note, there are some heavy trucks passing on the other side and you need to know how the road bends or goes, and know how to react when a wall of water hits you. There is an urge to slam on the brakes, but do resist that, or check whether there's anyone behind you, and also know how the road bends. Basically if you lose visibility, you can actually just coast or use the engine brake to slow down and very soon, within seconds, the water will run down your windscreen and you can drive normally. So back to the PIE, and there are stretches which collect water and you need to be aware. Hurtling down the road at 90 kmh can be a bit too fast for these stretches. Like LCK road, you may also get splashed and lose visibility, so beware of the slammers, so stay far away from them. Others weaver about, trying to find a patch of dry road, without signalling. The slammers also brake hard just before a wet patch with scant regards for those behind, so keep a healthy distance and double that. Keep your lights on too and so you are visible to those around you. Having wipers that automatically adjust to the rain is handy as well. What lights to use? https://www.championautoparts.eu/news/types-of-car-lights.html More about keeping your distance, because not all drivers are created equal... I personally saw one driver weaving here and there in a fancy Merc SUV, and he slammed the brakes before a wet patch and skidded a bit. Thankfully, he did not hit anyone or anything. I kept a healthy distance, and whilst he was hogging the first lane, going at 50 kmh, I did not want to get any closer. When we climbed a flyover where the roads were drier, I took the chance to overtake him. There were others struggling, slamming, and weaving, plus a couple of cars without the lights on, so everyone do drive safe.

BANGKOK: Thailand's first tropical storm in three decades, packing winds of up to 80kph, is expected to make landfall on Friday evening, sending thousands of people flocking to shelter inland and shutting down two major airports. The winds accompanying tropical storm Pabuk churned up high waves and gusts in the Gulf of Thailand, ahead of its arrival in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Weather officials warned of torrential downpours and strong winds in 15 provinces in the Thai south, home to one of the world's largest natural rubber plantations and several islands thronged by tourists. "The strong winds are forecast with waves up to 3 to 5 meters high in the Gulf and 2 to 3 meters high in the Andaman Sea. All ships (should) keep ashore," the Thai Meteorological Department said in a statement early on Friday. The conditions would persist into Saturday, it added. Over the past few days, 6,176 people have been evacuated to shelters from Nakhon Si Thammarat as well as the provinces of Pattani, Songkhla and Yala, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has said. The Nakhon Si Thammarat airport announced it had closed, and low-cost Nok Airlines Pcl said it had cancelled all eight flights to and from the province. The Surat Thani airport will also close from Friday afternoon to Saturday, cancelling flights by Nok Airlines, Lion Air, and Thai Smile, a subsidiary of national carrier Thai Airways. Earlier, Bangkok Airways Pcl also announced it had cancelled all flights to and from the holiday destination of Koh Samui, where ferry services have also been suspended. National energy company PTT Exploration and Production Pcl said it had suspended operations at Bongkot and Erawan, two of the country's biggest gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand. Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/thais-shelter-storm-pabuk-landfall-11086010

Installed a full set of lowering springs from Storm. Progressive springs, red and made in Korea specifically matched to your Hyundai / Kia models My first day of field report for the Storm Progressive Lowering Spring , here goes. Compared to coil overs, these are not adjustable for dampening nor height. Installation is a breeze as it only requires removal of stock shocks/ spring and replacing the stock springs with the Storm. Practically no alignment is necessary since your camber ( for most passenger cars ) are no adjustable. Castor for almost all car models are also fixed, so no alignment is possible. Toe in shouldn't be affected since toe tie rods will not be loosen or touched during installation. On the road, the ride is surprisingly soft. Compared to coilovers, these progressives have a almost close to stock first few CM of compression which soaks up the roughness of the road. However during cornering, the progressives nature would feel harder and harder as your corner hits more corner speed. Hence it doesn't feel like you are going to roll over feeling like in a stock. The lowered look, which has always been my cup of tea for almost all my cars except one, gives a farily equal gap all around the tyres and fenders. Over humps, no issue since it only lowers 3.5 cm front and 3 cm rear. Compared to my coilovers which was lowered to the max, didn't had problem going over humps either. So verdict.. if you are looking at lowering, progressive is way to go. Linear springs are just too harsh, base on my experience.

Just read on hail storm after having one yesterday. Apparently if the ice is big like overseas, it can destroy. Anyone car's damage? :P

Heavy Rain Warning Issued On: 27 September 2012 - 19:56 LT Heavy thundery showers with gusty wind are expected over many areas of Singapore between 8:30pm and 9:30pm. PUB says flash floods may occur in the event of heavy rain. For flash floods updates, visit PUB Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PUBSg or PUB Twitter: http://twitter.com/PUBSingapore

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18959934#

Oh dear, UK about to be hit by a one in 50 years storm too... hope it isn;t as terrible as the ponding we got in Singapore... once in 50 years storm

A powerful typhoon struck Japan today, causing four deaths and forcing companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. to close some plants, company spokesmen said. Typhoon Roke, the second big storm to hit Japan this month, was packing winds of up to 220 km per hour. The storm cut power to more than 575,500 households in Tokyo Electric Power Co's service area. Toyota, like other Japanese producers, has become overly cautious after March

Can choosing a correct president prevent this perfect storm from affecting Singapore? Just wondering how come this warning comes not from my beloved PM Lee?

Sky at AMK, Hougang n YCK is super dark! Have u shifted ur car? Updates n pics on other areas welcome.

Raining pretty heavily in city area. My location is on the edge of Orchard Rd... looking out and visibility is so low that i cannot see buildings in Orchard. Have you shifted your car to higher carparks?

ST 2 April 2008 HOME-GROWN tech giant Creative has found itself in the middle of an online firestorm after it threatened an American user who modified drivers for its Sound Blaster sound cards. The user, known only by his online moniker, Daniel-K, had modified drivers - software that allows hardware devices to function on a computer - to allow the Sound Blaster Audigy cards to be used with Microsoft's Vista operating system. Claiming the cards had limited functionality on Vista, he set about modifying them and distributing them online and asking for donations in return. But last Friday, Mr Phil O'Shaughnessy, who is the vice-president (corporate communications) of Creative Labs, which is based in the United States, posted a public warning to Daniel-K on the company's official forum. Mr O'Shaughnessy warned Daniel-K to stop distributing the modified drivers, and accused him of infringing Creative's intellectual property rights. He also warned him to stop soliciting donations, saying that by doing so, Daniel-K was 'profiting from something that you do not own'. News of the warning soon surfaced on several websites in the United States and elsewhere, including local forum Hardwarezone, and sparked a huge backlash against Creative on the Internet. The initial warning itself attracted more than 2,000 comments, with many threatening a boycott of Creative's products. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of posts on the subject have cropped up worldwide. Many users of the modified drivers are saying they did so because, according to them, the Audigy sound card's features are not fully compatible with Vista: When paired with Creative's drivers, only their basic features are available. But when used with the modified drivers, advanced audio features like Dolby Digital and THX, which enable users to hear realistic surround- sound in movies, are unlocked and become available. Creative takes issue with this. In his posting, Mr O'Shaughnessy said that if the company chooses to unlock features with some cards and not with others, it is a 'business decision that only we have the right to make'. But users retort that since the packaging for the cards states that they are 'Vista-compatible', they expect drivers with a full list of functions when used with the operating system. Others have jumped into the fray and are distributing the modified drivers on file-sharing sites like BitTorrent - for free. Some Singapore netizens have also expressed anger at Creative, but many others are also defending the company because it is a home-grown icon. User desertengineer wrote on the Hardwarezone forum: 'While Daniel-K probably didn't do it with ill intent, asking for money while doing it is a big no-no, and puts Creative in an awkward position. Sometimes they have to respond.' Creative Singapore declined to comment, while there was no response from its US office. Several users have noted that in the online world, where respect for intellectual property rights is frequently disregarded, the flaming of Creative is no surprise. Apple Computer, for example, was attacked by numerous users last year after it threatened that a software update would render illegally hacked versions of its wildly popular iPhone useless. But legal experts have criticised such attacks by users. In a New York Times report last September on the threats against Apple, assistant dean Noah Funderburg of the University of Alabama's School of Law said: 'We have a free marketplace. 'Buy a product, including using it on the terms accompanying the purchase, or don't buy it. And learn to live with not always getting everything you want.' CROSSING THE LINE 'While Daniel-K probably didn't do it with ill intent, asking for money while doing it is a big no-no, and puts Creative in an awkward position. Sometimes they have to respond.' DESERTENGINEER, a user on the Hardwarezone forum, referring to the American user who modified drivers for Creative's Sound Blaster sound cards

http://jparts.info/forum/index.php/topic,362.0.html

Hi. This morning as I pass by Lor 8 Toa Payoh, saw a lot of balloons at the former Renault Commercial Vehicle sale center. Stop and check and discovered that they are promoting China vehicles both the saloon car and van. The saloon cars comes by the name of "SOYAT" and the van are known as "DFM". Both brands are under the AD of Exclusive Auto who for what I know, selling Renault brand. For DFM, is konw as Dong Fang Motor but for SOYAT - ??? I think I drop by tomorrow (after my sleep after night shift) to test drive the vehicle. Look tempting from outside. The showroom is just one building away from Subaru showroom. Lor 8, Toa Payoh.

In response to the Borsch wiper thread some time back... Remembered seeing this in some magazine... For those who wish to have the aero wipers without changing the arms ... Check out their storm series wipers available locally http://www.entrustauto.com/dir-html/product.html