Perodua Myvi Turbo

The Daihatsu K3-VE engine was introduced in year 2000 on the Daihatsu Terios/Perodua Kembara and used in various other Daihatsu/Toyota cars, including the 2004 Daihatsu Sirion M301S, and later in the 2005 Perodua Myvi. The Daihatsu K3-VET engine is similar to the non-turbo sibling, with the same engine block and cylinder head, and the difference being the lower compression ratio, turbocharger and some minor changes on the engine block itself.

In 2007, Daihatsu quietly upgraded the K3-VE, which featured:

• Bigger intake & exhaust ports on the cylinder head
• Bigger valves
• Re-designed intake manifold
• Bigger throttle body
• Smaller sized spark plugs
• ECU tuned to reflect the changes

All these changes resulted in better fuel economy and performance while the rest of the engine remained the same. Daihatsu did not differentiate the “new” 2007 K3-VE and the original K3-VE engine, but merely specified different spark plugs for the new 2007 K3-VE engine.

Most improvements on the 2007 K3-VE came from its bigger sibling, the 1.5L 3SZ-VE: but there were still difference in terms of part numbers of the cylinder head. But in the end of year 2008, the K3-VE and the 1.5L 3SZ-VE share the exact same cylinder head, valves, intake manifold, with the only difference being the solenoid and the throttle body. Why the difference? I have absolutely no clue.

NOTE: Yes I know it says TOYOTA on the schematics, but I couldn’t get Daihatsu documents so Toyota ones will do. Remember Toyota OWNS Daihatsu. 

This upgrade was applied to ALL K3-VE engines, which includes the ones in the Perodua Myvi. Effectively, it is like a port & polish and enlarged valve upgrade done by the factory, which means balanced performance and efficiency throughout the RPM range.

In summary

• 2007: K3-VE was improved with new head, bigger valves, bigger intake manifold, throttle body, new spark plug spec.
• 2008 year end: K3-VE was given the exact same cylinder head part number as the 3SZ-VE engine.
• If you want to upgrade your K3-VET, it is better to find a complete 2007+ K3-VE cylinder head with intake manifold with a 3SZ-VE throttle body, or a complete 3SZ-VE cylinder head, intake manifold and throttle body.
• Port and polishing a K3-VET head will NOT be as good as a K3-VE/3SZ-VE head due to bigger intake & exhaust valves on the newer heads.
• The K3-VE & 3SZ-VE has a different throttle body and different idle speed controller.
• The K3-VET engine is compatible with the 3SZ-VE throttle body and idle speed controller. The throttle body and idle speed controller from K3-VE is NOT COMPATIBLE.
• If you have a 2007+ K3-VE, I will do a bolt on turbo instead of swapping with a K3-VET.

Myvi Turbo was in the workshop for 2 months, and under the care of my mechanic, he was kind to clean the car, only problem it was a dirty oily rag, which left an oily film on all the glass and mirrors. Under certain lighting conditions, especially at night, it impaired my view, with white streaks on the windscreen. While driving at night, the oily rear view mirror caused additional glare when looking behind due to the headlights.

I’m a big fan of Meguiar’s products, but the Meguiar’s NXT Generation Glass Cleaner costs RM45 and the Armor All Auto Glass Cleaner costs RM23.50, so I gave the Armor All a try.

Armor All Auto Glass Cleaner

The only concern was tint damage – I tested and it won’t damage my Llumar tint. Be sure to test on your tint before applying the product on the whole window, just put a small amount of product on a clean microfiber cloth and rub it on an inconspicuous corner of your window, wait and see. The product works perfectly, only cons I can think of is that it doesn’t smell good like Meguiar’s products, and it had bad instructions. If you follow the instructions, you’ll have a coat of the cleaning liquid on your glass and it’ll streak – a case of too much product used.

Follow these instructions and you’ll have streaks on your glass.

To use the Armor All Auto Glass Cleaner correctly:

1. Spray a small amount of  liquid onto a clean cloth and test on a corner of your glass.
2. If its OK, spray 3 or 4 small squirts on 1 corner of the cloth and wipe it on the glass.
3. Immediately buff off the product using the dry part of the cloth.
4. Work in small sections.

By using a very small amount I cleaned all the glass and mirrors in the car. This bottle is going to last me a long time.

For those of you driving Daihatsu YRV or K3-VET swaps, please take note of the T-joint for your radiator hose. For some reason the original K3-VET is using a plastic T-joint which will most definitely fail over time. The Perodua Myvi, Daihatsu Boon & Toyota Passo running K3-VE is using a metal T-joint.

If this part fails when you are driving and you don’t notice, your engine will overheat very fast!

Top: From K3-VE Bottom: From K3-VET

I was in the United States for a business trip. So guess what I hauled back?

Skunk2 60mm Universal Muffler

This is the Skunk2 60mm stainless steel muffler.  I chose this muffler after checking out several before & after dynos for both NA and turbocharged cars. You can check them out here:

2008 Honda Civic Si Power Pages

Honda Fit/Jazz Performance Modifications

Subaru WRX Exhaust Dyno Comparison

In all the tests, the Skunk2 muffler performed among the top, and it’s a solid performer on various different cars. However, the Skunk2 muffler is very loud based on the feedback from users especially the Honda community.

The Skunk2 muffler has a full stainless steel construction, with a straight through design as you can see in the picture. The Skunk2 plaque is welded on to the muffler and overall construction is very good.

The tip: how you tell its a Skunk2

Skunk2 straight through muffler baby!

My previous setup was a DSPORT 2” full stainless steel mandrel bent exhaust system with a mid muffler and a rear exhaust muffler. The new setup is 2.3” mild steel with welded joints with only the Skunk2 rear muffler.

I’ve been using this setup for 5 months now, and it is really loud especially on the highway. The sound is not high pitched or raspy, but more of a deep low drone.  This is already expected based on the feedbacks I’ve read. But, it is really irritating when you’re cruising. Seriously, your ears will be humming with the low drone.

So I got the Skunk2 silencer, which looked like this.

The Skunk2 Silencer Really Works!

I was sceptical if it is able to silence the exhaust, but boy it really silenced the noise a lot! No more irritating drone! Just slide the silencer in and secure it with the nut and screw provided. If you’re going to the track or just want to be irritating, simply loosen the nut and screw and pull the silencer out.

The Myvi Turbo is punchier with the new exhaust system, and easier to hit boost cut, which is an indication that it is freer flowing and less restrictive. Still, the DSPORT setup is better if you want a stock vehicle feel and quietness, but this is definitely more sporty.

Upgraded the rear license plate light bulbs to LEDs. It’s an easy DIY job, guide below.

Bought a pair of cheap T10 wedge LEDs.

There’s 1 screw on each lens, use a Philips screwdriver, unscrew and lift the lens out.

Firmly pull the bulb out, if you just drove the car with lights on, be careful as the bulb can get quite hot.

Push the T10 wedge LED firmly in. Take note of which way you put it in cause on my set of LED there’s polarity.

Turn on the lights and see if it’s working, if its not, put it the other way. Here you can see the difference in the color temperature of the bulb vs LED. Change both sides and you’re done.

Here’s a night shot. The LEDs I bought were cheapos, so they weren’t really white and more towards blue/purplish. I find it pretty cool so that’s okay and it matches the LED tail lights and LED third brake light.

For some reason the third brake light bulb burns quite easily on the Myvi. The first bulb burned 2 years into ownership of the Myvi. I had it changed for a Polarg Japan one which cost RM35.

Fast forward 4 years it burned again. This time I was determined to find a permanent solution by changing it to LEDs. Bought a 16 LED plug and play kit, not knowing it was a blinking type, there’s another 4 LED kit, which is a normal non-blinking one.

Changing the third brake light bulb on the Myvi is very easy, step by step guide below:

1.There’s a clip on the left & right, push the middle in and pull the whole clip out.

2. Slide the bracket off, there’s a bolt on the left & right, open it with a size 10 wrench.

3. Twist the bulb holder and the lens assembly will come off.

4. Firmly pull the bulb & replace it with a new bulb, or the LED kit wedge.

The bulb gets really hot during operation, which is why the bulb socket looks so toasty. I highly recommend changing it to LEDs.

5. Before reassembly check that the bulb is working. With the LED kit you can do confirmation like this.

6. My LED kit included a clear lens to replace the original red one. Just lift the tabs on the right & left gently, and pop the new one in.

7. Lens fully assembled.

8. Completed installation. The clear lens looks clean & goes well with the car. I like it.

If you read earlier, the Myvi Turbo was overheating and I upgraded the radiator, and the car was still overheating. After spending sometime troubleshooting, we opened up the thermostat to find this.

The thermostat was not first on my list to check because I opened the radiator cap to examine if the coolant flowed, which it did. So I assumed the thermostat was working. The truth was that the thermostat did open, but it was unable to open fully, thus the car overheat under heavy loads when the coolant wasn’t flowing fast enough.

The original K3-VET thermostat is rated at 80°C, and I replaced it with an exact same one from a halfcut Toyota Passo K3-VE laying in the workshop. You can also use the ones from the Myvi K3-VE. 

The two easiest things to check and replace when your car is overheating is the radiator cap and the thermostat. Do that first before changing the radiator.

When I upgraded to Synergy Radiator I used the 0.9 bar radiator cap that came with it which was faulty and made it much easier for the coolant to boil, and end up overheating.

One super easy upgrade to have a better cooling system is the radiator cap, a very simple device that plays a very big role. The stock Myvi radiator comes with a 1.1 bar radiator cap, and this D-Sport radiator cap is rated at 1.3 bar. 

To keep things very simple, the benefits of running a higher pressure radiator cap is simply higher coolant boiling temperature – which means less chances of overheating. For every 0.1 bar, the boiling temperature is increased by 2°C. Using plain water that has a boiling temperature of 100°C as an example, you can see how pressurization helps to reduce chances of boiling and overheating.

Are there any downsides to this? None really. Modern cooling systems should be able to withstand 1.3 bar of pressurization. I was running 1.3 bar radiator cap on my stock standard Myvi radiator with crappy plastic end tanks for 4 years with no problems at all. So if you want to improve your cooling system and prevent overheating issues, make sure you get a 1.3 bar radiator cap.

If you are facing overheating issues, make sure you check your existing radiator cap as it is a mechanical part and is prone to failure. And if you haven’t already, upgrade it to a 1.3 bar radiator cap. Please DO NOT buy cheap/imitation/crappy radiator caps. You are better off with stock radiator caps than to “upgrade” to something with questionable quality.

I was away for a week, and when I was back my Yuasa NS60 wet battery was flat. It was a little over a year old, and I noticed it was cranking a little weak last month. I thought if I went with a larger capacity battery it would fare better, but I guess not. Jump started the car and went to my buddy’s workshop to test the battery. Alternator is working fine, just the battery that is flat. Too lazy to charge it back and decided to just get a new one.

The other 2 cars in my house uses GP MF batteries, and had an average lifespan between 2 to 3 years. Before the Yuasa I was using the top of the line Bosch S5, which was utter rubbish for “top of the line” as it lasted only 14 months. The other car with GP Battery can sit for 2 weeks and start just fine. Not the case with my car.

Decided to go back to NS40 this time around, lighter, smaller, and the battery is only used to start the car, even the mighty Mitsubishi Evolution uses NS40 batteries only. Reminder to myself, the battery tray is pretty rotten so I should get a new one from Perodua.

It's big and it's flat.

I thought the bigger NS60 would last me longer, guess not. I always made sure to refill the battery water, so its not the battery drying up. Let’s see how long the GP Aurora lasts me. Hopefully 2 years. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

The new GP Aurora MF Battery installed in the Myvi Turbo.

Price is RM190 installed. I know its probably not the best price, but it was done by the best mechanic I know.

The Myvi Turbo was overheating so I picked up a Synergy Radiator to fix it. This will be an objective review, and I will update the blog with a practical review after using it for a few months. Let’s move on to the radiator:

Plug & play, no modification required to install – good

0.9 bar radiator cap, bad quality and was leaking – bad

The radiator didn’t leak – good

Given that the Synergy is ~60% thicker than the original radiator, it should perform better. I plan to get a 1.3 bar D-Sport radiator cap, and then I’ll put it to some serious stress testing and see if it overheats. Hope not.

I bought my Synergy Radiator from Hanzo Racing. You can give them a call at 019-389 1881 (Matt).