Pagudpud beach


All that driving sure took a toll on Aibo's brake rotors and Tanabe pads though. Just look at them wheels...mind you they're supposed to be black!


Aibo had a full load of five people and cargo the whole trip. Overtaking slower traffic and keeping up with the turbodiesel Ranger on the long provincial roads was an exercise in planning, as I frequently had to wind out the little L13A3 mill to 6000 RPM in second gear for overtaking long vehicles safely. Hence, fuel economy over the four-day, 1200+ km journey was basically the same as it was while I was driving in Manila. The GD1 has light weight as its greatest weapon; load it up enough and its performance is slightly handicapped.

What Aibo lacked in grunt, he made up for in relative comfort. Had I still had the stock seats, I would not have attempted this trip. Although they lacked lumbar support, the Recaro SRDs were a godsend for long-distance driving. I was behind the wheel for long spells at a time, as long as 12 hours driving. The normally stiff ride wasn't as much of an issue either as Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte share some very, very good roads - much better than 90% of Manila tarmac/concrete - and Aibo was athletic enough to outmaneuver the odd suicidal maniac driver.