Arraya Complex in Kuwait City recently set up an EV parking spot. This is the third EV parking spot I’m aware of in Kuwait with the other two being in Al Shaheed Park and Al Hamra Tower. I like how electric vehicles are slowly gaining traction in Kuwait but for things to really speed up we need more electric cars to be sold in Kuwait. Right now the Chevrolet Bolt EV is the only electric car I’m aware of that’s being sold in Kuwait.
The Porsche Taycan EV (pictured above) just recently got released but I’m not sure if we’re getting it in Kuwait since you can’t even price or configure the car on the Porsche car configurator page. If the Taycan does get released in Kuwait then we’re definitely going to see a lot more electric cars on the street. And of course, if Tesla opens up a local dealership…
Last week I posted about the WhatsApp number which you could report traffic violations on. It didn’t really work with me but a few days later the Ministry of Interior published the video above. I guess I’ll have to give it another shot.
Has anyone tried reporting traffic violations to the General Traffic Department using WhatsApp? The screenshots above got forwarded to one of my groups and it shows a person reporting a car parked illegally to the traffic department and then getting a response back an hour later showing the person was ticketed.
I tried the service a few days ago and I didn’t get any response back so no idea if an action was taken or not so can’t verify this whole thing works. But, you can try it yourself, the WhatsApp number to report violations is 99324092. If you’ve tried this before and it’s worked, let me know in the comments.
Chevrolet Alghanim have the new 2020 Corvette on display at the Kuwait Motor Show that’s currently taking place at 360 Mall. The car looks really good in person and I was told the first shipment would be arriving in Kuwait in May. Half the shipment has already been sold before arriving and that probably has to do with the price tag. The new Corvette starts at KD22,000 which is actually a great value considering what you’re getting in return. A fully specced out Corvette is around KD30,000. If you were thinking about buying the new Corvette then you should probably place an order before the whole shipment sells out (if it hasn’t already).
Faisal Al-Kharafi goes by the instagram handle @porsche_collector and has one of the rarest Porsche collections in the world. His instagram account has over 200,000 followers and his home garage is inspired by Iron Man. Dennis Collins (from the TV series Fast N’ Loud) was in Kuwait back in 2015 for the Kuwait Concours d’Elegance and while here he got a tour of Faisal’s garage which you can watch above. Since 2015 Faisal has added more porsches to his collection which you can check out on his instagram account.
While in Kuwait Dennis also shot some other episodes including the one below which is a tour of another garage, not sure who’s garage but it has two mint condition Rambo-Lambo’s and a red hot Countach! If anyone know’s who’s garage that is let me know and hook me up with a tour!
Early this year Kuwait Motor Town (KMT) opened up and started offering track day experiences where drivers can sign up to race their cars around the circuit for fun. It’s a great way to drive your car to its limit while in a safe environment. But if you’ve never taken part in a track day before, it can be a bit intimidating which is why I thought I’d put together a guide. I was lucky enough to have friends who’ve been taking part in track days for years (mostly in Bahrain) so my first time was easier than most. I’ve divided this post up into different sections which I felt were important to highlight:
Registration
KMT usually hosts around 3 to 4 open track car experiences every month during the winter season. They also hold motocross, drag, drift and ATV track experiences as well but I’ll only be talking about the car track days in this post. There are usually around 70-80 car slots available every track day and they fill up really fast as in the same day registration opens up. For example, this past Sunday night KMT opened up registration for January track days and they’re sold out already, two of the days sold out on the same night. The track day fee is KD75 and when new days are available, KMT publishes them on their Instagram account. They sell out so fast its become a habit for me and my friends to book all the days first and then think about it. So the best way to find out when new track days are open is by following @kmtkw on instagram.
Your Car
There are no limitations to what kind of car you can bring to a track day experience as long as its not a single-seater, open-wheel car, or SUV. But, if your car isn’t a sports car I can’t imagine it being any fun anyway. The reality is that everyone on the track is trying to go as fast as possible and if you show up in a 4-door Corolla you’re going to feel very uncomfortable and pressured on the track.
The majority of the cars at the track are usually Porsches. They’re generally great because they can be driven as daily cars while also performing really well on the track. I’ve got a Lotus which I think is great on the track but more importantly, because of its weight doesn’t go through tires and brake pads like there is no tomorrow. It makes tracking a lot more affordable. Because my car was meant to be tracked, I can also stay out a full session on the track without my brakes fading or my car overheating. American cars, on the other hand, don’t tend to do so well on the track, they’re generally fast on straights but don’t handle turns so well and they don’t last very long on the track without having to pit.
KMT is located off of highway 40. I tend to drive my car to the track and back without any issues but I know some guys who prefer to send their car to the track on trailer beds because they aren’t comfortable with the road conditions.
Once you get your car to the track it will have to go through scrutineering. They’ll make sure your car is safe to go on the track and once it passes their checks, they’ll give your a car a track pass. Make sure you don’t have any junk in your car. You’re going to have to empty all the loose items from your car and trunk or else it’s going to be flying around everywhere. You also need to have a tow hook installed to the front and they’ve recently started checking the condition of the tires including the age to make sure they’re in good shape.
Things to Bring with You to the Track
A helmet really is the only thing you need to bring and if you don’t have one, you can rent one at the track. I think the cost for rental is 20 or 25KD but you also need to leave a deposit of around KD75. For food and drinks there is a Starbucks and a Costa at the track as well as a burger place and a dessert place. You can bring your own food and water if you want as well. Some extra things I bring include lip balm, gum, my GoPro and some basic tools (ie. ducktape).
Once You Arrive
When you get to the track you’ll take your car to the scrutineering area first and park your car there. You then enter the building to right of that area and get your registration sticker and wristband. You would have to have already registered and purchased an entry to the track day online beforehand. Registration on the day of the event just involves you signing a waiver and collecting your passes. Once you get your pass you then go back to your car and wait for the scrutineering crew to check your car. After that is done you will be allowed to enter the pit lane.
Drivers are split into two groups, A and B. There isn’t a specific formula from my understanding, it’s not like one group is faster or has more experienced drivers, drivers are just split up randomly. Once you enter the pit lane you can park in any of the empty garages corresponding to your group letter. Once you park your car you can then set up your base for the day. You can empty your car contents and leave your stuff in that garage while you’re out on the track.
Briefing Session and Lead and Follow Laps
Before the track opens up a briefing session is held which is mandatory for every driver to attend. During the briefing session, they will discuss the track rules, explain what all the different colored flags on the side of the track mean and share tips and pointers. This is a good time to ask any questions as well.
After the briefing session, there will be lead and follow laps on the track. This is for drivers to familiarize themselves with the circuit by following a lead car around the track. Nobody is really speeding or racing here, it’s just a fast-paced drive around the track while following the cars in front of you.
On the Track
After the lead and follow sessions are done, the different groups are let out onto the track in 30 minute intervals. So for example, 4PM to 4:30PM is for Group A cars, then 4:30PM to 5PM is Group B, then it’s Group A again, then Group B etc. Although it doesn’t sound like much, 30 minutes is more than enough track time and a lot of the cars can’t really even stay out that long without coming into the pits to cool down.
Out on the track, it can be intimidating with everyone driving as if they’re racing for the championship but as long as you give way to faster moving cars you’ll be fine. Generally, you’re not meant to overtake on turns only on straights so if you see a car behind you that’s faster than you, move out of the way and let them pass.
The more you track the better you will get. One way of improving your driving is by having a more experienced driver sit next to you. In my case, I have friends who are really good drivers and every now and then I’ll have them hop in the car with me and give me tips like in the video above where I was able to shave off around 2 seconds from my fastest lap just by having my friend give me pointers. After that session I understood my weaknesses better and the following track day I improved on my driving even more and managed to break the 2 minute barrier (video below). If you don’t have a friend who can give you tips thats also not an issue. Lotus are sponsoring all the track days this season and they usually have two cars available to drive on the track with a professional driver.
Fuel
Depending on your car you might need to refuel often. There is a small fuel station at the end of the pitlane with Ultra 98 fuel. They only take cash, no Knet. Some guys bring their own fuel to the track that is also ok.
Off the Track
You don’t need to go out on the track every session, you don’t need to start at the beginning of the session either, once it’s your group’s turn you can go out onto the track at any time. It’s a very chill atmosphere, even in the pit garages, everyone is just hanging out. Me and my friends bring our own chairs to sit on while waiting for our next session and I’ve seen guys set up a cozy diwaniya as well. Not everyone there is in groups, you have a lot of guys who come alone so its easy to socialize. There aren’t that many female drivers, there is one whos there at every track day but the other girls I’ve seen at the track are there with their husbands or boyfriends and either chill in the pits or go out onto the track as a passenger.
Any Questions?
So that’s basically it really. I can’t think of anything else to add to the above but in case you have any questions just let me know in the comments below.
If you’re planning on using road 40 this weekend then you might be in for some traffic since they’ll be completely closing off part of the highway near Mishref because they’ll be demolishing a bridge. For those heading to KMT this Saturday for Open Track, might be better to take Fahaheel Expressway instead.
Spotted this in Dubai over the weekend. It’s an autonomous vehicle that just drives around until someone waves at it and then it stops. Once it stops you can then buy water and snacks from it.
A couple of weeks back I posted about how you could now renew your driving license online. To test it out for the blog I decided to renew my long expired motorbike license and the whole process ended up taking less than 5 minutes. The only thing left was to pick up my driving license from any of the machines located around Kuwait and I decided to pick mine up from Avenues. Well, things didn’t go smoothly for me.
So here is what happened. I went to the machine to print my new motorbike license, I put my Civil ID in, I logged into my account and then the machine asked me to insert my driving license. When I insert my motorbike license it rejects it saying it was expired, when I insert my driving license it accepts it and then pulls up an image of my just renewed motorbike license and asks me if I want to print that. But, if I choose to print it then the machine would keep my driving license which I need and print out my new motorbike license instead. The machine should be taking my old motorbike license and printing out a new one but for some reason it wants me to trade my driving license for a motorbike one.
The support guy at the machines told me he hadn’t come across this issue before and didn’t know how to solve it and that I should head to muroor 3aseema (Kuwait City traffic department) to try and solve my issue. But since I only wanted to renew my motorbike license so I could post about my experience on the blog, I’m obviously not gonna go through that hassle.
Even though I ran into trouble with this whole renewal thing I do think under normal circumstances this process works really well and smoothly. If you’ve managed to get your license renewed and printed let us know about your experience in the comments below.
When I was in Dubai a couple of weekends ago I got a Wizr t-shirt printed for me and a friend similar to the one Keith Wells had back in the 70s (the author of Wizr). I got it done at Virgin Megastore in Dubai Mall and it only took a few minutes to print each t-shirt. It was like an inkjet printer for t-shirts and the quality of the print was pretty incredible.
Has anyone seen anything similar in Kuwait? The printer kind is called a “Direct-to-Garment Printer” but the only ones I’ve seen in Kuwait use heat transfer with an end result that isn’t so great. With direct-to-garment printing, the t-shirt ends up looking like it was printed in a fashion production line.
Last night Kuwait Motor Town opened up registration for an open track experience for this coming Saturday. As of this post there are still slots available so if you’re interested in participating with your car, you need to book like right now.
GulfRun is an annual motorsport event that started back in 2005 as a weekend getaway for a group of friends passionate about racing. Because Kuwait didn’t have a racetrack, GulfRun used to take place in Bahrain and all the cars would get sent there for the weekend event and then brought back once it was over.
But, now that Kuwait has it’s own racetrack, GulfRun will be taking place in Kuwait for the very first time!
GulfRun will be taking place this coming Friday and Saturday at Kuwait Motor Town. As part of the GulfRun event, there will be a market taking place at the track, various car dealership experiences and my favorite thing, Caffeine & Wheels.
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend or if you’ve been waiting for a specific event to visit and check out the racetrack, then this is the one. I’ll personally be there on Saturday for the Caffeine & Wheels event and I’ll be bringing my Alfa to take part in it so if you see me come by and say hello.
Previously I used to renew my driving license once every 10 years since that’s how long they used to be valid for but ever since the government changed it to match the residency period, it’s become the worst thing in the world to do. Trying to get your driving license renewed in Kuwait is a terrible experience because the traffic department just wasn’t prepared to handle the vast amount of people. The lines at the traffic department would be incredibly long and there was no guarantee if you waited in line you’d get your license renewed since they would limit the number of renewals per day. That meant you’d have to go multiple times and it was just incredibly stressful.
This year I used a company called Khadamat Express to renew my driving license and it was a really good experience. They charged me KD10 to do the license renewal for me and another KD10 to pick up my paperwork and old license and then deliver the new one to me when done. The process took around 2 days and it was worth every penny.
But, according to the MOI, you can now renew your driving license online and then pick it up from machines around Kuwait including one that’s in Avenues. Oddly though, I can’t seem to find the link to online renewals anywhere on their website so maybe someone uploaded the video a few days early. In any case, once this is live it’s going to make the renewal process so much easier! If you can find the renewal link please share it in the comments below so I can add it here.
Update: To renew your license you need to click this link and login using your MOI mobile app username and password or register if you don’t have an account.
Update2: Umm wtf, this seems too good to be true. I just renewed my motorbike license in under 5 minutes via the link above and the only document they asked for was a digital copy of my civil ID. After paying the 5KD renewal fee it told me I could go to any kiosk and print out my new license. This is crazy good!! Not only that but it actually gave me a digital copy of my new license right on the spot!
I’ve been meaning to order tires for my Lotus online for some time now since the local Michelin dealer didn’t carry tire sizes that fit my car. But I had heard two things:
1) The Michelin dealer wouldn’t order tires for you if they didn’t carry them
2) If you order tires online they’ll get stuck in customs and it would be very difficult to clear them
I didn’t follow up on the rumors right away since my tires were still in fairly good condition back then. But the new season at Kuwait Motor Town started already and now after 8 track days and 17,000KM mileage on the same set of tires, I knew it would be time to change them soon so I needed to find a solution.
This post is to clear the two rumors above which turned out to be false.
The Michelin Dealer
First thing I did was pass by the Michelin dealer on Canada Dry street to see if they would be willing to order the following tires for me:
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 – 215/45 R17 x2
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 – 285/30 R18 x2
They told me they could and I had two options, either ship them by sea freight which could take anywhere between 4 to 8 weeks, or by air which would take up to 2 weeks. They took my email and sent me a proposal that came to the following:
Total for 4 tires if shipped by air: KD540
Total for 4 tires if shipped by sea: KD374
Ordering Tires Online
I decided to check and see how much my tires would cost if I ordered them online myself and shipped them straight to Kuwait. I found my tires on Camskill.co.uk for a great price and they would be willing to ship them directly to Kuwait using FedEx. The total with shipping came out to just KD336 so I placed an order and within 5 days I had the tires. They cleared customs with no issue except for the fact I had to pay FedEx KD28 for the customs fees and clearance cost. The total in the end came out to KD364. So KD10 cheaper than the dealers sea freight cost but arrived in just a few days instead of a few weeks.
So if you need specific tires that aren’t available locally I would head to the local dealer first and see if they would order them for you or alternatively, you could order them online if you were in a hurry like me or just didn’t want to bother with Shuwaikh.
Why do people not like parking inside multistory parking lots? We have probably the cheapest parking rates in the world and yet loads of people prefer parking illegally right outside the parking lot instead of legally and safely inside.
I was with a friend last time who was looking for parking in his brand new expensive car in a tight back road barely hitting other cars who were coming down the road the wrong way and I was like dude, look on your left, there is an empty multistory lot just go inside and park there wtf?
I’m not complaining, its actually better for me since this way I’ll always find parking inside those lots but I’m just really curious to why people don’t like multistory lots and I know it can’t be just a financial reason.
