Greetings

I did it absolutely ages ago. Like 2003 or something on a 221 X-Lite. Back then nobody nearby had heard of a grind. We used nails to scorch the rims and pretended it made a difference. Anyway, I still distinctly remember how the brake performed although the reference point is a bit skewed (Monty milk pads, smooth rims, tar was the norm). It had a much deeper sound, there was plenty of bite and after that a linear increase in locking power. It had way more modulation than modern trials brakes, perhaps due to the shitty pads. It was the best brake I had back then and because the rims were made of an odorless aluminium-cheese alloy with added softener it wore down pretty much instantly. edit: Read the topic again, that has nothing to do with your question haha

Had my first track day as an instructor on Wednesday. I was supposed to just hang around, see what they do and be a sort of free intern. Ended up getting hired, paid and added to the team as a full time instructor. Haven't had so much fun in one day for years. The team which organizes this event is a fantastic bunch of people, all so friendly and approachable. Spent the whole day instructing a gorgeous 24 year old girl who's dad bought her a full day behind the wheel of this Kia so she'd get the idea of a motorcycle out of her head. At the end of the day he decided to buy her a car like that and sponsor her racing "career" and wants me to coach her. And her lap times including 3 of my timed ones and 3 of another instructor. Glad to see a continuous improvement, finally she posted a lap just 4s short of mine although she did that with another instructor and was reluctant to accept it as valid. Not sure what was going on in there Did about 15 laps behind the wheel of that thing showing her the correct lines. First time ever driving a FWD car quickly, not my cup of tea but the fact I did about 40 miles around an amazing track AND got paid for doing so is something that will take some getting used to The remaining instructors spend much of their time in 911's so there's something to look forward to. We then shot a promotional video of the team involving 2 GT3's, drove the camera man around who was sitting in the open boot of a Cayenne. And another fun thing was instructing a fast driver in a lightweight M3. First two laps I was giggling like a girl and it reminded me how I love these cars. The g-forces were absurd (for someone who hasn't driven properly for a few years) and I then found that he was doing low 1:50's, 6s slower than my best time in the previous gen M3. Really put things into perspective for me. It also became clear that at this level of driving I had little idea of how to better his lap times. Also had my first chance to sit in an MX5. Although I'm short it was really difficult to fit between the seat and the roof. Had to push the seat right forwards and recline the backrest. The car handled amazingly well from a passenger's perspective. The driver wanted me to help him shave half a second so he could go below 2 minutes but it seems he missed that by .2s. Genuinely feels like the beginning of a proper motorsport career. At the moment I've just got my foot in the door but through meeting new people and getting more skilled at this job I think there's a long and interesting journey ahead - especially as motorsport is exploding in Poland and I'm already in a position to surf the wave. For now I need to get that bloody M3 finished and actually do some driving myself. I can handle instructing a complete novice but when some more experienced drivers asked me for help there wasn't much I could tell them. Most of the advice was about being smooth and braking into corners which seems a bit vague. The man in charge maintains we're not there to coach racing drivers but to offer an exciting day to participants. This means a lot of freedom to work with drivers however I fancy. Got a 10hz GPS somewhere, going to take it with me next time and work some telemetry into my work.

Small M3 update. The idea was to paint most of the car myself but considering the extent of restoration I've given in. My mechanic found a great painter who does classic cars on a daily basis, he comes over and attends to this after hours. Also been wondering about the spoiler. The car looked exactly like this: Kind of grown fond of the no spoiler look. I doubt it actually does anything although if it does improve lap times then that's pretty much decided...

Talking about embarrassment and all the other points, I live in Poland. Seen things sink to new lows every day for a few years and found that the best way to deal with this is to switch the telly off and not read any news. Life is so much better now when one doesn't have to deal with rampant populism on a daily basis. Putting your head in the sand is a last resort and hopefully you guys will never have to experience such a state of frustration. Fingers crossed for Britain.

Amazing riding. Vancouver is such a beautiful city!

Robin, this may be a long shot but if you're looking at putting the car on a diet you might want to look here: http://www.shop.rajdy-najda.com/index.php?ch_lang=2 They do quite a lot of international custom work and may have parts for a 924. The quality of their work is amazing and the prices are good too - that carbon roof I posted in the last page was something like £360. Love the repairs, quality work! Talking of which, removed the old roof today and offered the new one up. One of the things I've been dreading is having to buy a new bonnet. The old one opened on me so many times it's kind of strange how it's still in one piece. It lost so much rigidity throughout those mishaps that it eventually stopped cracking the windscreen It's got a strange spider web in various places which could really spoil the finish and I'm not quite sure how to fix this. A new one is going to be so expensive

Spent half a year in a box, finally got it unpacked And yeah, it's light. Forgot about the brake calipers so had them sandblasted quickly. Painted with epoxy primer and a heat resistant paint. Now waiting for them to dry, need to remove the pistons and check for sand. Ordered some HEL brake lines, hope they'll be alright. Never heard of that company, apparently UK based?

Don't these adjusters reduce rear bias rather than increase it? I remember looking for a setup that would increase rear brake power and it seemed all of them worked the other way. Talking of brakes, having calipers sandblasted tomorrow and they need to be painted. Will 2pac acrylic primer cope with high temperatures?

Are you just doing the front brakes or rear as well? Small update on the M3. Finally seeing progress.

Yeah the better the rider, the less demanding he is when it comes to brakes. The MT Trail Sport looks more like an MT5/4 than a 7/6. That's the standard, not uprated lever. Therefore I'd give it a miss. MT5 or above.

Got a job as a trackday instructor. Hope this is the start of something big. Also not a happy but more meh. Saw my ex (5 year long relationship) today after 3 months of no contact. There's nothing there anymore. She's a completely different person. It felt very weird to be around her. All in all that's probably a good thing.

Just an update because I did end up seeing a hand surgeon. It turned out to be an abrasion and "large infiltration". Not sure if that's translated correctly. Either way the only thing to do is wait till it fixes itself.

That's a powerful domain you have there! Website seems a bit empty, good luck filling it up!

I need to install a longer hose but it has no fittings on it. Lever end is not a problem, can't quite figure out the other end though. How do I remove the old hose from the banjo and install a new one?

What happened to the motor? Thought I'd share this here. One hell of a sexy photo my mate took at the last trackday. https://www.facebook.com/cotoescargofoto/

In a nutshell

Went to the local racetrack after a few years of forced abstinence. Reminded me of how much I love that place and what my calling in life is at this age. Met a few people, one thing led to another and in 2 days I'll find out whether I could become a trackday instructor. Fingers crossed, I need this so much!

Get one quick, they're appreciating fast. Never drove a Boxster but I cannot imagine how anything can be better than an S2000 AP1. It's the essence of driving. Had the liberty of driving quite a few exotics over the years and they all fall short!

I think the modded ones have all turned to dust and it's the nice ones that are left. At least over here. This one has a genuinely interesting history and has so far had 3 owners including us and a very close friend. Went down memory lane and found a pic of it from 2009. f**king miss the other car too. One day...

After 8 years this is back in our hands. It was my first car and only now having had a lot of motoring experience I've come to appreciate how absolutely brilliant this little thing is. Everything from the driving position to forward visibility, handling, gearing or the engine is unique and bang on perfect. Got rather emotional haha. Anyway, this is our little project, we're going to restore it.

Had a really bad day And I'm dreaming about my ex for some reason. Started out with a hint of a dream a few weeks ago leaving me unhappy in the morning. Now it's more than I can handle. Every single night and the intensity is cranking up. It's no longer "some dream" but a full on disturbing semi-lucid experience which I just cannot comprehend. The things my mind is showing me I would never want to know about or experience. This has been going on non stop for a week now with the worst episode last night.

Update. Swelling started reducing the following day and now I have full range of motion but the finger locks. Seems like it should pass within the next few days. Weird.

The pre-2004 Magura brakes on the Onza have noticeably less locking power than the Echo TR. They are known to be more reliable and leak proof. Keep them as spare parts but I wouldn't put them on the Echo unless the Echo brakes start playing up.

Looks fantastic. Any pics of the build process? Would also love to see a side view and a video of you riding it

Cheers guys. What you write adds up, hope so much this will go away in a few days. The internet seems to think not. Won't bother a doctor until its necessary. Fingers crossed