Sunday, April 24, 2011

A Retroactive Post... Stop Gap Measure Brake Pads!

I apologize for the backdating of this post (I'm writing this on May 16) but wanted to ensure I did not post things out of order.

Anyway, my front brakes had been making the worst squealing noise... time for new pads! OR a new brake system project! Well, I do have something in mind, but meanwhile, thought it would be best and most economical if I could "borrow" some pads until I get that project launched.

So, at our last Daikoku meet, I had asked my friend Thomas, another R33 owner, to see if he had any spares he could bring. And boy did he deliver!

That following weekend - April 16, I found myself loosening the brake fluid cap, jacking the car up, taking the front wheel off:


Removed the retaining pins and the spring, and voila! Removed the front brake pads. Easy enough task, but something I hadn't attempted at home. I was horrified to see how badly worn the old pads (PFC Race) were compared to the used replacement pads I got from Thomas. Check out the difference!



These stop gap measure used pads are pretty good, too - Ferodo DS2500 pads.


Driving impression - clearly not as sharp as the PFCs, but they feel progressive enough. Of course, I probably won't be driving with these on the circuit, although I understand they are not bad there either. But no more SQUEALING!!

Being me, of course, I used this opportunity to scrub down my front wheels for a quick clean (thank you glass coating for making my life easy)


And here is Thomas' car. I was going to do a short thank you highlight of his car, but when I asked him for a short spec list, he sent me an Excel sheet about 4000 pages long! (just kidding, but longer than I expected). So I'll have to do a post on his Midnight Purple Asphalt Jet in the near future - but it'll have to be more than just a summary.


Thanks again Thomas!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

As Things Have Calmed Down...

First, thank you to all of you out there who contacted me after the big earthquake and the resulting nuclear power plant mess. Suffice to say it was crazy, but of course the suffering of me, my family and others around me was nothing compared to what those poor folk up in Fukushima have gone through, and continue to do so today.

But anyway - yes, I'm ok. My family and friends are ok. And yes, my car is OK. Thanks.

Obviously after March 11, not much was happening but as things have gradually returned to normal... what better way to "normalize" than to have a get together at Daikoku PA the usual second Wednesday night of the month (April 13)?

So we did...Thanks to Dino, who took these photos and posted on the Speedhunters.com Facebook page:

Dino and Russ (RE-xtreme) perhaps the two most famous gaijin car guys in Japan? At least in my circle, LOL.


Kaz decided to ditch the R35 and come in a nostalgic blast from the past!


My dream car, still, especially this spec:


Our friend Rich brought along his meticulously restored Bluebird (but it has an SR20 engine onboard...)


And of course:


Besides me is James Pearson's white R33, with recently rebuilt engine. What spec, he won't tell me! (but it's for sale right now so if anyone wants a white R33, post a comment...)

Oh - and to those who were wondering, given my last blog post - my car was only at Tomei for a week. And I posted a week after my visit.