Pride and Shame…
We stood in a loose circle in the parking lot of the Kill Boy lodge. The sun, long gone from the horizon gave way to cool mountain air. Jokes and short stories from the day of Dragon runs lobbed back and fourth across the circle interjected by legends of even better driving roads nearby, and the sound of ranom cars doing night runs. Inevitably the conversation turned to introductions and “what do you drive?”
C6 Z06…
NB Miata…
R32 GTR…
I began to slowly back away trying not to set off anyone’s motion detection.
But then… it was my turn. The name part was simple enough. My usual fake would do…”Hardy Nickerson”. But could I lie about my car? Was it dark enough that when we part, they perhaps wouldn’t recognize?
I drew a blank and accidentally I told the truth.
“G35…”
The group grew quiet.
“…coupe.”
Silence…aside from the nervous crunch of gravel under polotti driving shoes and the sniffel of mouth breathing HPDE enthusiasts. The circle melted closed slightly making my failed position of retreat even more obvious.
“Aight I’m gonna call it a night.” The Z06 owner said with a slight tone of disgust. The rest agreed and retreated to their various vehicles bidding each other goodnight. No one made eye contact with me as if they had just learned I was a carrier of a most highly communicable disease. I waited until they had all pulled out the lot before walking across the street to the remote parking space I had left my pride and shame.
Spec D…
The G35 has been going through passenger side balasts and ignitors since I bought the car. That headlight always collected moisture so my guess was water was getting in through the cracks and killing the ignitor. Then I got into a boof with the homie Kwame at Shennendoah and destroyed the mounts on that same headlight. The light out put was so bad I could barely see at night and recently both main beams went out while I was 40 min from home leaving me to drive home with just the fog lights. I had been looking for a deal on the Spec D lights but finally gave in and paid full price. After installing I see why they cost so much. The difference is drastic.
Back to Cali…
My homie put on an event to promote the next iteration of Gran Turismo. He invited me to see what I could see and possibly network.
Mike Borroughs 288.
Monza 2025 pt.2…
Practice for the Formula cars ended. We hung around to watch the GT cars last session hoping to wait out the crowd. This was easily the noisy packed event I’ve been to.
After everything wrapped up we walked out still in a pretty large crowd.
Seeing the old track from the 20’s at the exit was amazing. It was sad to see it crumbling but with things like the Pantheon in the same country something like this must not seem as special.
We stopped to check out some vendors on the way out and bought a few items.
The city was still locked with people trying to get to their various places of stay. So as we walked looking for a bus with space or a taxi/ car service we decided to go find food instead.
We found a promising spot a block away but it seemed a bit fancy for how we were dressed. Thankfully they accepted us and it was a great feast.
My cousin Wesley used to be a chef at a 5 star Michelin restaraunt in Manhatten before his knee issue so he guided us through the menu. He let us know that region was more known for its risotto than pasta so I gave it a try and it was amazing. I’m not a wine drinker but the bottle he selected was the best I’ve ever had.
The steak was good as well although much more rare than I ever have. The flavor of the fresh pepper was so amazing. Everything I had on the trip reminded me of how things tasted when I was a child. I thought my taste buds were aging or something, but this made me realize our gov’t is just poisoning us.
We left and walked to the train station and transferred to the subway. My foot was swollen by the time we got home. It was too late to buy shoes so it would have to wait till the morning.
The next morning I woke up early and set out on the few mile walk to a nearby mall to find more suitable sneakers for walking.
I ended up at JD Sports where I met a plesant Morrocan woman named Stella. I exhausted my Italian before I realized she spoke perfect English. She helped me buy some Air Max and some shoe care and I was on my way back to the AirBNB.
I linked up with everyone and we walked to the train station, then hopped on a full bus.
Hungry we stopped at some of the vendors for some food. I tried a coffee americano. I’m boy a coffee drinker at all but I wanted to see what theirs was like. It was a small shot served black no cream or sugar. First sip was brutal but by the end I enjoyed it. it felt clean and I could actually taste the fruit. I guess my buds needed adjusting. They also serve their fries with mayo. It seems nasty but their mayo is so good and it works great with fries.
We checked out a few of the cars on display. I had seen a few of them in person before but seeing the ’07 and 2010 McLarens was surreal. Probably my favorite F1 cars of all time. The sound and liveries were etched into my mind.
We made our way to the seats and by the time I sat down I was already pushing 20k steps.
caught the end of FP3 the F2 sprint race which was pretty exciting, then F1 Quali.
The crowd was even bigger so I knew we were gonna suffer getting home.
Max, Lando, Oscar were the top 3 and a new lap record was made.
We made our way home via public transit again. Thankfully my new shoes made it not as bad. I had near 33k steps by bed time.
Wesley made sandwiches for race day and we knocked out early so we could wake up early for race day and beat the crowd.
We scheduled two Ubers so we didn’t have to fight with public trans.
Race day. A short walk after the Uber rides and we were in, beating most the crowd.
F3 race was nuts. Lots of safety cars and crashes. F2 race was decent as well.
Then came the historic cars. Jean Alessi was out in his Ferrari which was a treat. But the best was Team Principal Zack Brown going absolutely nuts in the MP4-22. He was absolutely cooking and the car was screaming.
At this point I was struggling to stay awake so I went and found a tree to crash under.
After a good nap I made my way back for the drivers parade and national anthem.
After that they did a parade lap and lined up.
The race was pretty boring so we left with 10 laps to go.
There was 375,000 people in attendance so it was the right decision. We were able to get on a bus and make it home in decent time.
We got some food and dessert and enjoyed our last evening in Milan.
The next morning I woke at 4:15am to catch my $200 Uber to the airport. I got patted down again and stuck next to some large smelly people. After ages of travel I was back home.
I don’t think I’ll fly to europe in business class again. It’s just too much.
But here’s some of the items I brought back from the race and some of the shirts I bought to wear on the trip.
Fin
Monza 2025 pt1…
I’ve been watching F1 since the 90’s but never thought I’d go to a race. In 2017 I was talking to my cousin and learned he was into it as well and he had a sister in Montreal we could stay by. So we loaded up in my truck and drove to Montreal for the weekend Lewis broke Sennas pole record. An amazing weekend.
I subsequently attended the Mexican and Texas GPs after. FFWD to 2024 and we had a group chat with my cousins two younger brothers and one of my best friends from highschool. After 2021 I had gotten a bad taste in my mouth and got most my updates from the group. In March we learned Lewis was moving to Ferrari, a move I didn’t think was going to benefit his career but I suggested we went to support.
Next thing I know we had an AirBNB booked and tickets to the race.
September 3 I boarded my flight from RDU to JFK where I encountered my first of many searches.
I had planned to land in Milan and take the train 3 hours north to Rome to see some sights I’ve always wanted to check out. Having studied Latin I was very interested in the Roman ancient sites. Thankfully when I missed my flight due to security I was able to change to a flight directly to Rome. The travel would have been entirely too much. I was tired by Frankfurt.
I landed in Italy and took the train to Rome city center. I tried to memorize some phrases on the journey but Latin, French, and Spanish kept melting into each other.
then took the subway to the Coleseum where I met up with my cousins and Jonny.
Jonny was close friends with Dwayne but I had worked with him years ago at Camp Davis. He had gone to my highschool and college after me. One of the funniest smartest people ever.
Being at the Coloseum was unreal after studying it for years. Just imagining it filled with people, fighters, Christians, water and ships was unreal. It was smaller than I expected but the effect was still impressive.
Then we went to explore a bit and pick up thier bags. We used scooters to get around.
We boarded the train to Milan and knocked out. We hadn’t eaten most of the day but luckily there was a spot open late up the block from where we were staying.
Steve and Eli were already at the BNB so we grubbed and knocked out for the night.
The next day we woke up late. We went to Aldi up the street to get some water, drinks and snacks, then we booked an Uber to the track.
Out of all the tracks I’ve been to this one had the most Aura. Races have been held here since 1922 before F1 ever existed. So much history in one place. The Tifosi are the most notorious F1 fans and there is so much national pride for Ferrari. Even our driver was complaining the new cars aren’t V8 or V12. I could have spent a day just walking around the venue.
I had separate seats from everyone so we split up to watch practice. The last race I went to was about 5 years ago and although the engine formula hasn’t really changed the cars were much louder, especially the F3 cars. I was seated at the outside of the parabolica right at the breaking zone. My feet were killing me. Adidas Sambas were a terrible choice.
Hearing the cars backfire and seeing them occasionally spit flames on the over-run was amazing. I could just see about 1/3 of the turn so watching the different techniques of various categories was so cool. The Porsche GT cars trail braked until they were almost out of sight and you could see the back of the cars slide out as the whole thing rotated into the parabolica. The F2 and F3 cars went down 3 gears and seemed to brake right after the 100 ft mark. I could not tell where the F1 cars braked. But they went down what sounded like only 2 gears and their corner speed was insane.
Friday night with son…
Took my boy out for a ride cuz he’s been sick and stuck in the crib all week.
Hoodrat Things…
5 years ago when my SC was still purple a young cat named Ezekiel met me at a meet and asked to shoot my car. Life got in the way and the car went down for repairs and paint. FF to this past spring, the exact day Dru and Milton shot the Ten video I ran into him again.
He again asked to shoot the car and said if I drifted in the video it would be free. Again I delayed him due to the oil leak at the turbos and a misfire. FF 3 months later I fixed the leak and misfire and DM’d him. It turns out he was moving to TX at the start of the month and we had one chance to film.
Sat morning we would meet at Cars and Coffee then go from there. I woke up to rain but decided to go anyway because I had been sick and in the house all weekend. The SC has no wipers so I took my M3. Dru happened to go as well and brought some friends, one of whom, Tamarcus, worked in Indy and NASCAR. I totally forgot about the shoot until I saw a missed call from Ezekiel.
We picked a location and everyone went over. It just so happened that between them they had two drones, a gimble, a 360 cam, and two go pros. We also had walkie talkies and enough cars to block traffic.
We didn’t have much time and I was still sick so we set up, changed tires (the ones on the SSRs tend to debead) and I warmed up in some random neighborhood.
Then we used the walkies to get the green light to run.
This was my first time sliding the SC this extensively since I did all the upgrades. Previously US Air 2021 was the last drift day. I did a few round abouts 3 months ago but the timing was off. The car felt amazing. I ran some old macho muchos that were on my 36 my last drift day at Spirit instead of Kendas because I wasn’t ready to full commit especially on the street. In retrospect I wish I ran Kendas so I could have gotten more agressive and a bit closer to the curbs. But the sway bars, solid subframe and diff bishings, electric PS, and all the other upgrades felt amazing. I can’t wait for a full track day.
We tried to do some parking lot stuff but the PS locked up with some air.
I’ll need to rebleed it and double check for leaks. But the car stayed cool and felt very quick.
I got a call from Ezekiel Sunday night. His truck broke down on the way out of town to Texas. So Monday morning I drove to pick him up and take him to the junkyard to pull a part and get him on his way. He’s 24 and moving across the country on his own because he feels life has been a bit too easy for him and he wants to challenge himself. Picking him up and running him around to get his truck gave us time to talk and get to know each other. I have a lot of respect for him and I know he’s going to do well. Such a kind and genuine guy.
His media is called Flushed Films:
https://www.instagram.com/flushedfilms?igsh=MWFjYm1lbG80aHhrcQ==
https://youtube.com/@flushedfilms3469?si=e5rkOWofm7de_SHu
Gauges…
After replacing the plugs and dropping the gap I’m still getting what seems like a misfire, but I’m starting to suspect is boost/ fuel cut. So I dusted off my old gauges to try and figure it out. When I first went 1j I promises myself I would leave it stock and in an effort to do so I’ve kept gauges out of the car.
The last time these gauges were powered on they were in my RB25 S14 14 years ago.
Luckily I had a brand new sensor and just needed a few feet of vac lines. In my haste to sell the car I cut the wires and didn’t have the needed connector so I just soldered the wires.
The ATI pod was for the 14 specifically so I had to cut it to fit.
Everything plugged in.
The idle is pig rich. Once it stops raining I’ll take it for a drive and see where boost is and the AF at WOT. Boost cut I think is at 15psi so if it gets near there I’ll know that’s the issue.
Disaster…
I finally got the car ready for the Bottle Rockets event. I loaded the car on the trailer careful not to damage the aero or the wheels. The SSRs have valve stems near the outside of the lips that are easy to snag and replacements are expensive. I also loaded the truck with wheels, tires, and tools. The plan was to leave from work Thursday and stay in Charlotte by a freind then continue to Atlanta.
After getting the car strapped down I cranked each strap one more time. On the last strap I heard a loud hiss. My heart sank and I instantly knew what it was.
I had taken care to put the strap in front of the stem. How it snagged it was beyond me.
I texted my freind that I was no longer coming. After sitting and thinking I decided to push through. I’ve met adversity a lot before and I always persevered. I had spent weeks fixing this oil leak and getting the car ready and this was a great opportunity to drive with some folks I hadn’t seen in a while and at a new track. So the next morning I pulled the wheel off, put it in the G35, and took it and the new stem to a tire shop. I asked them to make sure they got the broken piece out the wheel because it would throw the balance off.
They called around lunch so I decided to take it home and install. On the way the lip fell off the G35 and was destroyed by oncoming traffic.
L.
I installed the tire then headed back to work. I ran into traffic and missed my afternoon meeting.
After work I went home. I had ordered replacement lug nuts and decided to leave after they were delivered. They were supposed to come the day before but were delayed. Once they showed up I tried to install them but they immediately started stripping. They were the wrong color and length anyways so I decided to return them and head on my way.
On the road the truck was shaking like crazy. So I picked a spot just outside Charlotte to stop and get my tires balanced. When I pulled up I noticed the tire on he SC was flat again. So I disconnected the trailer and got the truck on the lift and also took the tire off the SC. It turns out the other shop installed the valve stem incorrectly. Instead of sandwiching the lip with the rubber pieces the did metal to metal.
The guys finished the tire and were rolling it back to the car when they felt something inside. The other shop did not remove the broken piece. They put it on the balance machine and it was way out. So they took the tire off again to get the piece out and then had to rebalance. The truck was finished by then as well so I decided to go get them some Redbulls as a thanks.
As I pulled out the shop the 4WD ABS lights came on and the throttle stopped working despite the engine still running. I was in the middle of the road blocking traffic. I turned the truck off then on. Same problem. I said a panicked prayer and tried the same procedure again. It worked. I decided to go home.
I was devastated. All that work for nothing. Drove 2 hours just to get tired balanced. Wack.
The next day I went to unload and as I was putting the ramps on I heard a loud pop and hiss. At first I thought it was another tire. But then I saw a cloud of mist under my truck.
The strut I replaced late last year had leaked internally into the airbag. The pressure burst the bag and was leaking all the fluid in the ground. Thank God I had come back home. I would have been stranded because he 33s were too wide to clear the rear quarters and would have gotten cut.
So I unloaded the car and went to see F1.
The next day I took it to cars and coffee and bought some rare HKS and Nismo stuff to console myself.
A few from Cars and Coffee…
No more leaks!
No more exhaust or oil leaks.
Drove the car to and from work and the leaks are gone.
The new plugs also helped the top end misfire but there’s still some hesitation.
Yah is good…
I woke up this morning to my lady complaining and arguing. The more I tried to diffuse it the worse it got so I just focused on what I had to do today. My son had been asking me to take him to daycare in the SC for months. After working on the oil leak all weekend I needed to test it and make sure it was finnally good. So this morning I pulled it out to take on the commute. Getting it out the garage and the driveway is an entire production. As I pulled onto the highway I felt a little shimmy in the back. So I took it slow. Something felt off so I pulled over and looked under the car thinking an arm had come loose. I even shook the rear wheels to see if there was play. The right rear had slight play but not much.
So I got back in to limp the car home. Then I heard clinking of bolts falling out the car and things got very loose. I pulled over slowly and got out again. All 5 lugs were gone.
I called my neighbor but he sent me to voicemail. My mother in law was visiting so I called her to drive my truck and pick us up.
I stayed on the phone directing her to us but she kept speaking over my directions and she drove past us 4x. It took over an hour for her to reach us.
I drove my son to daycare then went home to get spare lugs and a jack then went back to the car.
I drove ahead of her leadimg her back to the house. As I was driving panic hit me as I realized I left my phone on the roof. I pulled over and thank Yah it was still there. We got home and as I stepped out the car my shoe split.
As I took this picture I saw that my new silver bracelet was missing…
My dreas clothes were soaked with sweat and I was hours late for work and I was already way behind.
I’m grateful nothing broke and the car wasn’t damaged. Had the wheel come off at speed it would have been a disaster. Yah kept me and my son safe and Im grateful.
Earl leak…
Finishing the lines on the SC. Hardest job I’ve done because of no space. This would be hard to do even with the motor out.
Once I got all the lines in I was still getting leaks. I kept tightening everything but the leaks persisted. They were hard to trace because they only show in boost.
All Friday evening, all day Sat and still no success. I wanted to make Nappy Boy Throttle Rockets on the 4th but it wasn’t looking good.
After talking to my friend Lyron I decided to take everything apart and use RTV and high temp thread sealant. But first I had to clean the oil out the garage.
After taking the lines apart for the 5th time I discovered I had two gaskets on the fittings to the turbos.
This was likely the issue but I went ahead with the sealant and rtv.
I also found an exhaust leak in my flex pipe.
And I made some brackets for some fog lights.
I’ll let the rtv sit for 24 hours before i drive the car, but I’m confident it won’t leak now. I’m getting breaking up under WOT and higher revs so I changed plugs in hopes to fix.
Loaded…
Last night I changed an HID ballast, new wipers (gonna rain all weekend) put the license plate back on the car, and reinstalled the wheels. By the time I got the trailer out the spot it was raining super hard. I got SOAKED. I was rushing and moved the trailer without putting the car in gear or a wheel chock on the wheel. The car rolled into the winch. The whole front was bent. Once I moved the car back luckily the ABS went back to form and nothing was broken. I loaded the truck and went in about 11pm.
I’m so tired I’m not going to leave today. Gonna go home ans sleep and leave early in the A.M.
Oil leak…
The oil leak on the SC got really bad. With any windows open smoke was filling the cabin the right side of the engine bay was wet with oil. So I ordered a steel braided kit to replace the oem.
I was not looking forward to this job. Its best with the engine out or at the very least the divorce pipe out.
After Hours of fighting the old lines came out.
Massive hole shooting oil right onto the turbos and exhaust. The line broke easily.
Next was getting the new lines in.
So far no luck. Cuts all over my arms and barely any progress.
I realized I was not gonna make my drift event at this place so I started prepping the G.
Catch…
Finally installed a catch can in an effort to keep my rear bumper clean.
I need to find a nicer way to route this but the twin intake makes it difficult with the fitting facing the fitting on the valve cover.
#joyofpoo 
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