GoldZilla

Damnit, I was in Blacktown today around that time in my LOLvo - driving between K-Mart and Officeworks.

Phew, managed to get those photos of jewellery sorted, and the person who I did the photos for is happy! It took a bit of PP work, but I learnt a fair bit from it, so it was a win-win situation. It ended up being a shoot with all the jewellery being worn, and the "model" was my cousin's wife, who was responsible in getting me the job in the first place.

I spotted a silver or white s2 C34 this afternoon on Abbott Road, Seven Hills, right near the BP servo. This was about 1.45pm.

This is why this thread exists - NOT to scare you off, but to encourage you that this is still the best and safest way to properly experience your car with minimal risk to others, and NO cost to your licence. There are no telegraph poles to hit, no oncoming traffic, no pedestrians, and no hidden speed cameras to ping you! There are plenty of experienced people around to assist with driver training, and it's a friendly environment for all involved. Yes, there is the risk of this happening, but once again, this is THE FIRST INCIDENT EVER TO OCCUR AT AN SAU TRACK DAY!!! And we're not in it to race, we're in it to improve our driving skills and experience our cars in a controlled environment. Please DO NOT let this scare you off attending. Does it still really matter? The fact is this: "racing" and a "racing incident" is a lot different to driver training at a track day. If you're prepared to competitively enter a car into a proper race event, you do so in the knowledge that you may well share paint with fellow racers. This, however, is a driver training day, and as such the expectation that something like this will happen is almost non-existant. We know the risk is there, obviously, but also know that the likelyhood of this happening is a lot lower than at an official racing event.

I live just off Station Road, a bit past the bowling club. You must see StageIan's red s2 Stagea a fair bit, then.

Go to the website at the bottom of the photo - it's available as a desktop.

Looks good so far, gotta love how much room we have to play with. It certainly makes planning a lot easier. A piano-finish would look awesome - makes it more a "part" of the car, rather than a botched, add-on job. I like a big, sound-quality balanced stereo, but I LOVE stealth! I've been delaying my upgrades mainly due to the cost of the head unit - I'd like to find something that will do music, video, iPod/iPhone integration and hopefully navigation in a single-DIN unit. Then find somewhere to stash an amp or two and a sub, with minimal impact on passenger or boot space.

Sad to hear, Eric, but at least you know where you stand with this car, and can choose your next avenues. I've been doing a lot of reading of books in the QI (Quite Interesting) series by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, and the current one is a book of quotes. "It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Oh yeah, and I keep a bottle of Octane Booster (not that it really does much) and a can of Tyre Weld in the left-rear panel of mine. There's some other stuff too, I'm sure, but can't remember what.

Oi, no talk about "What you've done to your Stagea" in this thread...

As already requested by Eric, please DO NOT continue with the discussion and "blame game" as to who was or was not at fault. Any further posts along those lines will be deleted. Let's concentrate on getting the MX5 back on the road at minimal cost and impact to Eric and his wife.

Spotted a wine red s1 R33 GTSt today on Richmond Road in Blacktown, driving like a bit of a dick. Sped past me on the left then was at least 10-15km/h over the speed limit as he headed off into the distance.

Spotted a silver s2 C34 today somewhere between Penrifffff and Blacktown, can't remember where exactly - it's been a busy day.

Locked before this gets out of hand with negative comments...

Oh yeah, gotta love their new logo at Performance Forums:

Bwahahahahaha!!!

Nice lens, Rhys - I was telling Matt and Kory that I'd like to order one very soon, but maybe stretch the budget for an f/2.8 version - just like you, I wish it came out with the IS too. Now that the Mk II version is out (with IS), the first ones are dropping in price.

As Steve-O and Eric have already, MASSIVE kudos to Jeremy and Deano (and their respective girlfriends) for getting the car home on Sunday! They already had a 4hr trip ahead of them, and STILL made the offer to help out! The whole group effort, and the many friends I've made, are the main reasons why I love being involved in SAU so much! The main thing is that you and Reece are physically okay.

Spotted this in the trailer parking area at Wakie on Saturday:

Yeah, I wanted to add more to my previous comment before, but editing your post on the iPhone is a PITA. Luckily for me, my cousin's wife was modelling all the jewellery, so that made it a bit easier. If I get the colour temps right, it should help a fair bit with editing later (at least I hope so). I was using bounced flashes and an overhead low-voltage halogen, and there was a skylight in the ceiling right near where we were shooting.

Hahaha, I also knew you wouldn't be able to wait till today to put the wheels on, Matt. Can't wait to see it. Product shoot went okay yesterday, and the woman who creates all the jewellery was really easy to work with. She's mega-talented too, just about all the artworks in her house were done by her, and there was A LOT!!! Paintings, carvings, pottery and ceramics absolutely everywhere, but it didn't look cluttered. The main issue I had was lighting, I really wish I had some modelling/beauty constant lights to work with, but I doubt I'd use then often enough to justify buying them.

Damnit, haven't had a single chance to jump online since that first time with Cam when I didn't have my BT headphones working.

OK peoples, as per usual here is where we'll have all the rest of the wrap-up photos, chat and follow-up from yesterday's track day. Out of respect for the owner(s) of the car(s), please DO NOT discuss or post any photos of "the incident" which occured late in the afternoon... Edit: A big thanks to Fsport and Kumho for supporting the event. We encourage all entrants to check out www.fsport.com.au to see the products they have to offer.

Oh yeah, went back to the carwash on Friday, the car was well overdue for a wash. Can't remember if it was the same guy I saw working there last time, but as he walked inside to call me, he just looked and smiled (he'd been announcing each car by colour and model as each was ready to be collected by it's owner). Anyway, as I went to get in, he announces to all the other workers there: "hey boys, see this car? It's got all the good bits from a Skyline GT-R in it" or something along those lines. Not quite a Volvo story, but I had a chuckle to myself as I left there...

Ha, pwned by your old man, Aaron!