Catching Up

So it’s been another year and unfortunately, COVID is still very much a part of our lives. I’ve been keeping a low profile over the winter months and spring has been very busy with work doing vaccinations. Hopefully the end is in sight and with the ramping up of vaccinations, allowing us to safely meet with friends and mingle more.

I haven’t posted for a while because frankly there wasn’t much to post on. The only car event I participated in during 2020 was the Driven Edmonton Show held at the Kingsway Mall lot. Terence of TT Automotive was generous enough to offer me spots for both of my vehicles at the booth. Due to the restrictions and our personal comfort, we set up and left the cars there, not at all attending the show until clean up at the end.

Tim’s 911, as well as my 911 and Camry

I ended up running narrower profile tires on the BBS LMs which allowed the rear to tuck in better. Fitment is pretty much lip to fender with a small gap to save my fenders from becoming metal bacon

Now rolling into 2021, I took my 911 out around mid-March and the weather has only warmed up since then (minus one wild snow/ice storm that was very sketchy on high performance all seasons). This weekend, I went on a socially distanced cruise with my friend/detailer, Tanner @osirisautoworks, Nicole @nicole.amy.k and a few of their friends who had some pretty cool cars. We got some take out tacos, and headed to Kingsway to eat the food off our spoilers. And then there was a Jolibees, so I had to try some for myself, since I’ve never had it before. Long story short, really good fried chicken. The Peach Mango pie was also delicious! Didn’t try the sweet pasta but I’ve heard mixed reviews, it might be an acquired taste!

First nice shot of the 911 for 2021

1st gen R8 and Gallardo, both manual. As it should be

I think the 1st gen R8 is still incredible looking. Far ahead of its time and still looks amazing without looking dated. The new one is just so angular. Also the guy in the street sweeper was super nice and chatted with us a bit before we got out of his way so he could do his job

After filling up on food, we cruised around Edmonton around sunset and had a great time. The roads were fairly clear for the most part and allowed us to get around safely (and step on the gas a bit).

Our final stop was Hawrelak Park, where we accidentally crashed another small meet. I’ve been quite cautious over the last year since I work in health care and believe that we do have to set the precedent in obeying all public health orders. Thankfully, the meet was quite small and largely everyone wore a mask. Those who didn’t appeared to stay a reasonable distance from others, and I tried my best to do both. Keeping the mask on and staying 2 meters apart. The sunset allowed for some nice photos as well!

Tanner’s Corvette on Air Suspension. He worked on the wrap and install over the winter and it looks amazing.

I had a great time getting outside and having some socialization for once. Also despite the young crowd there was no stupid shenanigans, revving, burnouts etc. Edmonton has been getting hit by meets being shut down due to people being silly so having a small crowd that just hung out and chilled and appreciated cars was very refreshing. Maybe there’s still hope for our car scene. I plan on coming out more and going on more cruises, so plan on seeing more from me in the near future!

Cheers,
Gary

Kananaskis Weekend

Due to COVID-19 and its innumerable effects on travel plans, a small group of friends and myself decided to take a small road trip and drive to Kananskis. Not much else to say really, except that we wanted a low impact, low effort hike with a decent payoff view-wise.

The night before, we decided to try the Edworthy falls via Elbow Lake Trail hike. Minimal elevation gain, decent distance (<10 km out and back) and we pass Elbow Lake on the way. Thankfully we hiked earlier in the morning and missed the big groups and inevitable crowding. Here are some photos of the hike to enjoy!

The biggest takeaway photography wise is that I really need some ND filters. To get any reasonable amount of blur for clouds and water, my photos obviously come out over-exposed. The Edworthy falls photo came out decently in the end. It’s a shame we couldn’t get closer though, as there’s no real path to get down and it is very steep and slippery (especially with the rain the night before).

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun and easy family friendly hike Edworthy Falls via Elbow Lakes Trail is great! Like all hikes though, try to get there early and enjoy the nature with fewer people around!

Cheers,
Gary

Midsummer Evening

With the long evening hours upon us and a newly acquired lens in my possession, it was time to set up a photoshoot with @tim_type_r ‘s recently refreshed 911. Being 911 buddies and circlejerking about every available modification (and splitting shipping costs on said parts), there was no other choice than to take photos of our cars together.

We decided to meet later in the evening, which was good timing as I had an appointment with Terence at TT Auto for my 911. It was due for an oil change, plus I had wanted to get a stud conversion done for a while. I do switch back to the OEM wheels and tires for storage, so using bolts and trying to align the holes is pretty frustrating sometimes. The other issue is that the OEM bolts have seen better days, with the black paint having chipped off in multiple areas and some rust forming.

I went with Motorsport Hardware 44mm studs, as I do not use spacers and I wanted to use close ended lug nuts for an OEM-like look. The stock thread for the bolts is 45mm, so it’s basically the same. A little bit of blue loctite and an allen key made short work of the install.

The beat up OEM nuts. They’ve definitely seen better days and don’t belong on an otherwise clean car.

I went with Augment Wheel Company 35mm Titanium Close-Ended Lug Nuts in black for that stealth look. They are light and strong, and interestingly use a 17mm socket instead of the OEM 19mm. This ended up being a plus, since it reduces the risk of me scratching my Meisters.

Onto the oil change. I learned something new today, as the oil cap assembly actually extends, making it easy to fill your oil

Product shot!

Once the wheels were torqued down and fresh oil was put into the car, it was time to meet up with Tim. We crused over to NAIT for our photoshoot. I’ve been having some trouble finding good spots to shoot at, so NAIT was Tim’s suggestion. I rarely ever go to NAIT, so this was a great opportunity to explore the area.

This would be also a good time to talk a bit about the new lens purchase. I am now the new owner of a Sigma ART 24-70 F2.8 E-Mount Lens. For a long time, I lusted over the 24-70 F2.8 Sony G-Master, but given it’s absurd cost, I had a hard time justifying it. Sigma’s lens comes in at just over half the price with very similar performance. The lens was also designed specifically for Sony E-Mount mirrorless cameras, so the autofocus works, as does eye autofocus which is one of the A7RII’s greatest features. It’s also a big step up in sharpness compared to my 24-70 F4 Zeiss, with the added flexibility of lower aperture. I had a lot of fun shooting with the lens, although the reversed zoom ring is kind of confusing. I’m excited to see them release a 70-200 lens and go head to head with the Sony G-Master F4 and F2.8 lenses.

Anyways, onto the photos! We start at the NAIT CAT building.

I should have used my circular polarizer to eliminate the reflection on Tim’s driver side window…oh well

This one came out a bit better and features a bit of the pedway connecting the CAT building to the parking structure

We then turned around to catch the setting sun behind us.

I’m personally quite proud of this photo. The sun in the background and the angle of the car are perfect. You can also see some of the dandelion fluff being highlighted by the sun!

Wheel Showcase 1

Wheel Showcase 2

We then headed across the street to this airplane hangar. At the point the sun was also setting to the point of becoming a beautiful yellow-orange, casting its color into the next few photos.

I don’t often use wide angles in car photography since I feel it distorts the image, but this was a perfect opportunity. The setting sun and soft clounds on the blue sky.

At the end of the shoot, we had a nice cruise home. Tim’s new exhaust sounds deadly and it was a blast disturbing the peace (but only a little). I wouldn’t mind a few more socially distanced shoots/cruises, especially since summer doesn’t last that long.

Cheers,
Gary

A Small Meet

A few weeks ago, right after the Slamry’s air suspension was done, @tim_type_r ‘s 911 was going under the knife. New exhaust, wheels DSC controller for PASM, a whole bunch of goodies, basically. Once I heard it was done, I met up with him at TT to look at the car in all its glory. And of course, park my car right beside his.

Reminds me of a rennlist.com forum thread “Show me your 997 with non-Porsche wheels”.

So Tim ended up sourcing a black/black set of BBS LM-R’s from Yahoo Auctions Japan, then having them stripped and repainted with gold centers and polished lip. Finished off with red center caps and R40 Iconix Lug Nuts. Baller status

305 width Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires are the only appropriate option!

Some side by side action. Our fitments are very similar as I sold Tim my 12mm spacers, which make the effective offset almost identical to mine.

Some good ‘ol carbon fibre. Hilariously, Tim’s tips don’t get dirty nearly as easily as mine. DFI problems :(

Of course it would be rude not to have a look at the other cars in the lot. Terence’s Murcielago has come out again in its brilliant firey orange color. After getting a full correction and XPEL, it’s flawless and well protected.

This may be the last we see of this car, as I heard that it is in the process of being sold to a US buyer. Thankfully I had the opportunity to be driven around in such a special machine. Super raw and very loud (aka perfect).

Cheers,
Gary

Slamry V2

One of the big things I wanted to eventually do with the Camry was to have air suspension done on the car. I had no issues with the current BC coilovers, but I wanted a bit more flexibility in winter and more importantly, I wanted to be able to air out and SLAM the car.

Enter TT Auto and Terence, who was more than happy to revamp the Camry. We discussed some details, such as tank and compressor placement as well as where to put the gauges and switches. I decided to go with an Airtekk system with basic switches and no electronic management. Since I will be winter driving the car, I wanted manual adjustment. It was also significantly cheaper to go with switches vs an electronic controller system. I also opted for dual compressors to mitigate how long the compressors would have to run and to minimize heat.

I was not able to hang around for most of the install due to work, but I did manage to stop by to take a few pictures of the progress. Have a look!

I went for a trunk mounted setup with the 2 compressors and water traps in the spare tire space. I did this to minimize noise and keep the setup clean. I also wanted to make sure I retained as much usable trunk space as possible.

Tank mounted to the top of the trunk so I can still use the trunk and pass through to load up snowboards in winter

My favourite part of the install is the management. Center digital gauge with dual readings (F+R), plus individual switches for front and rear axles. I can close the lid and you wouldn’t be able to tell from the interior that the car runs air suspension. I did have to sacrifice 1 cigarette lighter and an ash tray, but it was 100% worth it.

For reference, the ride height with the BC Racing coilovers.

A few more days and the car was ready to go. Here are some shots of the finished product!

Yes, she’s super low. Definitely deserving of the Slamry moniker now!

Being so excited with how it looked now, I had to take it out and take some photos of the car. It happened to rain however, but it let up in the evening near sunset, so I took the opportunity to take some photos while the ground was still wet.

Love the reflection in this shot!

In search of some more empty parking lots, I headed over to the Windermere shopping area and decided to stop at Cineplex, which was completely empty except for a few Skipthedishes drivers. I guess people can’t get enough of the popcorn?

I love this wide angle shot. I want to focus on some car photography that shows off the surroundings more!

I also managed to make a short video (first time using Adobe Premiere, was always a Sony Vegas guy) showing the air out. Have a look!

At this point, there are a few things I still want to do on the Camry. It feels like there’s a lot more work in progress compared to the Porsche, but I feel like it’s also unavoidable given that the car started off a lot rougher than the 911 plus I do winter drive the car, which puts a ton of wear on it. Some things I still want to do hopefully this season (in no particular order):

  • Camber bolts front and rear, to give a little more clearance to the fender (and MORE LOW)

  • Fix the side skirts, as the double sided tape is coming off in multiple areas

  • Junction Produce interior pieces

  • LED signals, DRLs, and rear lights

  • Redo the front PPF (it’s almost 5 years old and the rock chips are plentiful)

  • Annual Detail and ceramic coat refresh

After all of that, I feel like the car will be “done”. But as it always is, you’re never done. There’s always more to do. Stretch goals would probably also include a roof repaint and a new rear bumper. It’s a never ending money sink.

Until next,
Gary