August 8, 2024

Rajd Małopolski

This weekend was the Rajd Małopolski, and I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t take a quick trip. So on Saturday, we headed to Maków Podhalański and once again saw the rally cars in action.

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July 29, 2024

Scale modeling

As kids, my cousins and I spent a lot of time building models, and now, after quite a few years, the thrill of building something out of small plastic parts has come back to me.

I always looked at the mirrors of modern day cars with envy as they gracefully glided to a full fold in parking lots. To be honest, I didn’t know that JDM Imprezas had electrically folding mirrors, but as soon as I found out, I immediately started plotting.

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July 14, 2024

Wieliczka

Last weekend, the Janusz Kulig and Marian Bublewicz Memorial took place. I decided to go. It was a really great event that transformed that small town, Wieliczka, into a rally-fueled, colourful little place. It was fantastic to see entire families watching the competition, with kids laughing out loud at the roar of the ALS.

It was even more enjoyable because there were so many historic cars, including models from my era of WRC, like the Ford Sierra, Escort, Focus MK1, and Toyota Celica ST-205 GT4 — really quite special!

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May 31, 2024

Maintenance: Oil change

Oil change: 60871 km, Motul 300V Competition 5W40.

Some time ago, I got myself one of those Mishimoto magnetic oil drain plugs, just for peace of mind. So far, so good.

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April 14, 2024

Strut bars

Last year, the Impreza got a dedicated STI strut brace. It looks really nice, and I think that’s the most important thing. Whether it actually makes a difference is another matter. Anyway, here are before/after shots:

An up shot from the change of the strut bars is that I ended up with a slightly worn-out bar, which was just perfect for Forester:

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April 12, 2024

Forester deserves it too

On Saturday, with the temperature nearly at 25°C, Forek finally got its summer tires. Back in February, during the MOT, the mechanic mentioned that the tie rod ends were slowly wearing out, so Tomek and I decided to replace them. Surprisingly, it went pretty smoothly; the locknut bolts cooperated without much persuasion.

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April 7, 2024

Rallye Boží Bojovníci II

The second edition of Rallye Boží Bojovníci was centered around the Hill Climb at Prządki. The rules were exactly the same as last year: south of where I live, a spring weekend, this time at the Polish-Slovakian border. A bit of driving and sightseeing.

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February 2, 2024

An artisan from The Witcher

Back in April of last year, I bought a control unit along with a set of Defi gauges: oil pressure and temperature, boost, and water temperature (the latter is looking for a new owner), all with beautiful, deep amber backlighting. They match Hawk’s ambience perfectly. I then set out to find an ATI gauge pod, which turned out to be quite a challenge. There is a bunch of similar products available, but none with attachment clips at the bottom, and I wanted it to fit perfectly, with no squeaks or gaps. The Belgians came to the rescue, and so, in mid-September, the postman brought a package from AVB Sports.

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January 9, 2024

Departures and arrivals

Sometimes we wander around northwestern Poland, usually by bikes. A few months ago, I noticed a large, unused railway siding in the middle of the forest. I thought to myself: “This is a place worth remembering when the white stuff starts falling from the sky”. Some time passed, the stars aligned perfectly: Forester, Tomek, I, and the snow found ourselves in the right place at the right time. Here’s the result of a good few minutes with AT locked in 1st gear, starting from virgin powder, to this:

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