My new (and most expensive ever) car toy finally arrived last week. It's the little things, really--- like the subtle, unobtrusive markings on the two boxes.

And the diplomatically worded "THIS PRODUCT WILL KILL YOU DO NOT USE IT OH MY GOD" disclaimer that was printed in 38 places on the packaging.

And the way the instructions describe how in order to fit these ridiculous over-sized brakes onto my car I might need to bend some stock parts out of the way to ensure they would fit.

After a week of frantic installation to get ready for Thunderhill (more on that later), terrifyingly expensive sounds coming from the front of the car, and the final silencing of the sounds with a carefully placed zippy-tie, I have a car that actually stops.

There will not be any cracking of THESE rotors. Don't ever say that I don't solve problems in a thorough (albeit occasionally expensive) way.

(It's hard to see in the picture, but the calipers clear the wheels by only 2mm. When the wheel's balancing weights rotate past the caliper, the clearance is reduced to 1mm. Wheels don't flex that much, right?)