Oh hey, it's been a minute since I've updated this thread. I wasn't happy with the front brakes still, so I finally upgraded the front rotors and calipers to ones from an '09 base:
I went with Raybestos ST43 pads this time around. Still a fan of the hardbrakes Ti shims, so I installed a set along with the pads, and moved the ones from the front to the rear (with a bit of trimming). The slotted rotors should act a bit less like a cheese grater on the pads.
With Time Trials Nationals coming up, I decided to get some NCM practice in on my 38th birthday with Chin TrackDays. Had the front tires flipped to get some fresh tread on the outside shoulders, and we were off!
The ST43s are UNBELIEVABLE. They're smooth and consistent, and they never give up. I managed to set a new personal best on a fairly lazy lap:
Things didn't go so well on the way home. I had some vibration in the steering, probably from rubber pickup, and around when I got off my exit on the highway the power steering pump started protesting. I initially thought that I had just overheated the steering from the vibration, so I put on my "I'm never getting laid again" headband, and looked around under the engine cover.
There was a bit of power steering fluid below the reservior on the top of the engine where the overflow discharges, but nothing else seemed amiss. I figured it had just run low from overheating. Topped it off and ran a longer overflow hose to discharge under the car.
Later, I was going to scrape OPR off the front tires and found this:
Further investigation revealed that power steering fluid was just gushing out of the pressed in lines at the rack.
There weren't any new replacements in the United States. I tried sealing them up with JB Weld, but after several attempts it was still leaking at a pretty generous pace. I was desparate enough to look into disconnecting the power steering pump, but unfortunately the belt routing would go through the center shaft of the pump. So in the end, I had to withdraw from Time Trials nationals. Kinda a bummer since I was looking forward to it all year, but I managed to salvage some fun by flagging a corner and playing crewchief for some friends.