Clutching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat

Me and my EM6910 have had an on/off relationship for years. Mainly due to an undocumented 'feature' of the 'weak as piss' group head collar installed as factory on these 'Cafe Series' units.
Now I acknowledge that if I want great coffee at home I should purchase an Isomac or the like, but I dont have an isomac or the like.

The issue is the collar 'gets shitter' over time and pulling a shot equates to losing pressure, grouds spilling out into your glass, general unhappiness.

First attempt at a happier relationship, full service. New everything, including 'found respect'.
This didnt work, or at least it worked as well as a chocolate teapot.

I should mention the interim fix is wasting lots of coffee until the metallic internals expand, coupled with aggression upon fitting the basket in place (in effect promoting long term damage), you may get a decent shot.

Until now...

EM6910 +

Dodgy collar +

Perfectly engineered piece of cardboard installed under the factory group head seal to 'pad out' the fault = temporarily repaired relationship.

Or you could buy the official part that Sunbean have released to combat this issue. Yes thats right, you pay to fix the fundamental issue they have now acknowledged.

Cardboard for me.