“What’s that thing got under the hood?”

Today at lunch I was driving around looking for photo locations for this afternoon’s shoot. After finding a few spots that have might work, I headed to Safeway to get a salad (Note: get the half salad, they put the same amount of toppings on it but charge $1.50 less than the full salad). On the way I noticed a black Chevy Impalla race-up behind me and then proceed to ride my ass. As we approached a red light he scooted in front of another car to pull-up next to me. At the light he keeps inching forward, just waiting for it to turn green.

When the light turns green he jumped on it, so I figure, what the heck… let’s have some fun with this guy. I rolled into the throttle (maybe 75% or so) and closeed the gap in a heartbeat. I quickly pulled ahead of him, so let off on the gas and pulled into the left-most turn lane. To my surprise he pulled-up along side of me, and when I glanced over he was nodding his head and smiling. When I looked back over he’d rolled his window down, so I did the same.

First thing out of his mouth was, “What’s that thing got under the hood? A V8?”. I responded with the normal, “Yeah, 6 liter V8”. He started asking about horsepower and stuff, so I described the mods and such… Turns out this guy has the Supercharged 3.8L V6 with a custom exhaust and a few other things. The conversation ended with him commenting, “Nice car man”. When the light turned green he raced-off (I wasn’t going to play on a road with a 35mph speed limit that I know police like to patrol).

Again, I’m really happy with the way the G8 performed. I love that people really don’t know what they are dealing with when they pull-up next to me. Also, the results of the supercharged v6 just demonstrates that there is no replacement for displacement!

Goodguys Autumn Get-Together

The NorCal GOATs made a presence at this year’s Goodguys Autumn Get-Together. I was planning on taking the weekend off from car stuff, but I just couldn’t turn down entering the G8 in the show-n-shine at a big event like this… Throw-in that the event is in my backyard, and it became a no-brainer.

It had only been a week since I’d washed the G8 last, but it was a long week (~600 miles of driving), and I needed to put in some quality time to make sure things were ‘show worthy’. I wasn’t feeling very well, so decided to leave work a little early on Friday. It worked out well that I was able to get the car fully detailed before the sun went down.

It has been quite cold here lately at night, and to my disgust there was a light layer of dew on the G8 before I could get back home and into my underground parking garage. One the drive home the water was flowing down the rear window… tarnishing the perfection that I worked so hard to achieve earlier. I seriously debated re-detailing the G8 once I got home, but decided that I would leave it for once I arrived at the show.

The group met at 6:45am to get to the fairgrounds early enough to get a nice spot at the show-n-shine. The weather was very overcast and there was even some mist. As we approached the show the weather worsened to the point that all of our cars were covered in water. I was really glad that I hadn’t obsessed the night before, as I had to re-do everything anyhow. It made for good fun… it was nice to see how each person details their cars in slightly different way.

The group was able to get a spot right on the ‘main drag’ quite close to the Auto-X. There was also a cool barn that we staked a claim to, which resulted in some nice photos once the sun broke-through the clouds. In addition to the cars, we had a tent with a nice NCG banner. There was also a BBQ and all sorts of food and drinks.

I was originally hesitant to enter the G8 into the show-n-shine, as I’ve never considered it a ‘show car’, but the G8 received a very warm welcome from everyone that I talked with. From other G8 owners, to those who wished they were owners, the comments almost always ended with “it’s really too bad that they stopped making these”. It was really fun talking with everyone… and for once being on the ‘owners’ side (rather than just the photographer).

I was able to set-up a few photos around the barn and think we may have another couple candidates for the NorCal GOATs Calendar. I also talked to a few NCG members and it looks like there will be a photo shoot tomorrow afternoon!

I think attending these events in the future will become a regular thing. Not only is it a great time hanging-out with the other NorCal GOATs, representing the club in a public forum is important too. We met several new people with GTOs and G8s… hopefully a few of them will join-up and participate in future activities.

Maggie Mod Day

Today was the second day in a row doing car stuff. This time I had to wake-up early as I needed to be in Tracy by 8:30am. After loading-up the car with the majority of my camera equipment I headed-off. Like always, I had some extra time so decided to take a leisurely drive down Altamont Pass Rd. I was again reminded of the cold cloudy morning when my Father and I drove these same roads in the RX-7 chasing after trains. It would have been a perfect morning to have a NorCal GOATS club jacket!

After meeting-up with two other people, the group headed South on I-5 towards Merced. Unfortunately we had to make a brief stop as one of the group was pulled-over by the CHP for having tinted windows (Seriously, doesn’t the CHP have something better to do?). The remainder of the drive went smoothly and we made good time.

While driving down I couldn’t stop thinking about photography. The weather was partly overcast and the parts of sun that made it through really made the countryside look gorgeous. The recent rain has resulted in the hills starting to turn green… very photogenic!

The shop where the mod day was being performed was incredible. When I think of my ‘garage’ (which is actually just a parking spot) I am reminded just how awesome a workshop could be. Not only is there a huge area to work on whatever you could imagine, there is even a lift!

The work on the Magnacharger (MP122) was going well, without my help, so I decided to look around for something to do. Given I have had photography on my mind, I quickly set-about trying to find some photo locations around the shop. Looking outside was OK, but the inside of the shop was just perfect to setup as a studio!

I don’t have much (any?) experience lighting something as large as a car with studio lights, but figured today would be a good time to learn. When I purchased my strobes I decided to go with the more powerful monolights just in case I wanted to do something like this (and I’m glad I did). I also picked-up a Vagabond II battery pack for the ability to work in remote locations… today I had power, so it wasn’t needed.

After some experimenting I found a lighting setup that seemed to produce some nice results. I probably should have done some more shots with less ambient lighting to create a more dramatic mood, but a nice evenly exposed image is more usable (and I can always add the shadowing in post). All-in-all I’m sure I was able to get a couple shots that will be potentials for the NCG calendar.

The drive home was fun, being joined by one more GTO, and went smoothly. I decided to take Corral Hollow Rd. just to add some spice to the trip. There was the typical traffic around Carnegie Park, but I was able to get a clear piece of road to have some fun.

The weekend has turned-out to be quite a bit of driving… I’m guessing I drove over 500 miles in total… but like always it was a blast!

NCG Calendar Photo Shoot

In a quest to get photos for the NCG Calendar, I organized a photo shoot in the Livermore area on one day’s notice. Most of the locations I have shot myself in the past, so I know there should be some good images… the biggest variable is just how many people are going to show-up.

Sunday came about and after a great night sleep (spending the whole day drag racing really wore me out) I woke-up and headed out for the photo shoot. We met at the Livermore Harley Davidson dealership, 1) because it’s close to the freeway, and 2) it has several nice cinder block walls that should work well for photography. Three GTOs were present for the first location. After some quick shots (and a few minutes showing-off the G8 to a spectator) we headed out to the next photo location.

I had spotted this location (a wall with graffiti) yesterday morning on the way to Tracy and figured it would make for a good background for panning shots. After trying to describe what I was after from my cars/drivers a few times, I was able to get some good shots. We were also joined by another G8 and one more GTO.

I learned a few more things about logistics of photo shoots… like making sure everyone had a working radio. Also, people need to understand that I’m accustom to photographing cars traveling at racetrack speeds… so they don’t need to drive 10mph under the speed limit just for me. Honestly, the faster they go the easier it is for panning (being safe is still a priority).

The third photo location was quite impromptu. We ended-up stopping at the Summit Garage, which I have since found out to be a historic landmark on the old Lincoln Highway.

After a brief talk with the owner and Zeus (the guard dog, who is really a total sweetheart) I set about to getting some photos. We did a few two-car shots, which turned out nice… including a few shots with two G8s together. I’m really glad that I noticed the old cars that normally find a home in front of the garage were not present. A very cool location!

When doing a photo shoot in the Altamont Pass one has to get some shots with windmills. Unfortunately we spent more time than I had planned shooting the other locations and the sun quickly ducked behind a hill. I was able to get shots of one car, and it happened to be the one I thought would look best at the location (and I was right). I guess sometime we will have to re-visit this location for some more photos.

The last photo location I wanted to shoot was “The Top of the World” (at least that’s what I call it) on Patterson Pass Rd. I knew this location, being at the top of the world, would be one of the last places for the sun to set. I also figured the drive on Patterson Pass Rd. to the photo location would be really fun for all the participants. The shots from here really turned out well. The setting sun was getting a little low, but it made for nice contrasty images with very golden reflections. There was also an area where I could get shots looking down at the cars, which worked great for those with custom paint and stripes on the hood.

The logistics here worked out quite well. With one person on each side of the bind corner with radios keeping an eye-out for traffic, we were able to have the cars park across the road. When cars approached they were slowed down and waved-by in a controlled fashion. This process really worked well, and should be used for future shoots on public roads (with low traffic volumes).

Overall, the day was very productive. I believe we have several calendar shots in the bank from today’s activities. The biggest issue now is choosing which of the images to use… and how to use just one image from each car.

Sacramento Raceway Test & Tune

After the drag racing experience at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I have been wanting to get back to the strip to see what the G8 can do now that I know a little more about what I’m doing. I was feeling slightly disappointing with my times/speeds from Vegas, but understood that the elevations and temperature really played a big part in how I ran. When the NorCal Goats planned a trip to the Sacramento Raceway for a Test and Tune, I knew I had to go along.

Sacramento Raceway (elevation 30′) is a great facility to get the G8 out to. A group of us were heading-out from the Manteca area, so I drove the back-way over to Tracy to scout out the photo locations for tomorrow’s shoot. Several of us got together and then headed-up to the track. We arrived when the gates opened and had some time to relax and let the engines cool off from the drive. I also took the opportunity to empty my trunk of all non-essential equipment.

When the track get hot I headed over to tech (which wasn’t really an inspection at all) and then into the staging lanes. Having spent some time reading about different launch techniques, I decided to just let the G8 do it’s thing. I turned off TCM, left the car in drive, and launched from idle… the resulting run was the quickest pass I made all day… a 13.53s @ 106.4mph (2.12s 60′, DA 1021′). The launch was perfect (no wheel spin at all) and I accelerated all the way through the 1/4 mile… holding 3rd gear through the end (without hitting the rev limiter).

After the first pass I wanted to see how Sport mode would work, and to my surprise the run was slightly slower… a 13.64s @ 106.1mph (2.168s 60′, DA 1021′). I think the slower time came from the chirp that was caused when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. While it sounds cool, the loss of traction doesn’t seem to make for a faster time.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting with different launch techniques, but was never able to better my first run. The last run of the day I used the same launch technique as the first run, but had aired-down the rear tires to 30psi (they were at 40psi to start). The temperature had increased a little, resulting in a DA of 1247′, but I was able to pull-out a 13.62s @ 106.9mph (2.224s 60′). I think that if I would have run the same PSI with the colder air from the morning I could have squeezed out a tenth or two.

Spending time working over the numbers, I was really surprised to see that my times were very consistent. When correcting for the DA run, my best from Vegas was within a tenth of a second and 1mph of what I ran in Sac. Given there was nothing changed with the car, it’s expected.

I am content with the 13.53s @ 106.4mph (I even put it in my signature on the message boards), but I think if the temperature gets a little cooler I will be able to run in the low-13s. I don’t think I have been bit by the never-ending faster ET bug (yet), but spending time at the track with the rest of the GOATs is a blast.

After the day at the track, a group of us headed-out to Sacramento for some photography. The goal was to get a few shots for the NCG Calendar I’ve been working on, and I think things worked-out well. I’d share some of the photos, but they are a secret until the calendar comes out!

Racing Helmet

It hasn’t taken long, but I’m going to be heading out to the drag strip again… and given I’m trying to run under 14 seconds, I’m going to need a helmet. I wanted to get something that wouldn’t be too cumbersome, yet still meet all the required certifications for drag and road racing. The G-Force Pro Phenom is SFI (what the drag strips require) and SA2005 (what the road courses require) and doesn’t break the bank. I also think the open face design will work well with my glasses. Hopefully my big skull will fit in the XXL!

Speeding Ticket

WARNING: Radar detectors don’t do anything to help when the driver is being stupid!

This morning on the way into work I was stopped and given my first speeding ticket. While it was not a pleasant experience, I can honestly say that I deserved it.

I was driving on East bound I580 (as always) going with the flow of traffic. I’d say that traffic was a bit heaver today than most… maybe because I left home an hour earlier (I guess it’s a good reason to sleep in). I moved my way over to the #1 lane and was cruising along.

I found myself behind a slower driver in a minivan (still ~70mph in a 65mph) and decided that I would pass him, so pulled into the #2 lane and started to accelerate. At the same time another driver in the #3 lane turned on their directional (for the second time, as they had already done it a few seconds before when a truck was passing them). As I approached this car I moved a little towards the #1 lane (maybe even causing the minivan to apply their brakes). At this point, I thought to myself… that wasn’t the smartest thing… I probably shouldn’t have done that…

It was at this point that I looked in my rear view mirror to see the flashing red and blue lights of the CHP officer who had been sitting behind me the whole time (and I’m talking RIGHT behind me). I worked my way to the shoulder and stopped. The officer was actually quite respectable about the whole thing. He wrote me up for going 70mph in a 65mph zone (basically the most lenient ticket he could issue) and didn’t mention anything about “weaving through traffic” or about being in a construction zone (double fines) which I’m sure he could have done if he’d wanted to.

I believe it was the fact that I was trying to move through the traffic that was the cause for him pulling me over… not necessarily the speed at which I was doing it. There wasn’t a single car on the road doing less than 70mph, and I’m sure he would have driven for miles with us all going that speed without stopping someone. Just the unsmart (and ultimately unsafe) nature of what I was doing was the provocation… and I can really respect that.

So it looks like a fine (~$150 from what I can tell) and traffic school (at least you can do it online now). But it will make me rethink those sorts of activities in the future.

Note: In no way did driving the G8 GT (or my “hot rod” as people at work are fond of calling it) cause me to get this ticket. I have, for the most part, always driven this stretch of road at similar speeds. In no way did having a radar detector (which as stated before doesn’t alert to driver stupidity) given me a feeling of “invincibility” to the repercussions of driving above the speed limit. And for those who may ask, no… the radar detector did not alert to the presence of the CHP officer as he was not using radar.

Back with the G8

After nearly three weeks away from the G8 it’s so great to be back. Last night after my flight from the East Coast I had to go to the grocery store for milk. When I first sat in the G8 after being in a rental car for so long I was totally out of place. Seriously, I thought someone else had been driving my car! It didn’t take long to get back into the feel of the G8… only once did I accelerate a bit too aggressively due to driving in the rental car.

93 Octane @ $2.95/gal = WTF!

I guess I’m still on my gas rant… I filled-up my whimpy rental car today and at the pump was 93 Octane for $2.95/gal.

Seriously, what I wouldn’t give for 93 Octane fuel… let alone for under $3/gal. I wonder what TSA would say if I brought back a gas can with me? Oh well…

Gas Price Inequality

I understand the concept of suply and demand, but what is the deal with the extremely different gas prices from state to state?

Gasbuddy.com

Just look at California! Isn’t there a big refinery (large supply) in Benicia? So why are most prices are over $2.94/gal… where even closely neighboring states are $0.50/gal less expensive? Maybe some of this is because of state/local taxes places on the gas sales, or maybe special formulations to deal with environmental concerns, but still… it is annoying.

On a note about gas… I have been consistantly been getting around 19 mpg in the G8 GT with my commute to work (13 miles, 85% highway at ~75 mph). I’m happy with this, considering I was getting about the same fuel economy with my ’02 Grand Prix that only had a 3.8L V6.

If I’m all highway I’ve been getting up to the 25 mph that the window sticker claimed. I have noticed that the more I drive in manual shifting mode the lower the gas milage, but that has to be connected with the more spirited nature of that driving. Still, the lowest full-tank average I’ve done so far was 15.6 mpg.