National G8 Meet: Day 2

The day started out with a trip to the car wash to finally get all the road grime off. I was worried that on a Saturday morning there would be too many people at the car wash for me to do a proper bucket wash. Fortunately everyone slept in today and I was able to spend over an hour pampering my car.

With a clean car I headed to the car show and parked in the “Modified” section. I know I don’t stand a chance against the other cars with all sorts of appearance mods (wheels, stripes, lights, etc.), but I didn’t think it would be fair for my car to be entered in the “Mild” category (although in hindsight it wouldn’t have been too far off).

My car was really getting some great attention. Most of the attendies were very interested in my Maverick Man Carbon Fiber hood and my Demon8Designs A-Pillar gauge pod. Because of all the help both of these companies have given me over the past year, I tried to return the favor and do a little advertising for them.

The Car Show at the National G8 Meet was very impressive… I believe the final car count was 64 G8’s (71 cars in total)! There were all sorts of G8’s in almost every color of the rainbow (I believe the only missing color was an Ignition Orange Metallic).

After several more hours of looking at cars and talking with owners, I needed to prepare for the cruise that was taking place a little later in the day. The cruise organizer was kind enough to post the route online, so I was able to program it into my In-Dash GPS (this would come in REALLY handy a little later in the evening). I also needed to top-off my gas tank so headed out to get some more 93 Octane… and on the way back stopped to get some lunch.

All of the G8’s started to line-up for the cruise and we headed-out, and it was a very impressive sight.

After getting gathered into groups (to help keep people from getting lost) we headed-out on the cruise.

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About an hour into the drive we stopped at Poopy’s for dinner. The location chosen for dinner was definitely an interesting one. Where else can you get a massive hamburger (called the “Big Poop”) and a tattoo, while you watch cage fighting? Unfortunately it took us forever to get served food and get or bills, so by the time people were done eating it was getting quite late.

As I left the restaurant there was a group of G8’s headed out to complete the cruise, so I rushed to my car to join them. I got into line behind some other G8’s, but they were not continuing on the cruise, so me and one other G8 headed-out to try and catch the first group. We did not know that there was another group of G8’s who left shortly after us…

Remember how I said it was a good thing that I entered the cruise route into my GPS? Well, I needed it! I ended-up being the leader for the two of us, and there would have been no way I could have done it by looking at the printed directions (they were well done, but I even get lost with GPS).

The first part of the cruse took us through some very fun roads to drive. The posted 55mph speed limits allowed for some spirited driving in the corners. Unfortunately, the sun was setting and visibility started to become limited. It was also that time of night when I was afraid of deer crossing the road (here is a video taken by one of the other G8’s on the cruise). I started to spend less time concentrating on driving quickly on the road, and more on making sure there wasn’t anything running onto the roadway.

The sun set quickly and the last 1:30 was spent driving in almost total darkness. I’m sure the rest of the cruise route was very scenic, but with no light it was difficult to see anything other than the road. I kept a faint hope that we would eventually catch-up to the first group of cars, but I figured once the sun went down they would have taken an alternate route home. At this point I just wanted the cruise to be over, but there was not shorter way home, so I just kept pushing forward.

When the two of us finally made it back to the hotel I was shocked to see that the parking lot was full of activity. It seemed like everyone completed the cruise route… and there was even a group that came-in behind us!

The rest of the night was spent swapping stories about the awesome cruise and all of the crazy things that had happened. It was a busy day, but a very memorable one… definitely a day that anyone who was not at the National G8 Meet should be jealous of!

National G8 Meet: Day 1

Today was the first official day of the 2011 National G8 Meet!

Because I arrived yesterday, I didn’t need to check-in this morning… so I slept in for the first time in a while. When I woke-up and checked the various G8 Forums (like I do almost every morning) and saw a post about a local landmark that I just had to go.

I’ve been a big fan of the TV show American Pickers, and with their “headquarters” only 20 minutes away, I snuck-off before today’s G8 activities for a visit.

Antique Archaeology is just a little shop in a quaint town on the Mississippi River. Even with the location entered into my GPS I had a difficult time finding it… and ended-up driving around an circles for ~15 minutes. When I finally made it, I spent a few minutes looking around the shop…

It was really cool to see the items on the walls and remember the TV episodes were Mike and Frank picked them. I kept finding myself saying, “I recognize that thing… and that thing…”; It was very cool. I also took the opportunity to buy some Picker’s swag!

Because I got lost looking for the Picker’s place, I had to rush back to the Isle of Capri for the scheduled lunch. Fortunately, when I arrived there were still a few other people in line for food… so I wasn’t stuck eating alone. After the lunch I headed out to the parking garage and spent a few hours meeting people as they arrived for the festivities. It was great seeing the various things people have done with their cars.

In the afternoon everyone gathered to head to Cordova Dragway for some fun on the track. There was quite a turnout and really impressive to see the train of G8’s on the road. We arrived at the track and got together for tech inspection, numbers, etc.

It was really great to hangout with guys at the drags. There were quite a few first timers who were trying to figure out what to do. Fortunately there are lots of people who knew what they were doing, and it seemed like everyone received a good primmer.

I made a couple of passes down the track, but my car was running quite slow. I was a bit disappointed with the results, but I know that my car wasn’t setup to run at it’s best… heck, I didn’t even empty the bags out of the trunk! Unfortunately things were running slow, and after a GXP dumped coolant on the track, it was over an hour between runs. I wasn’t able to get into a grove where I could figure out how to launch my car, etc… so called it a night early. Not too much later we started to get a little rain, which ultimately put an end to the night (even before the bracket racing could declare a winner).

Tomorrow morning I need to be awake early to get my car washed before heading to the car show. Hopefully things will not be too busy and I can do a proper hand wash, but one way or another I need to get the G8 clean… this is after all the National G8 Meet!

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 5

Today was my final day on the road before the National G8 Meet in Bettendorf, IA. Like yesterday, I stuck to I-80 and tried to make good time.

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I left the hotel after a quick breakfast and headed East on I-80. Driving across Iowa I noticed that, like Nebraska, there is lots of corn. However, different from Nebraska, Iowa has far more hills/valleys… and the farms tend to follow the flow of the land. Driving on the interstate was a bit more interesting because of this increased variation. While it would have been great to drive some twisty roads, I just wanted to get to the meet.

One thing that I wasn’t able to take care of before leaving California was purchasing an “America the Beautiful” annual National Parks pass. I plan on driving through a few National Parks on my journey, so figured the annual pass would be much easier (and cheaper) than individual daily passes. When planning my trip to GONE I noticed that passes were being sold at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which is right off of I-80 in Iowa. Today I pulled-in to see if I could get one, but just like in California, they were all out of them… D’oh!

As I approached Bettendorf I became quite excited that the first part of my journey was coming to an end. I was all ready to let everyone know that I had arrived when I saw a road sign that I recognized from a TV show (Modern Marvals… yes, I’m a nerd!)… and I just had to stop.

The Iowa 80 truck stop is definitely a busy place… and holds claim to the World’s Largest Truckstop! Being so close to the end of my day’s driving I didn’t really feel that I needed a rest, but I did walk around a little.

I completed the last of my drive and checked-into my hotel early in the afternoon. It felt good to get situated. After a short break I headed-out towards the Isle of Capri (the home of the National G8 Meet), but not without first stopping by a car wash! I didn’t have time for a complete wash, but I needed to get the big stuff off the car (there was actually gravel stuck to the inside of my wheels from the driving I did in Wyoming/Colorado the other day). Some Adam’s All Purpose Cleaner and a spray from the wash nozzle make quick work of the dead bugs and big chunks of dirt.

After the wash I made a trip to the local Shell station for my the G8’s first ever tank of 93 Octane fuel!

Full of gas I made the short drive to the Isle of Capri and pulled into the parking lot to be greeted by several other G8 owners. I was also greeted by another Check Engine Light (P0507 – IAC Valve duty cycle higher than expected)… but, like before, it doesn’t seem to be anything too alarming. It has been really great to have access to my mechanic in California who can answer the questions about things like this when they pop-up!

I checked-in into the National G8 Meet and got my name tag, T-shirt, gift bag, etc. The next few hours were spent in the parking lot to checking out all of the other cars. It was great putting faces to the screen names that I talk with all the time online. I was surprised how many people were tracking my drive from California… and I’ve unofficially been known as “the corn guy” (for my photo yesterday from in the corn field).

After a little while everyone got together for a drive to dinner at The Machine Shed.

Spending time with a whole bunch of other G8 Owner is really a great time. The dynamics of the community is quite an interesting one. There is a wide range of ages, experiences, etc. There are several owners that are my age, several that are a little younger, and quite a few that are a bit older. During dinner I spent my time sitting with some of the older folks… and surprisingly had lots of things to talk about (even outside of our cars).

My journey to this point has been a long one (2140 miles), but I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it. I can hardly wait until tomorrow when the National G8 Meet officially starts!

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 4

Today was a very unexciting day of driving on I-80, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. The National G8 Meet is only a few days away, and at this point it is my priority. I’m sure I could have found a twisty road someplace in Nebraska, but right now I just want to get to GONE!

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My day started with a quest… a quest for air! When driving twisty roads I like to have my tire pressures set for when they head-up. As a result, I’ve been driving with ~40 psi (once warm) in my tires (checked via a nice gauge I received for Christmas last year – Thanks Dad!). This means that when I start the day (cold tires) my Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is reading ~35 psi. With an all freeway day scheduled, I wanted to bump the pressures up to ~40 psi (when cold). Yes, I know I’m being crazy… but a couple of psi makes a difference.

So, I head to the Shell station where I filled-up yesterday… no air. I check another station… no air, then another… no air. I find a car wash with vacuums, but no air. Maybe Walmart has an auto center? Nope! I was finally able to find air at the next exit (~20 miles away) and spent the rest of the day admiring my TPMS reading all four wheels at 42 psi.

Once on the road I spent most of the day with the cruise control locked-in at 75 mph. Traffic was a little heavier than it had been in the past few days, which resulted in having to work a bit harder to get a clean piece of the road. This brings me to my first gripe of the trip… what is the deal with people who are going a fraction of a mph faster than you, but don’t speed-up to make a quick/clean pass?

Seriously, it was really bugging me today! I was going 75.0 mph (verified by GPS) and there was someone doing 75.5 mph right behind me. It’s no big deal to look in your rear view mirror to see a car (very) slowly catching you. It’s no big deal to have a car pull-out to make a pass. But when the car just inches along side of you, and essentially starts to cruise… that is just unacceptable. To make the situation even worse, one car wasn’t using cruise control, so actually started to SLOW DOWN next to me… falling back into my blindspot!

At this point, I just couldn’t take it anymore. There was at least a half-mile of empty road behind me, perfect for me to relax in, so I stomped on my brakes and let the car rocket past me (thank you Baer!). I’m sure I must have startled the other driver, but he deserved it! When you pull-out to make a pass… make the pass!

Oh yeah, since I’m making gripes, what is the deal with the “Rest Reminder” in my car?

I get it, I should drive for many hours on-end without taking a rest… but does the reminder have to make the same tone as a Check Engine Light!?! Not only that, but if I cancel the reminder… it pops-up a little while later. I will likely turn it off, but I almost want to make a game out of it… how many times can I cancel the Reset Reminder before I have to stop? Yesterday I canceled it three times before I stopped. Can I reach four?

Ok, back to positive stuff. I’ve decided that every day I’ll try to take a photo or two that represents the area that I’m driving through. I’ve been able to find some cool locations for snapshots so far, but today nothing really jumped out at me… until it hit me. With all the corn fields, I needed to fine one I could drive into!

For ~100 miles I drove keeping my eyes out for a suitable location. While there were several fields that were next to the interstate, none of them had frontage/service roads. Eventually I found what I was looking for… First I had to drive down a dirt road (with a 50 mph speed limit) at 10 mph, then I had to back into a tractor path (scraping my sub chassis braces on something)… but it was worth it.

Overall today was a “cover ground” day, but it was enjoyable. I had fun singing along to 80’s tunes on XM Radio while chomping on Atomic Fireballs (they must have changed the recipe on these things, as they are way hotter than I remember them being when I was a kid).

Tomorrow is the final day of “Pre-National G8 Meet” driving, as I’m only 300 miles away from Bettendorf, IA and GONE!

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 3

Boy am I glad that I drove the extra miles yesterday! The weather today wasn’t the greatest and most of the morning I was driving through spitting rain. This was a bit of a concern since I had planned on driving some twisty roads; and didn’t know if they would be effected.

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Fortunately Wyoming has an awesome website for tracking road conditions (Wyoming Travel Information Map). I was even able to pull-up a webcam for each of the twisty roads I planned on driving so I could monitor road conditions. I was also able to see one area of WY-70 that was under construction after a landslide… and that the detour was appropriate for the lowered suspension of the G8.

I’ve been spending far too much time driving on I-80 the past few days, but today I made a detour to drive some twisty roads. It felt a little weird getting off the interstate to drive 48 minutes the wrong way, but when I turned onto Wyoming 70 it was totally worth it.

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WY-70 is mostly sweeping curves, and climbs nearly 3000ft into the mountains. The best sections are in the Medicine Bow National Forest, where the road winds through a mixture of birch and pine forests. The weather today resulted in most of the views being obstructed, but it was very cool driving though the fog/rain.

The posted 55 mph speed limit was very obtainable in the corners, but the wet roads made things a little challenging… it was fun having to dodge the standing water in the curves. My favorite part of this drive was the complete lack of people on the road. I think I counted a total of three cars driving in the same direction as me, all of which were very easy to pass. For about half an hour I must have had a stupid grin on my face… the drive was quite euphoric!

The last 150 miles of my day was back on I-80 cruising at 75mph. There was a little rain at first, and I was surprised to see signs saying “Wet Pavement Turn off Cruise Control”… I guess it makes you pay attention a little more (and keeps your car from running away if your wheels start to spin). Fortunately the rain didn’t last too long and I was able to enjoy the nearly empty road a little more.

So far on this trip I’ve been very good about filling-up on gas early; as I don’t want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere. As I approached Nebraska I started looking at my fuel gauge and where the next gas station was. I found myself ~35 miles from my stopping point for the day with a little over 1/8th of a tank left… and figured I’d be able to make it.

Just as I pasted the “last gas” sign the “Low Fuel” indicator turned on and I had no choice but to push it! I started looking at the numbers, trying to see if my instantaneous fuel economy would increase if I slowed down to 65 mph… or if I drafted a semi-truck. The last few miles were a little nerve-wracking, but I pulled into the gas station with the gauge hovering just above empty (I didn’t get the “Very Low Fuel” alarm, and took 16.738 gallons to fill-up).

After getting gas I headed-out to find a place to take a photo that said “Welcome to Nebraska”. As I drove down the street I found the perfect thing… What else says Nebraska better than a harvester?

Today I logged 529 miles and had a very enjoyable time. I only have ~700 miles left to drive until I reach Bettendorf, IA for the National G8 Meet. I don’t have any more twisty roads planned (there are no mountains in these areas of Nebraska and Iowa), so will be traveling on I-80. While I could go crazy and drive all the way to Bettendorf tomorrow, one of the reasons I left a day early was so that I could take my time.

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 2

Welcome to Utah! I spent several months this year working in this area (one of the reasons I have so many free hotels), so figured it would be fitting to stop-by on my way through.

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I left my hotel a little earlier than expected (for some reason I woke-up early, I guess it’s all the anticipation). The drive on I-80 through Eastern Nevada was enjoyable, but nothing too exciting. However, on my way I came across a couple cars I had seen at a rest stop yesterday. What stood-out were the large CB antennas mounted on the backs of the sports cars. I figure the group is going someplace fun, as there were several Corvettes (including a Le Mans C6.R tribute car), 350z, GT-R, etc.!

The caravan eventually pulled-off at a rest stop, so I wasn’t able to determine who they were or where they were going. Since most people had California license plates, I can only figure they were going my way… maybe to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah?

As I entered Utah I noticed some road signs and had to pull-off to take a photo!

Earlier in the year I was in Tooele, UT and contemplated making the drive to Bonneville for Speed Weeks, but it just didn’t workout. While I didn’t go drive on the salt, it was really cool visiting the place where land speed records are broken!

I had originally planned on making a detour to drive the roads that I took to/from work every day when I was working in Utah. After considering it a little more, I realized that driving almost 2hrs out of the way (into the middle of the desert on “Skull Valley Rd” none the less) for a 10min section of twisty roads is crazy… even for me!

Earlier this year I took a Road Trip in a rental V6 Mustang. One of the roads I drove was Utah-65. I was so impressed by it after the first time driving it that I went out of my way to drive it a second time!

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I knew I had to drive this road in the G8, and it was a good excuse to get off of I-80. I was a little leery driving this road on Labor Day weekend, since there is a reservoir at the end (with RVs, people towing boats, etc.). To my surprise I was able to make the entire run up the hill without any slow vehicles in my way! On my way down I only had one slowpoke, but I just stopped and gave myself some room to play.

The G8 did a great job on UT-65 road… with the only drama occurring when I was a little over zealous with my corner speed (the car wanted to push into the oncoming lane). The Bridgestone RE-11’s are working out nicely as well, and even “protesting” (aka. squealing) when they are being pushed (unlike my RE050a’s which almost never made noise until the car didn’t want to turn).

I was really surprised how much more invigorated I became after driving a few miles of twisty roads. I was originally scheduled to spend the night in Evanston, but when I arrived a little after 1pm I decided I could cover some more distance today. After a few phone calls I changed my reservation and headed East towards Rock Springs, WY.

The scenery in Wyoming is definitely different than it is in California. While things were still quite brown in spots, Wyoming has all sorts of awesome rock formations. The different valleys and rivers were very unique.

Today I covered over 400 miles across three states. With the extra 100 miles I drove today it will make tomorrow’s drive quite a bit more manageable.

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 1

Last year was the first for a National G8 Meet and it was a huge success (article in High Performance Pontiac). Unfortunately, since the meet was in Bettendorf, IA… and I was working on the East Coast… I was unable to attend.

This year, there was no way I was going to miss out on all the fun! While I’ve been spending far too much time away from home, spending some time driving across the Country sounds like a blast!

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I was originally scheduled to start the journey tomorrow, but just couldn’t wait! I crammed my trunk as full as it could and headed-out on the road.

The first day of my drive to the G8 National Meet took me 551 miles up and over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I need to be in Iowa by Thursday night, but whenever possible I’m trying to avoid hours of monotonous driving on I-80. In this regard I chose to take US-50 into South Lake Tahoe and then the Kingsbury Grade down into Carson City, NV.

The drive up US-50 was quite enjoyable. The first section was freshly paved, and after passing a slow moving car, I had it all to myself for ~10 miles. While US-50 is one lane each way, it does a great job providing passing lanes. Not only are they well marked (at the end of one lane they tell you how far to the next), but they also include curves. There is nothing better than blasting past slow cars on a climb (thank you Magnacharger) and flying past other cars when they slow down to take corners (thank you Pedders)!

I’ve wanted to drive the Kingsbury Grade for quite a while (since July 2009). Unlike US-50, the Kingsbury Grade is only one lane each way… and I found myself getting stuck behind a slow moving car. Fortunately the road was nearly empty, so I just slowed-down and played “catch-up” several times.

When I arrived in Carson City I was confronted with my first hurdle of the trip… a Check Engine light and the car going into “limp mode”! I quickly pulled-off the road and tried to figure out what was going on. The car was shaking quite heavily, like there was a big misfire… and there was almost zero power. Fortunately I had my DashHawk and could pull-up the Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC).

After some quick searching online, it sounded like the DTC wasn’t going to be too big of a deal. The first time I restarted the car it exited “limp mode” on its own. I waited a little while and everything seemed good (none of the previous symptoms). I used the DashHawk to clear the DTC and hit the road again.

The remainder of the drive was less exciting, as I just took I-80 into Elko, NV. While I’m sure I would have enjoyed going I-50 (“The Loneliest Road in America”) more, it just didn’t put me in the right place for tomorrow’s drive across Utah.

Driving on I-80 did give me some time to observe things… like how my Carbon Fiber hood moves/shakes when closely trailing another vehicle at 75mph. It’s not a speed thing, or really a “high winds” thing, rather the turbulence coming off the other vehicle. The first time I noticed it I was a little nervous, but after some experimentation it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an issue (fingers crossed).

On I-80 I also spent quite some time observing how my radar detector works in the presence of LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers). In Nevada it seemed like ever few miles there was another Sheriff car/truck/bike trying to catch speeders. I was really impressed that most of the LEOs were not just sitting with their radar always on… rather they were turning their guns on/off for individual cars. While it made it a little more difficult to detect the LEOs, the Valentine 1 did an awesome job. If I hadn’t been going the speed limit, I would have had more than enough time to slow down before the speed traps.

Tonight I’m staying in a free hotel in Elko, NV. After checking-into the hotel I went out to snap a few quick photos, refill my gas tank, and get some dinner.

The worst part of today’s drive was the last mile of it. To get to the gas station I needed to travel through downtown Elko. It just so happens that they are repaving the main street, so I was forced to drive through a muddy construction zone. I wonder if Adam’s Waterless wash will work on the mud? Just kidding… good thing I didn’t wash my car before leaving!