Living with a G8 GT

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!

GoatRun’09: Wrap-up

Total Distance: 1,355 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 21.3 mpg (Including the trips down the drag strip!)
Speeding tickets: Zero (for anyone who was driving in my proximity)

I’m so glad that I decided to go on GoatRun. There is really no way to explain just how much fun it was. I’m already looking forward to next year!

GoatRun’09: Day 4

Monday was a day for relaxing… if you consider an over 500 mile drive a relaxing day. Before setting off on the long drive home, we had a stop at the Bellagio for a great buffet brunch. The group with GoatRun got an incredible deal on the meal (and didn’t even have to wait in line). After not eating much bread (or any carbs for that matter) for a few months, the food was just incredible.

After breakfast I was able to get a few photos of NorCal members in the location that I scouted-out the day before. I tried to park my car to block the spots, but I couldn’t keep the whole area clear. I think it still worked out well.

Once everyone had finished saying their goodbyes the NorCal GOATs headed for home, but not before giving Las Vegas a nice send-off. Once on the freeway I pulled-up to the #2 spot again and kept an eye out for highway patrol officers. The trip out of Vegas was highlighted when the heard came across a Prius… with racing stripes! After saying ‘hello’ to the brother ‘sports car’ we made our way out into the desert towards California.

Time really flies when driving with a group of people. 537 miles is a long drive, but the constant chatter on the radios was just great. There was lots of reminiscing of the previous weekend’s activities. Eventually we reached Mojave, where the group stopped to re-fuel and eat a quick lunch. The drive through Tehapachi was really enjoyable, not just because of the road, but because everyone was listening to the same radio station… even going as far to singing along to “Born in the USA”. It was just another example of just how much fun traveling with a group of people can be.

As we got further North the trip started to end as people began to break-off from the heard when their turn-offs approached. I don’t think any of us wanted the weekend to end… but it didn’t take long to be leading a group of three people towards the East Bay, where I finally had to break-off to head home.

Thankfully I’m taking tomorrow off from work to recover, this was seriously a fun and eventful weekend!

GoatRun’09: Day 3

Day 3 of GoatRun started with a nice breakfast buffet at the Palace Station. When we arrived there were several other NorCal GOATs in front of us in line, making the breakfast very enjoyable. We had some good talks about the previous day’s events at the drag strip, the car show, and the BBQ.

Sunday was cruise day… and for the early risers (those not nursing a hangover)… the first cruise left the Palace Station at 9:30am.

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This cruise headed out towards the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop. A great little park with a one-way road that wound through one of the more picturesque valley I have seen. There were loads of interesting red rock (hence the name) formations. Part way around the loop the group stopped to admire the view and I took the opportunity to climb-up a little hill (avoiding any rattle snakes) to take some photos.

The remainder of the cruise was very enjoyable… a long line of GTOs winding its way through the park. When exiting the park the group became a little separated, and I found myself getting passed for not going around slower traffic, but it was still fun. The group gathered at the Red Rock Casino to wait for the party animals who were able to sober-up enough for the late cruise.

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While the roads used for this cruise were great, the way things went down was less than enjoyable. The group headed out of the Red Rock Casino and, much like the drive from Barstow to Vegas, everyone just took-off. I was really glad that I had the route programed into my GPS, so I at least knew I’d not get lost, but having to drive excessively fast just to keep ahead of the last car in line was not much fun.

Like the other day, I understand it’s the desert and the roads are acceptable for higher speeds, but the cruse was more about ‘keeping up’ rather than enjoying the drive. It really gave me a greater appreciation of the group of people we have in the NorCal GOATs. When we go on a cruise we keep the pace fun, but not so extreme that people are left behind.

At the top of the hill we stopped to talk and enjoy the views. The weather was quite cool compared to Vegas, and it didn’t take too long for people to get cold and want to head back. I took advantage of the scenery to take a few more photos.

I would have loved to rotate some of the NorCal GOATs into the prime photo locations, but there wasn’t time (and I couldn’t find the owner of the car that was in the best spot). The drive back to the Palace Station, like the one out, quickly turned into playing catch-up. I didn’t worry about trying to stick with people (and I don’t think I even saw another GTO for quite some time).

At this point I had to say goodbye to my Dad and dropped him off at the Bellagio. I took the opportunity to take some practice shots from the top of the parking structure where the group will be tomorrow morning. I think the view is going to be really impressive tomorrow! I then headed-off to the Palace Station to meet-up with some NorCal GOATs for an early dinner and then a night on the strip.

Dinner was incredible. We went to the Hofbrauhaus (a great German place) where people were drinking 1 liter beers. If the beers were not enough, when people would get a shot… they would get spanked with a wooden paddle. I don’t know what the obsession was with getting spanked, but I’m sure it had to do with the waitress (who had HUGE tracks of land).

After dinner we walked across the street to the Hard Rock Casino and then made the “short” journey to the strip. I don’t know who’s idea walking to the strip was, but it was a little farther away than anyone thought. It did lend to a nice 1.2 mile expedition with several intoxicated individuals. Once on the strip the group headed from one end to the other getting into all sorts of fun shenanigans… I would go into more details, but… what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

GoatRun’09: Day 2

Saturday was spent at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (elevation ~2,100ft). There was a ‘test and tune’ at the drag strip that allowed me the first chance to take the G8 out and see what it can do. We showed-up early (way early compared to the other NorCal folks who were recovering from hangovers) and registered for the day’s events.

I’d never been down a drag strip before, but I have been reading-up on the basics of what to do. After going through tech inspection (which really wasn’t an inspection as far as I could tell) I headed directly to the staging lanes. My dad was in the passenger’s seat and it turned-out that he didn’t need to get out of the car, so made the first pass with me (it was his first trip down a drag strip as well).

I was lined-up next to a fellow NorCal member, which was somewhat nice (the fact that he was in a 10-second car didn’t help my ego though). I spun the rear tires quickly (didn’t do a burnout with the stock tires, but just enough to get any dirt off) and pulled into the staging beams. I was in Drive mode with the Stage 1 VMS TCM tune (the mild one), traction control off, and revved the engine up to ~1,100rpms. When the light went green… off I went!

Run #1:
ET – 14.561s
MPH – 98.16

Not as quick/fast as I was hoping, but not bad for having a passenger and a trunk full of stuff. The G8 went straight down the strip and was very stable all the way.

For the second run I was alone and used Sport mode (still the Stage 1 VMS TCM tune). I again turned traction control off and loaded up to 1,100rpms.

Run #2:
ET – 14.083s
MPH – 96.83

While this was my quickest ET of the day, I didn’t drive all the way through the end of the 1/4-mile. I didn’t know where the finish line was (and was too far behind the other car to feel like I needed to push hard) and let-off early (hence the 96.83mph speed through the trap). I wonder if I would have been able to break into the 13’s if I’d gone all the way through the the finish on the gas.

For the next runs I wanted to load the more aggressive Stage 2 VMS TCM tune. The re-tune went quickly and I was able to get back to the staging lanes. This run was much closer to the car in the other lane (only lost by 0.1794) and was therefore much more exciting.

Run #3:
ET – 14.199
MPH – 99.97

I was only planning on doing three runs down the strip, but after being so close to a 100mph speed through the trap I just had to do one more run. The last run I tried to push things, and the track wasn’t working in my favor. Unlike the previous runs, loading up to 1,100rpm was just too much… and I left the line with a noticeable squeal in the tires. I think that a lower rpm (or maybe having traction control on) would have helped the ET a little.

Run #4:
ET – 14.225
MPH – 101.44

I thought about one last run, but after watching some of the other cars go down the strip I knew I wasn’t going to improve on my best ET. Cars that were running high 13’s were now in the mid-14’s.

Spending the day at the drag strip as a competitor (rather than a photographer) was definitely learning experience. I think I will need to go out an try the G8 at a strip that is closer to sea level, as people were talking about how the 2,100ft elevation was robbing some power. Not having a trunk full of bags, water, cameras, etc. would have probably also helped. Using a Density Altitude (DA) calculator for the time of my quick ET was like running at 4569ft… and a corrected ET would have been around 13.3 seconds. I’d really like to get into the low 13’s on the stock tires with this setup, so I’m sure this is something I’m going to have to do again!

After the test and tune, there was a BBQ and car show. I had really hoped to take some photos of cars as the sun was starting to set, but the location for the car show was less than photogenic. Also, by the time the light was right, my car was blocked-in and everyone else was enjoying the show… I felt that it wasn’t the best time to pull people away for photography.

After the BBQ people started to vote for their favorite cars and I went around getting some detail shots of NorCal cars. There was a raffle with some really cool prizes (like break rotors, a clutch, etc.)… while I didn’t win anything, several NorCal members did so that was cool. At the end of the night there was a ‘best sounding exhaust’ competition, which was taken hands-down by BillyGoatGruff (another NorCal GOAT).

After the BBQ and car show a group of us headed over to the enterence to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There are a set of tunnels that lead into the infield, and at night they are lit-up nicely (good thing I brought my tripod). I got my chance to be photographer and took several shots of several different cars. I think a few of the guys gained a better respect about the difficulties of being a photographer… we were constantly having to move cars around because of traffic, and the lighting conditions were difficult at best. While I’d have rather been at the same location shooting ~4 hours earlier, I think I came away with a few decent shots.

After the photo shoot I needed to drop my Dad off at the hotel, at which time I also crashed… it was almost midnight anyhow and I needed to be up early in the morning for the cruise (wow I sound like an old man).

GoatRun’09: Day 1

GoatRun has been on the calendar for several months and it is finally here! The first day started really early (like wake-up at 3am early) so that I could drive to Livermore and pick-up my Father for the trip to Las Vegas. It turned out that he was going to be in Vegas the following week for work… flying-in on Sunday, but why fly when you can drive with a heard of GOATS!?! The group met-up at a gas station in Tracy at 4:45am and then headed out for Las Vegas.

Total Distance: 537 miles

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Given that I have a radar detector I was given the privilege of driving in the #2 position in line. While we kept the speed close to the speed limit, there is always some added attention created by a line of ~20 GTOs cruising down the freeway. Along the way there was even a CHP officer who was performing a traffic stop who’s head perked-up when we drove by!

The sunrise was great, and was highlighted by driving with a candy colored fleet of GTOs! The radio chatter was also lots of fun (as always). There were several stopping places along the route to Vegas to pick-up more people. For the most part they were quick stop-and-goes (bathroom, fuel, and go) because we had to reach Barstow by 11:45am to meet-up with the SoCal GTO owners.

After reaching Barstow and meeting-up there was a short time for talking. I had my first chance to see the Haddad Motorsports G8 and ask some questions. Unfortunately, by the time we stopped for lunch it was already time to get on the road again (my Dad even ate my half of the sandwich in my car!).

While the drive from Barstow to Vegas included a huge line of cars, it wasn’t very much fun. I ended-up towards the rear of the pack and spent far too much of my time trying to ‘catch-up’ with everyone else. There wasn’t much talk on the radios (I kept changing channels hoping that I was just on the wrong frequency). Eventually the traffic on I-15 slowed way down for a gnarly motorcycle accident… and I was left way behind when the road opened-up again.

There is something strange about driving at uncomfortably high speeds for 20 minutes and not catching-up to anyone. I later found out that most of the pack was driving well over 100mph (some topping out >150mph). I understand that it’s the desert and the roads were empty, but still… isn’t the idea to drive WITH other people? By the time we reached Vegas a few people had caught-up with me and we rolled-in three-wide.

After checking-into my hotel (I stayed at a Courtyard a little ways away from the Palace Station because of the points/free nights) I returned for the meet and greet. There was quite a showing of cars on the roof of the packing structure and lots of people to talk with. I wish I’d talked with more people, but I found myself out taking photographs (which was cool too).

Before heading back to the hotel I joined a few NorCal GOATs for dinner in one of the casino restaurants. Dinner was nothing special (an overpriced piece of steak), but the company and conversation was great. When everyone else headed to the bars (with an overly obnoxiously loud band) I headed to the hotel to work on some photos and get some sleep. It was a very long first day, but lots of fun as well.

Detailed

Today I took the G8 to get detailed. While I have been hand-washing the car regularly, I have not been able to determine what I should do regarding a wax. Doing some research I got lost in the world of detail sprays, clay bars, polishes, waxes, and so on…

The detail department at Able Chevrolet in Rio Vista sponsored a ‘group buy’ for five forum members to get 30% off a complete detailing. The service included an exterior hand wash, vacuum and wipedown of the interior, cleaning of the inside/outside glass, dressing of the tires, claybar, a coat of Zaino sealant, Zaino detail spray (including removal of some smudges from the phonebook I hit the other day), and cleaning and conditioning of the leather.

I needed to be at the dealership at 8:30am, so needed to wake-up early. Since I figured that I’d have some extra time, I decided to bring my camera and try to get some photos around the bridge that crosses the Sacramento River (even though the light is going the wrong direction).

While I was waiting for the car to get detailed I was able to setup in the visitor lobby and work on photos (including a panorama).

After the car was detailed the difference was clearly noticeable. Not only was it super smooth, but I the reflections in the paint and even the windows were perfect. I talked with the people who worked on the G8 and they were super impressed with the car (one even owns a G8 GT… he wanted to know more about the in-dash GPS). I also took the opportunity to learn about some of the maintenance products and what I can do to keep my car looking so smooth.

After the detailing I headed out for a few more photos.

Now that the G8 is super clean, it just needs a full tank of gas and I’ll be ready for GoatRun!

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.

East Bay Cruise

East Bay Cruise
After the Half Moon Bay cruise there has been some talk about getting together for more regular cruises. Given the Mod day and GoatRun, this weekend was the only one that I would be available for. With short notice to both the G8 and GTO communities, I put together a cruise through some of my ‘normal’ roads in the East Bay.

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The group gathered at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton at 10am. I didn’t know how many people would be in attendance, so we waited around until almost 11am before starting out. There was one other G8 and a GTO. I had hoped for a few more cars, but small groups make doing cruises much easier.

The drive down Foothill Blvd. was nothing special. When we got to the curvy part I happened to get a phone call from one of the cars in the cruise (we didn’t have enough radios for everyone). I understand the idea behind the hands-free laws, but trying to get my bluetooth on and in my ear… while answering the phone… while trying to drive around corners. The trip on Hwy84 through Niles Canyon was quite nice… very scenic.

I had given everyone a heads-up about the turn onto Palomares Rd. I was impressed that the GPS (which worked perfectly by the way… including the route loading via the computer) pointed out that we needed to make a “sharp right turn”. Palomares was nice and clear of traffic, so worked out really nicely. I had a good chance to use the manual shifting mode and really liked how the tune was blipping the throttle on downshifts (it’s a great sound). There was some ‘popping’ noises while coasting in a higher gear (that were not present before the headers and exhaust), but the car behind me couldn’t hear it (so it couldn’t have been that bad).

After Palomares we had to drive through Castro Valley to get to Redwood Rd, which was no fun. I wish there was a good way to get to Redwood Rd without having to drive through the ‘city’ streets. I was being a good guy when driving, knowing I had two people following me, and not passing slower drivers. I’m never really sure when to pass slow people when they are consistently not pulling over on a two lane road. When we got to a place where there was room to pull over I did and let the slower car get farther ahead. After a short wait we headed-out again and had a really great drive. When we caught-up with the slower car they finally took the hint and pulled over to let us by.

We took a quick pit-stop at a park before heading back out onto Skyline Blvd. The remainder of the drive went by quite quickly. The view from Skyline and Grizzly Peak Blvd. was a bit disappointing due to haze, so we didn’t stop to take and photos. The drive through Tilden Park was relaxing as well.

This lead to Wildcat Canyon Rd. which was just awesome. There was a slow car (I think we actually passed it twice in the day) that kept the road nice and clear. I took the opportunity to let the G8 show what it can do in the curves and it performed perfectly (I even lot sight of the GTO in my rear view mirror)!

The last part of the drive around the reservoir was a nice cool-down. Since we were close to a photography location that I’ve been really wanting to check-out, we headed up Hwy4 towards Martinez. To my surprise, as we were pulling into the parking lot there was a police officer waiting to also turn in. I figured he was going to follow us up to the photo location (it’s clearly a place people go to do donuts and stuff). I parked and got out of the car and talked with the officer about how we would be doing some photography, and he left (we all figured he drove out of sight to wait for us to do donuts and race up and bust us)… but all we did was photography.

While I dislike that ‘punks’ would potentially ruin a great photo location by doing donuts… it does makes for some cool ‘details’. With some proper positioning we get all the benefits of doing burnouts and donuts without needing new tires (or getting tickets from the waiting officer).

The photo location really worked out nicely, but I wish the light was better… I will for sure be returning later in the evening to take advantage of the golden hour.

The cruise appeared to be a success, and was a great shake-out drive before GoatRun. While more cars would have been nice, I think just having some sort of activity (involving the G8 folks) at least once a month. The more people we can get out to see what being in an active car club/community is like, the more people who will continue to come out to events.

GXP Rear Diffuser

I installed the GXP Rear Diffuser on the G8 tonight. Really a simple install… just pull out four plastic plugs and un-clip the old piece. Transfer the reflectors and pop the new diffuser onto the car. Total time maybe 30 minutes. Really a great mod for those looking for something simple that adds a little extra to the view from the rear.