Living with a G8 GT

Header Problem!

There is a problem with the headers. Turns out the sound that what I was hearing when turning was real… it appears the steering shaft is coming in contact with the driver’s side header. It only happens at a few points, and is more pronounced when accelerating on right turns (I think because the engine is shifting towards the shaft).

I was really worried that the shaft was putting force on the header causing an exhaust leak at the block or the mid-pipe. I checked all the bolts to make sure things were tight and it doesn’t seem there is any ‘slop’ for something to flex. I’ve also driven around with people listening from outside the car and they couldn’t hear anything (like would happen with an exhaust leak). Fortunately, it appears that the the steering shaft is only transmitting sound into the driver’s compartment… which is annoying, but shouldn’t be fatal.

I have contacted JBA and will be really interested in what they suggest doing. I wouldn’t mind putting a little dent in at the point where things are contacting, but that would require getting the car up in the air again (which I don’t have the tools for) and removing the driver’s side header/mid-pipe. If something can be fixed by adjusting motor mounts that might work, but I don’t have that ability either.

I will be sure to update everyone on how this goes…

NorCal GOATs Mod Day

The JBA Shorty Headers have been installed! It was a long day of working on the car, but I’m generally pleased with the results.

On Sunday the NorCal GOATs had a Mod Day… it was really great to see everyone get together and wrench on cars! There was a constant stream of cars being works on… from header installs (3), fender grinding/rolling (3), ignition cylinder replacements, front splitter modifications, spark plug/wires, etc. There were over a dozen people working on things at various times. There was also a TV with football games and a great lunch.

On the way to the Mod Day a few of us met up at Stoneridge Mall and made the drive to Tracy via Patterson Pass. The road was great (as always) and made for lots of fun before a long day of work.

I got the G8 up in the air (I’m glad I had the experience from installing the Corsa Exhaust) and started removing the stock manifolds. The engine compartment of the G8 is a bit tight, so I’m really grateful there were some people with smaller hands to get into the tight spaces. After removing the stock manifold on the driver’s side we tried to install the new Shorty Header… unfortunately, there was a problem.

The header was not connecting up to the stock mid-pipe/catalytic converter… the bolts were not going into the flange on the header. We had to remove the mid-pipe, where we discovered that the header had not been properly machined. The holes the bolts go into were not elongated the same on both headers… so out came the dremel! After a little grinding everything fit right and we continued on the install.

Since installing the header to the mid-pipe was easier outside the car, we also removed the passenger’s side mid/cat (while others were grinding on the header). This side was machined properly so went very smoothly. Unfortunately, the driver’s side header/mid-pipe could not be installed as a single piece… this resulted in an exhaust leak when we first fired-up the engine. The leak was quite clear, but it took several different tries at fitting in different orders to get everything right. We even had to drop the exhaust on both sides to get things in right… but this resulted in an opportunity to hear what the G8 would sound like with no exhaust (it was nice)!

Once everything was back together and checked-out I put the car back on the ground and took her out for a test drive. The drive was a short one though, as after a few minutes the engine was acting really rough and threw a Check Engine Light (CEL). I also noticed a noise when turning the car to the right (much more on this in the future). Fortunately, someone at the Mod Day had a DashHawk and was able to check and clear the CEL… turns out there was a “cylinder 2 misfire” caused by a loose spark plug wire. Once it was plugged back in I took the G8 out for a serious test drive.

I don’t know if there was any ‘seat of the pants’ difference with the headers installed, but there is definitely an audible one. The G8 is actually QUIETER now. The sound is much more even… very refined. The car is mild at idle and low RPMs, but still screams at WOT… just what I wanted! I think the ECU tune, that was designed for running the headers, was not at homeostasis with only the exhaust installed, resulting in the louder sounds.

Once my car was wrapped-up I had some more time to talk with some of the other people at the meet. It was really great, lots of information about all sorts of stuff from smog checks to photography. The night wrapped-up and I headed home (and actually made it without any major issues).

Huge thanks go out to those who helped wrench on the G8… I would have never been able to do this by myself!

Corsa Exhaust

Last night was a late one, but the Corsa exhaust is on the G8 GT! The installation was straightforward and there were very few problems. Not as easy as the CAI, since you have to have the car up in the air, but definitely something you can do at home if you have a jack, stands, and some basic tools.

Removal of the system was the most difficult part, as we didn’t have a 15mm deep (thin wall) socket. A quick trip to Home Depot solved that problem! The bolts holding the flanges to the cats were quite difficult to remove (I’m glad I’m a strong person… as even hitting the wrench with a mallet wasn’t doing anything to break them loose). Once those bolts were out the rest of the system just breaks down and comes out of the hangers.

The install was just as easy as the removal. The stock exhaust is basically one piece from the cats to the mufflers, while the Corsa system consists of three sections. While it made it easier to install (smaller pieces to lift into place and maneuver around jack stands), the clamps that hold the pieces together require some serious torque (45ft-lbs). Trying to crank down on them was quite a task (and needed to be done for all 6 of them) when you are under a car.

I’m really happy with the installed Corsa. The sound is something obvious, but not obnoxious. When you are at low RPMs driving around it’s a little louder than stock, but not obtrusive in the cabin. But once you get your foot into the throttle it really opens-up… something that the stock exhaust just doesn’t do.

The sound at start-up and idle is really nice… I can actually hear the V8 (rather than the air conditioner):

When the engine is revved a little you can hear that there is something more waiting to get out:

And while the sound coming from the back is louder, the sound inside the cabin is not anything over the top. Also, at lower RPMs there is very little drone:

I’m sure the Corsa is a bit louder than what some people would like, and I guess this is why the stock exhaust is just so quiet… but this is just how the G8 GT should be. Now when I’m driving I can enjoy the experience with ears, as much as I have been with the seat of my pants!

Volant CAI

The Volant CAI has been installed. It only took a couple of hours and wasn’t very difficult. This was my first ever engine mod and I had zero issues, I would highly recommend something like this for someone who is looking to get into mods (just beware of the Mod Bug). I was really shocked to see how much ‘extra stuff’ makes-up the factory intake… the Volant CAI is much more streamlined (that is sure to help with power). I’m really happy with the look under the hood, and think the dry filter will work out nicely. I can’t wait to get the exhaust and headers installed and the VMS tune flashed into the ECU/TCM.

The Mod Bug has Bitten!

I was not going to do any performance mods to the G8, but that didn’t last long! I’ve really wanted to get the exhaust note of the G8 GT sounding more aggressive… and it has snowballed a bit.

So I decided to get a Corsa cat-back exhaust system after taking a ride in a G8 GT that had them. I’ve heard the car at idle and with the throttle revving, but I wanted to hear what things sounded like from inside… at various speeds. The last thing that I want is an exhaust that makes lots of noise (drone) when doing casual driving around town or on the freeway. The Corsa system sounded really great at all speeds and is just what I am looking for!

Once I was going to do the exhaust system, I figured that I’d do some JBA shorty headers as well. The car that I rode in also had these headers and it sounded perfect. I could have gone with a long-tube header, but it relocates (or deletes) the catalytic converters… leading to issues with law enforcement and/or smog… this is just not something that I want to get into.

Now that the G8 will be exhaling better, it needs to breath better. This leads to a cold air intake. I decided to go with the Volant system because of the enclosed filter box… the other ones have open tops and use the hood to seal, and I’d rather it just always be closed-off from the hot engine gasses. Also, the Volant uses a dry filter so I shouldn’t have to worry about getting filter oil on the MAS or other engine electronics (which dealers supposedly look for when it comes to voiding a warranty).

And because it really wakes-up the G8 GT, especially with the aforementioned mods, I’m going to get a custom tune for the ECU. This tune will allow me to optimize the fuel system for 91 octane. I should also be able to have various transmission settings for ‘Drive’ and ‘Sport’ modes. And my main goal is to keep the car from wanting to stay in 6th gear all the time… and shifting first to 5th and then to 4th when you put your foot down. As it stands now I can’t get onto a freeway without getting mad that the car wants to jump to 6th gear all the time (which is why I now just use ‘manual’ mode).

All in all, this should give the G8 GT a great sounding exhaust note… fix the downshifting issues… and a bit of a performance gain. Now I just have to get it all installed, which should be fun in itself!

G8s and GTOs go to Half-Moon Bay

This cruise has been in the makings for quite some time. After the last G8 cruise, there was a little break… then people started getting antsy for another. I was spending too much time on the East Coast, but knew I’d be back in August. Well, it worked-out that I was able to attend!

Total Distance: 142 miles

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The group of G8s were scheduled to meet in San Jose, but after the great times we had driving Patterson Pass Rd. a few weeks ago… the GTO folks had a pre-cruise from Tracy. There was some question if Patterson Pass Rd. would be open due to a fire on Corrol Hollow Rd (just a few miles South). Before heading out we stopped to get some two-way radios (which put us a little behind schedule).

The drive on Patterson Pass Rd. was great (it always is), but wasn’t as spectacular as the last time. There was some additional traffic on the road (and there was some question about law enforcement pretense).

Going through Livermore there was a real sense of caution placed on speed-traps. I was moved-up to #2 in the line because of my V1… and once again it paid-off! Heading South on Hwt84 (which is no fun anymore) there was a CHP officer sitting on the blind side of a turn with his rear-facing radar blazing. I was quite impressed that the V1 picked up the reflections of the radar… allowing me to radio out “Ka ahead” before he came into view. The V1 did it’s job and we were able to make good time to San Jose.

We reached the Winchester parking lot about 15 minutes late (I hate being late) and needed to take some time to re-group before the cruise. Unfortunately, the other G8 folks seemed to want to hit the road (and I can’t blame them, I’m sure they’d been waiting around for a while already). After a short time what I thought was the group was ready to head-out and people started to get into their cars… but it turns out there were a few people still re-grouping and one GTO (driving from Sacramento even) who was a few minutes out. The first-half of the group headed to Santana Row while the second-half got together and headed-out.

After a trip down Santana Row everyone headed out on the cruise. There was quite a long line of cars… and while impressive to watch, it made staying as a group very difficult! I was the last car in line to make sure no one got left behind and actually got stuck at several lights as cars headed out on CA-17. I found myself so far behind that the radios would no longer work and I had to call the lead car (thank goodness I asked for his phone number). The group waited in Saratoga for everyone to get back together… unfortunately, this would be a trend for the cruise.

Once we made it to CA-9 (which was quite a chore in itself) things started to get more fun. The last three cars in the line got stuck at a one-way traffic signal (you know, those road construction ones). While putting up way behind the rest of the heard, it did allow for some nice open roads. The drive was very enjoyable (one of the better ones) and we caught up with the rest of the group by the time we reached the Skyline (CA-35) junction.

Unfortunately, there was a Mustang GT between the last three of us and the rest of the group… and it was driving too darn slow (like under the speed limit). After a few miles, much to our surprise, the Mustang pulled-off the road… at 35mph… into a bunch of gravel. There was quite a bunch of radio chatter about that maneuver… “The GTOs scared the Mustang off the road”, etc. The Mustang followed for a few more miles and then turned around (and ran away).

The group stopped at the Mountain Terrace parking lot in Sky Londa (intersection of Skyline and CA-84) and prepared for the second half of the drive. The cars did get some attention, but most of the drivers were over checking out a pair of new ’10 SS Camaros. While really impressed with their power, the insides looked really cramped and the trunk was choked by a small opening… definitely not the of similar size to the G8, despite being built on the zeta chassis.

Once the group got back on the road, it was more of the same. I was at the tail-end of the line to make sure no one got left behind… and found myself (and a few others) being split-off from the rest of the pack. There were a few more Mustangs driving really slow (I was caught by a Suburban of all things!), and there were very few passing opportunities. While one or two cars could get around the slower traffic, it doesn’t do much good when there are a dozen cars trying to pass. But overall, the roads were great and the tree cover made for a different drive than the ‘normal’ California dry grass.

When we reached CA-1 the group was able to stretch its legs a little, but not too much before we entered into Half-Moon Bay. Once again me and a few others got left behind, so the group pulled into a shopping center to let us catch-up. Unfortunately, getting out of the shopping center with so many cars proved to be a difficult task… not being helped by a left-hand-turn signal that would only let a handful of cars through at a time. There was a lady in a Prius (smug smug smug) that made a real stink when she couldn’t back out of her parking space… oh well, wait your turn!

Eventually we all made it to Half-Moon Bay and parked at the Half-Moon Bay Brewery for lunch. While several of us had called to make reservations, we didn’t think it was appropriate to require a credit card to hold one. Because of this, it was going to be over an hour to be seated… something that most of us didn’t want to wait for. We decided to take a walk around and see if there were other restaurants around that could seat us quicker.

We chose to eat at Crab Landing, which turned out to be a poor choice. I won’t dwell on it, but the service was so bad that most of the group did not even get served their food. Hours of waiting for nothing is not a good way to do business, but at least they only charged us for drinks. While we were there there was some great talk about our cars and modifications (coincidentally, all the G8 owners sat at one table and the GTO owners at another).

Unfortunately with the lunch fiasco, half of the group was ready to head home and the other half was still looking for food. After showing-off the in-dash GPS and Back-up cameras, iot was getting late so I decided to head home. Three of the G8s headed up CA-92 together, but I would have really liked to had more of a group heading back towards the East Bay.

I planned on taking CA-92 to Skyline and then Page Mill Rd. down into the bay. While driving on CA-92 the other two G8s in front of me did a great job moving through the traffic. It was quite spirited, so much so that I missed the turn-off for Skyline… thankfully the G8 has great brakes!

The drive on Skyline was very enjoyable and there was little slow traffic… I actually had an Acura MDX (SUV/Crossover type thing) keeping pace for me! I could really see why Skyline is such a popular drive for cruises… great sweeping turns through the redwood trees.

The top of Page Mill Rd. is very tight and not very wide, but the road condition is perfect. The decent is nice and the curves are tight, they definatelly keeps you on your toes. Farther down the road there are many loops/hairpins with elevation changes that are a blast. Unfortunately, if you get a slower driver in front of you (like I did) they more than likely will not pull-over (stuck-up, slow, BMW drivers). Eventually the road runs into I-280 and I blasted home.

It was for sure a long day of driving, and some of the headaches of being in such a large group of cars (well, at the back of it) made it even longer… but the day was definitely fun! I’m really glad that I was able to enjoy most of the drive on Skyline and the surrounding roads with some great people. I really hope that we can do it again soon (there is talk of re-doing the Santa Cruz Cruise because of the rain-out before).

NorCal GOATs Summer Hooters Cruise

Wake-up on a Saturday and drive… Sounds good.
Drive from a Hooters… to Hooters… to Hooters… What more do I need to say!

Total Distance: 142 miles

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The Dublin Hooters is only down the street from my house, but I couldn’t pass-up a chance to go for a cruise with the NorCal GOATs. I was originally going to meet a few of the guys at the Dublin Hooters and drive down to the Campbell Hooters, but then I was exposed to this…

Patterson Pass Rd. is one of my favorite drives, with great curves and views… but it is also one lane and heavily traveled commute times (often in the opposite direction I’m trying to drive), so I tend to avoid it. But knowing that there was going to be a train of GTOs going through, I had to be on-board!

I made the drive to Sonics in Tracy, taking Altamont Pass Rd rather than I-580E (just to spice things up a little). It was very reminiscent of the early morning train chasing in the RX-7 with my father. The group gathered (along with a cool little green grasshopper) and then headed-out towards Patterson Pass.

It was really great having someone to lead the group that knows the road. As we were approaching various areas we would receive notes over the radio about turns and speeds… it was almost like having a navigator in the passenger’s seat calling out rally directions (3 left, 100, tightens). With the knowledge that the road ahead was clear of on-coming traffic, I was able to let the G8 hang-out a little more than I would otherwise… and it really shined. This was by far the fastest I’ve ever done Patterson Pass, and at no time did I ever feel concern. We stopped at ‘The Top of the World’ for some photos before continuing on to the Dublin hooters.

Pulling into the parking lot at Dublin Hooters we were met by another bunch of GTOs. So far it was a really great showing, especially for a pre-cruise!

T-Shirts and keychains were distributed and people regrouped for the drive to the Campbell Hooters. The drive to Campbell was not very exciting (all freeway stuff), but the radio chatter was great as always. Despite the lack-luster roads, there just isn’t anything like driving with a group of other cars… especially ones with the power to get-up-and-go when there are breaks in traffic (or some slow person decided to sit in the fast lane for miles-on-end). It didn’t take long for the group to reach Campbell.

There was a great showing of cars (at least 16 GTOs and 3 G8s). There was the typical show-and-tell session with people popping their hoods and talking about mods, etc. It is really cool to hang with people who all have a similar interest, and to see how each person does things just a little different. I was able to show-off the dead GPS in my dash and everything!

After lunch we re-grouped for the cruise. While we were waiting for a few more people to show-up some of the Hooters girls were kind enough to come out and pose with the cars. Being ‘the professional’ I was requested to take some photos, and I was happy to oblige.

Once the last few stragglers showed-up for the cruise we headed out towards Calaveras Rd. Having a bunch of cars was great, but it also resulted in several people getting left behind or missing exits on the freeways. We even had to pull-over for a while to regroup… The line of cars was quite impressive though.

Calaveras Rd. had some oncoming traffic, so resulted in a slow drive, but it was a nice chance to look out at the reservoir. I also realized that I don’t like being at the back of the pack… you tend to get all bunched-up and there is little room for ‘spirited’ driving.

The group deviated from the planned route once reaching Sunol, and a few people got lost on the freeway trying to make various exits, but eventually everyone made it to Dublin and to the Hooters. There was not much of a meeting at the last Hooters of the day (people were all Hooters-ed out by that point). I stayed around for a little, but after getting no service from the establishment, I decided to go home.

Like all meets, it was great to see everyone. It was nice to not be the only G8 in the pack… hopefully at the upcoming G8 meet we will rival the GTOs in numbers.

NorCal GOATS go to Tahoe (with a G8)

After spending a few weeks on the East Coast with a stupid little rental car I was really looking forward to driving the G8 GT. This trip has been on the books for a while and I refused to cancel it for work.

Total Distance: 510 miles

The cruise up to Tahoe started with a rally point at the Stoneridge Mall. A few people from the South Bay were to meet up and then head to Fairfield and then towards El Dorado Hills.

Before getting to the mall I needed to fuel-up (see the Update on the 92 Octane? post).

I left home a little earlier than needed so that I could program the GPS with the various routes for the weekend… unfortunately the GPS was dead! I pulled the side off the radio and tried plugging in the unit directly into another power outlet (rather than through the splitter I use behind the dash), but there was no change. I don’t know if this is an issue with power like my dad experienced or something with the firmware. Regardless, I’m going to have to pull the dash apart to fix this… I think I’ll install a USB cable as well for any future issues! So being without GPS really though a kink in my plans (I’d not even printed out the routes), but I guess it worked out OK as I didn’t have to lead any of the drives!

I was joined by two other GTOs at the Stoneridge Mall and we headed out towards Fairfield. I was in the rear of the line and spent far too much time looking in my mirrors while we were trying to make-up time. It was nice to have some running partners while heading up I-680N. We all had two-way radios so there was a bit of chatter that livened-up the drive as well.

This was the first cruise that I’ve been on since getting the Valentine One radar detector. I mentioned that I had it on when the group first started out, but wondered if it would really be of any use. I didn’t want to be calling out a bunch of false alarms, so kept things to a minimum. The first call over the radio I made was for a weak Ka signal from the front… which was returned by a “what is a Ka?”. I said, “5.0”… which was almost instantly returned by “white CHP ahead entering the freeway”. Given our speed and how the CHP officer was pulling onto the freeway, if I had not had the radar detector it more than likely would have resulted in a ticket (or three). The V1 got several kudos… and more than likely paid for itself!

The three of us reached Fairfield and picked-up another GTO (and a Mustang) and headed for El Dorado Hills to meet up with the rest of the Heard. Traffic was a heavier, resulting in some fun maneuvering to keep the group together. It was fun using blockers and such… one car pulling into a lane and slowing down enough to let the rest of the group pass through.

Just before reaching El Dorado Hills there were two CHP officers at the side of the road… one standing outside his car (perpendicular to traffic) with a LASER gun. The V1 didn’t alert until the patrol cars were visible and it received a Ka radar (more than likely off axis). I was surprised that I wasn’t able to pick-up the officers sooner (and never received a LASER alert), but after talking to another GTO owner who has a V1 it seems like we both had the same response. I guess he got a really nasty look from the CHP officer as he drove by (under the speed limit because of picking-up the Ka signal).

The group gathered in Fairfield and headed out on Hwy-50 towards Lake Tahoe. While the first part of the road was two lanes each way, but it didn’t take long for the group to get held-up by slower traffic. Most of the really slow vehicles (motorhomes, trucks towing stuff, etc.) pulled over at turnouts, but there were still a few cars that just wouldn’t get out of our way…

The best of the ‘slow vehicles’ was a shiny Aston Martin V8 Vanquish. I was farther back in the Heard of GTOs, so missed-out of some of the shenanigans. Well, passing lanes and big V8 let the GTOs shoot past the Aston, but the two-lane twisty section showed the refined side the GTO is lacking… then again, you can buy a few GTOs/G8s for the price of the Aston Martin.

Other than the fun with the Aston, the drive up to Tahoe was quite mundane, but the company (and the radio chatter, was a lot of fun).

The Heard pulled into Tahoe (did someone say traffic?) and headed to Harvey’s Casino and the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. The lunch at the Hard Rock was great… we had two large tables full of people. I had an open face sirloin sandwich that was awesome. All told the tab came to $350… and thankfully someone had a AAA card that saved us 10% (which was placed on a roulette table to help pay for everyone’s gas… without success).

After lunch most of the group headed-out for a drive around the lake. Before starting out there was one GTO with a wheel/brake issue. It was really impressive to see everyone pull together with jacks and lug-wrenches trying to solve the problem. Once everyone was ready we grouped up and headed-out… minus the few who had a date with a craps table.

Total Distance: 71.4 miles

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The road around the lake is all two lane (one each way), so the driving was far from spirited… but the view made-up for it! There really isn’t anything like going up and down over tree covered hills with a gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe! The Heard stopped off at Emerald Bay to admire the view. I wanted to get some photos of the group, but there wasn’t enough room at the pullout to get everyone together. I had to settle for just one GTO with a proper background.

I would have liked to rotate the cars through this spot/shot so everyone could get a quality photo, but everyone (other than me, who was climbing up a wall) wanted to keep going.

After the photos, the group continued around the lake. It was quite nice to have a knowledgeable tour guide leading the drive. There was a constant supply of landmarks being called-out over the radios (the house from Godfather II got quite the attention). The Heard pulled-off at a house so the ‘old people’ could use the restrooms (again). During the stop a paintball gun was unleashed on a tree ( a neighboring house was a collateral damage). I tried to take some photos, but stupid (and blind) me had the lens in manual focus.

Again (for the last time) we continued on around the lake. The view was again spectacular… this time close to the water. The sun was also starting to get a little lower in the sky giving everything a golden glow. The last section of the route around the lake had two lanes for some more spirited driving. To the Heard’s surprise this little Miata (with a goober in a big straw hat) did a great job of keeping-up (and even working through) the line of GTOs.

Once the group made it back to South Tahoe it broke-up and headed our own ways. Some wanted to spend the night in the Casino, but I’ve never been too into that (I’d rather spend my money than loose it). I had reserved a room in Reno for the night, so headed in that direction. While I had wanted to take the Kingsbury Grade, I ended-up following another GTO down Hwy-50. It was not as twisty as the Kingsbury Grade, but the 2450′ decent (nearly a half-mile) over 12 miles (averaging a 7% decent) was great fun. After reaching Carson City I decided that the drive to Reno was a little more than I wanted to do, so changed my reservations.

While driving through Carson City I started to wonder what sort of people lived there… there were several groups sitting out on the street in lawn chairs! As I drove around a little more I came across several class car gatherings… I can only imagine people were there to watch them cruise down the main-drag. I was quite tired from the driving so headed to bed rather early… but it would have been nice to look around a little more.

Sunday morning I checked out of my hotel and headed across the street for some breakfast. I didn’t know what anyone else was planing on doing (and the anti-social part of me didn’t get other people’s phone numbers). After breakfast I headed out on NV88 towards California.

Total Distance: 148 miles

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As I was driving through the Carson Valley, the Sierra Mountains towering to the West, I just had to stop and take some photos. I found a nice little backroad where I could get views with the valley and with the mountains.

After taking a few photos (please excuse the bugs all over the windshield) I headed back onto the road. The roads were mostly two lanes and in fairly decent shape. Things never became too narrow and for the most part things kept moving with reasonable speed limits.

From time to time I found myself behind a slower moving vehicle, but the road has all sorts of passing opportunities. I must say that the G8 is great with passing lanes… just drop it into third gear and away you go! Just watch-out for oncoming CHP officers! The V1 picked him up, but by that point I was out in the passing lane… he put on his brakes as I went by, but didn’t turn around to come after me (thankfully).

Before exiting the Sierras I stopped at an overlook to take a few more photos. It happened to be in an avalanche area (no stopping, no peds, etc.), but I didn’t think it would be too big of a deal. The photos were worth the risk of being buried under a wall of snow (all six inches of it).

Most of the drive on CA88 was really pleasurable. I didn’t have much company on the road, but that allowed me to relax and not sweat passing people. I turned off onto CA26 to get some extra curves in before getting back into the boring multi-lane freeways. It was a really nice section of roads with lots of curves and elevation changes.

It was at this point that I learned something interesting about the G8… it knows when you are going downhill and shifts accordingly. Most of the time I do my driving in ‘Sport Mode’, but more and more I find myself switching-over to ‘Manual Mode’ when going through the hills. I was going down hill and noticed the transmission was ‘bogging down’ the car, so put it manually into 6th gear to minimize the resistance. Well, this drastically changed the cars stopping characteristics (no nearly as much slowing you down) while going downhill. It only took a few squealing corners to teach me to keep the car in a lower gear, even if it is ‘bogging down’ (aka. doing it’s job slowing me down).

The remainder of the drive home was typical California highway driving… nothing too special. One thing of note however was the crazy high temperatures in the valley. When I stopped in Lodi for something to drink it was 109°… when I went through Manteca it was 111°! I’m really glad that I was able to spend the weekend in the low-80’s and not in the triple digits!

All-in-all it was a really great weekend of driving. The GTO folks were very welcoming and made the drive much more enjoyable. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend their Tilden Park Cruise & BBQ in July, but I think quite a few will be joining the G8 cruise to Half-Moon Bay in August.

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…