Movies Watched in 2013

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Cam

I have dedicated this page to movies that I have watched in 2013 (these have to be fairly current movies from this year or last year to make the list). Older years will show up as blog posts (there is a link section at the bottom of this page). Newest movies are at the the top. My goal this year is 50 movies half in theaters.

Results for 2013: 62 Movies, 35 in a theater. That’s it for this year, so it’s time to publish this list as a post and move onto 2014!

Frozen 7.5/10 – Unexpectedly entertaining. You have to love the snowman, Olaf- what a great character!

The Secret Life of Water Mitty 8.5/10 – What a cool movie! Really enjoyed this one. It was refreshing in a way that most movies aren’t. I think we should all take a look inside ourselves – there’s potential to be more than we are.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 8/10 – Some of the action was a little over the top (like jumping the shark silly), but on the whole the movie was an excellent synthesis of action and storytelling.

Smurfs 2 6.5/10 – Sentimental, simplistic but heartfelt enough.

The Lone Ranger 7/10 – Actually a lot of fun to watch. I’m not clear on how $200+ million was sunk into this movie.

Thor: The Dark World 8/10 – I think Thor is a great action franchise. I can’t help but wonder, as the world is about to end, “Where are the other Avengers?”

Planes 7/10 – This movie was blasted by critics but I thought it was really cute. Basically “Turbo” with planes.

Catching Fire 8/10 – A worthy sequel. Some movies like Harry Potter seemed diminished by following the books too closely (especially in the early movies) but the Hunger Games excels.

Ender’s Game 7.5/10 – Well, the book was better, but this was a good try!

Turbo 7/10 – This movie is a about something dear to my heart- speed. In a way it’s almost too happy of a movie- nothing bad ever really happens and the good guys win and win and win. It’s a feel good show- you won’t walk away feeling anything but upbeat.

Monsters University 7.5/10 – This is a cute prequel and a worthy addition to the Pixar film library. Nothing too surprising here, except was a douche Sully was.

Bad Grandpa 6.5/10 – I would have watched this movie even without it’s attempts to connect the hidden camera moments together with a “plot.” When it hit it was hard and funny, but when it missed it was hard to watch.

Escape Plan 7.5/10 – Finally, my two favorite action stars in one movie. I think Escape Plan is a great vehicle to show off these two action heroes of yesteryear.

Gravity 9/10 – Visually breathtaking. The plot isn’t amazing, but the way things unfold is incredible to watch. This is something you should see in IMAX 3D.

Rush 8/10 – “Men love women, but men love cars even more.” I’m a sucker for cars and this movie didn’t disappoint me. Based on the real life rivalry between James Hunt and Nicky Lauder – although embellished to make them seem more like enemies than friends – Rush chronicles their 1970’s Formula One races.

Prisoners 8.5/10 – Wow! This movie really worked for me. At almost three hours long I kept glancing at my phone hoping there was still a long way to go. Loved the plot, excellent acting. Not perfect by any means, but this is a great thriller.

Riddick 7/10 – This is sort of a rehash of Pitch Black. No real surprises here, but it’s a fun action flick.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 6.8/10 – The kids were dying to go see this. It’s good, but it lacks something I can’t put my finger on. Maybe I have a hard time suspending my disbelief for things like this.

Paranoia 5.9/10 – Nothing special run of the mill sub-par thriller. I was hoping there would be more tension in the movie. Or at least something to do with paranoia.

Red 2, 7/10 – Loved the temp and comedy in this movie. I think, overall, the red series is a solid geriatric action series.

Elysium, 7.5/10 – Overall I think this is some good science fiction.

The Wolverine, 7.2/10 – Sort of a hot mess. Jackman looks great, but the story just didn’t do it for me. Frankly I’m surprised there aren’t more people trying to steal Wolverine’s eternal youth.

Argo 8.5/10 – I liked this movie a lot. The storytelling was excellent and the tension was nice and thick. I realize they took some liberties, but they make an excellent movie.

Mud, 6/10 – I guess this movie received a lot of critical acclaim. I thought the themes of “complicated love” were okay, but the movie felt long and often boring.

Bullet to the Head, 6/10 – Not very inspired. Stallone as the “good bad buy” works okay, but it feels tired.

The Conjuring, 7/10 – This wasn’t as scary as I was hoping. I liked the pacing and there were a couple great moments, but overall it wasn’t anything special.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 6.5/10 – This had some really funny moments, but overall the stupidity of the movie hurts a bit.

World War Z, 7/10 – Not half bad. I liked the aggressiveness of the Z Zombies and there was some good atmosphere and action.

Pacific Rim, 8.5/10 – This was just plain old awesome. This is the stuff I watched as a kid brought to life. In some ways it’s almost mindless (and there are some exceptionally large plot problems), but it give you the kind of rush you expect from a blockbuster. Visually breath taking.

Despicable Me 2, 7/10 – This was a fun movie. In a way it’s sad to see Gru get so domesticated but I guess it appeals to a lot of people out there. Love conquers all.

The Call, 5.7/10 – A little over the top. And it’s just too hard to swallow all the stuff that’s going on (or not going on). A miss for me.

The Purge, 6/10 – This started out so good. What a great premise. But the movie slowly degenerated into an almost comical slash fest by the end. Some part of this movie had me slapping my forehead (spoiler alert: seriously, who gives their kids security override codes during the Purge?), rolling my eyes and dry heaving. I’m sure the movie was trying to make a political statement, but it got lost on me.

Warm Bodies, 6.9/10 – Unexpectedly enjoyable! Expectations were pretty low. Some funny moments, some okay action and an interesting plot. (Spoiler Alert!) But love? Love is the cure for the Zombie virus? Hmm.

Jack the Giant Slayer, 7/10 – This tanked in theaters, but I don’t really see why. It’s exciting enough and parts of the movie are captivating. Maybe people just have trouble accepting that a beanstalk can take you to a non-existent world between earth and space.

Oz: The Great and Powerful, 7/10 – Visually I found this movie striking, but at the same time a little off-putting. I like the story of how the wizard came to Oz and the elements incorporated from the previous film (films if you want to acknowledge “Return to Oz”).

Identity Thief, 6.7/10 – It’s got it’s moments (you have to like Melissa McCarthy), but this is not great comedy.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, 6.5/10 – So over the top it’s surreal. Not great as far as action movies go, but there’s enough to keep you interested. Not a fairy tale for kids though.

Snitch, 6.9/10 – The Rock always does it for me. He’s been a bad ass commando, a warrior king, the tooth fairy and now he’s a caring father and truck driver.

Now You See Me, 7.5/10 – It’s got an almost Sixth Sense sort of reveal near the end. It’s clever and very fun to watch, but it doesn’t feel quite right.

Escape From Planet Earth, 6/10 – Somehow Escape managed to lack any of the Pixar & Dreamworks charm. I’m not sure if it was the cast, the idea or execution. A lot of the humor missed the mark for me. Our kids thought it was okay.

Parker, 6/10 – I like the mindless Jason Stathem action movies. This one seemed especially mindless.

After Earth, 7/10 – I don’t really understand why the critics hated this one so much. I confess that I don’t understand what the movie’s title has to do with anything, but I thought the film, overall, was enjoyable. Maybe people like to bash on M. Night. Maybe people are being just a little to hard on Jaden or expecting too much from Will. I’m not sure- but I thought the pacing and the visuals were good. The story, while light and predictable, worked for me too.

Fast and Furious 6, 7/10 – There’s a lot of things to like about this movie- great action, a fun villain and, of course, Vin and the Rock. A lot of it is too over the top for my taste and that makes the movie hard to take seriously. And maybe that’s the point.

Star Trek: Into Darkness, 7.5/10 – Many of the elements of the second Star Trek movie have been incorporated into this almost-remake. But it’s a fun backwards alternate reality version with some good hits and a few misses. An appealing action flick nevertheless.

I’ve sort of fallen behind with my mini-reviews. But come on, did anyone really read them anyway? I don’t think so.

Iron Man 3, 8/10 –

Oblivion, 7.5/10 –

Django, 7/10 –

Olympus Has Fallen, 6.5/10 –

The Host 6.5/10, –

Jurassic Park (3D), 7/10 –

GI Joe: Retaliation (3D), 7/10 –

Life of Pi, 8/10 – With its stunning visuals and moving store line Pi stands out from most other movies. In some instances I found myself totally captivated. This is a movie not to miss and Ang Lee probably deserves his Oscar.

Zero Dark Thirty, 8/10 – In terms of acting, cinematography and storytelling this movie rocks.

Here Comes the Boom, 5.5/10 – Formulaic to the point of irrelevance. Sort of a comic knock-off of Warrior. I like Kevin James but this is not his best.

Les Miserables, 7.5/10 – This was a very moving production. It’s clear that not all the actor’s are good singers, but the performance is emotionally driven so I can appreciate what they did here (can singers act?).

Ice Age: Continental Drift, 6/10 – I have to confess that I’m not a huge fan of this series to begin with- prehistoric animals having social problems just isn’t that appealing to me. It’s entertaining enough to watch, I suppose, but it’s not great.

Last Stand, 7/10 – Arnold is really showing his age. In some ways the title of this movie is ironic. The action is good (over the top, of course), loved the Corvette vs. Camaro showdown but the overall experience was lacking. I saw this in a D-Box seat- never doing that again.

Hotel Transylvania, 6.8/10 – A cute effort, but nothing too special here.

Lincoln, 8/10 – Well acted, beautifully shot. I don’t care much for historical movies, but this was profoundly gripping.

Premium Rush, 6.5/10 – After I watched this movie I had a dream that I was Lance Armstrong. The premise of the movie is okay, but everything about it is kind of so-so.

ParaNorman, 6.8/10 – The stuff they are doing with stop motion these days is pretty impressive. Visually ParaNorman is cool (the odd looking people don’t quite wok for me though), the story is good and it’s fun to watch. I think this movie is supposed to be funny too, but not a lot of it hit home with me. Not quite a Halloween movie, not quite horror and not quite right, but a good effort.

Looper, 8/10 – Time travel is always a messy movie subject. Having your future self sent back to your present self for extermination is extra messy, but Looper pulls is off with a fair amount of finesse. There’s nothing spectacular in terms of special effects, but the ending is both moving and shocking. An excellent effort.

2010 Movies
2011 Movies
2012 Movies

Hughes Family: December 1 – December 20, 2013

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Cam

December. The month we celebrate peace, joy and love but practice none of them. Each year I think “Man, last December was rough… maybe this one will be better” and each year one of Santa’s gifts is always disappointment. Don’t get me wrong- I enjoy the holidays but for some reason they just bring out the crazy in some people. I’ll have to throw up (literally) a post about my retail adventures when I have time. Despite December’s difficulty there are periodic pepperings of pleasure.

The first real snow of the year. I wish I was still a kid sometimes- not that I can’t play in the snow as an adult, but somehow as a child you’re immune to the wet, cold and dirty. Sledding, snow forts and shoveling (so far I have only done last).

Mike wanted to go to Texas Road House and get steak for his birthday. We obliged. They made him ride the saddle and to my great surprise he actually hopped on (after hiding under the table for a but)! I like to pretend it was the only way to get the birthday ice cream. Happy Birthday, Mike!

The Sabins hosted their annual Christmas party and rented a cabin in Sundance! Fran and I made the sojourn and were treated to dinner, games and the traditional white elephant exchange. Thanks Sabins!

Later in the month we had Mike’s Party: The Revenge. Round two involved a plethora of pals and Percy Jackson. He and his friends watches Sea of Monsters and ate donuts. Manly.
In honor of Bubs getting married we hosted another LAN party for him (I think this is seriously like the third one). We played, laughed, cried and ate until we couldn’t go on. And then, despite being bleary eyed and disoriented, we roused ourselves and played some more.

What’s Christmas without tiny houses covered in candy? According to the tradition of our fathers we crafted little cottages from graham crackers and used various sugared sweets to decorate them. We let Chloe sprinkle her roof this year which was a good start. On the right is Gabe’s house.

Here is my house (I always add an extra wing to give it the “daddy flair”). Fran’s house is next, decorated in a fine mix of blues, and then Mikes house and Claire’s house. Quite a cute little village.

We did some ornament shopping at Hobby Lobby (man that’s a lot of ornaments). Our artificial tree died this year (after serving us faithfully for over a decade). We toyed around with the idea of getting a real tree. We bought this little guy at Lowe’s (they use these on Fran’s island) and I suggested we use that. But in the end tradition won out and we got another artificial tree (save the Earth!).

For our work party this year we went to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. There were enough people this year that we got our own theater! We had Zupa’s cater the event and it was a blast. Great movie too.

The rest of December will probably be a blur of events. Personally I’d love a quiet Christmas but that’s just not in the cards.

Hughes Family: November 1, 2013 – November 30, 2013

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Cam

I knew it- this month has been crazy and the blogging has been sparse. I have been racked with guilt so I decided to bust out a November post. One I thing I realized is that with Thanksgiving so far toward the end of the month some of our traditional November activities – like the Christmas tree and gingerbread houses – will get pushed into December. As if it wasn’t busy enough…

At the beginning of the month Claire got baptized! My religious issues aside, I feel that baptism is an important right of passage and I was excited to be able to participate. Our family and friends came out and I think it was a good experience for Claire.

I took the kids to see Ender’s Game (Mike had read the book and was especially excited). We went with my Dad & brother. I think we agreed that while the movie was good, the book was much better.

Speaking of books- I recently picked up a Kindle Paperwhite. Wow- what a cool reader! I’ve been looking for a way to read in bed without bugging my wife and the Kindle has seriously changed my life. The screen looks great (speaking in reference to readability) and the backlighting is excellent. If you read a lot I’d recommend this without reservation. I polished off a few books last month to break it in- one classic and two pop culture quickies.
1984 – This is an undisputed classic. The future just doesn’t get any worse than this.
The Circle – Sort of a precursor to 1984. The story outlines how integrated technology and total lack of privacy had have devestating effects. Not great, but worth a read.
Divergent – Interesting, but I didn’t find it particularly gripping. Don’t know if I’ll finish the series.

Fran has really made some incredible efforts to keep the kids from turning out like me (you know, sedentary). Gabe is still taking basketball lessons, Mike got “Most Improved Player” in football and he has also started wresting. Claire is still attending her gymnastics too! Nice work, Babe.

I set up a new blog for Fran a few weeks ago. The blogspot blog was getting neglected so I migrated everything over to WordPress and set it up at FranHughes.com. This was I can move some of my posts over to her blog and then she can translate my posts into French (and add whatever she wants) for her Family. I really think they’re going to enjoy reading about my cars.

And of course what would November be without a few delicious Thanksgiving feasts? My efforts to curtail calories were seriously derailed…

And some random stuff. Fran got LASIK! The best part of the proceedure was the awesome protective eyewear. Claire got a cut. She stabbed herself in the leg with a kitchen knife and ran around the house bleeding. She needed a few stitches- another right of childhood passage. And I got a hard drive. Fran picked this up as Costco. It’s a two terabyte USB mini drive. After a decade I have finally backed up my computer.

Okay… did it. What a load off.

I think you can guess which one I am…

Hughes Family: October 16, 2013 – October 31, 2013

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Cam

October is pretty much all about one thing… Halloween. And I guess that’s okay if you like Halloween, but it’s not one of my favorite holidays. Too much candy, crazy costumes, piles of pumpkins and enough Halloween themed events to make your head spin (which would be very appropriate, given the holiday). Ah well! I’m a party pooper… what can say?

Fall is underway and winter is visible on the horizon. Leaves change, leaves fall, children are at play. Leaves gone, cold comes, inside the children stay.

Chloe dressed herself up as a zombie quite a few times this month. Here are a couple of highlights from her newest game. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Mike received his Bear award.

Cornbelly’s! The kids love their annual visit to this backwards celebration of corn stalks and hay. There’s always plenty to do- slides, mazes, paintball, wagon rides…

hot chocolate, caramel popcorn, the corn box (like a sand box, but with corn!) and so much more. The adults usually hit Cornbelly’s as well but I was sick this go around. Next year!

The Sabins held their annual Halloween party- it keeps getting bigger and better each year (eventually they will have to move to accommodate this party). In addition to the usual outrageous decorations and exciting activities our generous steam punk dressed hosts provided a Waffle Love truck and Rachel took family pictures of the attendees! Our little one was very grumpy and this year we retired early, but come 2014 we will be back with an unholy vengeance.

This year the kids decided to buy some fancy higher end pumpkins. The ghost pumpkins were really cool, but this green one (Mike’s) turned out to have skin that was about two inches thick. It was so difficult for me to carve that I ended up not even doing my own pumpkin.

I think all the kids had fun going out trick or treating. This was the first year that Chloe really understood what was going on (although she didn’t really notice when all her candy disappeared). Mike and Claire ate everything you see here, while Gabe opted to trade out his candy for cash (“I don’t want to get sick” he wisely said).

Fran gets pretty festive for Halloween. Nail decorations and special spooky treats abound-pumpkin shakes, ghost toast, swamp smoothies, seaweed octopus soup and dry ice beaker brew (I wish I could cram more pictures in here, but there’s only so much room).

It’s funny to me that the month of November isn’t overshadowed by Thanksgiving. I guess it’s just not that cool of a holiday (it’s certainly got nothing on Christmas). I leave you with the text of this wonderful internet meme that I’ve seen a lot lately: Black Friday – Because only in American do we wait in line and trample other for sale items one day after giving thanks for what we already have.

Tacoma Tunes

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Cam

When I bought my Tacoma I got the non-JBL equipped truck since I knew I wanted to gut the stereo. I was actually surprised by the stock headunit – in a good way – and decided to keep it (I really like the interface). Since I’m sick of doing the installs myself I took it to CSD Audio. Travis recommended components, built the sub box and did the install.

For the fronts we used Focal K2 Power 165KR speakers and the rears got Focal Performance PC 165’s (both are 6.25″). The front speakers are powered by a Mosconi Gladen One 240.2. amp and the rears are driven off the stock stereo.

One challenge in the Tacoma is the lack of space for things like a subwoofer and amplifiers. We selected two shallow mount Pioneer TS-SW2501S4 10″ subs. The subs are powered by a Mosconi Gladen One 120.2. amp.

Behind the rear seats are some shallow storage compartments. The first compartment is now occupied by a custom CDS audio sub box (the seat can be up and the subs still work fine) and the second compartment houses both Mosconi amps.

When I saw the old speakers I was shocked at how small the magnets were and the flimsy construction. They didn’t sound half bad!

The current setup sounds very good- it’s a huge improvement over the stock system as well as the JBL system in my last Tacoma. The Focal speakers are detailed with a nice crispness. Right now they are still in their break-in period so I’m hoping some of the mild harshness I hear will dissipate. The Pioneer subs don’t have the kick of the JL Audio subwoofers I’m accustomed to, but they’re more than acceptable. Overall I’m very happy with the upgrade, although I may need to tweak some of the settings down the line.

Summary:
Stock Headunit
Focal K2 Power 165KR Speakers (front)
Focal Performance PC 165 Speakers (Rear)
Mosconi 120 x 2 Amp
Mosconi 240 x 2 Amp
2 Pioneer TS-SW2501S4 10″ subwoofers

It’s Official: 1000rwhp Corvette

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Cam

It’s taken about 18 months, but we’ve finally arrived! I took my car up to Premier for a few small tweaks and one last dyno run:

The car put down 1024 rwhp (over 1200 crank) and 944 ft lbs torque on pump gas & methanol at 15 psi. There was nothing weird about this pull such as ice on the intercoolers, fuel filters pulled off or the car sitting for a few hours. There’s more power there but I’ll wait until next year (if ever) to coax it out. Overall, I’m very pleased with the final product. It took way longer than I anticipated but I think the results speak for themselves.

My advice to anyone who wants to do a similar build: Know what you’re getting into. Nothing is going to go as smoothly as you want and everything will take longer than you think. Expect compromise. As you build a high horsepower car you need to recognize that some driveability elements will be diminished and not everything is going to work like a stock car- but that’s okay. And ultimately you can’t do anything with a 1000 rwhp car except drag race and feel like a badass. That much power has no practical use on the street – it’s for the dyno.

I want to give a shout out to Vince (& the Lung crew), Heath (& Premier Performance) and Cole (& RaceCo) for their help with this project. There were a lot of other people who contributed their mental energy, time and encouragement and I’m grateful to them as well. It’s been fun! Where do I go from here? Hmm… that new Corvette might be calling my name.

Hughes Family: October 1, 2013 – October 15, 2013

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Cam

Every morning Fran makes a veggie juice concoction and each morning I drink it. I think it actually might help! I just want to publicly thank her for taking good care of me. Biggest Looser is starting back up today and I’m pretty sure that will help jump start my health efforts.

Chloe turned two this past week! We don’t have giant parties for the little ones (we wait until they ask), but she still got a cake and some fun presents. Below is a video of her blowing out her birthday candles. Do you think she knows what’s going on?

Mike is about done with football for the year. He’s spent most of his time as a lineman (usually offensive tackle). His coach says he’s come a long way and he’s doing a great job. Here’s a video from one of his last games (he’s number 50):

For FHE we went and picked out some pumpkins (I think Macey’s is a good place to get them). This year they had some decorative pumpkins which piqued the interest of the kids. Part of me likes carving pumpkins (possibly next week) but another part of me wants to scream and throw them at people I hate.

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Moab for some biking and sightseeing. We started our trip by discovering we had the wrong size hitch for our bike trailer which put us an hour behind schedule (and the bad weather didn’t either). This was our first trip in the Yukon and the kids were pretty much glued to the TVs. Fran navigated us up I-15 to extend the road trip since the ride was so wonderful (this is sarcasm).

We opted not to rough it this time around and stayed at the Aarchway Inn. The room was spacious and well maintained (three queen beds!). The hotel property was also very nice and included a giant playground, a parkour course, picnic areas and lots of open space (some mud too… the kids loved it).

Hotel highlights: Mercilessly raiding the vending machines, hotel breakfasts and a splendid dip the pool.

Biking didn’t go quite as we’d hoped. Getting the bikes & helmets adjusted took more time than we expected. And then only about 1/4 mile into our trip disaster struck. We hit a cluster of thorns that ended up popping seven of our tires. We were able to temprarily fix most of the tires and managed to make it another few miles down the path (which was beautiful) but ultimatley we had to cut our biking excursion short. I guess we’ll have to go back to bike another time.

On the way up to Moab I requested that we try to find good (tried and true) food to eat. Fran assured me that we would be relying on Trip Adviser and that I was in good hands. Our first day in Moab Fran said we were going to eat at the Mandarin Szechuan buffet. Once we had tried the food it was clear something was very wrong- it ranks among the worst buffets I have ever tried. Fran confessed that she hadn’t checked Trip Adviser. She had seen the Asian buffet, got excited and made an “emotional decision”. It was bad food, but I have to say I think my wife is pretty cute!
Our next meal was at Zax (4/5 starts on Trip Adviser). It was better than Szechuan, but over all the mean was only so-so (really dry pizza). I guess you can’t necessarily trust reviews either.
What say ye Moab travelers- where should be eat next time?

On the way back from Moab we decided to trick the kids and made a detour to Dead Horse Point. Man, what a view! I found a good place to hang off a “cliff” for the obligatory “I’m about to die!” picture. If this had been real I’m pretty sure my kids would have stepped on my hands.

A lovely family picture.

And a lovey panoramic view from the edge of Dead Horse Point. If you haven’t been here before it’s worth the quick detour.

Arches opened back up while we were in Moab. It would have been fun to do take a quick drive though the park, but the kids weren’t up for it. All in all I think we came away with a lot of good memories of trip that didn’t go quite right. Next time will be better.

Vette Regret? Nah.

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Cam

Finally a Corvette update (I know, I know- you’ve all been waiting for this…not)!

In another post I mentioned that I had gotten my car back from Premier, but there were still a few issues. Since I’d had a good experience with RaceCo (Porsche) I decided to let them take a crack at my Vette.

They pressure tested everything and discovered that the blow off valves were popping open around 12 PSI. I was disappointed that this issues hadn’t been identified before, but it was a good find. RaceCo rebuilt the BOVs so there wouldn’t be any more boost related issues. Vince and I had always thought the car should boost to more than 12-13 PSI so we were curious what this fix would yield.

After making sure every leak was plugged RaceCo told me the car seemed to run better- it started fine, the surging was reduced and they didn’t experience any stalls. They also replaced a melted 02 sensor and added more heat shielding.

Next was the boost controller. For whatever reason there were intermittent sensor errors and the boost pressures weren’t accurate. RaceCo got in touch with the manufacturer and they helped them trouble shoot and sort through the issues (one wiring, and one plumbing).

With the boost controller working properly it was time to do some testing. On high boost the car made it to 16PSI without breaking a sweat (that’s where the boost controller is currently set- when things warm up again I’ll be curious to see how much higher it goes… I’ll probably have to upgrade the fuel system for that). With 940rwhp on tap at 13 PSI I’m positive I’ve broken the 1000rwhp goal at 16PSI. The car is nasty fast on high boost. It just pulls and pulls. It’s hard to describe…

The drivability of the car is finally to a point where I’m comfortable with it (although there are obviously traction issues on high boost). I’m still not sure if I’m a fan of the aluminum flywheel- my only gripe is that the car is tricky to get moving from a stop. I think I’d like to get the car converted over to a speed density tune, but for the now the MAF tune is working fairly well (and it has the advantage of being OBDII complaint). Yes, the project took way longer than I thought it would, but ultimately I’m pleased with the results. No regrets.

Now I’m in the process of taking care of a few other little things. For example, the car needs a massive cleaning inside and out. Polishing out the hard water deposits (rain then sun) will be a good winter project.

While I was in Provo the other day I drove through a construction zone. There was a massive bump in the road and I got one of my air hoses under the car ripped off again! I fabricated some shields for them this time. Hopefully they take the brunt of the next impact instead of my poor hoses.

One of my RCA cables has been giving me grief. The end developed an issue and ultimately I had my friend Jim put on a new jack. That temporarily solved the problem but in the end I got hungry for more.

Initially I bought new Monster Audio RCA cables. Then I also decided to upgrade the head unit with a Pioneer AVIC-Z150BH and add a back up camera. And I was getting pretty sick of my Beltronics radar detector suction cups giving out so I figured it was time for an integrated STIR-Plus system too.

This time around I didn’t feel like doing the install so I had Travis CSDAudio take care of it. He did a great job and I’d recommend him if you’re looking to have any car audio done. In the end I pulled out the center console to adjust some wires, but that was a piece of cake.

The Pioneer AVIC-Z150BH seems to be an excellent receiver. It’s a little glitchy since it doesn’t really support iOS7 at the moment but I think that will get resolved. The audio it pumps out seems like a huge improvement from my AVICZ1 which kind of surprised me. Travis assisted me with some tweeter tweaking to eliminate the sibilance as well. Overall I’m very happy with this stereo upgrade- I would rank my system among the best I’ve heard. And no ground loop!

The Beltronic STIR-Plus system also seems to be excellent. I’ve got the display screen and a warning light mounted on top of my steering column (I may need to black out the backside of the LED bulb as it reflects of my gauge cluster) and operation is simple and discreet. The sensitivity seems to be as good as, if not better than, my old unit.

Finally I had our graphic artist here at work make me a customized sticker for the car since I’m trying to stick with the red and black theme (our blue and white logo just wasn’t working). This is the first prototype; It was a monster to get on but I think it turned out pretty good.

What do you know? Sometimes cars are fun!

CamHughes.com

Too cool for a catchy tagline! ™

Author Archives: Cam