Hughes Family: February 11, 2013 – February 24, 2013

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Cam

Okay, here’s a quick recap of some our adventures in the past couple of week. I hope one day our kids read this. I hope one day someone reads this. People need to know where we ate.

Fran and I try to have at least one date a month (usually we have more). We really enjoy Thai House in Lehi. The center picture is green curry. I don’t know how to explain it, but it tastes green. And green is delicious. I honestly can’t remember what we did after we ate- it must have rocked so hard that it jarred the memory loose.

For the past few weeks I’ve been looking for a handgun (more on that in another post) and my search took me to Cabela’s. This wouldn’t have been a big deal but it was Saturday and I had all four of our kids. Not my best idea in retrospect. It was literally too busy to shop (luckily they didn’t have what I was looking for) so we walked through the animal displays and aquarium instead.

Fran decided that the kids should have cubbies for their toys so off we went to Ikea. Each of the boys got a 2×2 unit and the girls share a 4×2. Gabe, who is the neatest of our children, seemed quite excited about organizing his toys. I think the other two responded positively as well. Sadly, if history is any indicator I would guess that the sheleves- if the shelves are still intact – do not look like they did on that beautiful first day.

On Valentine’s Day Fran dressed up the kids in cute shirts, made them heart shaped waffles for breakfast and even let them eat some of their Valentine’s Day candy!

For Valentine’s Day dinner Fran prepared a raclette (the plate has a misting of heart candies) and served us fancy chocolate covered strawberries. Then the kids are more candy while Fran cried. And let me just say for the record that I love Fran. She is a wonderful wife, fantastic mother and my best friend. She makes me truly happy and there is no one on earth I would rather have by my side as we journey through this life.

Fran and Claire went to a BYU ballet production of Sleeping Beauty (once again, I wisely opted to stay home and hold down the fort). Fran’s report went something like “There were a couple of really good dancers and a bunch of so-so dancers. If it had only been an hour it would have been perfect… but it was three.” Culture has a price.

What do you do with snow, besides curing it’s existence? You sled. The kids got together with their cousins and did a few downhill runs in Mapleton. I hear it was crazy. Fran snapped a shot of the sun halo earlier this month while they were sledding.

Another trip to the aquarium (seems like they go there a lot).

A couple weeks ago my treadmill blew up (really). I was joggling along and sparks started flying out of the motor and the belt seized. I’m going to get it fixed, but in the meantime I opted to get a new S77 model. Comparing this model to the old one I have concluded that 6mph is not necessarily 6mph. I’m excited to get back on track (ah, it is a pun!).

And then we went out again. Thanksgiving Point sandwiches, quiche, salad and a few desserts later we were ready to cry our eyes out while we watches Les Miserables. Yes, I look annoyed in this picture. But that was after Fran took about twenty pictures of me and our food. I returned the favor but all I could elicit was amusement.

We capped off last week with a double birthday party (for James & Nelly) down in Mapleton. By the time we finished singing “Happy Birthday” in English and French the candles had burned down to tiny nubs and a skeleton was clawing his way out of the cake.

And this video? I don’t know, I just thought it was really beautiful so I wanted to share it.

JL Audio HD Amplifier Installation

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Cam

This winter has been so cold. There are lot of projects I want to do but the appeal and my drive is vastly diminished by the weather. However, there was a “warm spell” a couple of weeks ago – got almost to forty degrees – and I managed to sneak something in.

Back in December I purchased two JL Audio amplifiers (an HD750/1 and HD600/4). Since they are larger than the Kenwood amps that were in the car it was necessary to fabricate a new amp rack. I called up J-Wise and he worked up a beautiful new design and had it put together in just a few days. I painted and carpeted it myself.

Installation was pretty straight forward but took the better part of a Saturday. I replaced my battery and ran new power and ground wires. I haven’t had time to get good pictures of the setup, but it looks outstanding. I also took the opportunity to replace the connector on the sub-box with something a little beefier (the old connector wasn’t holding the wires tightly and had a small leak).

The sound? Fantastic. I don’t know if it’s in my head, but everything sounds super crisp and clean (which is what I like). The bass seems vastly improved as I can listen through songs that before were simply too hard on the ears. I can’t A/B test the setups, but I’m really happy with this switch and that’s good enough for me.

There are a couple of issues left to deal with though. If life teaches me one lesson over and over and over it’s that nothing can be perfect. I have a shorted RCA cable that I need to replace. It’s fine for now (a little ugly though), but it’s exacerbating the ground loop. One day I am planning to line the car with some kind of sound deadening material and I will pull everything apart, check connections, run new RCAs and reground things. In the meantime I will just enjoy!

Hughes Family: January 26, 2012 – February 10th-ish 2013

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Cam

They say time flies when you’re having fun. I must have been having a ton of fun these past few weeks. I’ve certainly had some fun… I read a few books, worked on my car a bit and we went snowmobiling. But I’ve also spent a lot of this winter sick- seems like a week on and a week off (that’s not fun). And work has taken more of my time up these days (in a good way, but I still wouldn’t call it fun). Here’s some Hughes family highlights.

A few weeks ago we went up to Daniel’s Summit with some of our friends (both sets of Browns and the Sabins). The cabin we stayed at was fantastic. It was fully furnished, decorated and much larger than we had expected. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice place to stay in Heber .

On Saturday we rented snowmobiles and hit the Daniel’s Summit trails. Here are a few of the groupies (I don’t have a good shot of the Sabins, but you can get their trip take here).

The morning weather was excellent and skirting along the trails was a blast. Many exciting looking hills beckoned and resulted in a fair amount of stranded snowmobiles. Luckily there were plenty of people in our group to help dig, push and swear the snowmobiles back to safety. Near the end of the day it began to snow and I realized that it’s probably time to invest in “real” recreational winter clothing. So cold.

The evenings consisted of card games, (Sabotage, Bang and Uno with a punishing twist), casual conversations and a massive pillow fight. We ate most of our meals at the Daniel’s Summit restaurant (supplemented with snacks) but on our last night the Sabins treated us all to a delicious meal at the Spin Cafe in Heber (thanks!).

I’m pretty sure everyone had a fun time. These little getaways are something we used to do more frequently and I’m hopeful we can make them a January tradition again.

The adults weren’t the only ones playing in the snow though. Fran has been taking Mike and Claire to skiing lessons for the last couple of years. It was my intent to join them once they had caught up to my skill level. Sadly, I think that ship may have sailed. Next year I’m going to get my own lessons and then hit the slopes with them a few times.

Every time I shovel our driveway I end up with these huge snow mounds. As I was topping off a particularly tall pile I remembered that I used to dig snow caves when my dad would clear our driveway. One evening when I came home I was delighted to see that my kids had spent a good part of the evening hacking away the snow. Not all their tunnels and caves survived (they play pretty rough), but here’s what was left of their work.

I can’t wait for spring. I’ve gotten to drive my car a couple of times, but mostly it just sits…. and waits. Occasionally I start it up for fun when I feel like destroying the earth.

I might stretch out posting intervals to two weeks (on a regular basis) so I can better accommodate all the “fun” I’m having these days.

Hughes Family: January 14th, 2013 – January 25, 2012

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Cam

I feel like a broken record, but where does the time go? As I have mentioned in similar posts it’s too cold to actually be doing anything. I’ll start out this post with proof:

Last week our main water pipe froze. We had no water all of Saturday and part of Sunday. I’m not really sure why the pipe froze- it wasn’t as cold as it has been, and none of our neighbors were affected. Lehi City was nice enough to send someone out on Saturday to check the water meter (sometimes they freeze), but that wasn’t the problem. I ran a hair dryer on the water pipe going out of the house pretty much all day. We gathered snow and melted it for use in the toilets and drank bottled water. We are survivors.

The kids and I spent an afternoon playing with paper. Don’t underestimate the amount of enjoyment that can be derived from plant fiber and scissors!

Fran took the kids to the Aquarium (and in case you haven’t visited before, it’s very cool!). This is the first time that Chloe sort of knew what was going on- you can see that look of wonder etched onto her face here.

Fran and Claire went to see a BYU production of The Phantom of the Opera (Mike wasn’t interested and kids under six weren’t allowed so I stayed home… but secretly felt the same way Mike did). The consensus between attendees was that it was good, but long and slow in some parts.
I went with some friends to see Arnold’s latest fiasco, Last Stand. It some ways it was classic Arnold- tons of action, over the top violence and a lot of fun. Still, Schwarzenegger is starting to show his age and his movie days may be over. I loved the ZR1 action and was happily surprised when the movie culminated in a Corvette vs. Camaro showdown in a cornfield (I missed that particular trailer).

Claire is the sweetest kid. She makes adorable little cards and cute drawings for us all the time. This past week she made a shopping bag-shaped card holder and a giant pop-up card. Some of her sweetness has rubbed off on Gabe and he also gives us cards from time to time. There is nothing better than getting hand made gifts from your kids.

I decided to try out the Nike Fuel Band. It certainly gets high marks for coolness and design, but I’m not quite sure it always knows what’s going on. Time will tell and at the very least the Fuel Band will be a fun way to keep track of my activity levels.

Corvette C7 Stingray Unveiled January 13, 2013

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Cam

Yesterday Chevrolet revealed the all new 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray. I think the car looks better than the leaked drawings, but there’s still something I don’t like about the back. The front and profile look really good to me and the interior seems like an upgrade too. My son said it looked like a Ferrari California mixed with a Camaro, but he liked it. My wife said she thought it looked beautiful but she missed the circular tail lights (I agree). Perhaps the design will grow on me a bit more with time. I’m the first to admit I’m not big on change (in general) and I see this redesign as a move away from American Muscle more toward Italian Style. I will be curious to see the car in person and read/watch performance reviews. And, for the record, I’m going to miss the LS series engines.

It’s interesting to me – from looking over various forums and video comments – how polarizing this design seems to be. Many people seem to like it and others seem to hate it (I lean more toward liking it, if I have to pick a side). I can’t personally recall the reactions when the C6 was unveiled, but people have indicated it was much the same. In a way I understand what GM is doing- they want to cater to the groups that love Ferraris, Lamborghinis and reel in a younger generation of car buyer. It’s probably time to shake the “old man” image. And no, I am not an old man 😉

Hughes Family: January 1st, 2013 – January 13th, 2013

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Cam

The past couple of weeks have been pretty uneventful for us (which isn’t a bad thing). School started back up and the weather has been frigid so our activity opportunities have been limited. It’s almost relaxing (well, for me anyway).

Nothing like a hike up the “Y” on the first day of the year! Especially in the snow. Not me though- I decided to sleep instead.

Our kids are so cute. They spent almost all of Thursday afternoon/evening creating a museum. They started drawing money a few days ago and decided to put in on display. The had a “grand opening” at 7:00pm and Mike read a speech (written by Claire). Then they cut a piece of thread strung across the doorway and invited us in. The presented all the different kinds of money they had drawn (here’s an unencumbered view of the wall). While I don’t dig tape and thumbtacks on the wall I don’t think I would want to stifle this kind of creativity.

I finally got my car back! This whole project has taken much longer than I thought it would, and there’s still a lot of work to do. The weather has been so frigid that I got to drive the car home, take it for one quick spin and then had to park it in the garage. I’m really looking forward to spring.

Speaking of weather… the iPhone hasn’t been doing much to help me this winter. It seems like forecasts frequently change (even hour to hour) and a lot of the time it’s just plain wrong. The other day I woke up and checked the weather. Partly sunny! But when I looked out the window what did I see? Snow. It was overcast and snowy. And the rest of the week was pretty much the same.
This is one of the coldest winters that I can remember. Our gutters keep freezing and then when it melts a bit they overflow onto our driveway where they freeze again. This giant ice patch (right pic) makes it really hard to get into our garage. And it doesn’t help that our driveway is perpetually covered with snow either. Too cold.

We’re making progress on the office little by little. We ordered some wall art off Overstock. These particular pieces are actually pretty cool. It’s an image printed on sanded metal. The sanding causes different kind of reflections on the metallic surface.
Aesthetics aside, hanging this thing was a nightmare. It’s seven individual pieces. They each have two brackets welded on the back (first pic). They are not centered (left right, top or bottom), they are not accessible in any way from the front (for marking purposes) and it’s not possible to accurately measure where to make the holes in advance. Good luck! Hanging this took over an hour and my pieces didn’t end up spaced perfectly, but I’m pretending that’s part of the art.

After a brief hiatus our tradition of eating out each weekend has resumed. Sometimes we skip our outings to reallocate money to cover something the kids have damaged. Most recently we skipped a few weeks to pay for a new mini van battery (the kids often leave the mini van lights on which drains the battery and, over time, ruins it). This past Saturday we went to dinner at Asian Buffet (remember, the shrimp?!).
I’m trying to do a bit of dieting, but the siren song of the shrimp was just too much. More on my progress (or lack thereof) later this year.

Does anyone have anything to add? Hmm… maybe next time I’ll ask the kids if they want to write anything for the blog. That could be amusing.

The Horsepower: There and Back Again

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Cam

The Quest for 1000rwhp continues. Each day brings our tireless hero one step closer to his goal…

I finally got my car back from Premier. Most of the issues have been resolved: Melting wires are repaired and relocated (with fire sleeves added), new knock sensors, new MSD spark plug wires and spark plugs. The turbo inlet hose issue was fixed. Premier also put in my new fuel injectors- Injector Dynamics ID1000s. But most importantly the dyno and street tuning is finally finished. Here’s where we’re at:

Not too shabby. 696rwhp and 627 ft/lbs or torque is about what I expected. For the most part the dyno graph looks great and the A/F ratios are where I want them.

If you compare it to the original dyno I did at Premier (below, both runs overlayed) I lost some power on the low end. It could be the lower compression of the new engine (9.8:1 vs. 11:1 on the LS7). It might also be that the test was started later, A/F ratio differences (I don’t know what the A/F ratio was on the first run), or something else. I’m a little surprised to lose that much torque, but it’s not too big a deal. In fact, it may actually beneficial when facing traction issues.

The top end power with the new mods and tune is more substantial. I gained about 50 rwhp and 50 ft/lb torque. The last dyno was 8 pounds of boost (maybe) and this is just 6 pounds so overall I’m pleased with the results.

I’ve only had the chance to drive the car twice, but both times it was awesome. It pulls hard and it’s super smooth (no surging or hiccups). I really like the idle too- not too rough and plenty loud. I wish I could do some more testing with the car, but I’ll have to wait for nicer weather. Initial impressions: Excellent.

Some people might say it’s taken eight months to get back where I started. What do I mean? Well, take a look at this graph from my old setup done at another shop:

It appears that back then I had 693 rwhp and even more torque than I have now. The car ran well and it was a blast to drive. In essence, everything I have now I had then. So why did I do all this? Let me tell you.

1) I don’t trust this 693 rwhp dyno graph. Track times were way to slow for that kind of power and that same tune gave me 648 rwhp at Premier. I don’t think my car has ever really had as much power as it has now. 2) Before these new mods my car was a time bomb; You can’t run boost a stock LS7 forever. There was nowhere to go because everything on the car – engine, trans, clutch, diff, – was maxed out in terms of it’s ability to handle power. 3) The new setup makes more power on 6 pounds of boost than the old car made on 8 pounds. And now everything is now built to handle the power so there’s nowhere to go but up. 4) My end goal is to have a 1000rwhp car (I might settle for crank horsepower) and this is how I’m going to get there.

So that’s the progress for now. In a few months I’ll head back to Premier, we’ll crank up the boost and see what happens.

Last Stand Corvette ZR-1

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Cam

“What kind of car is this?”
“A ZR1. Faster than any chopper.”

Once upon a time I had this idea I would spotlight Corvettes that pop up in movies and TV, but I didn’t have the time. However, you put Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Corvette in a movie together and that’s post worthy.

The trailers seem to put a lot of emphasis on the car- maybe to drum up interest for the upcoming release of the C7. I guess if I was making a run for the border a ZR1 wouldn’t be a bad choice.

I don’t think this one’s going to win any Oscars, but I bet it will be fun to watch. Here’s the movie trailer:

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Too cool for a catchy tagline! ™

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