NorCal: Exhaust 'Fest 2012

[claritycheck]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

The photo above is great! Poster worthy even!

I wish we could find someone to help you with the editing. Even James Cameron needs a good editor! I'm sure the video is just fine--and thank you for doing all the work!

Burnout? I thought you were practicing your auto-cross launch!

We were definitely dropping bombs this morning.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

[Quickid]

Cool pic... beautiful cars

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by e for effort

We were definitely dropping bombs this morning.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Yeah, not to mention the Webster tube run before the 'Fest. I think sound of your RPIs + a little help from my Diablos have permanently burned themselves into my eardrums!

What the hell was up with all the dead semi-tire chunks and partial tires on the road today? I had to avoid a bunch more on the way back home.

[flpnout]

I had a great time too! Thanks for letting me hang out with.

[RADRACR]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

What the hell was up with all the dead semi-tire chunks and partial tires on the road today? I had to avoid a bunch more on the way back home.

It was hot as hell, that's what. Also my A/C decided to die. It was fine on the trip up.

[RADRACR]

Originally Posted by flpnout

I had a great time too! Thanks for letting me hang out with.

Cris, your youtube video is very cool. Can you do our video?

[flpnout]

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

Cris, your youtube video is very cool. Can you do our video?

NP! I'll be more than happy to give a shot.

[gferil]

Wow...just...wow. Can't thank you guys enough for all coming out to this. Even if I didn't see video or pictures, it was worth it cause I had a great time meeting you all! It was one hell of a sight seeing all those Z's together, and it made driving in that wall of traffic kinda fun from all the stares and pointing we were getting.

Yes, let's definitely set up a track day or scenic drive...or both!

Pictures look good so far, can't wait to see them all!

Of course...the video, which was supposed to be the main point of this thing, is going to be sick! I guess we were all to excited and having too much fun so we forgot that the mic would pick our voices up as well...and I think we were calling the stock system a prius because it went right after the RPi recording or something.

I definitely left the meet wanting some new wheels. When MRZ07 asked me what mod I was going to do next I'll calmly said...maybe some JL subs and amp to replace the stock rear subs...but in my head I was like...I need some f'ing wheels!

Oh, and aestheticstorm and beta...my god, sepang bronze is a beautiful color on our cars, great choice in colors! jd1lpt...those wheels are sick! devious21, good job on being able to make it out and was great to meet you and the gf! flpnout, your car is beautiful and in my opinion probably gave one of the best sounds of the meet. mfanatic325, yeah dude, not gonna lie, of course yours was the best with that damn near full SS setup, especially in the tunnel. dorifto88, good to finally see you again, and as always, your suspension and wheel setup look insane! e for effort...good to see you again too man, and damn those RPi's are loud! RobMCoupe, my former bumper looks good on your car, and your headlights are awesome! Thanks for the advice on the alarm, definitely adding that to the list. And speaking of adding to the list, Finnegan and Skelekitty, definitely going for those Ultimate Pedals...and thanks for the name tags, the 9V battery that I will forever keep in the package cause Krissi gave it to me, and of course for lunch.

Sorry for the long post (at least it wasn't as long as the first post in this thread), just wanted to say thanks to everyone

Oh and cheers to everyone for not getting any tickets, not getting into any accidents, and hopefully not getting sunburnt. Errol, sorry to hear your AC went out...definitely not the day for that to happen. Hit me up if you are out of warranty and need someone to do the work..I'll connect you with..."my guy" (that was for you Krissi)

[gferil]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Prelim shots look good, dirty sensor or not! This was an AWESOME day! Great folks, great cars, great conversation, wall of Zs dealing with crazy Bay Area traffic...we had it all!

Working on data entry, should be done tonight (3 hour drive home, need some dinner first).

Proposed layout (columns) in Google Docs (would transfer to thread later):

Forum Member Name
Idle dB
Rev 5K dB
Heavy Acceleration dB
Light Acceleration dB
Headers (OEM or Name)
S Pipe Section 2 Cats (OEM or Name)
X-Pipe (OEM or Name)
Axle-Back (OEM or Name)

Thought I'd set up a section with our subjective observations for each setup as mild street, aggressive street, or race. This isn't hard data, but it might be useful.

Other thoughts before I pull this together?

Ron, thanks again for being note taker. I originally planned to just type the notes in my phone, but with the speed we were moving it was awesome to have you there writing the stuff down in your notebook! You saved the day!

Those columns look good, I think we should also add a column for intake, since that adds to the dB level.

Also, put a disclaimer on about how "not so scientific" the data is...with all the talking, planes flying over head, cars driving by, etc. the numbers aren't going to be 100% accurate, plus we weren't 100% similar on each recording since each driver revved a tiny bit different, some exhausts popped and some didn't, and Errol and didn't actually measure the distance we were from each car.

You'll have to ask Errol what his exact setup was for the camera and mic and how high he had the tripod, but for the standing revs we were about 8-10 feet behind each car, not directly behind it but angled to the side. I was standing right next to him on the outside (further from the car) each time and pointing the dB meter at the car, holding it horizontally to the level of the pavement. To be honest I can't remember how far away we were during the drive by's, but again I was standing next to the camera each time, and panned the meter with the camera as it went by.

The numbers I gave you for the standing revs were my quick mental average of what I saw during the revs (and consequently what I saw usually towards what I think was the 4K) range, and then the max number that popped up (some were from the POP, and some were just from the exhaust since all of them didn't make a popping noise).

The dB meter I used was a Radio Shack Sound Level Meter, cat. no 33.2055. The response was set to "fast" and weighting was set to "c". I have no idea about sound meters, so not sure if those settings are even right for what we were doing.

[gferil]

Originally Posted by flpnout

NP! I'll be more than happy to give a shot.

Dude, that's awesome!

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by flpnout

NP! I'll be more than happy to give a shot.

If it's 1/4 as good as that youtube video we'll have a winner!

[Skelekitty]

Preliminary photos!!!! I have a few I need to ... "edit" ... for reasons I cannot mention. I mean, I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. More to come!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misskri...57629514382046

Oh, and yes, once everything is up, I will post a link in the photos section. I thought you boys might want to start looking at the pics NAO though.

[Skelekitty]

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

Sorry for the burnout during my run. I turn off DSC by habit and got a little carried away

The video turned out ok. I'm no James Cameron LOTS of chit chat in the background, including calling one of our beloved Z4M's a Prius It definitely helps having a subwoofer + speaker system hooked up to your computer to get the full range.

If it's a female voice, I was actually talking about a PRIUS! There was a young girl there with her dad, learning to drive and I said if she's going to be driving a PRIUS then all she has to do is sit in the left lane and go the same speed as the guy next to her (usually under 65). If it was a guy...

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Skelekitty

If it's a female voice, I was actually talking about a PRIUS! There was a young girl there with her dad, learning to drive and I said if she's going to be driving a PRIUS then all she has to do is sit in the left lane and go the same speed as the guy next to her (usually under 65). If it was a guy...

I think I may have mentioned "Prius" too. As in BMWCCA won't allow them at Car Control Clinics (nannies are so intrusive you cannot learn car control skills driving one--uh, yeah). I think we might have said that the stock system sounded "as quiet as a Prius" in comparison to Mfanatic system or of the RPIs--ain't no lie either--those bad boys are loud!

[RADRACR]

No. It's definitely "PRIUS! HAHA!" referring to Runner X's Red Z4MR's light acceleration run (I think that's who it was). Anyway, I'm not trying to make a big deal out of it. I'm sure he understands that he needs to mod

[gferil]

I remember someone saying "Prius", and I admit, I am probably the person that went "hahah". No disrespect though, most of our cars started out with the "mild" sound, some people like it, most of us that were there decided to change it...to each their own and much love to all that showed up!

Krissi, great photos!

[Skelekitty]

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

No. It's definitely "PRIUS! HAHA!" referring to Runner X's Red Z4MR's light acceleration run (I think that's who it was). Anyway, I'm not trying to make a big deal out of it. I'm sure he understands that he needs to mod

No peer pressure or anything.

[Skelekitty]

Originally Posted by gferil

Krissi, great photos!

THANKS! I just started a thread in the photos section for you all to add links and/or pics to! http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=680828

BTW, Ron and I have been wandering around the house exclaiming how much fun we had since we got home yesterday evening (and are still doing so).

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by gferil

I remember someone saying "Prius", and I admit, I am probably the person that went "hahah". No disrespect though, most of our cars started out with the "mild" sound, some people like it, most of us that were there decided to change it...to each their own and much love to all that showed up!

Krissi, great photos!

And I probably said it. It was just a metaphor given the how loud some of the systems were in comparison (or perhaps my ears were still ringing a bit), and no disrespect was meant. None whatsoever!

Thankfully we had both Chun and John there to give us a stock system baseline for comparison. No baseline would have been a catastrophe! (I know Chun had a busy day planned, so we're lucky to have him for an hour or two to make this event fully worthwhile.)

Yesterday was the most fun I've had in--I don't know how long. Dare I say it? More fun than a day at the track? Yep. Sure was. Work and aging parents have made for a rough few months for me, and getting together with you all yesterday was just what the doctor ordered.

What a great bunch of guys (and gals). Folks just pitched in and helped from name tags to organizing the car line up to being flexible when our primary lunch spot didn't work out. (For those who weren't there, parking was a nightmare and then we spent what seemed like 45 min in traffic going to another city for lunch. No one got upset, everyone was flexible, we all worked together, it was just good times out on the tarmac, on the road, and at and after lunch.) Talk about teamwork in traffic! Damn good group! Even paying the restaurant check was a no hassle no drama thing. Wow!

When is the next one? (I'm going to look into some track day options...and I think a drive up or down the coast might be fun--did I mention Sacramento gets unbearably hot in the summer?)

[mfanatic325]

I think I may have been the one that said "quiet like a Prius" (in comparison of course to all the louder setups). Chun's a very good friend of mine so even if it was said in disrespect, I'm sure he wouldn't take it the wrong way--he has a great sense of humor

lol anyway, track and/or drive, let's do it NorCal! E85/E86, E89, heck even E37/E38, and E52 (Z8) let's goooo Zs
I don't think we have any Z1s in the states, so I don't need to include them

[runnerx]

Originally Posted by aestheticstorm

No. It's definitely "PRIUS! HAHA!" referring to Runner X's Red Z4MR's light acceleration run (I think that's who it was). Anyway, I'm not trying to make a big deal out of it. I'm sure he understands that he needs to mod

No need to mod as long as it is one of the fastest Z4Ms.

[runnerx]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

I know Chun had a busy day planned, so we're lucky to have him for an hour or two to make this event fully worthwhile.

Sorry everyone... I had to run because my wife ordered some dimsum for me at a restaurant near by. I have to please her so I can continue to track/instruct with NCRC

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Work and aging parents have made for a rough few months for me, and getting together with you all yesterday was just what the doctor ordered

Tomorrow is always better trust me...

Originally Posted by Finnegan

When is the next one?

June 30 (Sat) NCRC Thunderhill raceway... I will be going. Hope to see some of you there!

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

I think I may have been the one that said "quiet like a Prius" (in comparison of course to all the louder setups).

I think I will have a pair of very shaky hands when I do your VANOS CAM bolts and valve adjustment...