Jeff's Blog

57th Mod GM Boost Control Solenoid

2009-03-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

The GM Boost Control Solenoid controls the boost more aggressively.

56th Mod, STi Motor Mounts

2009-03-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

They are stiffer than stock.

55th Mod, Shift Light

2009-02-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

This light is to give you notice when you cross a specific RPM so you will not forget to shift, or shift late/early.

It lookes like this stand alone, it is about the size of a Red Bull can..
I took all the cover off and made a braket so that it is hidden behind my Driver's side center vent.

54th Mod, Rolled Fenders

2009-01-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

This is to allow wider wheels and tires inside the wheel well.

Before

After

53rd Mod, AutoSpeed dead pedal

2009-01-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

Just a nice trim piece, replaced a plastic dead pedal.

52nd Mod, Braille Battery

2009-01-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

Very light battery.

51st Mod, Gear Box Mounts

2008-09-18T14:16:00.001-07:00

These replace the stock ones that a soft rubber with hard plastic ones.

Here is what they look like.

50th Mod, Rear Diff Cover

2008-09-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

Mainly for looks,

Before

After

49th Mod, Painted Dash and JDM Hazard Switch

2008-07-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Painted the silver part of the dash black and added the JDM hazard switch. The switch is red and glows with the 2 hazard triangles.

beforeAfter

48th Mod, Front Brake Pads

2008-05-29T18:39:00.001-07:00

New brake pads.

47th Mod, Front Rotors

2008-05-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

New rotors installed them my self.. My first brake job.

46th Mod, Stainless Steel Clutch Line

2008-03-28T19:27:00.001-07:00

Same idea as the brake lines, but for the clutch.

45th Mod, Stainless Steel Brake Lines

2008-03-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

These replace the stock brake lines and are made of braided stainless steel so they don't swell at all under heavy braking. This gives better braking and a firmer brake pedal feel

44th Mod, Fog Light Fix

2008-02-10T09:53:00.001-08:00

So stock a WRX has Daytime Running Lights so when the engine is on a pair of headlights come on. I have disabled those. Also the fog lights are paired with the headlights meaning, parking lights, no fog lights. Brights no fog lights. So in fog you can only turn on fog lights with the headlights and cannot be run alone.

The following pics are inpossible without the fod light mod in conjunction with the DRL delete..

Fogs should not be able to be on without Headlights. Headlights should be on with car runing.

Fogs should not stay on with the brights. (amber bulbs are turn signals, had my flashers one)

43rd Mod, Grounding Kit

2008-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

This is a set of wires that connect 5 main points in the engine bay to make sure there is a very stable ground for the electrical system of the car.

The idea is that it will help prevent headlight diming at low RPM's, make the car start easier, better spark etc.This one was home made and I bought it 2nd hand for $10.

You can see the middle section in the middle of the pic. it is running between the two grounding points on top of the intake manifold.

42nd Mod, Wrapped Down Pipe

2008-02-03T18:05:00.004-08:00

I already had the down pipe installed but we had to remove it to install the uppipe so while it was out I heat wrapped it. Heat wrap is used to keep heat out of the engine bay. I had this wrap left over from wraping my uppipe.

41st Mod, Uppipe

2008-02-03T18:05:00.003-08:00

This in the pipe between the header and the turbo exhaust side inlet. This mod removes a catalitic converter. The weight of the stock one is probably 30lbs the new one is probably 5lbs.

Stock one:

One I bought:

After debadge, heat wraping and rebadging:

40th Mod, 3 Hose Replacement Set

2008-02-03T18:05:00.002-08:00

This is a set of three hoses. All three are between the turbo and the throttle body so the carry boost pressure. I got the red version of these:

39th Mod, Big Turbo Inlet Pipe

2008-02-03T18:05:00.001-08:00

This is a large inlet pipe. It replaces the stock one with a less restrictive one.

38th Mod, Gauges

2008-01-06T11:05:00.002-08:00

This is a bezzle that replaces the stock intrament bezzle and has spots for two guages.

I have the boost guage working, the second guage is just a place holder for now.

37th Mod, Tactrix Cable

2008-01-06T11:05:00.000-08:00

This cable along with free software allows you to tune your ECU. This allows you to go "Stage 2". This adds 50 HP.

36th Mod, COBB Catted Pown Pipe

2007-11-27T01:52:00.000-08:00

This mod is a 3" dia pipe frin the turbo down past the cats to the exhaust.

This pipe adds say 10-15 HP on its own but the ECU can be tuned for more fuel and bring the HP up 50 to 280!

Ignore the forester label in the picks they are the same parts.

You will notice the "Bellmouth" of the new pipe on the right. Also the stock pipe had two cats and a bunch of heat sheilds. My down pipe also has an Exhaust Gas Tempurature or EGT sensor bung.

35th Mod, Typhoon Intake

2007-11-19T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is a short arm intake for the WRX. The main advantage is that it uses a cone filter which has more surface area than the stock drop in.

It gives a lot more sound feedback. You can hear the air woosh in, turbo spool and bypass valve discharge.

Overall I really like it. I bought it new for 1/2 the price of a new one.

34th Mod. Caster/Camber Plates

2007-10-28T11:34:00.001-07:00

These allow you to move the top of the strut allowing you to add and adjust you caster and camber.

33rd Mod, Lowering spings

2007-10-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

These are springs that lower the car and improve the ride.

32nd Mod, Subaru Subwoofer

2007-10-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

This mod was to install the Subaru Subwoofer.

It was an option from Subaru my car didn't have. I picked it up off of a guy who was parting out a wrecked WRX.

Overall the bass is good. Not great, but it makes the stock stereo much better, and may scratch the itch to put more sound equiptment into the car.

It installs flat under the passenger seat.

31st Mod, Clearing headlights

2007-10-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is a relatively simple mod. It requires taking the headlight out of the car, stripping all the electrical stuff off and baking it to soften up the adhesive. Then you just pull out the three amber lenses. I put an amber bulb in the turn signal to keep it legal and safe.

Before:

Before lit:

After:

After with Amber bulb:

30th Mod, Rear Strut bar

2007-09-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Same idea as the front. It is a lot harder to see since it is behind the seat.

29th Mod, Front Strut Bar

2007-09-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

I installed a front strut bar. This is supposed to remove flex in the unibody, and make the suspension perform better by linking the two strut towers.

28th Mod, Air Box

2007-08-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

A guy on KCSubaru.com was selling a stock intake.

I cut a HUGE hole in the front, and cut the snorkel off about 8" from the end.

Over all LOVE it. You can hear the BPV, and at low RPM you get a nice groul. Plus at higher RPM you get the WHOOOSS. NICE.

Totally free. I use a hole saw to cut the corners, and a box knife to cut between holes. I left out the seal that goes to the wheel well. I plan on pulling the resonator delete next time I get a chance..

I bet there is a name for this, like fuji mod or katsumi mod, but I have never seen this so I am calling it original..

I did the math, and my drop in filter is 63 Square inches and the K&N on the typhoon is 95 square inches. So the typhoon should move more air, but I did this for free, and in about 40 mins...

27th Mod 07 Tail Light Swap

2007-08-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

Before

After

I just like the chome look. It was a free swap.

26th Mod, GrillCraft Black Lower Grill

2007-08-02T18:21:00.001-07:00

This is a cover that goes over the lower openning.

It cleans up the look of the front, and helps protects the radiator.

25th Mod, Shifter Bushings

2007-08-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

These are bushings that go in the connection between the base of the shifter, and the transmission. They replace a soft rubber bushing with these firm plastic pair. This connection is the anchor point for the shifter assembly.

By replacing this bushing it takes all of the play out of the shifter..

These are about the diameter of a half dollar.

I had tried them on another guy's WRX, and fell in love!!! with the bushings

24th Mod, Schroth Harness

2007-07-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

Here is a pic of one installed. This is not mine.

As you can see in the picture in the Subaru Challenge post I was using my door as a brace when cornering hard.

The CG Lock did what it said it would do by keeping me in my seat, but the upper body could go where ever it wanted.

I took the car for a spin, and the since of motion was much less. Hard braking was a breeze, The steering felt lighter, I guess a lot of the force I was using in the corners was to keep my self up...

The cool thing about this harness is that you ad to pig tall to the two base points for the driver side seat belts. Then the harness just clips in and out when you go racing.

23rd Mod, Shifter Knob

2007-07-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

This thing rocks.

I bought it because it is cool, it was cheap and it reminded me of a honey dipper, and my dad who sold me the car was a bee keeper.

2008 WRX pics!!

2007-07-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

These were parked at Arrowhead yesterday. I snapped these with the camera on my phone.

The one with the roof rack is a not a WRX.

22nd Mod, Wheels and Tires

2007-07-08T07:18:00.003-07:00

I was able to pick up some really cheap rims a tires.

They look really good.

The are a little wide and a little larger in diameter.

They also have shorter side walls.

21st Mod, Brake Pads

2007-07-08T07:18:00.002-07:00

I put in all 8 new break pads. They are Carbotech Panthers.

I bedded them today, and will Auto X them tomorrow.

We'll see what impact they make.

20th Mod, Window Tinting

2007-07-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

I had my windows tinted, mainly for the look, and to cut down the heat when parked in the sun.

I kept is Kansas legal, so it is pretty subtle.

3 wheel motion

2007-07-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

With my stiff swaybars I have noticed a weird rocking when I left, and entered my driveway.

I stopped the other day, and got out to confirm my suspicions.

I am raising one wheel off the ground when I drive over the curb..

You can see the left rear is off the ground by a couple inches.

AWESOME!!

19th Mod, Steering Rack Bushings

2007-07-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

This mod replaced the OEM steering rack bushings with stiffer new ones.

Basically the steering rack is a tube. The steering linkage feeds in the top, and the tie rods come out each end.

When you turn the steering wheel the rack pushes and pulls the tie rods in and out to make the car turn.

The rack tube is held in place with to C chaped clamps with a bushing in each.

This mod repaces the OEM bushings with stiffer ones to remove some of the play in the steering to make it more crisp.

I would say the mod was well worth the $33 price tag, and the 40 minutes to install.

I used the following write up to do it, and it was very helpful, thanks again Peaty.

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21235&s=f91ca6bb4114af77683c92ea5afb95f6 &

18th Mod, Perrin Front License Plate Delete

2007-06-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is a small plate that covers up most of the front license plate braket.

It just basically makes the front end look cleaner.

I like it.

Subaru Challenge

2007-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Subaru of America hosts and event in KC every year for Subaru owners in the area to have an Auto Cross.

It was awesome.

Here are some pics of my runs.

Remember I have sways that are 3 times stiffer than stock. That will give you an idea of how fast I was moving..

If you notice I have my elbow on the window sill bracing my upper body in a corner, harness is next....

17th Mod, Rear Sway End Links

2007-05-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

The stock rear sway end links are made of a nylon plastic.

They are prone to breaking when used with a stronger rear sway bar, like I have, see link. http://brewmasterjeff.blogspot.com/2007/04/9th-mod-rear-sway-bar-upgrade.html

This mod was to replace the stock end links with these stronger ones (Yellow).

The parts also cam with slightly stronger bolts, and locking nuts.

16th Mod, Front Sway Bar End Links

2007-05-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

These are stronger than stock end links.

The idea is that when you make the sway bar stiffer the end links can't take the extra strain, and wear out quickly, and break.

This picture is looking at the inside of the driver front wheel looking back.

The end link is the I shaped piece.

It is connecting the sway bar (RED) to the swing arm that is connected to the wheel hub.

The yellow parts are the dust sheilds that are covering the bearing ends.

15th Mod, Front Sway Bar

2007-05-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

This mod was to replace the front sway bar with a more rigid one.

The stock sway bar is 20 mm, this one is 25mm, and 215% or 260% stiffer than stock.

They have 2 sets of holes and if you mount the end links to one set it is stiffer than the other.

I set it to the stiff, 260% side.

I am taking it to the track tomorrow, but so far it is cornering like it is on rails!!

14th Mod, Hood Dampers

2007-05-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

These are really cool, they are two small gas shocks that attach to the hood.

When you pop the hood, you only have to lift it about 1/3 of the way then they push it up the rest of the way, and hold it up.

Mainly just cool, but at autocross you open your hood for inspection, and to cool the engine between runs, so it will be nice to not have to fumble around with the prop rod.

13th Mod, CG-Lock

2007-05-19T16:02:00.001-07:00

I learned about this part on HSPN.TV, it is called the CG-Lock.

What is does is allow you to pull on the shoulder belt, and tighten the lap belt.

This helps keep you in your seat while you are driving hard at auto cross or off-road.

It installed in moments, and was under $50.

You just sit down, clip your belt. Push yourself down and back in the seat, tug the shoulder belt until the lap belt is tight.

To release, you release the seat belt, then release the lever.

One of the cool features is that if you need to let someone else drive you car you can pull the top plate off, and the seat belt acts normally.

12th Mod, Floor Mat Fix

2007-05-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

People that have the Rubber Subaru mats like I do complain they do not stay in place.

There are many theories, but on mine the rubber spikes wore off in the middle of the mat where my feet are, then it just slides around.

What I did was rip a piece of plex down to 1 3/8” on a table saw. Then I used the table saw to put facets on the end to round it.

Then I drilled a half inch hole at the rounded end.

I applied foam double sided tape to the bottom of the ridge that runs most directly toward the peg in the floor.

Then I attached the strip of plex leaving the hole 1 and ½ inches from the edge of the mat. Then I drilled 4, 1/8” holes through the mat, and plex. Then I ran 4 rivets through the plex. My rivets were ½” so I had to cut them down a little. I used wire cutters and a Drimmel for that.

Then I put the mat in the car, putting the peg through the hole.

After driving with it a couple days, I found the plex was popping off of the peg. The peg has a slight bulge about half way up. I should have drilled the hole a little smaller, and then forced it over the peg. Instead I found a rubber grommet, and forced it onto the peg which should keep everything in place.

11th Mod, Painting Covers

2007-05-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Once I modified my grill for the intake mod I realized I would need to paint it.

So I decided to match the belt cover, intake duct, and fuse cover.

I painted them today. The color is a black metallic flake. it is pretty subtle, but in the sun it really pops.

10th Mod, Grill Reduction

2007-05-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

I have not butt dyno'd it yet.

Here is the intake modification concept.

Under the front of the hood of my car there are two gaskets. One is on the leading edge of the grill, and the other runs alone the top of the radiator cross member and over the intake snorkel.

So the air going into the snorkel has to go in through the grill, hit the radiator, and back up through the narrow gap between the radiator and the back of the grill.

What I decided to do was remove as much material as I could without destroying the grill.

I cut out the left 2 sections, the third one couldn't hurt, but I doubt it will help.

You can see in this picture what I have done.

The white tape represents the contact points for the gaskets. You will notice 2 large holes on the left, and a small gap on the right. The left hole looked like the right, stock so you can see I have openned up the gap by 200%-300%.

9th Mod, Rear Sway-Bar Upgrade

2007-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

WOW, I have to say, by far the best mod yet. You can see in the picture the difference in size. The stock one is 17 mm in dia. and the new one is 22mm. Also the new one has 3 mounting holes, the further out ones being softer than the further in ones. I mounted mine through the stiffest hole so I could really really feel the difference.

The ride difference was noticed immediately. The ride is stiffer in the rear, and the body lean as little as it was has been cut to almost zero.

There is almost no sensation of speed in the corners. Autocross this weekend is going to be a total new experience.

The sway bar was $144 from a online store from Boulder, CO and I would HIGHLY recommend a 22 mm sway bar for the rear of your WRX, or upgrading your sway bars.

I did a quick study to see what difference the bar made analytically. I jacked up the passenger rear tire until it was Approx 1/8" off of the ground. Then I measured the space between the top of the tire and the wheel well.

Then I calculated the difference between the space from the jacked up, and ground side. Then I compared the difference after the sway bar. Before the bar there was a 2 1/2" difference in wheel clearance. Afterwords there was a 1 1/8" difference. This is a 55% reduction in the deflection of the rear "axle". I don't have the tools to calculate how much stiffer the bar is, but it seems it will take 55% of the rear end roll out.

I found a chart online, and switching from a 17mm to a 22mm adds 180% stiffness. With the stiffest seting being further in than stock, there is a chance this sway bar has 300% the stiffness of the original bar.

Auto Cross Numbers

2007-04-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I received my auto cross numbers. A guy a work named Robert, numbers/decals dirt track cars as a side job, and made them for me.

When you run SCCA SoloII (auto cross) you have a class you run in, and within the class you need to have aunique number for the day.

I got 2 of each (one for each side) 1,0,9.

The numbers are blue chrome on a white magnetic sheet.

My favorite number is 9. But 09 is cool, and with the 1 I can be 19, or 91. The 9 can also be flipped over to be a 6. Overall there are 21, 1-3 digit numbers I can make for my car.

I will try to take a picture that shows the refection of the blue.

I feel like they will make me go faster!!!

8th Mod, Resonator Delete

2007-04-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

There are several choices for an intake on a car. I have had a cold air intake before, and they are great. The WRX has a ram air scoop that pulls air from under the front of the hood. This air goes into a resonator in the wheel well, and back into the filter, and engine. I like that layout.

What I did was install a resonator delete elbow. This elbow removes the resonator, and opens up the intake. The only negative should be noise, which I want.

In the picture the delete elbow is in the foreground. The stock resonator is in the background. You can see that the elbow has the same in and out openings, and top mount point, but obviously the delete elbow doesn't have the milk jug sized resonator.

7 th Mod, Battery Tiedown

2007-04-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

This mod is probably just as affective as the DRL delete. It is mainly just a fun thing. It replaces the stock pressed metal piece with a nice CNC milled tie down which looks like a wrench.

This mod was so easy to do, I actually did the whole replacement while on a 5 minute call with my wife.

Looks good.

6th Mod, Power Alternator Pulley

2007-04-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

This mod was replacing the stock alternator pully with a larger diameter pulley.

This under drives the alternator, reducing it's revolutions in comparison with the crank. This means that in a certain period of time the alternator will have fewer revolutions, and there by will have absorbed less power.

The new pulley looks good, and I have not had the low power problems I had with them on my Accord.

In the picture, the pulley laying on top is the stock pulley, and the one you can see through the shroud is the new one. Maybe 20% bigger in diameter.

5th Mod, Lightened Carnk Pulley

2007-04-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

This mod was to replace the stock crank pulley with a lighter one. The replacement pulley is 4 pounds lighter than the stock. The replacement is 2 pounds, and the original is 6. This is a large

weight reduction because it is part of the rotating mass of the engine. That means that every time you hit the gas, energy is spent just getting the part to turn, and not on speeding up the engine.

The replacement was pretty straight forward. Definitly need a cheater bar, braker bar, 22 mm socket and torque wrench.

Took me maybe 1/2 hour.

The first pic is the stock pulley the second is the replacement.

4th Mod, Short Shifter

2007-04-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today I installed a short shifter. This is a shifter designed to reduce the hand travel required to shift gears.

The stock one is on top, the replacement is below.

The ball on the bottom goes in a stationary socket in the car, and the cross tube mounts to the shifter linkage.

Overall they are the same length, but you can see the point where the linkage attaches is probably 25% higher up the shifter.

The improvement is apparent. Much less travel. The new part is from DC Sports, and is one solid billet piece. The place where the linkage is attached is a pair of bearings instead of a metal tube in to rubber bushings. The result is a stiff strong short throw like you expect in a sports car.

Love it!

3rd Mod, Insulation Removal

2007-04-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

A guy at autocross pointed out that an aluminium hood should conduct head out of the engine compartment, however there is a fiblerglass panel clipped the the hood.

I feel that it served no good purpose and removed it. Looks better without it.

Autocross

2007-04-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

I love it!!.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocross

A group here in KC called Crown runs half the events here. Their events are going to be at The Woodland's all year.

I had a blast. Probably the best part is that you can meet people that own the same car you have, or different models, and see what they have done to it.

You get 4 runs, I cut about 10% from the first run to the 4th. I think I did really well for a stock car, with no real suspension upgrades.

There were cars from a crappy Lincoln all the way up to Porche's. The was even a formula V racer. I would say 6 cars were trailered. There was even a new Civic, and a couple CRX's. Pretty cool.

2nd Mod, Daytime Running Light Bypass

2007-03-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

For those who are not aware, more and more cars are equipt with daytime running lights (DRLs). Motor cycles have had them for decades. This means if the engine is running, then headlights are on. It uses the low beam bulb, some say with a second filiment. The head lights aren't as bright as regular head lights, I would say they are half as bright.

The fix is to ground out the handbrake sensor switch. Either mechanically locking it open, or cutting the wire, and grounding it. Another fix is to lift the hand brake to the first click. These solutions have a weekness.

When you "trick" the switch, it turns on the "BRAKE" light on the dash, and turn off the DRL's.

I don't like the hand brake click fix beacuse with a stick you are constantly using the hand brake, so you have to remember to let it off, then to one click, then the "BRAKE" dash light comes on, and the handle is up, just kind of messy.

Grounding the switch means the "BRAKE" dash light is ALWAYS on, and the DRL's never work. I myself, another buyer, or passenger may not like the results.

What I did was wire a switch in to the wire to the parking brake sensor switch. I put the switch in the comparment behind the brake. Then I wired from the switch to a ground.

So I can reach into the compartment, and flip the switch, and run without DRLs, and with the "BRAKE" dash light on, or flip it off, and it is stock. The switch is hidden, so the whole thing has a James Bond feel to it.

Some of you may say, "so what". To that I say number one, I did it to prove I could, and imagine not being able to turn off your headlights if you car is running, ever, for any reason, kind of annoying isn't it!!

First Mod, Air Filter

2007-03-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

I upgraded to a K&N lifetime re-washable high flow filter.

The stock filter is on the right side of this picture.

The K&N Filter has a 1,000,000 mile warranty.

Should add some power, but mainly it is a high quality part, and can be clean as often as I want to improve performance without sinking more money into it.

Changing Cars

2007-03-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

I sold my Accord. I really loved that car. It was a good car, never once left me stranded and ran well.

I have purchased a 2004 Subaru WRX. I love it!!! It was my father's, and it is mechanically perfect, which means I am going to bolt on a lot of parts. Why leave a good thing alone when you can make it better???

Yes I am an engineer, why do you ask... :)

Thomas Hardy Ale

2006-07-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today I brewed a REALLY strong beer. It will have 12% alcohol when it is done fermenting. It will probably take at least 2 monthes to be ready to drink. Since this is such a serious beer I thought I would detail it out on my blog.
Here I am steeping the grains in 150 degree water.

I strained, and sparged the grain to get this "Sweet Liqour" .

I brought that to a boil, and added Malt extract, and Hops. There was almost 17 lb of sugar in this wort.

I then cooled the wort in a large round cooler I have.

I added water, and checked my OG, original gravity. 1.124 is VERY high. Most beers would start at say 1.050. Where 1.000 is water.

Here you can see the yeast. It starts out flat, and you break the package inside, and the yeast start eating, and create gas which fills the package. As I say in my "Home Brew Quick Course" this helps you know you are pitching a live culture. a couple hours later I am pretty sure the beer is already creating CO2, and I predict this batch will hit a frenzied bubble in the air lock.

College 1

2006-06-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

I went to K-State from the Fall of '94 through the fall of '98. I graduated with a BS in Industrail Engineering. I worked hard for that degree, but I also played hard. This post is dedicated to the PARTIES!!

Here we go:

By late fall 1995 I had made a best friend. Josh was from a small town in Kansas, and liked hip hop. He was kind of a tough guy. Here we are being buds at a Plaid theme Party. Hey every party can't be a winner.

The next month we had a formal. Josh brought his girlfriend, and I brought one of my good friends from highschool, Nicole. We all had fun. Nicole took an entire day to recover. What a blast.

This is a group picture of all of the guys at the fromal. I am on the left. I could tell you hours of stories about each of these guys, but I won't

Fall '96 we had our annual Sex Wax, and Six Packs Party. Sex Wax is the stuff you put on surf boards so you can stick to the top of the board, and it is also very handy for getting the word "Sex" into a party name. This party started 3-4 years before I came, and got bigger every year. This picture shows may friends. From left to right (Nicole, Mark, "Girl Dave Was Dating", Dave, Steph, me, and Craig.

Here you see Nicole from the formal with our friend Dave from High School.

College 2

2006-06-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

From the same party as above, Sex Wax. Here my buddy Larry is picking me up. Yes he is half my size. I destroyed a pair of jeans to make me look ship wrecked for a beach party, get it? Me neither.

The next couple are a formal in spring '97. This is a picture of me, Craig who was later my best man, I was a groomsman at his wedding and we stay very close to this day, Marty, and Jake.

This is a pic of all of the guys at the formal. I am making some kind of face. Again I could talk for days about this picture, but I won't

Here we are doing a Catalog style picture. Pete is doing the thinker, I am casually checking the time,and Aaron is doing the come hither, chinny chin chin pose. Man we were hot.....

These next two are from fall '98 this was my last one while in the house. This is a pic of all the guys.
Being one of the oldest guys in the house at this point, I really knew each of the guys, and I am proud to call them all my brothers.

Here is a shot of My Wife, me, my roomate, and his girlfriend (wife now I think).

What a great time college was. I guess I should end with this one????

AEM Cold Air Intake

2006-06-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hear you can see the Stock Air Intake for my 1997 Accord. The black box next to the battery contains the filter, and there is a resonator box in the wheel well, which is fed by the "snorkel" that sticks up between the filter box and the head light.

Here you can see the installed Cold air intake. The smooth tube goes straight into the wheel well, and attaches to the Filter

This is a picture of the kit. The filter on the right is positioned through the wheel well onto the end of the tube. The round thing in the foreground if a bypass valve. It is a release valve so that if you submerge your filter in water, you won't suck water into your engine. I left it off when installing. When I installed the intake I noticed that the end of the intake was about 14 inches off of the ground. I made a decision that I should never be in water that deep anyway, and accepted the risk, and left it out. It is your call, but I can't think of a time when I would be most of the wheel deep in water. If I am I will turn off the engine, and pray.

This intake is LOUD. The intake really adds a lot of sound. I like it. It is only when you really hit the gas.

I added an APEX RC Sport exhaust, and it is smooth and throaty.

I added power pulleys too. Here is a picture. I replaced the Power Steering Pulley, and the alternator pulley with these over sized pulleys, which rotate the shafts slower taking less power from the engine. Here you can see the stock power steering pulley laying on top of the newly installed Power pulley. Below that you can kind of see the new alternator pulley. A friend put it best. Power pulleys make the car run like the A/C is off, when the AC is on. Then when you turn off the AC, that is the kind of power gain you get. Noticeable, but not earth changing. Definitely worth the money.

With all of these improvements my car is more fun to drive. I added maybe 15 HP, but the throttle response is much better. The throttle used to lag a lot, now I can "chain saw it" in neutral.

Sacramento Jazz Jubilee

2006-05-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the 2006 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

It was a great time.

I met my father out there, he lives in Colorado, and we see each other for a couple weekends, and a week each year.

It was a good excuse to hang out all day, and drink beer. The weather was great, highs in the mid 70's.

My fraternity brother Julian was really great. He picked me up at the airport, and took me out to dinner with his family. He was really cool.

The Jazz Jubilee is primarily an occasion where 80 something’s get together for hip conversation. That would conversations about their hip replacements.

The music was good. There were some poor ones, but Zydeco Flames was a pretty exciting Zydeco band, and the Climax Band had a Cornet (Trumpet) player that was probably the best I have ever seen, and I played trumpet, and always pay attention.

The website is http://www.sacjazz.com/, and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza Hotel. I recommend it for a good OLD time..

New Dog

2006-05-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is Mini, she walked into our yard 2 weeks ago, we gave her to animal control, waited a week, and adopted her. She is probably a Vizsla mix. She has lots of energy, and is holding her own against Magnus.

Favorite Quotes

2005-10-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Killing the dog does not cure the bite.
Abraham Lincoln

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
Confucius

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.
Confucius

If two people always agree, one of them is not needed.
Confucius

Home Brew Recipes

2005-10-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Get "Clone Brews", and "Beer Captured" by Tess Szamatulski, Mark Szamatulski. They are $10-$15 and have 150 recipes each. Clone Brews has the more main stream of the two, but you won't find many macros in either of them.

I recommend the Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout Clone, it is awesome!!

Images

2005-10-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

These are image I use for linking on other forums

These are a couple cool drives I have found.

This is my own beer label. A guy I worked with made it for me. It is modeled after a Boddington's Pub Ale label.

Magnus, My Great Dane

2005-10-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is Magnus he is a 4 year old Great Dane. He is a standard color for them called Harlequin.

He is 37" tall at the shoulder, and is 120 lbs.

He sleeps in the bed with me and my wife.

He is the biggest puppy..

Home Brewing Quick Course

2005-10-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick and dirty homebrew how to.

To Bottle, or Keg.

If you have the money, and are certain you will keep on brewing, get a kegging system.

If you are trying it, bottle.

When bottling you have two choices.

A. Buy new bottles
B. Collect used bottles.

A.
The advantage of buying new is that you can buy flip top, Grolch style bottles that do not require caps. Or you can buy all the same type of home brewing bottles, and these kind will work with a “wing” capper. Wing cappers are cheap, and come with all most all starter kits.

The down side is that you will spend nearly $.35 for a bottle, and you will need around 52. Flip top bottle cost $2-$3 EACH. Caps are cheap, 144 for $3. I personally don’t like the 22 oz bottles. Only 12 oz’s fit in a glass, and the rest gets hot, or yeasty.

B.
Collecting bottles is pretty cheap. You CAN NOT use twist off bottles. If you buy say Warsteiner, Pilsner Urquel, Harp, Bass, or other high dollar beers, you will spend say $24 a case or $1.00 per bottle, so that would mean you are paying $.65 for the beer, over the cost of an empty, and you get to drink great beer. Your friends that you share beer with, may collect their empties for you. You are much less worried if someone keeps one of your collected bottles, where flip top, or “wing” capper specific bottles will be very hard to part with.

The down side is that you will have to buy a bench capper, but I prefer them anyway, the wing ones are scary. Wing cappers are like $11, but they use leverage off of the “collar” below the top of the bottle, so they only work with certain bottles. I got my bench capper for $15, and will cap ANY standard openning bottle. It is basically a table top press. You will also need to clean out the bottles, and remove the labels.

Bottle Prep: I would start this 1 yr to 6 mo. before brewing. What you do is when you finish a crown top (non-twist) bottle you rinse the last bit of beer out. Then place them in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket upright. You can get 16 bottles on the bottom of the bucket. Once you have a full batch of 16 take a pitcher, and add hot tap water into each bottle, and the bucket until all of the bottles are covered. I usually add soap as I add water to keep the bucket from getting funky, and to get a soap cleaning of the bottles. Let them soak for 1 hour, and then peal the labels. I took the labels and decoupaged my beer fridge with them with some paste (looks great). Once all of the labels are off rinse them out, let them stand, pour the last bit of water out, and put them in empty cases. I use Budweiser, and Bud light cases, because the expensive beers tend to come in paper 12 packs. A case of bottles box will work to, I just put four 6-pack holders in it.

Overall for bottling you will need 52 bottles per brew, caps, and a capper that is compatible.

Brewing equipment

POT: You will need a pot that can hold at least 4 gallons. It must be inert, not Aluminum, or Copper, they affect the beer. I bought mine at a hardware store. You might pony up for a thicker bottom pot to avoid scorching. I have electric burners, and get small hot spots in the bottom. Wouldn’t probably be a problem with gas. Mark the outside of the pot every half gallon. If you use cold tap water the thin pots will sweat showing exactly where the water level is.

Thermometer: I recommend an electronic roast thermometer. They make floating thermometers, but they don’t work well in low fluid levels, and are glass and hot glass is destined to break. The electronic roast thermometer I have has a 7” or so probe, a base, and a remote. You can program it with an alert. Say you are supposed to keep something at 150 degrees for 20 minutes, you can set an alert at 150, and when it crosses 150 you get an alarm. I really like this feature. The remote communicates with the base and will show you the temperature, and sound alerts. The only weakness of these thermometers is that the probe cannot be submerged all the way to the cord; I use a short string, and two clamps to suspend the probe over the wort with just the last inch in the liquid. I also use one of those small dial roast thermometers as back up, and while I cool the wort.

Spoon: to stir wort. I recommend a long stainless steel spoon.

Strainer: Muslin cloth or fine mesh strainer

Sanitizer: You can use bleach water, but it will discolor your clothes, and REALLY hurt the taste of the beer if you don’t get it all off. I recommend using one of the available powder sanitizers. They are cheap like $3 for 5 batches worth. You must clean and sanitize all equipment that will touch the wort, except the pot, and a stirring spoon, and anything else that touches the wort before it boils, they get sanitized during brewing

Scale: You can start with kits, but once you want to go free lance a scale is important. I bought a $29 one at Office max. You only need to weigh up to 5 pounds max .1 ounce at a time.

Ingredients: per recipe or kit, Malt extract, Hops, Grains, yeast. I recommend using Irish moss to clear, clarity is important, and Irish moss is cheap.

Hydrometer: These are a simple float that will show you the density of your wort/beer. These are a must. They usually come with a measuring column, you will need one.

Fermenting equipment

Fermenters: You can start with one plastic fermenter. I would recommend a plastic fermenter, and a glass carboy. Mark the plastic fermenter at 5 gallons.

Breathers: Plastic Fermenters have lids, and glass carboys have bungs, both have holes that accept a breather. Breathes work on the same principle as a pea trap in a sink. As the beer ferments it creates CO2, which builds pressure, and pushes through the water in the breather, but air has no pressure to get back into the fermenter.

Siphons: I use a siphon, they come with one straight tube about 18” long on one end, and a cane on the other end that is 32” tall with the siphon attached at the handle end of the cane. There is a sediment cap on the cane end. They also have auto siphons; they are basically a combination of siphon, and a “starter pump”. You set the siphon up, and plunge it once, which starts the siphon. I guess if the price is right, go for it, but siphoning with your mouth isn’t that hard, and the pump would be a little harder to clean.

Bottling Equipment

Bucket or siphon:

Siphon: You can use the siphon from fermenter with the sediment cap on the cane end, and a bottling valve on the straight tube end. You siphon the beer into the bottles, and lift the valve off of the bottom of the bottle to stop it.

Advantage: Cheap
Disadvantage: Kind of hard to get the bottle full enough since the filler is displacing an ounce or two of the beer.

Bucket: They work well; they are very easy to get the right level in the bottle. Disadvantage is that it’s another piece of equipment to clean, and buy.

Capper: See above use a winged with purchased or proper type bottle, bench capper for the rest, or not at all with flip top bottles.

Sanitizer: To start you can use a bucket full of sanitizing liquid, and dunk the bottles. I recently bottle a bottle sanitizing pump, and love it.

Brewing Process: For the purpose of this part I will assume you have a kit, or the proper ingredients.

1. Prepare Yeast: Yeast comes in 3 main forms, White lab tubes, Wyeast “Slap Packs”, and dried packets. I like the slap packs the best. White labs, and Wyeast have specific cultures for specific beers, and both are refrigerated. Both need to be warmed to 70 degree, so set them out when you start preparing to brew. The tubes are just a plastic test tube with yeast in it. The slap packs are a Capri Sun like Mylar pouch which have an activator surrounding a yeast packet. Once it has warmed up a little from the fridge, slap the packet to open the yeast, and get it going. The slap pack will start expanding as the yeast starts to work with the activator. This is why I prefer slap packs, they are “Guaranteed” if the pack is growing you have growing, healthy yeast, the other two are guesses, though I have not had any yeast fail.

2. Steeping grains: Place the grains in warm water (usually 150) for a period of time per recipe.

Strain method: I prefer to just put the grains in the water, in a smaller pot, and the strain the water into a brew pot, and sparge (rinse) the grains with the same temperature water, and strain that into the brew pot too. Then add water to total volume required in the recipe. I feel this gets better grain utilization. This is the method used in Clone Brews recipes.

Muslin bag method: There will be a muslin bag with most kits. It will look like a sock. I like to place the bag inside if a bowl and stretch the opening over the top of the bowl. Then you put the grains in it, and tie a knot. Then you steep the whole bag like a tea bag in the water. When the time is up you simple pull out the bag, and discard the whole thing. I think the utilization is poor, but it is very easy.

Adding malt extract (sugar), and bittering hops.

Bring the volume of water to a boil.
Remove from heat
And the bittering hops
And Malt extract, honey, corn sugar, or inverted syrup
Malt extract comes in two forms, DME “Dried Malt Extract” it is tan, and is what is added to milkshakes to make malts. DME is like malt powdered sugar. The other form is malt extract syrup. This comes in cans or jars. Malt extract syrup is very similar to molasses. The others are pretty obvious. Corn sugar is very similar to cane sugar.
Stir while bringing to a boil.

The boil

Boil for approximately 45 minutes.
Add flavoring or aroma hops.
Add Irish moss.
Boil for another 15 minutes.

fill fermenter

Cool wort to 70 degrees.
Ice bath is the simplest method, fill sink with ice water, and place the brew pot in, and stir the wort.
Pour through a strainer into the plastic fermenter.
Discard the hops that strain out.
Once all the wort is in the bucket add water.
Almost all recipes are for around 5 gallons of beer. This is why carboys and plastic Fermenters will hold 6 gallons. Stop adding water a couple of quarts short of the “full” 5 gallon level.
Check the Original Gravity with the hydrometer.
The hydrometer will float higher the denser the liquid and the converse too. The specific gravity is read at the fluid level. The recipe will tell you the expected range of OG.
If you are low, don’t ad anymore water, if high add water until you are within the range.
Pitch the yeast into the fermenter by pouring the yeast into the wort.
Put on the lid, and insert the breather half full of water.

Ferment

Ferment for a week,
Move to Carboy.
Add bung, and breather
Check for the Final Specific Gravity.
It is VERY important that fermentation has stopped, other wise there will be too much fermentation in the bottles, and you will get VERY fizzy beer. I did this, and besides beer brats they were a waste. Gravities won’t always hit dead on due to grain utilization, temperatures of the steep, how hard your water is, but if the breather in the carboy has leveled out, and the Final SG is close you are good.

Bottling

Boil 2 cups water, and bottling sugar for 10 minutes, add to bottling bucket (or plastic fermenter)
Siphon beer into bottling bucket or plastic fermenter.
Fill cleaned and sanitized bottles with beer.
(I like to run them through the dishwasher for the extra cleaning, and sanitizing heat.)
Cap with a sanitized caps.
I use a sharpie to mark the cap with a recipe abbreviation. You can also make labels.

Beer handling

To repeat Sanitation is key

Keep out of UV light, I wrap my carboy in a blanket to block out all light. Keep bottled beer in a dark closet in the basement.

Keep bottled beer cool. I have a basement closet that runs about 65 degrees. This is ideal, still warm enough to bottle condition, but cool enough to help preserve.

Don’t let the beer get hot, say over 80 degrees, home brew has no preservatives, and the flavor will be damaged.