CaddyInfo Video Chat 2013-04-04

[Bruce Nunnally]

This was our first attempt at a CaddyInfo Video Chat using Google+ Hangouts.

Bear with us a bit as we learn to use the technology but I am excited about this approach.

We plan to do more of these on Thursday nights -- let me know if you want to join the chat live. Even if you can't join us on air, you will be able to watch the video live here on the forum.

[Texas Jim]

The video chat was fun....

I just need to get a decent webcam.

Camera phones are not very good for this...

[Bruce Nunnally]

My previous 96 STS exhaust article: http://www.caddyinfo.com/exhausttest.htm

[Cadillac Jim]

The video chat was a lot of fun. At first I was a bit stage-shy about being on live TV, an experience I haven't had since about 1979. I especially liked the way our viewpoints were quite distinct and covered the same topics from very different viewpoints. We will have Mike online live next time and that will help even more.

The Google+ limit of nine participants is probably a software/hardware limit in data rates and processing to keep everything synchronized. There were occasional problems with just four of us. I think that impromptu discussions with a bunch of independent actors like the participants tonight will hit a point of diminishing returns with five or six participants; after that the level of participation of each member will get too low and things will get frustrating for some of us. But we don't have to have the same people every week, and some weeks will have people indisposed for one reason or another so we can have regulars and guests, rotating different guests every week, or whatever works.

Tonight we had a heads-up that we would be talking about the ATS and about "why Cadillac." I needed to look into the ATS because I haven't had a lot of time lately and it is a really new car, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The "why Cadillac" answers just seem to come from personal experience in being introduced to Cadillac in the past. Tonight, Texas Jim said it all best.

[Bruce Nunnally]

This will be a nice add -- found a toolbox app that adds lower third titles for each participant, and graphic overlay.

Bruce on Google+ : https://plus.google.com/111669618335209044868/posts?hl=en-US

[Bruce Nunnally]

Cadillac Chat in a Google+ Hangout? Count me in! Last evening we had our first CaddyInfo Cadillac Chat using Google+ Hangouts.

Read More: http://caddyinfo.com/wordpress/caddyinfo-cadillac-chat-and-learning-google-hangouts-motorama-gmchat/

[Cadillac Jim]

We all need to work on our webcam lighting. I got mine working in the daytime when principal lighting is from two windows to my left but found that my face was in darkness at the beginning of the telecom. Faces that are lit by the computer screen are not particularly flattering.

I plan to get a lamp for telecoms to put on the computer table that will provide a soft warm light from above and to the front, and work with it and the webcam at night so I can tell what we will be working with before the next one.

[Bruce Nunnally]

If you start a hangout with just yourself in it you can adjust for lighting; (just don't invite anyone else)

[Cadillac Jim]

I believe that the mufflers in the Borla cat-back system that Bruce installed on his 1996 STS back in the day were Super Turbo mufflers. These were also installed by dealers as a performance upgrade. These have an S-turn inside that allows them to eliminate all harshness while providing a minimum of restriction. The original design was for the turbo Corvair, which needed to meet noise regulations and provide a sound that remained in good taste for a production, warrantied car suitable for use as a daily driver, while not adding restriction to a turbo exhaust system. The design concept has become an industry standard for performance mufflers with a minimum of restriction.

When I asked you for a Borla part number, you gave me 40658, which is from Borla's "Super-Trubo" line of stainless steel mufflers that meets OEM reliability requirements. I believe that is the muffler that dealers used in performance options on new cars ans upgrades on customer cars. This muffler was out-of-stock for months when my car was rear-ended in September, 2006, but the closest I could get in a timely fashion was the Borla 40357, which I was assured were "equivalent" to the 40658. When they came, I observed that they were indeed equivalent to the 40658 in that they were about the same size and were center/offset 2.25" inlet/outlet - but they were straight through, and about two inches of daylight is visible through them in spite of the offset. I later found that part number in the Borla ProXS series, not their Super Turbo series. Borla offers their ProXS mufflers for custom exhaust systems for which they take no responsibility whatsoever, which I take to mean off-road and racing, but not necessarily street legal, with no assurance of meeting noise regulations.

The inherent design of the 1993-1999 Northstar exhaust system (shorty four-into-one, crossover from the front manifold to a two-to-one collector that feeds the cat, a single arrow-straight 3" pipe to the rear Y, 2.25" piples to rear mufflers that have another Y with dual tips attached) is inherently not at all harsh, even with no mufflers at all. The ProXS mufflers remove the last trace of harshness, but leave an unmistakable V8 sound like a big 50's V8. I also have a low-restriction cat (stock intake, output, oxygen sensor bosses welded onto a 49-state OBD-certified general application low restriction cat). The result of all that is a commanding bass exhaust note that is particularly noticeable at idle when there is little other exhaust sound.

I like the sound, my wife likes the sound, I got complements on the sound and on the car ever since I put these on, I never got any complaints, and the police just don't notice the sound. So, not only did I leave them on, I recommend them for those who want a *real* V8 sound from their Northstar.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Our second CaddyInfo Cadillac Live Video Chat / Hangout will be Thurs evening at 8 CT / 9 ET / 6 PT. I'll post the link on CaddyInfo if you want to watch live, or you will be able to watch on youtube after.

[Cadillac Jim]

Here's my suggestion to improve lighting. Use a simple working light from the hardware store to light the wall and ceiling behind the monitor. The indirect lighting will provide front-lighting for your face without blinding you. Supplies:

Results later. It's not sundown yet so I must wait for dark to set it up and try it out.