This post is full of bullshit excuses.

In my last blog, I mentioned that I planned on releasing a car-related YouTube video in a few days. About a week has passed since I wrote those words, and I don’t particularly enjoy feeling like I’ve fibbed or lead someone astray. So instead, here is a list of things I’ve encountered in the last week while attempting to record the aforementioned video.

A bit of context: the particulars of the video I’m trying to record involve a review of a car exhaust part. This involves two core components: a thorough evaluation of the craftsmanship of the part, and then an installation and reflection on the performance of the part.

The first hurdle I encountered was a technical one. The main camera that I use for video is a Canon Rebel T4i. I’ve had the T4i for 4 years or so. I’ve used it for everything from taking headshots to street photography, car show pics to audition video. The quality of the photos is exceptional, especially with the suite of lenses that I have available. Unfortunately, when it comes to video, it left something to be desired.

The issue is the auto focus mechanism. Canon makes three lens actuation types that fit the T4i: Standard, STM, and USM. Of those, the STM lenses are the best for video because the servo/gearing mechanism that they use is very quiet. Unfortunately, all three of my lenses are of the Standard variety, and servo drives are very noticeable during video capture. I hear tons of servo clicking throughout the video, which is incredibly annoying (see video below). Of course, I could turn off the autofocus, but that limits me in terms of what I can do in frame. For example, if I want my face to be the primary focus and then move to the car, I have to reset the focus manually, which is a pain for continuous shots.

To mitigate that, I ordered a Canon 18-55mm EF-S STM lens off of ebay, which was due to arrive Saturday. Unfortunately, it appears to be doing loops between USPS facilities, and hasn’t arrived yet. Hooray.

The second obstacle has been a common one: old, rusted bolts. On the existing part in question, there are two bolts that connect the front half of the exhaust to the rear half at the Y-pipe. They are heavily corroded, and even my electric impact wrench can’t get them off with ~100 ft-lbs of torque (that’s real, I’ve tested it that high). I will hit them with penetrating fluid as soon as the weather breaks…which is the third problem.

The weather in Kansas has been just awful for the last few weeks. We’ve had snow and icing non-stop through the span, and it shows no signs of letting up over the next two weeks. This is killing me, because I live in an apartment complex and cannot wrench on the car in this mess. It’s just too cold and too wet. In the long term, I’m hoping to find a wrench space for rent to shoot these videos, but things like bookgaragetime.com have not taken off in the KC area yet. So until then, I must wait for a sunny day.

The last challenge I face is knowledge-based. I do know a fair bit about mechanical engineering, but when it comes to welds (a major topic regarding exhaust) my experience is a tad limited. I’ve taken a how-to class on TIG welding, practiced a little MIG, and played with a stick welder, but I am by no means a pro. So, when I went to critique the welds on the part, I felt a bit out of my element and inauthentic. I’ve been rectifying that over the last few days by learning as much about welds and weld inspection as I can, though most of it is related to structural welds and irrelevant to these parts. It has still been a fascinating endeavor and I’m glad I took the time to explore it. I can guarantee there will be plenty more times like that, as I don’t know everything…

…even though I claim to. Hopefully, my next post will be a pleasant review of the video-making experience. ’til then, so long!