Just got home from work. After a few days of snow even though the temps were at or above freezing it was 18* outside at 4am and everything was crunchy walking from the truck to the house. Maybe I should have taken my jacket to work? Heck, Wednesday at 4am it was 40* here and snowing. I guess finally having clear skies let the heat out.
Yesterday my Banks Power Monster Ram intake system arrived and after I eat a big bowl of chili I will follow their directions and make sure I have every part that belongs in the kit. I do not have any other "go fast" parts on my truck but their tests show this system allows 88% better airflow over the stock system and the reduced back pressure between the turbo and the engine allows the turbo to work less and it reduces the strain on the turbo and reduces the exhaust temperatures by about 200* or more at cruising speed. It makes sense, less back pressure so the turbo can spin easier and better air flow to the engine allowing more power production that will turn the turbo faster improving boost and creating more power. It isn't a perpetual motion machine but I should see much better throttle response and better mileage. They have a very informative video on their airflow testing and comparison to the other brands products, plus after watching videos by others who installed this showed lower exhaust temps and performance. I am not expecting the moon, and I don't buy into the claims of most companies that say adding their product to your vehicle will get you 50 more horsepower, but For safety reasons I felt the need to get rid of the factory part that is known to fail and install something decent that I believe will work without problems. Besides, what's a thousand dollars to the average Joe trying to dig himself out of a financial hole?
Work was rather annoying tonight. Our boss is off until Tuesday so an assistant manager was running the show. He was getting frustrated at the roller belt we use to send boxes from the truck to the sorting area. It kept stopping and boxes kept falling to the floor. I explained to him the problem and he said we should ask to have it replaced. That lead to a 10 minute conversation where I told him I have been asking for that for 2 years and we have put in repair requests but nothing gets fixed or replaced. His reply was "they are buying 2 new forklifts for the store but they can't afford a conveyor belt." I expect nothing from this conversation. He may know what he knows but he always has the deer in the headlights look, and even if he did pass it along to the store manager it was within the last couple of weeks where the store manager said the conveyor belts are too expensive to replace. He doesn't care, he doesn't have to do the work and deal with the problems, he just has to tell us to work faster so we can get done within the time frame the computer sets for us for each truck load. Ugh, I hate incompetent leadership.
I have been sleeping better. Usually 4 to 6 hours at a time of good sleep. It is still to soon to claim victory but I think my latest assortment of natural supplements are helping with the insomnia. The extra sleep has helped me feel better during the day and I think that is a circle effect on helping me fall asleep easier and sleeping better.
I will end this with...... Our direct from the rancher ground beef makes way better chili than anything we ever bought at a store or butcher shop. Mmmm, mmm good.