JANUARY January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 1

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1 JANUARY 2010 January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 1

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4 January 2010 Volume 40 No. 1 Club Website Zündfolge Staff Editor-In-Chief Lucetta Lightfoot P.O. Box Seattle, WA lucettalightfoot@msn.com Columnists Dave Cook Aaron Kimpton Wayne Mulholland Michael Olsen Display Advertising Jim Millet jimngloriamillet@comcast.net Photographer & Photo Editor Duane Montagne National Office BMW CCA National Office South Main Street, #201 Greenville, SC Phone: Fax: bmwcclub@aol.com Join the BMW CCA Renew your membership Change of Address Contact the BMW CCA Portland ACA Club BMW ACA Portland Office P.O. Box 3491 Portland, OR Phone: Postal Notice Zündfolge (USPS ) is published monthly (except December) by the BMW CCA Puget Sound Region. Office of Publication: 5135 Ballard Avenue NW, Seattle, WA Subscriptions are $10 annually (available only as part of the $40 membership fee). Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, WA. Postmaster, send address changes to: Zündfolge PO Box 1259 Bellevue, WA Boilerplate This magazine is the monthly publication of the BMW CCA, Puget Sound Region, and remains its property. All information furnished herein is provided by the membership for members only. Ideas, suggestions and opinions, technical or otherwise, are those of the authors, without authentication by or liability to the editors or the Club. Zündfolge design and layout by Paulette Eickman KALENDER January 5 Deadline for the February Zündfolge issue: all submissions must be received by this date. They may be sent to the Zündfolge Editor at lucettalightfoot@msn.com. from the editor Club Activities 3 Motorsports 7 Live to Drive 14 January 7 Board Meeting: starting time is 6:45 p.m. All members are welcome to attend. Contact the Club President to RSVP and for meeting location. January 28 Board Meeting: starting time is 6:45 p.m. All members are welcome to attend. Contact the Club President to RSVP and for meeting location February 2 Deadline for the March Zündfolge issue: all submissions must be received by this date. They may be sent to the Zündfolge Editor at lucettalightfoot@msn.com. Patronize Our Advertisers! The PRO3 Line 18 Classified Marketplace 20 All contributions and correspondance with the Zündfolge staff need to be sent to Lucetta Lightfoot, the Zündfolge editor, at lucettalightfoot@msn.com. Submit all photos as 350dpi tifs at 100% size. Submit text display ads as 800dpi tifs. Items submitted for publication will not be returned. Contact Jim Millet at jimngloriamillet@comcast.net for information about display ads. Send all address change notices to bmwcclub@aol.com. The Zündfolge staff is always looking for volunteers. If you want to help contact the editor. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Please limit phone calls to these volunteers to between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. President Mike Ellis ss337@comcast.net Vice President Tom Olsson (c) treasurer@bmwpugetsound.com Secretary Lynne Eskil (c) lynne.d.eskil@boeing.com Treasurer David Lightfoot (c) dec@bmwpugetsound.com Banquet Coordinator de-anna Martin (h) demartin@pc-resource.com Concours Coordinator Michelle Miller wearethemillers@clearwire.net Membership Coordinator Scott Winn (c) twowinns@mac.com Risk Management Richard Milham rjmilhamlaw@aol.com Roster Manager Louis Hesselt van Dinter muman@eskimo.com February 6 Save the Date for the Annual Banquet and Auction: Details in this issue. Questions can be directed to de-anna Martin at or via at demartin@pc-resource.com. Volunteers Needed: Contact de-anna Martin at or demartin@pc-resource.com for details. All aspects of help is appreciated to help ensure the event is a success. Donations Needed: Contact Jennifer Venter at or jennifer@venter.us for details. Any donation is appreciated, including non-car related items. Auction proceeds will benefit Rise n Shine! SIG Coordinator Lance Richert lance@richertnet.com Tech Events Coordinator Jeff Butler (w) jeff@hauryscollision.com Tour Coordinator Scott Hieronymus (c) scottnlaurie2@comcast.net Track Chief Driving Instructor Karl Seeger cdi@bmwpugetsound.com Track Event Coordinator Rick Gulstrom (w) rick@gmsarch.com Web Site Coordinator Ken Hill (h) khill178@earthlink.net Zündfolge Advertising Jim Millet (h/w) jimngloriamillet@comcast.net Zündfolge Editor Lucetta Lightfoot (h/w/c) lucettalightfoot@msn.com CCA Pacific Region VP Steven Johnson pacificrvp@bmwcca.org 2 ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

5 2010 Banquet Date and Time The banquet will be held on February 6, 2010, Saturday night sponsored by BMW of Bellevue. The schedule is: SCHEDULE 5:15 Doors Open for Registration/Mingling 5:30 Silent Auction Begins 6:15 First Auction Closing 6:30 Final Auction Closing 6:45 Dinner 7:45 Announcements 8:00 Auction 9:00 Program 9:30 We re Done Place The banquet will be held at the Bellevue Downtown Courtyard by Marriott, NE 8th Street, Bellevue. The location is just off I-405 in downtown Bellevue. From I-405 take NE 8th Street (West) exit toward Bellevue Square. Stay to the right and turn right onto 110th Ave NE. The hotel is on the corner of NE 8th and 110th Ave NE. Free covered parking is available in the hotel building. The banquet is in the main floor Ballroom. We are the exclusive event at the hotel that night. Souvenir Yes, we ll have another commemorative glass courtesy of BMW of Bellevue. Thank you for your support. Dinners The dinner choices include grilled salmon with lemon caper sauce, flat-iron steak with Maytag blue fonduta and for the vegetarian option it is the eggplant parmesan on a bed of wilted greens. All the meals include a mixed greens salad with green apples, feta and toasted walnuts. Along with each entrée is a vegetable and potato/rice, dinner rolls with butter, dessert, and coffee service. Alcoholic beverages are available at the no-host bar. Registration To register go to our website and you will be directed to Motorsports Reg. You ll need to sign-up, but it s free and there you can use your credit card to process your payment. If you are sending a check, please see the Club website for a downloadable form. Dinner Prices $49 per person Postmarked by 12/31/09 $59 per person Postmarked 1/1/10 to 1/22/2010 $69 per person Registered 1/23/10 to 1/29/10 Despite the very reasonable price, this is not a buffet. This is for table service. We ve accounted for everyone s comfort and this year we have a limit on attendance of 240. Thinking of Staying the Night? We ve secured a discounted nightly rate of $85 plus $10 for overnight parking (plus applicable taxes). This rate has been secured for Friday Continued on page 4 January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE

6 JANUARY Banquet Continued from page 3 2/5/10 and Saturday 2/6/10. To make the reservation for this discounted price please call and reference: BMW Car Club Room Block. Five rooms have been blocked for Friday and ten for Saturday. If the block is full, the hotel has graciously agreed to extend the rate pending hotel availability. Please make the reservation by 1/20/10. Attire You don t need to wear a suit and tie, so business casual is your ticket in the door. Come, have fun, socialize with other members but please, no jeans or athletic shoes. Mostly we just want everyone to be comfortable. And be there! Other Clubs and SIG We re extending a special invitation to the members of the BMW Clubs in Portland, Spokane and Vancouver, B.C, as well as the Porsche club. We encourage the various clubs and special interest groups to attend. Get together a group of ten and you will have a whole table for the evening. Please designate a person to save the table for you, as this year we re making it first come first serve for the best seats in the house. Banquet Auction Beneficiary This year s beneficiary is Rise n Shine and more information about their organization can be found on their website. Go to All proceeds from the silent and live auction will go to the Club s donation to Rise n Shine. We encourage you to donate car and non-car related items. Thank you for your support of this worthy cause. Donations and an Opportunity for an Advertising Plug If you have items to donate, contact Jennifer Venter at jennifer@venter.us or via phone at Silent Auction This year we ve gone back to the traditional format of the silent auction, so the only way to get in on the action for the first table is to be there before it closes. Depending on the amount of items we ll have two to three tables. The action for the live auction will keep the room lively. The check-out process for the winners will be opened approximately twenty minutes post the live auction. Keep in mind those checking out during this time will miss the speaker. Volunteer Opportunity Do you want to help with this event? We ll find a job for you. Contact de-anna Martin at or demartin@pc-resource.com. A Final Word Come prepared to hover over the tables while you mingle with your friends and gear up for that always popular live auction. Register now and set the date aside. We re going to have a great time. The final deadline for all registrations is receipt by January 30, We cannot accommodate walk-ins or registration during the last week before the event. If you have questions, please contact de-anna Martin at demartin@pc-resource.com or de-anna Martin Banquet Donors Accutint Seattle Autobahn Custom Detail AutoHaus-Vick Inc Bristow s Exclusive Auto Repair BMW of Bellevue BMW NorthWest BMW Seattle Car Tender Full Throttle Bottles Griots Garage Group 2 Motorsports Haury s Lake City Collision LovittMotors LLC Strictly BMW Independent Service Friend of Rise n Shine Rex Havoc Chris Henry Dane and de-anna Martin Rick North Lance Richert Zündfolge Staff ON THE COVER This month s cover shows Detlef Schrempf when he played basketball for the Sonics. Come hear Detlef at the Club s annual banquet event, on Saturday, February 6, More information about the banquet starts on page three. ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

7 Banquet Speaker: Detlef Schrempf German-born Detlef Schrempf spent most of his basketball career in Washington State. He moved to the U.S. during his senior year of high school, attending Centralia High School. He led the Centralia Tigers to the state title in He played his college basketball at the University of Washington where he was on the All-Pac-10 Team. He majored in international business. He also was a Club member while in college, driving an E21 320i! Detlef was drafted eighth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 draft. His next NBA stop was the Indianapolis Pacers where he won NBA Sixth Man Awards in 1990 and Detlef made his way back to the Pacific Northwest and became a member of the Seattle Sonics in November He played six seasons in Seattle, including the exciting NBA playoffs in The Sonics lost in the NBA Finals to Michael Jordan s Chicago Bulls, but pushed the Bulls to six games. For the seasons, Detlef played with the Portland Trail Blazers. After a remarkable sixteen-year career in the NBA, including being named a three-time All-Star, Detlef retired from playing basketball in June Along the way, he also played for the German national team in the European championships and the Olympic Games. For two seasons, Detlef was an assistant coach for the Seattle Sonics. He is currently in wealth management with Coldstream Capital Management, Inc. in Bellevue, Washington. Detlef and his wife Mari formed the Detlef Schrempf Foundation in 1996 as a result of their belief in the value of a solid family life, and the desire to give back to a community that had given them so much. The foundation is committed to supporting organizations that provide hope, care and assistance for northwest children and their families. To date, the Detlef Schrempf Foundation has raised over $8 million for northwest children s charities. January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE

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9 MOTOR SPORTS This will be my last Motorsports column as we have a changing of the guard. Rick Gulstrom will be the Track Events Coordinator for Rick has been on the Board for many years and is a Past President of the chapter. He ll do a great job with our track events. Rick will also be assisted by the able group that has helped me the last two years. Karl Seeger will remain as Chief Driving Instructor and the other Board member representing our track program. Walt Conley will be Assistant CDI and Eric Bitte will continue as Registrar. Rich Milham continues as Steward of the events. Others involved in event administration are Tom Olsson, Bill Spornitz and yours truly. Plus, and most importantly, we ve got a seasoned group of Instructors we share with several other clubs. These are the people who provide the actual instruction to participants at our events. They are a talented bunch of volunteers. We will be doing our usual Instructor Clinic with the Porsche Club hosting the event in That s for the High Performance Driving Schools. On the Car Control Clinics, Jeff Butler and Chris Mason really took the initiative last year and made huge progress improving these events. They were so popular that they will continue to run concurrently with every HPDS in Dates We have our Pacific Raceway 2010 contract and know our event dates. For those who like to plan ahead, put these dates on your calendar: April 16, May 27, June 24, August 12 and September 16. Those are all Thursdays except the April date, which is a Friday. We also have one more date than 2009, which is good news. Tech Inspections We ve had complaints that our requirement for tech inspections within thiry days of a track event is too restrictive. Some have urged us to go to an annual inspection like the Porsche Club uses. We aren t comfortable with annual inspections but have decided to make tech inspections good for sixty days. This will mean that one tech inspection may be good for two events (if the timing is right). Teenagers at CCC We ve also decided to open up our Car Control Clinics to sixteen and seventeen years olds. They must have a driver s license and be the child of a member. The teen and their parents must sign a Minor Waiver for our insurance. High Performance Driving Schools remain open only to adult members. This change was made in lieu of putting on a Street Survival School for teens. The curriculum is basically the same for a Street Survival School and a Car Control Clinic. But this policy change provides five chances in 2010 for a teen to participate. David Lightfoot d.lightfoot@comcast.net 2010 Driving Events Calendar BMW CCA PSR Events April 16 Driving School & Car Control Clinic at PR May 27 Driving School & Car Control Clinic at PR June 24 Driving School & Car Control Clinic at PR August 12 Driving School & Car Control Clinic at PR September 16 Driving School & Car Control Clinic at PR Contacts: BMW CCA Inland Empire Scott Adare sadare@aol.com BMW ACA, Portland Norm Rein ncreini@bmwacaportland.com BMW Car Club of BC Rolf Drommer schools@bmwccbc.org Bremerton Sports Car Club Dave Ely de2mr2@msn.com NW Alfa Club Brian Williams veloceracer@gmail.com Porsche Club Tom Pritchard DriverEd@pnwr.org Corvette Club Rick Milsow rick.mi@verizon.net January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE

10 BMW Seattle Open House 2010 Board of Directors The Nominating Committee has come up with a full slate of volunteers for the 2010 Board of Directors. None of the positions were contested. The members of the 2010 Board of Directors are: Elected Positions President Mike Ellis Vice President Tom Olsson Secretary Lynne Eskil Treasurer David Lightfoot Banquet Coordinator de-anna Martin Concours Coordinator Michelle Miller Membership Coordinator Scott Winn Roster Manager Louis Hesselt-van-Dinter SIG Coordinator Lance Richert Tech Events Coordinator Jeff Butler Tour Coordinator Scott Hieronymus Photos by Karl Agee. Some photos from BMW Seattle s new location open house held in November. Appointed Positions Track Chief Driving Instructor Karl Seeger Track Events Coordinator Rick Gulstrom Risk Management Richard Milham Web Site Coordinator Ken Hill Zündfolge Editor Lucetta Lightfoot Zündfolge Advertising Coordinator Jim Millet The Nominating Committee: Ken Hill (khill178@earthlink.net) David Lightfoot (d.lightfoot@comcast.net) Steve Questad (snjq7@hotmail.com) ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

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12 Photo by Walt Conley. Photo by Walt Conley. Photo by Walt Conley. Photo by David Lightfoot. Photo by Dane Martin. Photo by Walt Conley. 10 ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

13 These photos are from past Club banquets; come join the fun at the upcoming banquet on Saturday, February 6, 2010! Photo by Walt Conley. Photo by Walt Conley. Photo by David Lightfoot. Photo by Dane Martin. Photo by Walt Conley. Photo by Walt Conley. January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 11

14 J&L Fabricating Those who made it to J&L Fabricating in early November braved torrential rain on the dark Saturday morning journey to Puyallup. But they were rewarded. Fiftysome members and friends were treated to a gearhead paradise. J&L is a hardcore fabricating shop that works on some amazing vintage racecar projects. Often, these old cars need an entire new chassis built in order to be safe. J&L can do it. Projects in the shop included an Elva, a Formula 1 Shadow, a couple of old Lotuses and a Gurney F1 car with Gurney V12. There were also midgets and sprint cars, an echo of J&L and owner Louie Shefchik s racing roots. A 911S was getting a down-to-bare-sheetmetal restoration. Several International Motorsports Association cars from the heyday of that series in the 1980s were also being worked on, including a Kremer Porsche in pristine condition. Back in the Bruce Leven Wing of the shop we saw a March GTP car, a couple of vintage Corvette racecars and a vintage White truck being converted into a hauler for the two Corvettes. Most of the J&L clients remained anonymous, but Bruce Leven was in attendance at the meeting and talked about some of his cars. This included the 3.0CS with CSL-style bodywork you ve all seen on the cover of the Griot s Garage catalog. Seeing this car up-close allowed one to appreciate the amazing craftsmanship J&L put into creating this Bavarian hot rod. Thanks to J&L Fabricating, especially employee Dan, for allowing us to visit this extraordinary shop. David Lightfoot Photo by Karl Agee. Photo by Karl Agee. Photo by Karl Agee. 12 ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

15 Winner of the 2009 ZF Public Service Award It was recently announced that our chapter of the BMW CCA is the proud winner of the $2,000 ZF Public Service Award for donations to various agencies throughout our community. This award is the second year in a row for Puget Sound Region. We donated just over $20,935 in 2008, which qualifies us to be considered the number one most giving chapter in the nation! The Puget Sound Region Board of Directors congratulates and thanks our membership for giving their valuable time to help organize and participate in events that provide venues to give back to our neighbors. Of course your generous donations of dollars at the auction and for registration at events give us the means to make a difference and change lives. The agencies we supported through 2008 are as follows: The beneficiary of the annual dinner/auction, Children s Home Society is an organization that has been around for more than 100 years, ensuring families stay together when situations are not ideal. Western Washington University and their Vehicle Research Institute. The students learn about new techniques in engineering, then make a vehicle even more fuel-efficient. Aerodynamics, weight reduction and alternative fuels are key. Our Concours held the same weekend as Renton River Days donates to The Lions Club of Renton and their youth activities. We have become a staple at this longtime community event. The E30 picnic held at the Issaquah XXX Root Beer Drive-In donates to Life Enrichment Options of Issaquah. These organizations have touched many of our Club members and we feel they are very worthwhile non-profits. The BMW CCA Puget Sound Region Chapter has been a longtime supporter of Seattle s Children s Hospital. We participate in the Car Corral at the Historic Races to benefit Children s and our members work turns flagging at our many driving school events throughout the season to earn money for the cardiac ICU. ZF Friedrichshafen AG is a leading worldwide automotive supplier for driveline and chassis technology located in twenty-five countries. The ZF Public Service Awards are sponsored by one of ZF s U.S. facilities, ZF Sales and Service, North America located in Vernon Hills, Illinois. This forwardlooking company is working to be a catalyst for service and community support throughout the United States and has chosen to support BMW CCA chapters that are working to make their community better. And as an added bonus, BMW CCA Public Service Award matches the donations made by all chapters nationwide. Thank you all. Mike Ellis, President January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 13

16 The Car That Won t Die My driveway goes downhill like a ski slope and ends at the road used by teenagers to set local speed records. About this time last year, as I was approaching this road, the brake pedal of my 733 went all the way to the floor. After a few days at a local BMW independent garage, I received the bad news: after 26 years of loyal service, my beloved 733 had incurred what may be a fatal injury. On most cars, the power brakes are boosted with engine vacuum. The E32 733s are different. The brakes are powered with a hydraulic booster running off the power steering pump. My hydraulic booster had died. It took some time to research this. There isn t a lot of information on this car as it starts to fade into the annals of history. Fortunately, there are still a few die-hard E23 people still out there. By the way, this particular BMW is known as The car that won t die. The hydro booster failure may have been fatal to my 733 because BMW wants almost $1,000 for this part. Okay, I realize that BMWs can be expensive to maintain. With three older models, I ve paid my fair share over the years, but $1,000 for a cast-aluminum cylinder with a plunger in it, come on! I was a machinist in my former life and believe me; this part is just not that special. Rebuilding the part would be as easy as honing out the cylinder a couple thousandths of an inch and replacing the plunger and rubber seal. I scrounged the countryside near and far to find a remanufactured part to no avail. Then I went to scrap yards and found an old friend I had forgotten about. Spalding Auto Parts in Spokane can find anything if they don t already have it in stock. Rick is Spalding s import-car specialist. He found a used hydro booster in Boise for $63, and had it at my door in a few days. I took it to the BMW independent, they slapped it in and bingo I was back on the road. My wonderful 733, the car that just won t die, and me are back in the saddle. Now zoom forward almost a year. Things have been going swell except for my 740 being down for a few months and my 535is needing some driveline attention. My 740 had an issue that I don t want to go into right now but I will in a later article. Anyway, as soon as I got the 740 back on its feet (and I mean just as soon), the 733 discharged blood all over the floor of my garage. It was like the 733 was holding out as long as it could, just waiting for me to have another BMW fixed before it would let its injury be exposed. I know that sounds silly, but hey, what do you expect from a gear head who thinks his cars actually have a soul? It turns out that the used hydro booster gave all it had, but for sixtythree bucks rather than a thousand, I am pretty pleased. So it s back to Rick at Spalding for another used hydro booster. He has several to choose from this time, and zeros in on a car with fairly low mileage. The part looks good and has a thirty-day warranty, but Rick throws a six-month warranty at me. I say, Let s do this thing! The car that won t die will soon be back on the road making its 27th annual winter debut and taking care of my family with the kind of loyalty you could only expect from Lassie. Dave Cook Davecook@liv2drv.net, 14 ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

17 PRESIDENT S CORNER: Reflections and Thanks As usual, the Club s year of activities started with our annual Banquet and Charity Auction. Thank you deanna Martin and company. We had many tours (road trips) throughout the state and one into Oregon. Thank you Scott Hieronymus and Dane Martin. Our Car Control Clinics and High Performance Driving Events were again very popular and well organized. Thank you David Lightfoot, Karl Seeger, Jeff Butler, Chris Mason, and all the instructors. Jeff Butler gets thanks again for conducting several tech sessions. What would a year of activities be without visiting several private car collections? Thank you David Lightfoot. One of the highlights of the year was our annual E30 Picnic, the largest gathering of E30s in North America. The picnic attracted 243 participants from all over North America. Satch Carlson, Editor of the Roundel and Steve Johnson, the BMW CCA VP for the Pacific Region drove their E30s up from San Diego. Many thanks to Lance Richert. The other highlight was our annual Concours, another successful and enjoyable event. Thank you Michelle Miller and company. What would our Club life be without our monthly magazine the Zündfolge? A great big thanks to Lucetta Lightfoot and her staff. A heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers that make this Club successful. Without volunteers there would be no BMW CCA Puget Sound Region. So, next time you attend an event, thank the event organizer and his/her helpers. Mike Ellis, President PATRICK MILLER OMNI 25 years of precision automotive service BRAKE & ALIGNMENT, Inc Ave. NE Kirkland, WA (Totem Lake) January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 15

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19 Tire Rack Street Survival at PIR The teen driver slams on her brakes. Tires squeal, an orange cone gets knocked to oblivion. The driver swerves hard and another orange cone disappears under the car apparently digested before the driver comes to a stop. Inside the car there are only smiles and constructive feedback from an instructor. It wasn t a highway construction zone; it was the first pass a young driver was making at the Tire Rack Street Survival class held this past October at Portland International Raceway. Thirty-seven students, primarily teenagers, were divided into two groups, with one group alternately attending a lively classroom presentation led by Gary Bockman, while the other group is in their vehicles practicing defensive driving skills. Every student has a ridealong instructor for every exercise. What Skills are Taught in a Street Survival Class? Threshold Braking Drill: in cars equipped with ABS, an introduction into how the pedal feels under full ABS conditions. Slalom Exercise: first with widely spread cones to get students used to turning repeatedly, then with additional cones added to make for much tighter turns. This drill teaches how to make quick changes of direction. Turning while Braking Drill: students learn to turn under maximum braking conditions. Street Survival teaches students to look where they want to go and experience how ABS allows a driver to steer around an object under full braking. Emergency Lane Change Drills: students experience how their car handles during a hard turn. Wet Skidpad, with Turns Running Clockwise and Counter-clockwise. The wet skidpad is a tremendous drill for experiencing understeer (most front and all wheel drive cars) and oversteer (experienced by the Miata and BMW in the class). Combined Exercise (don t call it an autocross): puts together a combination of prior exercises, but in a new configuration. Shortly after this class, I received an from one of the student s parents. His son was on a rain-soaked highway on-ramp, when he experienced strong oversteer. He said his son immediately counter-steered into the skid and corrected without much drama. His son said that a week earlier, he would have jumped on his brakes and surely wrecked. One kid, one story makes all the volunteers hard work, worth while. Thank you instructors and staff! 2010 schools will be announced in the coming months. Jim Weidenbaum Tire Rack Street Survival Event Chair BMW CCA PSR Member 23 years of BMW experience Conveniently located in the South Sound area 10 minutes from downtown Tacoma (253) W. 27th - University Place - WA January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 17

20 The PRO3 Line Just Plain Silliness! So for now, I m going to hunker Ah yes! Tis the off-season for racing, Then he spun in front of me down in the warmth of my many heroic or as some believe it to be, the silly escapades on track this season. For me, season! Why silly? Well, this is when and I managed to hop the it was a bit of a magical season to be racer-types have more time on our curb, land on two wheels, sure, so I ll proceed with pumping up hands, the car is put to bed for the pirouette through the chicane each race in my head into something winter, the neglected honey-do list is and stick the landing, while just shy of Ayrton Senna. It s better this being systematically tackled and, well, way, really. our minds tend to wander to a happier adjusting my belts, shifting to (And just to be clear, the car is in the time. A time when racecars filled the third, trail braking, and adding more rear brake bias! should a PRO3 race suddenly break out trailer, ready to go at a moment s notice, tarmac of the local track; a time when the work schedule had to be configured somewhere.) to allow for a tow down to Portland. A Michael Olsen, Club member time when adrenaline flowed like I-5 who drives the Spirit Halloween traffic at midnight on a Sunday. The But then, the euphoria of the off Superstores PRO3 car #130 result of this free time (well, free from season is suddenly shattered when in local ICSCC competition racing. racing) is that our brains start to fabricate events or skew the actual on-track advantages were magically gained while spring time sneaks up on us. Whatever rickshaw_racing@yahoo.com events from the season to favor our our cars sat idle in the garage over the sometimes heroic driving skills. I must winter are suddenly lost completely. have passed like five guys on the start! The driver gained a mystery ten pounds, Or, Then he spun in front of me and I the car loses at least 15 horsepower, the managed to hop the curb, land on two shocks are no good, the alignment is wheels, pirouette through the chicane off, etc., etc. The silly season is quickly and stick the landing, while adjusting my replaced by the reality show known as belts, shifting to third, trail braking, and ICSCC and the Rose City Opener in adding more rear brake bias! Yes, that s Portland. the mindset I m talking about. You ll be pleased to know that having video in the cars is very helpful, if for no other reason than to keep us honest, humble, and well-grounded. Melanie, my ever-supportive, eyerolling spouse, has finally come to accept that the race season never really ends in our household. It just transforms into something more nebulous. The racing action moves to the online forums. Racing buddies show up at odd hours of the evenings to go to the shop and stare at the car, making large gestures with our arms and pointing at obscure parts on the car as if to summon the speed gods to bless the Reaper with special talents. The jokes of trackside are now that much funnier and are retold numerous times. It s the season of love, man! It is during the off season that certain things happen. The car remarkably gains more traction in the corners. The engine produces more horsepower. The driver becomes more skilled. We buy copies of Ross Bentley books and at least start reading them. We watch reruns of Youtube videos and relive (in 10-minute reality segments) the true events of a particular race. 18 ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

21 Saved by Run Flats I ve read many articles lambasting run-flat tires in Roundel. My experience has been quite different: able to repair a flat, reasonable mileage, and reasonably comfortable on rough roads. I left Seattle on September 13, 2009 headed for the East Coast. At that time, I had over 26,000 miles on the Bridgestone Run Flats on my 650i. Having read all the horror stories that you can only get 20 to 25,000 miles on the tires, I anticipated having to replace them some time on my trip as I expected to cover over 10,000 miles. I checked several tire companies and finally decided on one in Lake Worth, Texas assuming that I could make it that far. I drove to Boston via upstate New York and then headed south to Spartanburg, South Carolina for a run on the off-road course at the BMW Performance Driving Center (that will have to wait for another story, but what a hoot!). I checked the tire wear in the Ozark Mountains and decided to try to make it back to Seattle on them. It turned out to be a bad decision. In Denton, Texas, the dreaded Tire Monitor Alarm came on. I pulled off the road and heard a loud hissing sound from the rightrear tire. I inspected the tire expecting to find a nail, but didn t find one. The hissing continued; finally, I reached around the back side of the tire and found that the steel tire cords were exposed and the leak was un-repairable. I carry a tire plug kit and air compressor to try to save the run flats in case of a flat tire (I wrote about this in a previous article). At this point, I was 48 miles from Lake Worth, TX (good guess)! I called the dealer in Lake Worth who said they had the tires in the warehouse and would have them at the facility before I got there. The one thing that the articles in Roundel were correct about, was that runflats are expensive. Four new ones set me back $2,000, but I had planned for this expense. I was going to pump up the tire and drive on, but since the tire was ruined anyway, I decided to press on and test the run-flats. Since the car was loaded quite heavily for my 2-1/2 month trip, I decided to run at 40 mph rather than the 55 that BMW said was OK. Fortunately, the two-lane road to Lake Worth had wide shoulders most of the way and I was able to avoid any freeways. Riding on the runflats was quite an experience. At 40 mph, they were a little bumpy but not too bad. I had to stop for several stoplights along the way (I tried to avoid stopping for lights as best I could). As I slowed down, the tires got really bumpy and went, Thump, thump, thump! Once I got back up to 40 mph they were fairly smooth. About half way to Lake Worth, I considered stopping to check the tires, but heck, I might have found something wrong so on I drove. I was very relieved when I arrived at the tire dealer s facility. When I arrived, the tire looked about the same as when flat occurred and the rims had been protected. When the tire blew, I had 35,300 miles on them. I didn t think this was too bad since I had participated in several driving tours with our Club; these tours aren t particularly easy on tires. At this point, I am certainly a believer in the value of run-flat tires. Steve Plusch Photo by Steve Plusch. January 2010 ZüNDFOLGE 19

22 Deadlines BMWs For Sale 2007 BMW 328i Coupe: 20,000 miles. Space Gray paint, Dakota black leather interior, heated seats and the premium package. 3.0 litre inline, twenty-four valve DOHC six-cylinder producing 230hp, 6-speed automatic transmission. The car has 5-spoke alloy wheels, run flat tires, Bluetooth phone and ipod interface, six airbags, dynamic stability control, electric moonroof, and Xenon adaptive headlights. Because it was purchased as a BMW Certified pre-owned car, it has a BMW factory warranty to 100,000 miles or the year 2012 as well as prepaid maintenance to November This car routinely delivers about 21mpg in daily commuting driving, and over 30mpg on the highway. CarFax report is available. The car has no issues, and everything is absolutely stock with the exception of the floor mats. The price is $27,500 and is located in Beaverton, OR. Contact Chris Ohland at cohland@mac.com BMW 745Li Sedan: 59,xxx miles. Orient Blue metallic w/ beige Nappa leather interior. Car is fully loaded as you would expect, but here are the highlights/options: long wheel base, luxury seating pkg w/ heated, vented, lumbar + pwr massage, cold weather package, HarmonKardon Premium L7 Audio w/ 6 CD changer, rear pwr sunshades, park distance control, 2-way moonroof, GPS DVD nav, front/ side/rear airbags, ABS + dynamic stability control, Xenon headlights, fog lights, keyless entry + security sys, dual climate control, cruise, 6-sp Steptronic trans + manual paddle shifters, WeatherTec floor mats, cargo trunk liner, Bluetooth cell adapter, and more. The car has a set of Bridgestone all-season Turanza 245/50s mounted on 8x18 BMW Multi Spoke 94s. For the dry(er) months, I put on the set of Pirelli Zero Rossos staggered 9 x /45 front + 10 x /40 rear mounted on BMW StarSpoke95 alloy wheels. This car is gently used <10K per yr w/ a daily commute of ~20 miles round trip and occasional longer highway getaways. MPG is 18+ around town, and 23+ hwy. Fastidiously maintained and pampered with all scheduled service, inspections and maintenance done at BMW Bellevue. Computer software has been updated. Car runs very well, is in fantastic shape, and is detailed inside + out once a year. NADA is $26,950. You won t be disappointed. Please call Chris il: Anthracite with gray leather interior, 142,000 miles, five-speed automatic with sport shift. Voice activated navigation has been upgraded to Mark IV DVD maps. Xenon lights, moonroof and many other features including heated/massaging driver and passenger seats, heated/powered rear seat, voice activated telephone, break resistant glass, rain sensor wipers, front and rear proximity sensors and sport package. Asking $13,000. Contact owner at dale2008@comcast.net or : Five-speed, low miles, 26,000 mi, Orient Blue, gray interior, side airbags, one owner, garaged & dealer serviced, pampered cherry condition, totally stock, recent tires/ battery. Really is like new. Last 528 off the line at Munich where we picked it up. Page at pegiii@aol.com or call Z3 Roadster: Silver/black Leather. Loaded. Like new condition with 111,000 miles (8,500 per year). Near new tires and brakes. The 1.9 liter motor gets 29 MPG city and 34 MPG highway. Serviced at Eastside Bavarian. May trade for nice E36 or E46 four door or wagon. A way above average car for an average price. Contact owner at work or to starke@nwinsctr-mi.com csi: Tan with tan leather, sunroof, fivespeed. $2,500. Contact Harold at or hhutch1234@yahoo.com : Two door, blue, needs body work. Restored engine, rebuilt transmission. Make offer. Call Jack at or send to jpmarilyn@juno.com. Parts For Sale Track Tires & Wheels: M Motorsport wheels, powder coated black centers. Proxes RA1s with 80% thread. Will fit any E36 M3. Excellent track response as equal sized tires results in less under-steer. $950. Call Jorge Rodriguez at or send to JorgeR_1@yahoo.com. PDX, OR. Pictures available upon request. Will only deal locally and in person. All out of country inquiries will be ignored. Payment Terms: Will accept cash in person deposited in my bank account, cashier s check from a local bank. All checks require thirty days for bank clearance BMW Isetta parts: rear bumper, rear splash guards, three dozen nuts/bolts and misc. small pieces. $100 for all. Contact Milo at Mastertow tow dolley: with straps and extra car-mounted lights. $350. Contact Harold at or hhutch1234@yahoo.com. Exhaust: Stock exhaust system for i. Catalytic back. Used only 2,000 miles. Perfect condition. All reasonable offers considered. Call Tim Nair at or send an to tim.nair@verizon.net. Wanted Looking for is: in either silver or white. Will pay top $$ for the right one. Contact Dennis at or ddnomad@msn.com. Miscellaneous For Rent: a week at a condo in Orlando during January to mid April, 2010 or the last two weeks of December Two bedrooms, two baths, sleeps six. Beautifully and completely furnished all you bring is food! Within twenty minutes of all major attractions. $700. Call Leslie or Jim at or colorado924 at comcast dot net ASAP to get your first-choice week reserved! Puget Sound Region Club Logo Merchandise for Sale: You can find the BMW CCA Puget Sound Region logo embroidered on a variety of clothing, bags, and sports gear at There are also a limited amount of long sleeve and short sleeve white T-shirts with the silk screened logo available through Lynne Eskil. Please contact Lynne at lynne.d.eskil@boeing.com for details and pricing information. January 5: February Issue February 2: March Issue Classified Advertising Policy: Classified ads are free to current members. Zündfolge staff reserves the right to edit all classified ads. All ads must be typed and ed to Lucetta Lightfoot at lucettalightfoot@msn.com or sent to Zündfolge, c/o Lucetta Lightfoot, P.O.Box 99391, Seattle, WA All ads must be submitted for EACH publication. 20 ZüNDFOLGE January 2010

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