June 2009 Newsletter
Visit DtRC on the
web at: www.downtheroadcorvettes.org
Visit the Rocky
Mountain Region NCCC at www.rmrnccc.org
Visit NCCC on the web
at: www.corvettesnccc.org
Next Meeting: 4th
Thursday of the month. June 25th, 7 PM Go Chevrolet - 7320 North Broadway near I-25 and
the Boulder Turnpike.
Guest Presenters - Limit of 2 presentations per meeting, please make
arrangements with the President at least a day in advance to be placed on the
agenda and to see if the limit has been reached for this month.
2009 Down the Road Corvette Club Officers
|
President |
Mike Davis |
Vice President |
Bill Schultz |
|
Treasurer |
Gail Krusen |
Secretary |
Nancy Keyser |
|
Governor |
Nancy Burritt |
Board Members |
Mike Kelley |
|
Newsletter Info (Deadline the 15th) |
Official Club Address |
Some more brilliant words
from the Prez.
Well, the “Season”
has commenced with a bang. This month a lot of our members have taken advantage
of the weather (?), and camaraderie to attend “Spur of the Moment” events, car
shows, Mystery Meals, dinners, car shows, and club meetings.
We still have a full
schedule ahead of us, the Auto Cross is just around the corner, then the “Convention”,
Gunnison Road Trip”, and then the “Caravan. I’m sure there will be many, many
other events that we would all like to attend, like the old expression goes, so
many things, so little time“.
Just a thought, if
you have not been able to attend any of the events so far, you are possibly not
taking advantage of the fun, camaraderie, friendships, and crazy antics of some
of our members.
As, I think, many
members have found out, this club has quite a bit to offer aside from, as some
have thought, “just cars”. Of course, the one parallel that brought us all
together was probably, just a car, OOPS, just a car, I meant “CORVETTE”.
One member, (Dave
C.) not to mention a name, got the “Bug”, bad, now he has another one, (2).
This meeting will be
one to remember, if you have not made one yet, might I suggest this will be the
ONE to attend!
See everyone at the
meeting,
Mike
Misc. ramblings from the
Editor:
This has been a hectic month and I haven’t even entered a show! I’m starting to
get bummed out with all of you out having fun!
I will admit the Spring Mountain class was a blast though!
Tim
Minutes of Past Meeting
QUORUM
A Quorum was present.
PASSING OF THE BONES
The bones were presented to Bill S. for not being able to tell a one-way.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The published minutes were approved.
TREASURER REPORT
The books are balanced and were approved.
GOVERNORS REPORT
Many events are happening; dates are available on the website.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT
No new members.
MERCHANDISE COMMITTEE REPORT
Mike & Martha have found a new store for merchandise. Lots of new items will be available and you also will be able to order items.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE REPORT
The June 25th pre-meeting dinner will be at Jays. DtRC member did well at the TORCA car show. Martha is looking into shirts for events.
NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM AMBASSADOR REPORT
No response has been received on membership costs. The museum is looking for pictures of Corvettes, see the website for more info.
CARAVAN UP-DATE
The ins. waiver has been applied for. Tim is still waiting for a reply from the dealer, and will have more info then.
AUTOCROSS COMPETITION DIRECTOR REPORT
A committee was formed for breakfast and lunch for the June 27th race. Lots of help will be needed.
DRAG RACE DIRECTOR REPORT
The next Club Clash is June 26th.
OPEN DISCUSSION
Dealer Car Show
There has been no response from the dealership, Jays was suggested as a possible option.
The club would like to put all our supplies in one place, if you have any items you can bring them to the next meeting.
MEETING ADJOURNED
submitted by Joan B.
Club News:
July Birthdays:
Mary Davis -
1st
Bill Schultz - 2nd
John Maxwell - 11th
Dave Chadwick - 19th
Don Roach - 28th
Colorado Corvette Club Car Show
By Bill Schultz
CCC had their annual dealer
appreciation show Saturday June 13th.
Don’t quote me on this but I
“unofficially” counted 36 cars. The weather cooperated this year, last year we froze!!
Down the road Corvettes were
represented with 6 cars and two members stopping by. Mike Kelly, Mike and
Jackie Malouf, Mike and Mary Davis, Roger Less and Cathy and I were in the
show. Dave Chadwick and Daddy Don stopped by for moral support.
CCC did a good job welcoming
everyone and setting the show up. Thunder clouds were building so they wrapped
things up at 1 rather than the scheduled 2 o’clock ending. They had channel 9
show up to take a few pictures and do a few interviews.
Our club did well at this show:
Mike Malouf won 1st
in the C1 class
Jackie Malouf won 1st
in the C2 class
Roger Les won 2nd
in the C4 class
Cathy and I won 1st
in the C6 class
Mike and Mary Davis won 2nd
in the ZR1-Z06-custon class.
Everyone involved should be very
proud! There was quite a bit of competition and a lot of beautiful cars!! I
want to thank Dave and Don for stopping by. It is rewarding to have club
members go out of their way to stop, say hi and lend moral support. (Dave had
to drive all of about 1 mile). Dave drove his new C4, I’ll bet we would have
had two C4 winners had he entered it. Daddy Don’s car always shows well so I
feel comfortable that we would have added one more win in the C6 class.
Congrats to all the winners, you
deserve your trophies!!!!!!!!! (especially me).
Thanks Bill Schultz
PS. Richard, I wish you had been
there. You could have sat by me and provided shade so my tender legs would not
have gotten sun burned so badly.
Bill
Tech Tips with Bill!
By Bill Schultz
I was asked to do some
research about Corvette suspensions. It would have been easier to part the
seas. Anyway, you may find the following facts interesting if not confusing.
The standard
suspension for a Corvette is tuned for a balance of ride comfort and precise
handling. This suspension may also be equipped with the Magnetic Selective Ride
Control which allows the car to detect road surfaces and adjust the dampening
rates to those surfaces instantly. The everyday driver that takes road trips,
enters parades and just generally drives for enjoyment would be well advised to
seriously consider the standard suspension.
The Z51
suspension is a competition- ready system for the performance enthusiast. The
optional Z51 system offers a more aggressive damper and spring set up. This
system offers larger stabilizer bars as well as larger cross-drilled brake
rotors. The oil capacity of the car equipped with a Z51 is approximately one quart
more than the standard suspension. This is to allow for continued oil pressure
during aggressive cornering, starting and stopping. The Z51 system uses gear
ratios borrowed from the C5 Z06 allowing for maximum acceleration performance.
Transmission coolers and power steering coolers are included for an aggressive,
track oriented use. If you intend to drive aggressively on the track this is
the system for you. The extra cost associated with the Z51 suspension makes
this system not practical financially for the everyday pleasure driver. I did find a paradox while researching these
suspension systems. The high performance suspensions including the Z51 and Z06
seem to dwell on the large slotted and drilled rotors while most performance
parts manufactures do not recommend slotted and drilled for “low speed racing” or aggressive braking.
While the rotors do run cooler due to the slots and holes, they also have a
tendency to crack under extreme heat. I
did contact one supplier that recommended the drilled rotors for high speed
tracks but not low speed auto cross type driving. It seems that the constant
hard braking without the massive air flow across the rotors renders them
susceptible to overheating and thus cracking. All you guys with these rotors
keep in mind, I’m the messenger only.
The Z06
suspension is an animal of its own. While it utilizes the same short long-arm
suspension and transverse leaf spring design, it is tuned with specific spring
rates and stabilizer bars. It incorporates a transaxle with a single-mass
flywheel strengthened and larger ring-and-pinion gears all bigger than the
standard C6 meaning more mass. The engine uses a dry-sump oil system to insure
constant oil pressure during cornering, acceleration and braking. The front
rotors feature six-piston calipers that use six individual brake pads. This car
was built with racing in mind. In short, it rides like a truck, the wide
profile tires tend to follow the groves in the highway and it lacks a few
features of the C6 (passenger side seat is manual) all in the name of cutting
weight. If you do not race on the track and are a pleasure driver only, this is
not the car for you. The only reason for “us” pleasure drivers to own a Z06 is
to be able to say, “I own a Z06”. If someone asks you why you drive a Z06, just
say “505 HP”. If they still question your motives, they will never understand.
Next month---------I’ll never
“tire” of this.
Thanks Bill
Upcoming
Other Events
Rather than try to put the entire schedule in here, I’ve opted
to include items both NCCC and otherwise into a close up schedule. If you want
to see the entire NCCC schedule, please go to the Rocky Mountain NCCC regional
site at http://www.rmrnccc.org/
|
Date |
Event |
Sponsoring Club |
|
June 27th |
2 Low Speed Auto-X at CSP track |
DtRC |
|
July 4th |
Georgetown 4th of July Parade |
DtRC |
|
July 3rd – 5th |
DCA 4th of July events |
DCA |
|
July 12th |
Auto-X |
CWCC |
|
July 15th – 17th |
Black Hills Classic |
|
|
July 23rd – 26th |
Vettes on the Rockies |
LGCA |
|
July 25th |
Buffalo Bill Days Parade |
CCC |
|
Aug 7th – 14th |
NCCC National Convention |
NCCC |
|
Aug 31st - ?? |
National Corvette Caravan |
NCM |
Spring
Mountain High Performance Driving Class
I’m impressed, very impressed. I had some preconceived notions about what I thought the class would be like after doing a similar class at Bondurant a while back. By and large, my notions were pretty much all wrong. The Spring Mountain class was much better for someone like me than the class at Bondurant.
They had a lot of exercises done in Corvettes that applied to real everyday driving as well as getting the most performance from your Corvette on the track. While a lot of their exercises dealt with where you should be looking (the same as Bondurant), they were done in Corvettes on wet and dry skid pads. It’s a very different and better experience at Spring Mountain.
I won’t tell you that I trimmed 20 seconds off of my lap times as a result of the class, but I definitely am a much smoother driver on and off the track as a result of the class. That can’t be a bad thing for lap times.
The facility has grown by leaps and bounds since I was there 2 ½ years ago for an open lap weekend. It is now quite impressive. The instructors were also top notch (with the exception of Tim who kept letting the ZR1 class pass us all the time).
The class was worth every penny I spent and I really wish that every driver on the street would take at least the first two days of the class and then donate the third days to me!
If you are even thinking about taking a high performance driving class, I heartily endorse the class at Spring Mountain!
Oh and Richard, what happens in Pahrump stays in Pahrump….
Tim
DCA car
show
By Mike Davis
One rainy day, what
a way to start a car show…….
DCA, and Burt Chevrolet
did just that, and it was, as Cathy S. would say, a very good one at that.
Congratulations to
DCA for putting on a very commendable show.
It seems everything
went off without a hitch, people’s choice, door prizes, and food, (I think was
supplied by Burt Chevrolet), and lastly, discounts at the parts department.
As for the show,
DtRC made a good showing, we had Mike K, Roger L., Bill & Cathy S., Dave
& Wanda C., Don & Tonya R., and of course, Mike & Mary D. While all the men worked their b_ _ _ s off,
the women went to a Farmers Market, (not hardly fair, see why next).
Winners from DtRC were,
Wanda C., her new “C-4”, second place in C-4 Class, (good job Dave). Mike &
Mary D. took first place in the C-6 class.
Just another good
day, especially with our club participation!!!
Heritage
Square Car Show
By Mike Davis
This
may sound a bit chauvinistic, but really it is a compliment for some……
After
Don R. got blanked on Saturday for a trophy or even an honorable mention,
(Tanya was not early enough to do the cleaning on Saturday). Tanya must have
gotten up earlier on Sunday, just for Father’s Day, I assume, to do most of the
cleaning on the Red Car and the results showed.
For Down the Road Corvette Club, Tanya R. took first place (1st),
for C-6, (I don’t understand), and your President, 2nd , right ,
SECOND place, all that after FIRST on
Saturday. Good job Tanya!!!
Rocky
Mtn. Corvette & Bozarth Chevrolet did an excellent job of putting on a
great Car Show, all for a good cause!!!
There
were approximately 50 or so cars in attendance, all enjoying good weather,
friendships, and food.
Past members deserve an honorable mention, so, Don P., Dallas, Mike M., and John H., congratulations to all..
Georgetown
4th of July Parade
By Tim Barnes
Way back in
November, at the Sno’ Big Deal Rally, DtRC was invited to participate in Georgetown’s
4th of July Parade. Well, the 4th is July is just two
weeks away and I have details!
The parade starts at 11:00 on July 4th. We would like to have everyone staged between 10:00 and 10:30. The parade lasts about 30-45 minutes depending on how fast everyone moves along. The parade route is about 10 city blocks.
There is no fee to be in the parade.
There is a 5 k Run/Walk at 8:00 a.m.
Then the parade @ 11:00.
After the parade there is a BBQ in City Park for anyone who
might be interested. There is music at the park and downtown until 2:00
when the bucket brigade starts. The bucket brigade lasts about an hour,
then there will be more food and some music throughout the afternoon. At 6:00
p.m. there is Bingo at the community Center and fireworks at 9:00.
DtRC
Club Bone-Head award
Congratulations to Bill “Wrong Way” Schultz who has once again earned his nickname by not only going down the wrong side of a divided highway, but also dragging others with him.
Who will be the unlucky victim this month?
Committee
Updates
Social
Committee
Mary Kay, Mary and Cathy
Watch for spur of the moment events!
Governor’s
Report -
By Nancy B.
Hi everyone,
I had to miss the last governor's meeting but I was sent the meeting minutes so have a few things to share with you. Most of the information I have concerns convention - which is the next section.
Fire Extinguisher Update: Starting on May 1st - all fire extinguishers need to have metal straps and brackets. One recent clarification to that is that it may have a plastic handle.
The RE shared that the NCCC Vision Committee has a survey available on the NCCC Website - and all are encouraged to give your input.
Also - earlier this year the governors voted to enact a $5 fee per sanction/region-sanction event to help cover the cost of the competition awards. So Gail - I need a check at the next meeting for $15 payable to RMR NCCC. This would be for our April Fools Poker Show and for our two autocrosses that are this coming weekend.
See you Saturday up at the State Patrol Track for our Autocross.
50th Annual National Convention - August 7 - 14,
2009 - RMR - Colorado Springs, CO.
By Nancy B
Thank you all for signing up to help come work those two days. Here is a little bit about how it is laying out. And I intend to check out some hotels this weekend - so you may have gotten hotel info update prior to this even getting published.
Low-Speed Autocross - Tuesday and Wednesday - August 11 & 12. Tuesday is group 2 and 3 cars - so will be the smaller of the 2 days. Right now there are just over 200 signed up for the low-speed autocross. So that is split across 4 time slots - 2 days and only morning or afternoon for each set. Some additional entrants will sign up as we get closer - but so far it is all very manageable - what with all your help. Phil and I will let you now times, etc. as we get closer. Some of us will be there Monday setting up - but for most of you - we just need you there bright and early Tuesday.
The last sign-up timeframe for on-line reservation is right now. It is the 3rd price increase - and while I don't know what it will be at the door - it will be higher. As of a week ago - about 740 people (people - not cars) were signed up for convention. I don't know what the car equivalent is.
Day passes - if anyone is interested in a day pass - they should sign up online
(before July 4th) or you can do it at the door - but they of course prefer
online. If you signup online - there is really nothing on the registration
form indicating what you should do. So here is what Walt said to do -
sign up online - in the comments section put which day passes you want (and if
there is a "food" or other event that there is a line item for on the
registration form for that day - check it). Do not pay via pay pal - put a note
in the comments section that you want day passes and for which days - and to
please email you the amount that you owe so that you can send in a
check. The day pass gets you into the meals, parties, vendor room, and in
to watch the competition events. It does not allow you to sign up for any
of the competition events. If I wrote it down right - most days the day
passes are $50. There may be a day with no meals that is $40 and another
day that is $60. If you want to know for sure - Walt's email is on
the convention website - drop him a note and he will let you know the
specifics. There is no day pass price difference if you sign up at the
door - it just helps them get their numbers into catering sooner if you do it
online.
Convention Merchandise - you don't need to attend convention to order the merchandise. There are some cool prints, etc. and a lot of it with the smaller logo while still convention - really features NCCC 50th. So - if you want the wide range of colors in the shirts - etc, you need to order online by July 15th. After that - merchandise will be available at the convention - and will be basic colors only.
Walt has put out a call for any door prizes that anyone can get hold of. Even if they are small - they can combine several small items into a nice package. So if anyone has any - you can contact Walt or me - and we'll arrange pick-up.
Will keep you all informed as we get closer. Dave and I and Phil did attend the Convention Committee meeting last Sunday. There are a lot of people working very hard to pull this all together - from registration, to goodie bags, to parties and entertainment and all the competition events. It's going to be a great event.
15th Anniversary National
Corvette Caravan - August 31 – Labor Day 2009
Tim B.
No real changes in the status. Things are continuing to move ahead slowly but appear to be on track for the big day! I would like to thank Richard for going to the LGCA meeting and rounding up some support!
Please come out to the committee meetings on the 2nd Thursday of every month to help make sure that our guests from all over the northwest US have a memorable stop in Denver!
Drag
Racing Report
Joan B.
The 2009 drag racing schedule has been updated on the club web site. Please come out and at least tailgate with the DtRC warriors!
AutoCross
Committee
Frank A.
We need all the help we can get with the Auto-X. Please come out and support your club and for those of you helping with the timing at the National Convention, tone up your skills.
Merchandise Report
Mike and Martha P.
Come out and check out all the new merchandise! Deals
abound!
NCM
Ambassador’s Report
By Tim Barnes
Hopefully, by this time next month, Richard will be all set up to report on events at the Museum.
Until then, for the latest news and events at the museum go to http://www.corvettemuseum.com/.
Want to
Advertise?
If you are a member of Down the Road Corvettes, you may place a For Sale or
Wanted Ad for any Corvette related items in our newsletter for free.
Submissions must be received via E-mail to the editor no later than the
15th of each month.
Disclaimer: All prices listed here are not guaranteed. You will need to confirm any and all prices with the selling party.
Advertising
*************************************************************************************
*** Member Ad ***
For Sale:
1980 Corvette 4 Sale, Automatic, 60K miles. glass tops, Silver / Dark Blue,True Spoke wheels & new tires, + original wheels.
Original and stock. Good condition. Tell me what it's worth.
Bruce Kinney
(303) 543-1238
2009 Committees:
|
Dealer Rep |
Mike K. |
|
Membership & Directory |
Cathy S. / Nancy B. |
|
Social Committee |
Mary Kay, Mary and Cathy |
|
Merchandise Committee |
Mike and Martha |
|
Rally Committee |
Joan – Chair, |
|
Show Committee |
Open |
|
|
Open |
|
Webmaster |
Mike P. |
|
Newsletter |
Tim B |
|
Drag Racing Competition Director |
Joan B. |
|
Autocross Competition Director |
Frank A. |
|
Tim’s Challenge Representative |
? |
|
Sno' Big Deal Extravaganza |
Open |
|
Roving Reporter/Photographer |
Bill S. |