Seems as if I started my last newsletter article bemoaning how fast time flies and here it is, another month later, and I still can’t believe how fast my life is flying by. Where did the month of May go?
For a small number of members, Sat, May 10th was Tucker Days. It was a really neat downtown festival and car show in beautiful downtown Tucker. We ended up with nine members or member units and got the award for most from one club. The award was a check for $100. We ate at a good Cajun restaurant and saw some really neat cars, old originals, and modern street rod vehicles. I had a very good time and believe others who attended did also. We should do this again and we should have a bigger crowd.
Another interesting event for some members was the May 17th road trip and train ride in mountains of Tennessee. The Hutchinson’s organized that event and get a well deserved “Thank You” from those that attended. We drove up I-75 to Chattanooga, and on up to Cleveland, TN, exited off I-75 and entered a kinder, gentler world. We drove on two lane back roads through deep forests, and saw some of the prettiest country side I have seen. Our destination was Etowah, TN and the railroad depot/museum. We got to eat at a local deli and mingle with real, live locals, before boarding used school buses that took us down the highway, off the highway, into a state park, where we found the train waiting at a crossing. The train was like going back in time, to a day when people actually traveled across country on trains. We had a nice car, clean and well kept, with bath room and snack bar. The Morgans shared facing seats with the Keys, so we enjoyed ourselves as did others who walked around, mingled and got to visit. It was much nicer than an airplane, in this respect. No, not as fast, but certainly more comfortable. The train was traveling on welded track, which we learned was smoother and did not go, “clickety-clack” like UN-welded track. The scenery along the Etowah River was beautiful and the ride to top of mountain was really interesting. Again, this was something really different and thanks to Doc and Mickey H for arranging this.
Nancy, our VP of Activities has worked hard to get a variety of activities to complement the Competition events that Don Parks tells us about. We are indeed a well rounded club, with a something for everyone attitude. I challenge all members to come up with a new idea and present it to Nancy for consideration. If gas gets much higher, we shall all be discovering things to do, closer to home.
The Morgan’s Lake Oconee party is scheduled for July 26th. This will be the 14th year we have had a party at Lake Oconee, so, write that down on planning calendar, now. We will have more info, as time draws nearer. To finish what theme I started, time will draw nearing at a rate that will astonish and amaze us——just like old age. Sage words of wisdom from the old life insurance agent, your President.
Save the Wave!
Corvette Atlanta remains at 95 members for the month of May.
We always welcome inquiries from prospective members and invite them to attend a couple of our monthly meetings and events as a guest to obtain more information about out club.
As noted previously all three major car magazines (Motor Trend, Car and Driver, and Road and Track) featured the new Corvette ZR1 on the cover of their February issue. More about the ZR1’s LS9 engine can be found in the following articles.
References -
http://www.corvetteblogger.com/index.cfm/2007/12/20/The-62L-LS9-V8-Heart-of-the-2009-Corvette-ZR1
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_0712w_ls9_engine_details/index.htm
In a previous newsletter, I wrote about my experience with a driving event at Road Atlanta held by the Skip Barber organization. I had so much fun that I signed up for another event on the spot; well, that and they offered me a 20% discount.
As part of their marketing they invited racer wanna-be’s such as myself to an event at the ESPN Zone in Buckhead. On the appointed evening I pulled my C5 convertible into the parking lot already filled with cool cars—including a Morgan Plus 4 and a Ferrari—and parked in the front row right next to a C5 Z06, which by the way was the same color as my car. Inside I had a free beer while listening to the featured speaker: Bob Varsha of Speed TV. Afterwards I chatted with the amiable Mr. Varsha on a number of topics, including how I could get a really cool job like he has. His reply was to be in the right place at the right time—which when you think about it is good strategy for any number of life’s situations.
Walking back to my car I was anticipating a nice ride home with the top down (of course). Upon turning the key my ears were instantly assaulted with the roar of an unmuffled V-8 engine. That can’t be my car, I thought to myself. I turned the engine off and the parking lot fell silent. So I started my car again and sure enough the roar was back. My mind started to run through all sorts of scenarios: Perhaps I dislodged the exhaust when I backed into the parking space (not likely, since there weren’t any parking curbs). Maybe a practical joker sabotaged my car by mistake instead of the adjacent Z06. Whatever the cause I needed to get home without drawing the attention of the local authorities, so I drove home very slowly on the back streets—both to keep the noise down and to more easily retrieve any bits of the car that might fall off.
Once safely in my garage I jacked up the car and immediately located the problem—the back end of the left exhaust pipe had separated from the flange at the weld joint. Evidently the heating/cooling cycles had caused the weld to fail; that it happened at all was annoying but the timing of it was down-right spooky.
Now that I had the problem identified I had to find a solution. Obviously a repair weld was in order; and a Midas Muffler shop in Snellville said they could do the job. I now had two choices: 1) drive the car there with the left muffler unfastened, or 2) remove the exhaust pipe myself and bring the parts to them. Option number 1 was noisy but easier, option number 2 more challenging but also more likely to give a better result, since the flange could be welded around the entire circumference. So with a bit of trepidation I started disassembling the exhaust system aft of the cats (I had visions in my head of rust-frozen flanges; a result no doubt of my Midwestern upbringing). But thankfully everything came apart very easily without any broken pieces, mechanical or human.
At the muffler shop the flange was welded back on in less than 15 minutes for less than $50.00. And just to be safe I had them reweld the other side as well—if it happened once it could happen again.
So now my car purrs as before and I am very glad things turned out so favorably. Although I must admit the sound of an unmuffled (well, half anyway) Corvette engine was pretty cool.
SALT LAKE CITY - Corvette Racing's final warm-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was run in near-record temperatures as a heat wave in Utah's high desert tested America's premier production sports car team. Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen kept their hot streak alive in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, scoring a one-minute, 4.9-second victory over the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin in the American Le Mans Series Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix. It was the third victory in four races this season for O'Connell and Magnussen, who now hold an eight-point lead (86-78) in the GT1 drivers championships over their teammates.
"The car worked really well, and this was a really good final test before Le Mans," said Magnussen as he shrugged off the 90-degree heat at Miller Motorsports Park. "We were able to get some good data, and the main thing is there's not a scratch on the car."
Beretta led the first 52 minutes in the pole-winning No. 4 Corvette C6.R, but O'Connell and the No. 3 Corvette C6.R took the point after the first round of pit stops when a problem with the refueling system cost the No. 4 car precious time in the pits. The No. 4 Corvette increased its margin on the two subsequent pit stops. Both Corvettes completed 88 laps and finished 10th and 11th overall in the 30-car field.
"Luck is a big part of it, and the luck is going our way now," said O'Connell. "Jan is driving well, I feel that I'm driving well, so this is a great way to go into Le Mans. Hopefully we can continue with a lot of momentum.
"We had the luxury of being able to run a Le Mans setup with low downforce," O'Connell reported. "It makes the car more difficult to drive, but that's what we'll run in Le Mans. One of the great things about our association with Michelin is that we're always challenging them to improve and they're constantly challenging us to get better."
Beretta and O'Connell both drove two stints before handing off to their co-drivers at the 1:35 mark in the two-hour, 45-minute race.
"Congratulations to the No. 3 Corvette for the win," said Beretta. "I pulled away a bit on the first stint, and then we had a refueling problem and lost a lot of time. The most important thing is that both cars are in good shape for Le Mans."
Gavin agreed: "It's not been a great weekend for the No. 4 car," conceded the Briton. "There's been some bumps in the road, topped off today by something strange going on in the refueling system. The car is a bit dusty, but it's still in one piece."
The twin Corvette race cars will begin their transatlantic journey in three days as the team prepares for its assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"I think we came away with some great data and we are absolutely ready for Le Mans," commented Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Today was very helpful running the tires in hot conditions, and that is something we wanted to do. We're very satisfied with the information we collected."
Corvette Racing's next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, on June 14-15. The 76th running of the classic 24-hour endurance race on the 8.5-mile Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans will begin at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. EDT). Portions of the race will be televised live on SPEED.
Driver/Points
1. Jan Magnussen 86 / Johnny O'Connell 86
2. Oliver Gavin 78 / Olivier Beretta 78
3. Ron Fellows 30
Editor’s note: John, one of CA’s charter members, is instructing at Driving Experience events. He is sharing some of his teaching points about driving and handling.
Four most important concepts:
1. Eliminate Turns; Straighten out the course
2. Eliminate Shifts Shifting up or down wastes time
3. Compress the braking zone.
4. Get on the gas sooner. Most important; the whole idea is to get the car rotated and get back on the gas. Increase the area under the power curve.
Other things to keep in mind
1. The gas and brake are not on and off switches: squeeze them
2. Be as smooth as you can.
3. No quick inputs on gas, brake, or steering; no power shifting
4. Do not bounce or jerk the car but keep it as level as possible so the suspension and tires can work best.
5. Be at or near full throttle at the apex of a turn.
6. If you can’t be at or near full throttle at the apex, you have entered the turn too fast and/or apexed to early
7. Always be opening your steering wheel up as you exit a turn (don’t pinch it off). If you can’t, you have apexed too early.
8. Listen to your front tires as you exit a turn. If they make noise, you have apexed too early and/or entered the turn too fast.
9. To find the right apex for you and your car, move it around the turn until you can be at or near full throttle at the apex. Most turns should have a late apex.
10. In a compound turn (several turns together) the last turn before the straight is the most important because your exit speed determines your straight away speed. You may have to adjust your first or intermediate turn apexes so you can hit the last one perfectly. Exiting a turn a couple of miles per hours faster, enables you to carry the extra speed all the way down the straight and can make a big difference,
Handling
1. The end that is the stiffest breaks loose first. “Stiffest” is a combination of spring rates, shock valving, roll bar stiffness and tire pressure.
2. You can tune your car to have oversteer, understeer, or be neutral. Mild oversteer is the safest (if you start to plow, just lift) and mild oversteer is the quickest (it’s easier to get the car rotated. See A.4.), but be careful and don’t lose the rear end. The faster the track the more understeer you will probably want to dial in.
3. Learn to manage the weight of your car. Remember from physics class, when you increase the weight of an object, you increase the friction. When you enter a turn with trail braking, you are shifting weight to the outside front making it hold better. When you start squeezing the throttle so that you will be at full throttle at the apex, you are smoothly shifting weight to the rear so the outside rear tire grips better during exit. Don’t coast around turns.
We are very fortunate to have folks this year that are willing to write articles for our newsletter. Please express your thanks to them for their efforts in making the publication more interesting. Should you be approached to contribute materials for one of their upcoming articles - we hope that you will look upon the request with enthusiasm and pride that you will make news and/or the cover!!
