The next club meeting:
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Golden Corral, Dothan. We dine
at 6:00 p.m.
October, 2009
From the Sept. cruise to Walter F. George Lock & Dam and the Lodge at
Bagby State Park.
President's Comments:
In September, we were offered a couple of exciting events out of the local area which a few did take advantage of. Bill and Jackie attended the Corvettes of Carlisle event in Carlisle PA, which is a huge Corvette swap meet and show. Then Jim and Charlie along with Tommy Patterson attended the fun filled National Corvette Museum Caravan. Parties, cruising, hot laps on Road Atlanta, and dining were enjoyed by all. Some from this group also attended the Petit Le Mans race which unfortunately got partially rained out. For local events, Russell an Judy planned an outstanding day for the club including a scenic cruise, tour of the Walter F. George dam and lock system, and then dinner at The Lodge in the Bagby state park. Thanks much to Russ and Judy!
In October, we have the opportunity to participate in an event that has the makings of being truly memorable. The Emerald Coast Corvette club has planned a trip to the mountains from the 15th to the 18th and we are invited. Jean and I already have our reservations at the Wilderness Lodge in Sevierville TN. On the way up there and on the way back we will be taking on the ‘Tail of the Dragon’, NC highway 129, and then attending the Corvette Expo in the Smokies!! The Corvette Expo is a significant show, swap meet and all around major Corvette gathering. I hope more from the club will take advantage of this opportunity. On the 10th, Chris Hardwood of Xtreme Corvettes in Blountstown will again be hosting the annual Calhoun County Car show. Chris will have his shop open including the dyno, which will available for a dyno runs at a nominal charge. Considering the terrific Fall weather we finally have, this should be an enjoyable event.
Bruce
Click for the Museum Homepage: National Corvette Museum - opens in its own window.
Click here for Charley's NCM Newsletter
Courtesy of your NCM Ambassador -
Charley Robertson
-- top of page --
I promised to report on the experience to changing Run Flat tires to Non-Run Flat tires.
I looked for the best value at many places and checked 4 brands for the price and value. Two brands were foreign tire makers. I don't do business with foreign companies if I can help it. The other two brands were Michelin Tires and B. F. Goodrich. Using the computer and the Tire Rack organization the tires were described in detail how good they were. The appropriate tires in the Michelin Brand started at, with shipping costs, $1,400 dollars. That was ok, but I decided on the B. F. Goodrich tires. The tires were the recommended in 2005 as the best tires to replace the Run Flats. The cost of a set of the B. F. Goodrich was around $900. I ordered them on a Tuesday and they arrived on Thursday and I had them put on at the Enterprise Chevrolet and had my '08 Vette aligned for the amount of $124 dollars.
There are some things that one should know about the tires. They should be broken in for about 500 miles. There is a lining in the tires that has to be smoothed through out the inside of the tire for them to function properly. So no high speeds should have taken place until this is accomplished or bumping may occur while you drive.
There are three great things with the tire that I like. One, they are 100% smother than the Run Flat tires I had on. By the way the old tires were Goodyear Run Flats. The second best thing was the tread. The tread looks great. It is different than I have ever seen before. They are produced not to hydroplane during wet weather. I tested it out 3 times, three different days, three different intensities of rain. The tires performed absolutely great in light, medium, and heavy down pours. The tires did not slip at all while accelerating. I was amazed at the performance. Third, the tire noise of the tires was their only down fall. Between 35 and 45 miles per hour you get some noise. Below the 35 miles per hour no noise. Above 45 miles per hour very little noise. At cruise, you can not hear them. I can live with that because the Goodyear tires were loud all of the time compared to the new B. F. Goodrich that I have on my '08 Vette. I also have new B. F. Goodrich on my '87 Vette and they are great. No noise what so ever.
I hope this is helpful in the decision to change from Run Flats to Non-Run Flats. If you have Non-Run Flats you should purchase a tire repair kit with a portable tire pump. They are very inexpensive and will be well worth it if you have some bad luck with a flat.
I am now your official Tech Tip person and I hope you are pleased with my outpouring of my technical data.
George Heneveld
October
3 Landmark Park Car Show. US 431 North between Dothan and Headland.
3 Corvettes Against Breast Cancer
- VII "Under the Lights" Saturday,
October 3, 2009, 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1500 Tara Place, Hampton,
GA 30228
http://www.csafoundation.org/index.html 1-678-565-8037
10 "Classics on the Square" Location : Downtown Square Troy Alabama 36801 334-566-2294 334-566-2289 Additional Info : Event will be from 9am 'til 5pm. It will also include antique vendors and live music.
10 Xtreme Motorsports of Blountstown hosts it 7th annual
"Christmas for the children" car show at my shop.
Music, food, bounce houses for the kids, DJ
, raffles, 50/50 etc.
15 - 18 The Emerald Coast Club has invited us to cruise to Deal's
Gap and the Tail of the Dragon (U.S. Hiway 129 between
TN and NC, way North
of Atlanta - website link on our links page).
17 'Vettes at the Village of Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin Resort. Click here for more details.
25 Enterprise Boll Weevil Festival. Click for details.
31 The Opp car club is having their annual car show. Click here for more details.
November
5 - 7 NCM Vets and 'Vettes Event Honoring those who fought for our freedom.
6 - 8
The Silver Springs theme park in FL is having their annual Corvette show.
Click here for
flyer. (Requires Adobe Reader.)
7 The Peanut Parade!! Lineup 0730.
| Click to see photos and a short video of today's Cruise. Russ and Judy Lewis planned a VERY interesting event for us, with 7 couples participating. Russ took us to the Walter F. George lock and dam near Ft Gains GA. As you can see from the photos, they had several of the flood gates open due to the increased flow into the lake from all the rain that has been falling in the north GA area for the past few days. We first had an informative briefing at the visitor's center, then it was onto the dam. We did get to go into the power generating room. One of the 4 generators was disassembled as it was time for its 40 year rebuild!! Too bad cars don't need a rebuild but every 40 years. We then proceeded to The Lodge at the George Bagby state park for a Prime Rib buffet - Oh Yeah!! Thanks Much to Russ an Judy for setting up this terrific Cruise!! |
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Member Journeys:
Click to see pix from Brent and Jerri's 2009 trip to down east Maine , without Corvette !
| Jim and Charley, by Jake. |
 |
We welcome our new members to the club!!!
John & Nicole Holley, Elba, 2002 blue Z06.
Dale & Bridget Stroud, Enterprise, 2003 Red Z06.
| HAPPY October BIRTHDAYS 5 Jenny Shea 6 Jhen Hickman 15 Debra Brown 16 Dave Lummus 16 Kathy Walker 20 Roger Hussey 21 Tommy Patterson 22 Andrew Countryman 27 John Hickman 28 David Brown 30 Karen Kennedy 31 Dan Green |
and
October ANNIVERSARIES:
Nobody got married on Halloween ! |
Old Chevy v. New Chevy Crash Test - http://www.wimp.com/cartest/
Top Gear in the U2 spy plane - http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/
Talladega Photo vendor - www.lettsfocus.com
Corvettes against Breast Cancer - Drive the Atlanta Motor Speedway under the lights.
The Detroit Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise
How to make your car last: http://tinyurl.com/qwdp7t
Nostalgia videos at http://www.oldbluewebdesigns.com/
LS2 Engine Assembly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ZQQRDmlJc&feature=related
President:
Bruce Carter
Vice
President: Russell Lewis
Secretary: Barbara Pattberg
NCM
Ambassador: Charley
Robertson
Treasurer: Jim Robertson
Caravan Coordinator: John
Hickman
Local Event Coordinator: Bruce
Carter
Newsletter
Editor: Terry Weldon
Member at
Large: Greg Prettyman
Member at Large:
Kelly Walker
Webmaster: Brent Gourley
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