das kummet - bmw car club of america

The Newsletter of the Tidewater Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America

das Kummetdas KummetJune 2015

JUNE SAT, 20Th: Bimmer Breakfast at Pop’s Diner, 9:00 AM

JULY SAT, 4Th: Independence Weekend Drive & Dine, 10 AM

SAT, 11Th: First Settlers Porsche Club of America (PCA) Driver Education Track Day

SAT, 18Th: Bimmer Breakfast at Pop’s Diner, 9:00 AM

AUGUST SAT, 15Th: Bimmer Breakfast at Pop’s Diner, 9:00 AM

Calendar of Events

www.tidewaterbmwcca.org June 2015 - das Kummet2

OFFICERS & KEY PEOPLE

PresidentJeff Triplett (757) [email protected]

Vice [email protected]

SecretaryDarin Kwasniewski (757) [email protected]

TreasurerTiffiny Crossley (615) [email protected]

Activities CommitteeOPENMarc Garcia (757) 803-5658Chris Triplett (757) 620-6623 Jaeson Dandalides [email protected]

Membership ChairpersonChris Triplett (757) [email protected]

Member-At-LargeBob Eveleigh (757) [email protected]

WebmeisterJudy Semo (757) [email protected]

Newsletter EditorMark Jumper (224) [email protected]

Driving School Events ChairmanChief InstructorBob Brochu (757) [email protected]

Tech Session [email protected]

BMW Classics ChairmanSteve Waddell (757) [email protected]

Peninsula RepJim Waldeck (757) [email protected]

Williamsburg RepBrad Purvis (757) [email protected]

Outer Banks N.C. RepJack Robey (252) [email protected]

Foodbank ChairpersonChris Triplett (757) [email protected]

[email protected]

MEMBERSHIPTidewater Chapter: 762 as of January 2015National: 70,426 as of January 2015

ADDRESS CHANGESAddress changes can be made on the BMWCCA National website (www.bmwcca.org) by hitting ‘Login’ and following instructions on site. Fromthere, click on the ‘Manage Account’ link on the top of the page; then click onthe ‘Change Addresses’ link.

Or write to:ROUNDEL BMW CCA640 South Main Street - Suite 201Greenville, SC 29601

All changes done through the National office will update both your National and Tidewater Chapter address information. If you are a member of our Yahoo Group, [email protected], please also remember to update your profile.

NEWSLETTER and PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS:Your articles and photos are very welcomed by us. To be included in an issue the materials must be received by the 10th of the month preceding the date of next issue. To spice up the newsletter we always need photos of chapter events. We may also use them on the chapter website. Send your contribu-tions to [email protected]. Thanks!

Visit our Chapter web pages at:www.tidewaterbmwcca.orgon Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/140702964729/To subscribe to our email lists: http://www.tidewaterbmwcca.org/lists/

FINE PRINT NOTICE: Das Kummet is published bimonthly and remains the property of the Tidewa-ter Chapter BMW CCA, P.O. Box 62145, Virginia Beach, VA 23462-2145. All information is for mem-bers and advertisers only. Ideas, suggestions, writings, and opinions are those of the contributing authors without authentication by or liability to the BMW CCA, the Editors, or Officers of the Tide-water BMW CCA chapter. No information in das Kummet bears the status of “Factory Approved” unless so stated and implies no endorsement or guarantees expressed. The Tidewater Chapter of the BMW CCA is completely independent of and in no way connected with BMW NA or BMW AG. The contents of this publication remains the property of the chapter. All BMW CCA chapters, with permission, may quote or copy from the publication provided full credit is given to the author and the Tidewater Chapter unless noted as “Copyrighted” and is not used for commercial purposes.

President’s Perspective

Hyperfest

Belgian Bimmer Guy

Ragtop to Rolltop

What’s Been Happenin’

National Annual Conference

Race Report

Switching Saddles

Classifieds

Chump Car

Inside This Issue1214161919

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das Kummet - June 2015 www.tidewaterbmwcca.org 3

Our Chosen CharitiesFor 2015:

Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia

You can support this effort by bringing canned goods or money to any chapter event. However, money provides more meals than canned goods. Chris Triplett leads the committee. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Chris Triplett, [email protected]

Physicians for Peace

Physicians for Peace is an international non-profit headquartered in Norfolk, VA dedicated to medical education in developing nations. With the support of international medical educators, and global citizens like you, the work of PFP is made possible. To find out more please visit www.physiciansforpeace.org.

Join Us On Facebook!Join us on Facebook to stay up to date with all your club’s activities!

To become part of our Facebook group, you must have a Facebook account. After you sign on to Facebook at www.facebook.com, enter “Tidewater BMW CCA Activities Page” in the search block. You should be shown our activities page along with a link labeled. “Join Group”. Click on join group, a box will appear that will ask you if you want to join this group, click the “Join” button. You are then taken to our club activities page, where you can see and post activities and pictures.

Featured CarOLD FEATURE RETURNS!

It’s time to bring back an old friend. Each issue will offer a spot light for a featured car. If you are proud of your BMW, if you LOVE your BABY then tell our readers about it. E-mail the editor a picture and stats on your prized possession and then watch for it to be featured on the back cover of this publication.

Get your BMW its 15 minutes of fame as our Featured Car.

Please send photos (300 dpi or better) and a short description to [email protected]

So as we approach summer this is the time we can get the cars all shined up, the tops put down on the convertibles and then head out to our favorite destinations without fear of frostbite. Don’t know about you but the first half of the year has gone by in a blur, but it was just a few months ago where we were dealing with single digit temps. Glad those days are gone.

This is also a very active time for the club with some great events coming up in the near future. One of those is our Annual Picnic held in June which is tailored for the entire family. We always have a good time and we expect this year to be no different. This year the picnic will be on Sunday June 7th and will be held again at the Great Neck Park adjacent to Cox High School in Virginia Beach.

Please take a moment to check out the event calendar in this publication, our website and Facebook for other upcoming activities that you may want to attend.

To recap the last few months, the club held several great events including a New Member Meet and Greet, at the Bier Garden Restaurant for some good German food and drink. Also in April we had our Spring Kickoff Drive through the winding roads of Southern Virginia Beach that concluded with lunch at Yanni’s Greek Restaurant. We had a great time with 17 cars participating. If you missed either one of these, you missed some fun times. We also started our monthly Bimmer Breakfast in May and had a good turnout at Pop’s Diner in Chesapeake. Come out and show your car and talk to some friends, new and old.

We still have some key open positions to fill and would love to talk with anyone that is interested in helping out. If you are interested, please seek out anyone on the Board or Activities Committee so that we can discuss further.

So the warmer weather is finally here. No matter what you drive, coupe, roadster, convertible, sedan, SAV, Mini, fast or faster, always enjoy the ride to the next destination!

Until Next Time! Jeff Triplett

President’s Perspective


HYPERfest Fun, Games & Racing!By Ron Boustedt

You can check out my race report on p. 16 to learn the gory details of my poor GTS 2 car getting hit during the ‘March Madness‘ Virginia International Raceway (VIR) event. Many thanks to Stock or Modified Bodyworks and RaceWerks (both of Virginia Beach) for getting my car back together, I really do appreciate it! I did however talk to Ted Ambrose and Vernon Mcclure and they both said it was a great weekend. It looks like they had a pretty solid field in GTS3 as they finished 4th for Vernon and 6th for Ted. Great job guys!

Before diving into Hyperfest, I should probably give a little background. Hyperfest is National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Mid Atlantic’s premier event. Historically they’ve held it at Summit Point, WV and if you do some YouTube searching (or are a ‘Cops’ fan) you’ll see that things could get a little wild. For their 15th year they decided to move things to VIR. They also decided to make it much more family oriented. In my humble opinion it was a great choice and a resounding success. They have an amazing variety of events: drifting, autocross, car show, Lamborghini rides, Rally rides, Helicopter rides, they even had a burnout contest and a professional drift demonstration. All of this was in addition to the normal Driving Events (DE), and racing they always have. They also added a bunch of spectator/family contests like ‘blind driver’ where a blindfolded driver and navigator raced around a cone course in golf carts. If you weren’t there this year I highly recommend adding it to your calendar for next year (http://hyper-fest.com/).

Now on to the Hyperfest races… We had a pretty large crowd from the Tidewater area. Ted Ambrose and Vernon Mcclure were both in attendance, along with two new drivers, Savvas Sakkadas (GTS 4) and Michael Shammas (GTS 2), both fresh from completing the competition school. My buddy Ken

Vanderwater had his brand new SPEC e46 (this class just started last year and is quickly growing). Jeff Curtis was there wearing his Chief Instructor hat, while Zack Davis and Brandon Hodges (both of RaceWerks fame) were participating in the DE.

The weather couldn’t have been better, temps in the 70s, clear, and a nice breeze, just perfect.

I’m usually a ‘bad news first’ guy when it comes to the ‘good news/bad news first?’ question, but I can’t contain my excitement over this bit of good news: Our buddy Savvas took home TWO first place wins on his inaugural

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Photos courtesy of Chris Schutze of Finish Line Productionswww.finishlineprod.net


weekend! Awesome Job Savvas! Michael wasn’t able to sneak out of instructor duty so he couldn’t race this weekend, but we look forward to having him in GTS 2 in the future.

Vernon and Ted, both running GTS 3, finished 3rd and 5th on Saturday and 8th and 7th on Sunday. I’ve said in the past that GTS 3 is EXTREMELY competitive, so great job to both of them. (Quick ‘funny’ story: On Sunday poor Ted had one of his gauges come loose and do a little dance around the car mid race, not fun. It reminded me of the time my Cool Suit cooler came loose and sent a wave of ice water flooding forward at the end of the VIR back straight, that’ll wake you up!).

Ken finished a solid 6 of 9 in SPEC e46 on both Saturday and Sunday. SPEC e46 has some VERY experienced drivers, and should make for a very competitive and long lived class.

Interestingly there was a little glitch in Saturday’s start that caused a bit of drama. Somehow the NASA folks mistakenly reversed the starting order on the grid sheet and the slower cars ended up in front of the faster cars. This meant I started in position 3 with a bunch of fire breathing GTS 3, 4, and 5 cars behind me. Needless to say when the green flag dropped there were a LOT of cars piled into turn 1. Lucky for me I was able to use the melee to get past my nemesis (and mentor) Jeff Emanuelson, and into the number 2 position. Running number 1 was a Porsche 944 directly in front of me. Over the next couple laps I was able to put another car between Jeff and me, but no joy on catching the Porsche (that thing was fast). Unfortunately things went bad when a full course caution/Code 35 came out. Code 35 is a new flag

that VIR is using to help slow folks down during a full course caution. Essentially this adds a 35 mph max speed requirement to the standard ‘yellow flag’ no passing requirement. Unluckily for me the track went green just after I had gone under the bridge (and the flag station at the bottom of the

hill) and was headed up the climbing esses. A 35 miles per hour restart, a bad view of the next corner station and an uphill run are the excuses I’m using when trying to justify my ‘napping’ and getting passed by Jeff and another GTS 2 car during the restart. Major bummer! Lesson learned, always, ALWAYS

be ready for the track to go back to green (and have a spotter on the radio J). There were a few more bits of excitement, particularly when one of the SPEC e46 cars slid between turns 3 and 4 (fortunately it wasn’t Ken) so another car and I had to do a little off-roading to avoid center punching

him. Ultimately I finished fifth of eight with a best lap time of 2:11.4 (Jeff had a best lap of 2:11.7 so I was catching him!! Oh well next time).

And now for the bad news, unfortunately as I pulled my car in after qualifying on Sunday there was a very noticeable engine knock. My buddy Zack from RaceWerks spent a good two hours trying to find the problem and get me on the track but we weren’t able to track it down. I’m leaning toward a broken inner valve spring, but as of

right now we’re not sure. So no play by play for Sunday’s race, and worse I had to watch Jeff take third Grrrr. Next race is NASA Summit Point June 6 and 7, followed by another Summit Point event with Chump (6/13-14), wish me luck!


Club TOOLBOXThe following tools are available for members use. A deposit may be required and will be refunded upon return of the tool in working condition.

Club MERCHANDISEWe have made arrangements through Lands End for club members to order a wide variety of chapter logo items. Access by going to: http://ces.landsend.com/Tidewater_BMWCCA

Currently: The Merchandise Chair Position is open. Please contact Jeff Triplett at [email protected] for details.

NAME TAGS: We have also arranged with KayCee Engraving for members to order name tags with the chapter logo. Contact Info: Kay Cee Engraving, PO Box 625, Heathsville, VA 22473-0625 or Call (804) 580-8247. Kayceetags.com & [email protected]

• ServiceLightResettingTools - VeRy USefUl • TieRodSeparator-PickleForks • RemoteStarterSwitch • ClutchAlignmentTool • PilotBearingPuller • FanClutchWrench&Bar • ElectricImpactWrench • LockstripTool

• 17mmTrans.DrainSocket • BrakeBleedSystem- VeRy USefUl • CoilSpringCompressors • Peake-Code/ResetTool-all models - can be connected under hood or dash • NEW!! SRS Air Bag Scanner

Call Bob Parsons at 587-7423 for your needs.

BMW CCA Map Grille Badges $20Chapter Logo Decals/License Plate Frames: FREE at club eventsVarious BMW CCA Decals CALL!

Contact [email protected]

Activities CommitteeWe are glad that you are supporting our events - THANK YOU! It is still VERY important to RSVP (as early as possible) of your participation to any upcoming activities. These numbers are needed to allow our hosting restaurants to be prepared for us. Inaccurate totals make for unhappy restaurant managers and cause them to be reluctant to allow our group to book in the future.

We are always on the lookout for members that would like to be a part of the Activities Committee. Currently, the Activities Chairman position is open. If you are interested please contact Sam Wood for details. Meanwhile, read Das Kummet and check our websites regularly. We, of course, welcome your ideas, thoughts, and suggestions…as well as your ‘constructive’ criticisms! Please feel free to contact any one of the following committee members

[email protected]

…AND KEEP COMING TO THOSE EVENTS!!

AdvertisementsNon-commercial classified ads are freeto chapter members. Ads will run in three published issues and then may only be continued in subsequent issues only by contacting the Newsletter Editor. Ads submitted are limited to 200 words per ad including name, address, phone number and email address if available. Items offered for sale must be the personal property of the submitting member or family and not of a business.

Commercial ads are available to members and non-members. Such ads must be accompanied by payment in full. Rates shown below are per year (approximately 6 issues). All ads must be submitted in a usable digital format or as camera ready. “Das Kummet” reserves the right to edit or reject any ad submitted.

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Chris Triplett – (757) [email protected]

Jason Dandalides - [email protected]

Marc Garcia - (757) [email protected]


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Belgian Bimmer Guy: A VisitBy Mark Jumper

Your club Board members were delighted to recently receive a fascinating email . . . from the president of a BMW club . . . in Belgium! Christophe Théâtre, president of one of five Belgian BMW car clubs (there are two bike clubs), would be in the Tidewater area and would like to meet some of us U.S. Bimmerheads (well, that’s a loose translation of his polite approach). One board member was on the road, one was in Australia, so this fascinating opportunity came my way—oh yes!

So Christophe agreed to visit and dine at Chez Jumper, and what a fine time it was! He brought wine, we grilled steaks, and we all talked cars. As you’d guess from his last name, Christophe hails from the French heritage, but speaks English naturally and can get by in a couple of other languages.

Christophe is a tactical air controller with the Belgian military, with a mere 21 years of service so far. (In Belgium you can basically serve for life if you like.) He is frequently in the States for NATO trainings and coordination meetings.

Like many of us, Christophe enjoys European performance cars. Well, what can you say, he lives in Europe! One of his earlier connoisseur cars was a VW Golf II Rallye G60 with the supercharged engine that we only saw here in the Corrado. It proved to be a bit finicky (Flemish word, right?) to

keep up, and dear (English word, that) to repair.

Before long Christophe transitioned to BMW for the Real Thing. He’s had an E39 5-series, and now an E60 Fiver. He’s a gas guy, doesn’t care for diesel grime, smoke, or poke—even if he has to pay way more for the privilege in fuel cost and consumption. Speaking of cost, these European enthusiasts have to be serious: the Value Added Tax (VAT) alone for purchasing even a used Bimmer can run to $7,000, while the annual Traffic Tax could add another $4,000.

But there are compensations. Belgian Bimmerheads can drive to the famed BMW Welt and Museum and be there by lunch time. Christophe’s

club has had the privilege of special tours. Plus there’s plenty of driving on Europe’s famed (if constricted) roads through forest, mountain, village, and dell. Hey, that’s what makes the cars handle, brake, and go so well—they have to, to survive!

We had a marvelous time of dining and talking over many a topic, including many a car topic, among minds of a kind. We hope to see more of Christophe on his future trips, and he hopes to see more of you if we

can catch a chapter event together. Till then, bon chance, good friend: thanks for building our Bimmer brotherhood from Belgium and beyond!

Christophe enjoys some Bimmer talk

Christophe, Mark, and Ginger gather ‘round a common cause

Group gathering of the BMW Club Hainaut - Brabant, Belgium


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By Ron Boustedt

So last month we talked about planting seeds, and getting started with this whole “Driving Event” (or DE) thing. For about 90% of those out there, being able to get your car on the track and seeing what it can do is all the adrenalin you need. For that other 10% there’s an urge to do more. Some go straight into racing or time trials, some go into instructing. I chose instructing.

There are many benefits to being an instructor. Yes, your track time is often free, or significantly discounted, but you also have the opportunity to learn how to drive at a whole new level. Not only do you have to know internally how to drive the track, you also have to TELL someone how to drive on the track. You’d be amazed at how much your own driving improves when you’re able to apply the analysis you learned while instructing to yourself.

How do you get into instructing? Good question. You start by working through the DE ranks, moving to higher and higher run groups. Eventually you’ll wind up in a solo group (no instructor). It’s good to spend a decent amount of time in this group before instructing. When your laps are consistent and safe, and you’re able to conduct some self-analysis, you’re probably ready to instruct. Ultimately it will be the accrediting organization’s decision on whether you’re ready, but going in with the right mindset is a big step in the right direction.

I completed my first instructor clinic with National Auto Sport Association (NASA) at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in February of 2009 (two years after my first DE). Even if you don’t want

to instruct, I recommend attending an instructor school, ‘cause they are tons of fun! I attended with my friend Will Phillips (met him at the track in 2008 and we’re still great friends today), and I highly recommend attending with a friend if possible.

A common tool for teaching folks how to be an instructor is for fellow students (and senior instructors) to role play. Your partner is given a sheet of paper with different student attributes and you’re asked to use the day’s lesson to instruct them. Of course my first ride with Will resulted in

me trying to calm an overly aggressive driver. We ended up pulling into the pits where I slooowwwly explained how if he didn’t chill out we would be spending more time off the track, having these looonnng chats, than on the track. A+ for Ron.

I enjoyed the instructor training so much that I completed schools given by NASA (Level 2), Porsche Club of America (PCA), and BMW. All are great, and as I said before, there’s much to learn even if you choose not to

instruct. Obviously, I chose to instruct, and did so at 18 events from 2009 through 2011. Racing, the topic of the final part of this series, has replaced most of my instructing, but I do still instruct at a few events each year. I have learned from every student I’ve had, and I thank the organizers of each event for allowing me to share. I was able to convince most of my track buddies to instruct, and I think most have gained from it. Hopefully 10% or so of the folks I instructed will also join the instructor ranks and continue the trend.

Next issue? We’re “off to the races!”

From Ragtop to RollcagePart Two: Instructor!


Ray Korman speaks at his Korman Autowroks Annual Open House

Bimmers wait to “break in the track” for Hyper-Fest 2015 at Virginia

International Raceway (VIR)

Bimmer Breakfast at Pop’s Diner!

What’s Been Happenin’

Tidewater Chapter member Bob Parsons took first place at the Wounded Wheels show with his wonderful 2002


BMW CCA National Annual Conference

By Darin Dwasniewski

On the weekend of March 13, 2015, over 200 BMW CCA members and supporters converged upon Dallas, TX for our Chapter Congress, the national annual conference for the BMW CCA. All 67 Chapters of the BMW CCA were represented, sending their president and treasurer, or designees. Your Tidewater Chapter representatives at the Chapter Congress were Secretary Darin Kwasniewski and Treasurer Tiffiny Crossley. Also in attendance were club racing leaders, BMW CCA National Board members, and BMW CCA National employees. The meetings consisted of training and accounting presentations, recognitions, chapter best practices, social events, and much more.

Several new board members across the country were recognized, including two that directly affect the Tidewater Chapter. The new National Executive Board president Steve Johnson from California addressed the attendees. Steve is replacing long time president Bruce Hazard. The new Regional Vice President of the South Atlantic region, which includes the Tidewater Chapter, was also announced; Dwayne Mosley from the Sandlapper Chapter (South Carolina). Dwayne spent several hours on Sunday interacting with the chapters of the South Atlantic discussing matters that affect us directly, including the concepts of the newly proposed regional newsletters.

Some of the more exciting conversations over the weekend were about the cars themselves. It was announced that the expected grand prize for the 2015 BMW CCA annual raffle will be an M4 with Dinan upgrades (sounds like a fun car!). Also revealed was the possibility of a 50th anniversary BMW CCA special edition vehicle (get your checkbook out)—BMW North America Vice President of Marketing acknowledged that such a vehicle is definitely being discussed. Also announced was that the BMW 100th anniversary in 2016 will have two venues, Munich and Monterey. The Monterey event will coincide with the other annual auto events in August, Legends of the Autobahn at Monterey and Festorics at Laguna Seca.

An award ceremony followed the Saturday night buffet (the food was quite tasty, including the all-

you-can-eat Texas beef brisket). Introduced was the newly formed Recognition and Achievement Awards program “developed to recognize individuals, chapters and businesses for their outstanding achievements” in support of the BMW CCA. (See https://www.bmwcca.org/recognition-program) Awards in this program include:

• FriendoftheBMWCCA• OutstandingChapterVolunteer• OutstandingOfficer• OutstandingCCASupporter-BMWCenter• OutstandingCCASupporter-Independent Business• OutstandingChapterGrowthandRetention• OutstandingChapterCharitableContributions: Financial and Hour & Time

Chapters recognized for achievements included First Coast Chapter (Jacksonville, FL) for “Outstanding Chapter Growth and Retention,” Allegheny Chapter (Pittsburgh, PA), for “Outstanding Chapter Charitable Contributions: Financial” ($44.39/capita), and Windy City Chapter (Chicago) for “Outstanding Chapter Charitable Contributions: Hour & Time.”

Darin and Tiffiny returned from the conference with plenty of newly obtained information and knowledge to help improve our chapter. We learned about new, existing, and future

Continued on pg 18

Executive Board President Steve Johnson (left) and Executive Director Frank Patek (right) recognize the Allegheny Chapter, represented by Bill Pilmar (center), as the top chapter for charity dollars raised per capita.


Race RepoRt:NASA “March Madness”

Virginia International Raceway Full Track20-22 March 2015

By Ron Boustedt

Although we had a little rain on Friday for Test and Tune, Saturday and Sunday were perfect for racing; clear and cool. My Hampton Roads friends Ted Ambrose (GTS 3), Ken Vanderwater (Spec e46), and Jeff Curtis (NASA Chief Instructor) were all in attendance.

NASA qualifying can be quite a challenge; 15 minutes usually translates to about one or two hot laps, so you have to be a little strategic in getting free track space. Ken decided not to run his brand new Spec e46 this weekend, but Ted and I did, and for Saturday qualifying we decided to lay back and go out last. There was a little hiccup from NASA in sending out the grid sheet, but they were able to pull it off as the cars started to grid. Amazingly I qualified first of seven in GTS2 with a 2:12.9. Ted wasn’t quite as lucky and qualified sixth of nine in GTS 3 (it’s a tough group).

On the starting line my nemesis (and good friend) Jeff Emanuelson was right behind me, with Peter Kamarchik and Amid Vargas behind him. The start went off without a hitch and I was able to put a couple cars between me and Jeff. My hope was that Jeff and Peter would duel it out and so long as I could remain far enough ahead I’d be off their radar. My plan worked and it wasn’t until the very end of the last lap that Jeff shook Peter and caught up to me. We finished .246 seconds apart—that put him about 3 inches behind me. Awesome race.

Sunday’s weather was even better, but I wasn’t as lucky. I ended up qualifying fourth of seven, but I didn’t feel too bad. The difference between first and fourth was about 1.5 seconds, very close. Our newly licensed rookie Zach Spielman did some awesome driving and qualified first, with Peter and Jeff between him and me.

I lucked out big time during the start when Jeff missed a shift and I got by him in turn 1. I lucked out again when I was able to get by Peter in turn 4 when he got mixed up in some traffic. So by the time we reached the climbing esses it was me and

Zach. By the second lap he was starting to get a little sloppy, and the Spec e46 guys were catching up to us. James Clay (owner of Bimmerworld) passed me at south bend, and I could see Jason Tower and the rest of their crowd closing.

As we headed down the back straight James moved to the inside to pass Zach. Unfortunately Zach continued to press and locked up his tires going into the roller coaster. I saw James and Zach come together so I pulled to the right to get around them, but wasn’t quick enough. Zach had started to spin and shot across the track from left to right, knocking both me and James off the track and out of the race. Major bummer, but no one was hurt, just a little sheet metal.

My buddy Jeff took first with Peter second and Amid third. Hopefully my friends at RaceWerks will be able to put my trusty e36 back together in time for the Summit Point race in April. We’ll see.

Photo courtesy of Chris Schutze of Finish Line Productionswww.finishlineprod.net


Editor’s Desk: Switching SaddlesOur shop called to give the bad news: our 2002 E39 540i 6-speed M-Sport was dead. We’d had it in for camshaft sensors, duly installed. On the pre-delivery test drive, the timing chain broke. They stopped the engine before it was damaged, but just repairing the timing chain, dollar-wise, is outa sight!

Somewhat stunned, I stumbled through the day. This car had been with us for ten years and reached 238,000 miles. It was everything I wanted. Our whole family loved it and had many fond memories in it. Suddenly, this: over and out. Ugh. I admit: I grieved.

I got home from work and went to the mailbox. Hmmm, an unexpected mailer, puffy with padding . . . from the BMW CCA? What could it be? I opened it up to find a nice little card and a cute little . . . 10-year pin for my club membership. I could only laugh! My pin arrived to celebrate my ten years in Bimmerdom, on the very day that my Bimmer died. (Is there a song in that? “. . . the dayy the Biiimmer died . . .”)

I was somehow encouraged. I realized that we aren’t alone and that we have good friends in Bimmerland. And I started thinking of the good times we’ve had in the chapters—none as actively as Tidewater, but each having its joys. That 10-year pin started making me downright thankful.

As Ginger and I talked, it soon became apparent: we would go for another Bimmer. The experience and the club mean too much to us to let it go. So let the search begin!

If I had my druthers for a new car, it’d be an F30 3-series, now just as big inside as my E39 Fiver. But new is out for us, for now. So used it would be. We decided that 3-series was the way for us to go. We don’t quite need all the 5’s space, and a 3 would be a little handier, a little simpler . . . and maybe a little cheaper? (Ha!)

Our other big choice was transmission. We’ve been hard-core manual folk. Ginger started out driving Beetles as a teen. When we first met, me driving an ’87 VW GTI, she liked that I had a VW, and I felt blessed to have found—against all realistic expectation—a gal that could shift. It was love at first sight! We’ve always had manuals when possible. Even our ’93 VW EuroVan was a manual (and a great car it was). But starting to shop “out there” quickly discouraged us. Fewer and fewer

cars with manuals even exist. Even I, the 38-year manual man, began to waver. Hey, that paddle-shift 335i auto was fun! But bless my bride, she kept us on track to stay who we really are: fun-loving self-shifters!

So we drove and liked a privately owned ’04 E46 330i ZHP, lovingly kept all but perfect. The bank didn’t like its age. We made the rounds of dealers, used and new . . . and found few manuals. Everyone, of course, had automatics to sell, many with no sport package and a skinny steering wheel. One 335i, tricked out on the luxury side, amused us by fishtailing in the rain when its power hit the pavement at street speed.

Then we found a dealer with a manual ’08 328xi. Not that we’d looked for four-wheel-drive, but it really drove well. The engine was sweet—didn’t have the raw power of my old V-8, but it didn’t feel weak—and what Bimmer lover should go through life without having a famed smooth BMW inline six? The seats were manual, but sport manual, and we were frankly amazed at how smoothly and well they worked. We liked the dealer’s people and procedures. John at RaceWerks checked it out and found only minor issues.

So here we are with the Jumpers’ Bimmer 2.0. We’re still in the fold and find it fun. This car is indeed a true-blue BMW—not plain vanilla, as I’d feared in a 328. And grip when starting or turning? I don’t know how much to credit the “X”, but wow is it there!

We’d hoped to keep the 540i for years more. But life happens. We’re just glad to have found something that has that full BMW dose of sport, spirit, and excellence. The Bimmer beat goes on. We’ve switched saddles. We’re riding happy.


2445 Castleton Commerce WayVirginia Beach, VA 23456

John [email protected]

Dan [email protected]


! All Repairs & Service ! Latest Factory Diagnostic

Equipment ! BMW & Mercedes Benz ! Quick Turn-‐Around ! Genuine & OEM Parts ! A/C Service, Tires, Alignment ! Monday – Friday, 9AM to 6PM ! The Only BOSCH Service Center

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! All Repairs & Service ! Latest Factory Diagnostic

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pre-‐owned BMW & Mercedes

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3040 High St. (Corner of High & Airline), Portsmouth

Website Import Autowerks

757-‐966-‐9528

www.Import-‐Autowerks.com

Owner & Operator: Jon Mack jon@import-‐autowerks.com

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LOOK!

technologies to help make our work easier, how to improve communications with future, current, and new members, how to develop chapter events, accounting and financial requirements and processes, membership engagement, and many other facts and ideas.

The next Chapter Congress is expected to be held in Dallas in March 2016.

National Conference continued from pg 12


Classifieds

CARS FOR SALE:

2006 330i, 89K, Sport Package, 6MT, Leather, Heated Seats, Xenons. The last naturally aspirated 330i! Original owner, maintenance records, new water pump at 50k, new break pads/rotors at 67k, plugs/coils/belt/pully/tensioner at 87k, brand new Bridgestone Potenzas put on last week. Also includes a set of 17” alloys with Blizzaks. $11,500 Will provide additional pictures on request. Contact Henry 757-773-0375 [email protected]

ATTENTION: Here is a reminder of how our Classifieds section works. To have your ad appear here on this page go to the Tidewater Web Page and click on the Classifieds button. Follow the instructions for the Classified Input Form. If your ad had been appearing here and was more than 180 days old, it has been removed. If you would like for it to repost here, please go to the Web Page and follow the instructions for submitting a new ad. Thanks!

Classified Input Form is the tool where you can quickly enter your classifieds into the website. For obvious reasons we limit our non-commercial classified ads to Tidewater BMW CCA Chapter members only (membership verification will be performed). Your ad will run approximately 180 days then an extension request must be made. Any questions or requests should be directed to the Webmeister.

NOTE: When your item sells it is imperative that you contact the webmeister to remove your ad. Notifying the webmeister will also automatically delete your ad from the next printed edition of Das Kummet.

2001 BMW 325i Touring with 156,250 miles. Blue exterior, tan interior, automatic transmission, runs well. The condition is used and the interior has no large rips but does need detailed. The hood needs to be repainted. The DSC sensor or module needs to be replaced. All season tires, new serpentine belt replaced in March 2015. Regular oil changes and has current inspection. Asking $4000 OBO. Contact Brianna Kiser at [email protected] or phone 757-737-2804. Pictures on request.

ChumpCar Race Report“VIRal VIRosis – VIRemic Condition”

28 March 2015By Ron Boustedt

It was our first Chump event of the year and another clear chilly day at VIR. Team Constitutionalists Racing (TCR) had two cars at this VIR South Course event, ‘Free Speech’ (TCR1), and ‘Bear Arms” (TCR2). The RaceWerks guys, John and Dan, brought their sleek black/red e36, and O2 Motorsports, managed by Olivier Raoust, brought their freshly minted white/orange e36. Olivier’s son Scooter, the primary car builder, and several other Hampton Roads folks made up their new team. RaceWerks shared a pit with us, with O2 right next door.

For this 12 hour race (9am-9pm) we had six drivers for each of our cars, so as you can imagine things were pretty busy. Our crew chief Chris Campbell made sure everything flowed smoothly, even when

TCR2 started acting up. A pretty serious fueling issue put us behind the pit wall three times, and we ended up replacing two external fuel pumps and one in-tank. Unfortunately the pump replacements didn’t completely clear the problem, so though we did end up finishing, we were quite a ways back in the 32nd spot (of 62). TCR1 did a little better at 26th, with Ted Ambrose, Gina Schwaebler, Mike Schaefer, Marco Estrada, Scott Dempsey, and Chris Stanley at the wheel. O2 finished between our two cars in 30th (awesome for their first time out) and the RaceWerks guys stole the show with an outstanding 6th place overall (4th in class) finish, even winning a trophy (Chump trophies are really cool). Great job guys!!

TCR’s next race will be Summit Point in June, wish us luck!

BEY EM VEY, Inc.Tidewater Chapter BMW Car Club of AmericaP.O. Box 62145Virginia Beach, VA 23462-2145

Inside this issue....Calendar of Events • President’s Perspective • Switching Saddles

National Chapter Meeting • HyperFest • Belgian Bimmer Guy • What’s Happenin’

Race Reports • Ragtop to Rollcage

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE PAIDNORFOLK, VAPERMIT NO. 256

BMW Car Clubof AmericaTidewater Chapter

das kummet - bmw car club of america

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