July/August 2006 the Milepost the Kansas City BMW Club newsletter Monthly Club Meetings In May and June, two local businesses hosted the KC BMW Club for our monthly Thursday night meetings. Both events had great turn out and we meet a few new club members. In May, the Club met at Baron BMW. Charles Clay and a few of the Service Gurus gave us a tour of the service department. Back in the shop, they allowed us to gather around a few BMWs on lifts so we could better inspect the suspension and under chaises. We were also given a demonstration on the new 7’s active roll bars. With a touch of a button, the system prompted the car to bounce and move around like it had hydraulics. We wrapped up the meeting with a tour of the basement storage area where some club members drooled over all the new cars and others watched Charles hook up a bimmer to the computer for system upgrades and programming. In June, the Club met at Santa Fe Auto Sound. Mark Kroll from JL Audio, with the help of a few techs from Santa Fe gave a presentation on Clean Sweep ® . Clean Sweep ® is an integration system that works with a car’s factory-installed audio system. It rearranges the factory installed settings and gives your audio system new sound quality. It was amazing to see the difference between factory sound and the Clean Sweep ® sound at the press of a button. Santa Fe also let the Club check out the bimmers in their shop that were awaiting new systems. Congratulations to Kirk Kiloh for winning the raffled JL Speak- ers. It was a great time for all!
Transcript
July
/Aug
ust 2
006 the
Milepostthe Kansas City BMW Club newsletter
Monthly Club Meetings
In May and June, two local businesses hosted the KC BMW Club for our monthly Thursday night meetings. Both events hadgreat turn out and we meet a few new club members.
In May, the Club met at Baron BMW. Charles Clay and a few of the Service Gurus gave us a tour of the service department.Back in the shop, they allowed us to gather around a few BMWs on lifts so we could better inspect the suspension and underchaises. We were also given a demonstration on the new 7’s active roll bars. With a touch of a button, the system promptedthe car to bounce and move around like it had hydraulics. We wrapped up the meeting with a tour of the basement storagearea where some club members drooled over all the new cars and others watched Charles hook up a bimmer to the computerfor system upgrades and programming.
In June, the Club met at Santa Fe Auto Sound. Mark Kroll from JL Audio, with the help of a few techs from Santa Fe gavea presentation on Clean Sweep®. Clean Sweep® is an integration system that works with a car’s factory-installed audiosystem. It rearranges the factory installed settings and gives your audio system new sound quality. It was amazing to see thedifference between factory sound and the Clean Sweep® sound at the press of a button. Santa Fe also let the Club check outthe bimmers in their shop that were awaiting new systems. Congratulations to Kirk Kiloh for winning the raffled JL Speak-ers. It was a great time for all!
Welcome New Members!
We invite all our members, new and veteran, to join us at our next meeting and event.
Anthony SoehligKearney, MO
1987 325
Kashif SiddiquiOverland Park, KS
2001 X5
Jason & Stacey MortonHaysville, KS
1999 M3
Gregory HildrethLexington, MO
1997 328i
Ashif RahmanOverland Park, KS
2000 740il
Maurice ArbelaezLeawood, KS2001 Z8
Michelle BettisLawrence, KS
2001 525i & 2006 525xi
John & Christy JanssenKansas City, MO
2001 325i
Jay Flynn Mission Hills, KS
Shamail TariqKansas City, MO
2001 M3 & 2006 M5
Brock SchulteKansas City, MO
2000 M5
Justin MorganCleveland, MO
1997 740il
Lee PatrickLenexa, KS2001 325i
Michael HerrickLeawood, KS1997 528
James TruittSpringfield, MO
2003 Z4 & 2000 328i
Jason DoppeltKansas City, MO
1986 535i & 1986 325es
Joe IzzamMokena, IL1998 740i
Chris NottageOlathe, KS1997 740i
Kendrick BallardOverland Park, KS
1999 328i
Sunanda DesaiOverland Park, KS
Alfred PitznerKansas City, MO
2002 330xi
Christopher NottageOlathe, KS
Wendell BaselKansas City, KS
2000 323ci
Fraser & Donna ElliottShawnee Mission, KS
David & Donna JonesKansas City, MO2002 M Roadster
Paul Sapenaro Overland Park, KS
Rosemary MahnkeOverland Park, KS
David CarpenterShawnee Mission, KS
1998 328
Tim MarshallFort Leavenworth, KS
2001 325xi
Richard & Lynn CoffmanShawnee Mission, KS
Mark WesthoffKansas City, MO
2002 M3
Andrew SpencerBattlefield, MO
2006 325i
Roger & Shirley AdamsJoplin, MO
2003 Z4
Linda EdmonsondOverland Park, KS
2000 528i
Zac BurtonManhattan, KS
2002 740i
David & Jenny Ann KimOverland Park, KS
2005 X5
Paul FrancisKansas City, MO
645 2005
Chistopher WilkersonWichita, KS1984 528e
Dick BushmanMount Vernon, MO
2001 M5
Gregory DavissonKansas City, MO
2002 540i
Robert SmithShawnee, KS
John JaegerBelton, MO
2004 325xi & 2003 325xi
George WintersLake Quivira, KS
Kenneth GehaKansas City, MO
1996 318is
Jorge BernalKansas City, MO
2001 330i
Robert & Diana CragerSpringfield, MO
1995 740il
Jarrod FishShawnee, KS
2000 540li
James PaceMission Hills, KS
2001 740il & 2001 325ci
Jack MeltzerOverland Park, KS
2004 325ci
Mark CocoKansas City, MO
2005 645ci
Patrick SantiagoLeawood, KS
James MarshallKansas City, MO
2006 X5
Lucia WeirShawnee Mission, KS
2002 525
Regulars
2New Members
4Upcoming Events
5President Speaks
6Black & Blue
7Wichita News
16Classifieds
July / August 2006
the Milepost is a publication of the Kansas City BMW Club, BMW Car Club of America, Inc.and is mailed to all members in good standing. Additional copies may be purchased for $1.00 each pluspostage. All contents remain the property of the Kansas City BMW Club. Information supplied isprovided by members and for members only. The Club is in no way associated with BMW of NorthAmerica, or any other agents of Bayerische Motoren Werke, AG. The Club assumes no liability for anyinformation herein. Please note that, unless clearly stated, no information in this publication bears thestatus of “factory approved.” Ideas, opinions, and suggestions expressed herein are those of the au-thors. No authentication is implied by the Club, officers, editor, or publisher. Modifications to vehicleswithin the warranty period may void the warranty, in full or in part. Permission is granted to BMWCCA and BMW ACA chapters to reproduce articles originating in the Milepost, provided full creditgoes to the author and the Milepost. “BMW”, the “M” logo, “The Ultimate Driving Machine,” and theBMW roundel logo are registered trademarks of BMW AG.
Upcoming EventsBMW – AUDI Get TogetherSaturday July 1, 2006, 8:30AMPanera at Shawnee Mission Parkway near Goddard Street,west side of I-35
AutoX SCCA Event #4July 2, 2006, Truman Sports Complex, Lot L
AutoX Crown Event #5July 6, 2006, The Woodlands
CLUB PICNIC AND SHOW & SHINESaturday July 22, 2006Shawnee Mission ParkShelter # 8A drive is in the works and will be announced in the July/August Milepost. Bring your own food for the grill or sidedish and the club will provide the drinks. Shine your carsand get ready for a great day at Shawnee Mission Park.
BMW CCA OktoberfestJuly 23-28, 2006Grand Rapids, MichiganSign up is available at www.bmwcca.org or in the Roun-del.
AutoX SchoolSaturday, July 29, 2006The WoodlandsLearn how to better handle your car at this BMW Clubevent. Registration is limited to the first 30 applicationsand the cost is $40. Register on the club website or godirectly to www.motorsportreg.com.
AutoX SCCA Event #5July 30, 2006, Truman Sports Complex, Lot L
BMW – AUDI Get TogetherSaturday August 5, 2006, 8:30AMPanera at Shawnee Mission Parkway near Goddard Street,west side of I-35
Susan G Komen ULTIMATE DRIVESaturday, August 18, 2006Register online at www.bmwusa.com and help BMW ofNorth America raise One Million dollars to help find a curefor breast cancer. For each mile driven, BMW NA willdonate a $1 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Founda-
tion.
Return of Surface of the Sun!!!Kansas City BMW Chapter Driving School and ClubRaceAugust 18-20, 2006Heartland Park, TopekaRegistration is available on the KC BMW Club website,www.motorsportreg.com, and in the Milepost.
Buckeye BMW Chapter Driving SchoolAugust 26-27, 2006Mid America Motorplex, IowaGo to www.buckeyebmwcca.org to register.
AutoX SCCA Event #6August 27, 2006, Truman Sports Complex, Lot L
Badger Bimmers BMW Chapter Driving SchoolSeptember 8-10, 2006Road America, Elkhart Lake, WisconsinGo to www.badgerbimmers.org to register.
BMW – AUDI Get TogetherSaturday September 2, 2006, 8:30AMPanera at Shawnee Mission Parkway near Goddard Street,west side of I-35
Springfield Oktoberfest at Import SpecialistSaturday, September 30, 20062140 East Pythlan Street, Springfield, MO 65802Join our Springflield members at Import Specialists. Moredetails will be posted on our club website,www.kcbmwclub.com.
Would you like to be emailed thelatest club event information?
Sign up with theKCBMWannouncements Yahoo
Group.
A link can be found on ourchapter’s website:
www.kcbmwclub.com
July / August 2006
The President Speaksby Chuck Vossler
Wow. Looking at our schedule for July and August we’regoing to be busy. In lieu of our monthly meeting, we willbe having our Annual Club Picnic and Drive on July 22nd. Last year we had almost 80 people in attendance. Look toour website forum under events to RSVP or email me di-rectly at [email protected]. It is important that wehave correct numbers so we have enough food. Club mem-bers can bring a side-dish or dessert and the club will pro-vide the drinks, burgers, and dogs. For our clean car nuts,there will also be a car show. If you are interested in dis-playing your car, RSVP to me for that as well. A completelisting of clean car standards will be listed on our website.Shawnee Mission Park will be a great place to highlightour cars and have a great time socializing. In August, we will be holding our Driver’s School andinaugural BMW Club Race on the 18-20th. We are alsocharting new territory by having our first ever on-line reg-istration, which is linked to our website. It’s a secure thirdparty site that will process credit cards and help us withorganizing run groups and matching instructors with stu-dents.
On a personal note, my ‘98 M3 has been damaged by hail,twice. I can’t believe my luck with hail this year. I knowit happens in Kansas City every year but to date I haveavoided it. My car stays in a garage at home and is in agarage at work. There are just four miles that separate thetwo garages. In March, I borrowed a good friend’s bigDodge Ram truck and left my car with him in Parkvilleover the weekend -BANG -it got nailed by hail. Then, asthose of you with small children up past bed time can un-derstand, I ended up leaving my car at my folk’s house inBrookside so that I could get my 4-year-old daughter tobed ASAP. Thirty minutes later I heard the hail hitting ourhouse in Prairie Village and just knew my car was gettinghit again. My only solace in all this is that our X5 hasremained unscathed and I hadn’t repaired the initial dam-age to my car yet. In closing, we have a lot going on this month and I hope tosee you at one of the upcoming events, including our grow-ing First Saturdays Get Together at Panera’s on ShawneeMission Parkway, just west of Baron.
the Milepost
Black & Blueby Joshua Ramseyby Meg Vanderliest
I can’t believe this is the last issue that Josh and I willwork on as a team. It’s been over two years since we tookover the Milepost from Scott Blazey. Some issues wenttogether seamlessly and others took an act of god for Joshand me not to kill each other. We have had many, manylate night laughs coming up with titles and photo captions;most of which would probably get us fired from our vol-unteer position if they had ever went to print. It’s been funand while I’m sad that our partnership is ending, I knowJosh is moving on to new and exciting things. Isn’t helucky to be moving to Florida where everyone drives slow,no one goes on green, and he gets to spend every wakinghour studying!
Nevertheless I am going to miss him as will the rest of theclub. I am also going to have to rename the column. Ican’t be Black and Blue if Blue moves away. It just doesn’twork. I have been thinking about new names and we’llsee.
I have been incredibly encouraged by all the articles andads recently submitted. When Josh and I first started edit-ing the Milepost, we wrote a good portion of its content, asdid Scott Blazey when he was Editor. Now we have avariety of different materials and often worry we mightnot fit it all in without turning the Milepost into a mini-epic but in the end it all fits. Please keep writing!
As I wrap up, I want to highlight a fantastic customer ex-perience I have had recently with a local shop. Before Ileft for Greece, I dropped my car off at Butler’s C&D tofix spot of peeling clear coat, my damn leaky doors, andremove a few dings. Upon my return, I went to pick upmy car and it wasn’t done! Note to all: always call first. Iwas offered the owner’s Porsche until mine was ready at5pm. At 3:45pm, I received a call no owner wants to hear;there was a problem. Huh?!? As they were taking off theprepping tape, the clear coat peeled in another area. I wasfrustrated but not mad. Stuff happens. Butler’s rented mea car for the next few days but I ended up not needing itthat long. I received a call about 3pm the next afternoonnotifying me my car was ready. The guys had stayed lateand came in at 5am to make sure my car was prepped,painted, and ready for me. That is great service. On top ofit, they refused to let me pay for repairs. I finally negoti-ated a reduced fee though it was nothing compared to thetime and effort they put into repairing my car and making
sure I was a satisfied customer. Accidents happen; it’swhat happens afterwards that makes the difference.Thank you Butler’s!
With this, I bid all adieu. I am leaving for law school inJacksonville at the end of July. Meg is taking over theEditorship of the Milepost full time. Be nice to her, this isa hard, time-consuming job and it’s a voluntary position.She can also write whatever she wants and publish it toeveryone!
I have made many friends in this club and will miss all ofyou. I would never have driven a DE, autocrossed, orlearned the powers of Zaino without these great people. Ican only hope the First Coast Chapter has tech sessionsand DE camaraderie sessions that are as much fun as ours.
The last list I received from National showed the KC BMWCCA Chapter to have over 850 members. That is a far cryfrom when Meg and I first started as editors and we barelyhad 600. The first meeting I went to had 4 people… in-cluding myself. Now we wonder where everyone is if only35 people show up. I am happy to have been part of thatincrease in participation. I wish I could be around for allthe fun events we have been planning for you. I’ll have totake some of these ideas and trust the First Coast Chapterwill show as much energy as Kansas City.
Since I don’t seem to be able to go two months withoutrenting a car, I offer you my final Rental Car Review. Irecently got married in Santorini, Greece and we rented anearly 90’s Suzuki Samurai. Not a bad little car to drivearound on an island and it was way more fun than theMalibu and the Impala I had recently rented in the States.I don’t think I would buy one, but I could live with it andthe Suzuki was more useful than the moped we rented lasttime. I did still manage to get the little thing stuck on thebeach. I guess I shouldn’t have tried to test out that 4-wheel drive!
There should be a couple of tech sessions and maybe anAutoX or two I can participate in before I leave because Istill haven’t autocrossed the 328i yet. However, the JulyAnnual Picnic in Shawnee Mission Park will be my lastBMW CCA event with the KC Chapter. I hope to see allmy CCA friends there to say goodbye.
July / August 2006
What’s new in Wichita? Well, me I suppose! Mike Shawofficially turned over the Wichita Vice President positionto me a few weeks ago during our monthly meeting at Ted’s.For those of you that don’t know me, I am James Sanders,also known as Jimmyjoe on our website,www.wichitabmw.com. My wife is Sheila (SS525i on thewebsite), and wehave three children,Lizzie, Chris andNick, and are ex-pecting anotherdaughter to arrivelater this summer.Our stable includes a’90 325is and aslightly (wink,wink) modified ’93525i. Previous in-habitants of thestable include a ’95325iC which fellvictim to an uninsured driver talking on a cell phone, and a’95 M3 which had to go to make room for the 525.
A big THANK YOU needs to go to Mike for taking on therole of the Wichita Vice President for the last few years,and I hope to continue the growth and excitement he started!
Last month, we had a great turnout for our Club BBQ.The day started off with a group meeting at the top of theWarren Theater parking garage for a quick little photo op.The initial turnout was great and we picked up a few moreas the day progressed. Our next stop was European CarCompany. A big thank you needs to go to David Levianfor opening up his shop on a Saturday evening to give us atour! The last stop of the day was a BBQ at the Sanders’house for food and good conversation! We’ll have to makethe summer BBQ an annual event!
Next up is a Porche/BMW car show on Saturday, June 17th
to benefit the Kansas Food Bank. Our monthly meetingwill be later that night at Chili’s. Coming up on June 30th
the Great Race will be making its way through Wichita foran overnight stop. We invite everyone to come and checkout all the cars on display at Douglas & Main starting at
5:30pm. We’ll probably end up organizing a group outingfor this one as well; stay tuned to www.wichitabmw.comfor more details.
I look forward to serving as your new Wichita Vice Presi-dent and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you haveany problems, questions, or great ideas to spark enthusi-asm!
To submit a change of address for the Roundel, or if it’sthe middle of the month and you haven’t received yourRoundel, or if you have any other membership questionsthat need to go to the National Office, the address is:
BMW CCA, Inc.640 South Main St. Suite 200
Greenville, SC 29601
You can also call at (864) 250-0022. The NationalOffice can be contacted Monday thru Friday, 8:00 AM
to 4:00 PM, Central Time.
the Milepost
Mister Excitement’s First Brake Job
Here it was, the final countdown to the Evolution Perfor-mance Driving School. Only one task remained.
Little Red needed a brake job before the one-day autocross school. I figured if I couldbrake later and harder I could carry morespeed up to the corner and perform better onthe course.
So, I had collected new drilled rotors, a setof Mintex redbox street pads and the vari-ous odds and ends one needs for a brake job.New set screws for the rotors, some antiseize...Piece of cake project, right?
It would be my first brake job, and I wasready to learn. But the lessons turned out tobe quite different than expected. And the situ-ation would force me into some radical experiments withmy Other Bimmer, an e46 323i Touring.
As it had been a busy week, it was Friday evening at BenTseng’s garage when a crew of KC BMW CCA membersand I tore into Red’s brakes, with Evo school to begin thenext morning in Salina. We planned to knock off the brakejob in an hour ortwo, then I’d driveto Salina and hit themotel around 10 or11 p.m.
We got off to asmashing start, fit-ting new rotors andpads to the front indecent time. Thenwe turned our atten-tions to the rear.
On the first wheel,we found it difficultto squeeze the cali-per on over the newpads and rotor. Once the caliper was in place, we were un-
able to turn the wheel with the brakes OFF! We fin-ished up the second wheel and took the car out to drive,thinking we’d bed the pads in and see how things werethen.
Josh Ramsey took the passenger seat. I pulled away fromBen’s garage, following a typical bedding procedure. Veryodd feelings in the pedal — mushy. Soft response too.
Hmm.
We continued onand then attempteda hard stop from 60mph. The pedalsunk to the floor. Ilater assumed thatwe had boiled thebrake fluid due tothe extra friction inthe rear brakes, pre-cipitating a totalbrake system fail-ure.
Giving up, welimped back to the garage. It was 8:30 or so at this point,and the three-hour drive to Salina was still ahead. Weswapped the old pads back onto the rear brakes, noticingfor the first time that they were a slightly different designthan the new pads. Hmm.
Took another drive. Braking re-sponse returned to a certain extent,but the pedal was still soft, with longtravel, and it was difficult to getenough friction to engage ABS. Notgood.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t planned ona brake bleed, and we lacked thenecessary equipment and suppliesto do one. Ultimately, I had to babythe car back to my home near thePlaza. It was midnight when I gotthere.
I realized on the way home that Iwould not be checking into theSalina Days Inn, and I would not bedriving Little Red at autocross
school. The brakes were only about 60 percent. It wouldn’twork.
Never again, I vowed, would I undertake a major systems
Grease Talkby Doug Hitchcock
July / August 2006
project on the night before a driving event. I was fumingand frustrated and feeling fairly wellhumbled by the whole deal.
My wife met me at the door, worried atthe hour, and at my failure to have goneto Evo school. I laid it all out, and she re-sponded with: “The kids and I don’t needto go anywhere tomorrow. Take thewagon.”
Hmm. Greta, our Orientblau 323i Tour-ing, has the stock sport package suspen-sion, a 5-speed, and 225/45 X 17s. I real-ized it might be less than ideal, but it wouldbe better than nothing.
I managed to sleep a few hours, thenloaded up my autocross gear into Greta,and took off just after 4 a.m. for Salina. Iwas to be “ready to run” by 7:30 with a driver’s meeting atquarter till.
Running on coffee and donuts, I managed to get there at7:40. Greta had barely started to cool down from the high-way when she had to hit the autocross course for a slew ofback-to-back runs with me and my instructor, nationalchampion Andy Hollis. And she served us quite well.
I cracked up my fellow students after my final run by pull-ing up, leaning out the window, and saying, “Hey, I’m gonnarun to the Hy-Vee for grocer-ies. Anybody need anything?”
At the end of the afternoon, Iheaded back to I-70 and gotback to Kansas City by 6:30that evening.
The next day, I bled Red’sbrakes twice, very thoroughly,by the manual method. Butthere was very little improve-ment.
A closer inspection revealedugly surprises. The front padswe’d installed on Friday had
started to disintegrate, shedding long charcoal-like stripsof material that had jammed into the calipers and betweenthe backing plates and rotors. Yuck!
I got a $20 set of “lifetime” pads from the neighborhoodautoparts store, installed them and — low and behold —the car stopped again.
It turned out I’d been sent rear pads for an e36 325i, whichmost definitely will not work on an e30. And no one ex-plained the problem with the front pads, but my supplier,Ireland Engineering, overnighted a new set of pads for free.I later heard stories of similar failures with Mintex redboxpads from BMW and Audi drivers.
So, I opted for a set of Hawk HPS from Bimmerworld ratherthan risk another round of weirdness. Josh and I success-fully installed the Hawks the following weekend, and thewhoa pedal has been better than normal ever since.
Club Members - New andOld:
Do you want to learn more about your car?Want to know how to change your oil?
How about those Control Arms? Need toreplace your brakes? Have you been
wondering just what goes on under thehood, but too afraid to ask?
Well now your chance has arrived.Throughout the summer BMW Club mem-bers will be hosting tech sessions at theirhouses. We’ll be doing all kinds of fun
things to our cars AND YOU ARE WEL-COME TO JOIN US! Sign up for the
Yahoo Announcement Group or give us acall for all the latest tech session events.
Continued from previous page...
the Milepost
by Greg Lippert
Suspension Swap: BMW Club Style
What is a young, enterprising BMW enthusiast to do whenthe weather begins to turn warm? Some might obsessivelywash their car; others might take a therapeutic driving trip.
However, Ryan and Brian aren’t your ordi-nary, everyday BMW owners. Both havebeen known to spend time on track at drivingschools. Ryan instructs at these events andrecently purchased a fully prepared E30 racecar. Brian, no stranger to fine automobiles,has an E36 M3 that has been “tastefully”modified. The extra gauges in the dash andon the “A” pillar serve as the first hints tothese modifications.
According to Ryan, the idea began simply:the existence of the dedicated track/race carallowed him to replace his current track sus-pension with something a little less harsh foreveryday street duty. Brian points out he had long beenconsidering upgrading to a coilover suspension but hadn’tsettled yet on specifics.Enter the nemesis knownas opportunity; Ryancould get the less aggres-sive ride he was seekingfor a street car whileBrian could make thejump to the coilover sus-pension for his trackdriving – for you busi-
ness folks, this is a“win-win” situa-tion, KC BMWClub style.
The plan is set, right? We have two cars, two owners, twosuspensions, two garage bays, a sunny day, the entire Searstool department, doughnuts, and a bunch of club members
eager to see if there will be any inspired tool usage. DidI mention doughnuts? That’s a little known tech sessionfact – there’s food!
Both cars were positioned in their bays and then placedon jack stands. After that, it was as easy as remove, in-stall on the other car, and repeat. Right, just that easy!There were a few snags along the way, but nothing thatwasn’t insurmountable. Each corner essentially was re-moved intact and simply moved to the appropriate loca-tion on the new car. I am always amazed at how simplethe suspension system is – especially considering the jobit must do.
All connectors were then tightened to their proper speci-fication. All corners were then double-checked before
reinstallation of the wheels could be done. Each wheelwas reinstalled and then tightened to specification.
Given the dramatic change to Brian’s car we re-moved the jack stands first from his car to see thenew look. An already aggressive car took on ameaner look – the pictures illustrate perfectly.
Well, the actual deinstall and reinstall of each por-tion of the suspension was really not dramatic.However, the real proof in a tech session is whatdoes everyone think of the results? This reportercan tell you that Brian came back from his first test-drive with quite a grin on his face. Since the instal-lation, he has driven the new suspension in a Porscheevent at Heartland Park in Topeka. He reports that
July / August 2006
Continued from previous page...
A Weekend in Eureka Springsby Greg Gelatka
This excursion could have been named “Eureka SpringsPart 2” because it seemed like only yesterday we were inthe same Holiday Inn Express parking lot talking about lo-cal places, sights tovisit and our drivein the Ozark coun-tryside. This yearthe trip was orga-nized (and hope-fully improved)based on commentsmade during and af-ter last year’s trip.We shortened thedrive to one me-dium length drivefrom two longdrives. To accom-modate food, we stopped at the Nature Center located inPonca, a halfway point on our drive. We certainly luckedout once again weather-wise, as it was very warm andfree of rain the entire time. Early arrivals (Friday) took advantage of it by sight see-ing local shops and places of interest. A few of us wentto eat at a local biker bar & grill on the main street. Wewere all entertained by some colorful people at the tablenext to us. We wondered if there was a “drag festival”held that weekend. We ate, told stories, and gatheredanticipation for the next days drive. We assembled at the front drive of the hotel at 10 AM.There was quite a showing, with approximately 18 carslined up. We ranged from a 2002, an X5, a Z4, and amixture of 3 series and M3’s as well. In accordancewith Greg Lippert’s planned route, we set off promptly
at 10:30 AM. This year we wanted to take on a singlelong drive in one day rather than 2 drives over the week-end. I planned a picnic at the beautiful Nature Center in
Ponca, located along the Buffalo River. There werea few stops along the way; one was to see if wecould assist a driver (GM product) that went offthe road. Although the intention to helpthe distressed driver was noble, the jack we hadfell a foot short of being useful. Great scenery,beautiful weather, and twisty roads made the drivego by very quickly and after 130 miles we wereback at the hotel. The hotel staff then greeted uswith refreshments, ice cream, and cookies. A verynice touch of Arkansas hospitality. After a fewhours of intermission we all met at the BavarianInn for dinner: German food at its finest. Just likeour fine cars. Social time afterwards was held sit-ting on lawn chairs in the parking lot....long tales
of conquest and funny jokes were plentiful. It was a verygood day indeed.
turn-in is much improved and he can carry more speedthrough the corners – success!
What about new race car owner Ryan, you ask? He re-ports that while the enthusiast in him always will miss theGround Control suspension and its aggressive look as wellas its performance; for a daily driver it is hard to deny themore compliant ride. He’s also quite happy that anotherclub member was able to benefit from the swap – success!
the Milepost
Second Annual KC BMW Club PicnicThe drive and picnic at Shawnee Mission Park last yearwas so great we voted to hold it again! To top it off, thisyear the Club is hosting a Car Show as well as the driveand picnic for those of you who enjoy the curves of the carover the curves of the road.
Please RSVP on our website, www.kcbmwclub.com un-der Forums, Events. We ask that club members bring aside dish, chips, or dessert to share and the Club will sup-ply the burgers, dogs, and drinks. If there is somethingyou would like grilled other than the listed items, pleasefeel free to bring it along!
Activities for the DayJuly 22, 2006
The Drive: 9:30amMeet at Barley’s Brewhaus at the SE corner of Midlandand I-435. The drive will be about an hour long and willhave lots of curves and hills.
The Car Show: Prepping begins about 11amCars will line up at the parking lot near Shawnee MissionPark, Shelter 8. Competition should be fierce.
The Picnic: The grill will fire up about 12pmThere will be plenty of covered space at Shelter 8 and lotsof good food and conversation.
The Kansas City BMW Club Clean CarStandards
Change is good. This spring, club members Greg Gelatkaand Brad Rein volunteered to revise our chapter’s CleanCar Standards and I would have to say, after reviewingthem, Brad and Greg were very thorough. I had no ideathere were so many places to spot dirt and grim!
The complete version of Kansas City BMW Clean Car Stan-dards can be found on our website but here is an overviewof what your car will be judged on.
Engine compartment WILL be a new judging class for theBMW Club events. Point values will be assessed for un-der hood condition.
Suspension and underside WILL NOT be judged forpoint values but will be used as a means of differen-tiation for determining place winners in each judgingclass and Best of Show award. In the event of a point
score tie, suspension and underside detail will be evalu-ated and the judges will assign the winner to the car with aclear advantage in underside cleanliness, condition anddetail.
Any non-OE modifications or equipment (audio, suspen-sion, detailing, etc.) will also be evaluated and may be con-sidered as an additional means of differentiation.
Score values will be based on the following judging crite-ria;5 points: Excellent condition (no flaws)4 points: Good condition (only a few minor flaws orimperfections due to normal wear and tear)3 points: Fair condition (average or above averageflaws and imperfections with evidence there have beenno, or only minor attempts to correct)0-2 points: Poor condition (extensive flaws and im-perfections showing excessive wear and tear and/ormistreatment, abuse, etc. No evidence of anyremediation, repair, or correction of such flaws)
Judges may/will interpolate scores based on each areajudged based on number, extensiveness of flaws in the fol-lowing areas:
Exterior – BodyExterior – TrimExterior – Tires and WheelsExterior – Lights, Reflectors, Side MarkersUnder Hood – Engine CompartmentTrunkInterior – SeatsInterior – CarpetingInterior – Dashboard, Console, Steering WheelInterior – F&R Windscreens, Side GlassInterior – SurfacesSuspension and Underside Detail
July / August 2006
Your car looks great and you want to keep it looking thatway. One way to do this is to enter Auto Glass and TintShop’s phone number into your address book—before youneed their services. Auto Glass and Tint Shop offers ser-vices across the Kansas City metro area. Keeping your carlooking great is their mission.
Auto Glass and Tint Shop should be one of your first stopsafter buying a car. Contact them to learn about customwindow tinting for your new or current vehicle. They willwork with you to get the exact look you want, while pro-tecting your car’s interior from sun damage. They can alsoapply 3M’s clear urethane protective film designed to pro-tect your paint job from stone chips, bug acids, and thesmall scratches left by sand and gravel. This nearly invis-ible shield protects the value of your car and keeps it look-ing newer longer. Depending on the make of car, it can beapplied to practically any painted surface, such as the frontend, mirrors, fenders, bumpers, and door edges.
Auto Glass and Tint Shop will also repair windshield chipsbefore they grow. This service costs much less than re-placing the entire windshield after a chip becomes a crack.If the damage is larger than a chip and window replace-ment is needed, Auto Glass and Tint Shop offers certifiedprofessionals to replace the window. They will work withyou and your insurance company to keep your car lookinggood and safe to drive. They even go the extra mile and
once the claim is approved and all deductible responsibil-ity is satisfied, Auto Glass and Tint Shop will actually in-voice the insurance company. They take the hassles outthat process.
While there are many shops that offer similar services, AutoGlass and Tint shop offers what others do not. The man-aging owner has over 25 years of experience in the indus-try and uses only certified technicians and OE quality glass.The standards of performance at Auto Glass and Tint areas high as yours, and the company is only satisfied withthe job when you are.
For more information, contact Auto Glass and TintShop at (913) 491-8468, or go to their website atwww.autoglassandtintshop.com.
the Milepost welcomes Auto Glass & Tint Shop
This Could Be You...
Heartland Park, Topeka, August 18-20, 2006
the Milepost
the Milepost welcomes two new local businesses
Santa Fe Auto Sound was founded in 1967, under the nameMid-Town Auto Sound. At that time Mid-Town Auto Soundwas the only exclusive car stereo retailer in Kansas City.The company was run on principles of good service andbeing the best in their field from the beginning.
Today, Santa Fe Auto Sound provides expert installationperformed by ASE certified installers, along with the mostup to date products sold for any vehicle. Along with tradi-tional car audio (CD players, speakers, and amplifiers) wenow also offer new technologies like video, navigation,Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and iPod hookups. If a newtechnology is available for the car, we have it!
Located at 83rd & Santa Fe in downtown Overland Park.Santa Fe Auto Sound operates in a newly remodeled facil-ity, featuring state of the art displays. Hours are M-F 9AMto 6PM, and Sat. 9AM to 5PM.
Kansas City Autosport in Merriam first opened its doorsin March 1989. Since then they have changed locations afew times but now can be found one block west of 67th
Street and I-35 and three blocks north on Carter Avenue,just west of Aristocrat.
Between their five key employees, Kansas City Autosportcan offer their customers a combined 88 years of experi-ence. Tim McCracken trained with BMW and Volvo andis a Master Tech with ASE certification. He offers 28 yearsof experience with BMW and Volvo. Tim Kliethermes isa Factory Volvo Master and also offers customers 28 yearsof experience with BMW and Volvo. Marcos Markoulatostrained with Mini and is a Mini Master Tech with ASCcertification. He brings 12 years of experience to KansasCity Autosport. Service Manager, Russ Gratham also has12 years experience to offer customers and PaulMcCracken has been a tech for 8 years.
Kansas City Autosport offers Kansas City BMW Clubmembers a 12% discount on parts. Next time your car isnot running at 100%, take it to Kansas City Autosport andlet their experienced team solve the problem and get youback on the road.
The Milepost is currently distributed toover 700 BMW CCA members in theKansas City, Springfield, and Wichitaareas. Advertising in the Milepost canbe a very effective way to attract busi-ness from a targeted demographic.
If you would like to join our family ofbusiness advertisers, contact Advertis-ing Manager, Brad Rein [email protected] or 913.327.2324for a 2006 Media Kit.
Are you interestedin advertising in
the Milepost?
the Milepost
Classified AdsAUTOMOBILES - BMW
BMW PARTS
TIRES AND WHEELS
Tires Two Bridgestone Potenza S-02 205/55/R16 with 1/2 tread; and, twovery low mileage Pirelli Zero NeroP225/50/ZR16 M+S. All from a HondaS2000. The S-02’s are stock tires forthe car, and the Pirelli’s are good tire,just not for the S2000. $125 OBO.Contact Stuart at 816.455.2782 [email protected].
2003 330Ci Alpine white with blackleather sport seats, 5 speed, B&M shortshifter, Bilstein sport and H&R sportsuspension with TMS sway bars, and aBorla muffler. The car is certified pre-owned. Only $26,250. Contact Scott at913.727.1998 or [email protected].
1985 535iA Black, black leather, 93.3kmiles, all original except newer Alpinestereo (CD/mp3), speakers, subwooferand 16" BBS RK wheels and MichelinPilots. Very good condition, garaged,non-smoker, 1 owner, all service records.Photos available. $5,000 obo. E-mailJeff at [email protected].
Track Tires: 4 Yokohama Advan 032R235/40/17 very good condition tracktires with 7/32 tread. Only used for onedriving school at HPT. Bargain price of$200 for set of 4.
Questions for National BMW CCA?864.250.0022 or http://www.bmwcca.org
Check out our chapter website at:http://www.kcbmwclub.org
and sign up for the email list to getthe latest club announcements!!!
Contact our chapter at:Kansas City BMW Club
P.O. Box 4832Overland Park, KS 66204
1975 2002 parts car, had an engine fire,automatic, other parts to go with car.
1975 2002 complete (uncut) wiring har-ness.
1974 2002 2.0 engine
$300, located just east of Springfield,MO. Contact Bill at 417-767-2747 oremail at [email protected].
e32 Front Shock Inserts. Sachs (for-merly Boge) OEM front shocks, new inthe box. $100. Contact Gerald at816.830.2782 or [email protected].
Tires and Wheels Bridgestone BlizzakWinter Tires on Borbet Rims, 225/60/R15. Used approximatly 1500 miles for1 month this winter. Excellent condi-tion. $400. Contact Gerald 816.830.2782or [email protected].
BMW PARTS
Classified Ad Policy: Non-commer-cial classified ads may be placed atno charge by Kansas City BMW Clubmembers. Ads will run for twomonths unless the member whoplaced that ad notifies one or both ofthe newsletter editors (Meg or Josh)that it needs to be contines month tomonth. If notifcation is not recievedby the issue deadline date, the ad willbe dropped. Non-members mayplace classified ads, maximum 50words per ad, to run for two issuesfor $10. Please e-mail ads [email protected] or if pay-ing for an ad, make check payable to“Kansas City BMW Club” and mailto 4555 Main Street, Unit 404, Kan-sas City, MO 64111. The Milepostreserves the right to edit or reject anyad.
TIRES AND WHEELS
Kansas City BMW ClubP.O. Box 4832Overland Park, KS 66204(913) 383-7084
Presorted StandardU.S. Postage
PAIDPermit No. 4693Kansas City, MO
KC BMW CCA CalendarJuly / August
To catch the latest in club events, sign up for the announcment emails on ourwebsite at: www.kcbmwclub.org. If you have any questions please feel free to
