CCC Newsletter for this month.


CORVETTE GAZETTE
July, 2008 The next club meeting: July 19th, 2008, poolside, at Bruce & Jean's place August meeting 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at the Golden Corral, Dothan. We dine at 6:00 p.m. PCB Caravan '08 photo by Charley
IN THIS ISSUE:
President’s Comments National Corvette Museum Tech Tips	New Members Events approaching and departing
Check out our website at www.circlecitycorvettes.com

President's Comments: Well I made it back after being in N.C. for 3 weeks! As everyone knows who's been away from home for awhile, it's great to be back. I had a pretty good time and even had a chance to hang out with some of the Corvette clubs up there. I was looking on Corvette Forum to see if anything was going on there locally and as luck would have it the Cape Fear Corvettes club was doing a cruise to the U.S.S. North Carolina in Wilmington. Well I got in touch with Oz (President of the club) to see if they'd mind if I tagged along. He said "Heck no! Come on over". Well what a group of nice folks. I had a great time and saw some really nice Vette's. There were 2 other Vette clubs there, The Myrtle Beach Corvette Club and The New Bern Corvette Club. Again a great bunch of folks that just enjoy cruising their Vette's. Did I mention that was one BIG battleship. I really marvel at what our ancestors could build. And the battleship with it's 16 inch guns is not something I'd want to see off my coast! Imagine sending a projectile that weighs about as much as a Volkswagen from Dothan to Ozark. Wow! Remember that we won't be meeting at Golden Corral this month. Instead we will be having the club's 4th of July party at Bruce & Jean's house on the 19th. Bring your bathing suit, a side dish, and the adult beverage of your choice. The club will provide the meat and soft drinks. Let's have a PARTY!!! I also want to welcome some new members to the club. Roy & Shannon Williams, and Brian Webb & Jaren Soloman. Ya'll have a fun 4Th of July Kelly Walker-President-Circle City Corvette Club (BDCS) -----------------------------------------------------------

*National Corvette Museum News:* Click for the Museum Homepage: National Corvette Museum - opens in its own window. The Museum Homepage has links to all museum pages! Click here for Charley's NCM Newsletter page. Greetings from your NCM Ambassador! - Charley ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech Tips: The following article is re-printed from Greencar.com The 3,000 Mile Oil Change Myth According to a recent study by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 73 percent of California drivers change their oil more frequently than required. This same scenario no doubt repeats itself across the country. Besides wasting money, this translates into unnecessary consumption of $100-a-barrel oil, much of it imported. Using 2005 data, the Board estimates that Californians alone generate about 153.5 million gallons of waste oil annually, of which only about 60 percent is recycled. Used motor oil poses the greatest environmental risk of all automotive fluids because it is insoluble, persistent, and contains heavy metal and toxic chemicals. One gallon of used oil can foul the taste of one million gallons of water. It’s been a misconception for years that engine oil should be changed every 3000 miles, even though most auto manufacturers now recommend oil changes at 5,000, 7,000, or even 10,000 mile intervals under normal driving conditions. Greatly improved oils, including synthetic oils, coupled with better engines mean longer spans between oil changes without harming an engine. The 3000 mile interval is a carryover from days when engines used single-grade, non-detergent oils. For several years, automakers like General Motors, BMW, and Mercedes Benz installed computerized systems that alert drivers via an instrument panel light when it’s time to change oil. As an example, the General Motor Oil Life System (GMOLS) analyzes the engine temperature, rpms, vehicle speeds, and other driving conditions to calculate the rate of engine oil degradation. Then, software calculates when the oil needs to be changed. Other systems work similarly .Because of the many external conditions and parameters that have to be taken into account, calculating the precise maximum service interval using mathematical models alone is difficult. Now, Daimler AG has developed a more direct and precise way to monitor oil quality directly on board a vehicle. Daimler uses a special sensor integrated into the oil circuit to monitor engine oil directly. Oil doesn’t wear out, but rather dirt and impurities cause oil to lose its ability to lubricate properly, dictating the need for a change. Daimler uses the oil’s “permittivity,” that is, the ability to polarize in response to the electric field. If the engine oil is contaminated by water or soot particles, it polarizes to a greater extent and its permittivity increases. To evaluate the quality of the oil, permittivity is measured by applying an AC potential between the interior and exterior pipes of an oil-filled sensor to determine how well the oil transmits the applied electric field. Because not all impurities can be measured with sufficient precision via the electric field method, Daimler also measures the oil’s viscosity to detect any fuel that may have seeped into the oil. Daimler researchers measure viscosity while the vehicle is in motion by observing the oil's side-to-side motion in the oil sump. The slower the oil moves, the higher its viscosity. This movement is registered by a sensor and the viscosity is calculated on this basis. A single sensor, along with the information already monitored by on-board computers, is sufficient to determine the various parameters of the engine oil. Daimler will likely use the technology first on its commercial vehicles. Here, large oil reservoirs mean larger quantities of oil can be saved. Plus, a predicted 25 percent increase between service intervals and reduced downtime will be of interest to fleets, and thus justify the added cost of installation.
Upcoming Local Events: July 12th (and 11th) - The Capitol City Corvette club in Montgomery along with the GM High Performance club and Capitol City Street Rod club are having a car show and drag racing event. On Friday night they will be going to the Montgomery Motorsports Park for some drag racing. Friday night there is “Test and Tune” racing so for a nominal fee, make as many runs as you like, against whoever you like, track space permitting. Then on Saturday is an open car show at the Shoppes at East Chase (off Taylor Rd, behind Dillards) from 9:00 to 3:00. Click here for event flyer. July 19 - Jean and Bruce will again be hosting the club’s annual 4th of July pool party at our their in Enterprise. We’ll be grilling burgers and sausages and chilling out around the pool. Please plan to attend. We ask everyone bring a dish to share, your folding chairs, whatever adult beverages you like (soft drinks, tea, and water provided) and a party attitude! This will replace the July meeting, so we’ll have a brief meeting during the party. I’ll be sending out an email later to coordinate the dishes and other details. July 26 - Rick Early is planning our monthly Mystery Cruise. Stay tuned for more info. August 1-3 - the Emerald Coast club will be making a trip to Helen GA. If you have never been there, Helen is a copy of a typical German town, complete with a crystal clear river running thru town. And you can rent floats (inner tubes) and float down the river. The town is surrounded by beautiful scenic, fun to drive roads. This should be fun. Go to our home page and click on the Corvette Clubs of the Southeast event calendar for more details. August 16 - Brent Gourley is planning our monthly Mystery Cruise. More details later. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMER IN LA (lower AL) Alabama summer heat is like New England winters only in reverse, we run the A/C from March till January... We turn the heat on for about two weeks in February during the winter season... But the big difference between the Alabama heat and the New England winters.... you don't have to sweep, rake, shovel, plow or otherwise move and dispose of the heat. Nobody ever gets stuck in a heat drift.... I don't know of anybody who ever lost a finger or toe from heat bite.... You can lick the flagpole and not lose the skin off your tongue... If you go out early on a February morning and you see frost on your vehicle windshield, it will be gone by the time you pour yourself a cup of coffee... without your assistance Never having to winterize the swimming pool... Convertibles and sports cars can be driven year round... Of course there are some drawbacks: All it takes is one time jumping into a hot car in shorts to realize that leather gets really really really hot... Same for the steering wheel... Good drivers can spot a shady parking space a block away, and will endanger every living being between them and that spot to get it before it's gone... Grass really does crunch when walking on it after a week with no rain... One word. . . HUMIDITY... After a few years you realize there is no Spring "season".. Spring is really a nice cool sunny weekend sometime in March ... Autumn, that period of time between December 19th and the 20th... Christmas gifts never include conventional winter toys... sleds, skates and hockey sticks are really wall decorations for Ruby Tuesday's... If you graduate in June, you're a month late... what happened? Show up for class in September and you're a month tardy already... Your calendar is marked with the last time it rained so you remember when winter ended... After living in the South for several years you suddenly realize where the southern drawl came from... people with heat stroke always talk slow and slur their words... You also understand the reason guys use chewing tobacco ... it's hot enough without having a smoldering fire in your face too! Thermometers are only half used, nothing below 60 is worth looking at except for occasional brief historical reference... Old Winter Olympic reruns are a real hit in the summer... you sit around hoping the images of ice and snow will somehow help lower your house cooling bill... When you see the evening weather and people in the North East are complaining about the week long heat wave... you almost can't contain your laughter... except you don't have enough energy left to laugh anymore... your all done in from walking from the hot garage to the inside of the house where you can enjoy the A/C once again... Did I mention the HUMIDITY???? You take a cool shower and later take one step outside to go get the morning paper, now you need another shirt because you just filled this one with a pint of sweat... You don't check the thermometer before going outside, you feel the inside of front door, like a fireman checking for a flashfire before entering a room... Well.... that's my take on summer in Lower Alabama, affectionately called LA. Stan
Car of the Month: ( Need some volunteers here !! ) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Members:
We welcome our new members to the club!!! Brian Webb and Jaren Solomon, Tallahassee, many, many Corvettes Roy and Shannon Williams, Ozark, ’81 yellow coupe
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Birthdays and Anniversaries:
HAPPY July BIRTHDAYS 3 Colette Weldon 4 Elaine Dodd 7 Jean Carter 11 Michael Walker 20 Kitty Eggleston	July ANNIVERSARIES: 14 Marty and Val Cochran 18 Russ and Connie Smedley 27 Tom and Cindy McAlister
For Sale: 1996 Corvette Coupe -- Loaded with options, including the LT4 engine. Only 5K miles on complete engine rebuild including forged pistons, balanced rotating assembly, and a comp cam. 7K miles on new ZF 6-speed tranny. New tires and battery. Runs and drives great. $12,900 Call Bruce at 334-348-2340.

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President: Kelly Walker Vice President: Bill James Secretary: Barbara Pattberg NCM Ambassador: Charley Robertson Treasurer: Bruce Carter Caravan Coordinator: John Hickman Local Event Coordinator: Bruce Carter Newsletter Editor: Bruce Carter Member at Large: Jackie James Member at Large: Charlotte Countryman Webmaster: Brent Gourley	Save the Wave