About 20 club members attended the open house for the Porsche Club at Lujack’s Auto Plaza in Davenport on March 25^th.

A.J. Singh and Josh Johnson were the hosts for the great get together to tour the facilities, ogle the 2000 Boxster S and walk through the Porsche service bays.

We were treated to coffee, juice and pastries. Complimentary key chains and Porsche Turbo posters were available, courtesy of Lujack’s.

The folks at Lujack are friendly people and they are the only factory authorized dealer in our region. Thanks to Lujack’s for hosting this event and thanks to the club members for supporting it.

We had originally scheduled a rally on Sunday, April 30^th. This has been changed to a driving tour to Kewanee, Illinois. The destination is Good’s Furniture with lunch in their Rathskeller.

We will meet in Davenport, at Lujack’s Porsche division parking lot at 9:00 am. There will be time to tour the store, gift shop, and have lunch.

Our first Auto Cross of the year will be at Marshalltown on Saturday, May 6^th. Practice time will start at 10:00 am with timed runs at 1:00 pm. Lunch will be on your own and the fee for driving on the track is $25.00 per driver.

Come join us for the seasons first track event. If you have not been there and need information or directions check the we at bestofiowa.com/ia-intl-raceway.

In today's world of high-tech motorsports I'm afraid we have become complacent about the tires we use. You see, the tires have gotten so good and reliable that often times we don't do the little things that we should do to insure that they will take care of us and not let us down.

This whole area of concern was frighteningly reinforced when I recently had a catastrophic tire failure at the Start/Finish line at Road America. This is one of the fastest parts of the track with concrete barriers lining both sides and only 3 or 4 feet of grass before the wall. In my Porsche I was going approximately 150 mph when all of a sudden the car felt as if it were on LOTS OF OIL. It first went left, then right, then left, then right, then sideways, then backwards, then sideways, then finally I got it turned around going forwards again. Each time I made a steering correction it seemed to be too much correction, but I did everything within my power to keep the car off the wall, which at that speed would certainly have done big damage, if not destroying the car. When I finally got the car going forwards again it had slowed to about 30 - 40 mph at which time I just dropped the left side tires into the grass and just grazed the wall with the left rear.

As it turned out, it was the left tire that had suddenly lost all the air. The damage to the car was only minor paint and graphics damage to the bolt-on fiberglass fender extension, a scraped-up outer rim half, and the left rear needed a toe adjustment. The tire just appeared flat from the outside, but once removed there were five huge splits in the tire where the sidewall meets the tread. It's hard to say how much of this was caused by running such a long way on a tire with no air and how much was the initial cause of the incident. The tire has since been sent to the manufacturer for their analysis and assessment.

The point of the story is this: Don't take your tires for granted!! Check the pressure right before each session and again right after each session. Keep a log of how many heat cycles are on the tires and what the pressures are both hot and cold. Regularly pull the tires off the car to inspect them. Look for anything like a crack in the sidewall or on the tread. Be alert for bits of debris like anything metal or carbon fiber stuck in the rubber. If you see anything that looks suspicious, take the tire to a tire engineer servicing your event for an expert opinion. If you're not sure what to do, Don't drive on the tire! At the speeds most of reach, a sudden tire failure can spell disaster, both to you and to your car.

One other tid-bit: make sure that the people doing the mounting of your track tires use only the short-style valve cores. Apparently the long style can let air escape from the tire due to the centrifugal force exerted on it. This loss of pressure can cause the tire to overheat and come apart in a big way.

If you feel anything out of the ordinary when you are on the track, come in and have a look at the tires. If you can catch a slow puncture or leak before the tire comes apart you can save yourself a lot of grief and, potentially, money.

We would like to say "Welcome" to a new member.

James and Yvonne Hamilton drive a 1966, white, 911. They live in Davenport.

We are glad to have you as a new member and hope to see you soon at a club function.

2 genuine sheep skin, gray, seat covers, fitted for Porsche. Was $475 new, will sell for $225 or best offer. Gerry Elseman, 319-337-2157

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2-BFG Comp TA 205/55 VR-16 tires

2-BFG Comp TA 225/50 VR-16 tires

Approx. 75% tread remaining, $200/set

Bob Dideriksen, 2335 Mulberry Street, Coralville, IA 52241, 319/338/8403

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Pirelli P-Zero Assymetrico 2 225-40 ZR18, 2 285-30 ZR18, unused, list over $1200, now $700/all four. 3-liter Turbo case, first over by Litz in 1979, $750. Fuchs Forged 2-6X16, 2-7X16 very good shape, $650/set of 4. 5-6X15 steel wheels (69-77) $125 set/5. Many other early 911 parts, sales brochures (all models 65-99) posters (68-99), 944 Outdoor Poster (still in wrap). SASE for list/send needs. Buyer pays shipping. Mark Bouljon, 2225 Arcade Street, Little Canada, MN 55109. (St.Paul) 651-766-9973 after 7 pm.

A three-inch, soft natural-bristled paintbrush does a great job around window trim, mirrors, headlights, and emblems. The soft bristles will not scratch the paint and are extremely helpful in reaching areas that your cloth or mitt cannot. Use the paintbrush after sudsing up the area with a wash mitt. The paint brush is very soft and will likely require that you work the tough spots more than once. Using paintbrush in this manner will require a lot of patience, but I assure you that iti is the only way to go. I would also suggest that you wrap a strip of duct tape around the metal frame of the brush to prevent paint damage while working in tight areas.

A smaller paintbrush, about one inch in width, works very well in close areas such as the grille, tight areas near tail lights and bumpers and around lug nuts. A small, one inch paint brush whose bristles have been cut to less than one inch in length works very well to remove was buildup around emblems and trim. The short bristles give the brush the strength to easily remove was buildup.

A plastic-bristled brush is another popular detailing tool used on fender wells, underbody and tires. The harder bristles do an excellent job of removing dirt and debris and scrubbing rubber clean. Plastic-bristled brushes are also used to shampoo upholstery, carpets and convertible tops. The bristles aid in dislodging dirt embedded in the fabric grain. A plastic-bristled brush also works very well to remove heavy accumulations of dirt and grease in the engine compartment.

What about toothbrushes? Simply stated, no detailer should be without several. Old, worn toothbrushes with soft bristles work best. Where can you use them? Almost anywhere in/on your car. You can use toothbrushes to remove dirt and wax buildup around emblems and light lenses. They also work well to remove dirt in upholstery seams and stubborn carpet spots. Toothbrushes also work very well on the many small components and bolt threads in the engine compartment. It is a good idea to have several different toothbrushes for different types of cleaning – you would not want to use the same toothbrush to clean both the engine and the interior.

Finally, cotton swabs are indispensable cleaning tools. The size, texture and absorbability of cotton swabs make them the most useful cleaning tools in the detailers tool kit. For the interior, cotton swabs effectively remove dust from vents, slots, and grooves. You can use cotton swabs to remove was from emblems and apply wax or dressing in tight areas.

A variety of brushes and swabs in your detailing arsenal will greatly enhance your ability to keep your car in showroom condition and your knuckles will appreciate it too!

We would like to thank all of you who have responded and sent you information to us. We still hope to hear from more of you and we are in need of your phone numbers and e-mail address. There are times that we might need to contact you about an upcoming event that we don’t have time to send a mailing. Please consider getting this information to us. Send information to :