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Das Herz von Dixie

Das Herz von Dixie

July 2019

April 2019

July 2019

April 2019

July 2019

April 2019

July 2019

April 2019

Das Herz von Dixie Page 1

President’s View from the Pitwall _____________________________________________________________ 1

From Your Editor__________________________________________________________________________ 2

Bits and Pieces ____________________________________________________________________________ 3 Windshield Notes ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Electric Vehicles About to Boom ___________________________________________________________________ 4 Panamera and Cayenne Recalls ____________________________________________________________________ 5

Let’s Have Dinner (and Breakfast) ____________________________________________________________ 5

Technical Sessions _________________________________________________________________________ 7 Grill Installation ________________________________________________________________________________ 7 Toy Barn Race Cars _____________________________________________________________________________ 8

What You Might Not Know About Porsche _____________________________________________________ 8

Best Part: Driving Your Porsche _____________________________________________________________ 9

Down the Road ___________________________________________________________________________ 11

Get To Know _____________________________________________________________________________ 11

Member Articles __________________________________________________________________________ 12 The Last Porsche 944 in E-Street Autocross - Part 1 __________________________________________________ 13 The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama ___________________________________________________________ 17 PCA Club Race: Road Atlanta April 12-14__________________________________________________________ 18 The Making of a Supreme Curmudgeon ____________________________________________________________ 23 Radar Detectors – Facts and Fiction _______________________________________________________________ 27 Über Region Fest _______________________________________________________________________________ 31

President’s View from the Pitwall by Dave Schroetter

The Porsche world used to be

much simpler. You bought a

Porsche, drove it home, drove it to the track

and drove it to gatherings of other Porsche

folks. All you thought about when

purchasing was the model, color, possibly

wheels and did you want the sun shining on

your head. You drove the car everywhere,

rain or shine, and even in the snow.

Porsches were Porsches! Yes, there were the

arguments that some were not real Porsches

and instances where they were not

considered for PCA membership. But by

and large it was a group of like-minded

people with very similar cars. Club events

were very similar as well; driving, showing,

and socializing.

Soon people started wanting more creature

comforts and choices to personalize their

Porsche. In addition, outside forces started

to creep into the equation. Fuel shortages,

environmental, and safety issues were three


of the major ones. They started to impact

the performance and appearance of the car

with fuel economy, emission controls and

impact bumpers.

It wasn’t long before the Porsche purists

were shocked to find out that there was a

Porsche with the engine attached to the

wrong end of the car. What was next, a

minivan? Little did they know! Soon you

could choose whether you wanted the car

driven by two or four wheels.

But now there are so many decisions to

make. Many models, exterior and interior

color choices, seats, interior materials, audio

and communications, transmission, wheels,

tires, brakes, climate control, creature

comforts, performance options, and even

light options.

Along with all of the changes in the car came

changes in the people who bought and drove

them. No longer is it just the enthusiast, but

people who view a Porsche very differently.

It’s the person who sees it as a luxury

automobile to drive to work, the person who

uses it for family transport, shopping,

camping and off roading. This has brought

about changes in how people view

membership in PCA. An example of this is

that no longer are competitive driving events

as popular as they had been. The number

one event nationally in PCA is driving tours.

This is neither good nor bad. It just is!

PCA and we as a Region have to recognize

these changes and adapt to a more complex

and diverse relationship between the

members and their Porsches. This will

become even more dramatic in the near

future as Porsches and the customers who

buy them continue to change.

From Your Editor By Scott Witt

First of all, I want to thank

everyone who provided

feedback and commentary on

the first edition. It was uniformly positive,

and for that I’m grateful. Just to be clear,

this is not my own creation. I organize,

collect, write some of the content and do an

initial layout, but Lee Fowler has a

tremendous impact on what the document

looks like when its published. His advice

and assistance have been invaluable. When

he and I think we have it right, we send it to

Präsident Dave for final approval. That said,

all errors and omissions are mine, so if

you’re cranky about something or just want

to share the love, just let me know.

Now, welcome to our second edition of the

Heart O’ Dixie newsletter. You careful

readers will have noticed that we have

selected a name for the newsletter: Das Herz

von Dixie. You’ll have to guess what the

German means; I’m sure you’ll get it right!

We had 13 submissions of names from

various members. The single theme that

jumped out was the use of German in the

title, so we went with that. Some of the

nominations were great, we thought, but

very difficult to pronounce. Folks still argue

over how to pronounce “Porsche,” so we

kept it simple, and I think it works. (“Herz”

is pronounced “Hairts,” by the way.)

There are other noticeable changes from the

first edition. I did give fair warning then that


the newsletter was a work in progress!

We’ve added a cover instead of just jumping

right into things. Regan Carlile took the

awesome picture of unlimited hydroplanes

flying down Lake Guntersville at Hydrofest.

We’ve also added a masthead that lists all of

the officers and staff of the club. Finally, we

added a “Down the Road” section that lists

upcoming events; you can also find this

information up-to-date on the website at

www.hod.pca.org.

At some urging from some members, we’re

going to try out a “Get-to-know” section that

introduces a member of the club and

provides a little bio/background information.

As I’ve gotten to know people in the club,

I’m always surprised by their backgrounds,

hobbies, interests and so forth. It might be a

good way to connect with someone who

shares your interests. Anyway, I got

volunteered to write the first iteration. I’m

not going to tell any secrets, just the good

stuff. My wife, Fran, double-checked my

memory for me. I would really appreciate it

if any of you volunteered your own

background/bio for the next issue. Please

give it some thought.

Please send all material and comments

regarding the newsletter directly to me, Scott

Witt, at [email protected]. Please

indicate “HOD Newsletter Input” in the

subject line so I don’t lose anything in my

email stack. Thank you very much. Now,

grab a cup of coffee (morning) or a glass of

whisky (evening) and enjoy the read.

Bits and Pieces

Windshield Notes

Windshields were a luxury back in the early

days of automobiles. They were optional

and an extra feature that had to be purchased

separately. Without it, you had to wear cool

goggles and scarves for protection against

wind and bugs.

Windshields were originally made of

windowpane glass that could shatter on

impact, making them quite dangerous.

Shatterproof laminated glass like we have

today was invented in the early 1900’s by a

French chemist named Edouard Benedictus.

It was first used in automobiles in the

1920’s.

Windshield wipers were invented by a

woman named Mary Anderson, who

patented her invention in 1903. She got the

idea while riding a trolley car in NYC and

noticing that it could not keep the windshield

clear of falling snow.

Thirty percent of auto insurance claims are

for windshields.

http://www.hod.pca.org/

mailto:[email protected]


About 90 percent of stone chips don’t

become cracks. But fix it quick just in case.

Alabama law is not specific on windshield

cracks, but federal safety law is:

• Windshields must be free from

damage in the area starting at the top

of the steering wheel up to within two

inches of the top of the windshield.

• A single crack that is not intersected

or joined with other cracks is

permissible providing it does not cross

the driver’s view through the

windshield.

• An area of damage, such as a chip,

that is smaller than ¾-inch in diameter

is permitted, providing that it is not

within three inches of another area of

damage.

Windshield replacement is a big deal; make

sure it is done by certified professionals.

The windshield is a substantial support

component for the car’s roof, serves as a

backstop for airbags, and often is attached to

in-vehicle driver assistance systems like

cameras. Those systems should be

recalibrated by the dealer if you have to

replace the windshield.

Electric Vehicles About to Boom

In 2018, a year when auto sales declined for

the first time in years, electric vehicle sales

grew 30 percent. Though electric vehicle

sales barely topped 1 percent of all auto sales

in 2018, totaling 361,307, year-on-year

increase was 81 percent. That number is

expected to grow very rapidly.

Almost all automakers are kickstarting major

electric vehicle initiatives in response to this

automotive industry trend. Mercedes-Benz

will offer 50 electric versions of all its

models by 2022. BMW will mass-produce

electric cars by 2020 and make 12 different

models by 2025. GM will add 20 new

electric/fuel-cell vehicles to its products by

2023. Ford pledges to form a team to

accelerate global electric vehicle

development. Volkswagen will spend $82

billion on a multifaceted initiative to develop

electric vehicles, mobility services, and

autonomous driving by 2022. Toyota is

spending $13 billion to introduce 10 (or

possibly more) electric vehicles in the early

2020’s.

Taycan production line, Stuttgart, Germany

Porsche is right in the middle of this. Its first

all-electric vehicle, the Taycan, was

originally slated for an initial production run

of 20,000 vehicles, but that was recently

doubled to 40,000 vehicles. It should be in

showrooms by the end of the year, but orders

for the model are already higher than

expected, with pre-order numbers already

high enough to account for all US Taycan

deliveries through 2020. Strongly

encouraged by this, Porsche recently

announced that it will switch one of its best-

sellers, the Macan small SUV, to all-electric

in the next few years.


Panamera and Cayenne Recalls

Porsche is recalling 340,000 Cayennes and

Panameras worldwide due to a problem with

their automatic transmissions. The recall

affects 2010-2016 Panameras and 2003-2010

Cayennes. A Porsche spokesman told

Reuters that the cars might roll away when

parked on an incline because of a fragile part

in the connection between the gear lever and

transmission. About 100,000 of the recalled

vehicles were sold in the U.S.

The part is the gear selector cable bushing.

It’s made of plastic and isn’t as durable as it

needs to be. If the bushing comes loose, the

transmission could show park when the car

is in a different gear. Porsche is telling

owners to use the parking brake whenever

they park their cars until they get to a

dealership and get the problem fixed.

No injuries have been reported. The part will

be replaced free of charge.

You can look up recalls for Porsches at this

link:

https://recall.porsche.com/prod/pag/vinrecall

lookup.nsf/VIN?ReadForm.

Enter your 17-digit VIN in the box to see if

your vehicle is in the recall.

Let’s Have Dinner (and Breakfast)

Thanks to our hostess, Fran Witt, we had

some great meals this past quarter.

Breakfast was at the Blue Plate Café in

April, well attended even in the rain. Great

food and service, as always. I don’t know

the name of the woman who runs the show

there, but don’t mess with her system. She

has it down to an art.

Joe Still, Bob Boller, and Chuck Drake, headed

for the Blue Plate table of offerings. Pretty

chipper for this early in the morning!

In May and June, we were at the Metro

Diner on 72E in Madison for early Saturday

morning chow. The food and service were

excellent and they made a point of telling us

we were welcome any time at all. Those of

us who eat there regularly will attest to

trying the specials that are always on offer.

Just a reminder…when you’re coming to

breakfast, please remember to bring some

canned food items for our charity effort with

the North Alabama Food Bank. We’re

trying to fill Dave Bender’s trunk up each

time! After our turnout at the Metro Diner,

we had a total of 166.1 lbs of food to

contribute. Well done to all who helped with

this!

At the diner, Lee Fowler, resident Supreme

Curmudgeon, presented a handsome,

handmade-by-Lee wooden pen to the

member who correctly guessed the name of

our website mystery member. Karen Trevey

https://recall.porsche.com/prod/pag/vinrecalllookup.nsf/VIN?ReadForm

https://recall.porsche.com/prod/pag/vinrecalllookup.nsf/VIN?ReadForm


got the prize for naming Rich Corbeille as

the handsome young stud in the picture.

Check our website for the next victims.

Packing it in at the Metro Diner.

Dinners this quarter were also great. We

revisited Walton’s Southern Table in April

and it was terrific. It’s a popular place and

the parking was a little constrained, but the

chow was excellent, and the turnout was

good.

Dinner at Walton’s Southern Table. Fran just

moves too fast for my camera.

Porsche makes beautiful cars!

In May we tried a new place that Fran

discovered, and that was The Railyard in

Decatur. We thought for sure the traffic on

I-565W would be awful at that time of day

going from Huntsville to Decatur, but it was

practically non-existent. Fran and I had left

early to get things organized and we were

there about an hour ahead of time. We

parked in back where all the parking is, but

no one else did. So, at the appointed hour,

when we thought no one was going to show

(and I was thinking I’m going to have to buy

my way out of here), we went around to the

front, and there were Porsches everywhere.

Anyway, The Railyard got rave reviews

from the folks who attended. They took great

care of us, and most of the kitchen staff took

turns sneaking out to take a look at the cars.

First time at The Railyard in Decatur. We’ll be

back!

Larry and Denise Pelham at The Railyard. We

don’t see them often enough!


June’s dinner was in Providence, in

connection with our annual HOD Porsche

display on the green in the middle of the

village. The weather could not have been

better. Thirty members and some guests

showed up and I counted 20 cars on the

lawn, all looking pretty darn good!

Last year when we did this, we all

descended on the Mellow Mushroom for

dinner and just about killed them. There

were 45 of us and they just could not

handle the load. This year, one of our

members (I think it was Regan Carlile)

suggested that we just let everyone go to

whatever restaurant they wanted (there are

nine within about 50 yards), or just bring

food and picnic on the green. So that is

what we did, and it worked great. You can

get a drink in a purple cup from any of the

establishments and walk around outside

with it. Nice!

Improving the looks of Providence with our

Porsches.

We’re always looking for new venues to try

out. If you come across a restaurant that has

great food, room for 25-35 people to sit

together, and plenty of parking, let Fran

know at [email protected] and she’ll

check it out and talk to the management. If

we think it will work, we’ll recommend it to

President Dave and take it from there.

Technical Sessions

Grill Installation

We had a couple of very interesting tech

sessions this quarter. In April, Jim Cambron

opened up his garage(s) and hosted a grill

screen installation session. There were about

18 members who showed up, some to work,

some to help, and some to watch and learn.

Putting in the grill can be tricky. First, you

have to remove the wheels (easy) and then

the front bumper without breaking anything.

Luckily, Jim has the know-how and all the

tools to get it done. Then, you have to

develop your template and cut your screen to

fit. After attaching the screen to the bumper,

you re-install the bumper and you are good

to go.

Installing a grill at Jim Cambron’s garage.

It’s not as easy as it looks.

You also got a chance to paint your hubs

with heat-resistant paint. They look 1000%

better when you’re done and they won’t rust

as they age. Not insignificantly, there was

plenty of coffee and donuts to energize the

mailto:[email protected]


operation. Thanks to Jim for putting this

together. We all learn a lot about our cars

when we do things like this.

Toy Barn Race Cars

In May, Joe Still hosted a session at his Toy

Barn to give us a look at many of the aspects

of club racing. Joe has some great

experience in this facet of Porsche and

shared some of his stories with us. We got a

chance to look at his race car, as well as his

collection of Porsches (beautiful cars!) and a

Cobra kit car (it is a beautiful view over the

hood from behind the wheel of that car). He

did start up the Cobra for us. If you own that

car, you are going to need ear protection

when you drive.

Joe Still’s Toy Barn

A fascinating tech session about club racing.

American muscle

in a Porsche garage.

Joe made himself available to answer many

technical questions about racing, and what it

takes to get into the sport. He and his wife

Susan provided large quantities of coffee and

donuts for the 40 or so of us who attended.

If he ever does this again for us, don’t miss

it!

You know she’s thinking about it.

What You Might Not Know About Porsche

Porsche’s badge that is affixed to the hood of

every car was designed on the back of a

napkin. So they say. It must be true. It’s on

the internet.


There is a common misconception that an

American distributor of Porsche vehicles in

the 1950s, Max Hoffman, designed the

symbol. Or that Ferry Porsche doodled it on

a napkin. Neither claim tells the full story.

Yes, it’s true that Hoffman urged company

chief Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche to create a

distinctive marque, and that the two men

sketched various thoughts at a business

luncheon. But the final design is too artful

and too historically resonant to have been

based on a single impromptu napkin

drawing. Rather, the Porsche crest took

shape in the same way as Porsche’s early

vehicles: an inspiration, then executed with

precision and careful planning, in this case

by two of Porsche’s designers of the time.

The crest then first appeared emblazoned on

the steering wheel horn button of the 1952

Model 356 pre-A, and made its way onto the

hood-lift assembly of the 1954 356 series.

By 1959 it appeared on the wheels. And

now you know the rest of the story.

Best Part: Driving Your Porsche

As Dave mentioned in his remarks at the

beginning of this newsletter, driving tours

have become the top-rated activity for

Porsche owners. It seems only logical to me.

The cars are such a joy to drive, why not get

in yours, drive around interesting places and

roads with your friends, and maybe have a

meal together? Sounds to me like one of the

better ways to enjoy a day.

This quarter, we had some good trips. Our

April tour to Legends Steakhouse in

Shelbyville, TN was a wet one. But, driving

in the rain once in a while is good practice

for all of us.

A wet day for our drive to Tennessee and

Legends Steakhouse.

In May, we had a fine tour to the Café on the

Corner after a beautiful drive on the Lookout

Mountain Scenic Highway in Tennessee.

We were actually in the clouds for a bit of

the drive, but that just made it more

interesting. The sun was (kind of) shining

when we got to the restaurant, and the food

and service were as good as last year. It is a

cozy, comfortable venue where they work

hard to make you feel welcome. And they

have darn good coffee.

Porsches in the clouds on Lookout Mountain.


A relaxing lunch at Café on the Corner.

In June, we had two drives, both short ones

en route to some great events. On the 8th, we

went to the Trissl Überfest in Florence. See

Dave’s article at the end of the newsletter for

a wrap-up.

On the 29th, we drove a quick 35 minutes to

Lake Guntersville for the annual Hydrofest.

We went there last year for the first time.

We only had about five members there, but

we set up our tent and let the passersby vote

on the car they would want most to see in

their garage. Great fun. We mainly spent the

afternoon sitting around chatting, exploring

the booths and lake path and waiting for the

unlimited hydroplane races to start.

Unfortunately, they sent everyone home

early due to rain, thunderstorm, wind and

hail warnings. We were outta there like a

shot.

This year, I am happy to report that we

nearly doubled our club participation, with

nine cars and 13 members and a guest. The

weather was perfect, though a little warm.

The boat races all ran on schedule: H1

unlimited gas turbine-powered hydroplanes

(very fast), a smaller class of hydroplanes

powered by regular internal combustion

engines (very noisy), tunnel boats and jet

skis (very nimble).

There were quite a few vendors there. The

good news is that our assigned parking area

was perfect, located near the porta-potties,

the Dippin’ Dots ice cream guys and the bar.

Nice!

People with fast cars watching fast boats.

We had nine Porsches on display for a

people’s choice showing. Lots of folks

wandered by and picked the Porsche they’d

like to have in the garage. We had 214

ballots in all…we actually ran out of ballots

about 1 PM. After counting and recounting

the ballots, 3rd place went to Rich and Nancy

Corbeille for their beautiful blue 911 Turbo;

2nd place went to Dave and Ann Schroetter

and their Boxster Spyder, and 1st place went

to Scott and Fran Witt and their 718 Cayman

GTS. Winners all got a great-looking plaque

made by Rich Corbeille.

We’ll do this again next year and I

recommend it to everyone. If you bring your

car and go with the club, you get premium

parking, a great location to set up, and you

don’t have to pay the $20/person entry fee.

It’s a quick drive to get there.


Down the Road

Make your plans now for what we have

planned down the road in the next couple of

months. We are happy to see our new

members participating in our activities

already, and it’s been good to see some of

our older members showing up again.

What’s coming up:

Saturday, 6 July, 0730: Breakfast at Little

Rosie’s, 4781 Whitesburg Dr.

Thursday, 11 July, 1830: Dinner at Ted’s

BBQ, 8780 Madison Blvd.

Saturday, 3 August, 0730: Breakfast at Little

Rosie’s

8 August: New Members’ Reception and

Dinner. If you are a new member since

August of last year, or were new then but

missed the reception and dinner, you’re

invited to the Reception to be held at

Porsche of Huntsville, beginning at 5 PM.

Dinner will be at 6:30 PM at Terranova’s

Italian restaurant. The club pays for new

members’ dinners, so plan on joining us.

In October, we’re planning a tour to the Tail

of the Dragon in North Carolina. Many of

the members have driven this legendary

highway before, with its 318 curves in 11

miles. Dramamine! You can pay an outfit

in Robbinsville GA $800 to drive their

Porsche down that highway, or you can join

us and drive your own Porsche for a whole

lot less and have a lot more fun with the

Club.

This one will be an overnighter (it’s 200+

miles to get there), so reservations will be

needed for lodging. You need to call the

Fontana Resort, 1 (800) 849-2211 and say

you are with the "Heart O' Dixie Region

PCA Group." They are holding 18 lodge

rooms for 90 days at a rate of $117.00 plus

tax and fees. They will add rooms above the

18 during the 90 days as long as they are

available. You may ask if they have other

rooms at that rate. Be sure and check our

website for updates. We have 32 members

signed up so far.

This will be an awesome experience. You

can search |Tail of the Dragon| and get a lot

of info, including maps and YouTube

videos.

Get to Know

Scott, trying his best to look his best.


This edition’s member we’re getting to know

is Scott Witt, your editor. We’d like to do a

different member for each edition. Share

with us your background, interests, and

hobbies. Don’t be shy. There might be a

kindred spirit in the membership.

Scott is originally from Seattle, WA, but was

born into a Navy family and quickly moved

on to various and sundry places (Alaska,

California, Colorado). He returned to Seattle

to go to UW, where he studied experimental

psychology and linguistics.

He joined the Navy in 1975 and ultimately

made it a career, serving variously as a

Russian linguist, cryptologist, intelligence

collector and analyst. The Navy’s motto

back then was, “Join the Navy and See the

World.” They kept their end of the deal and

Scott found himself on the sea, above the

sea, under the sea and in Scotland, Greece,

Guam, Spain, Germany…and the USA from

time to time.

He started out in the Navy as a Seaman

Apprentice and retired 28 years later as a

Captain and senior executive at NSA. His

motto: Work like a Captain, play like a

pirate.

He met the love of his life, Fran, in the Navy

and they were married in 1992. They retired

in 2003 but Scott managed to fail retirement

several times, working as a consultant,

adjunct faculty at New Mexico State

University, starting a business…you get the

picture. Upon receipt of his “Welcome to

Medicare” letter in 2015, he decided to

swallow the anchor and REALLY retire.

Shortly after that, he and Fran moved to

Huntsville and joined the Heart O’ Dixie.

Scott is currently engaged in finding his

roots by researching the family history;

playing the banjo; polishing his languages;

and will be teaching “A History of

Cryptography” at OLLI at UAH in the fall.

He and Fran love to travel just about

anywhere, just about any time. They have

two kids, Heather and Ben, both out of the

house and off the payroll (mostly). Also,

two cats, Ozzie and Scooter, both most

definitely still on the payroll.

Finally, he’s owned five Porsches and loved

them all.

Member Articles

This month, I am happy to report that we

have six articles from members, ranging

from a close look at club racing in Atlanta to

an introspective piece on how one might

become a curmudgeon. Thanks to them all

for taking the time to put their thoughts and

experiences down on paper. I look forward

to getting articles from more of you. Please

take the time to give an article some thought

and write one for all of us to enjoy. As you

will see, almost anything is of interest. You

do the drafting, I’ll do the editing and it’s

done! This edition’s articles are posted in

the order I received them; enjoy!

1. The Last Porsche 944 in E-Street

Autocross – Part 1, by Ed Fisher


2. The Honda Indy Grand Prix of

Alabama, by Gil Ferguson

3. PCA Club Race: Road Atlanta, April

12-14, by Joe Still

4. The Making of a Supreme

Curmudgeon, by Lee Fowler

5. Radar Detectors – Facts and Fiction, by

Scott Witt

6. Über Region Fest, by Dave Schroetter

The Last Porsche 944 in E-Street Autocross - Part 1

by Ed Fisher

I’m autocrossing the last base 944 that will

ever run in Street class in national

competition with the Sports Car Club of

America (SCCA). I know this because the

SCCA has a 30-year sunset rule in Street.

1989 was thirty years ago and was also the

last year of 8-valve-engine 944 production.

So, all the other years of the base 944s have

sunsetted out except the 1989 model.

Autocross is sometimes called parking lot

racing because we’re timed from start to

finish, one car at a time, around a twisty

course designated with traffic cones in, you

guessed it, big parking lots. We race

anywhere we can find a big and open section

of asphalt or concrete such as airport aprons

and old Air Force bomber bases. There are

myriad regional events (we run them at

Milton Frank stadium in Huntsville about

once a month) and then there’s the National

Tour, a series of events around the country

which culminates each September in the

Solo Nationals at a former bomber base in

Lincoln, Nebraska.

Nats (for short) is the biggest motorsport

event in the world as measured by the

number of competitors, drawing over 1300

of your closest autocross friends each year.

For some, it’s a week-long party with a little

racing thrown in. I’ve been doing National

Tour events for several years, won my class

on occasion, and been to Nats three times,

taking home two trophies. (The top 30% in

each class get a trophy.)

Street category is the lowest SCCA

autocross preparation level, meaning the car

has to be almost entirely configured as it left

the factory. The sunset rule was

implemented because after 30 years,

memories fade and documentation gets

scarce, so it can be difficult to agree on what

is or is not a legal configuration. The

Porsche Club of America has a similar class

within the Parade Competition rules called

Showroom Stock.

My 944, ready for its first National Tour event.

In both PCA and SCCA autocross, the cars

are separated into classes within preparation

levels. The base 944 is classed by the SCCA

in E-Street. E-Street is dominated by two

cars: the 1999 Sport Edition Miata and the

2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder. No one seriously

runs anything else in national competition.

Both are 2200lb-ish cars. The 1989 Porsche


944 is, well, nowhere near that figure what

with a heavy, balance-shafted 2.7-liter

motor, a back seat, a huge glass hatch, a/c,

cruise control, and power everything. It

doesn’t have enough additional wheel and

tire width to make up for the heft, so no one

thinks it can be even remotely competitive.

None have been run seriously in national

competition in the 10 years since I started in

the sport.

In my feverishly foolish imagination, I

hypothesized that the 944 has two quirks that

might possibly allow it to be competitive in

E-Street today, where handling and

cornering ability are king. The first is big

negative tire camber made possible by the

adjustability of the M030 sport suspension

option. The second was Porsche’s use of tall

bumpstops. While the M030 sport

suspension option is well-known, no one

ever took advantage of the tall bumpstops as

far as I can tell. Please allow me to explain,

but I’ll have to get a little technical.

Camber is the angle of the tires as compared

to the road. If the tires are perfectly vertical

the camber angle is zero. If the top of the tire

leans in toward the center of the car, like in

the picture below, then that’s a negative

camber angle. Most cars come from the

factory with a slight amount of negative

camber, like ½ degree or maybe as much as

one degree. This allows the tires to wear

evenly as long as miles spent in hard

cornering are limited. Generally, more

negative camber, up to as much as 4 degrees,

is better for hard cornering, which is about

all we do when autocrossing.

Rear tire slanting inward at top = negative

camber.

The rear of the 944 is sprung by torsion bars,

almost exactly the same design as on the

911, and always allowed for infinite

adjustment of rear ride height. Not an easy

adjustment, but it can be done. The M030

option adds ride-height adjustability to the

front struts. With that you can lower the

front and rear evenly while still using the

stock springs required by the rules.

Significant lowering of the car is what

allows a big negative camber angle at the

tires.

So, I gathered up the various parts that make

up the M030 option and installed them.

Some parts were still available new, but

many were not and I had to find them used.

Now the car has three degrees of negative


camber all around and is about 3/4” below

the standard M030 ride height which, in turn,

is somewhere below the stock suspension

ride height. The car is now quite low, as in

I’m-getting-too-old-for-this low, especially

with the thin modern tires on small, 15”

diameter wheels.

Three degrees is a serious camber number

for an unmodified street car. You can’t get

three degrees in any standard Boxster,

Cayman or Carrera. Only the GT cars now

allow that much adjustability. Tires like that

much camber in the corners. It makes them

happy. When they’re happy they deliver

more grip and the car corners faster.

A fly just flew into the ointment, however.

The low ride height has a negative side effect

on the 944: it makes the front of the car roll

more easily while making the rear roll less.

Why it does this is very technical so I won’t

bore you with it. The upshot is that the more

the car is lowered the more the famous

handling balance that Porsche gave the 944

gets upset. This roll balance problem can, in

theory, be overcome by tuning the tall

bumpstops.

Bumpstops are generally pieces of rubber

that keep the shock absorbers from internally

crashing metal into metal when fully

compressed during a big bump, say, when

you hit a deep pot hole on I-565 at 70mph

like I did once. They are often only about

1/2” thick.

What many people don’t know is that by the

1980’s, Porsche was doing an innovative

thing with bumpstops: they were using tall

elastic bumpstops as auxiliary suspension

springs. The stock bumpstop, shown below,

is 3-5/8” tall. It occupies almost all of the

free shaft length at normal ride height.

Notice the complex shape.

Porsche-Koni tall front bumpstop

The idea was that while cruising down the

highway, the soft primary springs give a

comfortable ride. When you crank the car

over into a corner the bumpstops come into

play and progressively stiffen the suspension

for responsive handling. This design

philosophy was still in use when the 986

Boxster and 996 Carrera began production in

the late 1990’s.

The tall bumpstop design method is

important in Street-class because one of the

few allowances is that bumpstops are

FREE!!! along with the shock absorbers.

Some have called this a loophole in the rules

but it’s a well-recognized and legal loophole.

Well, bumpstops are almost free. You can

make them from anything you want,

including jello (not recommended) or solid

steel (also not recommended) or get them in

various rubber stiffnesses, which is what I’ve


done. What you cannot do is make the

bumpstops any taller than they were before.

So, you must be very careful because if you

take a trophy from a Miata driver at a

National Tour event while driving a 30-year

old Porsche that everyone knows is slow,

you’d better be able to prove that you’re

legal. I carry a notebook with relevant

information for my competitors (or a protest

committee) to peruse at their leisure.

This means that I’m free to install stiffer

bumpstops to stop the car from rolling over

like a drunken sailor, which is the stock

behavior of most 1980’s sports cars,

including the 944, and especially a 944 that’s

been lowered, as previously explained.

Bumpstops allow the roll stiffness of the

front and rear to be tuned separately and

keep the negative camber we obtained from

totally disappearing in the corners due to

body roll. The stiffness of the bumpstops, if

chosen to be stiffer than the stock springs,

should also make the car transition from

turning one way to turning the other way

much faster. Almost Miata fast.

Transitioning quickly (nimbleness) is

another thing that’s very important in

autocross.

The picture below shows what the new

bumpstops look like on one of the front

struts. The three, yellow donut-like things

are the bumpstops sitting on top of the shock

body and riding on the strut shaft. In a corner

they will slide up the shaft and get squeezed

against the top hat which is out of the

picture.

New front bumpstops

The next picture shows the rear shocks with

their new bumpstops.

New rear shocks and bumpstops

All is not quite so simple, however. I found

out that some autocrossers have tried to use

stiff bumpstops before, if not on a Porsche.

Apparently, they all gave up. At least the

ones that are talking gave up.


The problem they encountered is the

transition from the stock soft suspension

spring to the stiffer bumpstop. Porsche

solved this problem by using a tall tapered

bumpstop shape that very gradually adds

stiffness. I can’t do that. I need to stop the

car from rolling right now, or at least almost

right now. To explain this problem, I have

to tell you a super-secret engineering secret

not normally revealed to those not initiated

into the secret engineering lore known only

by those who actually read and understand

the textbooks: load is preferentially and

proportionally attracted to the stiffer path.

Let’s imagine we brake the car and turn left.

The right front spring and shock absorber

will compress the most. The load into the tire

increases gradually and proportionately as

the spring compresses. The back of the car is

following along, but later. When the stiff

front bumpstop is encountered there will be

an immediate increase in the tire load. It’s as

if weight from all around the car suddenly

jumps into the front right tire. If this increase

happens too fast the tire contact patch

becomes overloaded and gives up grip. The

right front tire begins to slide. Massive

understeer is the result and the driver has to

make a big correction which costs time.

In other situations, it may be a rear tire that

gets shock-loaded and calls in sick. The

result in that case is oversteer. A car that

oversteers one second and understeers the

next is not fun. It is not fast. It can be,

essentially, undriveable. This is the big fear,

the big problem others have run into. I have

only a few weeks and a handful of events to

work the bugs out.

So how has it been working, you ask? Find

out in Part 2. Here’s a hint: multi-time Nats

champion Alan McCrispen remarked, after

watching me take a run in the car at its first

local autocross, “I’ve never seen a 944

corner so flat or change direction in a slalom

so fast.” That was the good news.

The bad news was that I found it a difficult

beast to drive and it didn’t seem to have all

that much cornering grip. Alan, a much

more accomplished driver, was having fun

with it and we both placed highly. But we

were beaten by a well-driven Miata that took

first place overall. Not a good omen, since I

know that at a national event the drivers will

be even faster.

I think I’ve figured out the big issue and

have a plan to fix it. Stay tuned.

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

by Gil Ferguson

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was

held at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds,

AL on April 7. Barber is an excellent track

that hosts the Indy Grand Prix every year,

along with other sports car races. The venue

includes the Barber Motorsports Museum as

well as the Porsche Performance Driving

School.

Since storms were in the forecast and we

were taking chairs, drinks, snacks and other

stuff, the BMW X3 was pressed into service.

We could have parked at the Hagerty Car

Corral for sports cars only, where for $40 we

would have shared space with Ferrari,

Lamborghini and other automotive exotica.

Instead, for $25 we parked on a paved lot

across the road from an excellent view of


turn 16. The other option was to park off

site in a shopping center and be bussed in for

free.

There were three races that afternoon,

starting with the GT3 Cup race around noon,

followed by the Lamborghini Super Trofeo

race, then the Indy Grand Prix at 3 PM.

Turn 16, which includes two right-handers

with a short straight in between and a pit exit

on the left, was the site of several spin outs,

including two GT3s that met rather

unceremoniously. The Indy car race had two

drivers trying to get on the pit exit road at

the same time, with one driver going straight

into the barrier. Most of the damage was to

the driver’s ego.

GT3 spinout, Honda Indy Grand Prix

The Indy car race was won by Takuma Sato

of Japan, who led for most of the race. He

even went off the track at one point but

managed to maintain control. All in all, it

was a good day at Barber. The weather even

cooperated with a mix of sun and clouds.

Note to self: Next time bring sunscreen and

drive the 911.

PCA Club Race: Road Atlanta April 12-14

by Joe Still

It was just two weeks before Road Atlanta

when we returned from racing Circuit of the

Americas (COTA) in Austin, TX. I was the

only car in class, made massive progress

with Bryan Sellers coaching, took two races

1st in class in Sprints (helps to have no

competitors show up and qualify☺) but was

knocked out of Enduro by a spinning car

costing me another first place.

It was one of those great experiences that

keep you coming back like (I hear) one great

golf shot in 100 does. I had lots of drivers

telling me I was “crushing it,” which is

driver-speak for being hard for them to

catch, let alone get a look at a pass. Pro

driver Tom Long told me from video he

reviewed of a car following me that I was

keeping the ABS cars honest with some

serious braking. Anyone have a hat stretcher

I can borrow?

Moving ahead, I had already signed up for 3-

day PCA Club Race event at Road Atlanta

April 12-14, along with the preceding two-

day David Murry Track Day event prior to it,

even though I only planned to run one day of

DM. DM is for advanced drivers only with

open track and open passing. The open track

is highly desirable for testing as you can go

out for a lap or two to shake down, pit for

adjustments, and go back out whenever you

want to. No schedule to follow - even Chin

has started trying to offer a few of these

days. Obviously, they only work with

skilled drivers and most of the attendees are

there for early Club Race practice.


DM only sells two-day admission, even if

you are running just one day; they contend

the track rental is the same whether one car

or 100 run. A bit exaggerated, but you get

the idea. Well, business is very hectic in

Huntsville right now to no one’s surprise,

and the demands on our time are stretching

us thin. So when a prominent client called

for a big meeting at 10 AM on the second

day of the DM run, it meant staying in

Huntsville until noon CDT or 1 ED the

second DM day, and then getting stuck for 2

hours in Atlanta. I arrived right after the

DM event ended. Sorry, no refunds in the

last two weeks. Curse you Red Baron!!

Wednesday Night

Ok, my car is there as is my regular race

engineer, Hugo from Florida. Hugo and I

have been together for just over a year and

he works really hard to keep me going in

spite of the occasional bit of bad

fortune/mental lapse. The car is repaired

from COTA except the wrap is unfinished -

the left side door and rear quarter are a

lovely, stark white. My wife said just tell

everyone my right-side profile is my best -

funny, funny girl. After an evening beverage

or two, we joined the Accumoto team for

some really fine Italian dinner buffet at the

track and off to bed at 9 PM.

Thursday

We started on Thursday at a regional PCA-

sponsored Test ‘n’ Tune, running only two

groups but getting 6-each 30-minute

sessions. Traffic was an issue at times, but

no excuses. DE rules for Test ‘n’ Tune mean

strict point-bys. You get a bunch of Club

Racers on track and tell them point-bys are

mandatory and it does little good. Everyone

swears they thought they saw a point-by.

The first session, I run about 8/10’s looking

for quirky handling from the COTA hit.

Anytime a car gets hit and knocked high

enough off the ground to flatten the tires

AND rims on landing like I did at COTA,

the first session or two is going to be proving

to myself nothing is cracked and about to

fail.

Picture of left side after being hit while racing

at COTA. Note both rims flattened by impact

falling back to track. Car felt like it was 30 deg

off of horizontal before gravity took over.

I ran a steady pace about 1:35 but found an

open lap and put up a 1:31, which is close to

FT (fastest time) for me at RA. #hopeful.

The second session, I hit every curb I could

find to make sure nothing was partially

failed, which it was not; the car remained

completely solid. I failed to mention we had

just installed a set of Ohlin’s 4-way shocks

for COTA and they perform beautifully.

They are only this year allowed in class and

inspire a lot of confidence over curbs, which

in racing is where the time comes from. It

opens the radius allowing more rolling

speed.


So, for the third session I tried for speed but

by then the old tires from COTA (not

counting the two that got squashed) were

about done and despite the great coaching, I

was off the pace. My regular coach, Bryan

Sellers, was racing the E-Jag series in Rome

that weekend and arranged for his friend and

sometimes IMSA co-driver Andrew Davis to

handle the team coaching duties. I found

Andrew personable and articulate and

certainly a fast driver who can look at video

and data and teach similarly to Bryan. The

two of them actually spent 90 minutes the

week before reviewing areas of

concentration for the five drivers of Bryan’s

that Andrew would be coaching so as to

know where to focus. Less/later braking,

right? I will get his impression of my

driving back-channel after he debriefs Bryan

on how we did. Bryan has been helping me

for over a year and can shine the light of

truth on harsh reality with a smile and make

it positive.

I did not make the 1:29 I have been so close

to at RA, but we were using old tires for a

while and then traffic made good laps scarce.

I got a 1:30.05 in Quali on Saturday morning

and never got closer. The track record in our

class is about 1:25 for a pro-level driver.

Andrew pointed out that no one was

equaling their personal best at RA this

weekend and that the track was off.

Summed up, “Don’t get hung up on a

number, look for improvements lap-to-lap.”

RA is a short lap and 5 seconds is not as

close as it sounds. If driving down the

interstate. pick a spot and count to five and

see how far you’ve moved. At 80 mph that

will be about 500 ft. In some ways it seems

a lot and in some ways, it seems so little.

But they are paid to do it and I pay to do it,

so deal with it, Joe. Or as the taciturn Bryan

Sellers would say, “Drive faster.” Such a

Chatty Cathy!

Late in the day we get a quick rain and a

chance to go to wet tires to practice what is

most certainly going to be a wet race

Sunday. I did pretty well in the wet; Andrew

told me I was one of the faster guys, so that

makes me good or dumb (don’t answer -

leave me to my rationalizations!)

That night Hugo does brake pads and bleeds

brakes. And we go back to our newish tires

for Friday practice. High hopes.

Friday

Friday consists of a warm-up, two practice

sessions and then a Fun race with three

practice starts. Since starts are the highest

risk of getting nailed through no fault of

your own, I no longer challenge in them,

choosing to grid at the back and dog the first

few laps to get a gap to work on technique.

It works well and I run two laps in a row at

1:30.6 but still no 1:29. There was a little

traffic on every lap and Andrew can take two

good laps and overlay them. My second

1:30.6 lap was actually 7/10’s ahead thru the

first half lap and then lost back to even.

Probably an indication of being affected by

traffic, but the data showed rolling lap of

1:29, just from sector-to-sector other than

Start/Finish. Kissing a sister?

Saturday

Saturday is Sprint day. We started right off

with qualifying for 25 minutes and went out


hot. That means no yellow the first lap to

warm up tires. We were warned that tire

scrubbing will get you black-flagged.

Really, if you are by yourself and can control

the pace running 8/10’s, then 9/10’s then flat

out, warming up tires is no big deal. It is

when you are 8/10’s and someone else is flat

out that speed difference becomes a concern.

Not an insurmountable problem.

I have new stickers and am looking for a

magic lap in the 1:29’s. I got a 1:30.5 but

that is it. I was out-qualified by Jason and

Randy (Randy runs in my class and runs out

of Goldcrest as well, and he is an all-round

great guy). I start third.

For Sprint 1, the group splits badly on the

out lap and they send us around again. It

still splits second time around but they throw

the green. I have Randy on my right and

stay outside through T1 and tip-toe around

T2 on the outside while everyone bunches up

inside. I make it through and pick up several

spots including Randy. He has had a little

pace on me in Quali so when he recovers and

catches back up, I let him by. Not exactly

top racer form but I want him to maybe

bother Jason who is just plainly faster than

either of us so far. Alas, Jason checks out

through traffic and Randy takes second to

my third. Still a good time.

For Sprint 2 late in the day, I again am split

outside next to Randy. I look outside again

in T2, but this time it is clogged so I tuck in

single file and follow. After one lap,

positions are about set and other than staying

out of trouble and letting the big dogs go by,

it’s another solid third for me.

Saturday night we attended a soirée on site

and had pretty good food and some people

won prizes. Not me, of course, but my

buddy Grady of BHM wins something he

cannot use in his class and gives it away.

So, it is off early to bed and back to track

with generator fuel by 6:30 AM. We only

have two sessions on Sunday, Enduro day.

Sunday

Warm up is at 9 AM and we race at 2 PM.

Everyone knows it will be wet, just a

question of when and how much. The latest

forecast shows possibly starting wet and

ending dry, meaning a tire change at the pit

stop. With Goldcrest running 15 cars or so

and four pit boxes, we cannot all pit at once.

Coupled with the 5-minute stop minimum,

you gotta wait your turn sometimes. We are

warming up on yesterday’s Sprint tires. To

clear the track before our warm up, they hold

us 5 minutes extra on the grid and the rain

starts right as we pull off, everyone on dry

tires. I make two laps and stop, spray is

kicking up and the rule-of-thumb is, if you

see spray you should be on wets. There is no

time to change them and get back out, so we

bail on the warm-up. Warming up three or

more hours before you actually race is not all

that useful anyway IMO.

So back in the paddock, Hugo puts on the

rain tires and changes the suspension to the

wet set up and we wait a few hours.

When the 90-minute Enduro before us is

about to start, they reduce it to 60 minutes.

That means a 5-minute pit stop is required

but refueling is NOT required or allowed.

Halfway through the first run group race, we

jump in the truck and go look at the downhill


esses between T4 and T5 to see what is

coming. The rain is so heavy the cars are

almost floating thru the bottom of the esses.

Everyone is slowed way down; I am sure a

few brave souls have already come back on

the wrecker and made believers out of the

rest. Also, I think about a third of the guys

just bailed based on risk vs return.

The rain comes and goes but the tracks stay

soaked. Our time is coming fast and, like

Race 1, they shorten ours to 60 minutes.

We gird up and they take us around the first

time, wisely to let us see firsthand what is

coming. I am toward the front of the field,

probably because of the dropout rate. I still

have my buddy Randy beside me with our

friend Reg in front of him. And they get

split to the inside again. Well, I know the

words to this tune - I always have been split

outside at RA. Over the hill leading to the

front straight and I hear “green, green,

green” from Hugo on the radio.

In Club Racing, all racers can start moving

ahead at the drop of the green flag whether

they can even see it or not. Having someone

in pit lane watching the flagman with the

mic keyed hot is crucial and the call is

“green, green, green” to make sure you hear

it.

No one is really flat out because there is an

epic pond in the T12 at S/F. And Reg gets

stranded inside with nowhere to go, trying to

hold his speed and line, and loops the car

and spins to the inside wall. The spray for a

few seconds is epic and my video barely

shows him disappearing to the side and rear.

I follow a Cayman with ABS into T1 and see

absolutely no one in my mirrors. I assume at

this point we are racing to the double yellow

but because of the water, make up no

positions other than Reg and Randy. We run

full course yellow a few laps while they

move Reg’s car. His damage is cosmetic

stuff and a broken rotor, not a big bill but

clearly down for the day.

I try to get a run on the restart but again I am

leading in class with no pressure from

behind, so my priority is keeping my head.

My position at that moment is 12 points and

$1,500 worth of tires if I finish this way.

After the Road America debacle last year

and getting socked with probation, I no

longer race people in slower classes. There

is no percentage in it so the little Cayman

can late-brake himself with ABS all he

wants. About 50/50 I will get by him when

he goes off (to his credit he did not but I tell

myself that to avoid the red mist).

I make a few passes on some cars I shouldn’t

be catching; I am in a C4 (997.1) and I pass

a C6 and a C7 (Cup 991.2 with paddle shift,

ABS and 500 hp), so I am clearly enjoying

myself. One of the C7 cars later thanked me

for helping him find a pace. He had no one

in his class and did not want to overreach

and damage the car, which I understand, but

neither did he like getting passed by a slower

car. To avoid the shame of it all, he passed

me back with about eight laps to go, so I

followed him. This is the “new and

improved 2019 Joe,” not last year’s “get past

NOW 2018 Joe.”

Twenty minutes left of the 60-minute race

and we pit for our required 5 minutes. Not


much to do since there is no fueling in

Enduros 60 minutes or less, so I just sit in

the car cycling the cabin blower for 15 secs,

the helmet blower for 15 secs and the cool

shirt for 15 secs, all to keep from running the

battery down.

Off we go, adding 10 secs for margin of

error. If you leave the pit lane before the full

five minutes expires, you get black-flagged

for a stop-and-go, having to sit for whatever

time you shorted the 5 minutes. Next time

around, I come up on Randy leaving the pits

and do not know if he is ahead or behind

after the pits, so I make an easy pass. He

tells me later he started to give chase but the

car slid a few times in as many turns and he

decided to let Joe have this one☺.

The track is drying on the straights but the

turns are still puddles, so we made no tire

changes at the stop. Speeds are up as the

drying line perks everyone up, but it is too

late to make a run. I get first-in-class and 9th

overall with the 6th fastest lap of the race. A

pretty good outcome; my car is upper-mid-

pack in terms of performance and this is

above my usual placement, so I am excited.

A top ten is mega for me! Free pairs of tires

(no, not a set, darn it) and a 1st Place Pirelli

hat to add to the collection! And Peachstate

added an engraved glass mug saying “First

Place.” So, I won the class, not a bump or

bruise on the car, and all my friends are safe,

though Reg did get bruised on the start. And

Matt, one of the Goldcrest cars, took the

overall. I think Goldcrest cars took five

podium positions out of seven cars, so again

they prove, “Wanna win? Run with them.”

Next up for the Cup is the Toy Barn Tech

with the HOD club folks, which is mostly a

show-and-tell about the racing hobby. We

may also have a Champ car on premise. It is

a vastly more affordable form of racing that I

have joined with a few of the club members

in.

After that, it’s off to Watkins Glen for my

third try there. Hope to see everyone at the

May 18 tech session!

The Making of a Supreme Curmudgeon

by Lee Fowler

People sometimes say, “You seem to be a

likeable enough fellow, so how did you

come to be known as the ‘Supreme

Curmudgeon?’” Ok, the question didn’t go

exactly like that. It’s more like “How come

sometimes you’re a grouch but other times

you seem to be kind of friendly?” It’s likely

that people got a smidgen of a glance at my

“Mr. Wonderful” persona. It doesn’t surface

very often, thank goodness! The

“Curmudgeon” in me is the dominant trait.

How that came about is a mystery. Is it

hereditary or did it develop from

environmental influences? I’ve always been

told that we’re a product of our environment.

The genes from one or both sides of the

family are highly suspect. After all, my half-

great uncle lived most of his life in the

insane asylum in Milledgeville, GA. He

died there the year I met Suzanne, but I

didn’t tell her about him. When I announced

to some family members that I was writing

this story and that I was up to four pages, my

oldest son, Scott, said, “How could you get

all that in just four pages?”

When in the second grade at Arlington

grammar school in Mobile, Alabama, there


was some sort of pageant at school and they

had girls and boys paired off. We had to

walk around this large circle holding hands.

I kinda “disappeared” when it started ‘cause

I didn’t want to hold hands with a girl. Later

I felt really bad about that. I had made that

girl miss participating in the pageant. This

may have been the “fork in the road” for me.

Go right and be a nice guy or left and be a

curmudgeon. I seem to have veered left.

It could be that it all started when the family

moved from Mobile to Alexandria, Virginia,

in 1949 and I wasn’t allowed to take any of

my toys, which were very few. Not even my

favorite marbles. Two adults, three kids, and

a dog in a 1939 Pontiac didn’t leave much

room for toys. But my marbles? And no, I

didn’t “lose my marbles!” In thinking about

it, the Curmudgeon trait could have started

earlier when I got stabbed in the back in

New York City in 1942. I’m not kidding. It

really did happen. New York is a dangerous

city to live in. But that’s another story.

Those were environmental influences, but it

could be very well be in my DNA. When we

were very young, my older sister was

annoying me, so I hit her in the head with a

brick. Heck, I warned her I was going to do

it if she didn’t stop pestering me. She didn’t

and I did. My two sisters turned out ok, I

guess. So, I need to figure out which side of

the family could have contributed to possible

Curmudgeon DNA, the Fowler side or my

mother’s Downing side.

Nature or Nurture?

On my birthday in 1950, my mother made

we wear a pair of Knickerbockers to school

and I got laughed at by my classmates. That

could very well have been the genesis of a

curmudgeonly attitude. Then this city boy

got moved again in 1951 to rural north

Georgia, where the school had just installed

indoor plumbing and the classrooms still had

coal-fired heaters. I had to give away my

bicycle ‘cause there wasn’t enough room in

or on the Pontiac. But my older sister’s bike

was loaded on top. Once we got to Georgia,

she never rode it again. And I never got

another bicycle. Should have hit her in the

head again. Having acquired a Virginia

accent, those country boys thought I was a

“Yankee.” More fuel to kindle a

curmudgeon spirit. A city boy with nothing

but rocky, dirt roads to walk on? That could

definitely contribute to a mental adjustment

in a negative direction. The environmental

impacts keep piling on.

There were positive influences that should

have buried the curmudgeon, but it just

didn’t happen. Even though we were dirt

poor, I had an aunt who married a well-to-do

Italian. They lived in Chicago and drove

Porsches. Yep! Porsches…plural. Every


year they went on a Treffen to Germany and

bought a new Porsche. This was in the

middle 1950’s and Aunt Lucille wrote trip

reports for Panorama. They drove down to

Georgia in the summer to visit relatives,

which gave me the opportunity to ride in one

of those funny little automobiles while I was

in grade school.

On one of those visits, Uncle Don said that

he would like to buy some fresh peanuts. I

said that there was a feed store in town, and

we could probably get some there. We

pulled into a parking space and I asked him

what the car was in front of us. He said that

it was a Volkswagen. I asked him what they

cost, and he told me. Then I asked him how

much his Porsche cost and he told me. Then

I told him, “I’m going to have one of those

first, then I’m going to buy one of these.”

Fast-forward through grammar school, high

school, a couple years at a military college,

and finally Georgia State University in

Atlanta. Traded in my 1960 Pontiac for a

brand new 1964 Volkswagen, $1,495 base

price plus $90 for a sunroof. $1,585 was a

lot of money for a college student working

two jobs to pay for tuition and books.

Took a non-credit course in computer

programming and got hired as a student

assistant in the Computer Center. The

director of the center brought in gifted

students from a local high school to learn

programming. One of them turned out to be

the future Mrs. Fowler. Well, what do you

expect? Geeky little high school girl and

dashing, debonair college man. Now that I

think about it, this could definitely be where

the curmudgeon personality started.

Suzanne and I married and moved to

Virginia, courtesy of the United States Navy.

I had spent four years majoring in

microbiology and then another year majoring

in physics. Then, when I was within a couple

of courses of getting a degree in

mathematics, I got a letter from my local

draft board. They said, “You been in school

too long so now you’re ours.” Arrgh! I’m

spinning down the Curmudgeon vortex. I

decided that the Navy needed me more than

the Army, so I joined up. Suzanne had to

give up her quest to get a degree in

mathematics to go with me to Virginia.

What a trooper! We had joined Peachstate

Region, so PCA transferred our membership

to Potomac Region. During the Parade in

1967, we were coming back from an event

and topped a hill only to see a 356 coupe

from Elizabeth, New Jersey, sitting right in

the road. Our front bumper met his rear

bumper. Not a friendly meeting. If Suzanne

had been driving our brand-new Porsche, I

would have been all right. But no! It was

me and the Curmudgeon was festering

inside. We called our dealer in Marietta and

inquired about trading in the now-blemished

912. They said that they had a new, fully

equipped 1967 912 sitting on the docks in

Jacksonville and we could have it. That was

nice but didn’t soothe the simmering

resentment of having to pay to have the 356

rear bumper repaired.

Potomac Region put on an autocross school

and I wanted to attend. Didn’t have any idea

what that was all about. Suzanne signed up

also. It was a number of years later that she

admitted that she really didn’t want to attend

that school but did it to support me. If I’d

known that she would wind up with more

autocross trophies than me, I never would

have encouraged her to sign up for the


school. Obviously, that contributed to the

growth in my Curmudgeon traits.

We went through a number of Porsches

during the “BK” period, “BK” meaning

“Before Kids.” We decided that we just had

to have a 356, so we bought one from a

Navy Officer friend. We decided that the

912 needed a companion, so we traveled to

Kentucky to buy a 1967 912 Targa

advertised in Panorama. For some unknown

reason, we decided that we needed a 1967

911S Targa. Then one of our dearest friends

sold us his 1957 Speedster. It had an extra

set of Competition Engineering wheels, soft

top, and a hard top. We later sold it for

$3,000. Definitely a contributor to a

Curmudgeon attitude.

Very few of these were owned by us at the

same time. When our youngest son, Brad,

was in high school, we bought him a used

914. That was a nice car, but he grew to be

six feet, five inches tall and couldn’t fit in it.

Here is me, Phillip, and Brad. Obviously,

the DNA continues, but Brad is a throwback.

He’s actually a very nice guy.

Through all the Porsches we’ve owned, the

1967 912 we bought new is still in the

garage. If I’d kept all those other cars, I’d be

a zillionaire by now. Who can blame me for

being a poor Curmudgeon?

You would think the positive influence of all

the great PCA folks that I interact with

would have an effect. But no! At Spring

Thing, I was regaling Steve Baum with one

of my fascinating stories when Dave

Schroetter interrupted. Dave said, “Lee, I

have an almost photographic memory and

I’m keeping count of how many times you

tell the same stories.” No problem!

Curmudgeons have an impregnable wall

around their egos, so no amount of negative

influences can get through. Instead, they

strengthen the wall and increase the

“Curmudgeon” attitude.

So, to answer the question at the beginning

of this story. We were at the Parade in

Charlotte, NC sitting at the banquet table

with Paul and Donna Webb. I was having

my usual suave, entertaining conversation

when Donna said, “You’re a Curmudgeon!”

So I says, “What’s that?” Donna then

proceeded to explain the attributes of a

Curmudgeon. I thanked her for the

compliment. Then I told her, “Donna, if I’m

a Curmudgeon, I’m certainly no ordinary

Curmudgeon. I’m a Supreme Curmudgeon!

So, was it environmental influences or

genetics that caused me to be a Supreme

Curmudgeon? Hell, I don’t know! And

that’s the end of the story!

Mr. Wonderful or Supreme Curmudgeon?

You decide!


Radar Detectors – Facts and Fiction

By Scott Witt

Let’s talk radar detectors. Lots of folks in

Heart O’ Dixie have them, but many do not.

There is quite a bit to know about radar

detectors if you want to use them efficiently

and legally. But first, some basics:

RADAR is an acronym for RAdio Detection

And Ranging. The police use purpose-built

radar transceivers for speed detection.

LIDAR is a variation on radar. LIght

Detection and Ranging uses a purpose-built

transceiver that radiates in the near-infrared

portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

This light is not visible to you. It’s often

referred to as laser radar.

All police radars work at specific frequencies

in the electromagnetic spectrum. You can

think of frequency as the number of radio or

light waves sent or received per second,

commonly called cycles per second. The

unit of measure is called a Hertz (1 cycle).

It’s usually used in multiples: 1,000 Hertz is

1 kilohertz (kHz), a million Hertz is 1

megahertz (MHz); a billion Hertz is 1

gigahertz (GHz). Police radar works in very

specific frequency ranges, called bands.

They are:

X-band: 10.525 GHz

K-band: 24.125 GHz and 24.150 GHz

Ka-band: 33.4 – 36.0 GHz

Near Infrared: 331.6 THz

Your radar detector is specifically designed

to detect the frequencies that the police use.

Unfortunately, the police are not unique in

the frequencies they use. Other emissions in

the same part of the frequency spectrum

(mostly K-band) include automatic door

openers and traffic-sensing radar, as well as

blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise

control, and pre-crash braking on many

newer vehicles. These IVT’s (In-Vehicle

Transmitters) are the reasons for most false

alerts.

Police radar is trying to precisely measure

your speed and it can do this in a variety of

circumstances using the Doppler effect. You

are likely most familiar with the Doppler

effect as a result of listening to a train pass

while operating its horn. As it passes, the

pitch appears to go down. The reason is that

the relative position between you and the

train’s horn is changing as a result of the

train’s motion, changing the frequency that

your ears received from the train’s horn.

The frequency increases or decreases

according to the speed at which the distance

is decreasing or increasing. Police radar

measures speed by precisely measuring the

frequency of the returned signal that bounced

off your car. Doppler weather radars work

on the same principle.


The most common circumstance is when the

police car is parked alongside the road ahead

of you somewhere. The radar transmits a

signal in your direction. If the returned

frequency is higher than what the radar gun

transmitted, the amount of change is used to

calculate your speed.

Police can also measure speed while they are

in motion, driving down the highway, and

they can measure the speed of cars in front

of them and also behind them if they are

properly equipped. The newest versions of

moving radar are particularly difficult to

defeat. Same Lane mode allows the officer

to clock same-direction vehicles ahead of the

rolling cruiser. If it has a rear-mounted

antenna, it can clock faster vehicles as they

come up behind.

Fastest Speed mode allows the radar to

sample multiple targets and display the

speed of the fastest. You can’t hide in a

crowd of vehicles anymore! Most state

highway patrols prefer moving radar to

stationary, hand-held radar, except in

Pennsylvania, where State Police are only

allowed to use K-band radar in stationary

mode.

Some things to know when using your radar

detector:

They are legal in all states except Virginia

and Washington DC. You will be ticketed if

they see one in your window. Police in these

areas have special equipment (Stealth RDD)

that can detect your radar detector when it is

plugged in. Also, most military bases will

require you to not use radar detectors on the

base. There are a few radar detectors that

can’t be detected by the police (Escort

Redline X is a popular one).

False alarms are common, but with

experience, you will learn which alerts are

the ones to pay attention to. Most radar

detectors will give you an audible and visual

indication of what band it has detected. Ka-

band is almost always a police radar, so pay

attention. K-band radars are still in use by

some police departments, especially rural

ones, but K-band is also used by many other

devices, as I mentioned earlier.

The least likely radar you will encounter will

be X-band; only about 1 percent of the

100,000 or so radars out there are X-band.

About 15 percent are K-band, and the

remaining 84 percent are Ka-band. LIDAR

or laser radar is coming on quickly, though,

so if your detector doesn’t have laser

detection, you might want to think about it.

The range at which you can be clocked by

police radar depends on the model of their

radar, the frontal area cross-section of your

vehicle, terrain, weather, the amount of

traffic and the expertise of the officer using

it. You’ll be surprised to learn that in

practice, the radar range is very often no

more than a quarter of a mile, and frequently

less than 700 feet if the officer is following

the rules. Radar case law dictates that the

officer must first witness the violation

(speeding), identify the vehicle and visually

estimate the target’s speed. Only then

should he activate the radar to confirm the

speed estimate and, if necessary, take

enforcement action.


On a busy highway, a moving-mode

clocking usually occurs at less than 1,000

feet and often much closer. The radar just

displays the speed; it’s the officer’s

responsibility to identify which vehicle the

radar is looking at. Legally, the officer is

required to establish a ‘tracking history’

before taking action. This can take several

seconds, more than enough time for an alert

driver to get on the brakes.

How far away can you detect police radar?

That depends, but generally it’s going to be

well before the officer gets close enough to

clock you. A lot of alerts will occur well

before you see the police cruiser. Most

detectors have some way of indicating the

signal strength of the radar, and this is a

good way to estimate how close the radar is.

I personally have detected police radar more

than 5 miles away on a long straight stretch

of I-25 in New Mexico. But that is with a

very good detector (more about that later).

An exception to this notion is the use of

instant-on radar, sometimes called POP. In

this case, the officer does not turn on the

radar until he’s very close, probably coming

up behind you, or sitting in an obscured

position alongside the road as you pass by.

The officer is still required to establish a

tracking history, so get on the brakes

anyway.

Weather can affect radar. Heavy rain makes

it nearly impossible to get a good reading.

LIDAR will not work reliably in fog, light

rain, dust, etc.

What about jammers? Radar jammers are

illegal to operate in every state; it is a federal

offense to do so, with fines of up to $50,000!

Jammers are easily detected by police radar

transceivers. In any case, most radar

jammers offered for sale do not work

reliably. Most police radar transceivers use

digital signal processing that rejects the

noise created by the jammer.

On the other hand, laser jammers are legal in

24 states, including Alabama (but not

Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas or

Oklahoma). As I mentioned earlier, LIDAR

is becoming more and more often deployed

with highway patrol. It is a game-changer.

LIDAR emits a beam of invisible infrared

light. The beam is only about 20 inches

wide at 1,000 feet, so if your laser detector

goes off, you are definitely being beamed.

LIDAR can measure speeds to a tenth of a

mile per hour, and it does so nearly

instantaneously, so track history

establishment is not necessary. Typically,

the patrolman will aim at your headlights or

license plate to get the best reflection return,

so it’s possible that you can be beamed and

not even know it because the narrow beam

does not hit your detector.

Under normal conditions, LIDAR has a

greater range than radar and can measure

your speed up to 4,000 feet away, although

typical police usage is usually under 2,000

feet. By the way, LIDAR is often used at

night. Also, by the way, conviction rates

with LIDAR are much higher. Some of the

LIDAR guns can even take a picture of your

car.

Laser jamming is an expensive process when

done well. A laser jammer detects a police

laser gun’s beam, decodes the signal and

transmits bursts of invisible infrared light on


the same frequency in return. If this return

signal is at the correct frequency and the

same pulse repetition rate (PRF), the laser

gun is confused and does not display a

speed.

Generally, at least two laser transceivers

each are necessary at the front and back of

your car. They should be located near the

bright spots, i.e., the headlights, taillights

and license plates. They need to be in the

beam sent by the patrolman to work. If laser

jamming is important to you, spend the

money on a good system and money on a

good installation. Otherwise, it won’t work.

There is another product that can help with

defeating laser radar. It goes by the name

“Veil Stealth Coating,” and is a liquid that is

applied to highly reflective surfaces to

reduce their reflectivity, weakening the

return signal to the laser gun, which might

buy you some time to slow down.

By the way, it’s now estimated that

somewhere around 25 percent of speeding

tickets are issued as a result of laser radar

tracking.

If you’re thinking about buying a radar

detector, do some homework. There are a lot

of brands and models out there. Three of the

most popular are the Escort models,

Valentine and Beltronics. Talk to someone

who has one and ask them what they like or

don’t like about it. Whatever you do, don’t

go cheap. Some of the best and latest

models have GPS onboard so they can

precisely locate the signals they detect. If

the same signal is detected in the same place

three times in a row, it will lock it out

because it’s likely it is a door opener or some

other signal source that is stationary. Some

models connect through your smartphone to

the cellular system for live, crowd-sourced

updates on where the latest radars are

operating; think of it as Waze for radar

detectors. Both of these capabilities happen

automatically and can be very handy in

crowded urban environments with

significant police presence.

For what it’s worth, I have used Escort

Passport series radar detectors since 2002

and have been very happy with their

performance. They are easy to use, have

quickly available alert lockouts, have very

long range, and I can also program out

certain K-band frequencies to stop a lot of

the annoying non-police alerts.

Be prepared to spend money on updating

your equipment. A lot of work is going on

to make driverless vehicles safe to operate

on the road, and there is a lot of radar

sensing involved with this. At this point, a

lot of the sensing is in the K-band, as we

have discussed. There is a move afoot in the

United States to consolidate most of the

sensing into a dedicated band at 24.0 to

24.250 GHz. The Europeans are hoping to

set a worldwide standard for radar sensing

for driverless vehicles as well as piloted

vehicles (known as Advanced Driver

Assistance Systems, or ADAS) in the 79

GHz band. Generally, the higher the

frequency, the greater the bandwidth

available, and these new systems are very

data intensive. All the data generated by the

ADAS systems is used by the vehicle to

make ongoing, split-second decisions.


There is much opinion about whether radar

detectors work that well in saving you from

speeding tickets, or whether they are even

worth the money. I’ll just say that if you get

one, you have to learn to use it and

understand it. As to whether they save you

from speeding tickets, my personal answer is

an unqualified “Yes!”

If you don’t ever speed, pay no attention to

the above article. You are good to go!

Über Region Fest

By Dave Schroetter

The fifth Über Region Fest (ÜRF) took place

at Trissl Sports Cars on June 6th and 7th this

year. Unfortunately, the weather played a

major role in this year’s event with a forecast

of 100% rain. While it did deter some from

attending, HOD was well represented with

21 Porsches and 30 members.

On Friday evening there was a welcome

reception at the Marriott Hotel in Florence

with wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres served

on the terrace. It was a relaxing evening

meeting old friends and making new ones.

Thomas Trissl was there to greet and thank

everyone for attending.

Bright and early Saturday morning, Ann and

I headed for Trissl to set up the HOD

Welcome Booth for the event. It was a dry,

pleasant morning while everything was

being staged for the event. It was not so dry

back towards Huntsville, as heavy rains were

encountered by our members who were

caravanning to Florence. Despite heavy rain,

the group pushed on and arrived around 10

AM to find dry weather greeting them.

After registering and staging the Porsches

for the Peoples’ Choice Car Show, members

settled in to viewing the other Porsches on

display, checking out the vendors, and

socializing. At noon, the show officially

started with the car show, autocrossing, race

simulator, the Trissl Porsche Collection,

Porsche GT Experience, food, and music.

Porsche of Huntsville had a display with

folks from the dealership to answer

questions and show the cars. Also having a

booth and display was member Martin

Folgmann of Martin’s Classic Cars.

The activities were briefly disrupted by a

rain event that lasted about 45 minutes

around 1:30 PM. After it stopped, people

began popping out from where they sought

shelter and everything continued from where

it left off.

With voting completed for the Peoples’

Choice around 3 PM, the votes were tallied

and the winners were announced around 4

PM. HOD was well represented among those

taking home trophies as class winners. In all,

five members won six trophies. Lionel

Leathers won class as well as Best of Show.

The other class winners were Jim Farrell,

Regan Carlile, Paul Webb, and myself.

Congratulations to the trophy winners and

thanks to all who were not deterred by the

forecast. ÜRF is a very unique event in our

region and we look forward to HOD

involvement in 2021 when the sixth Über

Region Fest will occur. Plan on attending.

You won’t regret it.

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