zoomin’ … top down - indy miata club, inc. · of new imc board members. all imc board...
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Zoomin’ … Top Down … By Jeff Evans, President Volume 22 Issue 9
September 2012
What’s Inside
Page 2 Zoomin’ Top Down cont.
Page 3 2014 Mazda MX5 Miata Upcoming Club Events
Page 4 Gateway Miatas Invades Indy
Movie Time
Page 5 There’s More Than Corn
Threshold Braking
Page 6 Bloody Knuckle Dash
Advertisers
Page 7 Club Classifieds
Advertisers
Page 8 Advertisers
August was one of those “life just got in the way” months. Like most of you, plans made months in advance, and others more spontaneous, took precedent over a cou-ple of August IMC events I would have really liked to attend. The good news was at least on those days we were also able to do some Zoomin’… Top Down…., thinking of those driving the rallies! Darlene and I were however able to attend our first two mingles with the club – the night before the brickyard and the night before the red bull grand prix. If you have never attended a mingle, well, you should. They are lots of fun – and ice cream! Now it’s late August, going into September. Around campus I am amused by a couple of sayings around this time of year. “The animals are returning to the zoo” is one that I use often around this time. The week before classes is interesting because watching the parents of new students is almost as entertaining as watching the stu-dents. We tend to stay as far away as we can from grocery and discount stores the week before classes begin – because it's a zoo around here! Another, just as amus-ing saying is “it’s so much fun watching them learn to walk”, which really rings true for most college freshmen and new graduate students. They can indeed be as clumsy navigating their new environment as a ten-month old standing up using the coffee table for support. In both cases one can only hope they don't fall and crack their heads open. Speaking of fall, it is my favorite season. With the exception being the gradual shortening of daylight hours, I really enjoy driving my Miata while observing the turn-ing of the leaves and feeling a slight chill in the air. After this summer I think we could
It’s time to think about holi-
days, parties and fun! The IMC 2012 Holiday Party will be Saturday, Decem-
ber 1st at Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street, Brownsburg, IN 46112. The restaurant is located in the Brownsburg Square Shopping Center. We will begin our festivities at 6:30 PM with dinner followed by our traditional gift exchange. Please bring a gift (one per car) with a maximum value of $20 if you wish to participate in the gift exchange. This year there is a non-refundable charge of $10.00 per per-son to offset the cost of the dinner. Seating is limited to 65 individuals so registration is a must! Please sign in to the IMC web site and go to the events page to register. You will find a link to a downloadable registration form that will be used to indicate the names of the attendees and menu choices. This completed form and your registration fees must be re-ceived by our treasurer by November 16, 2012. Directions for payment and mailing are provided on the form. Don’t miss this fun event – sign up now to celebrate another holiday with your fellow Miata Club members.
Indy Miata Club Officers
2012
President Jeff Evans
Vice-President Ken Rabbers
Treasurer Steve Crouse
Membership Director Tom Lewis
Secretary Joan Rabbers
Website Editor Sara J McBride
Newsletter Editor Sabrena Smith
The Open Road is published monthly for the members of the Indy Miata Club. The Indy Miata Club assumes no liability for any information contained herein, or injury or damage resulting from the use of this information. The ideas, opinions, maintenance or modi-fication tips expressed are to be used at the reader’s discretion. Individual contributors and/or the editors express no approval, authentication, or en-dorsement. Thank you.
Page 2 Open Road September 2012 Zoomin’ … Top Down … cont. from page 1
all use a little bit of cooler weather. I hope that fall this year will provide many great driving opportunities for all of us. In particular, IMC September events include “Miatas meet Minis – part II” on September 8, and “Gateway Miata Club (St. Louis) invades Indy”, during the weekend of September 22. If you haven’t yet registered for these events, stop by the web site and sign up! As we proceed into the fall and winter, I sometimes think about how quickly this year has flown by. We recently concluded a survey that began on July 25
th. I am currently com-
piling and analyzing the results from the survey, and plan on reporting those results to the
board and IMC membership before the end of my term. Thank you to all who participated by completing the survey and adding your thoughts and comments about the club. I won’t go into detail here, but I was personally very pleased with the responses and thoughtful remarks from our members. There were even a few complements! Finally, I want to con-tinue to encourage everyone’s participation in the club, at any level, with anything. On another note, the IMC continues to welcome new members! Since July 28 and as of August 28, the IMC has added new members for 2012. They are (in no particular order), Jim & Tina Seebeck, John and De Gamroth, Steve & Rene Deal, and Mark & Regina De-masi. Welcome to the IMC! At this time the IMC membership stands at about 100ish members (cars) or roughly 200 people. The events page is the place to go to start planning your fall driving with the IMC. The events calendar for the remainder of 2012 is beginning to fill up, but there are still opportunities for event planning, rally’s or mingles. Hurry though, before all the weekends are gone! Don't forget: if a member organizes and delivers their first rally, that mem-ber will receive a $50 gas card from the IMC to help defray their expenses. Wouldn’t you like to have your pick of events from every weekend throughout the year, with a few weekdays thrown in? So come on! If you have attended an event in the past, make this the year to step up and host an event of your own. There are still open dates in Sep-tember and October! There’s no shortage of ideas, rally routes or people to assist you in making your first event a success, not to mention the incentives for first time rally organiz-ers. You can’t go wrong when the Number One rule for an event is “The Rally Master is Always Right”! So please consider organizing an event in 2012, or maybe start thinking about events for 2013. If planning a rally isn’t your style, then please consider helping out with one of the mingles currently scheduled, or create your own! Either way, please con-tact our VP/Events Coordinator Ken Rabbers at [email protected] . Just one more thing … Club participation can come in many forms. If you haven’t already, check the IMC web site and mark your calendar for the holiday party. The gathering is a great way to wrap up the year with your friends in the IMC. One of the highlights of the event will be the election of new IMC board members. All IMC board positions, with one exception, are open for those who might want to step up and help run the club. The one exception is the position of IMC president, which will be filled by Ken Rabbers next year. Ken has been a great events coordinator and vice president, and I have no doubt he will provide the IMC with excellent leadership as president. If you are concerned or apprehensive about taking on a board position, well, don’t be. Several of our past board members continue to make them-selves available for guidance and advice, and I am personally grateful for that support this year. So please consider nominating yourself or another member (please talk to them first) for any of the IMC board positions you see on the web site (except of course, presi-dent). If you have questions about a particular board position, please contact that board member directly though the web site.
Page 3 Open Road September 2012
Indy Miata Club Upcoming Events
Check the Events page of the Indy Miata Club website for additional details and to sign up for all events. Based on the events listed, there are still ample opportunities for more to be scheduled in the coming months. If you have the desire to organize and event or just have a good idea, please contact Ken Rabbers at [email protected]
09/08/12 Miatas meet MINIs—Round II
Turn about is fair play
09/21/12—09/23/12 Gateway Miata Club Invades Indy
The Gateway Miata Club comes to Indy for a visit. See the article on page 4 for more information.
10/06/12 Newport Hill Climb Rally
Enjoy some twisties before watching a bunch of oldies go straight!
10/20/12 Try This One Part 2
Who knows where this will take us!
12/01/12 IMC Annual Holiday Dinner
Join us once again for some holiday cheer! You must sign up to reserve a seat. Seats are limited to 65, so sign up
quickly! See the front page for additional information.
WHAT IT IS: Already the bestselling roadster
of all time, the Mazda Miata reportedly will be
lighter by some 300 pounds, which should
bring down the mass to about 2200 pounds.
Styling is likely to be influenced by the Shinari
and Takeri concept cars’ so-called Kodo design
language.
WHY IT MATTERS: Fun, affordable, rear-drive
roadsters are extremely important to enthusi-
asts and weekend racers, who should all be
grateful that Mazda continues to invest in and
improve the Miata. Where else are you going to
find a new, affordable, rear-drive roadster?
PLATFORM: As always, the Miata will get a rear-drive platform not shared with any other Mazdas. This iteration of the
car promises to be only slightly heavier than the original. We consider that a coup.
POWERTRAIN: Under the hood will be a turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder from Mazda’s Skyactiv family of engines.
Output is likely to match that of today’s 167-hp, 2.0-liter four. Mazda will continue to offer a six-speed manual and a six-
speed automatic.
COMPETITION: Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, a used Miata.
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AND PRICE: We expect the new Miata to make its debut by mid-2014 at about $25,000.
2014 Mazda MX-5 Miata Illustration by Radovan Varicak
Page 4 Open Road September 2012
GATEWAY MIATA CLUB INVADES INDY By Steve Crouse
Attention! Indy Miata Club members. Hopefully you all are aware that the Gateway (St Louis) Miata Club will be coming to Indianapolis on the weekend of September 21-23, 2012. This means we, the IMC, are planning lots of activities for that weekend, in order to show them a grand time while they are visiting our area. Of course, IMC members are invited, even expected, to attend one or more of the planned activities, serving as hosts to our Gateway friends while they are here. Here is a schedule of the weekend’s events. Please mark your calendar, sign up on the Events page of the web-site, and come on out to join the fun. Friday evening, Sept. 21: Gateway members will be arriving in Indy. Their hotel(s) will be listed on the IMC website as soon as we get that information. Please drop by to greet them and say “Hello”. We might even head out for dinner or dessert! Saturday morning, Sept. 22, 9:00 AM: Gather for a drivers’ meeting before we head out on a morning drive in Morgan/Monroe/Brown counties. The meeting location is the warehouse parking lot at 6032 Gateway Drive in Plainfield. This is the parking area next to the Wyngate Hotel, used during the Midwest Miata Gathering in 2008. We will return to Plainfield at the end of the morning drive where smaller groups will be encouraged to grab some lunch before heading out to the afternoon’s activities. Saturday afternoon, Sept. 22, 1:00 PM: We will again meet at 6032 Gateway Drive (Plainfield) before heading out to Speedway IN., to visit the Dallara Indycar Factory (1201 Main St., Speedway) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum (4600 W. 16
th St. – Gate 2). Entry fee at the Dallara plant/interactive display is $10/person, with an
additional $5/person for a plant tour. The entry fee at the Hall of Fame Museum is also $5/person. If you prefer to meet the group at the Dallara plant, we expect to arrive there about 1:30-1:45. We expect to be taking the plant tour at either 2:00 or 3:00, whichever works best for the group. From there, smaller groups can move over to the Hall of Fame Mu-seum as time allows. Saturday evening will be left open for small groups to take in dinner when and where they wish. A list of dining options will be distributed during the day. Sunday morning, Sept. 23, 9:00 AM: Drivers’ meeting, same time, same location. This time we’ll be heading westward into Covered Bridge country. We’ll show the St Louis folks some of the more picturesque covered bridges before stop-ping for lunch somewhere out that direction. Following lunch, everyone will head for home. Have a safe trip!
MOVIE TIME!
Pop some popcorn, sink into your favorite chair and enjoy one of these great car movies!.
Bullitt Grand Prix
Gone in Sixty Seconds (the original) Le Mans
The Italian Job (original) Mad Max
Ronin American Graffiti
The Gumball Rally Death Proof
Page 5 Open Road September 2012
THERE’S MORE THAN CORN IN INDIANA RALLY 1 by Kathy Crouse
On Saturday, August 25, 2012, Steve and I participated in THE BEST Miata Rally of the Year!!!! “There’s more than Corn in Indiana” Rally was designed by Ann Cole and Eric Drumwright and WE WON THE RALLY!!!! The idea of a Clue Rally is to drive a certain route and periodically answer questions about local sites. Examples included naming the cemetery on Moore Road close to 86
th Street, or finding the address of the Love’s Truck stop near CR 275 E.
Seventeen cars gathered in northwest Indianapolis to begin the rally. The morning was sunny but definitely not as op-pressive as many of our days have been this summer! Top down time, fer shure! This rally was a more meandering drive because at times we were looking for the answers to Ann and Eric’s questions. But there were curves and if you read the route instructions, you knew if you had time to speed up and take them at a Miata pace! There were times how-ever when even meandering couldn’t get you the answer and that required backing up, U-turns, or just moving on. … not many. Did I mention that Steve and I won? The Rally took us through Marion, Hendricks and Boone counties. We drove roads named Maloney, Noel, and Fishback, Hazelrigg, Elizaville, and Elm Swamp, and Counties Roads 100 to 1000 – N, S, E, and W, including CR 0! Then there were State Routes 267, 136, 75, 32, 52, and 39. We passed 13 cemeteries, quite a few corn and soybean fields, a Windmill Farm, a Sod Farm, and the answer to Question #24 was Lamb Farm, not South Stud Farm. And for all of us who took Latin in school, we were able to translate the building date of the Boone County Court House from the numeral MDCCCCIX on the façade to receive extra credit! Did I mention that we won? All of this gaming was followed by a good lunch at the Ware-house Sports Bar and Grill in Lebanon. (The Gen-Con gamers have nothing on us!) Eric and Ann entertained us with large-screen pictures that Eric took during the morning’s drive. Clue Rally winners were given a monetary prize and a bottle of Lily Valley wine, the “official wine of the Indy Miata Club.” Oh, did you know? Steve and I won first place! Joan and Ken Rab-bers came in second. And Bob Lewis and Theresa Young placed third. This was the first Clue Rally that Steve and I have been on in a long time. They’re fun! Maybe the Club could do another. Even if you don’t like Clue Rallies or haven’t a navigator, you can still come and, as always, ENJOY THE ROADS! Thanks, Ann and Eric!
Threshold Braking Mazda USA web site
One of the most important skills you'll need to hone in order to get the most from your car while on a road course is threshold braking. Simply put, threshold braking is the act of applying the brakes as aggressively as possible without locking up the tires. Your car's maximum braking ability will be realized first before the tires lock-up. On cars equipped with ABS, you typically find that the point with maximum braking force combined with minimal disturbance to the chassis balance occurs just before the ABS kicks in. The most important component of threshold braking is to be smooth and deliberate. Slamming the brake pedal to the floor like you would in an ABS panic stop is not what you want to do on a racetrack. This will cause the car's weight to transfer radically forward, which, in turn, will upset the car's balance, which ultimately hurts overall control. To properly practice threshold braking, press firmly, progressively and smoothly on the brake pedal until you start to feel the tires approaching the point of lock up (or the onset of ABS activation). Seasoned racers know just where this point is with their particular cars. For beginners in cars without ABS, it may take hours of track time to find just the right amount of pedal pressure to bring the tires to the verge of locking up without going too far. Cars with ABS make this exercise much more forgiving.
Page 6 Open Road September 2012
Bloody Knuckle Dash by Ken Rabbers
On August 4th, 16 Miatas, their drivers and navigators met at the Starbuck’s on
North Meridian St in Indianapolis. After some mingling, we hit the road for a short relaxing road trip along Fall Creek Road to Geist Reservoir and Mount Comfort Road. We had a lunch break, mingled a bit more then saddled up for the final leg to Ray Skillman Northeast Mazda (RSNM). By the time we arrived at RSNM, the tem-perature had risen quite a bit and the humidity set in. It turned out to be a pretty sticky day.
The folks at RSNM had some cool refreshments set up in the service area (drinks, fresh fruit, fresh veggies) and also had a couple of service techs on hand to answer any questions that the club members may have had about their particular rides. Every person had the opportunity get their car on a lift and check it out closely from a perspective not normally seen. Quite a few of the members present took the opportunity for a “lift”, and it was fun to get a close-up look at a variety of Miatas and check out some of the differences in the various model years.
In addition to the refreshments, RSNM had a raffle for some gift cards to local res-taurants. The winners of the raffle were: Ann & Mike Selvy, Elaine & John Weiss, Steve Myers, and Rene & Steve Deal. The Deals were at the event after hearing about it through RSNM and have since joined the Indy Miata Club. Other new mem-bers in attendance were Regina & Mark DeMasi who had recently purchased a used 2006 MX-5 from RSNM who paid their first years membership through their sponsor-ship program with the Indy Miata Club. A special thanks to Lauren Auld who arranged for the refreshments, the raffle and the gift bags; and to Kiran Pinisetti, General Manager for RSNM.
CLUB CLASSIFIEDS—Sell, trade, give it away!
For Sale—2007 Stormy Blue Grand Touring Miata— Sad-dle Tan Leather seats and top, less than 30K miles, dark tinted windows. $19,500. Contact Connie Whitman at [email protected]
For Sale—06’-16 inch wheels- Good condition --could be used for extra set of winter wheels. These were re-placed by RX7 8" wide wheels. Make me an offer I can't refuse! I will deliver. Bill Frisbie, Plainfield, 765 721-1500
Free! - Just sold the wheels on eBay but not the tires. Free tires for the asking---and I won't have to pay the $10 disposal fee. Tires have 20k miles left. size 205/50 R16 Yokohama Advan original equip tires. Bill Frisbie, Plainfield, 765-721-1500.
For Sale - IMC Windshield Banner—Banner-style vinyl windshield stickers now available to order. See classi-fied section of club web site for photo and more infor-mation. Cost is $11.00 each. Contact Gary Weidman 317-709 or at [email protected]
IMC Clothing—Looking for something with our logo? The IMC stores can help you fill that need. See the web-site for more information. Clothes can be purchased through Printfection or Lands’ End.
September 2012 Page 7 Open Road
Page 8 Open Road September 2012
Now celebrating 40 years!
Exclusive Discounts for Indy Miata Club Members
Tom Roush Mazda, Indiana’s first Mazda dealer established in 1972 has not only the most experienced sales and service staff in town, but also is the highest vol-ume dealer in Indiana. We hope to serve you in our next 40 years as Indy’s pre-mier Mazda dealer. In support of the Miata Club member’s we would like to offer the following benefits:
15% off regular door labor rate
15% off any accessory purchase
S-Plan pricing to eligible customer’s
Extended Saturday service hours 7:30—3:30
US 31 North @ 169th Street Westfield, IN 46074 800-891-3056
Hughes Insurance Group is an Independent Agency representing over 35 insurance companies.
Our ultra-competitive rates assure that you receive the most value at the best price for all of
your home, auto or business insurance needs.
For a limited time, I’m giving away a $20 gas card with an insurance review and quote for your
home, auto or business with no obligation! If I’m competitive, consider allowing Hughes Insur-
ance Group to write your business. If I can’t provide you with a better value, you’ll have the
peace of mind knowing you’re properly insured at a fair price.
Call or e-mail Indy Miata Club member Tom Lewis today!
317-984-9228 [email protected]
Have a few dollars invested in upgrades? Ask about Agreed Value Coverage for your Miata!
Tom Lewis
INSURANCE GROUP
Can you find the Miata?
I guess he couldn’t decide if
he wanted a little sports car
or an all terrain vehicle, so he
just combined them!