Slipstream - May 2011

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A HINT from Him... By Wendy Shoffit Attention ladies out there! If you’re reading this article it’s because your significant other has cleverly left it in a place where you can conveniently find it and read it; it’s a hint. :) Are you tired of being a “track widow” on weekends? Do you grow weary watching your husband or significant other walk out the door to have fun at a Drivers’ Education, Time Trial, or Autocross event, leaving you behind? <strong>May</strong>be you haven’t learned how to drive a standard transmission or are terrified of going too fast. You might also be thinking that these people in the Porsche Club are either snobs or nuts who only think or talk about their cars. Perhaps you’re embarrassed because you don’t know the difference between a 914, 944, 911, and a Boxster and fear you’ll fail the quiz at the end of the event. Even worse, are you afraid you’ll BREAK the car and your s.o. will be ticked off and blame you? Whatever the reason, I’d like to dispel some of these myths and start getting you out there to enjoy the car that brought you to the club. Let’s start with the myth that the club is filled with a bunch of snobs. Yes, “Porsche” may seem like a word for only the rich folks out there. You see the $100K + price tags out there and think that only the uber riche are participating. Well, that’s simply not true. Not all club members have or plan to purchase a brand new car. There are tons of older models that go for much less money, opening up a whole new world to those of us with more modest budgets. This is not to say, however, that there aren’t brand new ones out there, because there are. Drooling over cars is encouraged, just not close enough to damage the paint. Snobbery is strictly discouraged and you will be hard pressed to find it. Most of the club members are friendly and down to earth, regardless of the car they drive. They will be happy to answer any question they know the answer to. The motto (if you don’t already know it) is, “It’s Not Just the Cars, It’s the People.” It may be the cars that give us the common ground to start with, but it’s the people who keep bringing you back. Some of my best friends I’ve met in the club and have a richer life because of it. Okay, so how about all those different models? Believe it or not, there will NOT be a quiz at the end! When I first started in the club, I was clueless about what the differences were between a 944 and a 924. I was pretty sure I could pick out a 911 from a distance, but what in the world was a 914 and why should I care? The easy answer is... It doesn’t matter. No one is grading you or judging you on your knowledge of Porsche models. The only thing we would love is for you to be able to spell Boxster right if you’re driving one. The rest will come with time. If you want to know what model a car is, ask someone about it and I’m sure you’ll get a good answer. Show up to enough events and it’ll just become part of your general set of knowledge. Yeah, you still may struggle with telling the difference between a 944 and 924, but that’s okay... except if you have one in your driveway. ;) What if you don’t know how to drive a standard (“stick”) transmission? If your mom and dad only taught you how to drive an automatic, ask for help! Most men that I know would love to have the opportunity to teach you how! They just might want to start you out on a little rental Honda, rather than their beloved Porsche. Don’t be offended. Grinding a transmission is equivalent to nails on a chalkboard, worse when it’s your OWN chalkboard. If your teacher gets frustrated, find another teacher. It’s important that you at least know HOW... even if you’re never good at it. Practice makes perfect. Over the years, more than one woman has come to an event not knowing how to drive a stick. None have left the event still not knowing. Cars break. That’s a simple fact of life. I’m sure all of us have been in a car when it’s broken down during normal use. With all those moving parts inside, eventually things give out. Driving a car at performance speeds sometimes accelerates that process (pun intended). Again, it’s a fact of life. Just because you are in the drivers’ seat does NOT make you responsible for the breakage... in most cases. Other than driving it off the road or running it into something, there are only a few things a driver can do that would cause him or her to be responsible for breaking something. For instance, having a huge mis-shift (putting it into first when you meant third) and letting the clutch out will cause a big problem. The answer? Be careful and deliberate with your shifting. If you have a fear it’s in the wrong gear, take it out and try again... BEFORE letting out the clutch. Without jinxing myself, I’ve been driving for awhile now and haven’t had that issue. I’ve been careful and you can be, too. There are many other things that could go wrong, but with a well maintained car it most likely won’t go wrong and worrying about it won’t make that any different. It’s just a car. Don’t fear it. It won’t bite. What if you don’t like to go fast? Is it because you REALLY don’t like going fast on anything? Roller coasters, skiing, or airplanes? Or does it terrify you because you think you won’t be able to stop the car in time and be in control? There’s only one way to find out the true answer. Try. Not on the public roads, mind you. That’s just crazy. Come to a driving event and give it a shot. Just once. At every kind of high speed event we have, you start off slow and build speed as you go. Trust us... no one wants someone afraid to go 100 miles an hour around Big Bend (a corner at MotorSport Ranch) in the beginning. They start you off nice and slow, teaching you everything you need to know, and then 26
encourage you ever so slightly out of your comfort zone. If at the end of the weekend you still hate it, not a problem! You don’t have to drive at a DE ever again. Note... I didn’t say you couldn’t COME to future events. There have been many events I’ve never driven at. It doesn’t mean you won’t have fun. Come be with the people, watch the action, and you’ll see the draw. The only way you won’t have a good time is if you keep to yourself and hide out where the people Winning ladies from the 2008 Charlotte Parade: aren’t. I can count on Five Fabulously Fast First place Females! one hand the people I don’t love in the club and even then it’s probably just ME! The last issue I want to address is if you happen to have a Neanderthal who is holding the keys to his precious Porsche. Ladies, there is nothing in the car’s manual that says you have to have a Y chromosome and a bunch of testosterone to drive a sports car. If your s.o. thinks differently, he’s wrong. Box his ears, grab the keys, and show him how it’s done. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard the statement, “Women are smoother drivers than men.” While it might not always be true, it is more times than not. Men like to throw their cars into power slides and hear the tires squeal. Trust me... that is not always faster. Often times, women are slightly slower, but more in control. When the tires are going sideways, they’re NOT going forward. Don’t for a moment think that all that tire smoke and squealing means the car is going super fast. Take your time learning, be patient with yourself, and try to have fun. Attention Neanderthal men... if you WANT your wife or s.o. to enjoy herself at events, thereby allowing YOU more latitude to go to them, make it fun for her. Don’t be a jerk and keep the driving fun to yourself. Don’t blame her if something goes wrong with the car (see the paragraph above). You might just find that she will ask YOU for a new set of tires for HER birthday. Now wouldn’t THAT be something? Loosen up the keys and you might just get a happier relationship where you both can enjoy driving events. You won’t have to ask for a “kitchen pass” to go. She’ll be asking YOU if you want to drive out Friday night or Saturday morning. Bliss. Now back to the ladies. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading this little article that your s.o. wanted you to read. If he left it for you, it means he’s NOT a Neanderthal and WANTS you to come out and try it. If you had to find this issue on a dusty shelf behind a bunch of old paint cans... well... hopefully he has a big club and can grunt really loudly. Hope to see you at an event soon, Wendy Evolve your 944 Porsche® into the 21st Century road grabbing sports machine it is meant to be! 1987 944 Turbo with GM® LS1 Transplant Replace that aging, expensive, under performing 1980’s engine with 260 to +350HP of high performance fun. Don’t compromise your 944 experience, call us today. We specializing in tranplanting GM® engines into the 944 platform. * Complete Engine Transplant Services for GM® LS1, LT1, and V6 Gen III motors. * Transplant Kits and components for the DIY’r * Fiberglass Body Panels, accessories and other upgrades For more information call us at either 817-657-6608 or 214-679-6346 or visit our web sites at: and www.TexasPerformanceConcepts.com or www.944Transformations.com <strong>May</strong> 27
Page 1 and 2: http://mav.pca.org Upcoming Events
Page 3 and 4: http://mav.pca.org Departments Zone
Page 5 and 6: May 3
Page 7 and 8: Windscreen Richard Bradley, Managin
Page 9 and 10: May 7
Page 11 and 12: April 6, 2011 Maverick Moments. If
Page 13 and 14: Ennis Bluebonnets By B.J. Harvey Af
Page 15 and 16: “ThE TEChniCiAns don’T jusT kno
Page 17 and 18: Performance • Track Set-up • Ex
Page 19 and 20: Epic DE Weekend at MSR By The “Bu
Page 21 and 22: The $30,000 Martini By Pat Heptig,
Page 23 and 24: Parts or Service, We Deliver Excell
Page 25 and 26: Member Spotlight: Vicki Dunigan And
Page 27: HONEYMOON Joseph D. Ray Partner Jam
Page 31 and 32: Your Porsche deserves a new home! L
Page 33 and 34: New Wheels Joel Nannis, Membership
Page 36: Hiram Saunders, Slipstream 155 Jell

Slipstream - May 2011

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