North Atlantic Audi Club

Timing Belt-a-thon: save money and learn for the future

Join us Saturday August 21st for club sponsor Advanced Technologies
Annual Timing Belt-a-thon.

For at least the past 4+ years Lee and his staff have opened their shop
Saturday for a DIY Timing Belt-a-thon.

Audi recommends a timing belt service approximately every 60,000 miles
and the dealer service usually exceeds $1500. This event is for the
mechanically inclined, those who can wrench on an important component
of their motor, yet doesn’t have the specialty tools or the knowledge
of Lee & his Techs who have done hundreds of these repairs.

The labor saved in this service is about $1000 per vehicle.

The knowledge base alone for: “what fastener goes where” and “how does
this bumper cover come off” are just some of the over the shoulder
Questions one can get answered while in this event.

The event fills up fast, there are only 5 spots available and this
event is open to our ACNA/NAAC area members. Membership does have its
privileges!

IMPORTANT NOTES:
$50 registration fee towards light food and beverages.

Parts need to be ordered through Advanced Technologies: (978) 282 5544

Contact Advanced Technologies with your vehicle year, model, VIN,
engine and transmission.

Registration is now open (create yourself an account on MotorSportReg.com if you haven’t used it before).

See you there!

Become a better driver

East Longmeadow hosted several highly successful Car Control Clinic in the parking lot of the High School in 2009 and have two planned for this summer, July 10 and August 7, 2010. The events offered hands-on driving experience for drivers to learn more about how to control their cars in the event of emergencies. The events featured both classroom sessions as well as some spectacular driving exercises in the parking lot. The North Atlantic Audi Club (NAAC) who organized the events and provided instructors for the events as well as classroom content is a 501c3 organization that conducts similar events all over the North East. Please register for the July event if you’d like to attend; registration for the August clinic will open soon.

These events typically attract 20 plus students, both teens and adults. Students use their own cars on a series of exercises over the course of the day. NAAC Past President Mike Kelly commented on the need for students to drive their own cars saying “we encourage people to use their own cars rather than have us provide a vehicle for them. This has two advantages; first, it dramatically reduces the cost to the student and second, the student gets to experiment and then understand how their car will react in a variety of situations. Our experience has been that students get far more benefit from an event when they use their own car. In fact, NAAC requires students to use their own cars across the full range of driver events they organize – from winter driving courses near the Canadian border in January and March to their High Performance Driver Education at the New Hampshire International Speedway, this year on June 2 and 3rd."

Parents, students and onlookers were shocked at the improvement in driving through just an hour or so, of practice at each exercise. Students learned what caused various types of skid and how to control each one. This was not just the usual simple stuff of ‘steer into the skid’ but learning what causes the skid as well as how the car can be steered through a skid just using the throttle to either induce or stop skidding. Other exercises included slalom where car and drivers struggled to get in and out of the course quickly, without skidding or losing control. This simulates sudden changing of direction or lanes on the highway and event organizer Douglas Cowieson explained this is the area where most people struggle. “Most students think they have an idea how to control the car in the type of situations we create, but the reality is we almost never see anyone get this right without help. The same is true of the skid pad. Most people know in theory what to do in a skid but very few can control the car into and through a skid. That’s why these clinics are so good for everyone – the exercises we use demonstrate what to do in everyday events such as avoiding something in the road, changing lanes suddenly, controlling a skid. Understanding what causes a skid helps you understand when it is about to happen and as a result make changes that will control it and allow you to move on without a fuss”. As the High School Resource Officer Don Cavanaugh said “this is all life saving stuff, everyone should learn it and this is great way to start learning”. “It was great to see the students go from being nervous and timid, to confident and safe drivers in the matter of a few hours, what an excellent experience”.
Christine Skiffington, who heads the Brianna Foundation, said, “I wish I knew about this for Brianna, we hadn’t even heard of it until it was too late”.

Jim Driscoll, who watched the event from start to finish, commented, “this is exactly what the town needs, for our new drivers especially. To get this kind of practice and instruction is invaluable and will save lives”. He finished by saying “I heard one parent say this should be mandatory for all new drivers and not just an extra – I think I might look into that for the future.”

Audis Wanted 2010

On June 20th, the North Atlantic Audi Club will again invade Brookline at the Larz Anderson Museum’s German Car Day event. This unique show brings together over 140 cars and 1800 spectators representing various manufacturers, including Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches and Volkswagens as well as some very rare German marques.

In years past we’ve had great turnout of over 40 Audis (including urQuattros and an R8 that won best of show). With your help we can outnumber all the other German makes; we’ve come close twice these past three years.

Show support for your Audi and the NAAC by bringing your Audi, regardless of vintage, modifications or condition, and adding it to the display. Many of the club officers, directors and volunteers will be there helping to register Audis, directing cars to their display area, as well as showing our own cars. Even if you can’t bring your car, it’s worth a trip to see German cars at their finest, ranging from vintage to showroom stock to wild customs and beyond.

Highlights from the past include, DKWs, a McLaren F1s, Porsche Speedsters, 550 Spyders, BMW Isettas, 3.0Csls, Mercedes Unimogs and much, much more. There will be ballots, judges, and trophies for the taking, as well as food and entertainment. This is a very family friendly event so bring the children and enjoy a wonderful Sunday meeting other enthusiasts while gazing at German engineering at its finest.

The show begins at 10 AM and runs through 2 PM. Registration for all vehicles is $20. Adult spectator admission is only $10 and $5 for children, seniors, and active military and includes admission to the museum. Children under 6 are free!

Pre-register by emailing the form to frontdesk@larzanderson.org or by calling (617)522-6547. Check out the Museum of Transportation’s website, too.

Hope to see you there!