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"However, even with five litres of four cam, 32 valve V8 at the sharp end,
the S4 is no drag racer"- 911 & Porsche World (May 2000)

"Eat Me" - Stuttgart Airforce (June 2000)

This morning, the below listed individuals decended upon Seattle
International Raceway to participate in the Hi-Tech Import vs. American
Muscle drags, in the first annual Pac NW Shark Drags event. Individually,
these pilots came from far and wide, some driving long distances (thanks
Chris, Terry, and Louie) to join together as the "Stuttgart Airforce" 928
Drag Racing Team.

Originally slated for 16 sharks to participate, we lost half our numbers due
to last minute mechanical problems and schedule conflicts. The Stuttgart
Airforce is as follows:

Louie "The Professor" Ott -90 GT
Terry "The Enforcer" Redinger - 89 S4 A/T
Ray "The Scalpel" Henson - '88 S4 A/T
Rob "Dolby" Fossett - 85 S A/T
Phil "Gorilla" Wilson - 88(?) 5 spd
Chris "Concorde" Ford - 91 S4 A/T
Tom "Midlman" Middleton - 87 S4 A/T
Pat "Predator" Edwards - 85 S 5 spd

Jim Viglietta and Paul Wilhem were also kind enough to come by and support
the team.

We all met outside the gates of SIR at around 7:30am. Nice to see everyone
once again, and we all chatted for about an hour before deciding to enter
the track for tech inspection. Some new faces appeared as well. Pat Edwards
was driving his freshly painted 85S with an S4 nose, revised front air dam,
and 18" wheels. Phil Wilson pulled up in his Venetian Blue S4 5 speed.
Sorry Phil, I can't remember your model year, is it an '88?

Before the first dial in run, the general consensus seemed to be that the
S4's would be pulling in low 15's, Louie thought he might squeeze a 14 flat
out of his GT.

The very first shark that I saw run was Ray Henson's '88 S4 A/T. Ray runs
chips, a K&N, and RMB (if I remember correctly). The tree lit up and Ray
was off. He pulled a 14.342! I couldn't believe it. That first run merely
set the pace for the rest of the day as everyone thoroughly trounced the
stock quartermile specs for their respective MY. It was awesome.

Chris Ford was kind enough to offer me (as did others, but Chris wouldn't
take "no" for an answer) his '91S4 A/T for a run since my shark is
currently awaiting a torque tube replacement. WHAT A RUSH!

I pulled into the staging lanes, and was fortunate enough to line up next to
Louie's '90 GT. As we started moving closer to the start I really became
nervous. My heart started racing, hands became jittery, and then I got
waved forward by the line man. You pull up behind the car that is already
staged at the tree in your lane, and then back up slightly toward the
burnout pit. The car ahead of you then gets it's tree and takes off. Pretty
wild seeing a car smoke 'em off 20' off your front bumper and take off down
the strip. My turn now. I slowly crept forward until the top "pre-stage"
light turned on. I waited for Louie to pre-stage and then crept forward
again until the second "staged" light turned on. Ready to Rock 'n Roll.
Gear selector is in "2", left foot on the brake, right foot ready to bury
the pedal.

From here, everything went into slow motion mode. The three amber lights
light up sequentially from top to bottom. It seemed to take an eternity
between each light, although its only half a second. The rule seems to be
that if you initiate your launch on the last amber, it will take the car a
half a second to respond and you will be moving by the time the green light
turns on. It didn't seem possible that it would take the car that long to
respond. The third amber came on and I hesitated for just a bit and floored
it. Pedal to the floor, RMB howls, then I hear Louie's GT roar like wounded
lion and launch out of the gate. The S4 launches and we're door to door to
red line in first gear. Then Louie's shark starts to breath and leaves me
behind as I shift into "3". I managed a 14.456 @ 99.09mph. Not bad for a
stock S4 A/T with an RMB, actually pretty awesome. You've got a nice ride
Chris, thanks for letting me take it for the funnest 14 seconds of my life.

Four trophies were awarded for the day.

"King Shark" trophy went to Phil "Gorilla" Wilson and his 5 speed S4 for
getting the deepest into the ladder before getting eliminated. Phil laid
waste to some fast machinery, including a pair of Pro-Street 'stangs before
getting eliminated in the quarter finals(!) due to a miscue at the tree. It
was quite a contrast in his final round to see Phil's S4 lined up against a
fully tubbed and snorkel scooped camaro. His third run was very exciting to
watch. He launched first, then the 'Stang shot out like a bullet and passed
him. By the end of the quartermile, the shark started to breath and took
the win. As Phil says "these things (928's) got legs!" As it turns out,
Phil's shark was the last "import" to get eliminated. Japan's finest were
getting shut down left and right while Phil and his shark persisted.

"Quick Draw" trophy went to Ray "The Scalpel" Henson ('88 S4 A/T) for having
the fastest reaction time after dial in with a lightening quick .579.

"Top Gun" trophy went to Louie Ott for having the quickest e.t. after dial
in with a 13.922. Louie's best run was a 13.546/102.73mph respectively.

"Eliminator" trophy went to Pat Edwards for consistency in nailing 14.6
three times before he broke out with a 14.52 in his first heat.

Also, Phil won the Shark Drag Poker prize by coming closest to his projected
reaction time, elapsed time, and top speed. The prize, a copy of Need for
Speed - Porsche Unleashed and a steering wheel computer controller complete
with shifter and pedals. We'll have to find you a foot controller with a
clutch pedal to help with starts for next year, eh Phil? :)

Luckily, no broken half shafts or other major incidents. Tom Middleton's
'87 S4 suffered a heater control valve failure during his first heat. Tom
won the round as his opponent broke out, but was not able to get the leaking
control valve by-passed in time for his second heat race. We'll get 'em
next year for sure Tom!

It was a real blast to see our sharks out there. We were a force for sure.
Phil's tremendous feat of getting into the quarter finals gave us all a deep
sense of pride for our machines and our team.

It appears there is enough interest to make this an annual event. So, next
year the Stuttgart Airforce willl once again touch down at Seattle
International Raceway.

Fly safe!
-Adam Birnbaum
'88 S4 A/T

Hello All,

Below you will find the best e.t./top speeds of all participants in the
shark drags. I've tried to list any mods to the best of my recollection.

Louie "The Professor" Ott - 90 5spd-ex., chips, Das Tek 13.546/102.73mph
Terry "The Enforcer" Redinger - 89 A/T RMB 14.384/98.5mph
Ray "The Scalpel" Henson - '88 A/T chips/RMB 14.342/100.12mph
Rob "Dolby" Fossett - '85A/T 14.68/96.45mph
Phil "Gorilla" Wilson - '88 5spd chips 14.619/101.31mph
Chris " Concorde" Ford - 91 A/T 14.335/100.03mph
Tom "Midlman" Middleton - 87 A/T chips, RMB, afr, 14.245/97.58 mph
Pat "Predator" Edwards - 85 spd 14.52/99.37

Read the write up for details on the day. Hopefully we'll be able to
display the full spread sheet of all the runs at Chris Ford's website. Stay
posted for details.

-Adam Birnbaum
'88 S4 A/T

Hello all,

Well, in an untimely stroke of bad luck, it seems that 928 Int'l sent me a 5
speed torque tube. I haven't been able to verify this, as my shipping
statement is at my office, but after having both ends in I went to bolt up
the front flange and the bolt holes are misaligned. Unfortunately, I did
not exercise the first rule of any R&R work, compare the new part to the
old. Upon inspection, I see that the engine input splines on my old drive
shaft has a snout, the new one does not. (the splines go all the way to the
end.)

In a related note of bad luck, the screen printer totally bailed on our
shirts. I scrambled like crazy to find someone to do an emergency pressing.
I found someone to do it, but no nicknames, no sleeve graphic, and only two
color print (black and red). They were originally to be five color, so we
will be a little starker than originally expected. I had our team name put
in place of the nicknames. The new printer had to downsize some of the
artwork as they couldn't burn screens as big as the original place. So,
we'll have to see how they turn out.

At any rate, I will volunteer as designated photographer for the event.
Drive safely everyone, I'll see you bright and early Sunday morning.

-Adam

Well I am off to Seattle now, decided to make a longer weekend out of it. If
for any reason someone needs to get hold of me I have my cell, 509 475 5151.
See you Sunday !!!

Chris

Hello all:

Good news: I just picked up the Shark Drags Poker Prize! Need for Speed
II - Porsche Unleashed (thanks for the idea Tom) PLUS a steering wheel
controller with shifter and pedals. It all looks pretty cool.

Bad news: I called my friend about the status of our T-shirts. (As a favor
to me, he submitted my artwork and plain shirts to the screenprinter. It
used to be his business before he sold it to the current owner, and could
get me a price break) He wasn't home, so I asked his wife for the number
to the screen printers. When I talked to the owner of the printing
business he had no idea what I was talking about. Not good. I talked to
my friend late last night and he said he would take care of it. We'll see.
I may be sending you folks your shirts in the mail. Sorry for the hold up
if that's the case.

Torque tube update? don't ask!

-Adam

Nice article, especially the 80% bit. Have to restrain ourselves ......

Chris

Just wanted to wish all the racers good luck on Sunday! Have fun & play safe.
And take some pictures and video to share with those of us who can't make it.

Due to the move I may not have access to email after today (for a while) so
have a good weekend at the track!

Curt



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Send instant messages with Yahoo! Messenger.

Hi all,

Found a great article on a day at the drag strip. It's on my events
page. Check it out if you are interested.







Later,

Tom

Hi Guys,

Just updated the web page with Adams driving directions and a map so
you know where SIR is.




Click on the events page.

Thanks,

Tom 87S4 chipped and pinging (time for octane boost!!!)

Well the torque tube is dropped. I'm taking a little popsicle break before
I climb back under and start the reassembly and thought I'd give an update.
What a hassle. The rear flex plate sleeve was seized onto the rear splines
of the drive shaft. The tranny simply would not budge of the shaft. I ended
up dropping the front, and used a breaker bar to pry between the rear flange
of the torque tube and the front of the converter housing. This exposed the
sleeve, which I heavily doused with penetrating oil, and lightly tapped a
flat head screwdriver into all three chuck slots of the sleeve to try and
spred the sleeve apart and loosen its grip on the drive shaft splines.
Using two jacks, a cooler, and a milk crate I was able to get the tube
pretty much in a straight line with the tranny, and yanked forward on the
tube like crazy for about 30 seconds. She finally let go.

I'm tempted to use anti seize on the reassembly, but I'm concerned that this
might contribute to slippage in the driveline and the dreaded thrust bearing
failure.

The torque tube is definitely shot. I'm relieved that the Porsche shop's
diagnosis was correct. With the tube out, and spinning the drive shaft the
rear bearing is definitely making a grating noise. The rebuilt tube is dead
silent. It's interesting the effect the torque tube has on the sound of the
bad bearing. I have a whole new understanding of how those bazooka sub
woofers work. :)

Admittedly, its a killer closing this thing back up with the front converter
bearing staring right at me, but I was committed on doing a quick repair so
I could race. No time for this "while I'm there I'll replace" stuff.
Converter bearings and seals will have to wait for another day.

I'm glad that I'm at the half way mark, I may actually get some sleep this
week. :)

-Adam

Okay, by popular request here are the details:

My band Dreamcatcher, is playing at Delmonte's Sports Bar and Grill at
9:30pm on Saturday night. Delmonte's is at 100th and Pacific Ave in
Tacoma. Take I-5 to Hwy 512, which is a little south of the Tacoma Mall.
Hop on 512 East, toward Puyallup.
Take the Pacific Ave Exit. You want to go north on Pacific Avenue, so I
think you have to take the clover leaf. If there is no clover leaf, turn
left on Pacific Avenue.
Delmonte's will be on the right about 10 blocks down.

Cover is $3 at the door. If you would like more info about my band, our
website is at www.DreamCMusic.com. We just completed an 11 song CD which I
must say is pretty cool. The music has three part harmony, acoustic
guitar, bass (me), and drums. Very easy to listen too.

See ya there, I'll be the one with (torque tube) grease stains on my hands.

-Adam

Hey Tom,

I guess if I really want to push you over the edge I could let you know
that I'm also training to take my second degree black belt exam in
October. (Any other martial art practitioners out there?) Can you say
"time management?" I also have a very wonderful, supportive, and
understanding wife.

As far as the tranny rebuild, I guess since my tube arrived two days early,
I don't have any excuses do I? :)

-Adam

----------

Hey Ray,

Thanks for the kind words regarding the event organization, etc. Really,
its my pleasure to set these things up, and it doesn't take too much time
once you get the ball rolling. As far as the cost factor is concerned, I
really want to keep these events affordable and within a budget of about
$50 whenever possible. I don't ever want to be in a position where I start
taking for granted those folks that come from long distances to join into
our group. They drive, some up to five hours each way, have to pay for
gas, make arrangements to spend the night before, basically alot of things
that I don't have to worry about if I plan the event. Kind of selfish, but
hey, it works for me :). At any rate, everyone contributes, whether its by
making efforts to drive long distances, or helping me with last second
details. I figure if I chip in a little extra to make the event more
special for me, it ain't no big deal. Just my way of showing appreciation
to everyone who takes the time and makes the effort to show up and
participate.

Have fun at the Cirque!

-Adam

----------

From: rhenson <rhenson@...>
To: 'PacNW928@...'
Subject: RE: [PacNW928] Adam's little helpers ....
Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 9:51 AM

Adam,
Really wish I was going to be in town Saturday!! I would love to see the
band. I will be in Portland watching Cirque du Soleil perform. You will

have

to keep us posted on when and where you play. Also please let me know

what

the final bill comes too on the t-shirts and stuff. We all know how

precious

our free time is, and here you are spending time organizing the events

and

taking care of the T-shirts and trophies and such. The last thing you

need

to be doing is picking up any additional costs! In fact I would be more

than

willing for you to add your costs of entry into our bill so that we can
compensate you for your time.

Ray Henson
88' S4 Auto - Sand Metallic/Rolls Royce

Hey Oscar,

Good luck to you, I'm sure you won't need it though.

It was great to meet you and your chiffon white beauty at the Dyno day.
Hopefully you'll check into this list or rennlist from time to time once
you get situated.

I know a lot of the locals here are heading down for Devek Day, maybe
you'll see them there.

Take care,

-Adam Birnbaum

----------

From: Oscar Munoz <OscarM@...>
To: 'PacNW928@...'
Subject: [PacNW928] Goodbye!
Date: Monday, June 19, 2000 8:58 AM

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry to say that I will be leaving the north west area. I will be
relocating to the Austin area the first week of July. I wish you and

your

sharks well.

Best Regards,

Oscar Munoz
81 auto (167 anemic horses @ the NW Dyno day)

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Hey Adam,

Wow WOW, first-- family with two kids, second- full
blown practice in Puyallup, third- working on car through the night,
fourth- race motorcycles, and now you have a band playing gigs across
Tacoma!!!!! And to top it all off you organize all the Pac NW 928
Events Man-- Simply Amazing!!!.. Wow is all I can say, you make
me feel guilty, I can't even find time to vacuum out my car. I am
in
AWE.

Like the other listers said, just give me a shout if you need a
hand, but given your track record somehow I think you'll get it done
with time to spare (maybe rebuild the tranny while you're there) ;-)

By the way, where is your band playing?


Later,

Tom
midlman@...


--- In PacNW928@..., "Adam Birnbaum" <adamb777@w...> wrote:

Hey Chris, Rob, and everyone else,

Thanks for all of your offers to help. Let me see how far I get

before the

weekend. Yes, to my surprise, my torque tube arrived about 30

minutes ago

with Fed X stickers slapped all over it. I don't know what's going

on, I

paid for and was only charged for three day shipping. Maybe those

guys at

928 Int'l were feeling sorry for my plight and were aware of my

deadline.

I'll have to give them a call.

I'll repost in a couple days with my progress, and if looks like

I'll need

a boost on Saturday, (after everyone has helped Curt move of

course), I'll

let everyone know.

On a side note, my band got booked at a local tavern the Saturday

night

before the drags. If any of you guys are going to be in town and

are

interested in checking it out, please let me know and I'll post the
details. The band plays half original music, which is kind of a

cross

between Dave Matthews and Fleetwood Mac, and half covers, which are
painfully out of date. Cover charge is $3.

-Adam


----------

From: Chris Ford <chris@9...>
To: PacNW928 <PacNW928@...>
Subject: [PacNW928] Adam's little helpers ....
Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 7:55 AM

Adam

I could drive over on Friday and be available Saturday if thats

of
any

use,

gotta be a way to get you on that track Sunday.

Chris

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Adam,
Really wish I was going to be in town Saturday!! I would love to see the
band. I will be in Portland watching Cirque du Soleil perform. You will have
to keep us posted on when and where you play. Also please let me know what
the final bill comes too on the t-shirts and stuff. We all know how precious
our free time is, and here you are spending time organizing the events and
taking care of the T-shirts and trophies and such. The last thing you need
to be doing is picking up any additional costs! In fact I would be more than
willing for you to add your costs of entry into our bill so that we can
compensate you for your time.

Ray Henson
88' S4 Auto - Sand Metallic/Rolls Royce

Hey Chris, Rob, and everyone else,

Thanks for all of your offers to help. Let me see how far I get before the
weekend. Yes, to my surprise, my torque tube arrived about 30 minutes ago
with Fed X stickers slapped all over it. I don't know what's going on, I
paid for and was only charged for three day shipping. Maybe those guys at
928 Int'l were feeling sorry for my plight and were aware of my deadline.
I'll have to give them a call.

I'll repost in a couple days with my progress, and if looks like I'll need
a boost on Saturday, (after everyone has helped Curt move of course), I'll
let everyone know.

On a side note, my band got booked at a local tavern the Saturday night
before the drags. If any of you guys are going to be in town and are
interested in checking it out, please let me know and I'll post the
details. The band plays half original music, which is kind of a cross
between Dave Matthews and Fleetwood Mac, and half covers, which are
painfully out of date. Cover charge is $3.

-Adam


----------

From: Chris Ford <chris@...>
To: PacNW928 <PacNW928@...>
Subject: [PacNW928] Adam's little helpers ....
Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 7:55 AM

Adam

I could drive over on Friday and be available Saturday if thats of any

use,

gotta be a way to get you on that track Sunday.

Chris


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Adam

I could drive over on Friday and be available Saturday if thats of any use,
gotta be a way to get you on that track Sunday.

Chris

Adam,

sounds like good time, let us know where and when....

Bobby

Adam,

i'm in too if you need some extra hands to get the torque tube back in, i
can't make it over until the evening though, (around 6:30-7:00pm) you have
my work number, if you need some help don't hesitate to ask. (gotta earn my
trip to vegas)

Bobby
'91 GT