I was battling a cold and felt like crud. But I was committed to go on our annual pilgrimage to Metric Mechanic. So I packed up my camera and cold meds and took off to meet Tom Kyle. We’d decided to caravan on a separate route from the rest of the group. It would take a little longer, but the back roads would be a lot more fun.
I’d taken the route myself one other time, but it was a lot more enjoyable going with a friend. It ended up being the PERFECT day for the drive. The weather was made to order and the leaves were well into their glorious fall colors. The route itself offered the kind of twisties that are the very reason we buy these cars.
We’ve always been greeted warmly by the gang at Metric Mechanic and this time was no exception. This was my third or fourth trip and it felt like a homecoming. Tom and I ended up arriving a little earlier than the rest of the crew. Apparently they were delayed due to some lane closures on Hwy 44. While Tom and I waited, Teddy explained a few things about a motor they were working on for a guy in New Jersey.
On July 31 the St. Louis BMW Club took a driving tour to St. James, MO. Our group was about 45 people in 30 cars. We started out at Plaza BMW, who provided a nice bakery breakfast for us.
Leaving in groups we took off down Hwy 44 and got off at the Pacific exit. Winding our way through some backroads we had a great drive to Sybill’s Restaurant. Group 1 was surprised by a cow in the middle of the road! Good thing we keep a reasonable pace and don’t go crazy fast.
Sybill’s is a great restaurant and we enjoyed a wonderful meal. Not shown in the video was our visit to the Two Squirrels Winery after lunch.
On Sunday, May 22 the St. Louis BMW Club took a driving tour to Louisiana, MO. Sharon and I have been there many times and for a long time I’ve been wanting to plan this drive and share my appreciation for The Eagle’s Nest. Today it finally materialized. Not everything went as planned, but it was a great trip overall. It turned out to be the biggest driving tour I’d ever been part of.
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We met at the TR Hughes Ballpark and had a driver’s meeting where we talked about safety practices for the day. The original route from O’Fallon, MO was set to go up Highway 79 to Elsberry and go west on Hwy B to north on W. This is a route I’ve driven many times and W is a fun road with plenty of twisties and wonderful scenery. Because part of W was closed for bridge construction we took a different way that worked out pretty well, utilizing Hwy F, and then the north end of W.
Tire and Suspension Tech Session 2011.03.12
Photos by John Montre
The St. Louis BMW Club recently had a Tire and Suspension Tech Session hosted by two of our sponsors, Plaza Tire and Yokohama.
One of the cool things about being a member of the St. Louis BMW Club is the occasional combining of social and mechanical stuff. We like to drive our cars and learn more about them, but we also like the camaraderie of friends and enthusiasts.
Plaza Tire in Chesterfield graciously hosted a Tire and Suspension Tech session complete with pizza and soft drinks. We had a good showing of about 18 men and 2 women. Manager Keith Emery did a great job of talking about a variety of subjects including tire construction, tire longevity, wheel alignment and a few points about suspensions. An alignment demonstration was done by his technician using an E36 318is belonging to one of our club members.
Keith Emery is well established in the St. Louis motor sport community. He’s got plenty of experience as an autocrosser and as a High Performance Driving instructor. He also has a great deal of experience managing automotive shops. My own experience with him has been stellar. It’s always a bonus to do business with people you know and trust.
But Saturday evening wasn’t about business; it was about learning and having fun among friends. I’ll share some of the points I learned at our tech session.
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