"daender" (daender)
01/01/2014 at 10:08 • Filed to: None
9
38|
"daender" (daender)
01/01/2014 at 10:08 • Filed to: None | 9
| 38 |
Until December 30 th , 2013, I have never truly driven my car, a second-gen Miata. I've done a season's worth of autocrossing including !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , trips all across the state, and I've DD'd when I'm up at college but nothing, absolutely nothing compared with what I went through that day. I've learned more about the car that I have in the past 11 months I've driven it, the good and the bad aspects of the Miata, smiling from sun up to sun down. Okay, that's not completely true…I did stop smiling whenever I got out of the car to find that my problematic knee had stiffened up once more, or whenever the car made a weird vibrating noise in one of the most useful gears for that drive. However when neither of those were happening, I believe my face was stuck in a perpetual state of grinning.
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(Make your sandwiches, refill your cup with coffee or tea, and make yourself comfortable. It's time for one of End's pointlessly-long stories.)
After a day of scrambled planning, members from my university's SCCA-chapter decided it was time to have some fun in the mountains between South and North Carolina. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was to meet up near Traveler's Rest, drive Highway 276 through Caesars Head State Park all the way to Wanyesville, NC, and then divert to Asheville for lunch. After which we'd return to Waynesville NC and hit Highway 215 to Rosman, NC, and finally hit Highway 178 to Pickens, SC before returning home. It'd take about 4 and half hours of non-stop mountain driving. We worked out a date and time; Monday, December 30 th , 2013 at 9:30am. Initially, we planned for somewhere between half a dozen or more cars to join us from the club…
We got four and a certain Oppo member who caught wind of the event the night before. Representing the college SCCA group was my friend Kyle (Big Kyle, since that's also my first name) in his Miata with a huge front sway bar and tires so used they look like slicks, Chris in his 318i E36 lowered on Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs, Wes in the USS SVT Lightning with some power mods, and I in my gremlin-plagued Miata.
Desu-San-Desu was awesome enough to bring out his unique Audi 80 Quattro, a car I've never seen before in person, that he got for next to nothing. I've heard of his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and his… !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! so it was pretty neat meeting him in person.
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I noticed during my drive up to Traveler's Rest that the transmission was making a really unhealthy noise in fourth gear, like metal rubbing on metal or something. I freaked out and guessed I was losing fourth gear before I even had the chance to enjoy it! My best chance of enjoying the day meant driving up and down the mountains in third and skipping to fifth gear on the highways.
So after waking up early and driving two and a half hours to the meet-up, and another half hour of stretching my cramped knee while everyone was loading up on gas and drinks, we set off at 10:00am. I made the choice of grabbing three bottled waters from home, a small bag of Doritos, and a bunch of tic-tacs with a lot of minty flavor. I expected us to be done by about 3:30-ish pm…let's just say I was wrong in thinking that.
Leading the convoy was Big Kyle, followed by the Quattro, myself, the Ford power boat, and the BMW. After about ten or so minutes of country driving, we hit it the good stuff. Caesars Head State Park has a speed limit of 55 mph throughout most of its entire length, which includes a long and winding road with amazing views of dense forests, miniature waterfalls, rivers running parallel to the road, and distant mountains. However, it was forty-seven degrees outside, cloudy, and all the leaves were long gone but the road itself remained beautiful. Big Kyle and the Quattro took off after the final slow vehicle in front of us pulled aside, leaving my unexperienced patoot, Wes, and Chris behind.
Now, this first bit was a major learning experience for me, as I have never drove the Miata in such a manner before. I mean I've driven it hard at autocrosses but never so on actual roads with real elevation. I tried to keep the car in fifth gear as I took the turns at a slow but smooth and constant pace, trying to figure out where the limits of my car were. That speed didn't last long because I was bogging down badly in each corner, forcing me to go all the way down to third gear to stay within the tiny 1.8L's power band (it truly starts at 4k). Avoiding fourth gear also meant another thing, having to rev the beans out of the engine as I snaked my way up the mountain. This required me to rewire my brain to accept that the engine was truely designed not for boring highway drives or commutes but to be revved happily over and over and driven hard without consequences. It brought a big smile to my face hearing it pull to redline before braking.
That was only part of the experience; the second bit was the basics of mountain driving, maintaining control of the car through the endless onslaught of varying corners. This isn't your videogame's Nürburgring or Fujiumi Kaido, the countless corners and elevation changes are real and very noticeable especially when you're being thrown side to side in your seat (note to self, consider racing belts to keep butt in seat). There's no reset button, no turn by turn map (certainly no time to look at it), and no glowing braking/racing line, you have one-hundred percent control of the car with no aids but your feet and hands and are responsible for whatever happens. Either a guardrail or rocky hilly awaits you if you decide to get too cocky and over-confident, along with cars in the opposite lane and tourists walking alongside the road. Also, don't be that guy who goes over the double-yellow line and puts people at risk. I slowly built up speed with each corner, going in with a bit more speed than the last, braking a bit later but harder, until I could hear and feel the tires protest my advances. In those cases, I went a step back and maintained the previous pace until I felt more confident in both my amateur driving skills and car to push it again.
Meanwhile, Wes proceeded to scare and amaze me by keeping his five-thousand-pound supercharged SVT Lightning right in my rearview mirror. This guy has gone through various Vettes, an E36 M3, sport bikes, as well has having a couple of track days and several autocrosses under his belt, he knows how to drive like an enthusiast. He hustled that monster through the corners, putting those wide 295 millimeter tires to good use, and easily catching me coming out of the curves. Every time he gave it gas, the heat from the side-exit exhaust distorted the air above and around it, a beautiful finish for the hundreds of dinosaurs and plants that sacrificed their lives to make up that gallon of gas he didn't care to have in his tank anymore. Let's not forget the sound, the only engine possibly making over 130hp (Wes has dyno data showing it's over 400 even with belt slip), roaring and the supercharger screaming as went from not-big to really-big in my rearview mirror in a second. I later let him pass me and he proceeded to amaze the others by keeping pace with them as well.
I wasn't able to pay attention to Chris, due to the fact I had more important matters such as the excitingly busy road ahead of me and Wes's truck keeping pace in my rearview. I later heard he approached the mountain far opposite manner as how I took it, going in hard and fast, tires squealing and the open-diff rear end getting a bit sideways. I'm sure he was putting that suspension setup to good use. After a few dozen corners he fell behind while the rest tried matching each other's pace through the corners.
Eventually we reached a small town to stop for a short break, my knee desperate to be stretched out again after nearly locking up the minute I stepped out of the car, and to discuss our emergency plan that if anyone gets left too far behind, the leading group would pull off but stay in sight until the rest caught up. I was busy chewing tic-tacs not only to keep my breath fresh, but to keep me from getting drowsy behind the wheel, and downing the remains of my first bottle. Furthermore, restroom breaks every hour are a thing you should keep in mind especially when you're being tossed about in the middle of nowhere.
For the second part, we're out of the state park and on ordinary mountain roads, with no signs of traffic or sight-seeing tourists along the way. This time, I remembered to turn on my GoPro and filmed it from the start of the twisty bits until we hit our temporary rest stop. You're better off killing the sound and playing some music over it or something, all you hear is a muted stock Miata engine with a stock exhaust and the sounds of water bottles assaulting an innocent bag of Doritos in the passenger foot well.
Here's some footage from Wes's view!
This time I felt more confident, relaxed and I really enjoyed that part of the drive, finally being able to put the Miata through its paces turn-after-turn after dreaming about it for months. However I guess I wasn't pushing as hard as the others because by the time we stopped for a break, the Quattro and Lightning both had smoke coming from their brakes! I decided to take the opportunity to grab a few photos of the group (also credit to Wes for having a better camera than me and taking a few shots as well).
We then discussed about who would be who in Top Gear followed by a debate over which car was more German, the Quattro or the 318i. Points were awarded for things like extra switches with nothing on them, German-made wheels, electrical issues, oil leaks/burning, mechanical fuel injection, hand-cranked sunroof, high-maintenance, etc. I believe the Quattro was the clear winner. Once that was over, we saddled up to go down the rest of the mountain and head toward Asheville for lunch. I tried mounting the GoPro to the windshield to record better footage but I ended up taking two upside-down photos. Desu and Chris saw me yank the GoPro and mount off the windshield in one-handed-anger at 60mph, expecting it to go airborne.
We stopped by Asheville as my concerns over the fourth gear rattle grew. The Lucky Otter, some sort of Cali-style burrito place, served me curry chicken with potatoes, carrots, brown rice, and with grilled mangoes on black beans; great food, decent value. Anyway, I handed Big Kyle the keys to my car and we traded Miata before getting back to the mountain roads to see if he could figure out what was acting up. After about ten minutes of town and highway driving, he figured it was a loose shifter bushing or some heat shield that was rattling around, no feelings of fourth going away at all. In fact, he said mine shifted better than his (IMO, his was less notchy and a lot easier to put into gear). So, following his recommendation, I just ignored the rattling and drove normally with fourth gear.
Wes left on the way to Asheville to do his own thing and Chris left after lunch, content with his car's performance and wanting to get home before nightfall. That left Big Kyle, Desu, and I for the return trip back down the mountain. By the way, it was already 2:30pm and we were only halfway through our planned trip; I had horribly miscalculated how long this trip would take. Also, I'm running with lights on and fog lamps, why? Because responsible racecar!
So after traveling through farmlands and country towns, we found the highway to Pickens, darting through more forest and mountains, following rivers and ravines. This section was less technical and more momentum-focused, allowing me to keep the car in third and fourth as we carved up corners at considerable speeds. I was finally getting into my grove as I could hear the tires squeal faintly through each corner (though I might have mistaken a few of them with Desu and Big Kyle assaulting theirs), pushing the Miata through sweeping corners while maintaining full control of it at all times. I believe this part of the trip was the best and my favorite section to drive on.
Eventually, we stopped at a summit to let our cars take a break…but not before pulling some handbrake turns in the gravel and watching a Quattro do dirty donuts. Clarkson would've been proud as I'm sure there must be females (or maybe male hairdressers) out in SC suddenly losing control of themselves as we hoon'd our cars on the side of the road. It was neat to hear from Desu that he loved running through the mountains with his Quattro like that, impressing himself with the car's limits. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! We also had quite a view…and a nice reminder how far the drop is! Also, those tic-tac and Doritos were helping me fight off exhaustion and hunger, totally worth their purchase now.
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We were only halfway through our return trip; we still had the trek down the mountain! This time Desu maintained an easier pace so I was able to keep up and watch his Quattro dance (also leaned like a ship but not as bad as the Lightning) through the corners, to the growl and rumble of that unique straight-five. However, we were halted a few times by local traffic that wouldn't let us go by, including an F-350 that dangerously hogged up the entire road. We chose to stop and take another break to let traffic by before heading into Pickens; it was quite interesting seeing old 50's and 60's farm trucks and semi-cabs abandoned in the woods like beer cans (speaking of, there must have been 3$ worth of them at the bottom of a ravine!) After a few minutes of driving through the dusk-darkened forest with our lights on, Desu took the lead of the last section to show us his famous route to sell FR-S's to customers. I won't say much since it's been talked about before but it's a boatload of fun and a genius way to sell a car like that to enthusiasts! Thanks again for hanging out with us!
We wrapped up our exciting journey in Pickens before heading to Big Kyle's house for dinner (the beef stew was great). It was already 7:15pm and I was still a good two or three hours away from home so there was no way I'd be back in time for mom's soup to still be hot. On the plus side, I've borrowed '01+ Miata valve cover from Big Kyle to experiment painting on! Oh, and I got home just before 10pm thanks to eating more tic-tacs and good driving music, about six hours later than I expected to be home. A great part about this trip, I got 30 mpg on the way up, 31 mpg throughout the entire mountain run somehow , and 26 mpg on the way back. I only used up 1.5 Miata tanks-worth of gas, which to be honest, is about the same amount I spend on an autocross day. This was far better way to spend money, enjoy it, and learn more about the car than a few minutes of quick autocross.
TL; DR version:
1.)Take it easy if you're new to mountain driving, build speed and confidence little by little.
2.)Take breaks, not just for car, but to stretch, re-energize, and enjoy the scenery you'd be missing while driving fast. Drink water too but plans for restroom breaks.
3.)Snacks are great for hunger in the middle of nowhere, minty stuff works the best to keep you awake and also gives you great breath.
4.)Make sure you have good brake pads and a set of tires that you wish to put quite some wear on.
5.)Expect a trip like this to take all day, plan accordingly.
6.)Bring friends along because it's more fun with company.
7.) Smile , dang you, because there's nothing else like it and you should enjoy it.
(Photo credits to Wes, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and myself. Big thanks to my friend Grav for doing that neat text effect for the opening picture.)
PS9
> daender
01/01/2014 at 10:11 |
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I will lose faith in Jalopnik if this does not get FP'd.
SKYSOLDIER
> daender
01/01/2014 at 11:46 |
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Great article, Kyle! Had fun on the trip and wished I could have made the return one with y'all. Maybe next time once I get some better pads, stickier tires (Hankook All Seasons FTL), and am not hauling a mattress in the bed. haha
Desu-San-Desu
> daender
01/01/2014 at 12:52 |
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I had an absolute blast! I was thoroughly impressed by the Audi and learned a lot about how it handles near the limits (ie, needs a firmer suspension and better brakes, lol). Btw, I told you the video would make it look so much slower than it was. In the videos, it just looks like a leisurely drive. You can't even tell that our tires were squaling half the time or that our brakes were smoking towards the end of Wes' video. But damn...that Lightning sure as hell sounds sweet. I need to get me a GoPro at some point...
I found it thoroughly amusing that the 22-year old Herr Quattro was able to keep pace with Big Kyle's modified Miata, while the Lightning managed to keep pace with both of them... through the mountains! I don't know if that speaks well for the Lightning...or ill for the two lead cars, lol.
We should definitely do this again at some point- perhaps over the summer at the Deep South Nurburgring , haha. We will DEFINITELY need better brakes for the first portion of Green River Cove Rd, though.
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P.S. - I did a small mini-writeup of the day out with you guys. It's not in-depth like yours, but hopefully it's a little amusing, haha.
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daender
> Desu-San-Desu
01/01/2014 at 13:01 |
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How did I miss your post?
Man, that was an awesome day, we need to try this again sometime this year!
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Desu-San-Desu
> daender
01/01/2014 at 13:04 |
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Lol, it's cool. You were probably too exhausted to notice it. You can probably just insert a link to it in your post and that way the people reading will get both our perspectives, haha.
And I'm totally down for doing it again...once I get some better brakes and an alignment...possibly suspension bits if I have time, lol.
Bird
> PS9
01/01/2014 at 13:18 |
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There's no mention of new Porsches, Cadillacs, or BMWs...the title's not click bait....and it's not an opinion on why a brand you don't like is better than a brand you do like, regardless if you've ever actually driven that brand...
Doubt it will make FP. I've come to the realization that thoughtfully written content from Oppo has no place on the FP...
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Bird
> daender
01/01/2014 at 13:19 |
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Looks like a great drive! I miss driving in the NC mountains.
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daender
> Bird
01/01/2014 at 13:26 |
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Maybe it'll get FP if I mention that I saw BMW testing a few new M3's in Pickens?
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SKYSOLDIER
> Desu-San-Desu
01/01/2014 at 13:26 |
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I was driving pretty aggressively lol. Plus I've done that road twice before..once in my C5 Z06 and the other in my e36 M3. I by no means have it memorized in the least, but I have SOME muscle memory about how to tackle those corners. Y'all did great though! And it should be mandatory that each car have at least one go-pro lol.
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Bird
> daender
01/01/2014 at 13:27 |
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Now that would! If you throw in something about Cadillac somehow, it's guaranteed!
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SKYSOLDIER
> Bird
01/01/2014 at 13:28 |
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I posted this in a few other little places with the title: "Mountain Run through NC. Miatas? Check. BMW/Audis? Check. Ford Lightning? Che-WHAT?"
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daender
> Bird
01/01/2014 at 13:30 |
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Desu-San-Desu
> SKYSOLDIER
01/01/2014 at 13:42 |
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CHEATER! Lol, j/k. A couple prior runs is by no means cheating- just call them Recon runs, haha.
And I would love to get a Go-Pro, but they're just so expensive! Maybe for my birthday or something...
AM3R
> daender
01/01/2014 at 13:59 |
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Awesome post! I better see this on the FP. This makes me want to plan a drive like this up through the mountains of VA. Nice go pro footage!
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daender
> AM3R
01/01/2014 at 14:04 |
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Thanks! I'm working on finding better mounting locations and change the narrow-view effect.
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AM3R
> daender
01/01/2014 at 14:13 |
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I like interior footage in which I can see all the shifting action, it's helpful for when I try to teach someone how to drive a stick
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Desu-San-Desu
> daender
01/01/2014 at 14:48 |
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BTW, I found out why I was losing power and bogging down at higher RPM's. Turns out, my clutch is getting worn pretty thin.
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daender
> Desu-San-Desu
01/01/2014 at 14:50 |
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Ouch! That'll do it alright.
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Desu-San-Desu
01/01/2014 at 14:51 |
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I need to join when I'm both off work and not driving a 27 year old diesel with half its original horsies and bad shocks. Alternately, not driving a 58 year old 4wd that only had 70 horsies to begin with and the aerodynamics of a stylish-set-of-wings-and-parachute-wearing brick. Aka, I need to get my Ranchero built so I can die in style rather than just get lost by everybody.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> daender
01/01/2014 at 18:03 |
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Very jealous. I'd have loved to have hossed it along those roads in the Alfa :)
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daender
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
01/01/2014 at 21:24 |
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We wanted a vintage car to tag along with us! An Alfa would have been a great soundtrack to follow through the turns!
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> daender
01/02/2014 at 13:37 |
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Mine's not vintage unfortunately, but does sound great so that's something :)
As I'm in the UK, I'm thinking fly over and buy a 2nd gen Corvair. I've always wanted to import one of those...
Bit much for a drive in the mountains, but as part of a grand tour it'd be kickass
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daender
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
01/02/2014 at 13:45 |
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Eh heh heh, I'm not sure if a Corvair would be a good idea for a mountain drive. I've heard they're like 911's in the aspect that they like to exit the turn rear-first into the trees.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> daender
01/02/2014 at 14:04 |
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But they're sooo pretty...
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daender
> PS9
01/02/2014 at 21:10 |
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Faith be lost, apparently this wasn't good enough to make FP even after Rally Wednesday was over.
505Turbeaux
> Desu-San-Desu
01/14/2014 at 09:16 |
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man that looks like a whole lot of fun. Did you put the 90 front bumper on that? I thought all the 80's came with black! FYI I found an 80 in a boneyard with fogs I can grab for short money if you want me to send em down. Mine are almost new.
Also check out this stuff I found for our cars in case you need bentley copies... http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/one-of-the-str…
Casper
> daender
01/14/2014 at 10:54 |
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That looked like a lot of fun. Nice write up. Wish I could make it to something like this with my Z when it's dialed in.
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daender
> Casper
01/14/2014 at 11:37 |
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I'm planning on heading back up there during Spring Break, so around March 9th-16th.
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Casper
> daender
01/14/2014 at 11:40 |
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Unfortunately I'm on the other coast, so we only make the trip that way rarely. I'll probably just do Vegas runs and play in Utah/Nevada/Arizona this year (more to do and see than driving through the midwest).
Dream Theater of the Absurd
> daender
01/14/2014 at 11:55 |
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Sounds like you had a great time!
Regarding the transmission noises, the gearbox in my '91 has made rattly noises in 3rd gear for probably the last eight years and the 4th gear synchro has been gone for 14 years (this coming May I will have had the car for 15 years). It was a bit disconcerting at first, but it hasn't gotten any worse so I've just learned to live with it. Besides, you'd have to expect a 22-year-old car with almost 300,000 miles (on the original engine and tranny, no less!) to have some "character."
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Desu-San-Desu
> 505Turbeaux
01/14/2014 at 12:31 |
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You're damn right I need a copy! Lol.
And I'd also really love the fog light assemblies, so long as they're the right ones. I'd need to see a picture. And as far as I know, mine has the stock front bumper. I've seen the black-bumpered ones and have always wondered why mine is different. It could be the exact trim (mine has heated seats, so...), or maybe it's the actual year, as 1991 was a sort of half-year so far as model specifications go.
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505Turbeaux
> Desu-San-Desu
01/14/2014 at 12:35 |
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oh that is why you have the later 90 body colored bumpers, because that is a late model. Same ones that go in the 90 these
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Desu-San-Desu
> 505Turbeaux
01/14/2014 at 12:52 |
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Oooh, yeah. Perfect. What needs to be done to get those down to me?
Also, anything else on the boneyard 80 that's salvageable?
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505Turbeaux
> Desu-San-Desu
01/14/2014 at 12:58 |
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With the heat wave we have I think they are out of the snow enough for me to grab them. Let me just make sure the tabs arent broke (they seemed solid in there). I did a pretty good job gutting the interior already down to nothing, but beyond that there are some good things, for an automatic 4 cylinder.
If the fogs are good to go I will send em down and you can send me back an equivalent whatever. Gas card, 6 pack, whatever
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Desu-San-Desu
> 505Turbeaux
01/14/2014 at 13:07 |
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Lol, ok. It looks like I'll be starting a new job here pretty soon, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you're already stripping the car, here are some other things that I may be able to make use of, if any of these things are worth saving from the boneyard car:
-Gauge cluster voltage regular or entire gauge cluster (Lol).
-Cruise control stalk/assembly
-Heated seats wiring
-Rear windshield brake light cover.
-Rear-left C-pilar cover if grey.
And...really, that's about it, lol. It's the electronics and little plastic bits that are always hard to find.
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505Turbeaux
> Desu-San-Desu
01/14/2014 at 13:11 |
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have the gauge cluster with the idiot lights vs the autocheck (that can be swapped out as a unit). Or I can yank the regulator.
have cruise control stalk
have grey C pillar trim
I think the 3rd brake light cover is still in there.
Tell you what, hit me at [already got your email] and we can make a plan.
Moarloud
> daender
05/05/2014 at 22:40 |
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Cool trip! If only the Smokies weren't 9 hours away from Chicago, I'd tear those beautiful roads up with my Snaaaab regularly. Snap FWD oversteer for daysssssss
Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> daender
05/06/2014 at 13:44 |
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I figured that with the name "Ender" it would have to have been a third generation... Great writeup by the way!