Fun Mountain Driving

"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
08/01/2016 at 09:30 • Filed to: Tail of the Dragon, GTI, Miatas, Miatas at the Gap, Deals Gap

I modified a free GT-R sticker for fun to make it more appropriate. I’m not sure how long I’ll leave that on.

Some may say that there are better roads, but the Tail of the Dragon is a hell of a lot of fun. “318 curves in 11 miles” is good stuff, although it makes a huge difference what time of day it is driven.

There were plenty of photo opportunities.

Fortunately, I was staying right at the road, and I am an early riser, so could get in runs first thing, with cool weather and little to no traffic. I also could run it just before sundown, again with pretty clear path.

People were running it in the middle of the night, but I didn’t try that. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I also got to hear motors going high rev as vehicles got started up the hill by my room throughout Friday night (but not Saturday night, curiously). Music to sleep by. Loved it.

There was a good crowd around because of the Miata gathering, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . They tolerated this stranger in their midst rather kindly, which was good because the organizer of my little group used to own Miatas, still had connections with participants and loved being around the cars, so we had a lot of interaction.

A Miata of each generation . . . I’m surrounded.

My wife always thinks the GTI is small, but among the Miatas, it looked like an SUV.

A very nice NA for scale.

The motorcycle riders I was with managed to coordinate runs with me, although I was generally was faster than them. But they were being careful and were not on sportbikes . . . the sportbikes were much, much, much faster than me, as you would expect.

Convenient motorcycle parking for my fellow travelers.

Even during the crowded times it was fun to hang out and watch, either in a particularly interesting series of corners, or from the bench in front of our room, where I could see every interesting two-, three- or four-wheeled vehicle launch up the hill at the start. Yes, there were !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! out there, tearing it up.

Photo taken just as a rain shower started and a half dozen Slingshots disappeared. This guy had a 2..4L Ecotech engine that he claimed was producing 400HP.

Pretty much any car or motorcycle (or whatever) that would enjoy twisties was represented this weekend. And many that were not well-suited for it.

Even a ‘70s-era Rolls Royce.

So, good times, and no one in my group got hurt or had to contribute to the tree of shame. The weather was good with only a couple of passing rain showers, and my car held up. It was great to be surrounded by the energy of a lot of people who came to push a vehicle through a road that emphasized handling abilities. I would go back.

DISCUSSION (22)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 09:44

Dude, you definitely should have done some midnight runs! I plan to write an oppo article about it at some point and my main focus will just be night running. And next time I go back, I am so going to sleep during the day and just run ALL friggin night instead. It was just amazing to haul ass through the woods at midnight. I think it would help to have a crazy light bar that points off to the sides but either way, it is just quite the experience. I wish I wasn’t so tired every day after all of the day running elsewhere, otherwise I would have gone out there more than the one night.

Also, didn’t you feel like it was SUPER dangerous to sit and watch from corners on the dragon? I just kept thinking that the people parked and watching were nuts. Oh and FUCKING FUCK HARLEYS!!!! Haha, I loved all of the other bikes out there though. There was one guy that was just insane with how fast he was.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 09:53

Love your GTI. I have one the same color and door combo. Looks like a PP car as well, yes? So is mine.

6MT or DSG?

S or SE? I have the SE, but the dealer I ordered through swapped the S cloth seats into my car for me.

My plate: GON PLAD

Ash78, voting early and often > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 09:55

Question for someone who has been there recently: I've always wanted to drive it, even at modest speeds. Are there times when regular sightseers won't get tailgated by sportbikes, Miatas, and GTIs? How do they coordinate it? I'd love to take a loaded minivan down the Dragon just for the lulz (and because it's our travel vehicle...).

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 09:58

Oh, yeah, I forgot to complain about the Harley riders constantly crossing the centerline, no matter which way the corner turned.

We tried to be strategic about where my car and their bikes were parked based on where someone was most likely to lose it in the corner. And we generally watched from near my car for added protection.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often
08/01/2016 at 10:01

No. There will always be tailgaters.

The considerate cars have places to pull over to allow fast cars to pass.

But really, early afternoon seemed to be when there was peak Winnebago/boat trailer/minivan activity, and fast drivers just had to accept it. That was lunch and spectating time for me. So you could do it then.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
08/01/2016 at 10:02

DSG with Performance Pack and DCC, Autobahn.

I loved setting the suspension to “Sport”, switching to manual, and keeping it in the ideal gear with the paddle shifters.

But even when I took a “relaxed” run and kept in in the Sport tranny setting, it was quite good.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:10

I just don’t understand why Harley riders even want to go there. Unless they intentionally just want to piss everyone off. They are just as bad as the random locals in trucks just cruising on through.

bob and john > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:13

TREE OF SHAME!

bob and john > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:17

Funny thing is. The fastest time through the gap?

Record is currently held by a GOLDWING.

So let me tell ya, its not the bike, its the biker

bob and john > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 10:21

SPEAKING OF there was one guy in a 3500 duramax that was passing through on one of my runs (video taping) and after a car pulled over for us three (truck, my friend, me) he was just GONE. It was insane

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > bob and john
08/01/2016 at 10:41

hahah that is excellent. I did recall seeing a couple of obscure vehicles moving through at high rates of speed. I guess that guy set up his truck to handle! Or he was just insane and ignored the double yellow the whole way.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > bob and john
08/01/2016 at 10:41

Maybe a local who knew how to make the truck dance. But, really, you couldn’t keep up? Wow.

bob and john > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 10:41

Didnt once lay a inch of rubber on the wrong side.

Must have been a local

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > bob and john
08/01/2016 at 10:41

Yup, I kept hearing that story from my friend who is a regular. There were some Harley cruisers that moved really quickly and stayed off the centerline.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 10:44

I did a run back from Robbinsville in the dark, and was glad I had the Lighting Package with headlights that swivel and cornering lights.

bob and john > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:44

Well it was our first day there and i was video taping my friend who was less then skilled. But I was shocked, in 2 corners we completely lost sight of him.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > bob and john
08/01/2016 at 10:46

The locals are insane there. I was running with a guy that was fast by any standards. But then he ran with a local with the same exact setup and the local burned him so bad. Sure it was the middle of the night so the local guy definitely had an advantage but it was still crazy how far apart they ended up along with the fact that not a single line was crossed.

Nerd-Vol > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:49

I think I saw you up there!

I was in a silver AP2.

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 11:12

Neato! That seems pretty useful. How far do the lights actually swivel? I had plenty of times where I was looking out my drivers window to see around a turn and just staring into pitch black

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 11:43

Yeah, not as far as I would want on the hairpin turns. I’m not sure officially, but it’s maybe 10 or 15 degrees off of straight.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 12:45

You just have to find a way to modify the light bulb housing so it increases the angle lol. I wonder how reliable that will be in the long term? It seems like one of those things that will certainly fail once it becomes an old VW.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 12:52

Well, if I start questioning how reliable a part on my GTI will be when it gets old, it won’t stop at the lighting setup! Adjustable suspension, electronic limited slip diff, etc., etc.

But, since these types of lights are becoming fairly common, I assume that they will be pretty reliable. I hope so, since I have them on my wife’s 2014 Mazda3s, and I plan to keep that car for a very long time.