Taking the Mazdaspeed3 to the Tail of the Dragon

[azasadny]

My friend and I are driving to Deals Gap, NC to drive the Tail of the Dragon this Wednesday. He's driving a Pontiac Firebird (with Corvette engine) and I'm driving the 2007 Mazdaspeed3. I've been having issues with Helga ('74 911) and she isn't up for a 1200 mile trip right now. We will leave Wed PM, drive until we're tired, stop for the night, then continue on Thurs AM. We'll drive the Tail Thurs and Fri, then head back home Saturday. My buddy is a retired nuclear engineer and he's driven the Tail many times on his Harley, but this is his 1st time with a car. We'll take it slow, learn the curves, then take it at speed. I'm getting new tires tomorrow and they will be sufficiently broken in after the 600 mile trip to the Tail. Looking forward to the weekend!

[onlycafe]

be wary art,
there is a good deal of police presence along the tail towards the weekend.
keep an eye out for trucks as well. sometimes they are on the both sides of the road.
have a great trip.

p.s.
look on killboy.com when you get back home, chances are there will be photos of you driving the tail.

[Jims5543]

Lots of good info here:

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

and here:

http://www.killboy.com/

Get out on the road early Friday, even though it may be damp and you cannot push super hard, it will be empty, and there will not be any LEO.

Run your radar detector in there the LEO actually use radar guns and you will pick them up.

Watch other drivers, they will give you a signal on any upcoming problems be it LEO, blockage on the road or a truck. Normally a sport bike will escort a truck through if one is dumb enough to try to drive it. They will be very animated ad they escort letting you know to stop and wait.

Have fun, mind the yellow line and too bad you could not wait about 6 weeks a bunch of us P-car guys (and some previous p-car guys) are meeting up the 1st weekend of Nov to play out there.

Be safe, take lots of pics and maybe some video if you are geared for it. Great road, lots of fun.

[azasadny]

Guys, Thanks for the advice! I'll have brand-new Kunho Ecxta's on the car and we'll be driving the Dragon on Thursday/Friday, so we should miss most of the traffic. I'll have my V1 with me!

[Seahawk]

Art,

I may be there are well, staying with my Father south of Knoxville Thursday night, driving to Waynesville, NC on Friday morning.

I'll pm you if it works out.

In any event, enjoy.

[Jims5543]

In case you have never been there before FYI - no cell phone signal out there, yes, its that far out in the boonies. So if you plan on meeting up plan on a location and time then give a 30 minute window to wait.

I suggest the Crossroads of Time (the intersection of 129 and 28 where the gas station is and the tree of shame.

I wish I could join you all. Have fun I cannot wait for Nov. hopefully my RX7 will have new paint by then. She goes in for a new wastegate (Custom welding an fabrication) and a cat replacement pipe, welded in Borla muffler, next week. I am gettin ready to terrorize those roads.

[Oh Haha]

Cool. Have fun and be safe out there, Art and friend.

The DT is a trip I want to make someday with the 911.

[azasadny]

Thanks guys! I wish Helga was up for the trip, but the Mazdaspeed3 is a lot of fun and will do justice to the twisties. I'll be getting new tires before we leave on Wednesday. I'm hooking up the Valentine1 and packing everything up tomorrow night since we leave right after work on Wednesday. I'll take some pictures and post the "trip report" when we return.

[BK911]

The tail is a pretty cool road, but too much traffic and cops. And if you make a mistake, it's a loooong way down! There are many other roads in the area that have a lot less traffic and no cops. Foothills parkway is an awesome drive (4th gear sweepers) with several overlooks along the way, not much traffic and I have never seen a cop. I drive it almost every evening. Blue ridge parkway is even better but more traffic. And of course route 143 from Robbinsville to Telico Plains is friggin awesome too.

I usually sit at an overlook and wait for traffic to clear. Blast down the road a couple of miles to another overlook and turn around. I go up and back, up an back, MANY times!

[Shadetree930]

You have a Garmin GPS? i can send you a map with good driving roads identified.

Take a look at Wayah Road as a lower LEO/Traffic alternative to the Dragon.

Heads up on 28 ... increased LEO lately.

[azasadny]

No GPS, but my buddy and I are taking walkie-talkies with us and I'm getting new Kumhos put on the Mazdaspeed3 tomorrow afternoon on my way out of town. A 600 mile trip there should be enough to break-in the new tires. My friend is very familiar with the area and knows the routes we'll be taking. We'll drive the Dragon on Thursday/Friday, then head back on Saturday. Thanks for the advice and generosity!

[Icemaster]

If you need anything (like a beer) around Cincinnati, call me.

513 two eight eight 9 seven four four.

[azasadny]

The car performed admirably and I limited it, it did not limit me. The roads were fantastic and twisty and the new Kumho ECSTA ASX's were grippy even during the torrential rain we drove through. I put 1500 miles on the car from Wed-Sat and we had a great time. for those who haven't driven it, the drive was well worth the 600 mile trip from Detroit and I'll be doing it again very soon. I want to trailer the Porsche there as soon as I can, perhaps next month (early October).

[masraum]

Great to hear.


Do you have pics or a more detailed description coming?

[azasadny]

More to come later, pics are too large to upload here, so I'm putting them on Facebook.

[Seahawk]

Too bad we couldn't get together...

Since I have driven the Dragon a few times, I drove a different route. I left Loudon at 0630 Friday morning. I went through Townsend, took Rte 73, Little River Road to Rte 71/441.

Great drive. The mountains looked great in the mist.

[azasadny]

My coworker is buying my 2007 Mazdaspeed3 so I can buy the 2010 model in red as this will be the last year for this car. The car performed flawlessly but I will take the Porsche on a trailer next time. The roads were incredible, the people very friendly and the food was excellent!

[Seahawk]