Headed to the Tail of the Dragon...any suggestions?

[Jimmynickelz]

Next week I'm heading out to Tennessee for one of the Smoky Mountain Tail of the Dragon/Cherohola Skyway tours. I know some of you have done it before. Any suggestions as to what I should bring "just in case", or anything you wish you had when you went? This is a legit bucket list item. So glad I sold my V10 M6 and can enjoy it in my ST with little to no anxiety. Thanks in advance.

 

[madhatter]

make sure the car is in good nick. brakes, brake fluid, tires, etc all freshened. Also, don't expect a free run. count on getting stuck behind a motorhome and plodding along at 20mph unless you do it at 5am. Also also, there are cops and they will nail you if you are doing crazy stuff. And, finally, there are lots and lots of trees (and deer at 5am) to hit. be careful and don't take chances. Its a fun drive at 5 or 6 tenths if you don't get stuck behind said motorhome, or some hero with chickenstips on his sport bike who can't corner faster than 20mph.

if you run it hard in the ST, you will burn down the front brakes. bring spares and the tools to swap pads and rotors.

 

[Jimmynickelz]

make sure the car is in good nick. brakes, brake fluid, tires, etc all freshened. Also, don't expect a free run. count on getting stuck behind a motorhome and plodding along at 20mph unless you do it at 5am. Also also, there are cops and they will nail you if you are doing crazy stuff. And, finally, there are lots and lots of trees (and deer at 5am) to hit. be careful and don't take chances. Its a fun drive at 5 or 6 tenths i

Thanks madhatter. I don't think we'll be anywhere near the limits of the tires. The rally will be about 50 cars if i remember correctly. Traction control is always off so I'm thinking that'll save me some padlife. The koyo radiator is keeping things cool now. Won't be doing pull me over speeds..

 

[Jimmynickelz]

How many times have you been to the Tail @madhatter ? Have you done the Skyway too?

 

[madhatter]

A few. i live not too far from there, and hike/vacation in the area 8-10 times a year. Have done the skyway also. Lots of great roads, neat towns, and good food to be had in the area.

 

[atlantaM3]

Also be sure to do the foothills parkway, entrance is at the end of the dragon near the lake. Really scenic views if you havent dont that already. Takes you all the way up to the Gatlinburg area if I recall correctly.

Make sure your spare is in good shape, and take a patch kit and pump, just in case. Tows from up that way are apparently expensive.

Keep a close eye on blind corners, LOTS of people drift over the yellow, so leave yourself plenty of room. One of the nice things about a binky car, lane is huge.

 

[Jimmynickelz]

Thanks for the suggestions. Bringing a full size spare and real jack. Feel like I'm adding weight to the car which might screw up part of the experience, but so would taking an hour with a screw jack to put on a donut.

Will keep an eye out for the blind corners and good food. Thanks again!

 

[Downsy]

I've been there many times. Look around the local area for good roads that aren't as crowded. Dragon is worth going to and running for sure but don't get sucked into running it over and over again. If possible go during the weekdays somewhat early in the morning. As the day wears on it gets more crowded and weekends are typically an absolute madhouse. Respect the center line. Do not cross it unless it's a dire emergency. Watch out of those who don't follow that rule or for people riding/driving over their heads and crossing over into your lane.

You can drive the road at the speed limit or really close to it and still have a lot of fun in the corners. Don't get impatient and try to pass people wait for them to use a pullout or try to run it again and get a clear run though.

As others have said make sure your car is in good condition with good tires, brakes, ect.

Where are you coming from?

 

[Jimmynickelz]

I've been there many times. Look around the local area for good roads that aren't as crowded. Dragon is worth going to and running for sure but don't get sucked into running it over and over again. If possible go during the weekdays somewhat early in the morning. As the day wears on it gets more crowded and weekends are typically an absolute madhouse. Respect the center line. Do not cross it unless it's a dire emergency. Watch out of those who don't follow that rule or for people riding/driving over their heads and crossing over into your lane.

You can drive the road at the speed limit or really close to it and still have a lot of fun in the corners. Don't get impatient and try to pass people wait for them to use a pullout or try to run it again and get a clear run though.

As others have said make sure your car is in good condition with good tires, brakes, ect.

Where are you coming from?

Thank you for the advice. Brakes and tires are good. Running Nitto Neo-Gen. with low miles on em.Coming from the Virginia Beach area so not an insanely long drive.

The recurring theme is you don't have to go fast and respect the yellow. Definitely going to 100% remember that.

Thinking the tour is gonna take us on all the good local roads that are frequented by the masses as well as some hidden gems. Will share when I get back.

 

[Downsy]

Oh man have you ran the Blue Ridge Parkway yet? It's not a super carver road but I did a motorcycle trip along it many moons ago and the roads were good enough to keep you engaged at just a tick over the limit and the views were outstanding.

Usually there are good driving roads anywhere in the US. I'm about to plan a 2-3 day that runs from Bull Shoals lake in Arkansas south though Arkansas rolling the best paved roads I could all together ending in Talihina, Ok before I go home to Texas. I spend a lot of time in that state in Jeeps been many years since I was there in a Miata or motorcycle looking forward to it.

The area around the Dragon is top notch for awesome driving roads. Check out Butlermaps. They have a map specially for the Appalacians. Their G1 series maps are specifically for paved roads. Those are typically the maps I use for these kinds of trips. They're marketed mostly to motorcyclist but a paved road is a paved road when it comes to fun twisties.

https://butlermaps.com/collections/...oducts/southern-appalachia-map-al-tn-nc-sc-ga