Zr-1Mike00

First time visiting America's most twisted beast! 318 turns over 11 miles, testing nerve and driver skill!

I must say.... Those budget Hankook Ventus V12's are one incredible tire for the money!!! The road was a bit damp and they gripped exceptionally well. And the addition of C6 Z51 front and rear sway bars.... fuggggetabouttit. NIGHT AND DAY. Stayed flat thru those corners and the turn in was WAYYY more responsive!

From the Rules Section:

"Street racing is dangerous and illegal.

Kill stories, or any posting about illegal, reckless or dangerous activities on any roadway, is not permitted.

Take it to the track. "

The Local LEO's were thrilled to see us and their only request was to STAY SAFE and STAY ON OUR SIDE OF THE ROAD. We complied

So if you wish to follow this link to my YT Channel and watch my swift pass thru the Dragon please feel free! Comments and shares welcomed (Rock Slide construction and 2 "slower moving vehicles" slowed progress a bit but Full Screen, and Volume Up!!)

s'noJob

Wow, that was fantastic! I've always wondered what the experience is like, even tho I live in NC. I've also wondered how they handled "passing," so to speak, when local traffic just wants to get home from work.

Great video, and looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing!!


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MDaddy

VERY cool

Zr-1Mike00

Yeah it was a BLAST! Something every Vette owner should experience. Hard to think it is a public road.

I also think the locals understand that enthusiasts flock from all over the country to drive that road. I'm sure if I acted like an idiot and tailgated they wouldn't feel obligated to kindly move aside. I tried to be as courteous as possible but MAN does driving that road get your adrenaline up!

VETJAZZ

RC000E

Still lovin that uninhibited blue with no "you know whats!"

Chilliwack vettes

Very !

oldC5

PeterB

You're the mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Thanks for the post and video. Brings back some good memories for me and some not so good as it involves my ex


Back to the Dragon ...

Vetteman Jack

Very good video Mike. Thanks for taking us down the Dragon.

Oh 2 Fun

So......30 mph limit....

Is that posted as the square root...or what?

Lots of repeat corners of the same radius and grade. Conditions were really varied for you with the moisture....noted some understeer here and there.

Love the maroon in the Nissan cutting the corners and drifting over the line going at a snail's pace......and I'm only half way through the video.

Looks like puke-bag time for a sensitive passenger!!

Thanks for posting!

5.3Avalanche

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a blast and I definitely want to drive that road one day. You were pushing it pretty hard. I liked watching you get squirrelly going into and coming out of those damp corners. Not sure if you had T/C on or not, but it seemed like you had really good throttle control. Cheers.

Zr-1Mike00

I am too! Don't know what I was thinking but your honesty really helped me out. Looks wayyy better now.

Of course! I had tooooo much fun!

Yeaaaaaa about that 30 MPH limit.

The conditions were widely varied as the road went on which proved difficult. I definitely had some under steer going in to one or two corners a bit too hot and couldn't engine brake my way thru enough. It killed me that the Nissan couldn't stay on the right side of the road at 30 mph.

Thank you! I was pushing it pretty damn hard, I'm kind of glad it was a bit damp because it kept my right foot at bay. Throttle control was huge in the wet along with carrying high RPM's into the corners working the heel toe got a bit tedious. But man it puts your skills to the test! I had it in Competitive Driving Mode. (Push and hold the T/C for 8 seconds) allows for a little bit of slip.

s'noJob

The "Nissan cutting the corners and drifting over the line going at a snail's pace" was probably a little old lady scared spitless every time she looked in the mirror! Probably had the old bag traveling waaaaay out of her comfort zone - upwards of 42 mph maybe!


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Pres712

What a great video! Our Corvette Club ran the Dragon in 2010 and luckly I got to lead. As most of us had our wives along we ran it both ways. The run North is easier as only the "mountain" is on the right but the run South, you have the river and a drop off on your right. A little scareier!! You were lucky that you only ran into two cars; we ran it on a Saturday and it was quite busy. Also, I didn't see any of the photographers, what time of day was it?

itzza427

Yeehaaa,,,that is DEFINITELY something I GOTTA put on my bucket list!!! Thanks for posting,,I've heard about it for years,but getting to see it kinda gets MY adrenaline going just watching it!! Looks like early morning there,was that a week day? Kinda think'n that it would get kinda jammed up on weekends. My FRC has Z51 suspension already,,might have to think about fixing my EBCM though,,maybe not. Loved the ride along,probably gona have to watch it again a time or two!!!

QCVette

Thanks. I enjoyed watching the video.

I was there at the end of May. It is a lot of fun. It is hard explaining to friends what the road is like, but I showed your video to a couple of them and it makes it easy to explain.

When I was there it was nice weather and busy. It was pretty good early (about 8 or 9 AM) but by noon it was packed on a weekday. There were a lot of bikes.

Zr-1Mike00

Thanks! The run North is certainly easier! This was late evening so KillBoy was done taking pictures for the day. It was about 6:00 pm.

Watch it up!! I am uploading another video where we take it on going the other way. I was the follow car for that one so I couldn't really get the speed I wanted and held back a bit to let them get ahead and rip it for a little.

Thanks! The next video will be good! Gives a bit more perspective! Camera is mounted so you can see me working inside the cabin!

calvins

Nice run! Thanks for the movie! How much'd it cost you to have them clear the road for you?

I just kept thinking; "boy, a deer could sure ruin your day fast on that s.o.b.!"

Bobd207s

That is for sure - believe me we were very aware of deer especially since we did an awful lot of nite driving - most nites we were out driving till after 10:00 PM . I don't remember seeing any deer in NC but I remember one spot in West Va around 11:00 pm where there were a group of about 6 of them along the edge of the hiway grazing - couldn't wait to get by them. Anytime I'm traveling in the car deer are the things i worry about the most especially at dawn.