Finally Brought the FRS to The Tail of the Dragon!

[naikaidriver]

Well after turning over 1500 miles on the odometer, my wife and I brought the FRS to the Dragon for the weekend!

What a blast this car was to drive on this marvelous stretch of road! We made sure to get there really early to minimize the traffic and we were rewarded with 3 full runs and only having to slow down a few times.

(for you law enforcement types, I NEVER exceded 30mph! <wink>)

We couldn't have asked for a better day to run highway 129 and the surrounding roads no could have taken a better car in my humble opinion.

I tried it with different settings on the stability and traction control and with it completely off for one of the runs which after a few heart-attacks from my wife I switched it back to sport mode so she would stop white-knuckling the arm-rest handle and relax a little. In all, she was a good sport and let me concentrate on negotiating the turns while experimenting with the car.

One thing I can definitely say about the FRS is that I will never again complain about the lack of power when driving this car the way it was built to be driven. The chassis sorts out bumps and elevation changes with ease and the stock rubber lets you know very early when the car is approaching its limits. The power-level on the car certainly keeps you out of trouble if you decide to get too agressive and when the rear does step out, its much more forgiving (if you're paying attention and don't overreact) than my old MR-2 turbo or BMW 325ci. Its light, responsive and not to mention elicited a LOT of looks out there!

In all I just love the car more than ever and the whole trip was a complete blast! Here are a few pics that I purchased from killboy. After reviewing all of the pics from the various photographers that were camped out there, I liked his the best. I have one more from 129Slayer that shows the inside-front wheel almost lifting off the ground in one corner but and when I can download it, I will post it as well.

Scott

[Touge_ninja]

2nd pic is just........ Sorry but no words cant describe

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by naikaidriver

One thing I can definitely say about the FRS is that I will never again complain about the lack of power when driving this car the way it was built to be driven. The chassis sorts out bumps and elevation changes with ease and the stock rubber lets you know very early when the car is approaching its limits. The power-level on the car certainly keeps you out of trouble if you decide to get too agressive and when the rear does step out, its much more forgiving (if you're paying attention and don't overreact) than my old MR-2 turbo or BMW 325ci. Its light, responsive and not to mention elicited a LOT of looks out there!

Great pics. This paragraph is very similar to reviews I've written about the Mazda RX-8. Both cars are best once over 30, and on a good mountain road you're rarely under 30.

I'm going to have an FR-S for a week in mid-October (I do some reviewing), to meet up with my father in his RX-8 for some mountain driving. Very much looking forward to finding out how the two cars compare.

I already know which one gets better gas mileage...

By the way, did you have a portable nav system? I've only been the Dragon once, and got there after dark. Having a nav to know which turns were coming up made it much easier. That and I did my best to stay w/i 10 mph of the posted limit (35, quite disappointed to see that).

[Bristecom]

I thought the tail had no legal speed limit?

[Steveprive]

Did the tail few weeks back, awesome!! Was with an s2000, and an wrx sti. Had no problem keeping up. Broke a few laws I'm sure. Best traveling with others. I've had 2 rx-8s but never thought about abusing the way I do in the mountains. Always straight away speeding before. Wish I'd known about the fun to be had driving on mountain roads.

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

I thought the tail had no legal speed limit?

In case you're being serious (not seeing any emoticons), I've heard that the speed limit isn't enforced, though a failure to stay on one's side of the double yellow is. But "35 mph" is posted. It's been a long while since my record has contained a speeding ticket, I wasn't willing to entirely trust what I've read on the 'net, and 40-45 through the curves (with the occasional brief lapse) was quick enough to enjoy them.

You mean you're not supposed to speed up through the curves then slow down for the straights?

[Bristecom]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

In case you're being serious (not seeing any emoticons), I've heard that the speed limit isn't enforced, though a failure to stay on one's side of the double yellow is. But "35 mph" is posted. It's been a long while since my record has contained a speeding ticket, I wasn't willing to entirely trust what I've read on the 'net, and 40-45 through the curves (with the occasional brief lapse) was quick enough to enjoy them.

You mean you're not supposed to speed up through the curves then slow down for the straights?

Yeah, I guess that's what I meant... it's not enforced. My friend said the cops just sit on the side of the road but never pull anyone over for speed. I still want to go one day...

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by Steveprive

Did the tail few weeks back, awesome!! Was with an s2000, and an wrx sti. Had no problem keeping up. Broke a few laws I'm sure. Best traveling with others. I've had 2 rx-8s but never thought about abusing the way I do in the mountains. Always straight away speeding before. Wish I'd known about the fun to be had driving on mountain roads.

Without lots of curves, an RX-8 is pointless. You should have taken them to the mountains! Good to hear you're not making the same mistake a third time.

[BigFatFlip]

<looks at first pic> "mmmmm.... slip angle"

[pixel67]

Awesome! That stretch is so much fun. There is also a stretch further south by Suches georgia that exits by vogel state park that is a fun run, but much shorter than the tail. I went through the blue ridge area last week and had a blast...

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

Great pics. This paragraph is very similar to reviews I've written about the Mazda RX-8. Both cars are best once over 30, and on a good mountain road you're rarely under 30.

I'm going to have an FR-S for a week in mid-October (I do some reviewing), to meet up with my father in his RX-8 for some mountain driving. Very much looking forward to finding out how the two cars compare.

I already know which one gets better gas mileage...

By the way, did you have a portable nav system? I've only been the Dragon once, and got there after dark. Having a nav to know which turns were coming up made it much easier. That and I did my best to stay w/i 10 mph of the posted limit (35, quite disappointed to see that).

Hey it's cool to see you here, Mike!
Can't wait to see your review!

[4U-GSE]

Mr. Karesh, big fan of your writing at TTAC and the great work you do with TrueDelta. Hope you enjoy your time with the FR-S and I look forward to your thoughts on the car. (Will you do a review over at TTAC on the car?) I'll also register my FR-S over at TrueDelta! BTW my comment name at TTAC is RGS920. Welcome to the FT-86 community.

[naikaidriver]

Thanks for the compliments on the pics! There were 4 or 5 professional photographers camped out on different corners snapping up pictures of cars and bikes as they drove by. Kind of expensive, but as you can see, worth it.

To clarify, the posted speed limit at the Dragon is 30mph. Now I will tell you that while that may not seem like much (because it isn't for this car), most of the corners are blind >100 degree corners and most have very abrupt elevation shifts. Maintaining a smooth line while not dropping below 30mph on many of these corners requires a delicate touch and well-timed steering inputs to fend off understeer.

I will not publicly disclose just how fast I got up between the corners but I will say that the FRS responds much better when you take the time to get the car settled just after entering it and then give it the beans. Just be aware that after the 3rd run, my brakes were feeling a bit cooked so I would echo what others have said and upgrade the pads if you want to really push the car.

As far as the police presence goes, I saw 4 brand new BMW sport touring Tennessee State Patrol bikes parked out front of the Deals Gap store. Seems those are what they are using to patrol the Dragon. I didn't hear anyone complaining in the usual manner about the police arbitrarily handing out tickets so I will assume that they were there for public safety instead of harrassment.

[cgrey]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

Yeah, I guess that's what I meant... it's not enforced. My friend said the cops just sit on the side of the road but never pull anyone over for speed. I still want to go one day...

The speed limit is routinely enforced.


http://tailofthedragon.com/news_law.html


Some days they won't hand out a ticket. Some days they'll shut the road down with focused enforcement, unmarked vehicles, and video taping infractions. It depends on how many idiots crash and arouse public ire in a given time period.


bonus material:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrMQ3QwyPo"]deals gap on a goldwing/gl1800 by yellow wolf dragons tail - YouTube[/ame]