scalbert

I do wish some CL owners would of joined me. We went up to Hwy 129 in Eastern TN this weekend in the CL-S for some mountain driving. Boy was it crowded up there but still fun when no one was blocking the way. My wife and I took the CL-S and my in-laws drove their SC430 (pics will be up soon) and we all made it without incurring any damage. To those who don't know the route see the below link:

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

>>Legend says a Dragon lives in the mountains of western North Carolina. He tests your skills on US129 with 318 curves in 11 miles. Everyone who comes to ride the Dragon will always remember it.<<

And some of those curves are outrageous:

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/maps/DRAGONmap.gif

Check out this pic of a S2000 who didn't quite make a turn, near the bottom of the page:

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/slaye...9_22_01_b.html

The difficulty in this road isn't just the turns; it is the elevation changes throughout with the pavement feeling like it drops right out from below you. This is a terror on the car too running the entire rev range up and down constantly. Coming out of tight hair pin turn with car downshifting to 1st while transitioning from downhill to uphill immediately. But the transmission held strong, we'll see for how much longer though.

Oh yea, the SC430 didn't have a chance. When we were on straight roads before and after 129 and we took off together I would slowly pull away. But when it came to the turns there was no contest. But I shouldn't be thrilled about that; the SC430 is really a cruiser, with the new tires and sways the CL-S did well.

I'll have some pics soon of both car and a few shots of the CL-S taking the turns... But one nice thing I heard several times was how good the CL-S sounded. It was really screaming through the mountain passes...

But on to the review of the tires. I have driven this route before in the CL-S and my wife's E46 328i. In those previous runs I did find the 328i to be better equipped to manage these turns and transitions. The CL-S would do fine but pushed wide coming out of the turns and required less speed entering. This was dramatically changed now, I do have Comptech sways on there, but the addition of the Kumho's made a significant difference. Particularly in exit speeds. I was able to get back on the throttle mid apex and the CL-S would pull on through. Due to my wife being in the car I kept the entering speeds down a little but it felt as though there was plenty more.

In all the Kumho's got a work out and showed a little wear, brakes certainly stunk though. In fact the tires seemed to roll a bit smoother on the drive home. So I am completely pleased with this purchase at this time but I'll have to see how it lasts...

BTW, I plan on running it again before snow hits in the mountains or early in spring if any one is interested, or some may be too scared...

ruvz

Wow!!

That is SOME adventure! Way to go!

someguy

I hear ya, that must have been fun. I did something similar this weekend, but definatally not as good as the Dragon. I drove Louisiana 18, which follows the Mississippi, probably the only road in the state with any elevation changes. I have S-03s though

NYREP1

hey scalbert, i am glad you posted this my car club is talking of a trip there next spring, we want to make a weekend of it . it will probaly be 10-15 cars, and 3-4 bikes. we will get there friday night and stay in a hotel, (are there any close by?) run the road 2 or three times and then head back to SC. since you seem to have some expirence there can you tell me a good time of year to go? we want to do something say april, or may. also what else is there to do in the area; food , scenic, malls(most of the group will be bringing girls with them) any suggestions will be apprecited

scalbert

There really isn't too much in that area due to it being in the national park. But on the Carolina side the closest town with Hotel is probably Robbinsville. But by going north on 19/74 you could make it a round trip by going through Cherokee (Casino's and more hotels...) and then up 441 which is another beautiful drive through the mountains over to Gatlinburg.

Then go over to Pigeon Forge, down 331 to the Foothills Pkwy. The Foothills Pkwy is great, fairly high speed straights with sweeping turns, a contrast to Hwy 129. But then the Foothills Pkwy dead ends into 129 right where the fun part starts.

That would take you in a complete loop with a variety of mountain scenery. Non-stop driving would take a few hours. As for shopping/entertainment I would have to say that Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is the best bet. Most other towns are very small.

April/May would be nice, either month you couldn't go wrong...

Hope this helps.


Hope this helps.

scalbert

Finally got some pics, not very exciting one's though. These were from my wife's parents camera and from their SC430. I'll have better one's soon from our carmera.

Just a quick stop to figure out where we were, BTW notice the nice reflection due to recent coats of Zaino:


Here is what an SC430 gets to see when driving in the mountains, the little gold spot up ahead is me doing about 80 MPH:


Very boring but again a veiw from the rear that became a common site from the Lexus:


No car in this one but we do have a few shots of both the CL-S and SC430 at the same overlook, and no jokes about me slouching, my wife has already gone there: