This is some of the best advice....

Don't push yourself to keep up with others, if you are not comfortable, just pull over and let others go on.....

Drive at your own pace...... we don't judge people on how fast or slow they drive.... we just want everyone to have a good time.

As Lee said, have good tires on your car if you plan on driving aggressively....

No need for life insurance for our events...... to my knowledge, we have never lost anyone at one of our events...... few cars didn't make it home, but no real nasty injuries.

Come and join us, make some new friends, learn a bit more about your car and our community!!

 

Just go with the old S2000 owners. They don't go fast at all. Right Mike
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Bama Dave is correct....

They have me lead drives so that the pace is mellow!

I remember w1ngman getting on the radio during our Saturday drive saying something about he was glad we hit some straight roads so he could get his gonads back where they belong..... evidently he was a little tense during part of our drive?

 

Just go with the old S2000 owners. They don't go fast at all. Right Mike
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And never ever ride with a guy called Bama Dave. Right other Mike?
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Yes FulKy15 will never ride with me again. Two reasons why. First he sold the S2000 and second this father-in-law in Tennessee is looking for him those days. I'll bet he never come back South again.
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There's only a handful of things for ladies to do in Robinsville...I guess Canadians are one of them

 

Most of the people in here have experienced the dragon countless times over the years, so they might not remember what it felt like for the first time. Maybe they do, but they might overlook how big of a deal it is experiencing it for the first time. I will tell you what you will feel. It's still very fresh in my mind from 3 years ago. Then, I'll recommend what mistakes I made. Don't make my mistakes and you will have a better time!

After 10 hours into the trip down, someone says, "this is it, we are making the left turn that starts the dragon", my heart started racing like crazy. I was thinking this is the start of the famous tail of the dragon! We are about 20-30 mins in on 72 and the road starts to get a little curvy and I asked the guys is this the dragon? They respond while laughing, No. Another 10 mins pass and we hit some nice straight aways that were fun, pass a HD store and the guys say we are CLOSE!! We hit a few more fun straight aways and there it is, the first dragon hairpin... It's scary tight. All I was thinking was, holy shit, that was intense. We drive around few more spaced out hair pins, pass some overlook spot then....shit gets real. The dragon begins and it's so intense, I'm shaking while trying to stay with the lead driver in the pack. I lose him 1 minute into the dragon and I'm all by myself, dictating these insane g's and turns I've never experienced in my life. For what seems like an hour goes by, with white nuckles and all, I pull into Fontana. I park my car, shut off the S, get out of the car and I'm dizzy. I'm so dizzy from all the G's I've expericned. I'm also terrified of what I just encountered. It was a road that only the devil can make. You thnk that, then you experience the Devils triangle. Lol. It's 10 times worse than the dragon. Anyway...There was no room for error, no guard rails, no safety anything, and worst of all, no cellphone service. I came for fun and all I was thinking was... I'm gonna die out here, lol

My huge mistake was a simple one, I didn't know how important tires are for the dragon. I purchased a used set of ap2v1 rims that winter and they had the original oe tires, the RE 050's. The fronts had plenty of thread left, the rears not so much, but little to my knowledge, the set of 050's were 10 years old and basically dry rotted. I didn't know and never bothered to look. Not knowing anything, I purchased a set of ZII's for the rear and cheaped out on the fronts, lol. That totally ruined my confidence and handling. I fought through every turn and I hated myself my entire trip.

My one huge suggestion is, buy a new set of 4 tires. ZII's, RE-71's, or something that has really good grip. The dragon is like a never ending autox that demands a lot out of your tires. My buddies, a lot of the NY metro track guys buy a fresh set of tires just for the dragon event. I followed that routine and my 2nd year was so much fun because of it. This will be my 3rd year and I went further and added a square setup!! Woohooo!

If you follow my suggestion, know your limits, and appreciate what the dragon offers, you will come back in one piece. If you are careless, don't respect the road, and have a car that's not well maintained, the dragon will not be kind to you.

Hope you can make it to the event, it's a life changer.

 

^^ ROFL
Mikey will never live this down.

 

Joe .... Just come on down with us...& have a GREAT time ..

 

Last year was my first time driving on the dragon. I had a ton of fun. The road is in good shape and as long as you're out there to enjoy yourself and not trying to impress anybody you will be fine. Concentrate on your driving, stay in your lane and make sure you leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you. Spend some time to prep your car before hand so it's ready for some serious driving in an environment that seems to be custom made for the S2000.

 

I was a noobie last year. Take it easy and you will still have a blast. The people that attend these events are just great. Maybe ken does newbie run thursday after dinner like last year?



As has been stated before. Tires and know your limits.

 

One other addition to everything everyone has posted. It will be fun.....you will want to do it again and again.......just take breaks after each run! Not for you but your differential and other parts hard stressed.(brakes,tires etc.) One can cook the oil in a differential if you run it to many times back to back. Everything needs to cool down.

Don't TRY to keep up with the guy in front of you it's NOT a race. You will likely have plenty of opportunity to drive fast/hard.

 

A while ago, I wrote a short article called Welcome to the Dragon. It's around somewhere and if I can find it, I'll post it. However, in lieu of that, here is a condensed version. Like any other adventure, respect the challenge. Never go beyond your abilities. Don't be "dared" into doing something that's beyond your skill level. The Dragon is a road. Like all roads, it can be as dangerous or as safe as you make it. The majority of people who mess up (in any sense of the word) are attempting to do things that they cannot do due to a lack of skill, experience or maturity. We have all skill levels attend Dragon events. We sort people by skill and ability. There is no stigma in being in a slower driver group, we were all there at one time. Some of us drove fast at one time and have now returned to the "slower groups" because we want to experience something other than speed. If you come out, do the Newbie drive, ask questions, know your limits and respect the road, you will be fine.

Welcome to the Dragon, you and your will will have a great time. Participants range across all age ranges, income levels and skill levels. Everyone is welcome.