X5 vs. Tail of the Dragon (pics/video from this weekend)

[J.Belknap]

haha, Chris that's awesome! Small world indeed. The brakes are still available, btw.

Building a LS/T56/Ford9" pro-touring style chassis for the silver car, so I'll likely see you around here more than 3Si.

- J

[pezho405]

Wow i love your car.

[FSETH]

J, your X looks amazing in some of those shots. The wider front wheels make a big difference.

I had my e46 M3 up there over Memorial Day weekend and ended up with great weather and decent traffic. I have been up there in our 02 4.4 sport, but this was the first time in my new (to me) e46. Here is one shot.

[E55AMG2]

J are you running rears all around?

[J.Belknap]

pezho405, thanks man!

E55AMG2, Yes sir.

FSETH, congrats again on the M purchase, and it looks like you had a blast! Everything went well? No brake fluid boiling, off-road excursions, or otherwise? Did you happen to stay at the Fontana Village Resort? There's absolutely no cell phone reception up there and I LOVE it, haha.

Oh... almost forgot... Here's some websites for the local photographers:

killboy.com photos - The Original Photographer from US129 Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap
129 Slayer The Dragon Photo Specialist on US 129
MoonShinePhoto.Com -Photos on the dragon, Deal's Gap The Dragon, Dragons tail,tail of the dragon,pictures of the dragon, 318 curves at Deal's Gap Tennessee
PhotoReflect - Xtreme Sports Photography

would love to see more pictures if you come across some.

[E55AMG2]

Originally Posted by J.Belknap

E55AMG2, Yes sir.

Ive thought about this for mine...but the thought of spending even MORE on tires makes me cringe. Did it kill your fuel economy any? Tramlining?

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by J.Belknap

FSETH, congrats again on the M purchase, and it looks like you had a blast! Everything went well? No brake fluid boiling, off-road excursions, or otherwise? Did you happen to stay at the Fontana Village Resort? There's absolutely no cell phone reception up there and I LOVE it, haha.

Oh... almost forgot... Here's some websites for the local photographers:

killboy.com photos - The Original Photographer from US129 Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap
129 Slayer The Dragon Photo Specialist on US 129
MoonShinePhoto.Com -Photos on the dragon, Deal's Gap The Dragon, Dragons tail,tail of the dragon,pictures of the dragon, 318 curves at Deal's Gap Tennessee
PhotoReflect - Xtreme Sports Photography

would love to see more pictures if you come across some.

We did have a blast. No brake issues or off-road excursions to mention. We did get a "friendly" police escort back to my buddies lake house though. Johnny law saw us heading south from the Dragon on 129 and decided to turn around and follow us all the way back to the lake. Traffic was fairly light for a holiday weekend, but we would eventually run up on people which would give the brakes time to cool down a little. Most people were actually nice enough to pull off to the side to let us through when we caught them.

We stayed at our friend's lake house for the weekend. Two of my good buddies have family with lake houses just off of Highway 129. It is only about a 10 minute drive to the start of the Dragon on the N.C. side from either of their places.

I am waiting on a few full detail photos that I bought from Killboy and US129 photos. I will add them when them come in.

[J.Belknap]

Roadway Wholesale Tire in Pompano Beach, FL sells Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport (non-rft, 315/35/20, part# 095-124) at $262.33 each. + Shipping (you can pick up your order locally, too.) This was the best pricing I found for what I think is a great bang for the buck tire.

Didn't notice much fuel economy change, it wasn't really great to begin with, haha.

Tramlining, yes, but 95% of the time it's on roads with bad ruts.

[E55AMG2]

Originally Posted by J.Belknap

Roadway Wholesale Tire sells Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport (non-rft, 315/35/20, part# 095-124) at $262.33 each. + Shipping (you can pick up your order locally, too.) This was the best pricing I found for what I think is a great bang for the buck tire.

Didn't notice much fuel economy change, it wasn't really great to begin with, haha.

Tramlining, yes, on roads with bad ruts.

I run the Extreme Contact 3 DWS. So far, they're great; perhaps a bit lazy on turn in but otherwise equal in ultimate grip to the Diamaris and Yoko Advan S/T. Im making 14.5 driving like grandma (50/50 city/highway)....if it's 1mpg difference, I can live with that. I figure with 315's up front, and the Dinan camber plates that my 4.6 will handle pretty awesome for a 2.5 ton SUV. Your vid is pretty good proof of that.

[J.Belknap]

Cool deal man, hope to hear your impressions when you pull the trigger! Forgot to say, steering is going to be a touch heavier. After a few weeks, that resistance becomes to feel normal.