Tail of the Dragon Slain!

[zadams55]

I am planning to go to the tail of the dragon this weekend in the Fiesta. I have a 900 plus mile drive to it and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, words of wisdom, or warnings for me and the car. She only has 2700 miles currently, should I be worried about putting on over 500 miles with just fuel and bathroom stops?

 

[RubenZZZ]

1. Have fun.
2. ESC all the way off.
3. ???
4. Profit

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[TORQHEAD]

Tear it up! Haha! I have about 50K on mine custom tuned with plenty of things done to it. Drove it on a 350 mile round trip today and I wasnt gentle either! Would take this car anywhere

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[DEss]

I am planning to go to the tail of the dragon this weekend in the Fiesta. I have a 900 plus mile drive to it and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, words of wisdom, or warnings for me and the car. She only has 2700 miles currently, should I be worried about putting on over 500 miles with just fuel and bathroom stops?

Tail is going to be disappointing. If you're going from north to south, the road leading into the tail is decent. Tail itself is mostly a series of really tight, sometimes blind, 25 kph hairpins with no runoff. It's a challenge sometimes just to keep it between the lines. If you like that sort of thing, then go for it. I'm glad I did it - just to cross it off the list - but I wouldn't go back. I got there pretty much around sun rise, so no traffic/popo.

Cherohala Skyway is better in every way. Plus, plenty of other b-roads in that region - just don't get stuck behind a camper like I did. And, if you're close to the Blue Ridge Pkwy, I read some good things. That's probably next to cross off for me.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Drive down the coast to the Florida Keys....I drove from Mn to Key west last summer....nice trip! Or you could Drive to the Going to the Sun road in Glacier national park in Montana....That road is something else!

 

[The Cuzi]

I am planning to go to the tail of the dragon this weekend in the Fiesta. I have a 900 plus mile drive to it and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, words of wisdom, or warnings for me and the car. She only has 2700 miles currently, should I be worried about putting on over 500 miles with just fuel and bathroom stops?

No, I drove to the tail and it was just under 500 miles for me. I set the cruse and hummed along without issue. I always turn the road trips into a game of how high I can get my avg mpg.

 

[zadams55]

Tail is going to be disappointing. If you're going from north to south, the road leading into the tail is decent. Tail itself is mostly a series of really tight, sometimes blind, 25 kph hairpins with no runoff. It's a challenge sometimes just to keep it between the lines. If you like that sort of thing, then go for it. I'm glad I did it - just to cross it off the list - but I wouldn't go back. I got there pretty much around sun rise, so no traffic/popo.

Cherohala Skyway is better in every way. Plus, plenty of other b-roads in that region - just don't get stuck behind a camper like I did. And, if you're close to the Blue Ridge Pkwy, I read some good things. That's probably next to cross off for me.

Good luck and have fun!

I have done the moonshiner 28 and the dragon as well as the blue ridge, this will be my third time at the area so I can definitely agree with you that the dragon is very intense turn wise, I planned on doing the dragon, moonshiner, and cherohala but I didn't think about the blue ridge, maybe I'll have to work that in!

 

[zadams55]

Drive down the coast to the Florida Keys....I drove from Mn to Key west last summer....nice trip! Or you could Drive to the Going to the Sun road in Glacier national park in Montana....That road is something else!

I could definitely handle that trip but this will be my girlfriends first road trip and I don't want to scare her off seeing as we only have 3 days Montana would be a hike!

 

[zadams55]

No, I drove to the tail and it was just under 500 miles for me. I set the cruse and hummed along without issue. I always turn the road trips into a game of how high I can get my avg mpg.

That will be my game as well, seeing as I'm trying to do it cheap as possible. I have just recently done a rear seat delete so we will be sleeping in the car to save money!

 

[The Cuzi]

That will be my game as well, seeing as I'm trying to do it cheap as possible. I have just recently done a rear seat delete so we will be sleeping in the car to save money! View attachment 20490

That looks really clean, I like it! Ha, set the cold tire pressure and run a low boost map if you've got it! I was able to get ~38 on my expedition.

 

[zadams55]

What I have ended up with is the legging it to the Devils triangle to start then the Cherohala leading to the Dragon going north up it then south down it onto the moonshiner and then heading to the Blue ridge, after that I plan on staying on the Blue ridge up to the north entrance then legging it straight home to Connecticut.

 

[zadams55]

Here is a map link for anyone interested,
https://goo.gl/maps/zdJxfD2ukfo7njdG9

 

[zadams55]

As the thread now is labeled I completed my trip!
Trip totals are:
2,007 miles
55 mph average
36.6 mpg
48.851 gallons (purchased)
51 hours round trip

My girlfriend and I ended up having a great time, the first night we ended up sleeping in a church parking lot because it was the first place we saw in 100 miles. Second night we stopped early due to rain, we found ourselves in a construction zone of the highway during a downpour making it nearly impossible to see so we stopped at the nearest truck stop and spent the night there. With the rear seat delete we slept very comfortably, I am 5'11" she is 5'8". During the trip I saw three other Fiesta ST's only at tail of the dragon, also saw a tuned up Mazda 2 that I thought was pretty cool!

 

[M-Sport fan]

I have those same mud flaps.

I like that not too many others have them.

 

[MRX330]

I have those same mud flaps.

I like that not too many others have them.

I have been debating. How are they holding up in your muddy and rocky travels?

 

[zadams55]

I have been debating. How are they holding up in your muddy and rocky travels?

For me they're good granted I only have 5000ish miles on them but they made a noticable difference. I would say go for it!

 

[MRX330]

For me they're good granted I only have 5000ish miles on them but they made a noticable difference. I would say go for it!

Thank you my good man 🙏

 

[M-Sport fan]

I have been debating. How are they holding up in your muddy and rocky travels?

They held up just fine during last year's NEFR adventures (and so far this spring with the gumball RS-RRs hurling everything they pick up off of the road at them), but it was just a lot of loose gravel, and small stones there last year, NO mud at all, and dusty as hell.
I am going to order a set of the much larger SMS (Susquehanna Motor Sports, located right in my area) blank, full 'rally spec' mud flaps, which are an even thicker gauge polyurethane than the $200.00+ Rallyarmor 'Motorsport' flaps, for even greater coverage from flying debris on the stage roads, and install them using the already in place Rallyarmor brackets/hardware.

 

[CSM]

TOTD is a must because of what it is but I think there are far better roads in the area. Between the crowds and police activity (at least when I've been) I tend to prefer other roads in the area. But glad you checked it off your car person bucket list

 

[MRX330]

They held up just fine during last year's NEFR adventures (and so far this spring with the gumball RS-RRs hurling everything they pick up off of the road at them), but it was just a lot of loose gravel, and small stones there last year, NO mud at all, and dusty as hell.
I am going to order a set of the much larger SMS (Susquehanna Motor Sports, located right in my area) blank, full 'rally spec' mud flaps, which are an even thicker gauge polyurethane than the $200.00+ Rallyarmor 'Motorsport' flaps, for even greater coverage from flying debris on the stage roads, and install them using the already in place Rallyarmor brackets/hardware.

Interesting I’ll check them out as well before I decide👍