A PNW Perspective: Tail Of The Dragon 2018

Ever since I was able to be a part of the MFortyFive team back in June of 2018, I wondered when I was going to be able to meet my Florida friends and get to know them on a more personal level. One short month later, I decided I was going to make the journey to Florida where I would join CJ, Ethan and Zach on a road trip they make every 6 months to bring what they have to the automotive table, in the form of one of America’s most dangerous, yet frequently traveled highways; the Tail of the Dragon.

Located on the western edge of North Carolina/eastern edge of Tennessee in Deals Gap, the Tail of the Dragon contains 318 turns in only 11 miles. No intersecting roads, minimal turn-offs, minimal room for error. For someone who has grown up in the mountainous Pacific Northwest, I was no stranger to hard, twisty ascents and descents in adverse weather. It is common practice for myself to go out alone and hit my local driving spots as hard as I can in my cars without falling off the road, regardless of the conditions. I prepared myself months in advance to be able to build up the confidence to take the unfamiliar terrain with an aggressive excitement. Though as prepared as I was; I was not prepared for what was going to come of this adventure. Several months pass and it finally came time for this PNW boy to take off for the east coast.

Waking up Wednesday morning to pack my belongings for an early non-stop flight, I said goodbye to my mom & girlfriend, as this would be the first time I traveled long distance alone, let alone flying by myself for the first time as well. From there, a fairly smooth 5 hour flight from Seattle-Tacoma International to Tampa International Airport proceeded. Never traveling to the east coast, nor to a very hot & humid climate, I was ecstatic for a new surrounding. I arrived in Tampa in the mid-afternoon excited for my chauffeurs to pick me up. The fun had officially begun as I heard a loud rumble flow though the airport loading area, as Ethan & Zach picked me up in Ethan’s WRX Wagon. We quickly packed up the car and exchanged greetings, excited to finally meet in person.

We headed back to the MFortyFive headquarters, where we found CJ doing some finishing touches on his STi hatch. Not only was I meeting almost everyone for the first time, but this was my first time seeing all of the guys’ Subarus that I have been drooling on social media over all together for the first time. Between Zach’s Impreza 2.5RS, Ethan’s WRX wagon and CJ’s STi hatch, I planned on getting very familiar with these machines in the coming days along with our shop friends Keith, Chris & Mack, with Project Priime’s beefed up Euro rides.

Rested and ready to rock-n-roll, we woke up at the crack of dawn on Thursday to get the whole fleet together. This would include the MFortyFive Subarus, past-Limelight-feature Bruno Rivera & his WRX, Project Priime’s BMW 335i, MK6 Volkswagen GTI and Fiat 500 Abarth, (and later on in the week, North Carolina native and Instagram-friend Wes joined us in Fontana Village.) Once we all had coffee in our systems, we began our 10 hour drive from Bradenton, FL to Fontana Village, NC. One goal I had was to practice performing rolling shots on this trip. Since we would have an enormous amount of highway driving to do, I went to work at getting the goods over the course of the day.

After several stops to either eat, fill up or stretch some legs, we made it to Fontana Village close to around 11pm. Exhausted from the drive, but eager to get out and play on roads that simply do not exist in flat Florida, the boys and I went out for a little quick midnight blast down a leading road called the Moonshiner 28; a piece of road that led to the start of Tail of the Dragon where it intersects with US129. This was going to be my first taste of what these Subarus were capable of. I was not disappointed in the glimpse of the handling capabilities of the cars and the people driving them, however I was vastly surprised.

Waking up early Friday morning, we filled up with some good ole’ homemade breakfast food and began to get the cars ready for a driving filled day – however after breakfast, things got off to a somewhat rough start. Chris’s BMW was having a bit of a runaround with the transmission not wanting to shift gears until it was all warmed up. Along with CJ narrowly avoiding a drainage ditch, the STi did a 2-wheel motion and managed to pop some of the bumper mounts. Like many long distance trips with highly modified cars, we would have some stumbles, yet none would get in the way of us doing what we came to do.

A short time later, we headed off onto the Moonshiner 28 to get to the start of the Dragon, where we were bombarded with a spew of tree leaves freshly cleared off the side of the road; now brought onto the road from park workers. We reached the Killboy shop, the designated beginning of this insane 318-turn highway, and took a moment to get some goodies, take some group photos and make sure everyone was good to go before we embarked of the first of several runs. On my first run I had rode passenger with CJ and his wife, Ashleigh, in the STi. It was time for the boys to put their money where their mouth is.

We crossed the Tennessee line and everyone let it rip. CJ was leading the pack, and immediately I was astonished at how planted the STi was. I drive a GD Impreza, which most know is not really a large car, and to me the GR Imprezas feel much bigger. You could tell the car had a tendency to want to swing a little more weight around, but it wasn’t by any means going anywhere CJ didn’t want it to. Between the massive 275/35R18 Bridgestone RE71Rs on 18×10″ Volk TE37SLs, Fortune Auto coilovers and a plethora of other suspension bits; the STi was super predicable even from a passenger’s perspective. You don’t really get a good idea of just how intense this highway is until you’re carving corners and when precise driving cues scoot you down Tail of the Dragon quite quickly. Though I live in the Pacific Northwest, this road was a whole different beast.

*A leaf blower was occasionally used to remove leaves from the engine bay.*

After making it down to the end, we pulled off near the river to take a break, snap some more pictures and enjoy each others’ company. I was able to fill the boys in on my thoughts and how excited I was to get right back out there. On the way back up, I rode with Ethan & his girlfriend, Marybeth, in the WRX wagon. We kept it fairly calm due to other imposing traffic and law enforcement respectfully doing their duty to make sure people are staying safe and having fun reasonably. When we stopped for lunch at Tapoco Lodge I was quite ready for a warm meal. I usually don’t get car sick, but the Dragon definitely tested that; however I was victorious in keeping myself collected and rewarded myself with a tasty burger.

Once back on the road, we headed towards a more scenic route called the Cherohala Skyway. With some rain showers & cloud cover moving into the mountains, visibility became increasingly difficult, yet had a slight edge of fun while adding a challenge. We reached a vantage point closer to the highest point of the Skyway, where we got more awesome photos and some great views – however there was a problem. Over the course of the day, Ethan’s WRX had been starting to leak oil. The guys took some time to look over the wagon and found that the turbo oil feed hard line had cracked at the banjo bolt end, thus dripping oil every few seconds onto the turbo and uppipe. Keeping that in mind but not ready to slow it down, the group headed up the Skyway a little further until we found another vantage point where we rechecked the cars before blasting down the mountainside. This part of the trip came to be one of my favorite parts. CJ, Ethan and Zach were dead-set of sending it down without holding back, so I jumped in shotgun with Keith (one of the Project Priime cinematographers). Rocking his modified VW Golf GTI, he was ready to follow the boys right on down and keep it close. Since I had the camera out; I was able to capture some of my favorite shots I have ever taken in the time I have been doing photography. Keith and I were right behind CJ & Zach and it was nothing short of incredible. CJ’s STi may be turbocharged, newer, and had a massive amount of traction, and Zach’s RS being RWD, lightweight and dialed for cornering and momentum, they surprisingly stayed tight-knit. I watched and photographed the two embracing in the spirit of a mountain battle known as touge, keeping the tension all the way back to the Killboy shop & the beginning of the Moonshiner 28.

The run on the Moonshiner that night was the drive that separated the men from the boys. I was still riding in the GTI with Keith, while Chris & his 400+ whp 335i stepped up to the plate with CJ to duke it out all the way back to Fontana Village, where we were staying. This drive was some of the most precise & close driving I have ever seen up front. This was that next-level driving I didn’t realize the Florida boys had in them, I ended up recording the entire drive and looking back on that video. It was a “you had to be there to get the full experience” type of memory. I looked forward to the next couple days even more after seeing the the action that took place that Thursday.

We knew that outside of all the car action that we would take at least one day to do some sightseeing around North Carolina. The group packed up for the day and we drove a little over two hours east to Asheville. During that time on the drive there, I got to spend some much needed seat time in CJ’s STi. I never had driven a GR chassis Impreza up until that point, and I can gladly say that I am glad I can say CJ’s was my first. It’s a crazy fun car to drive with a whole lot of maneuverability. Meanwhile, remember that oil leak I mentioned earlier that Ethan’s WRX was suffering? We were now at the point of needing to address that issue along the way. Stopping in at a local Advanced Auto Parts; we grabbed rubber cement & exhaust patching, trying to see if we could temporarily stop the oil from seeping out of the turbo feed line. Alas, the quick-fix was not looking too solid. Fortunately for Ethan, he would be able to get into contact with a Subaru shop outside of Asheville that had by some unbelievably lucky chance, one single non-cracked turbo feed line laying around that was pulled off of another Subaru. This job needed to be done ASAP, considering we were on a trip within a trip 500+ miles from home. Yet before the shop visit would conspire, The guys were quite insistent on visiting a wild biscuits & gravy shop known as Biscuit Head – an Asheville delicacy. Hands-down the absolute best meal I had while visiting the east coast by far. I highly recommend this place for anyone visiting the area – they have a plethora of unique biscuit-based meals with all kinds of twists, but I need to remember this is an article about our trip and not our food. Continuing on, we spent the day visiting a couple of different tourist spots along with general sightseeing. Two places we visited highly worth talking about were the Sierra-Nevada brewery and the Wicked Weed Brewery. Up until this point, I never been to a brewery of any sort, so to see how they produce & refine all sorts of beer in the Sierra-Nevada facility was pretty sweet. However, if you love a great hangout spot, Wicked Weed Brewery is an absolute must! Great outdoor ambiance, games and drinks. After a few hours there, we stopped in at a local burger joint downtown where we ate dinner before the drive back to Fontana Village.

*We all took turns taking photos in front of a very photogenic tree outside the Biltmore Estate.*

Sunday was filled with a whole lot more sightseeing & intense driving near the Tail Of The Dragon. We managed to drive the entire Skyway route this time around, being the fact it was a sunny Saturday versus a dark, rainy scenario like Thursday turned out to be up there. While we drove the Skyway, Ethan let me cruise the wagon. I will fully admit, I was not sure how I was going to like Ethan’s WRX. Between the aggressive fitment of -4 degrees of camber, 265/35R18 Firestone Indy 500 tires, and 18×9.5 Work CR Kiwamis on a stock-body wagon, I was quite unsure how it would handle. However, once I was in and driving; all of that changed. I felt completely at home & in-control. Since my own WRX has an almost identical interior, the car & I didn’t skip a beat. It was comfy and maneuverable like CJ’s STi, but didn’t feel so overbearing and intense, which kept it pleasant for the type of car it is. For me, Ethan’s WRX wagon was my “just-right” car. As Saturday began coming to a close, nearly comparable to the feeling of heading back to work on a Monday morning, it was a subtle reminder that we would be making the 10+ hour drive Sunday morning back to Bradenton, FL. After another Dragon Run; we stopped by the river to get some amazing sunset shots before we went back to the cabins.

*Our new friend & cabin-mate Wes and his awesome EJ207 blobeye wagon! Maybe a candidate for a future Limelight…*

After our last dinner of the trip, we were ready to go back out & drive the cars as much as we could before heading in for the night. At this point, all the driving I had done in the cars was on pretty mild roads. I was ready to hit the dragon, this was my time to shine & frankly one of the last possible chances for quite a while. Zach offered to let me ride with him up the Dragon and I would get the chance to drive the RS back down. I may drive a GD Impreza Sedan like Zach, however Zach’s car was nothing like my own WRX back home. I mentioned before that Zach managed to keep right on CJ when we drove the Skyway & the car’s setup explains it all. The RS is only powered by a 165HP 2.5L EJ253; the same one that can be commonly found in the Legacy, Outback & Forester, but this was not the point. Fortune Auto coilovers, rear-wheel-drive converted, sticky 255/40R17 Federal 595 RS-RRs mounted on 17×9 Rays GramLights 57DRs, rocking -3.8 degrees of camber up front and -2 degrees in the rear. These are only some of the modifications on the most modified RS I have ever driven, and definitely one of the most responsive GD chassis Imprezas I have driven as well. We reached an overlook up on the Dragon where, at almost midnight, we could see a sky full of stars that lit up the autumn night. The overlook was packed full of parked touge-ers fascinated by the view, while every few minutes a car went flying by into the dark on a risky night run. We took a little while to admire the view too – it also gave me the chance to reflect on the trip. Time was just about up & we were ready to go back down the Dragon for the last time on this amazing journey.

Zach handed me the keys and I hunkered down into the RS & got myself into a touge mindset. I followed the guys in the back of the pack & gave the Dragon all I had. Immediately I noticed the steering on the RS was much lighter than to the steering in my WRX, mainly due to the lack of CV axles to increase steering resistance. The car went exactly where I wanted to go, yet I couldn’t get over the fact that it felt much more lively from the RWD conversion than I thought it would, (just like Zach commonly mentions). The tight twists and turns had me working constantly. This was a big reason as to why I love this car so much – it kept my attention the entire time. The RS felt uncensored and raw, just how I believe the best mountain cars should feel. They should keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to the bottom of that mountain. By the time we made it to the hypothetical finish line, my adrenaline was pumping at a million miles per hour – I drove the Tail of the Dragon. I hadn’t felt this accomplished after a mountain drive in quite a while, and it was nothing short of refreshing and exhilarating.

Sunday morning came quicker than many of us would have liked it to. It was time to leave this mountainous driver’s paradise to venture back to the southeast corner of the US. We spent some time at the actual Fontana Dam to get some group photos, enjoy nature and to say our goodbyes to the amazing people we were able to visit with before we embarked on the long drive ahead of us. Throughout the drive back to Florida, we encountered getting split up by traffic, weather and mismatched directions, but eventually around 11:30pm we had safely arrived back in Bradenton.

Ethan’s wagon – Camber and 265s with the help of several suspension mods allow this thing to handle the curves spectacularly. If you’re behind it, don’t expect to hear or smell a single thing other than his exhaust.

*CJ’s STi – The highest torque, best tires and most planted-feeling car out of the group. Also frequently led the group at night because he has the brightest headlights.*

*Zach’s RS – RWD, naturally aspirated, lightweight & stiff qualities all make this car feel right at home in the mountains. Just don’t get stuck behind him on long uphill sections.*

*Seconds before Wes let off some anti-lag pops during a fly-by.*

*Chris’s total sleeper – A 2007 335i making well over 400whp!*

*Keith’s 2012 GTI – His first time at the Dragon, yet he drove fearlessly and almost too fast for the rest of us.*

*Bruno’s 2016 WRX – Another first-timer and past-Limelight feature car. He stuck towards the back while learning the roads, but kept up just fine soon after!*

Monday arrived and it was the bittersweet time for myself to finish out the journey home to Washington. The four of us had joined for one last brunch to look back on the trip, what we want to accomplish next trip around, and how the cars would improve before they would meet the North Carolina/Tennessee hills yet again in the Spring. My first trip to the east coast was a experience for the books, and I am absolutely blessed and extremely thankful for the people who made this trip fun, exciting, hilarious and special. Words cannot describe how much fun I had and I cannot wait to come back. I look forward to many more trips with MFortyFive, and hopefully one day soon, maybe the Florida boys and I will take some time to explore & see what the best coast has to offer.