warot
Track Technician
- Messages
- 3,750
Hey everyone,
Two weekends ago, my college buddies and I decided to meet up at the Tail of the Dragon for the first time. We figured this would be a great way to catch up and get to see each other’s new project cars (we all moved to different states after graduating college). Here’s our story.
The car:
This E30 was purchased in the summer of 2010. It is bone stock apart from a Magnaflow 14815 muffler, mostly because the original OEM was completely rusted out. Most maintenance, including fluids, timing belt and water pump, full brake kit (just regular pads, rotors, steel lines and ATE Super Blue fluids) were performed throughout the year. All bumper trims were painted using SEM trim paint (highly recommended). Future plans for the car include basketweaves and a drop, nothing too crazy.
We decided to meet in Wayneville, NC. It is about 1 hour away from Tail of the Dragon and was a good place to get gas and last minute supplies at the auto stores there. In the shopping center parking lot, I noticed a MINT condition AW E30. Couldn’t help but park the convertible next to it and snap a couple of shots.
Here’s a picture of the cars that were going to partake in the drive:
As I’m sure you can tell at this point, the weather was perfect (around 90 degrees). After a quick lunch in Waynesville, we took off but didn’t make it too far before a huge thunderstorm came through the area. We had to pull over because 3 of us had our tops down:
After what seemed like an eternity, the rain subsided and we were off again… only to have to pull over into a gas station because it started hailing. Eventually, that stopped as well and we drove off in the heavy rain. After about 45 minutes, we finally hit HWY 28 which would take us straight to our final destination. HWY 28 itself was a great road, although we did see some of the damage the storm caused.
Impromptu off-roading in the E30:
The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. While we were all disappointed that we would have to tackle the road in less than perfect conditions, we couldn’t help but agree the rain made the experience very interesting. The fog, river and mountains made this view almost surreal:
When we finally got to the top of the mountain, we took a little break to determine which orders the car would go in. Then it was time…
We set off from the North Carolina side of the road onto the Tennessee border. Immediately, we got stuck behind a convoy of motorcycles going below the speed limit. It wasn’t long before we all stumbled upon a motorcycle wreck that happened earlier. The rider lost control of his motorcycle and it slid off into the trees. It did not look like a high speed crash, but was a good reminder that everyone should be extremely careful on this road. Eventually, the bikers pulled off and we were able to go at our own pace until we reached the bottom of the mountain on the TN side.
Still raining at this point:
Some more beautiful scenery at the bottom of the mountain:
We decided to turn around at this point because it looked like it was going to start pouring again. With the E30 leading the way, we luckily had no traffic in front of us and were able to go a bit faster than on the way down. We encountered a hoard of E30’s and an E36 M3. We all honked and waved at each other as they were going the opposite way. Here are pictures of some them (maybe you guys are on this forum?)
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
I waved at these guys:
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
But it wasn’t until I got home that I realized it was an E30 pick-up truck!!!
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Here are the shots I purchased of the E30. There are always guys up there that will take pictures of all cars coming through.
We all met at the top of the mountain at the little restaurant/gas station for a beer and a quick snack before we set off. Overall, Tail of the Dragon is what I expected to be. Amazing road and scenery, crowded even though the weather was awful with lots of great cars around. A few notes:
- Beware coming into blind corners. There really are a lot of motorcyclists up there
- The rain might have helped us out with traffic actually. We were able to get a great run on the way back to NC, but I can imagine that road being a traffic jam on a sunny day
- There are most definitely were a lot of cops up there too
- Next time, we plan on actually camping there (saw a few camping grounds on HWY 28). The scenery is beautiful. We drove all day so were completely worn out. This would be a great way to relax after a long drive.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!
Two weekends ago, my college buddies and I decided to meet up at the Tail of the Dragon for the first time. We figured this would be a great way to catch up and get to see each other’s new project cars (we all moved to different states after graduating college). Here’s our story.
The car:
This E30 was purchased in the summer of 2010. It is bone stock apart from a Magnaflow 14815 muffler, mostly because the original OEM was completely rusted out. Most maintenance, including fluids, timing belt and water pump, full brake kit (just regular pads, rotors, steel lines and ATE Super Blue fluids) were performed throughout the year. All bumper trims were painted using SEM trim paint (highly recommended). Future plans for the car include basketweaves and a drop, nothing too crazy.
We decided to meet in Wayneville, NC. It is about 1 hour away from Tail of the Dragon and was a good place to get gas and last minute supplies at the auto stores there. In the shopping center parking lot, I noticed a MINT condition AW E30. Couldn’t help but park the convertible next to it and snap a couple of shots.
Here’s a picture of the cars that were going to partake in the drive:
As I’m sure you can tell at this point, the weather was perfect (around 90 degrees). After a quick lunch in Waynesville, we took off but didn’t make it too far before a huge thunderstorm came through the area. We had to pull over because 3 of us had our tops down:
After what seemed like an eternity, the rain subsided and we were off again… only to have to pull over into a gas station because it started hailing. Eventually, that stopped as well and we drove off in the heavy rain. After about 45 minutes, we finally hit HWY 28 which would take us straight to our final destination. HWY 28 itself was a great road, although we did see some of the damage the storm caused.
Impromptu off-roading in the E30:
The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. While we were all disappointed that we would have to tackle the road in less than perfect conditions, we couldn’t help but agree the rain made the experience very interesting. The fog, river and mountains made this view almost surreal:
When we finally got to the top of the mountain, we took a little break to determine which orders the car would go in. Then it was time…
We set off from the North Carolina side of the road onto the Tennessee border. Immediately, we got stuck behind a convoy of motorcycles going below the speed limit. It wasn’t long before we all stumbled upon a motorcycle wreck that happened earlier. The rider lost control of his motorcycle and it slid off into the trees. It did not look like a high speed crash, but was a good reminder that everyone should be extremely careful on this road. Eventually, the bikers pulled off and we were able to go at our own pace until we reached the bottom of the mountain on the TN side.
Still raining at this point:
Some more beautiful scenery at the bottom of the mountain:
We decided to turn around at this point because it looked like it was going to start pouring again. With the E30 leading the way, we luckily had no traffic in front of us and were able to go a bit faster than on the way down. We encountered a hoard of E30’s and an E36 M3. We all honked and waved at each other as they were going the opposite way. Here are pictures of some them (maybe you guys are on this forum?)
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
I waved at these guys:
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
But it wasn’t until I got home that I realized it was an E30 pick-up truck!!!
Javascript / Cookies Disabled
Here are the shots I purchased of the E30. There are always guys up there that will take pictures of all cars coming through.
We all met at the top of the mountain at the little restaurant/gas station for a beer and a quick snack before we set off. Overall, Tail of the Dragon is what I expected to be. Amazing road and scenery, crowded even though the weather was awful with lots of great cars around. A few notes:
- Beware coming into blind corners. There really are a lot of motorcyclists up there
- The rain might have helped us out with traffic actually. We were able to get a great run on the way back to NC, but I can imagine that road being a traffic jam on a sunny day
- There are most definitely were a lot of cops up there too
- Next time, we plan on actually camping there (saw a few camping grounds on HWY 28). The scenery is beautiful. We drove all day so were completely worn out. This would be a great way to relax after a long drive.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!
