BadTrainDriver
Registered Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2020
- Messages
- 617
- Reaction score
- 556
- Points
- 93
- Location
- Powell, OH
- Genesis Model Type
- Genesis G70
Having a rare few days off work, coupled with the wife and son out of town, I decided to hop in the G70 and really see what this car could do!
I left Columbus Ohio at 4AM last Thursday, straight interstate to Sweetwater TN, just south of Knoxsville TN. Roughly 400 miles, right at six hours. This was the first extended trip in my six months of ownership, where my daily commute is a boring ten miles per day and I rarely exceed 50MPH. I quickly realized just how comfortable this car is! With some minor adjustments to my seat, I found the driving position to be super comfortable. From Columbus to Sweetwater, I only stopped once due to needing gas.
Once I exited off I-75, it was about thirty minutes to Tellico Plains TN, the start of the first of many awesome mountain roads...The Cherohala Skyway. Forty three miles of ribbon smooth blacktop, fast curves, and little traffic. Half Cherokee National Forest, half Nantahala National Forest(NC side). Weather was perfect!!
Catching Rt. 129 at the bottom of the Skyway leads you straight to The Tail of the Dragon. 318 curves in 11 miles. Not for the faint of heart, and not to be driven after about 10AM on most days. I made the mistake of driving it around 1PM, only to be disappointed by two D bags on Harleys that wouldn't pull over and let me around. I consider myself a veteran of the TOTD, having been going there for better than twenty years. Up until 2009 when my son was born, I was always on two wheels. Rule #1: don't cross the center line. Rule #2: if someone quickly comes up behind you, be polite and either slow down so they can come around, or pull off at the next area. There is literally spray paint on the road telling you where you can pull off. Oh no...not these two...hence the middle finger in the pictures.
Next up, the Foothills Parkway. Nice little curvy rd to drive at a more relaxing pace, with more great scenery!
Tired and hungry, I spent the night in Alcoa TN, with plans to hit TOTD first thing in the morning.
7AM departure from the hotel put me at the beginning of TOTD at 745AM. THIS is the time to drive this road! Zero traffic! About a third of the way through I really started pushing the car. Top of second gear to redline, before hard on the brakes for the next switchback curve, then full throttle halfway through the curve to blast around it. My car is AWD, and I left all TC nannies on. I was a little concerned that the 225 series front tires would cause this car to understeer, but that was not the case at all. Under hard acceleration, you can really feel both the front end digging and pulling, and the rear end pushing and gripping. To those who've never pushed this car to 90+% of what this car is capable of, you're missing out!
Here's where things get interesting...
I pull into Deals Gap store at the end of TOTD, go inside and buy a sticker, and come out to find a McLaren 600S filling up with gas. All respectful like, I ask if I can take a picture. He proceeds to park next to my Genesis, we start chatting, he's from South Africa, bought the car in Texas, and drove here specifically to drive this road. He then asks if I'd like to ride with him and show him the road. Ummm, hell yes! We mask up to be safe and all, and away we go! The trip through, he kind of took it easy. The only advice I gave him was don't cross the double yellow line, and if you can see where a curve goes, assume it's at least a 90 degree curve. We get to the end, turn around, he turns on his GoPro, and asks if I care if he turns it up a notch. Have at it buddy, I'm just hear for the ride! The sound this car made is not something I'll soon forget. 8k RPM redline 4 liter twin turbo V-8, the popping on downshifts, crazy. BUT, what was even more crazy is the brakes. See, I knew the car would be fast, but I honestly wasn't prepared for the way it would scrub off speed. In my Genesis, I was hitting a little over 60MPH on the longest straight stretches. In the McLaren, we were hitting 90MPH, and slowing down the 30MPH or so. It was unreal! The first time he got that fast, I literally didn't think we'd make the turn. I thought this is it, I'm gonna die, but at least my wife will know I was happy! Back at Deals Gap, having ridden through and back, I could honestly say my ribs hurt from the side bolters of the seat, and I think I left a permanent impression on the door grab handle! Thanks for the ride, Dean!
Leaving TOTD, I headed down Rt 28 to Cherokee NC, to jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yes this road is crowded at times, but for a nice relaxing drive at a 55MPH or pace, nothing beats it. I drove it all the way to Little Switzerland NC, about 100 miles, before getting off to get lunch and plan out the rest of the day.
A good friend of mine recommended Rt.160 between Virginia and Kentucky, know as the Dragonslayer, so I hit that on the GPS, turned off highways, started heading northwest. A couple hours later I'm there, and he was right. Amazing road! Roughly twenty miles long, straight uphill, then straight downhill. Other than two cars coming the other direction, the road was empty! This will definitely be on my to do again list! I will admit I was a little bummed being in Harlan KY and not seeing Raylan from Justified. Hahahaha!
Made a bee line to I-75 as it was getting late, spent the night in Lexington KY, and home by noon the next day. One thing I was sad about...I really wanted to find out the top speed of the car. I-75 between Lexington and Cincinnati is out in the middle of no where, coming home I has two good opportunities to really get it going, but 154MPH GPS indicated is as fast as I could do before coming to the next bend in the road and running up on traffic. I really wanted to see 160...
In the end, the car was amazing! The only modifications I've done is a Mishimoto oil catch can, "Euro spec" brake pads front and rear, and an Escort Redline 360c on a Blendmount mirror mount, running Waze on Android Auto. I'd highly recommend upgraded brake pads of some sort for this type of trip, even if my wheels were FILTY when I got home.
If anyone would be interested in a trip next year, I'll gladly help set something up!
Sunday was car wash day, and she's as good as new...minus a little bit of rubber off the tires...
I left Columbus Ohio at 4AM last Thursday, straight interstate to Sweetwater TN, just south of Knoxsville TN. Roughly 400 miles, right at six hours. This was the first extended trip in my six months of ownership, where my daily commute is a boring ten miles per day and I rarely exceed 50MPH. I quickly realized just how comfortable this car is! With some minor adjustments to my seat, I found the driving position to be super comfortable. From Columbus to Sweetwater, I only stopped once due to needing gas.
Once I exited off I-75, it was about thirty minutes to Tellico Plains TN, the start of the first of many awesome mountain roads...The Cherohala Skyway. Forty three miles of ribbon smooth blacktop, fast curves, and little traffic. Half Cherokee National Forest, half Nantahala National Forest(NC side). Weather was perfect!!
Catching Rt. 129 at the bottom of the Skyway leads you straight to The Tail of the Dragon. 318 curves in 11 miles. Not for the faint of heart, and not to be driven after about 10AM on most days. I made the mistake of driving it around 1PM, only to be disappointed by two D bags on Harleys that wouldn't pull over and let me around. I consider myself a veteran of the TOTD, having been going there for better than twenty years. Up until 2009 when my son was born, I was always on two wheels. Rule #1: don't cross the center line. Rule #2: if someone quickly comes up behind you, be polite and either slow down so they can come around, or pull off at the next area. There is literally spray paint on the road telling you where you can pull off. Oh no...not these two...hence the middle finger in the pictures.
Next up, the Foothills Parkway. Nice little curvy rd to drive at a more relaxing pace, with more great scenery!
Tired and hungry, I spent the night in Alcoa TN, with plans to hit TOTD first thing in the morning.
7AM departure from the hotel put me at the beginning of TOTD at 745AM. THIS is the time to drive this road! Zero traffic! About a third of the way through I really started pushing the car. Top of second gear to redline, before hard on the brakes for the next switchback curve, then full throttle halfway through the curve to blast around it. My car is AWD, and I left all TC nannies on. I was a little concerned that the 225 series front tires would cause this car to understeer, but that was not the case at all. Under hard acceleration, you can really feel both the front end digging and pulling, and the rear end pushing and gripping. To those who've never pushed this car to 90+% of what this car is capable of, you're missing out!
Here's where things get interesting...
I pull into Deals Gap store at the end of TOTD, go inside and buy a sticker, and come out to find a McLaren 600S filling up with gas. All respectful like, I ask if I can take a picture. He proceeds to park next to my Genesis, we start chatting, he's from South Africa, bought the car in Texas, and drove here specifically to drive this road. He then asks if I'd like to ride with him and show him the road. Ummm, hell yes! We mask up to be safe and all, and away we go! The trip through, he kind of took it easy. The only advice I gave him was don't cross the double yellow line, and if you can see where a curve goes, assume it's at least a 90 degree curve. We get to the end, turn around, he turns on his GoPro, and asks if I care if he turns it up a notch. Have at it buddy, I'm just hear for the ride! The sound this car made is not something I'll soon forget. 8k RPM redline 4 liter twin turbo V-8, the popping on downshifts, crazy. BUT, what was even more crazy is the brakes. See, I knew the car would be fast, but I honestly wasn't prepared for the way it would scrub off speed. In my Genesis, I was hitting a little over 60MPH on the longest straight stretches. In the McLaren, we were hitting 90MPH, and slowing down the 30MPH or so. It was unreal! The first time he got that fast, I literally didn't think we'd make the turn. I thought this is it, I'm gonna die, but at least my wife will know I was happy! Back at Deals Gap, having ridden through and back, I could honestly say my ribs hurt from the side bolters of the seat, and I think I left a permanent impression on the door grab handle! Thanks for the ride, Dean!
Leaving TOTD, I headed down Rt 28 to Cherokee NC, to jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yes this road is crowded at times, but for a nice relaxing drive at a 55MPH or pace, nothing beats it. I drove it all the way to Little Switzerland NC, about 100 miles, before getting off to get lunch and plan out the rest of the day.
A good friend of mine recommended Rt.160 between Virginia and Kentucky, know as the Dragonslayer, so I hit that on the GPS, turned off highways, started heading northwest. A couple hours later I'm there, and he was right. Amazing road! Roughly twenty miles long, straight uphill, then straight downhill. Other than two cars coming the other direction, the road was empty! This will definitely be on my to do again list! I will admit I was a little bummed being in Harlan KY and not seeing Raylan from Justified. Hahahaha!
Made a bee line to I-75 as it was getting late, spent the night in Lexington KY, and home by noon the next day. One thing I was sad about...I really wanted to find out the top speed of the car. I-75 between Lexington and Cincinnati is out in the middle of no where, coming home I has two good opportunities to really get it going, but 154MPH GPS indicated is as fast as I could do before coming to the next bend in the road and running up on traffic. I really wanted to see 160...
In the end, the car was amazing! The only modifications I've done is a Mishimoto oil catch can, "Euro spec" brake pads front and rear, and an Escort Redline 360c on a Blendmount mirror mount, running Waze on Android Auto. I'd highly recommend upgraded brake pads of some sort for this type of trip, even if my wheels were FILTY when I got home.
If anyone would be interested in a trip next year, I'll gladly help set something up!
Sunday was car wash day, and she's as good as new...minus a little bit of rubber off the tires...
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