Some say that Countryman's (Countrymen?) don't do well on The Dragon. Well here is a video to prove that theory wrong. With just a "few" modifications, you can absolutely fly through there, and safely too. Enjoy the video of Kowalski absolutely carving up The Dragon! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r99PKKWUrqU]Tail of The Dragon "Hot Lap" - MINI Countryman S ALL4 - YouTube[/ame] Kyle
Looks like you had fun. I don't think anyone has ever said you can't have fun on the Dragon driving a CM. Heck, you can have fun driving a minivan. I think most would agree that the CM simply isn't designed to be as "sporty" as the 2 door models.
Perhaps, but the people behind you will be having NO fun :cryin:....minivans, the bane of the automotive world........
The video above is an example of how to NOT drive on the Dragon. This guy was over the line so many times in the first 2 min I stopped watching. It looks like he was driving fast to show off for the Go-Pro but failed at showing he was a good driver.
Ummmm.....no. He looked to be in his lane with maybe a touch or two of the line, but nothing to be chastised for.
Dave, I think the camera angle makes it look like I was over the line a few times, I noticed that. Made sure never to cross it. I understand the rules of the dragon and I would never cross the line unless it was to avoid hitting a deer (happened once last year) but even that was on a straight away and I was quickly back in my lane. This was my one quick run, and anytime I saw a car coming in the other direction I was quickly off the gas. Kyle
Dave...god will you please stop with these pointless rants about which you have very little, if anything to add.
Appreciate the video Kyle...your CM sounds sweet-I'm just guessing but I'm pretty sure that sound is NOT from the stock S exhaust :cornut: Our CM is optioned similar to yours in that we have the JCW gauges and Nav. Our CMJCW just arrived at the dealer last night. Can't wait to get it onto the Dragon-should be a hoot(even in stock form with those crappy RF tires). We will have both cars and our motorcycles down in Robbinsville in September. Don't think we can stay below 4500 RPM when running the Dragon, so we have a lot of driving to do between now and September to finish proper break-in.... cannot wait....... **BTW** that 2nd car that passed you at the beginning of the video...I can't figure out what it was, but it looked Italian(Ferrari 360 or 430 cabrio?) and it sounded unbelievable(is there any way to get a Mini to sound like that short of putting a V-12 in the back????) Jeff
Congrats Jeff! Come and join the Facebook Countryman Community and keep us all updated on the process... www.cmonfb.com Yup, the exhaust and many other parts of the car are very far from stock I drove a JCW R60 last weekend on the hellbender (as it was our Countryman Group from Facebook meeting up) and it handles just about the same as a Cooper S with sport suspension. A rear sway bar will make all the difference on a road like the dragon and I highly suggest upgrading that. Let me know when you're going to be over there in September and maybe I can find an excuse to head out there and join you! I am about 4 1/2 hours away The second car was actually a Honda S2000. I believe that was Darryl Cannon, Killboy. Kyle
:biggrin5: Yes, i am looking at the nm engineering blue 22mm rear anti-sway bar(assuming the wife can handle the more "neutral" ride.....-read, harsh!-this is primarily her car and she will be driving it 90% of the time) Killboy-I should have known he could make a Honda sound like a Ferrari :biggrin5:
How about you mind your own business for once? Have you been to the Dragon? Have you drove the dragon for years ? Have you seen a friend crash at the Dragon? I still stand by my point that he was driving too fast and was over the line on a public road in a CM that sounded like it had OEM tires on it? He got lucky.
Dave, As I said before, never crossed the line. The camera angle did make it look like I did however. The car has upgraded tires (Michelin Pilot Super Sports) which are very grippy. Once the tires start to make noise you still have about 15-20% of grip left in them (something I was not used to with my OEM tires) so I just kept it so I could hear the squeal around the corners but still had room left in case an unexpected situation were to occur. I've taken the vehicle on multiple track days and auto crosses so I know what it can handle and I certainly know my limits. I never pushed it past 7 / 10 on the dragon. The vehicle also has suspension and brake upgrades to help further increase its limits. I drove and drive the road like I do because I feel comfortable going a certain speed, could I go faster? Yes, but of course that would not be smart. I understand your point about the center line, and ill say again that I never once crossed it. And the video can make it look like I did. I got close, sure, but still on my side of the road and I had room and time to react if a situation were to occur. I've pulled people aside and mentioned the "center line rule" to them so I completely agree with you, if I was actually crossing the line this would have been one bad and dangerous run... But that didn't happen. Kyle
Awesome vid love the sound of the exhaust btw Dave o I see where it seens like he is crossing the lines but if you look at the video the focus part is at the tach so the camera is pointed at an angle. Meaning if you look at the A pillar you have to angle it back to the center of the carand thencyou can see he isnt crossing the lines. Its very much of an optical allusion
Ya know, in the 4+ years that M/A has been around we've not chastised people like some other sites for driving con brio. While M/A does not condone street racing or driving like an ass we are not going to censor or call you out for doing so. We've all used the loud petal a bit much at times. Glad you had a good run there Kyle, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for explaining and the yes camera view did affect my view of your run. Just be careful because that road is no track and it has no high speed pull off areas but you know that already.
So....what no apology for the wise-assed comment Dave? And WTF does having been to the dragon have to do with driving a twisty road.....?