[KevinGS]

If you love driving your G8X, then this is one of the best annual events to attend, as you will drive some of the best roads east of the Mississippi. I've been the last 2 years now (the first time in my E93), and it's such a thrill. A 3-day event - 5 to 6 hours of driving each day with other BMW enthusiasts, on country, scenic, mountain roads in Tennessee, NC, and Georgia, guided by a local who knows the area like the back of his hands.

https://www.mvadingthedragon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mvadingthedragon
@mvadingthedragon on Instagram

And if you have a Porsche or have any friends with Porsches, he hosts an even larger event for the Porschephiles - a 4-day event that attracts 150 to 200 Porsches from like 15 to 20 states. Actually, for the Porschephiles, it's twice a year. https://www.rennsportdragonrally.com/

Oh, and he hosts monthly one-day rallies on Saturdays as well, and if I lived closer, I'd attend some of these too. https://www.smokymountaindrives.com/

In 2021, in my E93:

[KevinGS]

......

[KevinGS]

In 2022, a few weeks ago:

[KevinGS]

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[Southern]

Adding this to the bucket list. Thanks for sharing!

[T0RM3NT]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. We have some roads up here outside of Denver that are fun too, but I would still love to experience that at some point.

[FISH22]

Awesome! I've lived about 9 hrs from the tail of the dragon for a long time now. I need to stop making excuses to not go.

[forcefed]

Whats the speed limit?

[KevinGS]

Originally Posted by Southern

Adding this to the bucket list. Thanks for sharing!

Schedule it and go. If you love driving, it will be worth it.

Originally Posted by T0RM3NT

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. We have some roads up here outside of Denver that are fun too, but I would still love to experience that at some point.

Oh yes, Colorado is on my bucket list, and if I'm lucky, I will drive my G82 across country in the next few years, taking mostly back roads...so I can experience the country. And I'll try to find the most scenic roads in each of the states I'm in.

Originally Posted by FISH22

Awesome! I've lived about 9 hrs from the tail of the dragon for a long time now. I need to stop making excuses to not go.

I live about 8 to 9 hours from the Dragon too (I'm in MD), and I've been a total of 7 or 8 times between my old F82, my current E93, and already been twice in my G82. Worth it every time. The Dragon is cool, but the entire area is beautiful and has so many great roads to traverse, across multiple states (The Blue Ridge Mountains).

And a little closer than The Dragon for those in the North, on the border of Tennessee and Virginia, is a little known but equally as challenging road called The Snake (right outside of Bristol Tennessee). It's as fun as the Dragon, with less traffic and better tarmac. Add this to your list as well.

Originally Posted by forcefed

Whats the speed limit?

Some people hang back and simply cruise and sightsee (and that's a nice way to see the area too), and then others near the front with the host, when the traffic clears we're rolling. And oftentimes, when a slower car in front of us sees a stream of BMWs coming up behind them, they'll just slide over and stop and let us pass. Very few block us for long stretches (but it does happen on occasion). And we wave at them with glee and approval (thumbs up!) as we slide past, because we appreciate them being considerate. The host doesn't tailgate the traffic ahead, we're just patient. With so many roads and so much driving, the road always eventually opens up (or we take some turn and it puts us on some barren stretch of road where there's no traffic).

We all have walkie-talkies so we stay in touch, and have set gas stops and such to all meet back up if/when we get separated (and we're bound to get separated at some point).

But have no fear, if you're near the front, you're going to be rolling along at a good clip. And for some, it's just too brisk and they lose the car in front of them, so they slide back letting others pass them to let others near the front. And I do that too. And I'm a decent driver, and have had my share of track days, but on many of these roads in the mountains, having loads of power doesn't mean as much as having smaller, more agile cars. There are more turns than straightaways in many of the real fun stretches, so speed through turns matters more than brief blasts down a straight section. Thus, M2s, new Supras, and even torque-challenged E46s and E9Xs all can scoot a bit faster through many sections because of their sheer agility and smaller size. So I don't even try to keep up with some of them, as those cars can simply carry more "comfortable, controllable" speed through corners than the large G8X (or like M5s and such). You have to know your car. No need to be a hero.

Amazingly enough, some of the fastest Ms are the SUVs. The XM40i and the big daddy XM5, they're so fast because the all-wheel drive enables them to really scoot once they're in the middle of a turn. So they can carry some amazing speed through turns AND have loads of power on the straight sections. It's utterly bananas! Admittedly, I have RWD, so I have to be a bit more careful than if you had an AWD G8X, but I like it when it gets a bit squirrely, clawing for traction...and then it just shoots forward when you need to. It's a great chassis, just in a bigger car.

Ultimately, it's a blast to be rolling around with a bunch of other BMWs of all types, because, all in all, I think most BMWs are beautiful...especially when they're actually rolling. In my mind, BMWs (and other attractive cars) are like rolling art.



I did this same event with the Porsches last fall, in my G82, and the Porsche fast group led by the host is even faster, because you have GT3, GT2s, Turbos and other super quick, agile cars up there in the fast group. So it's a whole other level. But then there's a few groups in the back who are simply enjoying the scenery in their like 1985 911, taking it easy. We're all having a blast, enjoying the roads and scenery with other enthusiasts, around a collection of rolling art. If you love driving, and simply love cars, in motion, it's definitely a memorable weekend. Porsche guys book a year in advance because the event always sells out, and come from as far away as Canada, New Mexico, Colorado, Maine, and everywhere in between. The Rennsport Porsche event is 150 to 200 Porsches, in the mountains, driving for 4 days. What a rush! (Comparatively, the annual MVading the Dragon Event each June is smaller, like 30 to 60 BMWs, but a smaller number has its advantages too).

[aj_g80]

i had this trip planned for this weekend 2 months ago. was shipping 3 cars up, along with 6 other friends. then transporter ran into some health issues with his son so we had to kill it.

i hope i get to do this someday.. looks like a blast.

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by forcefed

Whats the speed limit?

Jump to about the 110 sec mark of this video, you'll get a good feel for the unofficial speed limit on the dragon. 97mph at the 4:50 mark.

[SpeedyATL]

Also, the best part about the Dragon is all the professional photographers. Great way to get an action shot of you on your bike or in your car.

PS - I'm not going 97 in this photo...

[KevinGS]

Originally Posted by forcefed

Whats the speed limit?

On the Tail? Well, with 318 curves in 11 miles, how fast could it be?
It's like 30 mph, and even slower than that on some hairpins.

And on the Tail, you don't have to be driving really fast to enjoy it. Hec, I like the simple challenge of driving as long as possible without having to use my brakes, which is a really good way to get to know your car without having to really push it.