JLarson's build thread

[JLarson]

My plan for Saturday morning was to join up with the guys on an early dragon run. However, we awoke to light rain, and after my experience on Thursday with hydroplaning, I decided that wasn't smart. So instead, we hung out drinking coffee, and headed down into Robbinsville to pick up some supplies. Literally every road in this area was fun to drive. We spotted a couple Datsun's on the way back, but didn't get pictures.

[JLarson]

We made our way back in time for the start of the car show and parked beside the field. Walked up to the vendor area, and spent some time talking with Hotrodz about his incredible car. Met the guys from Fast Intentions. Great group of people!

We stopped by the Soho table too, talking a bit with them about their single turbo kit. Turns out, they can custom fab something for the G37x sedan to get around the transfer case... intriguing!

[JLarson]

Our quest at that point was to locate Madwi's car. I wanted to see that bad boy in person! So we made our way up the hill towards the main lodge, and happened to bump into the whole group. Rusty and Zoren showed off their rides. Rusty's custom fabrication is just as impressive in person as it is in his thread.

Madwi's car is similarly excellent, with a lot of attention to detail, especially in the carbon fiber add-ons. I was so impressed I forgot to take a picture I did manage to find JC Hammond in the wild, as well as Spooler, before we headed back down to the car show.

[JLarson]

These cars are stock, right?

[JLarson]

More car pr0n. The custom water bottle setup in pic 5 is interesting.

[JLarson]

The whipple supercharger setup was on display, picture 2. I hear it's a powerhouse!

[JLarson]

The weather abruptly cleared, and we're talking bright sun and heat! Madwi, EastWest, Memphis370 and I decided to take a run at the dragon behind a pack of GT-Rs.

Madwi already posted one great shot of his car with mine; attached is a shot of Madwi and EW, and a shot of my car on its way back.

As for my impressions on the dragon - wow. This was my first real test of my car, and my driving, on anything substantial. We just don't really have roads like this at home, though navigating traffic on I95 has its own challenges... Anyway, the first run through, EW did a great job leading us, and it let me start getting the idea of how to handle my car. I rapidly found that what my car could handle was way higher than I was capable of handling as a driver. Even with (mostly) stock suspension components, my 370 was impressive.

We stopped at a turn around most of the way through, let vehicles and drivers cool down, and then headed back with Memphis taking point. Following him was a challenge! He drove like a bat out of hell, but with perfect and precise control. I did what I could to keep up, but after slowing down at one of those scenic overlooks to avoid people walking in the road, I lost him entirely until he pulled over to wait. The ride back pushed my skills to the limit. Awesome. Would absolutely do it again. My heart rate was high enough my FitBit logged the drive as exercise.