Nov 19th Tail of the Dragon

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

It's actually "Danger".

Remember when it comes to lug nuts, righty tighty Mr Danger. And always check them even if you were not the one to loosen them.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Remember when it comes to lug nuts, righty tighty Mr Danger. And always check them even if you were not the one to loosen them.

Like I said... Danger!

Surprised the damn thing didn't fly off.......

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Like I said... Danger!

Surprised the damn thing didn't fly off.......

My fault, I just couldn't stand being the only one stuck.

[BimmerRules!]

First - CONGRATS guys!!

Second - Kudos to Mark for this great idea and its execution!

Can't wait to see more pics and videos!

Glad that it went went well and hopefully I can join the next year.

[Nothing]

Well this took far too long to get to but here are my two vids of the drive.
Edit, I just saw the last video and I have no clue what happened to the video at the end. I just started using Race Render and clearly there's a learning curve to it.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Nothing

Well this took far too long to get to but here are my two vids of the drive.

Love the telemetry and map!

[KevinGS]

Loving the video! Nothing but envy here that I couldn't make it, but so glad you guys did before winter hits.

So fun to see E9Xs rolling through the Tail.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by KevinGS

Loving the video! Nothing but envy here that I couldn't make it, but so glad you guys did before winter hits.

So fun to see E9Xs rolling through the Tail.

You will be there at the 2nd annual Tail of the Dragon Run Kevin. I still have a whole thing I wrote up about the ride and pics to boot. I need to get it together and post it. Before no one cares anymore lol.

[Three Pedal Steve]

Hey Nothing- These are great videos. Observations:

• Telemetry really puts the drive into perspective. Nice camera position.
• Your microphone placement was good. Captured S65's screaming.
• Run 1 video is really fun with the F430 right in the middle of the pack.
• The driver of camera car never crosses the yellow line, except for debris.
• Camera car had a great driver as seen in the final minutes of Run 2. You cut a perfect line as you caught the pack. I'll be your passenger any time.

[Nothing]

Originally Posted by Three Pedal Steve

Hey Nothing- These are great videos. Observations:

• Telemetry really puts the drive into perspective. Nice camera position.
• Your microphone placement was good. Captured S65's screaming.
• Run 1 video is really fun with the F430 right in the middle of the pack.
• The driver of camera car never crosses the yellow line, except for debris.
• Camera car had a great driver as seen in the final minutes of Run 2. You cut a perfect line as you caught the pack. I'll be your passenger any time.

Thanks man! I'm glad you picked up on all that. It wasn't busy that day but when it is, respecting the double yellow line will save you and others. You are welcome to ride the next time we are out there.

[NashvegasR]

Hey - just in case anyone who was at the Tail of Dragon a few mos back is interested, I am going to trade in my M3. 2013 comp pkg silverstone w/ CF splitters and rear spoiler. Just figured i'd ask since you guys / gals saw the car and might be interested. Hate to think it gets traded to a dealer who won't appreciate it -- oh well ! PM me if you might be.

[noremaC]

This looks great! I'm sad I couldn't make this.

I'd love to join next time.

[CBDCM3]

Originally Posted by NashvegasR

Hey - just in case anyone who was at the Tail of Dragon a few mos back is interested, I am going to trade in my M3. 2013 comp pkg silverstone w/ CF splitters and rear spoiler. Just figured i'd ask since you guys / gals saw the car and might be interested. Hate to think it gets traded to a dealer who won't appreciate it -- oh well ! PM me if you might be.

Do you have a picture of the car? I wasn’t there.

[thetastelingers]

Originally Posted by CBDCM3

Do you have a picture of the car? I wasn’t there.

He posted this one in a picture thread.

[BOOF-M3]

While we are at it... FYI Nash is the member who overslept but made it as we were pulling out lol.

[Three Pedal Steve]

BOOF- Are you going to share your summary of our adventure?

The BMW-CCA Sandlapper Chapter's resent newsletter had a nice article documenting our gathering of sixteen M3's. Here is a link the go to page 7:
http://sandlapperbmw.org/wp-content/...Newsletter.pdf


Thank you Dreamboat. You are a lady of your word.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Three Pedal Steve

BOOF- Are you going to share your summary of our adventure?

The BMW-CCA Sandlapper Chapter's resent newsletter had a nice article documenting our gathering of sixteen M3's. Here is a link the go to page 7:
http://sandlapperbmw.org/wp-content/...Newsletter.pdf


Thank you Dreamboat. You are a lady of your word.

Good...nay...GREAT stuff, Steve! Was an absolute blast and made many friends along the trip. I see my car in a couple of those shots

[DreamTime]

Originally Posted by Three Pedal Steve

BOOF- Are you going to share your summary of our adventure?

The BMW-CCA Sandlapper Chapter's resent newsletter had a nice article documenting our gathering of sixteen M3's. Here is a link the go to page 7:
http://sandlapperbmw.org/wp-content/...Newsletter.pdf


Thank you Dreamboat. You are a lady of your word.

Nah, thank YOU, Steve. I consider myself very fortunate to have had amazing people like you contribute to my newsletter.

Dreamboat, I like that... after all, one day I will sail into the sunset as a part of my retirement plan

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by Three Pedal Steve

BOOF- Are you going to share your summary of our adventure?

The BMW-CCA Sandlapper Chapter's resent newsletter had a nice article documenting our gathering of sixteen M3's. Here is a link the go to page 7:
http://sandlapperbmw.org/wp-content/...Newsletter.pdf


Thank you Dreamboat. You are a lady of your word.

Awesome write up Steve, much appreciated.

[BOOF-M3]

This certainly was an adventure... For me, it started out with wanting to ride through the Smoky Mountains in my E92 M3 with the wife and kid. We had been through there in a rented SUV in the summer and was thinking of being in the M3 the whole time. Fast forward to Sept 17th and I am on a country run with a few local members in Tampa Fl.
I was reminded of the Smokies and what it would be like running those roads with a few enthusiasts. A big thank you to Theodore and Megabrode for the inspiration. By the way, those guys can drive with the best of them, not to mention - they have amazing M3s that they care deeply about, as well as the M3post community which you can see in their thoughtful threads and posts.

So, the seed was planted and we talked about it over dinner while looking at the photos we took of the country run. We have family in Kentucky so we planned out our Thanksgiving: drive to the Smokies, stay in a cabin, and then head to Kentucky for Thanksgiving dinner and see the fam. Then we started thinking about the country run earlier in the day and how cool it would be to meet up with ONE or TWO other M3s or perhaps an F430 Ferrari (very cool ridin135 "Don", we never expected a Ferrari to be involved in our initial thoughts, but what a treat that was) and tear up the Smokies with some new friends.

Two weeks later on October 2nd, I started a thread "Smoky Mountain run in November" which was eventually changed to "Nov 19th Tail of the Dragon" with the hopes of, as mentioned, ONE or TWO members responding that they would like to meet up. Well, that didn't last very long. Within 24hrs, members "Dreamtime" "Thetastelingers" Spazzyfry123" and "GetLit" were thinking about coming. Not to mention several others who were interested. At this point, I had no idea what to expect, but I was certainly getting excited, to say the least.










I'll also mention that I had no idea what the Tail of the Dragon was when I started all of this. I just thought somewhere in the Smoky Mountains would suffice. I did let all know in my OP that I was a newbie to that neck of the woods and wanted as much feedback as possible. I don't wish to discount the ideas of any members as there were a lot of great ideas and I would have to go through the thread to see who suggested what and where. There were also PM's flying in like letters addressed to Santa at the North Pole. My head was spinning. Eventually, I settled in on "Get Lit". I was able to PM and text him on a daily basis, letting him know the ideas for a ride that were coming in and letting him know what the consensus was for the perfect meet up place, actual ride, and lunch. So with Get Lit's help, we selected The Tail Of The Dragon, Deals Gap, and the Hub for lunch. We talked about the time of year we were going, the weather, radios, cabins, name tags, whether the roads would be full of vehicles or somewhat empty which was always the hopes. I'm sure the run would have gone off without a hitch if all I had done was just post the thread, set a date and waited for cars to show up, as rides like this are bigger than just two members, but I can tell you that Get Lit was invaluable to this ride. He set up lunch, mapped out where we would go, purchased radios, was the lead car on the Tail risking his vehicle for the enjoyment of the rest of us to follow. And as I had stated on the radios about three minutes into the ride "Get Lit can drive the Sh*t out of an M3 Boys". So, from those of us who came on the ride, we thank you Chris "Get Lit".

Back to the story... I couldn't believe the response to the thread. At one point we had 35 cars who were either participating or were trying to make plans to participate. Every day members were posting their good wishes, thoughts or that they were in on the ride. As I stated, there were so many people who were giving suggestions and thoughts of how to make it a great ride that I was overwhelmed by the support from you guys. It reminded me of when we as M3 "buyers" are looking for that perfect M3 and that's half the fun of owning one, you know, the thrill of looking for it. I knew that eventually, the time would come that it would be Nov 20th and the ride would be a mere memory. I was trying to enjoy the process for as long as I could and you all were awesome. I have to say, there was not one jerk among you. And for that, I thank everyone who contributed. As a matter of fact, I may have been the only "jerk" and I'll speak about that later.

The run is planned, members are set, we are ready to start our vacation. It's Friday the 17th of November and we headed out of the Tampa Florida area and were on our way for a stopover in Atlanta.





We have made this ride before as we have a family friend there and most recently we made this trip when we fled Hurricane Irma. Yea I know I know, we fled a hurricane, but I have a 10-year-old boy who is loved very much by myself and a very protective mother who would do anything to see to it that his future is the brightest that it can be. And that means safety first.

Maya, Nicholas and I had an uneventful ride towards Atlanta but you could feel the excitement in the air. Maya actually drove the whole way there as I was on a texting/PM/Tail of the Dragon thread man on a mission making sure that all who wanted to come were updated etc...

On Saturday we went to Stone Mountain to check out the view from the top and to eat their famous potato swirls on a stick. We were, however, practicing our "driving moves" every chance we got along the way. The view from the top of the mountain is a must see. The potatoes on a stick, however, are a whole other story.






Afterwards, we found a pretty cool coffee place called Cafe Jaya. They had games, books and a stage set up for artists of all types. Very cool place and after a game of Family Feud in which Nicholas hosted we headed back home for an early nights sleep as we had to be out of the house by 4:15am.





Well, that didn't work out so well, we were so amped up that we didn't go to bed until 1am. After all, it was like Xmas eve and we were waiting up for Santa. We met up at our meeting place at 4:20am with ppatel. Another member was supposed to meet up with us but he overslept lol. He did, however, make it to the run with a minute to spare. You know who you are Mr. Sleeper. Ppatel brought an extra radio so that was cool as it was my first time on one and it was neat to drive up to the run and be able to communicate with another driver. Ppatel has a minty 2013 E92 M3 and he knows how to drive it that's for sure. We learned how to set our auto bright lights as I saw his flicking on and off as we were passing oncoming traffic. It's pretty cool when you learn something new about your car. But more than that ppatel was a classy guy who just happened to drive an M3. That's not all he is. He is a husband and a father who loves his family and that was nice to learn about him. So thank you for leading us to the run Purvil, we could not have had a better chaperone. We fully expect to see you again one day when we are back up in Atlanta. Yep, I just invited us up to see you again when we are up there lol. We are getting close now, we pulled over a few miles out to fill up the tanks, take a pic or two and look at our filthy M3s. I'm not sure I have ever seen it so dirty before, but we didn't care. This was about the run and meeting the gang, not pretty show cars at a "Cars and Coffee" meet up.







Having never been to Deals Gap before I had no idea what to expect. As we came around the final turn, there she was in all of her glory. A very cool, fairly empty parking lot attached to a closed up shop with a few bathroom stalls and probably the coolest thing I have ever seen -"ThreePedalSteve" sitting there waiting on the crew. Yep, ThreePedalSteve, the fastest shifter in the Smoky Mountains that day. BPM Sport sticker right behind the driver side door, big smile on his face as we pulled up and exited our vehicles. I was happy to see that Steve was the first to arrive as he was also a ton of help leading up to the run. Lots of great ideas and he truly wanted this to be a big day for everyone. By the way, Steve, the guys running behind you were all impressed by your ability to lose them at any moment you wanted and to go right through the car in front of you if that was possible. Truly a nice guy and as I said before there wasn't a better 6MT driver in the Smokies that day. Steve will be writing an article for the Sandlapper BMW CCA newsletter and possibly submitting it to Roundel, the national BMW CCA magazine. I look forward to reading about his experience.







So, there we were ppatel, Steve, Maya, Nicholas and I waiting on the group while admiring each other's cars. We were also wondering, is this it? Is it possible that no one else is actually arriving? No sooner than I was thinking that, when we could hear a rumble headed our way. The ground and trees started shaking and around the bend coming our way was an amazing sight. Get lit "Chris", Dreamtime "Mary" EprezM3vert "Eric" and Jeffrey with his lovely wife Joanne came pulling in. I for one had a smile on my face and knew at that moment that this was going to be a great day. It was as if we were at war and the Calvary had just pulled up with reinforcements. And I'm not talking about normal wet behind the ears guys in boot camp. I'm referring to the elite of the elite.






By the time they had parked and we were all getting to know each other, group by group the M3s just started pouring in.





The excitement was real and it was an honor to be surrounded by such cool cars, great people and my beautiful woman and boy. Maya was as excited as anyone and was snapping up pictures of cars between saying her hellos. Nicholas had a big smile on his face and was all over ridin135's F430. He learned a little about it and was quick to come over to me and tell me what he had learned. Can't say I blame him lol. And Don was really cool so hats off to you Don for taking the time to show my little guy your exotic ride.





Get Lits wife Sabriam made up name tags for us all which worked out great as it was so much easier to see the names rather than keep asking.

Te37 had a nice twin turbo F80 that of course, I asked, "is this thing super charged?" As soon as I asked him I knew that I was an idiot as it was coming out.







Te showed up with the two 350Z's and the Velociter. That crew was a really cool addition to the ride. I was very impressed by these young 20 something-year-olds. Impressed by their rides and who they were as car enthusiasts. And they had no problem keeping up on the Tail.







Thank you, Bridgette, for helping out Maya with video taking. I tried to shake you a few times but you were on my tail the whole time.






Dreamtime (Mary), it all started with "Tempting". When I started the thread a few members responded before you but they were wishing us well and offering helpful advice. The cool thing is, I did start to believe this was possible due to the fact that they were heavy hitters such as Dparm, Deansbimmer, and Ngilbe36 commenting on the thread but It was your post that started off with "Tempting" that made me know that this was all possible. For those of you who have read Mary's threads and posts, you are well aware of the exuberance that she exudes. Well, it's true in person too Dude!!! You were so happy to be there and I was happy for you as it was definitely a setting that you thrive in. Your E90 was sweet and it was a perfect birthday weekend for you. I put the "dude" in there because I get a kick out of the guys who assume you are one on M3post. I'll repeat what I said months ago on the forum, you are a role model for young girls out there thinking this is a man's world when it comes to the sports car world. You became one of my favorite posters the day I read your thread on tracking your car and in meeting you that has only magnified what I think of you. Thank you for all your help in being there through the process with your member name right under mine. From day one that never changed and I thank you for that. Thank you for your help in putting my words down here in this post. If not for you this might just look like a bunch of garble, although it may end up looking like that anyway.







Forum member ///W had the coolest looking car in my recollection. Something about that paint color on his E92 that just stood out to me, including his rims. We have a picture (see below) that Maya took and it's my favorite photo of any of the singular pics of cars. He also has the coolest name, it was nice meeting you Warot, I just wish you had done more to pull the bugs out of my upper brake light lol.






Toddin Tn had the E93 Dinan, and don't believe the hype that an E93 can't keep up with an E92 on twisting roads. His videos threw that myth out the window. Then again, by watching the GoPro video, he's quite adept at throwing his car around as if it was actually lighter than the E92.





DSpencer was another member with an E93, although you missed the beginning of the ride I'm glad you made it up there and we could see by the look on your face that you were glad also. I too own a vert and it was cool to see another member punishing his E93 through that 11 miles. If not for so many people and cars there I would have liked to really look at your ride and pick your brain on your Dinan mods, cool to have met you, Drew.





Wait, what? Another E93 taking over the Tail. Way to own it Eric by putting Vert in your user name. Very cool dude and if you are a friend of Chris then I have no doubt that you are good people. Welcome to the forum EprezM3Vert.





Jeffrey and Joanne as mentioned arrived with the first pack of cars. A little birdie told me that you were packing a BPM stage2 tune and some other hidden surprises attached to your S65 but don't worry, it will be our little secret. Also heard from the guys that you never touched the center line, good show Jeffrey. Wish you had stayed a little longer for lunch but I hope to meet up again on the 2nd annual run.



(I'll add a photo)



"Nothing" also had a nicely conditioned F80 and was one of the guys who scouted out the area for us the day before and updated us on the weather, bars and hotel availability. He liked it up there so much I think he bought a place. You had a great sense of humor Heath and I am glad to have met you also. Hopefully next year we will all be staying together at the lodge, that would be awesome.





As Spazzyfry123 mentioned in another post, Menace92 wins the furthest traveled award. And he did this by seeing someone's post on Facebook. He never contacted anyone, never saw this thread but just showed up at the time, date and place hoping to run the Tail with a group of other cool people with mom and brother in tow. Not to get off subject but I ran into Michael after the run was over and he said something very interesting that translates to all aspects of life. Thank you for what you said Michael, although I'm sure you do not remember, I do.








Spazzyfry123 is a very cool dude and anyone who had the pleasure of speaking to him at the Tail would know this. I can't recall other vehicles but he has a very nice albeit filthy M3 (just kidding we all did, but he was not happy about it) E90 6MT no hump stripper. It's funny to think you had that thread going about possibly selling the M3 and buying something more practical. That car fits you like a glove bro, I expect to see you behind the wheel of her on the 2nd annual run. Ivey your lovely passenger gets the passenger prize as we all know how difficult it is to be a passenger on a run like that as opposed to being in control. Nice to have met you Tyler and Ivey.





Thetastelingers and his little passenger had to be the fastest M3 there and from the stories being told he could pull in any car in front of him in a split second. So happy his daughter got to experience the ride and happy to see Travis mention several times that he had to hold back due to the concern of his precious cargo. Sometimes when you are the king of the road you don't have to prove it, it's just nice knowing that you are. Let's not forget Travis had the foresight to run the Tail before we got there and cleared the road of debris. It's the little things that people did that made this run what it was. Hey, am I the only one who remembered to look at his custom headlights? That was neat. Nice to have met you and your precious cargo Travis, very cool.





Getlits E90 was set up for speed and handling and handling it did well.




Meet and greet over.










Time to run the Tail...
Oh wait, I forgot someone, the sleeping beauty NashvegasR "Ben". We are literally all jumping into our cars and Ben comes pulling in like he owns the joint. Well I'm about to go berate him about his sleeping habits and this giant of a man gets out of his E92 and says "BOOF?" and I say "Ben?" And he says "yea" and I say "cool man, we are pulling out". By the way you never grabbed your name tag buddy, Sabriam will be holding it for you when you come to the 2nd annual run. FYI Ben is looking to sell his car so someone should jump on it.



Ok, so now that we got Ben all set up... It's finally time to run the Tail.

So now what? Did anyone actually think this through? So what's the plan? Get lit to the rescue, "everyone fall in line behind me and I'll get us to the first stop at the top of the Tail in one piece". I kid, as there were several members quite capable of leading us but it suited Chris and we are all thankful for you taking the bullets while we had your back. Wow, how do you explain 318 turns over 11 miles other than to say it was flat out the greatest driving experience I have ever had. Have I driven faster? Sure, but obviously not nearly with as many turns and 20 friends by my side. Winding through the woods and looking back and forth at the M cars was so cool. It was some sight seeing the cars snaking through the woods. The sound of all the S65's was better than any sound I have ever heard. I mentioned Ivey winning the passenger award but it really was a tie for first with Maya and Sabriam. They really were champs as we were pushing these cars hard and these women were remarkable to trust us like they did. Lots of videos from the group during the run so I'm not sure there is much to say other than I hope everyone who has video uploads them for all to enjoy.


Made it to the top of the Tail in one piece. We pulled over for some photos and there were lots of smiles on faces and high five-ing.










Running the tail back to Deals Gap was just as fun, it never gets old. We did however have a driver change in our car as Maya took over. She was so into it which was pretty cool, then came the moment that she said "next year I want my own M3post name and we bring both M3's". My response as always "yes dear".

Back to Deals Gap for high five-ing and some pics.







12:00 we all headed to the Hub for lunch. Special thanks to the Hub, they were very accommodating and I for one enjoyed my BLT. My understanding is that some of the locals had commented that it was not typical this late in the year to get so many identical vehicles doing the Tail run, together at one time. The locals thought it was cool too.







So, after some lunch and some more meet and greet with the other members some of us headed out again to do some driving. Some had to head home as most had a three hour drive, others ran for a bit and then veered off as needed. At the end of the run, there were only a few of us left. I swear Travis would have done a cannonball run, drag racing, figure eights, he didn't care, you could just sense he was ready to ride.
But it was time to go, a few cars that included Chris, Steve and Eric went one way. Michael, Travis and myself went the other way.





I'm pretty sure Travis went and hit the Dragon again while Michael and I drove off slow and stopped on one of the scenic pull offs. This was at the time when Michael said something that has stuck with me. He and Maya both share a love of cameras and taking pictures. While Maya has a very nice set up, Michael, on the other hand, seemed to have what looked like very professional looking camera gear. Maya asked him a few questions about his set up and one was "wow, that's a really nice lens, is it really high-end quality?" And Michael had a really cool response. He said, "the best camera lens in the world is the one that you are looking through". You were so right Michael, thank you for leaving us with that. Maya snapped this shot right after your words of wisdom.





So off we go, everyone else is gone. No more Get Lit, Thetastelingers is doing his thing, Spazzyfry123 is off with Ivey to his cabin in Gatlinburg, Dreamtime has some M3 issues to attend to at home, Don and his F430 are turning heads everywhere they go, but it ain't with us, Toddin Tn is motoring his way on the Cherohala, Three Pedal Steve is shifting those gears like only he can do on his way home, Michael is seeing things through his camera lens that only he can see.

It's just us, BOOF, Maya and Nicholas talking about what a great time we had and planning next year's run that will be bigger and better.



So that should be the end of the story. But unfortunately, this is real life. Took my eyes off the road for two seconds and ran over a rock. Bent rim in my mind, CF Splitter on passenger side is nowhere to be seen. Ahhh crap, everything that had been accomplished only hours and minutes earlier was gone. 1,000 miles from home, no phone reception, a bent rim had become apparent, things couldn't be any worse and we had a 1.5 hour drive back to the cabin and made it there limping in. The steering wheel was a hair off to the left and therefore every sensor warning in the car went off including start off assist and EDC etc...


Originally I had been in a group text with Get Lit, the Tastelingers and Spazzyfry123 before we ever started the run a few weeks before. We had some fun talking about the upcoming run. So I sent out the text letting these guys know that the BOOF-M3 was in trouble. Wow, what a response, Chris and Travis offered to have the car delivered to them or in Travis's case, he would come get it, then find a strut and get us back on the road. Tyler was still in Gatlinburg and offered whatever help I needed. Deansbimmer was a big help also, thank you, Dean. This was a lot of pressure on Maya and Nicholas and for that, I apologize to you guys. I know that the only thing you guys ask of me is my time and this happening was very stressful for you guys. Rats I missed out on snow tubing in Ober Gatlinburg in 24-degree weather :-)

Originally we had no idea what was actually wrong with the car, she had a slight thump when driving so I assumed it was a bent rim. Actually took the car to Goodyear and they diagnosed a bent strut. Unfortunately, not a word about the rim and they refused to work on the car. They suggested I drive to BMW and allow them to fix it. The key for me seemed to be figuring out if the rim was bent. Met up with Tyler and Ivey who were still in town and swapped out rims and the wobble stopped. So far this is a good sign. Tyler noticed that the strut appeared to be closed so we loosened the bolt and the strut opened up again. A bad situation kept getting better. Maybe I only had a bent rim, although the camber did appear to be off a bit. Tyler and Ivey, wow, so selfless to help another in need. You can tell me that it's no big deal, that you guys did what people do every day helping others. And that's all true, but you guys did it so effortlessly as if this is what you guys do every day for others. Nothing but smiles on your faces and full-out effort to let me know that you guys were not going to leave without knowing that I was going to be ok. See you both on the 2nd annual Tail run for sure. And hope to meet up with you guys along with Purvil when we get back to Atlanta.

Travis, dude, I would like to say that you are a meat popsicle but I won't. Your offer to come back to the Smokies and pick up my car with a trailer is probably the coolest thing anyone has ever offered to do for me.

What can I say, Chris, you are just good people and we are appreciative of all of your advice and offers of help, we thank you.

So, with bent wheel back on the car we finished up the Smokies trip and were off to Kentucky for Thanksgiving, but first a stop in Nashville to European Auto Garage to get the tire straightened out and hopefully an alignment. Rim straightened, yes!!! Alignment no good, strut definitely bent. They can't replace the strut for a day or so and it's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The car is no longer bouncing on the rim, it drives straight, it doesn't pull, camber is a bit off, what's the worst that can happen? Chew up a tire? Off to Kentucky knowing that Travis will be fairly close by if we need him. Made it to Kentucky without any issues. Kept an eye on the tire and it was definitely wearing on the inside a bit. We enjoyed a nice pig roast for Thanksgiving with the family while trying to stop thinking about the strut. Ok, it's Saturday, Thanksgiving is over and we are back on the road again. 700 miles and we are home free. Yea that ain't happening. Tire is starting to show threads on the inside, so we stopped off in the Atlanta area and found a tire shop with a cheap brand new tire and on the road again. Home safe Saturday eveningand we feel blessed. All said and done we put over 2,400 miles on the M3 and other than my carelessness she got us out of a big jam. She never gave up and got us home safe.

The trip was amazing and we can't wait for the 2nd annual Tail of the Dragon Run.

Overall the experience of driving the S65 driven M3 cannot be duplicated for the price. The people, as mentioned, were phenomenal and I hope to keep in touch with every one of you for the next run and beyond. But I have to end this with a special thank you to Maya whom without, none of this would have been possible. I had mentioned further up in the post that maybe I had been the only "jerk" through all of this. And perhaps I was, as from the moment I started the thread it's all I could talk about. Updating the thread, responding to posts, PM's, sending out texts, researching the area. It took a lot of time away from you and our regular routine and for that, I owe you an apology. Thank you for allowing this big kid to hang out with a bunch of other big kids and thank you for being by my side through the good times of it and the really bad time. I love you very much Maya, thank you again.

[thetastelingers]

GREAT RECAP!

This year, lets make a weekend out of it and leave the carnage out of it.

I've been to organized get-togethers that didn't go as smoothly as this did.


Lets keep it in November again. The lack of traffic was SOOOO NICE.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by thetastelingers

GREAT RECAP!

This year, lets make a weekend out of it and leave the carnage out of it.

I've been to organized get-togethers that didn't go as smoothly as this did.


Lets keep it in November again. The lack of traffic was SOOOO NICE.

I agree Travis, Thanksgiving time would be perfect again. We need to plan it out and either get a block of rooms at a hotel close by or some cabins or a mix thereof.

If anyone has a picture of Jeffries car I would like to add it.

If I missed any vehicles and you want a pic added to my post I'm happy to do that. And if there is something you would like me to say that has been missed I'm happy to edit the post and add that also.

FYI I still get PM's and texts from some of you taking about the trip and hopefully the next one which has been pretty cool.