Greetings all,

I very recently took my R on the BoTD with some friends and felt compelled to give you guys my opinions. In short, the R was amazing. Fantastic balance, predictable handling, and the highlight was definitely the transmission combined with the exhaust note (and Fuse 15 removed). The only things I would improve on are the steering (if I could) and the brakes. The steering felt a little bit disconnected when I was really getting after it - but not to the point where it took me out of the experience. As far as the brakes, I am running stock discs and R4S pads, but I would be VERY interested to see the improvement in brake feel/fade and general stopping power when I upgrade the discs too - they did their job but I really felt the weight of the car when stopping hard and felt like the brakes weren't quite as confidence inspiring as they could've been over a longer duration of abuse. In light of the never-ending sportscars comparisons and having driven a few Porsches (987, 996, Taycan) in anger, the Jag definitely didn't leave me wanting for much of anything else, though. Honestly with the 575hp, ZF trans and PS4S tires I was able to push harder than I've really ever pushed my old manual Porsches.

For those that have driven both the Tail and the Back of the Dragon, I personally much prefer the BoTD. 33 miles compared to 11, hardly any traffic or coppers, and an amazing combination of technical and sweeping sections where you can carry much more speed through the curves and get out of 2nd gear. ToTD is still a really great road, but the ability to drive a truly engaging road like BoTD in both directions and having CLEAN runs with no traffic either way and being able to drive at 9/10ths without the fear of getting pulled over is something you just can't experience on the Tail. 10/10 would recommend if you haven't been! Pictures to come soon.

 

Thanks for the info and recommendation on BoTD. I have done ToD and enjoyed it, but I want to go back and do BoTD, the Claw, and Cherohala Skyway. I have heard good things about all of the Tail alternatives in the area, with more flowing corners and less traffic.

Regarding brakes, I have been happy with the VAP Girodisc rotors. They are significantly lighter than stock rotors and run cooler. If you go that route, I think the R4S pads will be your limiting factor. I run the OEM pads and put up with the dust because they can take more abuse than the R4S pads, but are quieter and have better cold stopping power than the R4 pads. The VAP rotors, OEM pads, and PS4S tires have been a good combination for me for several track days. I find the PS4S to be my limiting factor (along with my talent &#128516. Going to a more track-capable tire would likely require track-specific brake pads. Just my $0.02.

 

How much better are OEM than R4S pads longevity-wise? Is it worth the dust?

 

It seems like it’s hard to get both. With performance comes dust it would seem. I remember several people on here saying the more performance oriented Porterfield brakes don’t improve much on the dust, if at all.

 

The R4S most certainly reduces dust relative to the OEM pads. I have 32k miles on mine - the fronts look like they have a lot of meat left, the rears are harder to see.

 

I agree with your assessment of the TotD. I found the Cherohala Skyway to be the true gem of the area. The Dragon was just too many people and it wasn't any better than many of the roads in this area.

 

I did a dragon run with the BMW club back in June. I did not find a ToD congested any of the 3 days I ran it after 6:00pm.

Off the top of my head here are some of the local names of alternate roads. The rattler, Hellbender, Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, Foothills Parkway, Moonshiner 28.

 

Honestly I prefer the tighter, more technical roads as compared to the more winding and open Cherohala, but thats a fantastic road for the sights alone. Fontana Dam Rd is also a top 10 favorite road of mine that a lot of folks overlook - it is also on the more technical side but you can definitely carry some speed if you know what you're doing.

 

Some pics as promised.