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Howdy all and hope everyone's having a happy holidaze season!
There was a thread here (or somewhere else maybe...) asking "Why do you drive a Z?" Wellllllll, this is my answer...
Haven't driven my Z much lately and thought I'd take a last Sunday morning run for the year. Got out on the road before sunrise this morning and head for the hills.
Note: I'm in SF Bay Area (South Bay actually) and for you locals, you probably know the roads I'm usually on. 9, 35, 92, 1, 84.
Heading up 9 out of Saratoga. Nice drive up, not busy that time of morning.
Sunrise in the hills. (9@35)
This is what sports cars are built for!
No trip through the coastal mountains is complete without a stop at Alice's!!
I mean, seriously.... top down M3, coupla Porsches, sport bikes, and street rods!!
No comment necessary.
Halfway point. Out of the hills, down to the coast. (Pacific Coast Highway/Route 1 @ 84 Junction) Just prior to making the trip through the wonderful twisties of 84, back up to Alice's and back down to Silicon Valley via 35 and Black Road, the tightest, slowest, twistiest road back down the hill to Los Gatos.
Interesting thought hit me negotiating a right-left off-camber on the way out.... "This is what life is all about."
And living it in my Z at occasionally (OK, more than occasionally...) illegal speeds while feeling satisfied at executing a perfect tail-out is why I drive what I drive.
Happy New Year all!
Mic
P.S. (where that means "Public Service" announcement.):
Please do NOT drive recklessly. Fast where it's safe (good visibility ahead, good road) is OK, just don't be stupid. And, if you choose to do this route, PLEASE PLEASE be wary of others on the road, particularly cyclists -plenty of them on Skyline/35! As one myself, it would not do for a cyclist to mow down a group of cyclists in my car just because I was doing something idiotic like driving into a corner too fast blinded by the morning sun!!
Looks like you had fun. I'm jealous. We don't have any twisty roads like that around here. I have a sportbike and never get to use the edge of my tires.
Hi Mic... Great posting... great pics and very good advice.
Thanks, Spike. I very much enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for our Z cars but not at the expense of someone going out and hurting themselves, someone else, their car, just because I told them how great I believe our cars to be.
Hence, the soapbox "warning". There's a time and place for satisfying one's need for speed. Doing so with "innocent bystanders" around isn't one of them.
And while I'm preaching (yes, I admit it), for those who believe you're a great driver, well, you might very well be.... but go to performance driving school and find out for sure. You'd be surprised.
I'm not Mario Andretti by any stretch of the imagination; but I learned to respect my car and my limits. Bondurant/Barber/etc. schooling is not cheap (~$3,000+ for 3-day course) but consider that it's a lifelong investment and the longer you live and drive, the cheaper it becomes - amortized over your life.
And it's not a mod that is for one car only, it's every car you drive, including POS rental cars.
Looks like you had fun. I'm jealous. We don't have any twisty roads like that around here. I have a sportbike and never get to use the edge of my tires.
This was my view this morning.
No worries, bud, that stuff will melt and all will be good again.
Seriously, I know NOTHING about snow driving so nuttin' to be jealous of.
And I have AWD on two other cars!! S'matter of fact, going up to the mountains this week and I'm nervous.
Why I drive the Z? There are many reasons, but here's one from almost a decade ago. We rented a racetrack in LaJunta, Colorado for $25/car and hosted our own high-performance driving school. This school was complete with driving exercises, including: threshold braking, accident avoidance, skidpad and follow-the-leader lapping sessions. By the end of a gorgeous winter day, we were headed back to the front range in a Z convoy:
By the end of the day, everyone in the group had learned new skills. They also ran flat-out at speeds over 120 MPH lap-after-lap! Those were fun days (see the SW forum for more details). Fun as any road trip in a Z is, it's more fun as a group!
Very nice! I miss getting to drive up there. I used to go to an MTB ride every Thursday night at the 9-35 intersection, and I'd take 9 up from Saratoga. Coming down in the dark afterwards was fun too. I think one person said they saw a mountain lion one time.
I just so happen to have a (fairly boring) video on 84 to 35.
Why I drive the Z? There are many reasons, but here's one from almost a decade ago. We rented a racetrack in LaJunta, Colorado for $25/car and hosted our own high-performance driving school. This school was complete with driving exercises, including: threshold braking, accident avoidance, skidpad and follow-the-leader lapping sessions. By the end of a gorgeous winter day, we were headed back to the front range in a Z convoy
SUHHHHHWEEEEEEEET!!!! $25...... yer killin' me.
When I went to driving school (Bondurant, Sears Point) waaaaay back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth and were just becoming fuel for our cars, I think I paid close to or maybe a bit over $2k for (then) 4 day course. And even the Club driving school (necessary to qualify for an SCCA Novice license) wasn't cheap.
Very nice! I miss getting to drive up there. I used to go to an MTB ride every Thursday night at the 9-35 intersection, and I'd take 9 up from Saratoga. Coming down in the dark afterwards was fun too. I think one person said they saw a mountain lion one time.
I just so happen to have a (fairly boring) video on 84 to 35.
Excellent!
I stopped at the 9/35 meet-up point you mention where I saw tons of MTBr's unloading and taking off for a morning ride! Kinda wished I brought my Trance 2 with me but I was into the automotive nirvana.
But hey, coulda schlepped it up on the new-to-me Boofsquire rack I just acquired for the Z (as yet unmounted).
When I went to driving school (Bondurant, Sears Point) waaaaay back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth and were just becoming fuel for our cars, I think I paid close to or maybe a bit over $2k for (then) 4 day course. And even the Club driving school (necessary to qualify for an SCCA Novice license) wasn't cheap.
Dayam.... 25 bucks. Awesome.
Our Colorado Z events went from 2004-06, so the dinosaurs had died out by that point (except for me) . The two tracks we used had very reasonable rates at that time: Pueblo Motorsports Park ($50/car) and LaJunta ($25/car). These one day events were designed as an introduction to motorsports and to give new Z owners an eye-opening inkling of what their vehicles were capable of. Everyone who participated in them had a great time and I'm glad to say that a handful of them went on to become competition licensed racers (and champions) afterwards.
Not to go too far OT, but I've also driven at Cali tracks from Big Willow, Buttonwillow, Cal Speedway and Infinion (ie. Sears Point), so I know what the REAL cost of racing is on the left coast. That caught up with Colorado in 2007 when all the tracks announced any on-track instructional program (even a free program like mine) would have to carry a $1M insurance policy protecting the track, as well as an ambulance and wrecker on site.
That was the end of those wonderful track days, but at least we had a spotless safety record: no big shunts or precious metal damaged. I think my Z took the most expensive repair: a new rear tire when i picked up a nail towards the end of the day. Those early days with the Z33 crowd still brings a smile everytime I think of them!
This is why I drive a Z.
