Yea man, I'll be driving from the Philly area i think 81 sounds the safest way. I could take 95 but I dont want to deal with the BS. I plan on getting down there before sundown on Thursday. I reserved a camping spot at Fontana Village and I dont want to be setting up in the dark. It kinda sucks. Last year it took me 9 hours from Philly to Knoxville....FYI

 

9 Hours from Philly to Knoxville...hmm. At what speed? I am guessing its about the same from Harrisburg. I figure 4 hours to there, 9 hours to Knox and then how much longer after Knoxville?

I am driving the extra miles to avoid I-95 myself. I am totally going around NYC. To hell with NYC traffic, even at 5 am lol.

PS if you want to go West a bit, let me know -- taking 176 to 81 I am guessing? I know we would get there close to your time. Gets dark around 7-8 in May?

 

You can do Philly to Knoxville in about 9 hours at mostly legal speeds if you don't hit traffic and only quick stops for gas. Knoxville still leaves you about an 45 minutes to an hour from the campsite.

Trip took me 13 hours total last year because I hit bad rush hour traffic on 66, took over an hour for dinner and hit really heavy rain most of the way on 81. I figure 10-11 hours for the entire trip depending on length of stops if I can avoid traffic and good weather.

 

10-11 sounds reasonable since you are already in NJ. I am 1-2 hours north of you so that is about what I figured, 12-13 hours (not including stops).

 

I mean, I'm not in a huge hurry, but I would like to get there before sundown. And the 9 hours was cruising mostly around 80ish and only stopping for gas and drive-thru McDonalds. I wasn't in a hurry, but I just wanted to get there. Last year I couldn't get a place so I stayed with a girl I know in Knoxville. Kinda sucked driving down everyday for the activities. We can make more concrete plans when it gets closer.

 

Yeah definitely. Just getting an idea. I'm excited and plan too much for trips, forgive me.

 

Getting there before sundown is nice. There's no lights on any of the roads once you get into the mountains and lot of blind corners. So if you're trying to make good time, it gets a little white knuckle at night.

I did the dragon in at about 4 am last year getting there. It certainly kept my heart pumping becuase I couldn't see **** around a single corner.

 

Bumping this since its *only* 2 months away lol.

 

if i had the time (being a manager sucks sometimes) i would defintely go but that's way to far of a drive for me! please post tons of pics when you guys come back though.....so i can drool!

 

I'm already preparing for this. Put in for the time off, Changed my pads and rotors, installing new clutch and flywheel this week, and new belts. I should be good to go. Don't want to get stranded in Tennessee. I saw too many people last year who had problems with stupid $hit.

 

Driving the Dragon at night is quite the experience...I also had the chance to drive it in the rain with wet roads...

Thanks VDC for saving my life numerous times b/c I drive too fast for conditions!

 

Hopefully going to be light out when I get there so I won't have to worry about that lol

And John, since when are you going?

 

Car is getting the JWT Flywheel and Clutch installed tomorrow. I'm ready to go after that. Maybe an alignment and balance before I drive...

 

Nice! That will probably be the next thing on my Z. I have 67k so its on the way out in the next 30k probably. Might as well upgrade at that point.

 

Got the car back yesterday. No vibration, no noises...just a smooth clutch and quick response. Probably the best mod so far. Nismo Exhaust is next. Not in time for ZDayZ though. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND R/T Tuning in Lansdale, PA. IMO the Best Shop around.

 

No NISMO before ZDayz? Boo.

 

I'm in.

 

Well I don't have an extra $900 sitting around, But I got my Clutch and Flywheel which I'm excited about. I was getting on 295N today and I got on the gas a little......WOW....The difference was amazing. I think this is one of the best upgrades for the price. You can feel the engine respond so much better. I'll be writing a review for R/T Tuning soon.