Took the USS Lightning on a Mountain Run with some local SCCA friends..

[BIRDMAN]

Sounds sacrilege? Reckless? Stupid? I'm sure I'll ruffle a few feathers with sharing that the other day I took my Lightning on a mountain run through NC with a few local SCCA friends from school (USC). Amongst the group were 2 Miatas, an awd Audi, and a BMW 3 series. The Miatas were C-class, Audi not sure, and the BMW had full suspension.



I was on Hankook All Seasons, on unknown brake pads (that wound up smoking from all four corners halfway through the trip), and hauling a queen sized mattress in the bed under the tonneau. lol

Anyways, here are some vids I shot. I would have had a cockpit view but my battery died and I forgot to charge the spares.





Additionally, here is an article that my friend "Little Kyle" posted on Jalopnik's OppositeLock:

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/mou...tai-1492533169

Meanwhile, Wes proceeded to scare and amaze me by keeping his five-thousand-pound supercharged SVT Lightning right in my rearview mirror. This guy has gone through various Vettes, an E36 M3, sport bikes, as well has having a couple of track days and several autocrosses under his belt, he knows how to drive like an enthusiast. He hustled that monster through the corners, putting those wide 295 millimeter tires to good use, and easily catching me coming out of the curves. Every time he gave it gas, the heat from the side-exit exhaust distorted the air above and around it, a beautiful finish for the hundreds of dinosaurs and plants that sacrificed their lives to make up that gallon of gas he didn't care to have in his tank anymore. Let's not forget the sound, the only engine possibly making over 130hp (Wes has dyno data showing it's over 400 even with belt slip), roaring and the supercharger screaming as went from not-big to really-big in my rearview mirror in a second. I later let him pass me and he proceeded to amaze the others by keeping pace with them as well.

I owe him a beer or two for that flattering paragraph!





In conclusion, I like to enjoy my vehicles in a variety of ways and to their utmost potential...and I definitely surprised myself as well in how the Lightning took to the mountains amongst a slew of more capable corner-carvers. I definitely had a blast on this unique experience.

Happy New Years everyone!

[GreebeanZ28]

Route looks pretty familiar!

[chrisheltra]

Cool!

[BIRDMAN]

Another article on OppositeLock:

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/no-...gon-1491998341

And a few quotes from it lol:

-A Ford Lightning is deceptively quick on a mountain run. It's also hilarious to watch. Dat body roll!

-Numerous breaks for brake-cooldown should be planned. Especially when the Audi and Lightning's brakes are smoking, lol.

-A Ford Lightning can and will overtake an E36 318is and leave it behind while going up the mountain.

-Having a Ford Lightning in your rearview mirror while barreling down a mountain is terrifying to look at.

-Seeing a Ford Lightning in your rearview mirror while going down the mountain when your brakes have completely overheated is even more terrifying, as you just know that his brakes are probably in even worse condition.

-The sound of a Ford Lightning accelerating to catch up with you at corner exit is a wondrous thing- much like Smaug roaring at a thieving Hobbit.

[bambooi]

that gas mileage though

[BIRDMAN]

Originally Posted by bambooi

that gas mileage though

Yeah it was pretty abysmal, but given the nature of the event, that was last on my care/priority list. Survival was somewhere up there lol.

[TLyons90]

Good stuff! My truck would hate me attempting to do any of that!

[BIRDMAN]

Mine's not on speaking terms with me at the moment. lol

[Derek]

Ahh how I miss the upstate.

[04ctd]

ain't crap to do in waynesville NC.

used to take the Youth Group up there.

i have ruined a lot of brake rotors in the mountains of NC in my younger days

[BIRDMAN]

I've got grandparents who live up there on Springdale Country Club. So I only did half the trip with the others and stayed up there to visit them.