I know... seems like a weird question... but this is my first year so bear with my being a little intimidated by it all.

Pre-amble:
I have an 05 MCS with about 26.8K miles on it. This will be my first year at the Dragon.

First: My Inspection indicator is still sitting at 3000 miles. It's been awhile since my last service so should I try and finagle my way into the dealer for the inspection before the Dragon?

Second: Tires. I love to drive like a bat out of H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. Should I think about new and grippier tires before heading down? (I'm still currently sitting with the fun-flats)

Any other suggestions before heading down as far as maintenance?
(Or any other pre-leave pointers is awesome too)

Thanks Dragon Vets!

 

I'd dump the run-flats, personally... I know I am.. I went with the Toyo Proxes 4...had them on my old Cooper and they stuck like crap to a baby blanket.. even in the rain.. that's going to be a big concern, I'm thinking, is whether or not it's going to rain that weekend..

 

Go and get your brake fluid bled, especially if you have not done it in the past year. At the same time, you need to ensure that your brake pads are thick enough to handle the Dragon.

At your mileage, your rear pads may very well be ready to be changed out if they have not already been switched.

Take it from me, I have been towed away from the Dragon twice :impatient, although both times were due to a defective sticky caliper and not my lack of maintenance.

If you have gone that far on runflats, then you should definitely go out and measure your tread depth. New sticky tires are great, but take your time on the Dragon and learn the road before you go too nuts.

 

good point to be made.. There's fatalities on that stretch of road every year and some of them are locals who are atcually familiar with it.. also, add to that The Dragon is many many miles from the closest Trauma center.. I assure you, it is a loooooong wait if you need an ambulance in those parts..

 

Oh great... cause I wasn't intimidated enough.

I'm not going to push anything this year, I just want to take my time and "gently caress" the Dragon... maybe the year after I'll "challenge" it.

 

Jeez, Derek...way to scare the newbies! The majority of fatalities are folks on motorcycles who underestimate the Dragon and overestimate their riding skills. Insane passes and not staying in one's lane are just not wise on the Dragon...it WILL bite you if you are not attentive. :impatient

shankrabbit, from my experience, the MINI dealerships will service your car when you are within about 100 miles of the prompter. I agree with Yucca that bleeding your brakes is a good idea....I did that last year. Like mentioned in a different thread (Driving the Dragon), use your gears more than your brakes on the Dragon.

 

My first Dragon in '04 was with a bone-stock MCS, including the runflats. I still had lots of fun, kept up with the upper percentile of modded cars and learned what the limits of my car were and what I could do to make it better. I came away with a renewed respect for the capabilities of my MINI. Remember, the part of the car that can be modded to best take on the Dragon is the nut behind the steering wheel.

 

...not trying to scare anyone, LOL!.. just making the point that the Dragon requires a certain amount of respect.

I talked to Cathleen (yellowmininy) about it, she's a nurse and she said the last two times she went, she inevitably got called to help out with a fender bender or what not.. she's actually the one who reminded me that a hospital is not exactly close by... so you can blame her..LMAO!

...not to mention, I reallllllly don't want to be on the receiving end of someone who pushed too hard or wasn't paying attention or whatever..

 

Follow a couple af cool motorbikes all theall the way through at a time where no one else around and you will have a great time.
Otherwise do the Colorado mountains.
danish

 

There has not been a serious MINI-related accident at any of the MOTDs. We've always emphasized respecting the laws and the roads there. That is a GIVEN.

 

My checklist for the MCS w/ 5,000 miles...

1. New brake pads - I went for Hawk HPS because I wanted more grip and less fade. My stock pads only had 5,000 miles on 'em, but I was itching to upgrade and the Dragon gave me a good excuse

2. New brake fluid - Agressive braking can boil off lesser brake fluids. If you are still at stock, I recommend ATE Superblue because it makes it easy to tell when the flush is complete and it's got a higher boiling point.

3. Oil change - It can't hurt and it's only $40-$50... less if you do it yourself. It's not a bad idea to carry a spare bottle of oil because you might not find full Synthetic oils out in the middle of nowhere.

4. Check the air pressure in the tires. Carry an air pressure gauge to check again closer to the Dragon.

5. Torque the lug bolts to 85 lbs (for my stock webspokes... could be other settings for other wheels).

6. Check all the fluids... coolant, brake fluid, steering.

7. Check your emergency kit! As someone mentioned above, we will be a bit removed from the rest of the world... possibly even more so on your drive there (especially if driving through Arkansas!) Mine is overkill, but I like to be prepared: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=59410. Don't forget to check your batteries and consumables (is it time for a fresh bottle of water or new granola bars?)

 

Bug juice for the windshield! LOTS of it!

 

Whew... thats a good thing to know.


Ok... so...

bleeding brakes: check
maybe new tires: check

what about oil? maybe change the oil?

 

Wow! Super helpful. Thanks!

 

I think it's a great idea to change the oil....you'll be revving high through the Dragon. Can't hurt!

 

So sticking your head out the window with your mouth open is not advised?

 

I gotcha.. but this year there's a few more than in the past.. and some of us are new or haven't been on the dragon in years (probably 15 years for me)..

simply put: respect your car, respect the road, and respect others on the road and we'll all have a great time

 

That should be an all-time Motoring Motto!

 

They've had 400+ Miatas at the Dragon and haven't heard of any serious accidents. Although on last year's Midnight on the Dragon, a solo Miata driven by someone under the influence hit a tree. They were injured and had open containers in the car!

Our MINI community has always had great respect for the road and the community...that's why the folks at Deal's Gap made up a special decal for the MINIs (the MINI wings with a dragon in the center instead of the word "MINI"), which they haven't done for all the marques that gather there!

 

If you get 400 cars of any type together, there’s bound to be some kind of mechanical problem or road incident guaranteed. Last year, I’m thinking it was 3 in May. The main point was no one was injured and none actually happened on the Dragon itself.

One trip there a couple years ago in the fall, when there were only 20 some drivers we had 5 cars disabled over the weekend. 2 of them I personally loaned spare wheels I had with me.

You can never tell so have fun, but pay attention to the roads and check your cars over before a hard day of driving.

 

Ok guys -- someone make sure I am at the BACK of the line!

This is all terrifying: it sounds like everyones preparing for a track day and here I haven't even bothered to replace my tires (which could use it, quite frankly).

 

Hehehe... what a perfect way to describe it. "Track day"... I guess I just want to make sure my car is as safe as possible for the sake of other drivers. I'd hate to be the guy who didn't bother to check anything before leaving, and ends up causing some kind of disturbance.

That and I don't want something to happen that strands me in the middle of no where 700 miles from home.

 

At least if something happens to your car, you can count on the MINI community to do whatever they can to get you going again

 

The last thing I want to do is terrify anyone Toast, but the fact many of us will drive 1000 plus miles there and back is reason alone to have a careful look at our MINIs before we take off and then again after we get ready to log many miles once there. I don’t think it has anything to do with driving aggressively, but the fact your MINI is your ticket there and back.

 

A couple of cans of fix-a-flat is a good investment.