I’ll be headed up to the Smokey Mountains this Fall for my first ever roadtrip with my 997.2 and I’m looking for travel tips.

Questions:

Once there I’d like to wash the car once or twice. How do you travel with wet mits and microfiber towels?

Any flat tire slime you recommend, or don’t bother?

Should I rest the car halfway there? It’s a 6 hour drive. I could easily stop and grab something to eat to give her a break.

Any roads or highways you love near Gatlinburg?

All tips welcome!

 

Smoky Mountains
do a search here for tail of the dragon and blue ridge parkway and smoky mountains. I did several trip, map posts over the years. Get out of gatlinburg and go south on 441 to cherokee and get on the BRP and go as far as you can. Or go south to Robbinsville and to the tail and to the cherohala skyway. All are the best driving roads you will ever find
look up maps on the tail of the dragon web site.

 

Pro tip if you do go onto the Blur Ridge Parkway be on the look out for the park rangers. I think that is what they are called. They park and will pull & ticket you. I was on the BRP a few yrs ago and didn’t see any park rangers & another time when I was on it I had to watch out for them. Glorious experience & the tunnels are the best. Volume up in the tunnels.

 

I never bothered with washing as the places I stay wouldn't be setup for car washing (hotels etc.). Some AIrbnb property owners would have to pay water tax or dislike the idea of car wash soap getting into waterways, it's not worth the trouble. I would also usually end up too busy anyway to wash the car once I get to my destination.

I'd done 4.5 hours drive with only a quick fuel stop because I was running out of fuel (having too much fun!).

I still have the Porsche slime which I'm sure wouldn't help.

I would bring flashlight, workshop gloves, old newspaper/cloth for wiping stuff off, water to get rid of accumulated mud etc.

 

I would not worry about "resting" the car. 6 hours is nothing. They are designed to go for much longer than that. It "rests" when you gas up or duck in somewhere to eat. I've driven far in excess of that, without blinking an eye. Not just in the 911, but in two of my 928's (and other cars too). These are Porsches - some of the best high performance road going cars in the world. Just make sure your oil is at the appropriate level, and all other fluids. Make sure your tire pressures are at the correct levels. Bring a can of "Fix a Flat" for emergencies, but the best option is a AAA card. NC isn't Afghanistan, so there will be services always not too far off from where you are.

As to washing it, I do only if there will be a car gathering at my destination (and often there is). I just go to a touchless or one of those spray booths, and take care of it. Put your basic mitt and rags in plastic bags - they don't take up any room at all. Also a small detail spray bottle, and window cleaner in a small spray bottle.

There are few things better to do to enjoy your Porsche than to take it on a good road trip.

 

2009 C2S 144K miles

In the last three months, I drove Philly-New Bern-Atlanta twice, Pitts-Philly three times, Philly-NYC twice.

Tips:
1 - Doritos. I prefer Cool Ranch when southbound, but anything works when nearing your destination
2 - Lindt chocolate - Don't sit in sun on passenger seat. Just don't do it
3 - Bill Evans piano (any recording) - doesn't work... cabin is too loud to appreciate chord voicings
4 - Good time to pour Techron in the tank... two in a row feels great (I don't know if it really does anything but feels good to do so)
5 - Great time to fiddle with the trip computer... wow, check out your altitude.. 6 satellites!! OK, that was useless.
6 - Hmmmm gas mileage at 70mpg in 5th..... ok, in 6th..... not sure what I just learned
7 - Hey Christian programming on the radio!!! Again!!! Again!!!..... hmmm... maybe inaudible Bill Evans is better
8 - Why do Subarus drive so slowly in the left lane?
9 - WTF bug made that red and yellow splat???
10 - What?! Pee again????
11 - Gee, how many Waffle Houses are there?
12 - BING! low gas warning.... crap! where are all the gas stations gone?

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

You're not staying in Gatlinburg I hope. In the '70s it was decent. Now, not so much. Asheville is far nicer. There's a very nice Aloft hotel there, downtown, plus biergartens, great restaurants, plus you could spend a day at Biltmore House and Gardens if you like touring historic sites. The roads on the NC side of the range are better. Take your pick. Several good white water rafting opportunities too. Chimney Tops is a nice short day hike in the park, with rewarding views. It's very steep though!

 

I just drove 6hrs each way this weekend in my 997.1 for the first time (Santa Fe to Boulder and back), had similar concerns about longer trips but the car could not have been more worry free. Its a ton of fun. The more I drive the car the more I learn about it and enjoy it.

They are bug magnets however, so i did bring some exterior detailing spray and window cleaner to get the dead bugs off after I arrived. Have fun!

 

Can't help with your trip, but can tell you what I'd do for the washing. I would throw my mits in an empty medium pale that I would put in the frunk. Upon destination, you put a bit of soap in the pale, fill it up with water and go wash the bugs off. once done, fill-up that pale with clear water and just pour it to rinse the soap off. No full out cleaning, just a frontal cleaning of the bugs.

 

my normal route is Robbinsville, Tapoco Lodge.
tail to Vanore to Tellico Plains, /Tellico Lodge, Tellico Grains.
Cherohala Skyway, Kimler Bypass. back to Robbinsville.
28 to Cherokee, BRP to Asheville. Holiday Inn downtown.
visit Biltmore, Village, Grove Park Inn, Downtown. Bouchon, Red Stag, Chestnut, Packs
BRP to Mt Mitchell, Little Switzerland, Crabtree Falls, Linville Falls, Grandfather Mt.

 

Skip the tire slime and buy a Dynaplug Xtreme kit so you can plug a hole and keep going. The slime makes a mess, is probably out of date, and often creates tire imbalance.

If you're staying in Gatlinburg there's nice Doubletree at the top of the mountain in the Forest Preserve area - great views. Ride one of the Mountain Coasters while you're there - do it at night. There's one just as you're leaving Gatlinburg and heading toward Pigeon Forge (there are actually 3 different ones).

Don't worry about the 6 hour drive or resting the car. You'll have a blast getting there and returning, especially if you go up over the mountain from Cherokee and can keep the fall leaf lookers out of your way.

 

Bruce, at first glance all I could see in your picture was a travesty. I got over it really fast and now I think you are my hero.

 

I just put on 825 mile last weekend with a trip to central coast with our PCA chapter. The trip home I saw 23.6 MPG and a 62 MPH average for got to take that pic.

 

“Rest” your 911? Puhleeze. Just drive the p*ss out of it. You’ll find that you’ll tucker out before the car does. Take some glass cleaner and towels if you like, but 86 washing it until you get home. Honey Badger don’t care...

 

Tire Sealant - If you must use something, Orange Seal Endurance is the best on the market right now. It is for tubeless mountain bike tires, but will work for this application. It is just as messy as the factory goo, but lasts longer and clots better. Keep it in a tied plastic bag, just like the factory goo. A plug is preferable and I carry them as first choice. I'd only use the sealant if that failed or needed a little extra.

I drove mine from Vegas to South Lake Tahoe via Death Valley, up via Panamints, over Monitor Pass and down to Reno and back up in a day. The air temp was 110F. At 10AM. A good 10 hour day of hard on the car driving. The day before I drove from Denver to Vegas via the very scenic Utah 12 and through Zion NP. That was at least 20 hours of driving in 2 days with a bike on the roof. No problem at all. These things are built to run 24hrs of Lemans. You'll tire before the car does. In total, I drove 2600 miles in less than a week.

With regards to washing, I also wouldn't bother with the 2 bucket stuff, wash mitt etc... I did a ceramic coating on mine a while before my trip (for winter driving, not this trip) and it made the bugs slide right off with a pressure washer. Wax will do the same, but doesn't last as long. Just don't use the car wash brush! Take a drying microfiber towel, a bottle of detailer spray and a small microfiber towel and you'll be able to keep it looking nice.



As for the roads around Gatlinburg (road tripped there a couple years ago). The road through the park that goes one-way north from Gatlinburg (Cherokee Orchard Road) is cool at sunset and not many people drive it. But the roads are better on the NC side of the mountains IMO. And you don't have to drive back through Pigeon Forge. The Blueridge Parkway segment that drops back into the Smokeys at Oconaluftee is beautiful and not too crowded and there is an awesome BBQ place called Haywood Smokehouse that you can make as a stop on a loop. If you go over to Deep Creek to hike the waterfalls, Nantahala Brewing has really good food and beer.