Best BC Roads?
 

Hey everyone.

I've been eagerly anticipating receiving my car and have already planned a few road trips with my buddy and his GTR :)

I want to start a thread to discuss some of the best/better driving roads in and around British Columbia.

The first tour I'm planning on doing is going to be the "break-in", roughly 1,080 KM. I've mapped it out using google maps for quick and easy reference.

Nissan Road Trip #1 - Google Maps

Basically it's taking the 99 highway north from Vancouver (aka sea-to-sky), continuing passed Whistler to Kamloops then Vernon for the night.
From Vernon drive to Kelowna then to Merritt on the 97, take the 8 to the 1 back to Vancouver.

I'm not sure how the road conditions are for most of this tour, aside from the Sea to Sky and the #1. Is this crazy to do? Obviously we want to avoid gravel, snow or construction. I've heard the highway past Whistler can get gravely?

Probably wont be going for another month at least.
What roads do you guys recommend?

Cheers!

From I5 at the border I made my way to Highway 3 to Penticton. That was a pretty nice road during the summer.

marine dr after lions gate to towards horseshoe bay is also very good driving road. very windy and different elevations.

I challenge anyone to find a twisty/turny road more so than this one It's a crazy road. The satelite view doesn't do the road the justice it deserves. Its narrow and hilly not to mention twisty.... and newly paved as well.

Beautiful area. I almost bought a piece of land up there to build a house back in 1989. Ended up buying in Colwood near the bottom of Triangle Mtn. Oh how I miss the Victoria weather....

Gold River hwy
 

Marine drive is awesome! Great for a leisurely Sunday cruise or midnight romp.

A friend of mine showed me the gold river highway on the island. Says its an amazing drive through the rain forest, follows rivers, waterfalls etc. and it's newly paved and rarely driven. Only problem as far as i can tell is GoldRiver (the town or outpost or whatever it is) is a dead end!

Campbell River, BC, Canada to Gold River, BC, Canada - Google Maps

Combine that bit with the old Island Highway and you've got yourself a very scenic and challenging drive.

Has anyone on the island done this route? Care to comment?

I vote for Kelowna to Penticton, Penticton to Naramata (for God's sake! Stop at the wineries!!!) then back to Penticton. The Naramata bench is a fantastic short drive on it's own. From there FORGET THE COQUIHALLA!! Take the twisties thru to Princeton and Hope; guaranteed best drive to Vancouver EVER!!!! :tup:

NICE! that looks pretty awesome actually. I'll definitely try this out in the summer.

I'll see you there! I will be cruising the Okanagan the first two weeks of August. I used to live in Naramata.... :driving:

Hwy 99 going to whistler ! Very nice and twisty.
Brand new pavement that was done prior the olympic so still new !

I haven't tried that road but I'm definately going to have to check it out. No reason to go to a dead end hick town 'cept for a random cruise ;)

I've got a cruise that is absolutely amazing.... the top part is on a paved logging road that was just done last year and all the guys with the crotch rockets are frequenting it since its not a public highway (eg - not patroled by the PoPo) Gets a little bumpy on the way up to Renfrew but its all paved now. There are countless places to go driving on the Island with fantastic sceanery.... if anyone ever comes over give us a heads up and we'll take you for a cruise! Any excuse will do!

Port Renfrew Loop - All day cruise - Google Maps

i am so down man!

That does look like a pretty nice cruise!
I'll definitely be making it down to the island soon.

Yoh FricFrac, how do you like your Stillen exhaust and intake? I'm undecided between FI or Stillen for exhaust. But was thinking G3 intake for sure, but then was told by my shop it's not the best match with the weather out here.

The Stillen is great - very happy with it. I would have got the FI though but the sales people just blew me off and basically said their turbo development was their priortiy - not building an exhaust system for the 370Z. That was back when they were developing it. I'd love to hear the FI in person though.

Not sure why they would tell you not to use the G3..... odd....

Feel free to bring whoever over too if you want to do a cruise. Oh and the All Japanese Show n Shine is on May 30th - you're more than welcome to come over for that as well if that interest you....

Wicked. :tiphat:
Whenever i do make it over it'll likely be with my buddy who's driving a matte black GTR with too many things to list, sick sick car.

I think i've settled on getting HKS Hi Power exhaust, Stillen headers, HFC, oil cooler and G3 intake, **** the rain lol

Dunno if I'd bother with the headers - they will be expensive to install and for the gains you'll get I'm not sure if its a good value for your money. A tune might be more appropriate....

...oh is that Alex's GT-R? I thought his was red....

ya i wouldn't do stillen headers or gen 3. for gen 3, u dont see gain until 7000 and u will need a tune otherwise your car is too lean. it is kinda dangerous imo.
however i would get fi long tube headers and fi catback tho.
btw, when is ur z gonna be here? i think 40th anni is very very good looking.

http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...-too-lean.html
http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...tune-dyno.html
http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...vids-dyno.html
try talk to me after you done some research

HKS over FI
 

Thanks kevin,
i've actually already read all those threads. I was considering getting the FI exhaust, but i think the HKS is the way to go after hearing it and speaking to a few local G owners who've gone down both roads. :)

You're absolutely right about the CAI too, which i wont be going for anymore.

Nope. It's Dave's.

I havn't considered not getting the headers. Are the stock good enough?
Definitely getting a tune after everything though. Was thinking Dyno + UpRev ECM reflash
http://www.ztune.ca/product.aspx?pro...3-0003ff2732c9

i would still go for CAI if i am getting a tune along with it as well. it is just that it is not my top priority. test pipes and F.I cbe is my #1 priority now
If you are getting HKS, make sure you write a review and tell us how you feel!

Not sure why the car would run lean. The Z does have wide band o2 sensors does it not? That said, the injectors should flow enough fuel for the increased air flow. I don't see much talk about O2 sensors, fuel maps, AFR, etc. Is this because the maps and related sensors can compensate for intake/exhaust mods?

the car would only run lean if you change the intakes. you cant run lean just by having cbe and lth's. read the links i posted above.
It is about MAF sensors.

What is lean? Lean is an AFR in the mid 14's or higher. For emissions and fuel consumption, I suspect this is where the Z is when it leaves the factory. The cruising speed AFR's will be lean in the 1500-4000 rpm range. For tuning, Afr's will need to be brought down in the fuel maps down to the mid 13's which is not lean especially for cruising speed. The engine will run cooler but be a bit poorer on gas. There is always a trade-off when seeking more performance! Getting into the 11's is too rich and in the 12's it's starting to get rich but these low AFR's are for WOT operation only which is a margin of safety that you won't run lean. I also haven't read anywhere that getting into lower AFR's requires open loop operation. If the O2 sensors are not being changed out then I guess they are wide band and will work fine for all usable AFR's in conjunction with a sufficient flow of fuel through the injectors. MAF sensors measure the mass of air (from this and air temperature, volume of air can be calculated within the ecu to adjust AFR) but it's the feedback from the O2 sensors into the ecu to correct the amount of fuel and air required for the target AFR. I play with the map schedules on my Harley because I have the tuning software to do it. Chemistry is chemistry when it comes to burning fuel and the bike follows the same principles as a car. So when I read about adding a cai and cbe, the car will run fine at the target AFR unless the injectors can't flow the required fuel. I don't see anyone changing to high flow injectors by just changing to cai and cbe and hfc's unless making 400hp or better from FI. All the tuner is doing is adjusting timing and increasing fuel where needed using feedback from the dyno. This can be done by seat of the pants or a canned map (provided you have the tuning software/hardware) which should get you close to what the tuner will do on the dyno provided the tuner knows what he is doing. Just like dynos, all tuners are not the same.

i cant explain this very well my self, but modshack has explained this better than i do. His expainlation is in the links i have posted above. It is dyno confirmed and proven that z will run too lean if u have full bolt-on and intakes (escpecially with aftermarket CAI). The optimal range for z is 12.6 to 13.2. Even Tony from FI has recommended not to go aftermarket CAI.
You should ask Modshack about MAF issues as i am not too technical in this.

Nice drive is from Kelowna to Revelstoke, then to Nakusp soak in the hot springs then on through Cherryville to Vernon back to Kelowna. You have to cross two ferry's but that just adds to the trip, the twisty section back through Cherryville is awesome. Total trip is 500km or so, took about 10 hours with lot's of rest stops etc. Most fun driving I have ever had but I have only had my Z for two days, already put on 1000km on it :)

That road is superb. Twisty and very light traffic. I went there thrice just for the funs, even though I live in lower mainland. :rofl2:

Drove the crows nest pass through EC Manning park this long weekend. Awesome drive with superb scenery and twisting winding roads. Continued along to Penticton then up to Kelowna. From there went south (2km before the kelowna bridge) onto Westside Rd. Which i have to say is really, truly amazing. Not only does it follow okanogan lake, is practically desolate of any traffic even Victoria day, but the combination of steep inclines and rapid turns makes for a true mountain road. There were a few nasty patches (pot holes, minor gravel etc) near the rural sections, but drive slow and you're good.

I then did a trial run in a friends car from Kamloops to Vancouver through Whistler on the 99. It was good highway for the most part, however sometime after Marble Canyon to Pemberton, near Fountain Valley I'd say the roads are inappropriate for a Z. Far too many pot holes and stretches of gravel. I would have cried if i was in my new car...

Overall great weekend of driving!
Planning on going to the island next time. :yum:

If you can't find a good road in BC you haven't turned off the main road yet ;P The problem isn't finding a good place to drive its deciding which one of the multitude to pick

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: