½mv²

This thread was inspired by one of our newer members asking for good places to drive. Some good places were listed, and everyone seemed eager to share their own personal "hot spots," so I figured it would be a good idea to create a specific location for trading good driving locations.


But, in order to prevent people from listing every 90 degree turn and highway crossover within a 60 mile radius of downtown Houston, a standard format which everyone should try to adhere to needs to be established. I hope to create a list useful enough to become a sticky-thread, so any suggestions/changes about the format are more than welcome.

Also, in order to prevent repeat submissions, as well as saving new members from the daunting task of having to flip through page after page trying to find something in their area, I'm going to add all submissions onto the end of this first post. That way, EVERYONES' suggestions will be available right up front for all to easily access and enjoy.




THE CURRENT FORMAT FOR SUBMISSIONS:

For Turns At Intersections-
Road you start on (Direction to turn) Road you finish on
--Tightness of turn
--Visibility around turn
--Recommended speeds of turn
--Recommended time of day to take the turn
--Additional notes

For Highway Fly-Over/Cross-Over Ramps-
Highway you start on (-bound direction) --> Highway you finish on (-bound direction)
--Tigtness of turn
--Number of lanes wide
--How quickly you merge after the turn (if applicable)
--Visibility around turn
--Recommended speeds of turn
--Recommended time of day to take the turn
--Additional notes

For Windy Roads or Roads with Curvey Sections-
Name of road containing the fun turns
--for roads that are curvey from start to finish: Provide the names of the two roads that the recommended road begins/ends on.
--for roads that have only a small section with a fun turn(s): Provide the names of two intersecting roads in which the aforementioned section lies between.
--Tigtness of turn
--Number of lanes wide (describe if width varies)
--Visibility around turn (describe if visibility varies)
--Number of potential stops along road (1&2-way stops/traffic lights/etc.)
--Average Recommended speed (provide only minor detials here)
--Recommended time of day to take the turn
--Additional notes



I guess I'll start us off with one of my favorites:







Hwy 59 (North) --> Loop 610 (West)
--VERY tight at first, becomes wider
--2 lanes, 1 shoulder
--Quick Merge to 1 lane, no shoulder*
--Good visibility
--70-75mph
--Weekdays 10:00-15:30 / Anyday 22:30-03:00
--The sharpness of this turn is VERY easy to underestimate, as you can see by the overwhelming plethora of tire & paint stains along the outside concrete wall. Beware of bigrigs, as one seems to flip there at least once a month. *Due to recent traffic, this once glorious 3-wide turn now funnels down to a one-laner as soon as the turn finishes. Still fun, but be wary of traffic


I-10 westbound --> Hwy-59 Southbound
--Not tight but fun to go around at 75ish
--2 lanes then adds 1 at the end
--good visability...not really needed since you have a dedicated lane
--u can go at pretty good speed 75+
--dont do it during rush hours
--do it at night/early morning and pick up speed as you pass minute maid park and go under the cross roads to downtown...its the closest thing we have to a tunnel

new2me

I-10 westbound --> Hwy-59 Southbound
--Not tight but fun to go around at 75ish
--2 lanes then adds 1 at the end
--good visability...not really needed since you have a dedicated lane
--u can go at pretty good speed 75+
--dont do it during rush hours
--do it at night/early morning and pick up speed as you pass minute maid park and go under the cross roads to downtown...its the closest thing we have to a tunnel

6speed

South Heights BLVD and Memorial Drive Clover leaf is THE funnest set of turns i've done...probably gone around it 10 times in a row...

new2me

hey ur in corpus...i should be down there in a few weeks to do some partying

½mv²

6speed - Are those turns your're talking about in Corpus or Houston?

MazdaMonkey

Nope that is in Houston, about 3 or 4 miles from the Aquarium on Memorial. Quite a confusing bunch of turns if you are trying to go from Heights to Memorial or vice versa. I almost hit a blue Lotus there last time trying to turn on to Memorial from North Heights.

Oh and I tried to do the 59N to 610 interchange this week around 9:30 pm and there was still a ton of traffic!

½mv²

Yeah - it USED to be my favorite, but the construction is KILLING that turn. Did you see all the impact marks on the wall though? The angle of that turn hides how damn sharp it is.

nolanrob123

South Heights BLVD and Memorial Drive Clover leaf is THE funnest set of turns i've done...probably gone around it 10 times in a row...

Amen 6Speed. I used to go through that section at about 40-60 in my miata. The 8 is just as fun. There is also a nice tunnel section that has glorious sound effects about a 1/4 of a mile west before it.