Oxley Highway review in a stock NB8a
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 12:31 pm
Two weeks ago I had to travel to Newcastle from Toowoomba and chose to travel via the Oxley highway. Going down early on a Thursday morning and back late afternoon on a friday. Both trips with the sun behind me and the road completely dry. My car is stock except for fresh shocks, a Nitro Dann rear muffler and Nitto Neogen 195/50 tyres on 7.5" rims
The Route for those who haven't dríven it yet, Wauchope to Walcha. I divided it into three sections:
Traveling west from Wauchope there is 55 km of reasonably good country roads normally inhabited by local traffic. I only encountered two cars going in my direction on the way up and that was in section 3.
1) The really tight twisty section start 55km west and are very tight switchbacks and short straights constantly climbing. I did this in 2nd gear, constantly in the power band of 4,500 rpm to 7,00 rpm. On approx 3-4 occasions, I reached for 3rd gear on straights and really wished for either an extra 500 rpm or the 2 to 3 shift was in the same plane and not a dogleg. This is the best section for me.
2) Over the top of the range is less regular with no chance to go from right to left turns in quick succession. I eased up here a bit.
3) The run out to 105km west of Wauchope is mainly through a more open state forest with enough room to pass other traffic and is gently starting to descend.
From there, are long open straights through the prime wool country to Walcha. Here you can easily and repeatedly explore top speeds if you are so inclined.
Going down (which I did first) was almost as much fun as going up. There was nil traffic going the same direction I did see one Mustang caught in traffic going down and a red Porsche 944 giving it a red hot go. I try to stay off brakes and they got limited use on the way down. Instead, a trailing throttle provided plenty of braking when needed. I was mainly in 3rd and 4th coming down gently.
Its a must do for anyone with a sporting car. I had changed the engine oil and filter prior to the trip and after 1,600km the oil was jet black, so got changed again. I would recommend an early morning midweek start for driving each way.
The Route for those who haven't dríven it yet, Wauchope to Walcha. I divided it into three sections:
Traveling west from Wauchope there is 55 km of reasonably good country roads normally inhabited by local traffic. I only encountered two cars going in my direction on the way up and that was in section 3.
1) The really tight twisty section start 55km west and are very tight switchbacks and short straights constantly climbing. I did this in 2nd gear, constantly in the power band of 4,500 rpm to 7,00 rpm. On approx 3-4 occasions, I reached for 3rd gear on straights and really wished for either an extra 500 rpm or the 2 to 3 shift was in the same plane and not a dogleg. This is the best section for me.
2) Over the top of the range is less regular with no chance to go from right to left turns in quick succession. I eased up here a bit.
3) The run out to 105km west of Wauchope is mainly through a more open state forest with enough room to pass other traffic and is gently starting to descend.
From there, are long open straights through the prime wool country to Walcha. Here you can easily and repeatedly explore top speeds if you are so inclined.
Going down (which I did first) was almost as much fun as going up. There was nil traffic going the same direction I did see one Mustang caught in traffic going down and a red Porsche 944 giving it a red hot go. I try to stay off brakes and they got limited use on the way down. Instead, a trailing throttle provided plenty of braking when needed. I was mainly in 3rd and 4th coming down gently.
Its a must do for anyone with a sporting car. I had changed the engine oil and filter prior to the trip and after 1,600km the oil was jet black, so got changed again. I would recommend an early morning midweek start for driving each way.
