James Bay Road (The Arcticbahn)

Sounds amazing…

I’d love to do this!

Why bother driving it when you can take the virtual tour?

http://jamesbayroad.com/jbr/virtualtour/jbrvirtualtour01.html

As MPD47 pointed out, there is no premium fuel on the road. There is premium just before the road, but I don’t know if all stations have it.

Beyond that point, no premium for sure. What’s the best way to cope with this? I joked about towing a small trailer with a large fuel cell or putting a fuel cell in the back of my truck.

And Octane boosters are mostly crap as they advertise 4 points or so increase, but it looks like the NOS Racing brand is about $12 and can raise it 60 points? Anyone use this? Sheet here: http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/automotive/12010.pdf

I figure a willing volunteer in a chase truck loaded out with fuel. Figure out number of cars, average mpg at increased speeds and do the math liberally to make sure there is enough fuel available. Each car would probably need a good sized cell in the trunk too.

“Octane Boosters” have been proven to be crap. I would use one to ditch detonation in an old car, but there’s no way in hell I’d use one to make 87 octane suitable to run in my sports car… Especially not as a bandaid when you’re 1000km into the middle of nowhere.

And yeah, you’re looking at 600-800km with no fuel. And no premium regardless of distance. It’s a “roadtrip vehicle” trip for sure.

From all my research on this thing, it’s not so much a “driving adventure” like going to the Tail or something, it’s an adventure for those who want to get remote, and see new stuff.

If you were doing sports cars and a chase truck, your best bet would be a 2500HD diesel of some sort, with a 8x10 trailer full of jerry cans. Split fuel costs for the support truck, and buy your own jerry cans to load on the trailer. Fuel math for a long trip isn’t that hard, I’ve always been within 10-15$ of my planned budget. MPG/Distance*highest fuel cost…

Yeah most of them are crap because they don’t increase more than a few points, but the stuff I posted is 60 points. I can’t seem to find a good review though.

The remoteness is key; high speed, long distance. And I’d certainly call it an adventure in the same class as the tail of the dragon. Seems like the tail is a great road, but you share it with a lot more vehicles and the police.

The guys from ADVRider are making this trip on little motorcycles that need to be refueled multiple times.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=283336&stc=1&d=1313714885

http://pxlpilot.com/moto/chisasibi09/img/234.jpg

Here’s an 80 gallon fuel tank for $400 - http://www.unionhydro.com/RDS_Rectangular_Auxiliary_Transfer_Aluminum_Fuel_T_p/RDS71792.htm

Plenty of capacity and relatively cheap! :slight_smile:

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And this will be an essential purchase:

http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/inreach/images/inreach_smartphone_main_01.jpg

https://youtu.be/Ogq70nL0ipM

http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?forge_prod=VhoLMi3-7thl8CpQc7diUIgh%3AS&item=32265&section=10820&forge_prod_pses=forge_prod%3DVhoLMi3-7thl8CpQc7diUIgh%3AS~

I put suspension the the TDi, good place to test it, and the real range of one fuel tank out… Better go soon too, I’m guessing in another few months 90% of your ride will be in the dark.

X…

I wouldn’t go until next year with some solid planning.

man that’s really far north. i’ve been to Algonquin, that’s a solid 6 hour drive from Buffalo, and it appears to be only about the half-way point. Serious Business.

TDI car would be a great vehicle. Optimally, having a pickup with some tools and fuel following would be a nice safety net

My car could make it 375 miles at 65mph but probably not at 165mph. :smiley:

I just looked at a map and I was about 150km from the start last year. Where I was required a large truck and 6 hours down a dirt road though. I would really be on board for this because I really want to see the Hudson Bay and the surrounding area.

If camping was involved I’d be all over it.

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And maybe a couple base jumps off those bridges.

If this happens next year and I have a proper car in…

Hope people figure out fuel consumption based on a higher rate of speed vs 65

Can I mix meth with Canada lake water?

i lived 4 years in Ottawa and james bay is about 16 hours north of it. i would not even consider going there under any condition. there are animals that jump in the midle of the road, no one speaks english in the area, no good hospitals around if you crash, no help if u go in a ditch, its cold weather so no heat in tire.
this is not the alps or hill in cali or Colorado, this is real fucked up wild shit territory you talking about. dont say i no guy living in Canadia told you later.

16 hours north? Holy effing crap! Is that still Canada? lol

It’s 400 miles north of Ottawa to the start of the road, and another 340 miles to the end. That’s not 16 hours.

Yeah, no. I have been up there already. Animals were not throwing themselves at me trying to commit suicide with my truck. People speak french and it is really not that hard to communicate when necessary. The random tribes scattered around the bay might be a different story buy I doubt we would be encountering them. Anyone that would consider this is not dumb enough to think that there is a hospital around when there isn’t even a fucking gas station, and if they are that dumb then they are not going. AAA has the ditch covered even if it does take a couple days. As for the weather it is currently 72 degrees in Matagami so there goes that idea of yours. Any other reasons that this is a bad idea you can type before thinking through?

Edit: This is a paved road. I have done 200 miles down a dirt/rock logging road that cost us 2 tires in one day. We were well prepared and arrived at our destination on time with 2 ripped up tires in the back end that we had flown out to a town and brought back all fresh and new. It is not hard to do anything up there, it just takes more time and a satellite phone.

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I cannot imagine driving all the way up there to just turn around. There would have to be some backpacking or even just site camping to enjoy the remoteness and surroundings that you worked pretty hard to get to. As for base jumping, I will be more than happy to cheer you on from the sidelines.

Maybe it is metric hours.