My first FRS road trip- let's hear about yours too!
 

Day 1- Tampa to Key Largo (I75 to 41 near Naples to Krome Ave, and Rt 1), Miami and Homestead

Day 2- Homestead to Key West and back

Day 3- Homestead back to Tampa (Mostly Rt 27 and 72)

My wife and I had our 4th wedding anniversary this week and we took an epic road trip in Enko, my FRS. This was the first long road trip we've done in my car, I just got it in May and after the trip I am almost at 10,000 miles. For mods, I have a K&N drop-in, silicone elbow, gutted the cats, Berk dual exit muffler delete and a Stage 2 93 OFT tune.

I learned that the drone of the exhaust doesn't bother me until about hour 8. When the oil temp gets up to 106°C, the exhaust gets very pop-py with low RPM, medium load shifting in 1st and 2nd in the insane traffic of South Florida. I also learned that a loud exhaust pop sounds like a gunshot. I learned that in Miami, a gunshot type of sound from your exhaust attracts the wrong sort of attention.

I didn't see a lot of Twins in that area and I got a lot of looks. In Tampa there are a lot of Twins so no one bats an eye. I was at a light and a guy in a BRZ started talking to me, but the light changed so we didn't get to talk much. It's a good car down there because it's small and in the traffic, small is good. It also has great view out the windows and the Keys are beautiful.

This car is awesome for a road trip though! With my mods there's plenty of power to pass traffic on the many 2 lane roads we were on. The seats are very comfortable even with me having a bad back. The clutch started to bother my foot after a while but not too bad. For 2 people for a few days there's plenty of room for luggage, for a longer trip we'd have to get creative with stowage though. The drone did get annoying after a while, usually I don't even notice it but after 8 hours or so, it started bothering me a little. Cruise Control is the greatest invention my man. Ever.

Avg gas mileage (I did a flog it quite a bit, but most of the miles were highway) was 32.5 and we did about 26 hours of total driving. My top speed was... enough... (my wife had to pee really bad!) There was a lot of driving on dead flat, straight roads that went as far the eye can see behind and in front. There was a lot of passing done because a lot the roads down there are 2 lane only. 976 miles, avg speed around 37.5 MPH. I used around 30 gals of gas. This is all according to Google Location History and the Avg MPG my car shows.

My wife and I took my new 2015 FR-S up to Duluth Minnesota for a night. About 320 miles round trip. Averaged 35 miles per gallon with the auto with paddle shifters. Comfortable, quiet and enough trunk space for longer road trips. Our last road tripper was a 2007 Chrysler Crossfire hardtop. We like this new ride better!

Happy 4th wedding anniversary ........ :thumbsup:

Sounds like you had a nice trip ..... :)


humfrz

Drover mine from NH to SC and back this summer and the only issue was road noise and my right knee rubbing on the dash when using cruise control.
The NC and SC highways were fun when driving 80 plus with traffic flow.

My first FRS road trip- 3 days, 976 miles
 

I did one recently from LA to Fresno, Fresno to SF, SF to LA. The ride is quite noisy but surprised me was it didn't wear me out to be honest the seats are just right and good amount of leg room. Overall I got at least 35 MPG best overall my worst was 28 in SF Bay Area city traffic for you folks complaining about lack of power and all I actually have is a K&N Drop In and the car no trouble on the uphill stretch of the Interstate 5 Grapevine the FA20 took it like a champion just have to downshift her to 4 and 5th gear.


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I put that much mileage on my (former) BRZ in the first 12 hours of ownership.

So you averaged over 81 mph for 12 hours on a brand new car? I find it hard to believe.

I will be taking an epic one in my RS1 next week: Sheboygan, WI to Portland OR to pick up my Cousin, then from Portland we are taking the PCH down to LA, then over to Vegas for the SEMA show. :drool: :thumbup:

Schedule a lot of time to go down PCH, especially through northern CA. It can get very slow and winding. When you're going LA to LV, take a detour in LA to La Canada/Flintridge, and take CA Hwy 2 through Angeles Forest. It's about 60 miles of medium speed winding road. It joins up on the north end with Hwy 138 about 10 miles from I-15, so it's easy to cut back over once you're done.

Happy Anniversary. Glad you had a good and fun trip.


Caution, this is very negative:

I bought my 2015 FRS new October 2014. Could not wait to take a trip. Drove from Northern Calif. to Clearwater to stay at a family house I had not visited since 1978.

Driving in Clearwater on 19 was one of the most frightening experiences I've ever had in all my driving days. The road is wall to wall strip malls and businesses, and the speed limit is 55. Well the limit there should be 35 ! Can't imagine how retired people deal with that insanity. In my short time there I saw several accidents on 19.

After one day attempting to drive in Clearwater, I left my car at the house for several days. I even walked over 5 miles one day so I would not have to drive.

A couple of weeks there, finally my sister arrived with a 2005 Ford Freestar van. I drove it one day, and what a difference. I could actually see to the sides and rear, much less afraid to drive then, in Clearwater.

From Clearwater I drove to Edgewater, about 160 miles. It took me over 5 hours to do the drive. Traffic so bad on Pieces of I-75, worse than LA. I kept thinking, along the way, I'd find an accident up ahead, yet not so, just too much traffic for the road. Speeds 0-10mph most of the time. But it was Holiday season admittedly.

After Edgewater I drove to Key West, going around Miami, never stopping there. The drive to Key West is very pretty yet terribly slow, due to two lane and no point in passing others.

Had a good time in Key West, but that's the last time ever I visit Florida. Many of my High School friends, from the North East, have moved to Florida for retirement. I'm so happy I never chose that place. In Key West I rented a bicycle for 8 days. So easy to ride a bike there.

The FRS/BRZ is a wonderful road trip car, just not a car to drive in heavy traffic, in which one does not know the area well.

And yes I love my FRS. I'm retired (don't have to drive anywhere), it's now just two years old and will soon have 38,000 miles on the odo.

Road trips in my car so far: Three times from N. Calif. to the east coast and back in two years time. With diversions along the way, each trip was about 8,000 miles.

LOL I work in Clearwater, much of the time on US19. I drive a Chevy 2500 HD with a Knapheide truck body. Driving the FRS there is easy in comparison! Florida is the most psychotic terrible place to drive in the US. Everyone wants to kill you and the roads are looking for the assist. If you go the speed limit, you risk your life because the traffic is going 10-15 over. But if you go 10-15 over, you run the risk of a ticket.

My oldest son just started to drive and I had a hard time telling him that he has to drive safely AND has to speed. But don't speed because it's not safe and he can't afford a ticket. But you have to keep up with traffic. That's speeding.....

Rt 1 going out to Key West has passing zones. I'm glad I'm stage 2 because the car at stock wouldn't have been able to pass some of those cars. I had to flog that 86- I was with extra weight from luggage and a passenger too.

How would you compare driving cross-country as opposed to flying? I'd like to trip from NC to California and back, and I'm kind of weighing the options of how to do it. I like driving and wouldn't be opposed to take the FR-S there and back depending on how much money it could save.

Is it just you? Flying would absolutely be cheaper than driving. I've driven cross country twice from California to North Carolina. Seeing the country and exploring is a nice experience, but don't do it to save money

But if you rent a car once you get there, it may be comparable in price. But if you've never done it, DO IT. Driving cross country is an amazing experience. I've gone halfway across the US several times and I went coast to coast- Maine to Cali and back. It's a terrific drive and great experience.

Yep it takes time, I drove up it from LA to Portland in my cousins Legacy a few yrs ago. We got delayed a few hrs cause a car went over the cliff. .

Thanks, I will give that a look on the map.

Did my first road trip with the FRS, Kansas City to Colorado Springs, 1200 miles round trip or 3 days. Car did great and ran without a hick-up. Got about 34 miles to the gallon for the trip. I was surprised how my back did not hurt after that drive. I thought the seat was going to do a number on my back. Car definitely needed a wash when I got back, look like I drove through a jungle and managed to hit every bug there.

It was a good but long and boring drive along 70 through Kansas. Once I left Kansas City going through Kansas its all flat farm land with hay, corn and cows. I was pretty happy when I got to Colorado and could see mountains in the distance. Once I got the Colorado Spring I was happy to get there and start relaxing.

These seats are great. At work I drive a Silverado all day and it KILLS my back. But the FRS seats wrap around and have good lower back support. I had very little back or legs problems. That was my main concern on the drive and being the only driver (my wife doesn't drive a stick and it too scared to learn).

I hear you on the bug thing. I could have written a dissertation on the insect population of Florida if I saved the run off from the car wash when I got back.

I've done a few 500+ mile days in my car and every time I'm surprised at just how good the seat is. It looks so simple and has so few adjustments I didn't expect it when I bought it. I wouldn't mind if the lower leg bolster was adjustable though.

Sorry I was not here to respond to any who asked questions.

I was on another trip, past 6 days. 1457 miles total for this trip.
Eureka, Ca to Walla Walla, Wa...going diagonally across Oregon from southwest to northeast Oregon. Mostly secondary roads. Some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen on any trip. Great variance in scenery and roads.

What I've learned from this trip: The car got about 34mpg average. Best mileage ever, due to slower driving speeds, despite many uphill climbs, high altitudes, and revving engine for tons of curves, downshifting often.

Way more fun to drive than to fly it is. For a short trip like this one, cheaper to drive. For any long trip, certainly, with a ticket bought in advance, much cheaper to fly. It's the motels and restaurants that add up on a driving trip.

I'll be 70 years old in 6 days from now. 38,298 miles on the odometer of this car which is just over two years old. This car rocks ! Like it more and more as the miles add up.

Had a nice car to car race through winding roads in a gorge in Oregon yesterday, kid with a Prius plug in...with two electric motors...I was very surprised how well the Prius did in the twisties.

Long distance gas mileage notes: On a trip coast to coast this car averages about 31.5mpg. Why is that ? Well the speeds I drive are 72mph east coast and 87mph west coast inland areas. That's averaging much higher rpms for the engine over long periods, thus worse mileage than lower speeds. Contrary to what one other has stated in a post somewhere, high rpms equals worse mileage for this car. I wonder how the 2017 model will do ?...certainly not as well in mpg as this 2015 car. Wish they'd have changed the gear ratios of the transmission for the 2017 rather than the final drive ratio...well surely they did what was cheaper.

After reading everything I can find about the 2017 model, only reason I can now see for me to upgrade would be the strengthened internals of the 2017's engine.
Are they making way for a, dare I say, turbo for 2018 ? Time will tell.

Happy birthday, old timer ........ :clap:

Did you happen to visit the Fort Walla museum .... ??

If not, I suggest you go there the next time you are in the area ..... a very impressive museum.


humfrz

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon.

Tried the north entrance yesterday, it was closed early (they normally close Nov 1st) due to early snow.

Since it's a National Park, requires a pass or $15. fee. No pass required yesterday, as there was nothing to see...LOL. But oh, the miles I wasted trying to get to see it.

Note: there is no sign saying 'Crater lake' at it's north entrance...easy to drive past it...gov't states they don't own the land outside of entrance so are not allowed to put up a sign. And no signs on roads within many miles of entrance stating entrance is closed...Typical govt. ! We waste tons of fuel trying to drive to a place which is closed because they don't alert us with signs on neighboring roads.

Was able to go to south entrance (which they state is open year round). Guess what, rain/sleet on the way up to and back from. Could not see the lake at all from it's edge due to intense fog. 36 degrees there yesterday afternoon and about 18 inches of snow on the ground.

Last time I was there, June 2005. Did see the lake then, but could not drive around it due to snow from previous winter.

What I've now learned...if you want to see it, plan in advance and go to their website for current updates.

https://www.nps.gov/CRLA/planyourvisit/index.htm

Or since their webcams don't always work...(and the only one working currently is of their parking lot...thanks a lot) https://www.nps.gov/crla/learn/photo...ia/webcams.htm call them before you go..(541) 594-3000

Happy to hear that Richard, I also recently did a road trip LA to Fresno and SF on my 15 Twins and yes it's bit more than flying but the driving experience and memories driving it lasts a lifetime. I also did manage to get 34-35 on the highway as well even with the I-5 uphill climb. You should do the Highway 1 Big Sur to Morro Bay :)


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FYI ...... just in case you don't have one......:thumbsup:

"America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass - Senior Pass - Cost $10. The Senior Pass replaces the Golden Age Passport."

(good for a lifetime).


humfrz

I did 1905 miles on a Euro road trip through 9 countries.... starting in the UK just north of London, through the Channel Tunnel and then onto France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and back to the UK again.

The highlight was driving in the Italian Alps and the car was fantastic blasting over the Stelvio Pass. I was hoping to max it out on the autobahn in Germany, but as it wasn't clear enough, I only managed 132mph.

Surprised that it still managed 33mpg despite my lead foot, and that the seats are so comfortable on long trips. Can't wait to do it all again!

Yesterday and today I did a roadtrip to circumnavigate the lower Chesapeake bay. Down the western shore,overnight at Cape Charles,then back up the eastern shore to home in Baltimore , 448 miles,39.1mpg.

I did this as a test for longer trips. Comfort,just fine. The only drawback was the boredom at the hotel waiting to get back on the road again.

Had to laugh at the FL Hwy 19 stuff. They also have world class red-light runners. Mix that in with the senior demographic that seems to dominate a lot of the population, and it gets fun.

Seen this go from bad to much worse over the last 25 years. I don't mind it so much, but I have to agree that the FRS is not a great car for the cut and thrust of high speedbumper-to-bumper commuting. The FRS has too much blind spot to deal with the guys cutting in on the right from two lanes over and 20 miles faster. The motorcycles make this even more fun.

Road Trippin the Bee Are Zee
 

The wife and I drove the Blue Streak from McAllen, TX to Reston VA and mostly back in June of '17.

Here's the Reader's Digest Condensed Version of the trip. I have a boatload of pics, but the report would be far longer than anyone in their right minds would read. I've included the route for anyone interested in following along on Google Maps.

6/16 McAllen to Houston approx 400 miles of mixed two lane and interstate.

6/18 Houston to Jackson MS. North on US 59 to Livingston TX US 190 to TX 63 to LA 28 to Alexandria LA, east to Natchez MS - Natchez Trace PKWY to I-20 to Jackson.

6/19 Jackson to Chattanooga - Natchez Trace PKWY to TN state line, back tracked to Florence AL, east on US 72 through Huntsville north to I-24 in TN east to Chattanooga.


6/20 Chattanooga to Asheville NC. - I-75 North to Cleveland TN - east on US 74 to Ducktown TN. North on TN 68 to Telico Plains TN, East (more or less) on Cherohala Skyway to Robbinsville NC. north on US 129 to Deal's Gap. Up and down the Tail of the Dragon. Stopped at dragon store restaurant to allow wife to recover her lunch. NC 28 to US 74 to I-40 to Asheville. These roads are amazing. The car was perfect. Need to bring Dramamine for passenger.

6/21 Asheville - Toured Biltmore.

6/22 Asheville to Reston. First rain of the trip. North on I-28 to I-81. Shitloads of truck traffic on 81. Interesting dicing with them in the rain in a BRZ. East on I-66 to Reston.

6/23,24,25,26 - Farting around in DC area - hanging with No.2 son - toured Manassas, Gettysburg and DC area. He has a Mazda 3. It's a nice car.

6/27 Reston to Lynchburg VA. US 15 to US 29 to Charlottesville. 6 Hours at Monticello, south on 29 to Lynchburg.

6-28 Lynchburg VA to Lexington KY. US 501 west to I-81 North to I-64 east to Lexington. There are NOT many roads over the mountains in West Virginia.

6-29 Lexington to Memphis (almost) Bluegrass PKWY to I-65 to White House TN. Approx 1:30pm Moron in Nissan Armada cuts the apex on a left turn at a traffic light and head-ons the Streak. #$*(&@!@))&&&.

6-30 After frank and open discussions with idiot's insurance adjuster, punctuated by a call to my agent in TX (idiot and I were insured with same carrier) finally got a rent car (Chev Impala - what a buzz kill) and drove to Shreveport.

7-1 Shreveport to Houston

7-2 Houston to McAllen

All in all the BRZ was a joy on the road. It was more comfortable than my wife's '12 Camry SE. It was a LOT more comfortable than the Impala (What a POS). Not too noisy, not too firm - the Goldilocks GT. I tried to limit the daily mileage to just over 400. A few days were longer - one (6/20) a bit shorter. It was just about perfect. We had no problems space wise, it held all we needed and some things we took up for No.2 son in VA. with nary a complaint.

Man - I LOVE this car.

EDIT: The total trip length was a shade over 4000 miles. Of that the BRZ covered about 3000. Doing so it got just over 33 mpg and didn't use a drop of oil. A transporter brought her home in August. A body shop in Hendersonville TN got her close to sorted out and a local shop tied up some loose ends. She seems back in fighting shape.

For a two person "driving" vacation I can't imagine a better car. I was comfy, my wife was comfy, and the car was happy. To borrow a line from the MC in Caberet "Everysing vas beautiful" until the idiot interrupted the reveries. Sure, if I had 150k to spend on a car a 911 might be nice, but not 6 times as nice. At 6'6" I don't fit in a Cayman and, even if I did, I still love what the BRZ is and does. I just hope Subi keeps making it long enough for me to wear this one out and buy a new one. :)

No great roadtrips for me, but i did take one. Evacuating from Marathon, Fl due to Irma, i went to Detroit to see old friends and family (i moved from one peninsula to another). About 2400 miles back and forth, my car started with roughly 95k miles. I drove the whole trip in two sittings(one north, one south) only making stops for gas, and food and restroom for my dog and i. And a chainsaw on the way back down. The car held up great, no problems but a CEL because i forgot to disable an O2 sensor code due to headers. With all the modifications and miles, the fact that it was an early '13 model, i wasn't sure that i would make it, especially with my luck, but the car literally performed flawlessly. I met up with friends, went shooting, did some skids, and had some spirited driving with all the cars in between. A boring roadtrip for the most part, bits of fun here and there, but a true test of this car's reliablilty and endurance.
I have to say, of every car i owned, this might be the most reliable, the most fun, the easiest to modify, and the cheapest. My car has been through hell, it even got 2 to 3 feet of air once, but guess what? It's still on the road. I've been thinking about trading it in, but the longer this car keeps going, the more and more i tell myself i have to keep it.

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Slightly embarrassed to keep posting in this thread, but oh well, can't somehow resist.

2015 FRS purchased new October 2014.
Currently 51,799 miles on the odometer.

Recently finished my third trip in this car, from Northern Calif. to the east coast.
(Edit: 10-18-17...Oops, with age we forget. That's actually four trips to the east coast and back so far in this car. Must be a great road trip car.)

Found out early April of this year that there was flooding in Lake Ontario. Had to get there to deal with things quickly as my family has a summer cottage there, me the only family member to deal with things.

Left Eureka, Ca. April 24th, returned home here September 20th. Drove about 9400 miles in those five months.

Stopped in North Carolina on my way home, visited with eldest son and x wife.

Ordered new tires from Tire Rack to be installed in NC...as my OE tires were down to the wear bars at 48,000 miles.
Glad to have done so as I hit a horrendous rain/hail storm on my way home to Eureka, storm just east of Oklahoma City. Rain so hard I could not see (even with new wiper blades just installed) driving 10mph !

Got home safely. New tires were Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, 215/45/ZR17, 91W. Immediately hated those tires. Sidewalls too soft, steering feel lessened from previous Primacy HP tires. Drove about 3400 miles on those Pilot Sport tires.

I've now returned those tires to Tire Rack. Bought new Primacy HP tires, again from Tire Rack, in one size bigger, 225/45/R17, 91W. Happy now to get back to tires I am used to. These are most likely less sticky, and a little worse in the rain than the Pilot Sports, yet make me feel normal again.

Still love the FRS, best car I've ever owned. Zero problems with the car so far. Life is beautiful when one is retired with no routine, just have fun.

My first FRS road trip- let's hear about yours too!
 

Edited

Just did a trip to Arizona and back over some of the twistiest roads you'll find in North America. Two 10-hour days. Perfectly comfortable.

My fuel mileage isn't nearly what some of you are reporting on long trips- 28.7 average- but that's not an issue.

Last weekend I did a trip down to Richmond, VA to hang out with some friends. On Saturday we did a run on some various back roads, eventually hitting the Blue Ridge Parkway from mile marker 1 down to Otter Lake, then back.

Those roads were amazing. Exactly the kind of roads this car was designed for. I was chasing them on their motorcycles. I was kind of sad I was in a car and not on my bike, but only kind of. It was great fun.

That's funny- last week on the other end of the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way down to the end. I would LOVE to do the entire Parkway! Yeah this car was made for those roads, wow.

There were actually some other roads nearby that were better, if only for the fact that they were much less populated. The BRP is great, but there are too many slow drivers on it to make it as fun as it could be. It's absolutely beautiful, though. Next weekend I'm going to do Skyline Drive, then head out to West Virginia to hit some of my favorite roads.