Driving cross country in the 86
 

Monday was my last day of work in Palmdale, CA. At 1530 I hopped in my 2013 FR-S and headed for North Carolina. Let me just start by saying if you have any other choice besides driving your 86 from coast to coast, do that instead! I wanted to take I-40 across, but due to snow I had to go further south on the 10, then the 20.

My first leg took me from Palmdale to just east of Tucson, AZ. It was raining pretty good most of the way. Luckily I rain-Xed the shit out of my windshield, side windows, and side mirrors. I HIGHLY recommend it. The only time I had to use my wipers was when there was a car in front of me throwing light mist. I also had some tool in Phoenix in a red tC pull up next to me on the interstate (in the rain) revving his factbox muffler at me:lol:. I arrived at 2330 at a truck stop, threw the seat back, draped my jacket over me and tried to sleep. It was uncomfortable and the steering wheel kept getting in the way. I don't recommend the drivers side to sleep in.

I woke up at 0430, gassed up the car, grabbed some snacks, and headed out. My goal for Tuesday was to make it to Shreveport, LA. All the way through NM and TX in one day....:mad0259::burnrubber:. Luckily the weather cleared up and I was able to do 75-80 the whole way. I only stopped about every 3-3.5 hours to get gas, use the restroom, and stretch a little.

After one gas stop in BFE, Texas, I was getting back on the freeway when I heard a terrible noise, followed by a check engine light. :iono::cry:. I pull off and check the code with my code reader. Cool! Just a cat system code caused by my catless headers:thumbup:. But WTF was that noise? Then I remembered leaving the gas station there was a mud puddle I had gone through. It must have just been the mud drying up and coming loose on the freeway. :happyanim:. It just made a terrible noise hitting all kinds of stuff on the way out. The noise plus the CEL made my heart sink. But it's all good! On to LA!

I roll through Shreveport and find a place to stop just outside of town at around 2300. This time I throw everything in my back seat and hop in the passenger seat. This way I can at least roll on my side if I want. It also let me scoot my seat forward more, and allowing the seat to recline more. I also put up my sunshade to block the rest stop lighting. I slept a little better, but woke up at 0500 hurting, but fairly well rested.

From there I drove another 17 hours to make it to my new home in North Carolina. The only slow down was an accident on 85 (I think) going north out of Atlanta. My GPS rerouted me to stay on the 20 to I-95, then up to NC. Again, only stopped every 3-3.5 hours for gas, food, and ass/ lower back relief. I arrived around 2200 and pretty much went right to bed.

All in all I have to say the roads weren't too bad. The worst part of the I-20 BY FAR was Shreveport, LA! Huge potholes everywhere, and where they tried to fill in potholes where overfilled, turning them into ramps. None of the road was flat, it felt like going through a woop section on my dirt bike. These roads would have been rough even in the smoothest Caddy.

But I have my baby with me! Thanks for reading. :popcorn:

Glad you made it safely.

I love the seats/support in these cars, I can make a 10 hour trip without any pains in my back, unlike some of my previous cars.

So why exactly do you say not to drive the FRS? I see nothing in there that would be an issue and is any different than day to day driving in anyplace other than California (and maybe Florida).

I wouldn't hesitate to drive my twin across the country. Only difference is I would sleep in motels/hotels. $36 for a Motel 6 is worth every penny!


Glad you made it safe.

Having made a similar drive multiple times, I can say I try to avoid Louisiana at all costs.


Texas is pretty boring to drive through, and some of the worst drivers in the states. I did hit a Jackalope on the highway there once though.....always thought they were mythical.


New Mexico, I hope you stopped at Roswell, just for the fun of it. I always make it a planned stop just because. It is a small town, obviously the main source of income is UFO based, but it breaks up the drive and is kind of fun to eat at an alien themed McDonalds.


That's quite a move, why'd you do it? Congrats on arriving safely!

They are mythical. Maybe you hit a jack rabbit but no jackalope.
http://pm1.narvii.com/6013/2bc936f67...e04031d_00.jpg

First thing my wife and I did after buying our FR-S was to go on a 3000 mile road trip.


I graduated high school in Roswell from the same school my father did: NMMI

That explains sooooo much!


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dimQ0gVGRFA/hqdefault.jpg

Nope, it ran out in front of me, reared up, and then charged at the vehicle with his horns clearly down and attacking the front license plate. I still hear the screams as he got dragged by the control arm for a second.


That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You got off lucky then!


https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20140409192641

I was going to ask the same question @drz400dude. I've made multiple trips in my FRS with were 16 to 18 hours in a day with no issues. I can't think of a better car to do it in.

I drive long distances in my BRZ frequently. Your mistake was sleeping in your car and trying to ram the trip into too few days. That's not the car's fault. Most people would end up in knots doing that in anything smaller than a motor home.

I once drove my old hearse 19 hours from Brooklyn to Tallahassee with a four hour break to sleep (stretched out in the back of the hearse). Not even that big heavy Cadillac could prevent me from feeling like I had been beaten senseless by the end of it. An extra day on the road and a cheap motel is worth the money.

That's not just Shreveport. That's all of Louisiana. I used to drive my BRZ all over Louisiana (to practically every small town in the state) for my job, putting 30K miles per year on the car. The roads are so bad there that you actually notice something is weird when you get onto a good road. They're easily the worst roads I've driven in 30+ states.

Made the same drive (twice) from Corona, CA to Charlotte, NC and then back again in my 1991 toyota pickup. great drive and I would love to do it again but i likely wouldnt want to do it in the frs

if i still have the FRS
 

this summer I am planning a seven day trip to the tail of the dragon and area . Did 5000km a couple of years ago to Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick and Cape Breton (cabot trail- worth the drive folks). FRS is a dream on long drives.
FWIW got the green light from wifey last night to buy a Supra. Just need to see cost and lease rate ( see Civic Type R for interest rate gauging.) If both are reasonable I will be ordering as soon as information becomes available.

Welcome to Carolina...stop into the Carolina86 group if you do teh Fartbook...

JEHZUS CHROIST!!!

@OP: I know that you didn't recommend it, but after reading this, it makes me want to try it in my FRS.

Glad that you made it safely with almost 0 issues!:thumbup:

Neat story.


If you are going to travel coast to coast in one day, next time I suggest this:


:D



humfrz

The TRD SE seats have changed the prospect of an x-c drive. They're narrower in both the seat and back support area than my '13 FR-S. Whether it's from thicker and deeper bolsters or my arse got wider over the past few years is up for speculation, but when I asked the salesman about it he said the TRD has more restrictive, racing-oriented seats different from the other 86's.

It sure felt like it. They squeezed my legs straight forward down to the knees and the back bolsters clamped my ribcage and dug into my shoulder blades excessively. It would be appreciated on a track day but even for DD use could become annoying. None of the bolsters are adjustable.

I'm about average well-fed American male height and weight. I can't imagine someone with an above normal BMI fitting well in the TRD seats. Disclaimer: I haven't driven a '17+ GT that the salesman said also has more restrictive seats but aren't as limiting as the TRD seats.

OP, what was your average MPG? Given your mostly highway miles at high speed and time between fills, it looked low unless you filled well before empty.

I'll be making a similar drive this summer. Good to know that these cars are capable of it (not that I doubted it in the first place or anything) and the seats won't make your ass go numb after an hour or two.

Glad you made it.
I40 has turned into a parking lot for me once during a "Snow" (ice) storm. Not a fun place to spend a Friday evening.
And there's a lot of potholes & stuff too about halfway between Memphis & Nashville.



----

I have taken a lot of miles road tripping in this car.

Cons:
Not ideal for having an adult + dog in the back seat. Done it.
Not ideal for having 3 dogs with you. Done it. Don't recommend.
Not ideal for sleeping in.
Not as comfortable as a sedan.
You are on this forum, you likely have an exhaust...that + poor sound deadening = music has to be turned up super loud. going deaf at 30 you say?
Sports cars generally don't feel great going over bumpy roads.
Mileage on your car

Pros:
32MPG is pretty good.
Have the car you have fun in with you all the time.
Photo ops at cool places. Who wants to take photos of a ford fusion next to a mountain?

How many road trips have you gone on with your FRS? How many miles?

Definitely agree with that, particularly if your dogs are the size of mine...

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1337262139

I have only had one long road trip in my FR-S; 696 miles from San Jose to Vancouver WA. Car did great. I probably will be taking it all over the country, and Canada when I retire.

I have 57,000 miles total. in just over 36 months of ownership.
Too many to count now since I have family in another state & my GF's family is in another.
These are the big ones I can remember. So based on just these, at least 24,000 miles on longer trips.

2016
3 months after I bought it AZ-->IL-->AZ ~ 3400 miles

https://i1056.photobucket.com/albums...pshltpkdqs.jpg

AZ-->TN-->IL-->AZ - ~4000 miles
AZ-->TX - ~1000 miles

2017
Went from TX to TN and back multiple times, at least 5+ times - ~1200/each
TX-->IL-->TX - ~2000 miles
TX-->TN-->IL-->TX - ~2000 miles

2018
TX-->TN-->IL-->TX - ~2000 miles(the time I had 3 dogs)
TX-->CA-->TX - ~3000 miles
Dallas-->Austin-->Dallas - 400 miles


LOL. that's rough. I had much smaller dogs.

As someone who has lived in the AZ/NM/TX corridor my entire life, I can verify that jackalopes are absolutely real. As kids we used to chase them through the desert (they're fast!). And they will get up in your grille (literally and figuratively).

Just don't eat them! You'd think they taste like rabbit, but they're awful!

https://i.imgur.com/SAACbeD.jpg

You kids shouldn't have been eating these things - :confused0068:


humfrz

Driving cross country sounds amazing! I'm not sure how well the seats would feel in super hot climates, or after 1,000 miles lol, but it sounds amazing. Congrats on the trip and good luck OP!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

That is in 1995 dollars. Most cities, now a days it's about double that price for motel 6.

OP, and anybody else doing a cross-country trip, if you ever pass through my humble town, you are always welcome to crash for the night. If you post your itinerary in advance, I am sure some other forum members will help too.

I had the same question; my wife and I took ours from Syracuse, NY, to Baton Rouge, LA and back over a long weekend... 23 hours non-stop (except for gas) each way, and I did the bulk of the driving. We're in our late fifties. No back problems, comfortable... best long distance road car we've ever had except for one drawback, and for us it is a biggie..


It's loud. I'm a wuss about my hearing as an acoustic musician and audio hobbyist/recording engineer.



Road trips in our ML500 or LX470 (big and bigger SUVs) are much quieter and more "comfortable,".. more room, less confined, smoother ride ... but I get stiffer in those seats and have more trouble staying awake and alert; have to pull over more frequently.



As in all things, there are tradeoffs. Quiet/roomy vs. loud/long-term sitting support/great fuel economy. Unless we're hauling lots of gear, the FR-S wins.

I tried using ear plugs, in my case the ones I use when swimming laps. I use old ones while cutting grass to protect hearing.

They were super effective in eliminating road and wind noise. Too effective and it was disorienting. Weird sensation. I didn’t expect to be so affected by lack of acoustic feedback. So I took them out after about 30 minutes and never used them again on my 2,000 mile journey.

There are earplugs specifically to reduce sound levels to varying degree. Perhaps there are ones that would more modestly lessen noise, allowing conversation.

Question: Is the exhaust system on your car stock?


humfrz

Absolutely. Whole car is stock... well, except for seat covers, floor and trunk liners. I can't imagine wanting to make it any louder. Oh.. yeah.. I did the "Plug Sound Tube With 12v Plug" mod.... detailed DIY to follow.

That puppy will put a dent in your mpg...

I picked up my FR-S on Monday outside of LA, spent the first night in Las Vegas, then did the 800 mile drive on Day 2 back to Colorado. I'm 6' 3" and was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I found the seat for that Day 2 drive.

Bella was a sweetheart. She weighed about 150lbs. Sadly we lost her about a year after this picture was taken.

This is my favorite photo of her, I call it her "Bigfoot pose".

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1334281674

That’s a whole lotta dog.

I’ve been doing 1200 odd km trips weekly in my 86 for the last few weeks (400km/day). Very comfy seats, but like anything you’ve gotta climb out every couple hundred and stretch.

Only pulled over once so far, and got off with a warning :)

Bigfoot is very fitting! Sorry to hear she has passed on.

I would say that would be a couple of complaints on the car. The windshield wiper cannot keep up in heavy downpours. And secondly, the car hydroplanes easily.