Road tripping the fr-s
 

I talked the wife out of flying so I can take the FR-S on a trip.:thumbup: ----} :burnrubber: Anyone take any long trips in their rides yet? We are driving from Syracuse, N.Y. to Tampa, FL. 1350 mi one way. So i figure 3,000 trip total. Just wondering what kind of trips people have taken and what to expect from her on the road. Any issues (comfort, noise, mpg, etc?) when it gets close to time for the trip I am going to keep a blog page update with mpg's, fuel costs, fuel grades, pictures, and any general thoughts and notes while on the road. trip will be in late may.

Why not do a Top Gear style challenge, wife takes the plane and you take the FRS:popcorn:

I'll be interested to see what your thoughts are for long distance travel in this car. I've racked up many miles in other cars and in general all I can recommend is take everything out of your pockets; wallet, phones, keys, coins, chapstick, everything. In my experience this helps tremendously with comfort.

Good luck and keep us posted!

I have not done a "long" trip. I went from Raleigh, NC to Atlanta, GA in mine and loved every second of it. Never got tired and back never hurt.

Longest trip so far has been four hours to an autoX in Louisville. No issues with comfort or reliability. I did leave the car unattended at a fuel pump - it overfilled and rang up $75 in premium unleaded, most of it on the ground. Not counting that, the car averaged 28 MPG round trip.
I made a case for taking an FR-S to Myrtle Beach this past September. Those great, twisty roads in WV and NC would have been awesome. Unfortunately, the GF's Fit won out. That thing sucks to drive, but has tons of room and is an automatic.

we last week I took the wife up calif 1 and my car is FULL race we had it packed full (I was also testing at Laguna Seca) and we did 2 8+ hour stints on 2 lane twisties and sectionline type roads less than half an hour on interstates both times in the car with Lotus Elise seats (minimal padding) and she had no complaints...But she was very distracted with the scenery...as was I. The car is dropped 3" on Robispec'ed V3's with custom upper mounts and spring package.. I really liked the trip and my wife LOVED it...go figure I thought she was going to beat me up for "ruining" the new car.

Water. Lots of it.

And take a piss or shit when you need to, don't "hold it" for the next rest stop. Shit happens with stiff suspension if you know what i mean.

Make sure all your tires PSI is up to spec and check all the fluids. If your car needs an oil change, do it now.

The car is very comfortable on long trips, but then again im still stock suspension/wheels

So far I've only taken mine around Cali. I might be making a trip to Oregon/Washington sometime this year to. If i do, i'll definitely be driving it lol.

I broke in my car on a road trip for work.. VB to Baltimore/Philly and back. I agree on the pocket bit.. and on the "shit now or shit when mother nature decides you shit" part..

All in all though its a very comfy car to be in for long times. The seats are very comfy even if the ride is sporty car tight.

Lots of water! It was mentioned above but very much worth reiteration. You'd be surprised how quickly you dehydrate when driving. Stick to snacks that are low in sugar and higher in protein. They'll keep you awake better. I like cliff bars.. but they're an acquired taste.

clean the inside and outside of the windows THOROUGHLY before you leave. And check all the other stuff listed above (oil, coolant, windshield washer juice. etc)

Bring good tunes and enjoy the seat time! :D

If you haven't figured it out, cruise control between 2k and 3k = insta +30mpg, especially down hills.

Of course this really shouldn't apply when you decide to :burnrubber:

Edit: of course everyone else posted great suggestions

always take stuff out of pockets for long trip. And no shoes driving for a day long drive is a must for me. Wife laughed at the top gear idea. As stated I will start a blog when we leave.

I drove to Vegas and back, it was about 1.2K miles round trip.

The longest I've been was from Toronto to Montreal 580km, I mange to get 750km per tank.

I did a trip from Eugene, OR to Tooele, UT A bit over 900 miles each way.

Jacksonville nc to Miami fl 860miles I average 350-370 on a full tank of gas. Pretty comfy

Take a small cushion for your lower back, the stock seats are horrible on long trips since they provide little to no lower back support.

Car is great for long road trips...30+mpg (on Kumho XS sticky Max performance summer tires @ 45psi too) at 80ish mph cruising, seats are pretty comfortable, and the ride is nice. Best thing about road trips is the scenery and the memories you just don't get when taking the plane... did Houston to south Utah and back last fall (3k+ round trip). The big wind farms in west Texas near Amarillo along with the Cadillac Ranch site, the striking sunset going through New Mexico after hitting a huge thunder and lightning shower from Amarillo through entering New Mexico (car is awesome in the rain too!)... just breathtaking. Entering Albuquerque, New Mexico at night through the mountains and going through Arizona and North Rim area of the Grand Canyon along 89 and into the Mountains before getting into Utah - you just have to experience that first hand.

It's not the destination, it's the journey and the memories along the way that make road trip what they are. Like highway 14 going into Cedar City, Utah near sundown; from Colorado/Wyoming like mountain terrain to desert canyon terrain on a really fun road with lovely lighting... so memorable!

This..... Is why I want to drive, we have made the trip to FL. Many times, both driving and flying, I love the scenery, food, people you don't get back home every day.

Avoid rest stops -very high property crime rates.

Cruise at 65 and you'll average around 35mpg

Where should he pee then?

You know, not every is out to get you buddy.

I've not yet taken any long trips in my FR-S but I did in my previous Miatas. Seeing how much more comfortable the FR-S is than the Miatas were I know that when I do it will be a pleasure.

Leaving tomorrow for a little road trip from SoCal to Norcal, about 10 hours driving each way... I'll update with photos later :)

I took the yaris from Toronto to Disney last fall and let everyone else fly. (i got to do the Tail of the Dragon and the Blue Ridge)
This year I am considering taking the BRZ either back down to do the dragon and the blue ridge again, or maybe Pacific Coast highway...

For me its not the destination, I am always sad to get there... I just wanna keep on going. I've done 11,000kms in 14 days on a bike, and loved every minute of it, thats a vacation to me :burnrubber:

One of the joys of not traveling via the interstates is the plethora of authentic local places to pee, rest, eat, shop, photograph and take in the scenery. Best of all, you might find a road that is exciting to drive. That never, ever happens on the Interstate.

Drove 1254 miles from seattle wa to coronado ca in less than 17 hours avg mpg =26.8
Two weeks later drove 1276 miles from coronado to san antonio in less than 17 hours avg mpg=23.879
Two days later drove 1803 miles from san antonio to norfolk virginia would have been 22 hours but stopped in NC to visit with family avg mpg=25.65

This was with a completely filled car (passenger seat included) and with the UNIchip tune and avg speeds of 80+p...my normal gas mileage is closer to 34-36 range...

The FRS is not going to be a factor in how well the trip turns out.

You have made an argument, and convinced your wife that she will enjoy this road trip. Results from here on in depend on your ability to deliver on the promises you made.

Picked up my car with 12 miles and drove it 650 miles home from VA. Even without getting the seat adjusted quite right in that time, it was very comfortable to drive for the 8.5 hours. Averaged 32 miles/gallon.

I drove from DC to Boston round trip (900mi) and while the car was comfy the road noise became very irritating. It was sometimes hard to talk to my gf depending on the surface we were driving on (lots of shitty roads along the way). I'm looking into sound deadening the doors and rear quarter panels (dont care how much weight it adds). My longest trip was 7k miles from DC to LA to SF and back in less than two weeks in a Honda Fit. The Fit was great and comfy enough. I kept up with a 240sx on the Tail of the Dragon and did 115 on the Bonneville salt flats with it. I realize the difference between these two trips was cabin noise, it'll wear you out...

Drove from El Paso, TX/ Ft. Bliss back home to Wisconsin. Was about 1400 miles and I had no complaints what so ever. Very comfy car for road trips.

Went from Los Angeles to Lebanon, OR, then to San Francisco with the wife in rain and snow through northern Cali. We never spent more than 8 hrs at a time because of leaving late in the day. It was okay for being a fat dude that really cant fit in the seat. I did get up 34 mpg with the same tank i got nailed by CHP (Auto). The snow conditions f-ed up the paint on the car badly :( Time to F it up more, going to Willow Springs with it on Sunday :)

I am planning an LONG road trip in the spring for my FR-S. A friend is going to meet me in Denver, so I will drive the shitty portion of the trip from Chicago to Denver... but then we are all 2-lane mountain roads from there. We decided to do Rocky Mountain National Park, the Skyline Drive in SW Colorado to Mesa Verde, then through the central state to Garden of the Gods... and whatever else we find on the way. :-)

For anyone interested, I have also done several EPIC trips up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway, Tail of the Dragon, in TN/NC/VA... and all I can say is GO DO IT. I did it twice in my Miata and once in my former Porsche. I have never regretted a single mile of those trips.

I've been on two road trips.

One from Tampa, FL to Baton Rouge, LA and back, then the other from Tampa, FL to areas of NC and SC and back.

The first trip was just fine but it was broken up by stops in the panhandle. The other trip the longest I was in the car was 8 hours non stop. As far as comfort goes, I have a u-shaped pillow that I use on airplanes and I brought that with me on the second trip and it helps with the head/neck support. With the room that they left for helmets on the headrest, the pillow closes the gap and definitely helps.

I drove from the Twin Cities down to Northeast Arkansas. It was a great drive for the route I took down.

If you can, drive twisties and avoid the interstate. The car tracks great at freeway speeds, but can be unforgiving on your back if you have lower back pain. When you're in the twisties you won't notice the distances you've covered.

I took the interstate back and regret it. Like I mentioned, the straight distances won't make you as happy as you think. Because of the nature of this car (small wheelbase, tossable platform) you will enjoy it, but your wife may complain about the choppiness it has at speed.

That's the only real issue I personally noticed in the 1500 mile trip.

Take it for these reasons:

• Road trips are always fun
• It'll reward you with superior gas mileage
• You'll be able to say hi to your fellow FT86er's on your way

This. A thousand times, this.

Highways, rural routes, scenic byways, these are where road trip memories are made. Interstates are boring.

Recently I decided I want to ride or drive down to South America, so I am looking at different routes and figuring out whether to do it on motorcycle or by car. Funny detail: Googlemaps will not calculate the route from Nashville TN to Sao Paulo, Brazil. There's a gap in the road just past the Panama Canal. So I have been calculated the trip in two parts.

Noob question but where can I find these scenic routes that are not interstates because I am planning on a road trip from illinois to Florida through kentucky, tenn, and georgia. Anyone got an idea on where I can find these routes like on a website?

I would just search via google maps or buy a road atlas at a bookstore and find a route that seems interesting.

I believe both feature topography within the map, so you can see differences in elevation and plan on going to those places.

Or you can head to the regional forums and see if there are any roads the locals recommend or would be willing to show you first-hand.

@Chupacabra had good info, I will add...

1) www.nps.gov

2)

• www.enjoyillinois.com
• www.kentuckytourism.com
• www.tnvacation.com
• www.exploregeorgia.org
• www.visitflorida.com

3) www.byways.org

I highly recommend the Natchez Trace Parkway from Tennessee to Mississippi. It is incredible. Hundreds of miles of gentle sweepers, beautiful scenery, and no 18-wheelers or fast food joints. :w00t:

Darien Gap...you're probably not going to be able to drive across it.
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap"]Darién Gap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Right. Have you been there? Made the journey down the Pan-Am?! If so, I would love to chat offline at length.