Quote:
Originally Posted by AnalogMan
Because of the pandemic, I haven't driven my BRZ very much in the past year (the timing couldn't have been worse, I bought it November 2019).
So, hankering to break the self-imposed house arrest just a little, thanks to vaccinations we decided to take a little trip. Yesterday we drove the BRZ. 7 hours, for a little getaway on the Canadian border (since the Canucks won't let us in).
The first hour was exhilarating. Even just on the highway, it reminded me all over again why I bought and love this car. The second hour was almost as much pure fun.
After the third hour, it started to get a little... tiring. After 7 hours, the noise and jittery ride were a little... much (at least for this 60-something aging body).
I guess sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing. I think future drives will be limited to no more than 3 hours a day. The car is an absolute blast to drive. But it's not the best choice as a highway cruiser for long days.
How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?
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Several years ago my wife and I drove ours from very deep South Texas to Arlington, VA - roughly 1800 miles> The plan was to limit mileage to 500 miles a day and with one exception we kept to that. It was a wonderful experience. As far as ride quality goes, I think it's a little less harsh than my wife's Camry SE V6. Sharp edged bumps don't have the "shot to the kidneys" feel that the Camry does.
We stuck to the ' blue highways" whenever possible, went up through central Louisiana into northern MS and Alabama. We took a couple of runs up and down the Dragon and, a little carsickness aside, had a great time. At the time I was 64, I think. My wife a couple of years younger.
The only downside we noticed was road noise. That can wear you down over a longish day, but we stopped every 100 to 200 miles to sightsee or leg stretch and that kept noise fatigue from becoming too much of a problem.
Since then, I've added a substantial amount of sound damping to the rear half of the car and a few 100 - 200 mile hops suggest it's made a difference, If the pandemic allows, we're going to take it up to Seattle, if not this summer, then next. Before that, I'll probably swap the stock struts for Bilstein B6s. They're rumored to take a bit more of the edge off bumps.