How many of you trust your 7 enough to take it on long trips? If so, what do you do to prepare for the voyage?

 

I've taken my modified 86 GXL to Saint Louis, Omaha, Chicago and a few others. I do it more than once a year to each city also. I take extra premix, coolant, water and oil just in case.

 

well im about to.(2.5-3 hours that is) just gonna check the oil, tire pressures, and basically go.
in the process hope shes not going to leave me stranded somewhere on the jersey turnpike like my miata did.(note dont run over large metallic objects at a high rate of speed)

 

Did a suicide run to San Jose and back for my Corbeaus, 16 hours of driving in a single day.

 

I've taken mine to Peoria,IL (that's almost 1000 miles one way) quite a few times. I check all my fluids (all of them including tranny and diff) belts, hoses, clamps on hoses and pipes, and tire pressure. I also take along plenty of extra fluids (just in case) as well as a tool bag with any tools I might need for repairs. Always made it to my destination without any mishaps.(knock on wood !!!)

 

after i get my engine rebuilt i will trust it

 

Grand forks, ND to Elko, NV. 21hr drive straight through, i've done it 5 times now. i change the oil before i go and put gas in her. I keep some extra fluids, and bring tools.

 

The '86 was very reliable when it was stock. I drove it 700 miles without really worrying at all. With the Haltech, it runs great, but I still haven't perfected starting yet, so I fear being stranded.

The '91 has an automatic transmission that I don't trust much further than I can throw it. I don't even drive it to work.

Long story short, you know the condition of your car better than any of us. If you think it is reliable (ie: It hasn't broken recently and has nothing ready and waiting to break) then you can drive it.

 

I'm sure you already know but I drove mine from VA to FL, 900 mile trip. Through the boonies it was cruising at 105mph at ~5000rpm and I had no problems whatsoever. It was like 30 degrees out though so I'm sure that helped with cooling. I don't have my stock belly pan though since my car never came with it and thats supposed to reduce a lot of airflow to the radiator and oil cooler. Just flush all fluids and check the cooling and oiling system thoroughly.

 

First time I ever drove mine was from Denver to Austin ( stopped the first 10 hours to stay with family in the pan handle). The car hadn't been run in 3 years either. Oil,change,upper radiator hose, plugs, alt belt, and loaded up on fluids in case.... Oh, and new U-Joints, hince the reason it sat.

Damn how good that car felt at 68k...before the oil control rings went out just last month....yet again....it sat for 3 years.

 

drove them for years from knoxville, tn to del ray beach in florida. about 1000 miles each way. Check fluids and gas and never had any trouble.

 

have driven mines from NYC to Ft. Lauerdale like 4 times. I change the oils b4 trip, take 1 quart extra oil, extra belts and coolant and alot of CD's.
Car has not failed me yet

 

Yeah, but I take my tools with me just in case... then again, the longest trip I've been on was about 10 hours (should have been 7), and I was going to VIR for a driving event, so... going without tools wasn't an option.

I've only had it break down a few times for various reasons lately, such as a bad starter solenoid (good thing manual cars can be push started).

 

allways keep extra belts in the car

 

Did Rochester NY to Asheville NC, thats like 900 miles and 12 hours. Car loved it, but my ears were ringing at the end of it. I take it from Rochester home to Lancaster PA every other month or so too. Then again, the car is only 1 for 3 on the last three trips home, between a mystery vac leak/idle surge and a bad afm. It had never let me down in 3 years before that.

Bring tools, an alt belt, some vac caps.

 

ditto to the belts.

I lost an alternator belt a couple of weeks ago and it took out my other belts. I ended up finding an O'Rielly's and buying new belts and a new set of combination wrenches. It's been a long long time since I worked on a car in the parking lot of a parts store...

 

Longest one I did was about 2-3K miles, drove from Seattle to San Diego (stopping at sevenstock along the way), across to AZ, up through NV and UT and back to WA. I'm going to be doing about 10k on my motorcycle starting in 26 days!

+1 to what everyone said about belts, quart of oil, and basic tools. I would like to add two feet of wire with crimp connectors and a test light of some type.

Bring two gallons of water. One for the radiator, and one for you. Especially if you're driving in the desert or other isolated areas in the summer.

Check your air pressure in your tires and your SPARE before you leave. Bring a pressure guage and check them every morning on multi-day trips.

Cell phones are priceless on road trips.

 

I have 1993 RX-7. Bone Stock. 109 thousand miles onit.

I'm so tempted to drive from Fairfax Virginia to Albany New York.

Dont know if I should take that chance. It runs great though. Leaks oil.

 

I am the original owner of a 1990 RX7 GXL with nearly 273K miles. I replaced the engine with a Mazda remanufactured at 212K miles. I've driven my RX7 from VA to Chicago area and back many times without a problem. The drive is about 10-12 hours depending on weather, traffic and road construction. I normally get about 24 mpg with the 4.3 rear end. With the stock 4.1 rear end I would get about 26 mpg. I have no concerns about the RX7's reliability -- the car runs flawlessly when it's on the road. I usually change oil and check everything out including tires before the trip. Only problem with the car is that the A/C doesn't work, but I am planning on fixing that sometime when I find time.

Hot_Dog
90 RX7 GXL
02 Acura RSX-S

 

Back in 2000, before the wife wanted to get a new car, the 91 RX-7 was her daily driver. Mine was an 80 and the FD was my toy. That year we packed up the 91 and drove about 500 miles to St. Augustine in it and got the best mileage I've gotten in it....close to 25 mpg. The 91 was loaded down too. She had a wonderful idea of camping out at the beach in St. Augustine so we had a tent, sleeping bag, luggage all packed in the 91. We had to make a clear path to see out the rear view mirror. So I trust it. Just check the oil, coolant and tires before you go and have fun.

Tim

 

I took my 1st 90 Vert to Panama City Florida from MD back in 2000. It was a 22 hour drive. The car made it fine, both up and back. It even handled the strip where I dogged it every chance I got! I was the one struggling to keep up on the voyage.

 

I am very careful with my car when I'm more than a few hours away from home. 100% of breakdowns have been caused by me, or my driving.

 

I regularly take my daily-driver 88 Vert on 800 mile round-trips to our Louisiana field office. Other than the oil and coolant I always carry in the trunk, I don't do anything special other than gas up and go.

I can do 80 most of the trip, and I get far better mileage (about 24 mpg) than I do on my daily commute.

 

I rarely bring anything more than some spare coolant and a tool box with some hand tools in it, and I have taken mine on quite a few voyages with no issues...

 

Coolant, funnel, oil, rags, socket set, screwdrivers, flashlight, factory service manual. Not that I've had problems, but just in case.

I've driven 12+ hr trips to Texas and back in mid-summer with no problems. Change the oil every 3000 mi.