MechE00

Hey guys, I'll be driving my 2nd gen (86 GXL) for 20 hours or so (straight through) this weekend, I've got my slim jims, beef jerky, my books on tape, etc. lined up to sustain me on the trip.

You guys have any advice from/for making long drives? some tip/trick on making the stock seat more comfortable after the 15th hour? Some advice on the best sleeping position in the car for the odd power nap at a rest stop or McDonald's parking lot? Some power food/snack that keeps you healthy and alert without major caffeine?

The car has been checked out by a rotary mechanic for its soundness to make the trip, so I'm hoping things are ok on that front..

benhart21

Coke, and not the kind that comes in a can

j/k

Last trip I took in mine was 6 hours straight through, and I did fine with a pack of cigarettes, some cd's, and a 6 pack of Pepsi.

Just be sure to not eat anything that would make you have to take a **** very suddenly burritos may sound like a good idea, but you'll pay for it later...

Zaxfire

Well The beef jerky and Slim Jims are off the hook...If it were me I would make sure I had a woman with Nice Lips riding next to me if ya Know what I mean...( As for the stock seats..Well...maybe a small pillow..Not to thick..Best sleeping positions..Seats all the way back with the pillow on the headrest..That is also a good position for the woman with...Well you get the picture..Uh...Just watch out for the power nap at rest stops...There are alot of crazy things happening in the US right now..As far as these kidnappings and Rest stop killers go..I would stay at a hotel if I were you...Just to be safe..Just take you a quart of oil just in case..Some antifreeze and a good woman with nice lips...Ha Ha...Piece..

chris1234p

I don't know if I could drive my car for 20 hours because I think it gets like 10mpg +- a few maybe. Yea, besides that I guess you could blast some coke or maybe spoof some meth and listen to techno music. Seriously though, get a fuzz buster and cruise at like 135 in the fast lane. It might take a couple hours off your trip.

Erik

wow man...20 hours is a LOT! haha

i've done about 25 separate 8 hour trips in my n/a and T2, and one 15 hour trip in my T2. the cars have been perfect everytime...

the books on tape are a great idea...

also, if you start getting tired, don't drink a redbull or other small energy drink. i've found that although you're wired for like 10 minutes...it wears off quickly and you are more tired than you were before, haha

i've had to sleep in my T2 twice, but couldn't really find a comfortable positon. but then again it might have been that its kinda spooky sleeping in a target parking lot at 2am, so maybe that was why i couldn't fall asleep, haha...

good luck on the trip!

deadRX7Conv

I've done a couple 24hrs trips in the 'vert. Check the oil with every tank of gas. Drink lots of caffeine(cola) and this will allow you to stretch your legs everytime you sprinkle the side road shrubs. This helps curing the uncomfortable seat.
If your eyes weigh heavy, then a quick powernap could prevent an accident. Take a couple in public places with lots of people. If no people, keep driving.
If your fuel filter hasn't been changed within the last year, replace it. It would suck if it clogged from a dirty gas station. Make sure all belts/hoses are in top condition. Same with tires/pressure.
A road trip is a good time to blow out the carbon. Buy a couple bottle of FI cleaner and use with each tank of gas.

RylAssassin

Dude you should take 5 minute rests to get your circulation going because driving more than 4 hours in one position makes you prone to blood clots. Believe me you dont want a blood clot anywhere in your body they take a real long time to get rid of. Just thought I put my two cents.

Thaniel

No kidding. Been on some long trips with my RX-7 and I have found putting a pillow where the lumbar support should be helps.

Oh, If you have any squeeks and rattles (no matter how small) in the car, get rid of them now. After about first 10hours listening to them you'll do anything to make them stop.

Icemark

Hey here is some long distance driving advice:

#1 If you are in the fast lane, and the car behind you is tail gateing you or acting like he wants to pass, move over to the slow(er) lane, so he can. I hate drivers that don't yeild to faster traffic.

#2 carry a quart or two of oil with you, and check your oil level at every stop.

#3 if you haven't changed your coolant in the last 6 months, do it a couple days before leaving, and then drive those couple of days to make sure you bled the system properly.

#4 don't put new tires or brakes on unless you can drive around town for at least 150 miles before your trip to break them in properly.

#5 check your tire pressure cold in the morning before you go. For high speed interstate driving add 4 lbs more air to each tire than you usually run, so that they are around 34-35lbs each. Your mileage will go up slightly and the tire will run cooler.

Icemark

And do that many of you think the seats are uncomfortable??? I find they are pretty damm good, but then I am 6'2" and have a couple of extra lbs of padding on me.

nopistons

Don't buy gas at a non-major-brand gas station. The kind with names like Fast Pit Stop, or things like that. Stay with the major name brands like Mobil, Exxon, etc. The small cheapo places may have water in the gas, and THAT is one major, giant PITA if you get a lot of it. Don't want trouble like that on the road.

i8acobra

make sure you have good tires, a 4 hour trip (at normal speeds) would have only taken me about 3 - 3.5 hours (i drive fast. lol)...but ended up being an 8 hour trip, as one of my tires went boom and i spun out (i was ONLY going a little over 100. hah), luckily i saved the car and planted it in the ONLY soft sand around, couple seconds earlier or later i would have died, honestly, but i had to sit in the parking lot of big-o for several hours, MAKE SURE YOUR TIRES ARE GOOD!!!!!!!!!!! you do NOT want a 100mph spin out. it isnt fun.

Cheers!

bring a bottle of pepto bismo just in case

Thaniel

Mine are. Don't bother me around town but after about an 1 or 2 hrs I find them uncomfortable. The later models may be different though. Mine's an '86.

JumpyRoo

The long drives in my FC leave a lot to be desired, too. I'm 6'1, and have a bit of upholstry, myself

nima_taba

Don't use your cruise for more than an hour at a time...otherwise its sleepy sleepy time....controlling the accelerator keeps you alert.

Nima

jeff_oner

whenever I go on longer trips I find people to "play" with on the highway.

MechE00

Thanks for the advice, guys! I hope to post on Tuesday how it turns out (I won't have access to a computer again until then, the drive is tomorrow..)

Until then..

MechE00

Well, I survived, and so did the car. It turned out to only be 18 hours of a journey (not through some great feat of speed, but because I took a route that mapsonus.com didn't account for..)

I was really untroubled by sleepiness until the last 20 minutes, when I saw the light of dawn in the sky and the familiar roads of home.. I was really downing the spicy beef jerky to stay awake for that last stretch! My regimen for avoiding sleepiness was basically, feed the body everytime I feed the car.. (eat a meal with every tank).. avoid caffeine.. avoid lots of sugar or carbohydrates... and spend at least 10 minutes with my eyes closed after every meal (parked, of course).

The eyes closed thing really helped with the fatique of trying to pick out the lines of the road in the endless rain and the associated vehicle ground spray I had to endure for 90% of the trip..

The sugar/caffeine avoidance was on account every spike pretty much has a following crash.. and I didn't want to crash! Eating primarily meat and cheese (atkin's diet style), and eating regularly, I was hoping to maintain rather constant blood sugar levels, and thus constant levels of alertness.. It seemed to have worked for me.

I also took along a couple of pillows and used them to rest my elbows on to reduce the fatique in my shoulders.. I could shift them around and sit on one or put one behind my back, to vary the seating position, etc.

The books on tape thing worked out quite well. I listened to several, including Kurt Vonnegut's "Time Quake", and Armin Shimmermin reading some Star Trek themed self-help tape entitled "Boldly Live as You've Never Lived Before". These two books did the most for keeping me awake-- mainly because I disliked them and thought they were a bit ridiculous. It kept giving me things to think about, "Oh man! This is the worst part yet!" The tapes I liked didn't do as good a job keeping me awake.

I took the advice to add injector cleaner to the car during the trip, and I checked the oil once, and then really just forgot about it.. I'd remember that I had forgotten once I was back on the road and so kept an eye on the oil pressure gage, but no problems..

I checked the tire pressure.. 33 psi warm all the way around.. thought about bumping that up, but since it was raining constantly, I thought it would be better not to go too high in pressure and risk reducing contact patch/traction in the rain.. (new tires, btw.. Dunlop SP Sport A2.. seemed to do a reasonable job in the rain..)

And speaking of rain, a clean windshield (inside and out!) and Rain-X is your friend! Surprisingly the Fog-X I applied on the inside worked! (I had tried it before and found it to be nearly worthless on a different car..)

The only mechanical issue was that the voltage regulator on the alternator has served me notice that it is seeking another position in the "Broken" department.. my voltage gage would go through fits where it would drop down to 12 volts and then nearly immediately bounce back up to 13-14 or so (depending on what I had turned on at the time). I kept a close eye on the charge level that the needle was bouncing down to, to make sure that, on average, the alternator was still providing enough juice.. I'll probably start hunting around for a new alternator..

Also, I started detecting a fuel smell at the end of the journey.. I wonder what else it might be besides the pulsation damper.. I guess it's time to check the search feature to see what I can turn up regarding checking where the smell's coming from..

I think that's it..

again, thanks for the advice guys!

Driftfc3s

iTrader: (11)

great job, I too am going on a 14hour drive fom atlanta to houston this month in my vert. The only bad thing? No A/C, no radio, one-piece Sparco bucket seats.

Rpeck

No Radio! I would end myself. I even use a walkman on my bike on long road trips .. I could not handle no tunes on that long of a trip ... comfort is no biggy for me, but music is a must.

Van Sema

iTrader: (1)

Fog-x doesn't work if you apply it when humidity is high ... figured that one out ther hard way.

Sounds like the trip went well. I'd get right on that fuel smell though ... figure that one out quick! Wouldn't want to hear about another 7 burning.

Dvst8

iTrader: (6)

all u have to make sure is your car is in top notch shape. do an oil change if u havent done one in a while. make sure ur tires are good, yeah bring a bottle of oil, some snacks, some loud music ( your exhausts might get too loud n bug the **** outta ya for 20 hours ), well u can always stop at snack bar/gas stations on the way so pack small. have a nice trip man