The FD is going on the road... LONG ROAD!!
 

I am a Marine and I am going to do some training in Quantico Va for a little while. Well I am DRIVING my FD there and was wondering what type of experience you guys have had with your 7 on the road. It is about 14 hours of driving time and I really do not want to put the miles on my car, but I sort of don't have a choice.

Please comment.

thanks,
-josh

You could ship it... but it won't necessarily hurt it to drive it. i've done 6 hour trecks in mine pulling a trailer.

Plan to be a little butt-sore after about 4 hours, and be a little mind-numbed from exhaust drone/fumes if you've got one. Just stop and stretch your legs and anhoy the quiet once in a while.

I've done a few sizeable trips - I've found the car comfortable and pleasant on the interstate. Heck, it's a car - drive it! :)

Dale

^ I know, but you here horror stories about the car putting around the city. I was jsut worried about putting it on the open road for extended distances.

thanks,
-josh

IMO, highway miles are allot safer than stop-and-go traffic.

Shit people. These cars arent the most reliable things on the planet, but they are still cars. I have driven my FD over the mountains here in Washington like 5 times (over and back) which is about 3hrs each way. I have never had a problem. I even did this during my breakin period. This is when you notice that the FD's car actually get some pretty decent fuel economy. Last time I did a road trip I calculated 26.5MPG. Not too bad in my book. That was with all my current mods too...See sig.

Just make sure its mechanically sound and all the fluids are are topped off and in good condition. Its probably not a good idea to try and mash around as hard as you can too, IE dont boost the whole way, haha. Just use some common sense.

If it is mechanically sound, it will be fine. I drove my car 900 miles to get it home. No problems, and quite comfortable on the highway.

It'll make it, but I still dread putting that many miles on my car.. To the guy earlier who said he got 26.5mpg -- are you sure that's a 13B under your hood :)

Is the car all stock? I drove mine 12hours without any problems.

Took an 8 hour trip down to Florida without any problems at all. Managed to get 24 mpg and jealous glances ;)

GL and be safe.

I got great mileage on my trips from NY to Montreal, NY to VA, NY to PA, NY to VT etc etc. If the car is sound, you should be more than fine.

On the highway for extended trips you can actually get pretty damn good mileage. I got 330 miles per tank of long highway miles. Driving about 80 mph. No need to have the pedal down all the time. Just set the cruise control and listen to some tunes. :)

I am jealous of you guys. I did a 250 mile trip and it used up three quarters of my gas tank..

Just make sure you've heat cycled the car enough to make sure you've gotten all the air out of your cooling system. You don't want any kind of overheating issues once you take off. The car is quite comfortable on an extended trip if you have a 94 touring with the factory suspension. I've ridden in 93 R-1's and in 93 to 95 with aftermarket suspensions and the R-1 and after market ones (still on track settings) can get quite monotinous and beat on you pretty good on a long trip. I've gotten as good as 26mpg (60 to 70 mph range) and 21 mpg in the 75 to 85 mph range (AC on of course) usually no more than 3psi of boost to reach those speeds. Jack

Lightweights the lot of ya! Last year I did 4900 miles in one week in a FD with a friend. ;)
Crispy

The car is sound for what I know. It has a blitz intake, koyo radiator, RB cat back, eifni y pipe and hallman boost controller.

I took mine on a couple long trips, everything was fine. In fact my RX has been my daily driver since 1996; and I hate being without a car. These cars are reliable if you properly maintain them.

not something you normally thing about, but make sure you bring a few rags for your windshield and front end, maybe some water or cleaner. i drove 4 hours back to back and the bug build up was ridiculous. i could barely see where i was going at the worst point. it wouldnt hurt to wash it on the way there either.

listen to music or keep yourself occupied, 14 hours is pretty long and highway hypnosis can be pretty bad.

Whenever I take a long trip I make sure I have some basic tools and any replacement belts or hoses that I think I might need just in case. Never hurts to have what you might need.

thanks for the tips guys. Please keep them coming!

-josh

Suprised me too. Considering I get 12-14 mpg around town. It was a nice change.

I went 17 hours non stop (only for gas and ate in the car) from San Diego California to Seattle Washington (1200 miles or so IIRC). No problem at all. Just make sure the car is up to snuff on cooling and other maintenance. Oh and I was doing about 80 plus most of the time. Through some parts of Cali I was doing 110.

My thing is, If your car could go 1 hour without any issues, it will go 10 hours without any issues... Unless you somehow run it like hell on the interstate.

Good luck on your trip! If you somewho go thru Bham, shoot me an PM. We'll do lunch or something.

26 hours straight Sault Ste Marie, MI to Daytona Beach 1462 mi. No problems minus a really sore ass.

On a side note, one of the best roads to drive your FD is right outside the gate.

Go out the gate with the mini Iwo statue and go straight past the cemetary, and you have a 9 mile stretch with no entrances to it and its windy and twisty.

I have daily drive my car for about 8 years both long and short distances. I would say (1) bring some basics with you - water, oil, tools, rags (2) keep an eye on your gauges, especially water temp and (3) avoid big cities at rush hours and (4) enjoy your car, that's why you have it !

Mike