Im really debating taking my car home for christmas. Im stationed in Norfolk, Va. Home is in Tallahasee florida... A little less than 800 miles for me. I would like to take the car home, there's lots of really fun back roads in that area that I could just have a blast on. But to be honest, all these negative reliabilty threads scare me. I havent had any real issues with the car, I have a little oil leak which i assume is coming from the oil pan but other than that no other leaks, doesnt eat up coolant, temps never get out of hand... no real reason that I shouldnt drive it home... But I cant help but think im gonna be **** out of luck at the half way point somewhere in Ga, or SC when the motor pops. It shouldnt "pop" from normal driving should it? BTW it has about 92K miles on the motor.... This is what worries me the most. Car has a PFC, downpipe,high flow cat, apexi exhaust, fighters garage intakes, pettit coolcharge II intercooler, hks ignition system, denso fuel pump w/rewire. I think that about covers it for perfomance.

Weak points: Still has the stock radiator, and ast. Who ever the previous owner was had a new stock ast put on it so im not to worried about that and Like I said I have never seen higher than 96 degree coolant temps even when it was 90 degrees outside so I havent worried about the radiator much.

As long as I top off the coolant, change the oil, spark plugs and wires should I feel safe about driving the car home?

BTW, I have a Daily driver too, so its not like its a must. Its just a want.

 

Also when I say a small oil leak, I mean the car was parked in my friends driveway for 6 months when I was on deployment and we came back to about 10-15 drops of oil under the engine/tranny area.

 

It's just a car, drive it.

 

I agree, can't enjoy it if you don't drive it.

 

Yea, I'd drive it.

Personally I hate road tripping in the FD because it can get very uncomfortable, but as long as you hit some rest stops to stretch out you'll be fine.

 

I wont to trust in it. I do have geico insurance and they are suppose to provide 24 hour road side assistance and towing. But does that mean that they take the car to VA for me? Hell i think im just gonna go for it. Yall are right, why own it if I cant even drive it home.

 

I made it from SF to LA and back in a weekend just fine. Just make sure to keep an eye on the temperature and just cruise. If you don't overwork the car it'll be fine.

 

When I bought the car down In NC I drove it about 270 miles back with no problems... I have done alot of upgrades since then too.... I dont know why im just worried about breaking down somewhere but I have no real reason to worry.

 

Just bought some new plugs and wires, ill throw them in this weekend and start getting the car ready for the trip.

 

I also figure as long as I stay off the boost i should get decent mileage.. cant really be worse than 12 highway mpg in the truck... Heard some people get as high as 25 mpg.....

 

I get 19-20 but that was only after i got my haltech instaleld and tuned. I got 17 before that

 

If everything is good why be scared. I drove 600 miles in my fd to sevenstock and back. I did have a koyo nflow radiator, knightsports ast, mishimoto silicone hoses, new Mazda thermostat with fresh coolant w/ purple ice. It drove fine even on the uphill runs. My fc with bnr stage 4 turbo also went never went past 92 deg C. And that day was 105 deg f.

 

If its not giving you problems and is running great, just drive it. I drove my FD almost 1,400 miles back home the day I bought it. I showed up, paid for the car, looked it over real quick and hit the highway. The car ran great even with some boosting on the highway. You're already better off than me since you know your car and its condition. All I knew was that it "ran great" from what the seller told me and hoped everything went well in the 24 hrs or so of driving back home.

 

Drive it. I've been on many a road trip in my FD. Mostly driving 5 hours or more to a track, driving it to the limit for 2 days and driving back. :-)

 

If your car can't make it 1600 miles without breaking down... damn that's a shitty car...

 

I routinely (meaning like once a month) take my modded 7 home from school and back for a weekend. The drive is over 700 miles round trip (~12hrs) and of making the trip maybe 30+ times in the last 3 years the only time I've ever been stranded was for a flat tire (didn't have a spare)....ok, another time was because of a flash blizzard in Chicago which was a complete nightmare and I ended up at a hotel for the night.

The trip is EASILY doable and I hate seeing threads about ppl being afraid of distance trips. The key is to change the oil, check fluids, and watch temps while driving.

I have a best average of 24mpg(street port,stock ecu) on the trip and that is going about 75-80ish. Stay in 5th gear and keep the rpms below 3k and you should have no problems while getting the best gas mileage of your life with the FD.


I love the road trips in the 7.....so relaxing.....yet it can get uncomfortable in the stock seats

 

Why everybody are so scared to trip in FD.

I Daily drive mine, all summer (we got snow in winter :P), doing 70miles every day (its over now, had to go far from home for work and school) nothing ever happend. if you have all reliability mods + taking GOOD care of it, you'll be fine.

FD are as reliable as you make them

 

I did several trips from northern texas to northern indiana and back again with my FD. got 23-25 MPG too when i wasn't getting stupid on the pedal :P keep oil with you and don't forget your two stroke oil

 

Good points out there im being a ***** about this....

 

haha I think this is the 2nd or 3rd thread I've seen like this, it's almost like people think the cars are made out of glass or something.

 

I made a trip from RR, NC to Indianapolis on a fresh rebuild. If you're skiddish, do this. Get together some common tools you might would need to do MINOR repair (couple of wrenchs/skrewdrivers/etc.), get you a couple quarts of oil, another set of plugs, and a bottle of coolant. Put all that crap in the car, make sure your cell battery is charged, and hit the road.

2 months later, when you need to change the oil/plugs/top off the coolant, you'll already have most of the stuff to get the job done.

 

I did this exact same thing... Only my trip was only 1100mi one way. And I got to drive through the twisties in the southern app mnts. A few years ago I moved back to tulsa and drove the car here from north western colorado boosting the hell out of it in the mountains and still, not one issue. BUT I take good care of my car. If you do too, then you should have no issues. If I rember correctly, I also was getting 24mpg on the hwy on the way home (still on stock twins and driving nice).

Really, all this is not to say something cannot happen, but owell if it does. Like you mentioned it is not your daily driver and you can just get it towed. Like the comment above, it is a car...DRIVE IT, ENJOY IT. Otherwise, why do you have it?

Good luck, and have a great, fun trip!!!

 

It will definently break down...

 

arkman, you ever come through wichita falls?

 

FDs love the highway