MJLamberson Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 has anybody driven 3000 miles in an s30 in a matter of days? any advice for sombody that is stupid enough to try it? the car has no known problems, it does not over heat, all old vacume and fuel lines have been replaced, it is a reliable daily driver with 148000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 It's NOT stupid, it's doable, if you know how to maintain your car! Car had 198,000 miles on it. Oak Harbor, WA, just north of Seattle, to Philiadelphia, PA via San Diego, New Orleans & Atlanta... 1974 Datsun 260Z, December 2, to December 6, 1982...pulling a motorcycle trailer with a bike on it....next? Advice: Take your time, don't play speed racer, vary the speeds on the interstates and change your oil and filter before the trip and after. Warren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 S30 is basically a very reliable car although compared with a modern car a bit more tiring to drive over long distances. As Warren indicated maintenance is everything, an hour or two test drive under highway conditions would be good to check everything is OK too. Plenty of us in our club have driven S30's long distances eg two 10 hour days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Why is it important to vary the interstate speeds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpetRhapsody Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Weren't you having tranny problems at one point? Hopefully that's all been resolved before planning something like this. Otherwise sounds like it'd be fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJLamberson Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 Weren't you having tranny problems at one point? Hopefully that's all been resolved before planning something like this. Otherwise sounds like it'd be fun! there was one occassion were I put it in drive and it didnt go anywhere, only reved, I killed the engine and tried again and it was fine, that was a while ago and I have been driving it daily sence with 0 tranny trouble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughdogz Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 One thing I noticed in my ZXT is that after about 10 hours or so, my cabin gets completely heat soaked!! I would also like to know the reasoning behind varying the speed too. I try to keep a constanst speed for better milage, but I suppose it could wear a lip into the cylinders walls? Thats all I can come up with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Varying the speeds on the interstate just keeps things from getting locked into place, things like the gas pedal, and your right foot (some cars don't have cruise control) and also relieves fatigue (the human kind). It has no real effect on much of anything performancewise, just keeps the trip from being so monotinous...those Texas and New Mexico deserts can be mentally challenging after a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpetRhapsody Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 ...those Texas and New Mexico deserts can be mentally challenging after a few hours. That's why you need to plan in some scenic stops, or points of interest, to keep yourself sane on long trips. Don't forget to do that... like a stop in Arkansas... eh eh? lol j/k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughdogz Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 After re-reading my post it sounded pretty funny. I heard you're supposed to vary the rpms when breaking in an enginge and thought that applied... I really miss my cruise control. It went out, or I somehow did something to not let it work. It would be great if I could hook it up again. I only want it for the drive down to SoCal for the MSA show... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007max Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I drove my ZX from Phoenix, AZ to Albany, NY via Daytona Beach and Virginia Beach. Drove non-stop between AZ and Daytona. No problems with the car other than the fact that the radio didn't work. After 20 something hours you run out of ♥♥♥♥ to talk about, even with your best friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 How about south florida to north jersey in a car you've just bought, and don't truly know the state of. haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Well I drove my Z From Toronto Ont, to Quaker PA for a car show. 2000km's round trip. Did it on a 3 day weekend. With my FP turned down for the cruise (did not have my standalone installed, and was using FP to tune the car only) I managed high 20'smpg (with the fp turned up, some in town driving and a fun hill climb event, I avg'd much much less) Have some basic service done to the car, give it a good check over yourself (if you are very familiar with your z) change the fluids, bring some tools, and some basic parts for emergency repairs, and you should be just fine. Some extra wire with aligator clips on it can do wonders in an emergency. (duct tape and extra clamps etc. are a help too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I drove a 1978 280Z from Los Angeles to Dayton, Ohio in the spring of 2000 (and then continued to Washington, DC); the LA to Dayton leg took days. On I-70 in Colorado there were some snow issues, but the bigger problem was the car gasping for air at altitude. Since it was early spring, there was not much need for heat or air conditioning (fortunately!), and cabin noise wasn't too bad since I drove with the windows up. Mileage was rather poor (20 mpg at best). The lack of cruise control really didn't bother me. The first few hundred miles were scary, as I was worried about breakdown. But soon monotony took over as my main concern. Of course, that was 8 years ago - these cars were younger then, with less wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogriz91 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 DC to Montana round trip X 2 plus side trips from MT to the Oregon coast X 3. Carry a cellphone, water, extra oil, gas filter, distributor cap and rotor plus some tools and good ol' duck tape. Make sure your tires have plenty of life left in them plus you've swapped all your fluids and lubed the thing over good. It'll be a blast unless you've got back problems, it takes the jaws of life to get me out of the stock seat after about 3 hours cruising. Plan your route out carefully and use this and the other Zwebsites to line up help along the way should trouble arise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I've found that when driving through flat lands with a very straight highway, like in AZ, NM, TX, my speed climbs up over time. Make sure that you don't go much faster than everyone else . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janaka Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Not coast to coast but I bought the car in Dec of 06 and drove it home to Ontario (24hr drive) and I survived. Its lowered, all poly bushings and low profile 17's. The ride was not kind to me. After 10 or 12 hrs my back went into spasm and I was a miserable shmuck for the rest of the ride. Thats one of the reasons I put recaro's in the car...stock 30yr old seats aren't the best for long hauls IMO. Its doable though, it all depends if you have back problems like me..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Mae sure that your driveshaft is tight, universal joints are good, antifreeze, oil, hubs greased, all the suspension is tight, etc...Basically maintained. I had my driveshaft bolts loosen once and it started vibrating really bad at 75mph. I was able to get to a gas station withing 2 miles and backed onto the curb to get to the diff since I didn't want to have to jack the car up. I only had 4" of ground clearance too! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogriz91 Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Plan some sightseeing stops along the way to break up the monotony. Tasteless tourist traps like Wall Drug (Wall SD), The Big Texan (Amarillo) and South of the Border (I-95 in SC) come to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJLamberson Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Plan some sightseeing stops along the way to break up the monotony. Tasteless tourist traps like Wall Drug (Wall SD), The Big Texan (Amarillo) and South of the Border (I-95 in SC) come to mind. yeah, I love photography so this trip will take longer then expected for sure, but thats ok with me. It will be going from CA to NH, mapquest calls it a 45 hour drive, 3000 miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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