Driving across the county

[naladude911]

Does anyone recomend drving across the United States, from NY to Vancouver, Canada in such an old car? I have 106K miles

[brandonjustice93J30]

I used to drive mine 75+ miles on a daily basis and about once a month to visit my Mom about 3 hrs away. And I'm nearly twice your milage.

If you have no apparent issues...why not drive it anywhere? I'd trust mine to take me anywhere I want to go and still at triple digit speeds if I felt the need.

[gr8scott72]

Does anyone recomend drving across the United States, from NY to Vancouver, Canada in such an old car? I have 106K miles

No, you should sell it immediately and go spend a bunch of daddy's money on a new car with a warranty. (Be sure to get something that you can put lots of JDM parts on. )

When I got married 2.5 years ago, we took the 93 that had about 180k miles on it from Jackson MS to Gatlinburg TN which was about a 10 hour drive. It did fine although it did sprout a power steering leak during the trip.

[Ebbtide]

Does anyone recomend drving across the United States, from NY to Vancouver, Canada in such an old car? I have 106K miles

If you can afford the gas, go ahead. I'm guessing ten tanks of gas at fifty bucks a pop.

[brandonjustice93J30]

hrrrm....That sounds like a good idea...but my dad left when I was 3...anyone have any of their daddy's money I can spend? lmao

[naladude911]

ROFL ya. OK, il go for it, of course next summer though. First il take it to my mechanic ( I would do it, but I dont have a lift) for a tune up.

[brandonjustice93J30]

wtf do you need a lift for a tune-up?

[StevieRaySTL]

-- As long as your car is in good working order, you'll be fine. If you don't take at least two friends with you, plan on plenty of stops to rest. In '01, with the help of my buddy and my girlfriend, I made it to San Fran from St Louis in 32 hours, 30 on the clock. We took my Honda which had about 180k on it at the time, we were there almost as fast as our friends that had a layover flight, plus we got to see historic rt. 66. A few other suggestions, keep out of snowy/icy weather, esp. if you are driving your J30, and you might want to take some octane booster in case you have to fill up some place where good premium gas isn't an option. I have done a 5000 mile tour of the south and southeast part of the U.S. in my J, these cars are right at home on the highway, just pack light, because they don't have a lot of interior or trunk space. GL.

[driverdriver]

You should be fine. Make sure all your fluids are topped up (i.e. oil, coolant, etc) and carry a hard copy of the J30 FSM just in case.

[Listof7]

Sound about right?!

Stay in touch with someone so they know your getting there, have a phone, safety supplies (including blankets & water), credit card with enough for major repair, and as mentioned top off the fluids, stay on dry roads if possible, just basically be prepared.

Road trips like this change lives, DO IT!!!



PS: Everything you've heard about Vancouver is TRUE!
Modified by Listof7 at 12:21 AM 2/10/2008

[naladude911]

Ya, I have all my friends/family other then my parents in Vancouver. I used to live there for 11 years u know

[Jakw]

You better make damn sure your maintenance is done. If this is going to be next summer, you should have your 120k maintenance done before you go. I took mine 19 hours from WI to CO, and out here I drive it through mountain passes for a couple hours at a time. Granted, my engine has low mileage, but yeah. I would also probably clean the egr tubes, the MAF, the throttle bodies, run some seafoam through the throttle body intakes to clean things out a bit. Make sure your tires and suspension are in good shape. And uh, a tune up shouldn't really need to be done by a mechanic unless you're a total noob. Tune up > curtains. Tune up > wood with holes in it. Tune up > chrome trim on the tails. I think you get the idea.

[brandonjustice93J30]

And uh, a tune up shouldn't really need to be done by a mechanic unless you're a total noob.

That's why I asked why he needed a lift to do a tune up too.I've never had a lift and done general tuneup's on every vehicle I've owned. I do get a little intimidated if it's a more involved repair just because I dont have a garage and I dont like cold weather and somethings I just dont have the time with two kids to mess with. But a normal tune up on the J isnt difficult. No need to pay someone to do what you can in a few hours at most. I got a chuckle once out of my ex-fiancee's sister because she paid over $400 for a shop to change plugs, pcv, air filter, wires, and oil change on her sunfire. Sad part was she thought that was cheap.

[naladude911]

im only saying the "lift", for the oil change. I guess i could be a jack and jack stands at Sears though

[crossbones668]

I drove my 96 Saturn SL2 from Seattle to Orlando in four days once. As long as your fluids, plugs, and belts are good, and your tires are in decent shape, you should have no problem. If you are trying to make time and plan to spend most of the day in the saddle, don't use the cruise control.

[driverdriver]

I got a chuckle once out of my ex-fiancee's sister because she paid over $400 for a shop to change plugs, pcv, air filter, wires, and oil change on her sunfire. Sad part was she thought that was cheap.

That's both funny and sad.

[gr8scott72]

If you are trying to make time and plan to spend most of the day in the saddle, don't use the cruise control.

And why is that?

[crossbones668]

The j30, like the Saturn, has a lot of back compression. If you take your foot off the gas the car slows rapidly. When driving west of the Mississippi River, speed limits are higher, and cops tend to ingnore anything under a hundred as long as you don't weave too much.

That kind of speed, combined with long periods in the saddle and cruise control can be a fatal combination. I went from SF to Albequerque in one day, then from there to Knoxville the next. Two days over 1300 miles each day. Cruise control would have made the trip easier, and thus reduced my alertness. I used it for trips under 300 miles, but not for longer ones.

[brandonjustice93J30]

oil changes I pay to have done, too messy out in the street and costs nearly as much to do it myself.

But even for synthetic I've never paid over $35-40

[gr8scott72]

The j30, like the Saturn, has a lot of back compression. If you take your foot off the gas the car slows rapidly. When driving west of the Mississippi River, speed limits are higher, and cops tend to ingnore anything under a hundred as long as you don't weave too much.

That kind of speed, combined with long periods in the saddle and cruise control can be a fatal combination. I went from SF to Albequerque in one day, then from there to Knoxville the next. Two days over 1300 miles each day. Cruise control would have made the trip easier, and thus reduced my alertness. I used it for trips under 300 miles, but not for longer ones.

Speed limit is 70 here (Mississippi) as it is in the rest of the states. How much over that you do is your decision.

If you can't use the cruise without "reducing your alertness", I'd have to say something is wrong. Cruise or no cruise, it doesn't change the way I drive.

[crossbones668]

Two 14-hour days has a way of reducing alertness. Cruise control compound the problem.

[gr8scott72]

Two 14-hour days has a way of reducing alertness. Cruise control compound the problem.

I just don't feel cruise is a problem for me even on long trips like that.

[StevieRaySTL]

And uh, a tune up shouldn't really need to be done by a mechanic unless you're a total noob. Tune up > curtains. Tune up > wood with holes in it. Tune up > chrome trim on the tails. I think you get the idea.

--Oh no you didn't. You did! Well put.

If you can't use the cruise without "reducing your alertness", I'd have to say something is wrong. Cruise or no cruise, it doesn't change the way I drive. I just don't feel cruise is a problem for me even on long trips like that.

-- You are a true man's man, sir, do you do like me and refuse to stop to pee too? lol. While I still can't understand why anyone would buy an SL2 j/k I hear what crossbones is saying. I can/have driven upwards of 18 hrs. time and I usually turn off the cruise when keeping the lids up becomes a problem. I have been passenger in a car with a sleeping driver and, though I don't like to admit it, have fallen asleep behind the wheel myself. I'll sometimes use the A/C as well, or the rocking back and forth technique, it stimulates blood flow. DON'T eat a bunch of caffeine pills, tried it once, bad idea.

[naladude911]

and how do you cruise

[crossbones668]

The only thing I stop for is gas. I have often thought that a fueling drogue on the back of a tanker truck, like the ones KC-135s use to fuel fighters, would save a lot of time and trouble. In-Flight Refuelling would be my idea of transportation progress.

[gr8scott72]

The only thing I stop for is gas. I have often thought that a fueling drogue on the back of a tanker truck, like the ones KC-135s use to fuel fighters, would save a lot of time and trouble. In-Flight Refuelling would be my idea of transportation progress.

Just a cool side note:

My brother-in-law is a pilot on a KC-135.

[Jakw]

Just pay one of those 10-minute oil change places $30 to change your oil. You're probably wasting money to pay a mechanic for a tune-up, unless, like I said before, you're a total noob. And even then, you'll learn from the experience, and that will be valuable in the future.

[brandonjustice93J30]

you can even get the 18 point, all fluids checked and filled, full synthetic oil at wally world for under $40.

after nearly $5 for a filter, or more if you go oem, then $2-$5 per quart for oil, so there's $10-$25, disposal container and time...$30-40 no longer seems like a bad deal