Q70/M56/M37 road trip stories/advice

[STLien]

Hey what's up everyone! I'm driving from St. Louis to Jacksonville soon (about a 13hr drive) in my Q70L 5.6. I was wondering if anyone had any stories about their road trip in a Q70/M37/M56. I have the sport wheel package with new all-season tires and haven't had any issues so far. I love long distance driving and can't wait to get this big V8 out on the open road! Thanks

[Ilya]

I've taken my car from 2hrs trips to 22hr trips (FL) with no complaints. With intelligent cruise, etc. it's a breeze. Only thing I can say is that once you start getting the 75mph+ area the gas mileage becomes quite bad.

[STLien]

I agree, the intelligent cruise will make the drive nice and smooth! Yeah I'm expecting mileage to be bad at certain points on the trip. I have an appointment at my local Infiniti dealer to have the car checked out but everything should be cool! Might get a coolant flush along with my oil change
Thanks

[reggiebrown40]

Drove from Ottawa to Nova Scotia once. It was an 17 hour drive if I remember. After about 2 hours in the motor was heat soaked and responded poorly to mashing the pedal. Other than that, it was a fantastic ride.

R

[ibc]

We've taken ours on many 15+ hrs drives, and it's a wonderful car to drive. Comfy, quiet, plenty of power, good visibility, A/C works great. Never been stuck, even in deep snow. Ipod/iphone interface is very nice. Hardest part (for me) is staying near posted speed limits. Cops are everywhere! The map displays local speed limits accurately in most areas, but it's so tempting to push limits. Premium gas is always pricey up north, but ok down here. I prefer "Sport" mode on the highway, for easy passing. Check oil level daily, and keep a quart in the trunk, cuz you may need to add a quart. M56 burns oil. Our engine stays cool, and has never overheated. Careful you don't drain the battery while parked (engine off), cuz it may not start. That's my biggest (only?) fear. My 2011 map is out of date, so newest highways are not shown, and sometimes the route planner takes us astray (not best route), but that's no biggie. Very few breakdowns en route, but luckily we always carry a toolkit & booster cables. This car is a joy on long rides. Enjoy your travels.

[STLien]

Thanks Reggie and ibc! I appreciate all of the great info!

[Ilya]

I wouldn't call this car quiet. I wouldn't call any Infiniti quiet actually...but I just crank the music up lol.

[STLien]

Lol, yeah I enjoy the sound of my V8! And cranking the music up with a 16 speaker studio surround sound system is pretty nice too!

[EdBwoy]

I did Orlando to Belleville, IL when I bought my M56. That was approx 14 hours on the map, and although I stopped in Atlanta to visit with family, I definitely would have had no issues doing it with no breaks.

My only gripe with the trip was that my distance control camera was erratic in its operation and it was the first repair I paid for once I could schedule an appointment. I love using intelligent cruise.
Talking of which, I am not sure how familiar you are with Nissan intelligent cruise systems, but they can be "abrupt" in their operation. They do pretty well to reduce your speed when turning, but they act like an on/off switch with regards to cars that are not directly in front of you. I have driven some new cars and it doesn't seem like much changed since 2002.

Otherwise, it was an easy drive. Seat was pretty comfortable, visibility was good, sound quality for the music was great, the only road noise I could hear was the rhythmic "thunk" of the sport wheels across road joints. Even though it rained for a good part of the trip, the elements did not make a ruckus on my windshield, hood or roof.

The Y51 sun visors suck big time. Plan your East-West orientations accordingly to make sure the sun isn't beating you in the wrong places.

At minimum I like to ensure my spare tire is aired up, carry a gallon of distilled water, extra engine oil and some thick jumper cables. And ever since we hit some road debris in a rental car, I bring along a pack of zip ties to hold things together.

For benchmarking practices, I like to use such long trips to track my oil consumption & fuel economy.

This will be a time to get a pretty intimate understanding of your vehicle. You might discover features & functions that short drives never truly bring out.
I wish you a safe trip.

[kmiles]

I do most of what EdBwoy does before long trips. My long trips are typically from Seattle area to Salt Lake City area and back. If my oil is going to need changing during the trip, I just do it before and top off all fluids. I carry a quart of pre-mixed coolant, a quart of oil and a can of SeaFoam. I've never had to add coolant or oil on a trip, but I've ended up using SeaFoam more than once due to the M35x seemed to have a challenge on long trips where it would not fill completely with fuel. Adding a can of SeaFoam to the tank fixed it every time before the next fill up. I haven't had the same problem with the Q70.

I agree on the sun visors - the ones on the M35x were the best I've ever had in a car. The Q70's are a pain when I'm driving on winding freeways through the mountains where the angle and direction of the sun are constantly changing.

My biggest complaint with the Q70 on freeways is the cruise control. It does not lock on and hold speed like the M35x did. I drove this morning from Olympia to Seattle and saw it lose 2-3 mph at times and then go 1-2 mph over the set speed. Not normally a big issue, but in the 60 mile trip, I saw 10 speed traps this morning. I've experimented with all of the transmission settings - ECO, Standard and Sport and the cruise control behaves the same with all settings.

[ibc]

Highly recommended:
Before long trips, we always rub Rain-X on all the windows & head/tail lights. It's amazing stuff, and you won''t need to use windshield wipers even during rainstorms. I mean Rain-X original water repellent, not their useless washer fluid.

Also:
These particular yellow safety glasses are awesome for visibility while driving at night or in foggy weather. Esp. great for oncoming headlights when night driving on non-divided highways. These slip on over my regular eyeglasses.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/A-C-Pro-UV-L ... s/36156585

[STLien]

Man, I really appreciate all of this great info that I will definitely include on my road trip! Every long distance trip I've ever done I made sure oil was changed and fluids topped off. EdBwoy I see you've ventured up to the St. Louis metro area driving to Belleville! Gonna do a day trip to Columbia, MO (about an hour and a half from STL) before the Florida trip just to put the Q70 on a highway run. Thanks ibc for the Rain-X tip!

[Ilya]

Be warned, once you use Rain-X, you have to keep using it otherwise once it starts to wear off it makes the windows horrendous. At least that has been my experience.

[telcoman]

Hey what's up everyone! I'm driving from St. Louis to Jacksonville soon (about a 13hr drive) in my Q70L 5.6. I was wondering if anyone had any stories about their road trip in a Q70/M37/M56. I have the sport wheel package with new all-season tires and haven't had any issues so far. I love long distance driving and can't wait to get this big V8 out on the open road! Thanks

I've made three round trips from NJ to Florida in my 2016 Q70 with impressive MPG.
My best tankful from Ashville Va to Dillon SC a distance of 297 miles resulted in 10.984 gallons to fill up giving me a 27.04 MPG


I reset my odometer and the vehicle computer after every fill up. Tires are inflated to 35lbs when cold. I only use regular 87 octane and fill up at large truck stops such as Loves and Pilot.
Most tankfulls averge 24 to 26 MPG.
I almost never use cruise control as it will usually lower MPG by a mile or two
The lower MPG's shown above are from local fill ups while in Florida

[Larz]

I love driving my M on long trips. I play with the cruise control to see the difference in speeds and corresponding rpms. I found that 68 mph used much less rpms than 70 and resulted in 3-4 more mpg. On a long trip that adds up.
Also love that in my 09, we still have the double sun shades so I can have the larger on the side window and use the smaller one on the windscreen. It keeps the sun from doing a laser show in front of me when the sun is low and from the side. What idiot decided to drop that feature with the move to M37s and the Q70s?

[Rameek7daGod]

One thing I do is once I'm at cruising speed I keep the eco on. I only like intelligent cruise on open roads it can be jerky.
I agree about rain x. I use Lucas Oil Slick Mist Speed Wax all over my car and windows. A little water and microfiber car is bug free and the rain beeds nicely.
My rides are quite quiet and smooth.

[STLien]

Update: Road trip was great! Q70L 5.6 handled flawlessly on this long road trip and the ride was nice and smooth! Plenty of room for 4 adults plus luggage and food (to avoid eating too much fast food). Loved using ICC! I kept the drive mode in standard and averaged 24.5 mpg! Had the best mpg driving from northern Georgia to Paducah, KY. The passing power was awesome even loaded down with 4 adults and luggage. Can't wait for our next road trip in this beast!

[armybrat]

Last year I drove from Clemmons, NC to Annapolis, MD to attend my nephew's HS graduation. I was alone. Traffic was light until I got around the Richmond, VA area. Car ran great, averaged around 24-25 mpg or so @75 mph. Mileage drops some once you cruise past that. Running 55 I can get as much as 26 mpg. The custom exhaust is a little louder inside the cabin than stock but the feedback is pleasant to the ear. With the Uprev tune it's a beast on the interstate. When you have a custom exhaust it seems to attract a few folks who want to feel you out. The few that pulled on me found out real quick that this was no stock Infiniti. It did make the trip a little fun. Otherwise, it was pretty much uneventful, I set the cruise control and the Sirius XM radio plus my phone music provided me with plenty of audio entertainment. I used the car's nav until I arrived in the DC area. No cruise control in this area; you have to pay attention because they are doing a lot of road work and it's easy to get in the wrong lane. The Waze app came through for me here and I just used it until I got through the city and into Annapolis. I met my brother and the rest of the family at a restaurant for a late lunch before heading to his place. I picked up a nail in my rear driver's side tire and had to stop by a NTB close to his house for a fix. I don't think they fixed it right because I still have to put a few lbs of air in it about once a week, a year later. I've taken it back twice since I've been back in NC. I just gave up...anyway, I digress.

I've also made several trips to Georgia with no issues, car rides great with stock 18" wheels and tires. The car tracks true, doesn't drift or vibrate. As with all trips, especially interstate, the road noise is above average for a luxury car IMHO. Granted the custom exhaust does present with a little interior audio feedback but still should be more quiet overall. The car is a 2012 so I'm sure it's not as tight as new. My daily commute is mostly highway so the whole front end takes a beating. Paint has small pock marks and nicks all over, headlight lenses and sonar lens are weathered some but still work good. Left fog light took a rock and has a small crack in the lens. The front windshield has that light sandblasted look but still sheds water no problem when raining.

Overall, I am satisfied with the car's road trip performance.

[Ilya]

When traveling in western Europe a couple of years before, I used a rental car. I was surprised that it was quite easy to rent a car there, even for a foreign citizen.

Why are you bumping a 2 year old thread and posting about something that has zero to do with our model car? And it's your first post? You're walking the 'get banned' tight rope very gingerly.