Do many of you do cross country drives in your Z ? I'm going to spend a couple of weeks driving around the country side; starting here in Vancouver, BC and down to California and likely down as far as Colorado. I figure I'd likely average 350 miles per day. I haven't done this in car in nearly 30 years and even then, it was in an old Volvo. How is the Z for this kind of trip ?

I do this on a regular basis on my motorcycle. 300 miles is a short day; 1500 is my longest day with a pretty good assortment in between. It's much easier on a bike though - for me at least it is.

 

The Z is great for cross-country driving, back-roads driving too. Gas mileage is about 27mpg on the interstate doing 70mph or so. Comfortable seats, good music if you want (take your own) and just plain fun to drive. Watch out for the brain-dead (fools that shouldn't drive), there seems to be more each day. 350 miles per day sounds like a good amount. Gives you time to enjoy the drive and not feel like getting somewhere is the important thing.

 

Most important if you are tall and have cruise... slip you feet right behind the pedals. Give you that little bit of extra stretch room, and they are very easy to get back on the pedals in case of emergency.

Z does surprisingly well on gas for a 300 HP car.

I find I can go right past cops at 5 MPH over but I push my luck with 7MPH over on the interstates. If you go back roads, do NOT speed thru a po-dunk town in the Z, it attracts small town cops like donuts and Rodney King. Watch for those sudden "65" to "35" transitions, and obey them.

When you make it to Colorado, look up the Mile High Z folks, they are friendly.

I used to frequently go from Denver to Lincoln, NE (500 miles). Easy trip in the Z during 3 out of 4 seasons.

 

Other than the obvious lack of space to carry luggage and supplies, the Z is great for road trips. I've taken several trips from 5 to 12 hours driving in a single day and find the Z to be quite comfortable.

Consider one of these though...
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...latelumbar.php

 

I went to socal from houston in 3 days.
day 1 houston - albuquerque
day 2 albuquerque - kingsman (stop at: petrified forest, meteor crater, grand canyon)
day 3 kingsman - irvine (stop at: hoover dam, las vegas, seaside!!!!!!)

coming back
day 1 irvine - el paso (going trough san diego)
day 2 el paso - houston

quite more than 350 miles/day.

my suggestion:
1) a map or a gps..
2) a lot of water, some coffee and cookies.
3) just in case some basic life saving stuff.
4) stop quite often... stretch a little, take it easy..
5) HAVE A LOT OF FUN!!!!!!! :-)

Matteo

 

One other thing to note on cross-country trips: you'll really appreciate the excellent lighting of the Z's HIDs. At this time of the year in particular, the darkness closes in quickly.

I've done trips to both coasts (and plenty of places in-between) with my Z and enjoyed every one of them! As others have noted, the ECM really leans out the mixture at contant speeds and RPM levels- I've verified 30 MPG at 80 MPH!

 

I will soon take a long trip back to cali...now in dallas...Thanks for the advise

 

i drove from las vegas to san antiono and back great drive

 

Indeed, there is a great Z group here in CO. I am a Canadian living in Denver. Let us know when you come in, may be we can hook up with the gang. Many roads here are made for the Z.

Drove the Z between Calgary and Denver, also drove a Volvo V70R on the same trip. Both great cars for travel long distance. One problem I found was very difficult to stay within speed limit. Temptation is too great for this car. My detector paid for itself many times over.

 

My Longest roadtrip in the Z was from Toronto-Ny-Pa
It was very enjoyable, just watch for cops and drink plenty of coffee
...oh and have fun

 

My longest was across Europe Poland (my parents place) <=> Ireland (where I live). about 1500 miles. I won't say it was too comfortable! I am quite tall and even though Z has plenty of space for the driver, my legs and my @ss was killing me. I enjoy it though - every time I drive that trip. There is nothing more exciting than Autobahn and home of Porshe, BMW and Audi on the way.

 

Ive only had my ZR for a week, but I am having a hard time finding the perfect seating position. Im 6ft, and the seat goes back far enough, but I think the main problem is the lack of a telescoping steering wheel. I find my self shifting around the seat alot.

Around town, its not much of a problem, but im kind of worried about my occasional trips to NY from here in DC.

Dont get me wrong, the power and handling more than makes up for it, but still, its a little frustrating that the wheel doesnt telescope.

have fun and be safe on your trip.

 

I have had my Z since the beginning of October and am also itching for a road trip. Car seems very comfortable and it's a blast to drive. I imagine any road trip in a Z will be a blast. Have fun!

 

ive drivin 2 8 hour trips in the Z so far and i enjoyed both of them quite a bit. My *** gets a little tired and sore after 3+ hours so about every 2.5 hours if im not in a hurry i pull in a gas station and get a water and stretch my legs or something. Then im good for another few hours. Very fun to drive though i love it .

 

I plan on driving to Oklahoma this summer to visit my dad. Hopefully I'll have a Z by then, this thread is making me excited!

 

13 hours or so from Orlando to Beaumont, TX

 

hell yeah comin to my stompin grounds haha wheres your pop from?

 

12h hours Columbus,OH to Montreal, QC. 750 miles.

On a semi-regular basis, cruising at 75mph, 28mpg.

Fantastic. Loved the Z!

 

My longest drive so far was actually when I picked it up in San Jose and drove it to San Diego. Took about 10 hours straight, because of the terrible weather...and I loved every minute of it. In any other car, I would not have been able to make the trip. I would not have felt safe, and I would have botten bored as **** in the first hour. In the Z, the entire ride was a blast. Cant wait for when I have time for a roadtrip.

 

I bought my Z in South Carolina and drove across the USA in 6 days taking time to smell the roses along the way. My wife had never seen the south USA and so I wanted to show her some of the sites. Really fun trip.

I used the cruise control a lot. 29MPG average doing 7 - 10 over the limit in most states. In small towns, I kept to the limit.

You have to speed going across New Mexico. They should just stop you ate the border and issue a ticket cause they know you are going to speed. Spent some time over 100 and the wife didn't even know I was going fast.

We took it easy most of the time but when I crossed into CA I was anxious to get home.

Have taken several trips to Oregon since then (~400 Miles) and enjoy them. Too bad the speed limit north of Redding is only 65 cause the car hugs the corners like few others.

Have a safe trip.

Tom S.