Just returned from a road trip covering 23 states in 30 days while traveling 6560 miles in my DB Z. Here's a summary of my trip:

MPG - 25.1
Average Speed - 48 MPH
Top Speed - 121 MPH in South Dakota
Interstate Average Speed - 80 to 85 in the west and 70 to 75 in the midwest/east.

Damage to car -
1) one large stone hit the grill and caused an indentation 1/2 inch deep.
2) 3 tiny chips from rocks/sand on the unprotected (by clear bra) section of the hood while driving through a sand storm in Kansas.

Z sightings -
Surprisingly not many. From Dallas through Kansas, Oklahoma, Denver, Utah, Wyoming, to South Dakota, I only saw one silver Z and that was at Big Horn National Forest in SD. Saw 3 Z's in Atlanta, 4 in Dallas, 2 in Chicago, 2 in Pittsburgh, one in Dayton and that's about it.

Cop sightings -
Again, very few. Ran into only two "speed traps" the entire trip. Absolutely no troopers in several states including South Dakota and Wyoming. Wisconsin had the most troopers on the road.

Great Roads (in no particular order)
1) Dragon's Tail in Tennessee/North Carolina - lots of tight curves and because my wife was with me I wasn't able to hit the curves hard (didn't want her to get sick). Very enjoyable ride. Probably more fun in a motorcycle.

2) Route 191 and Route 6 from Arches National Park to Salt Lake City. Tremendously beautiful scenery with long stretches of straight roads and then curves up and through the mountains.

3) Route 14 and 16 from Yellowstone to Cody Wyoming. After coming off the mountain from Yellowstone, the road opens up with beautiful scenery on both sides. 85 to 90 MPH on this two lane road with curves you can hit at nearly the same speed... very fun to drive.

4) I-70 from Denver to Utah. Great drive through the Rocky Mountains... lots of curves, ups and downs.... too much traffic though.

5) Big Horn National Forest Route 14 in Wyoming. Great scenery, lots of curves which turns into nice straight-away on top of the mountain. Watch out for the sheep and cows as this is open range country with no fences!


Bad Road Conditions
1) Alabama I-20 - horrendous
2) I-79 just north of Pittsburgh to Cranberry - speed bumps all the way

Comfort in the Z
I have the touring version. Neither my wife nor I experienced any discomforts except for the times my wife would intentionally turn on the heated seats on my side.

 

wow, must of had a great time, i gotta get out and do that....

 

I would kinda feel bad for my car... lol, thats a lot of miles.... my car is my baby

 

If I were your car, I'd be mad at you. It wants to get out and DRIVE. Not sit in the garage and be stared at. Your car has a lot of penned up energy just waiting to escape. Take it out for a nice long drive and let it do what it's meant to do... accumulate miles.

 

sounds like a great trip Chuck. You made it back safely and got to see a lot of the U.S., maybe i'll take a road trip like that one day.

 

Radar detector? How'd they do for speed traps?

 

How long did that take you? Was it pretty comfortable in the Z? And what was the motive for the road trip?

Sounds like you had fun. I love the I-70 drive, also.

 

Man, that sounds like a great time, I wish I could take some time off work and just drive aimlessly across America in my Z. So did you stop somewhere along your trip to get an oil change? That's a lot milage you gathered up on a single trip.

 

"So did you stop somewhere along your trip to get an oil change?"

Yep, I changed the oil just before, during and just after the trip.

How long did that take you? Was it pretty comfortable in the Z? And what was the motive for the road trip?

We drove for 30 days. Most days we drove for 4 to 5 hours. A couple days we did a 11+ hour drive. I didn't feel any discomfort the entire trip. The only bad parts was several stretches of bad roads were we felt road bumps for 20+ miles.

Motive for the trip? to take the Z on the road and to see the country. We took the Z on some amazing runs!

Radar detector? How'd they do for speed traps?

I have the Passport 8500. It did well in most occassions. I was surprised several times on mountain curvy roads that... an on-coming cruiser came around the curve and it lit up the detector just moments (2-3 seconds) before I saw him. And in Atlanta, an officer was pointing his radar gun in heavy straight-away traffic in my direction and the detector did not pick up any signal. I wondered if he had a new type of radar/laser or if he was pointing his gun but didn't have it turned on or was turning it on intermittently.

TIRE FEATHERING - I did notice the tires growling loudly around 6000 miles and noticed the feathered tires. I have a 2004 touring and took it in to the dealer. It's been a week and they haven't called me back... they were going to check with their warranty people before doing anything to it.

Z PICTURE
Here's a panoramic picture of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming with my Z in the right foreground....

http://recreationtherapy.com/roadtrip/july3a.htm

Chuck

 

great trip.. wish i can do that sounds like fun and can clear the mind!

 

Sounds like fun.

Anyway, about the radar--the officer was probably using laser, which, unless it was pointed at you, you won't be able to pick it up. If he were using the K or Ka, you'd definately have picked up something. He had to be using laser, though.

 

nice detailed description!sounds like you had a blast

 

Thanks for the technical report and your impressions of roads, and other travel related elements. I will be taking a long road trip from NorCal to New Orleans and return in Sept. I intend to to go there by way of the southern route (NV, AZ, NM, TX) and return via a yet to be determined northern route. I'm glad to hear that the Z was comfortable and a good touring car. I have the touring model of the 2004 Z Roadster 6MT.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Paul55100
Sounds like fun.

Anyway, about the radar--the officer was probably using laser, which, unless it was pointed at you, you won't be able to pick it up. If he were using the K or Ka, you'd definately have picked up something. He had to be using laser, though. [/QUOT

The 8500 picks up laser also . correct it is very directional - but will pick it up before it gets you.

 

I know the 8500 picks up laser(I have one). 95% of the time, when your laser goes off, you're already toast. The laser is so much more concentrated than the radar bands, that unless the officer accidentally flicks his wrist while gunning or he is far enough away that it gets both you and the car, when it goes off, it's usually you that's getting gunned.

Sorry for going off topic there. Also, just out of curiosity, did you find any policemen using the X band? Just recently, I've noticed a few of them around here using them.

 

i still have yet to see a legit x band warning from my V1. But thats another topic. Sounds like an awesome trip, and reading these posts makes me want to go on one more and more.

 

Just out of curiosity - how many tickets have you received while using your 8500 ??

 

Atlanta uses laser, made by Atlanta Laser. They usually aim the laser at your headlights, so unless the 8500 is mounted next to the headlights, it often won't go off. The ZR-3 laser shifter works great against it, however.

 

Always wanted to go for a long long trip. Never has a time to do it...

 

What a great trip, thanks for the description of your journey.

Was wondering how you went about cleaning the clothes you packed. Did you just happen upon laundromats and stop for awhile to do laundry, or were friends and relatives scattered along the route?