Considering Taking my 911 on a 1000+ mile road trip

[ksluna]

Hi guys,

With the pandemic having me bored, working remote full time, and living in the land of flat (aka TX) I have this urge to take my 911 on a long road trip. I'm thinking maybe to Colorado or Utah.

I'm taking the car to the mechanic and having a valve adjustment and all the fluids changed. Anything else I should have him look at? CV boots and suspension was looked at and refreshed accordingly recently.

Also, the car came with the red magnecore spark plug wires. Wondering how often do you guys replace the spark plug wires themselves, or if magnecores last longer than OEM.

Thanks in advance!

Here's a pic of my car to date:

[zarl911]

Colorado springs is the place to be. Garden of the gods

[zarl911]

typical items would be little tool bag and a relay switch.

[carreradpt]

Lots of threads of "taking a road trip". Peruse them, great info to be shared. 1000 miles are nothing, the basics should be just fine. Have a great trip. Your 911 looks sweet!

[Robey5]

I'd pack up a small tool kit (if you don't have one already) and take it for a 200 mile round trip as a "shake-down" run before going whole hog on this one. Cool car!

[sugarwood]

Wow, that's a great looking car.
Are those LED headlights?

Look up some Porsche shops and towing services along your route.
That may give you some peace of mind.

[ksluna]

Originally Posted by zarl911

Colorado springs is the place to be. Garden of the gods

Colorado Springs is high on my list! I have a DME relay and will consider some other tools to bring.

[ksluna]

Originally Posted by Robey5

I'd pack up a small tool kit (if you don't have one already) and take it for a 200 mile round trip as a "shake-down" run before going whole hog on this one. Cool car!

What's a good list of must have tools? I have a small tool box but not sure if I'd have room for it (I plan on bringing my dog along as well)

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Wow, that's a great looking car.
Are those LED headlights?

Thanks! Yes these are LEDs from John Audette, specifically the cheaper model ones. Major upgrade from the H5s the car came with and a HUGE difference.

[4flyboy]

Hey Luna,

For piece of mind I bought AAA plus.....or whatever gets you extended flat-bed towing privileges.

I also bought a solid sate relay from a company here on the boards.

An obvious one is a spare alternator belt (new) and make certain that your tool kit contains the C wrench necessary to change it.

I carry a can of fix-it flat, a high quality one, tho loathe to use it except in emergency.

Take us along and post pictures!

[Locker537]

Hagerty has road side service as well.

Food, water, and whatever additional clothes make sense for the season are musts. A roadside repair is great, but not if it requires working on the side of a busy highway. Safety first, then fix.

[GH85Carrera]

There are many threads on long road trips. One thing for sure, be sure you have a fan belt, and the tools to change it. Also a 24 inch piece or trimmer string in the glove box. If the fuel filler lid cable breaks, you can slip the string under the little arm that locks it down. and fill up again. Practice that before you leave. Pop up the lid, and look at how it works. It is easy to use the string trimmer line.

A tire plug kit and some fix a flat. That is better than the spare tire that likely will have no place to put the regular tire if the spare is on. And of course the air pump to fill up a slow leak and get to a tire shop.

And of course the towing insurance and a cell phone.

I have driven my 911 in over 40 states, and Canada. I have taken many 5,000+ mile round trips. Never had a single problem. The 911 is a great road trip car.

[rayporsche]

Beautiful ride !!! don't over think it.....all you need for the trip is the AMEX and you'll be fine, remember the 'never leave home without it' part. We've been doing the Dallas-Miami leg several times for years now without a single issue, this cars are meant to be driven specially in the rain hahaha.

[Coastr]

Check your breakdown recovery, tire pressures, oil level, get in the car and go!

Maybe put in a bottle of techron with the first tank and see if it runs a bit cleaner. You'll also need a spare bottle of oil and a funnel to put it in with.

I would also recommend getting a phone mount and make sure you have a decent USB charge setup. If you have a passenger get one of those multi-USB ports to plug in.

It's hot out there. Do you have a windshield reflector to use when parked outside?

[chrisfreed1]

ear plugs

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by chrisfreed1

ear plugs

WTF? Why? Do you have loud aftermarket exhaust?

I have the stock muffler on mine and it is just a wonderful noise. And the AC fan is loud enough to crank the stereo up enough to hear the music.

And I do indeed bring extra oil, and a funnel, and some paper towels.

[ksluna]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will look into how to change the fan belt since I've never done that before and the mechanic did that about 1000 miles ago.

I have AAA and hopefully I won't need it. I also keep a spare DME replay in my glove compartment, granted I've never had to use it nor do I know how to change it so that is another thing I need to look up before I go lol.

Does anyone know how often one should change spark plug wires, specifically if they have the red magneccore ones? Wondering if I should replace spark plugs/wires/rotors/distributors. I don't know when the last they were changed, but the car starts and runs perfectly fine.

[pavegeno]

I do spark plug wires at 60K.

[Chsnsurf]

I was just recently feeling the same way and decided to go on a 500+ mile journey through sections of the California coast. 400 of the 500 miles were super twisty amazing roads that I drove hard. The car handled beautifully! I wouldn’t worry about your car unless you know there is an issue. Don’t over think it as others have stated and enjoy the ride. Sounds like you have the small spares and tools and your car looks amazing! Hit the road and know that we all wish we were doing the same. I drove hard and ALL day and my car didn’t have a single issue.

A couple quick clips if you are interested.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HF6kGODPJ3c

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qV7NHvrbExw

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CIgeBNhEtLs

Have fun out there whichever direction you go
Chasen

[proporsche]

just take a credit card for gas(maybe something to eat) that is all you need for such a short trip;-) enjoy..
Ivan

[GH85Carrera]

One other thing!

Get the voltage gauge that plugs into the cigarette lighter. It is really nice to know the alternator is working and not dead, or running at 18 volts.



I went a step further and got a volt meter added to my tachometer to look like what the factory should have done.