long distance commuter

[nostatic]

Anyone using their 911 as a long distance commuter car? As I recall Maxnine11 puts a mile or two on his 993. For those that do, is it a case of "newer is better"? For those that know the area, we'd be talking South Orange County (San Clemente) to downtown LA. Would only be a few times a week, and the train is an alternative.

Just looking at all the possibilities. Right now I do a 20-30 minute commute every day in the SC without any misery.

[rsr808]

I live in Diamond Bar and work in Pleasaton and commute there weekly. It's about 380 miles one way and I take my 1984 911 up and down the state without a problem. Actually, I prefer it because it's fast on the mountain climbs and faster on the slopes. You know you're 911 crazy when you can do this without a radio!! I've been making this trek every week since January. By the way, it's about 5hours total... with the occasional potty break and only take about 3/4 of a tank.

[maxnine11]

the 993 only commutes to and from twisty roads.
i have a company pick-up for the driving chores at work; and a couple of other vehicles to fill in the rest of the time.
I think spending a lot of time in your Porsche on non-Porsche roads would be a little frustrating. YMMV

[350HP930]

Most of my 930 miles were spent doing the almost daily 30+ mile each way drive to and from work, in state business trips and recreational travel.

[jyl]

I think the manual transmission and A/C will be the real issues. After 45 minutes in stop-go traffic with the 911 my left leg/foot gets pretty tired. And during the LA summer you might wish for an upgraded A/C, tinted windows, etc. Otherwise, I've done 1.5 hr commutes (in stop-go traffic) with no problem - car doesn't overheat, seats don't get lumpy, stereo sounds nice, etc. I would rather be in a luxobarge for those drives, but the 911 is OK.

[Bill Douglas]

I drive the 911 most days to work and it takes about 35 minutes each way unless the traffic is bad and it takes an hour and a half each way. The regular drive is nice as it's just enough to get the oil up to temperature and it's early enough to wake the nieghbours.

[Vipergrün]

I do about 100 miles/ a day, or 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on traffic, commuting from Ventura to Goleta in my SC. Yes, the 1.5 hours part is correct, flat out sucks going 101 South thru this area.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by bb80sc
I do about 100 miles/ a day, or 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on traffic, commuting from Ventura to Goleta in my SC. Yes, the 1.5 hours part is correct, flat out sucks going 101 South thru this area.

Well at least you're in Santa Barbara county! The 101 is bit nicer to look at than the 15, last I checked.

I used the AC a few times but prefer to just roll the windows and crank the sunroof. Oil temps routinely hit 230F in traffic. I can imagine a 993 would make a nicer commuter than any of the previous 911 vintages.

70 miles RT X 5 work days commuting between San Marcos and Mission Valley. One year now and I'm starting to think about securing a commuter/weekend warrior truck (F150, Ranger, ???) and retiring the 911 to weekend driver. This way I can finally attempt some DIY work without worrying about getting it all buttoned up before the next work day - plus my Carrera is getting tired of freeway stop and go.

[old_skul]

I used to have a 50-minute commute to my last job. The drive sucked, but the 911 made it a lot more enjoyable, not to mention quicker.

[West]

I drive 100+ miles a day but it's not in stop and go, I don't think that would be much fun. But, if you lucky enough to live in the mountains and its part of your commute (and you have a second car for the winter), then I couldn't think of a better car to select. When I decide to build my current "commuter" car - (72'rs clone), my requirements were it had to be fast, light, handle great, get ok milage, and be reliable, that's right reliable. My selection has made my commute much more enjoyable than before and by the way rsr808, the sound of my little 2 liter putt'n along @ 4K is music to my ears.

[pbs911]

So much for a low mileage SC, hey Todd?

If is wasn't for the traffic (read stop and go) it would be a nice drive. It's not to far at all. I used mine as a daily driver for 4 years, commuting all over. No AC and stop and go traffic got to me. [insert thread about CA growing population here.] Now I drive the new F-150 as a daily driver and use the P-car for fun. It's amazing how much faster my P car became after not driving it every day.

[JavaBrewer]

That's exactly what I want to duplicate Paul. Does the F-150 come with the diesel? I don't thinks it does - maybe I'll have to go for a used 250 then?

[nostatic]

Paul, even with my fairly short commute I put 13K miles on it in the past year, so I think I might like driving it or something.

With minimal traffic (I've done Saturday mornings before), the Santa Monica to San Clemente run isn't bad at all. But with any traffic it begins to blow...and the 405 is pretty much traffic all them time.

When I was commuting from Pasadena to downtown, it was 20 minutes (no traffic) up to over an hour. Since I was running during rush hour typically it was an hour. The 4-runner had fine AC, but I still hated it. Doing stop-and-go in the SC is a little more entertaining as I can at least open it up for those brief bits when it lets up.

We'll see what happens. We might have an interesting decision to make should my other half get a job offer down in Carlsbad. One plan was to split the difference in San Clemente. I don't think her SC-Carlsbad commute would be too bad.

David, I feel for you doing San Marcos to Mission Valley (I grew up in the Mission Gorge area). 20 years ago that drive was a breeze. I suspect now it is brutal.

[Superman]

I commute about 150 miles per day, round trip. The ol' girl has 219k miles now. It's the best part of my day. Saves me money on therapists. I try to avoid heavy traffic times of day, but still endure stop-and-go traffic regularly. It would be more fun in a 917, but the 911 will have to do, for now. Happy motoring.

[Hugh R]

I commute from Santa Clarita to Burbank every day. The AM drive down the 5 to the 170 is fine and takes about 25 minutes (@7AM). The 5 PM drive back takes over an hour. A lot of days when I have to go downtown LA to a production (I work for one the Studios) I take my 97 Mazda 626, 1) for the better A/C, 2) for the automatic transmission, & 3) for the scratch and ding factor.

[pbs911]

San Clemente has better surf. We used to spend a couple weeks down there every year growing up. I would love to live down there if I could. Considering you only have to drive a couple days a week to LA and have the option of the train, it sounds like a great opportunity.

That's exactly what I want to duplicate Paul.

Don't think you will be saving money. My brand new truck with only 300 miles already has >$2K in mods somewhere on a UPS truck! It never ends . . .

[Bill Douglas]

Wow, awful commute for you LA area people, good thing you get paid four times what the rest of us get paid.