Planning road trip - suggestions

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

If going from Washington to Pennsylvania while tight on time I would not jog down to Colorado. Many great parks and things to see in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, N/S Dakota, etc.

Avoid Chicago in the rush hours, 6 - 9, 3 - 6?

If you are heading further south through Indiana drop me a PM.


Maybe make some stops where there are Pelicans so you can review Porsches!


Oh, and it never hurts to see if Big John Walker can look at your baby before the trip or just stop in for a look see at a nice local shop! (Mr. Walker did all the work on the heads of my SC, WONDERFUL work, very competitive in the pricing. Car ran like new after!!!)

[Laneco]

The motronic cars (the engine in this particular SC) has the ability to adjust for altitude. All cars lose power as they climb, they're just less air the higher you go. It will run without issue, just lose power, just like you if you are hiking at altitude.

Drive the wheels off it.

angela

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by Laneco

The motronic cars (the engine in this particular SC) has the ability to adjust for altitude. All cars lose power as they climb, they're just less air the higher you go. It will run without issue, just lose power, just like you if you are hiking at altitude.

Drive the wheels off it.

angela

Never concerned myself with it here in the Mid-Atlantic area, but I think this thread might be helpful for you.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/310335-3-2l-carreras-dme-have-compensation-altitude.html

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by nosubstut

bump

Some specifics on the roads I have driven and enjoyed fairly recently (and hope to be doing again late this summer before my son heads off to school):

Find your way to Walla Walla. From there head to Dayton then Pomeroy. When I drove across the country last, this was probably my favorite drive: High foothill and hay fields, great vistas and sweeping, empty roads. Spend the night in Lewiston the first day and head out to Lolo the next morning.

The drive to Missuloa is about five to six hours from Lewiston, depending on stops. Or, if you want to do an even more circuitous route, Lewiston is right above Hells Gate on the Snake River. There is a road called the Snake River Road that heads south along the river.

In college I was a white water rafter and did the Snake a few times. I always added an extra day to gawk at relatively untrampled scenery.

That way you can see some off the beaten path scenery and spend the night in Hamilton, Mt., south of Missoula.

If you head to South Dakota, make sure to jog off the interstate before the Black Hills, pick your road. Do drive to Mt. Rushmore.

Have fun!

[Seahawk]

A mental bump, since I was thinking about this today driving home to have lunch with my son, in his last week in HS.

We are working through pretty much the same trip, although we may not get as far north as Seattle.

We have driven across the country together twice already and are looking forward to what is probably our last, "just the two of us" trip.

We'll be in a 1999 Tacoma Trd, so slot tracking the gorge is not a priority.

I don't know how many days you have to do this, which is key. Or if you'll be solo or not.

About fourteen years ago my best friend from college moved from San Fran to Baltimore. I flew out to drive one of his cars back, he was in another car. He had seven days to make the trip. He had never driven across the country before.

My recommendation to him then, and to you now, is to take your time getting east of the Continental Divide. On the trip those many years ago we did the Route 50 jog across Nevada, spent the night in Ely, gambled and stayed up very late.

Second day we did Arches, dicked around the western slope and had a ball.

Third day we had fun driving some amazing roads to Durango and stayed up too late again.

Fourth day we get the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and since I was active duty in those days, we played golf and in the late afternoon then stayed at the Q.

Fifth day we headed east with a vengance...we make it all the way to Effingham, Ill, (or as my friend dubbed it, Effing, Fukingham), 14 hours of interstate madness.

The day we enjoy the ride through the hills of West Virginia and play golf again. We ease into Maryland the next day.

One big day on the interstate, and I have done two to compress a six day trip, makes the experience west of the Rockies fantastic.

[Jim Richards]

Road trips are meant to be enjoyed. If you can't invest enough time to sprinkle in some fun, it's better to just have the car shipped. Over the past 30something years, my wife and have taken road trips all over the country, some were nation-wide, some were regional, the cars varied widely, and all the trips were great fun.

We'll probably do a coast-to-coast trip in the 964 in the next year or two.

[KNS]

Hmm, When I lived in Prescott, AZ (5300') , I would run back and forth down to Phoenix (about a 1000') all the time in my 1980 SC, never any drivability problems.

[MJHanna]

Originally Posted by Linderpat

IYou'll see tons of cool stuff in Montana, and at Bozeman, it is a short hop down to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Then come back up through Yellowstone, thru Lamar Valley (the Serengetti of north America), out thru the northeast exit to Cook City and over the Beartooth Pass - the single most spectacular road in the US. Go thru the little town of Red Lodge, back up thru Billings and onto the 90 again, then keep going East.

Even if you just go through Yellowstone and skip droping to Grand Teton this is the best side step you can do. The road from Cooke City to Red Lodge is only 64 miles but if you can do it in 2 hours you'll be lucky. You go over the top of the mountain above timberline (10,500) summit. Its Gods country.....

[nosubstut]

Lots of great ideas and feedback...

I should have indicated that I have 8 days for the trip which I think will be busy but will provide enough time to squeeze in some sights. I feel like a kid in a candy shop wanting to see it all! I will be travelling solo this time...which among other things will allow me to be somewhat spontaneous and not have all the details totally planned.

For starters, I wanted to stop just outside of Portland at a small vineyard I know about but I am now considering skipping this stop because it is far out of the way. I'll sleep on it. If I skip it, I am still planning to take I-90 out of Seattle with stops planned for Yellowstone and Grand Teton (Beartooth Pass sounds Great).



After that I expect to head to Denver to visit my birthplace and perhaps meet some Pelicans if it works out. From Denver I think it sounds neat to head back north to catch I-90 again for a more scenic drive heading east with a stop in the Badlands. Continuing on 90 into Chicago and then pick up 80 east to Youngstown, OH. From Youngstown, probably take the PA Tpk home.

I plan to nail down more details this weekend so that I have some mileage benchmarks to cover each day but otherwise I think that hits the high points.

As suggested by Angela, Jim, Ed and others, I definitely plan on having fun. I think that 8 days should give me the time to hit the spots mentioned above.

Any Pelicans available along that route?

[Bill Douglas]

Tell us about the car?

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by nosubstut

Any Pelicans available along that route?

David, you might want to start a road trip thread over on the 911 Technical forum (I know, it's really not technical) as you will get a better sense of which Pelicans along your route. It's a great idea to have a network fellow Porsche enthusiasts that you can tap into if you have any mechanical issues along the way.

[nosubstut]

The car is a 1983 SC that has been modified. The motor was taken from a 1986 and rebuilt. Here is my understanding -

- 10.3:1 compression
- crank from a '92 C-2 Turbo
- 993 cams
- bored out throttle body (3mm over)
- ported and polished heads
- faired and polished intake manifold
- crankcase webs beveled for windage
- injectors rebuilt and blueprinted
- adjustable rising-rate fuel pressure regulator
- The pistons, rods, crank, flywheel and pressure plate were all balanced
- The connecting rods were reconditioned, balanced end for end, and assembled with ARP rod bolts
- The exhaust is by SSI with a Monty muffler
- The upper valve covers, the intake manifold, and the fan and housing powder coated

- Transmission rebuild with LSD installed

- Suspension work includes Koni sports, 29mm/22mm torsion bars, TRG sways, reinforced mounts, turbo tie rods.

- Carrera brakes, Recaro SRD's,. Carrera spoiler and front lip spoiler, DAS bolt in roll bar

- Cosmetically, the car could use some attention with minor issues. The paint is reportedly okay with expected stone chips up front.

[nosubstut]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

David, you might want to start a road trip thread over on the 911 Technical forum (I know, it's really not technical) as you will get a better sense of which Pelicans along your route. It's a great idea to have a network fellow Porsche enthusiasts that you can tap into if you have any mechanical issues along the way.

Thanks Jim! Done.

[nosubstut]

This should be a little better...

[Bill Douglas]

Nice car!!!

[Jim Richards]

Oh, yeah!

[Linderpat]

Beautiful car. I'm in Pittsburgh now, so feel free to give a hollar when you come through here. Lot's of Porsche guys around.

[nosubstut]

Thanks guys.

Ed - thanks, that will be on the last stretch home.

[eastbay]

If you have the time take Hwy 212 through South Dakota, beats the hell out of 90 and you'll see the old way of living