jiggawha1

I will be departing San Antonio next week for a 1K mile journey to Iowa...Yes Iowa. Anyone have any tips for such a long trip? I have only drove as far as Dallas so this is definately going to be a test. Anything I should do to car before? I am changing oil this weekend, and will checking all fluids and tire pressures. Also how the heck do I stay up for 16 hours straight driving? Please any help would be appreciated.

thejew89

coffee, redbull, or monster is best to stay awake, or just sleep all day the day before. what route are you taking to go there

Spinning Sushi

iTrader: (21)

Just keep your speed in the triple digits, that will keep you awake.

Grungepup

iTrader: (2)

Remember to check your oil at fill ups!!!!
And don't call me.... "hey my oil lamp is on... i wonder why"

tntmst

hope you have an ipod or some sort of mp3 player, it sucks to keep changing the CD. although its pretty cool to listen to the different radio station.

jiggawha1

im taking 35 all the way there I believe. Im gonna try to limit myself on the monsters, last time I did that was when I drove to Dallas, and lets jus say it wasnt a pleasant trip after the 3rd one haha. Yea ill be sure to be toppin on the oil after refueling every damn 4 hours or so. I definitely have an Ipod with a couple of trance sets that are over an hour long each plus the usual rap, rock, reggaetone playlists. What do yall do as far as food? I think i'm gonna pack something just so I save money cause gas is gonna own me on this one.

shinka~mami

i roadtripped to tucson arizona in my '05 8, kept a cooler on the floor board of the passenger seat with gatorade, grapes, easy snack food!! the 8 had surprisingly decent gas mileage on the highway, i just checked my oil every fill up and never let her go past 1/4 tank.
hahaaaa....also.......ummmm, when you hit the trip digits, make sure you stop and wait for the cop who flashed his lights at you from the other side of the highway....it helps.....(instead of giving me a ticket for 120 in a nighttime 65, he gave it to me for 80 in a 65, i just had to wait on the shoulder about 7 minutes for him to turn around and get to my side of the highway.....)
have a safe trip!!!

jiggawha1

haha wow never heard of that...u got lucky huh?

shinka~mami

pshhhhhhh! ur cute!!! luck had nothing to do with it
the way the highway split heading to AZ, the eastbound lanes were up higher on the hill and westbound sat lower, waaaay lower. i saw him flash his lights and kinda knew they were flashed for me.....so instead of being even more of a dumbass since i was already speeding, i just pulled off on the shoulder immediatly. it took the dude a full 7 minutes to manuever his car down that embankment....LMFAO....
he finally got to me and was like, okay first, how long have you been waiting??? i said as soon as you flashed your lights. he was like, okay, well thanks for not making me chase you....is this car yours? LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO
sometimes i AM known to be a charmer
take pics on ur roadtrip!!!

TX09RX8

Jiggawha - How is this a huge road trip issue? I guess by now you have made it, made it safely and know 1K isn't that far.

How about an update?

GaMEChld

I went to Vegas and back with my 04 rx8 from long island, about a 6k mile trip. Was doing about 900-1000 miles a day. No problems. I checked oil periodically as well as tire pressure after waking up. Towards the southwest regions I could only get 90 octane, and there was heavy wind in the plains, definitely felt the car bog down. Was fully stock at the time. It's a great car for a trip in my opinion, keeps things fun, very nimble, good sound system, well positioned cruise control.

Advice: Pick up a Valentine One. Used in conjunction with common sense, it will pay for itself very quickly.

shinka~mami

soooo not trying to derail this thread, but i gotta ask GaMEChld, i googled that radar, looks bad as hell, do you have it?? does the rear radar seem to work very well? where did u have to place it in your car for best position?
sorry bout the 20 questions game but i have been in the market for a radar and none of my friends have top of the line radars or real knowledge of what theirs does.
thanks in advance!!!!

VS8

iTrader: (4)

my radar is real good for the price i have the whistler pro-78 it costs 150-200 depending on were you get it from

shinka~mami

idk, i've been on this V1 website all morning reading the "moment of the month" testemonies....i think i may splurge on it, seems crazy worth it, has front and rear coverage.....am def curious bout it.
also, (and now even more off topic than ever) had to get my phone repaired, they couldnt, so they replaced it, could not save my outlook contacts or my calendar so i lost over half my contacts that had more info than sim card would allow.....
Jourdan i need ur contact info again, goes for all SA 8's who gave me their info during meets...

now about that V1....

GaMEChld

Yeah the Valentine is great. You position it as high as you can on your front windshield while still making sure it has line of sight out your rear windshield. Keeping detectors high helps prevent glare from the hood of your car from interfering with your front sensor. Valentine 1 is on the more expensive side but it really does have excellent quality. It picks up signals from far off, it protects on 4 bands (x, k, ka, and laser). And he lets you trade in old ones for new ones at half price (though I've never had the need to upgrade).

Personally, I say if you are shopping for a detector, bite the bullet, spend the extra bit of money, because it is a great investment.

Note though, with ANY detector, always excercise caution while driving, never drive faster than you can see or react. Also, if you are going to speed, short of jamming, nothing makes you invincible. You need common sense. Never speed alone. Cops like to use instant on radar these days, so you wont detect anything until you are gunned, unless they are gunning people ahead of you. If you are alone on the road, you will not get any advance warning unless the cops are leaving their guns on. Laser is extremely rare to get an advanced warning on because it doesnt scatter the way radar does. Be aware of the habits of cops in each area. Driving across the country, I saw first hand different regions having different patters and technologies. For example, driving through Ohio, the cops are big on laser there. Risky state to speed in. (At least from the road I was on)

So on that note, the Valentine 1 comes with a handy little booklet on driving tips and tactics just like that. Info can also be found on the website.

I will admit though, I do not have much experience dealing with a variety of other detectors, so I cannot say that other ones are flat out inferior. But many different sources give the Valentine rave reviews.

Good Journey


EDIT:
Ah you probably guessed it, but I didn't specifically answer the question you asked. Yes, I have the V1. Another note about it is that the V1 has a bogey counter. So as you may know, different things can throw off radar signals, like stores, alarm systems, god knows how many other electronics, as well as poorer quality radar detectors. So if you drive by this mall or something everyday, and you notice that it always say 3 radar contacts near the mall. Then one day, you are driving, it says 4. That's probably a good sign of a cop hiding among all the radar interference. Other detectors would only register that there is radar present, so you wouldnt know how many different contacts are present.

shinka~mami

thank you so much, you were in depth with answer and i TOTALLY appreciate your honesty!! i have spent the ENTIRE day on their website (v1), reading up on it, the dynamics, etc, also read all of the testemonies!! (omg they are addicting, i dont even care how i am opening myself up to be made fun of for this tidbit!!)!!

yea, cost is a bite in the tush, but, imo, looks way worth it, and i'm loving that they let you upgrade, and seem pretty open to communication if something breaks..(i have this habit of building relationships/networks with people i do business with longterm!!)

once mine comes in, i will prob pm you and ask exact location of placement, (ie, under rear mirror, side of, etc, for optimum results, if you dont mind??)

i would have never known bout it had it not been for your post, so THANK YOU!!!

ryann

jptalky

iTrader: (1)

^^ Read this on how to hardwire a V1, hope this helps in the future.
http://www.hi-impact.org/ryang/modif...valentine.html
A list of all the DIY: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-section-category-alphabetically-101998/

shinka~mami

thanks!! i read that it needed to be hardwired to car, was kinda wondering how that would be accomplished, i no longer have to wonder!!!
thank you again!!!
i bookmarked the link, i have a feeling i'm gonna be a shameless promoter in the future for this radar...

just wanna say thanks again, and also, sorry for derailing the thread!!!
and not that i am promoting unsafe driving/handling of vehicles whatsoever, just a nice little protection buffer against the brats who meet quotas.....

zoooom zooooooooooom!!!!!!

jiggawha1

I have a passport and that thing works like a charm. The new one even filters out bogus bands that you may pass daily and it recognizes them. Both work relatively the same in comparison, but isnt the passport a lil cheaper? Also I think you have to order the valentines, Best buy carries Escorts I know for sure.

Actually I depart tomorrow, and 1k miles is definitely a longass trip for me, i have never drove out of the state of TX...EVER haha sad life story i know. Ill let ya'll know how it goes, gonna do a quick spark plug change tomorrow after class then i'll be off...

GaMEChld

My V1 isnt hardwired yet, didnt get around to it. Still use the lighter. I'll take pics or something later if you are curious about my setup.

shinka~mami

def want pics of setup if you dont mind!
i was talking to my NP go to guy about the V1 today, i def want it hardwired in, i am prob gonna get the low profile display too.
i know the other radars prob work great, cost is less of a bite, but i really am sold on the valentine 1. i wish i had known about this little bad boy before!!!
i'll ck back for pics!!!