psionic1

Just got back from a road trip that took me from San Francisco to Seattle and back. I took 3 days going up, spent 4 days in Seattle, and 2 days coming home.

Before I get to any of the details, let me say that I love my car even more, which I (or my girlfriend for that matter) didn't think was possible.

For any of you familiar with the drive using I-5 as the main route, you know that the first leg of this drive is boring as hell. 4-5 hours of long straight interstate with no real scenary to look at. My route was 101 north, to 37, to 80, to 505, to 5.

The good thing about this first part though was that I got a chance to really open it up. My maximum speed for the whole trip was on this first part topping out at around 125mph. And as has been mentioned before, the car was extremely stable at that speed. My girlfriend just sat there completely oblivious as though we were doing 80. Your only clue that this might be risky is when some dumb as pulls into the fast lane ahead of you doing 70, and you need to hit the brakes. The brakes are good, but slowing down rapidly from 125mph makes you feel just how fast you were going.


Note that the weather was hot all the way up, and that I used to air conditioning for most of the trip. Unlike most other cars that I have owned, it's effect on overall power was minor.

Getting into the mountains around the Cali/Oregon border is where the car really started to show it's stuff. Again, for those who have made this trip, you'll know that it has many long sweeping turns, both grading up, and down. The ride was extremely comfortable the whole way, but notable, and to what may seem contrary to that is that feedback from the road was supurb. I really felt like I was one with the car. Especially when going through my favorite turns. The kind that decend into a left turn. Some of these were taken at 100-110 mph. The feeling is very hard to describe. But the car was planted to the road, and we were planted to the seats. I could feel the raod surface under me at all times. Again, road and vehicle feedback is unequalled by anything else that I have owned.

Average speed was 95mph. With lots of spurts at 100 - 115. At no time did the car feel overworked. I am amazed at how easy everything I threw at it was handled.

Ok, so it was a long trip, and I had to let my girlfriend drive. Not because I was tired of driving, but for political reasons. I was very worried at first, as she was learning the feel of the clutch, but she picked up the flow and was in a groove of her own very quickly. Once I relaxed, I enjoyed very much being a passenger. She also obtained some high speeds, and was very good at passing. The car felt very sporty and stable from the passenger's perspective as well. She remarked at how easy the 8 was to shift, and you should of seen the smiles turn into extreme focus as she became connected to the car.

To summarize:

Comfort on the long trip was not an issue. No sore back/*** after hours upon hours of driving.

This car is fast. **** those ricers who bash the 8. This thing IS fast, but also extremely refined. Such a quality ride. I doubt very much that there are other cars in this price range that offer that ride quality.

This car handles the curves. We all knew that, but what a pleasure to drive it through the mountains of Oregon.

I used very little oil. Gas mileage was better as I predicted, getting about 300 miles per tank using 91 octane.

My one and only compliant. Cabin heat. That much driving really made that aperent. This made it difficult because once it cooled down outside in the early evenings, the cabin heat was still hot enough that I wanted to use the AC.

Oh yeah, I got spanked by a Z getting on the Freeway near Seven Feathers Casino. And while driving through Portland, some little punk in a WRX thought he was going to show me up, but I didn't even feel the need to gratify him. So yeah, he gunned it and was gone, while I kept a cool, safe speed going through the maze. It made me feel like a grown up And well, I should, as I turned 34 over the trip.

One last thing, my Escort Solo 2 saved my *** several times. It definately paid for itself on this trip.

rex

iTrader: (2)

I did this trip about 6 years ago in a Miata, except I added a bit of US Route 1 in California. I'll never forget driving those sweeping mountain roads you mentioned, especially playing tag with another Miata, we were flat out up the hills most of the time. The road was deserted except the two of us. It was like being on a race track being able to optimize the line over several lanes. The only way to get past was for the other driver to mess the line up, we were well matched in terms of power.

I live in Seattle and the company I work for is in the SF Bay Area, so I can't wait to do this road trip in my RX-8. Thanks for the excellent trip report, it was inspiring and good to know that your car handled so beautifully.

I recently took a trip up to the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver, Canada. The roads were too busy up to Vancouver but after that there were some really nice twisties up in the Sunshine coast. One feature I loved was being able to toggle over to km/h at the border! It was really a lot of fun to see those numbers click over so fast compared to acclerating in mph. I agree with you on cabin temperature. My car is NG with all black interior and it really soaks up the heat. I had the AC on for a lot of the time.

On the way back I had a Mitsu Eclipse on my tail and I thought I'd lose him on the I-5 on ramp, but those things seem to be pretty quick. That was the only time I felt like I needed more power. Well, let's be honest, there's always a need for more! More corners! More power! More cornering g

The best moment of the drive was hovering behind a slow moving car waiting to overtake. My car was at about 4,500rpm. My wife said "why don't you shift up?", well honey, I've got another 4,500rpm to go, that's why. The next comment followed the shift up beep, was "how fast are we going now?".