Got back from a 3300 mile road trip... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Chills · 08-10-2007, 11:00 AM

I went out to Albuquerque from Chicago two weeks ago, driving the Boxster, and spent a week there. It was a 17.5 hour drive, which I did in 2 days. I've done this drive in many different cars and an SUV pulling a trailer full of sport bikes, and I have to say the trip was so much better in the Boxster. The car is awesome.

I set the cruise to 82mph (speed limits are 75 once you get to Oklahoma) and the car ran fine. I was a bit worried driving that far but I had not one problem. It ran smoothly, was pretty quiet at that speed, and got pretty good gas mileage. I averaged 28.3 mpg on the entire trip and had the A/C running 85% of the time (it was damn hot in OK and TX).

One complaint I do have about the car is that when the re-circulation is on but the AC is off the recirc only stays on for 3-5 minutes before opening up the fresh air again. I understand why the engineers designed it that way, but I wish they hadn't.

3300 miles in a week. I'm giving the car a break now that I'm back and letting her rest.

BTW, this is my 505th post. Anyone from New Mexico knows what 505 is.

Here are a few pics:

1. Approaching St Louis on I-55. You can see the Arch in the middle behind the tree.

2. I stayed at a friend's house for a few days. She has a ranch and I helped out to earn my keep. That's me throwing hay bales from the trailer.

3. One of her horses loved my car. She's got good taste in automobiles.

Pat · 08-10-2007, 11:03 AM

You wrote, "One complaint I do have about the car is that when the re-circulation is on but the AC is off the recirc only stays on for 3-5 minutes before opening up the fresh air again. I understand why the engineers designed it that way, but I wish they hadn't."

Why would they design it like that? Never heard of that in any car before.

Chills · 08-10-2007, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat

You wrote, "One complaint I do have about the car is that when the re-circulation is on but the AC is off the recirc only stays on for 3-5 minutes before opening up the fresh air again. I understand why the engineers designed it that way, but I wish they hadn't."

Why would they design it like that? Never heard of that in any car before.

When the recirc is on the car humidity goes up, and the windows can fog up more easily. That's why it's only on for a few minutes. While the AC is on the system pulls moisture from the cabin so the recirc can stay on.

I wanted to keep the recirc on because the air outside was a lot hotter than inside, but I didn't want my AC running constantly.

Rodger · 08-11-2007, 08:25 AM

Something about a green Boxster with the 18" Sport Classics just really appeals to me.

Yeah, I'm green with envy.

I'm getting ready for a 4000+ mile road trip this month as well, from Anchorage, AK to Texas for Boxstoberfest. I hope mine goes as well as yours did!

djomlas · 08-11-2007, 08:42 AM

nice man.
i love how the horse is posing by your car, as if it got interrupted from taking something out of the trunk

08-11-2007, 03:02 PM

Great picture, Chills! So you added exactly 1 HP on the trip!

SD987 · 08-11-2007, 03:24 PM

Nice, Chills, glad you had a successful trip. I did that St. Louis to Albuquerque (my parents live in Santa Fe half the year) leg myself as part of my move out to Cali from NY, and it was nice driving. I didn't do it in a Box though, which would have definitely been funner. New Mexico is such a weird state to drive in ain't it? There's Albuquerque/SF in the middle and jack **************** all around.

I'm curious, how did your Box run at high elevation? Some cars seem to get affected quite a bit.

I assume you were filling with 87-89, due to availability at that altitude.

eslai · 08-11-2007, 04:27 PM

That's a LONG freakin' drive! I can't say my ass would be able to take that--I get whiny after just a drive up and down to San Francisco!

As for elevation, I can feel the difference in horsepower even when just driving out on I-8 to Viejas (Alpine). I think the sign said that it was about 2000 ft. MSL, which isn't a lot, but it definitely took some snort out of the car.

dmcutter · 08-11-2007, 05:59 PM

I'd have been more impressed if you had done it on the ZX 10R...

FrayAdjacent · 08-11-2007, 07:44 PM

Not a bad little trip!

In April I drove out to Phoenix from Austin (just over 1000 miles one way) and back. The Boxster ran great the whole way, and I averaged 31mpg for the whole trip.

I'll likely be driving out there again in December, for a cousin's wedding.

Chills · 08-12-2007, 05:41 AM

Good luck, Schnell! My fiance and I have been talking about driving the AlCan some day. We love Alaska and try to get up there every couple of years.

DJ, she was actually licking the water off the car and I tried to take a pic of that, but she moved.

bmuss.... lol!! I can now claim 251hp.

SD987, yeah there's NOTHING in New Mexico. It's an empty state. I noticed a slight drop in gas mileage with the 90 octane at the pumps (IL has 93) but that's about it. I never accelerated real hard but I did take a spirited drive up North 14 from Edgewood to Madrid. The car ran great the entire time, even at the high altitudes. I didn't notice any difference in performance.

dmcutter, yeah right! I get sore after 30 minutes on the 10R. There have been many times I was riding it this year and I thought to myself, "I'd be much more comfortable in my Boxster," lol.

I'd definately do another road trip in this car.

NickCats · 08-13-2007, 11:25 AM

Chills,

Glad you had a great trip ! I was also suprised how well the Box is on a long distance trip when we went down to the Tail of the Dragon...

Welcome home

Nick

CJ_Boxster · 08-13-2007, 11:59 AM

Nice, i use to live in "Albuquerque" when i was a young teenager.

skip_168 · 08-13-2007, 12:05 PM

I have a 2000 boxster same color green with the sport wheels.. I just made two weekend trips to NC from Fla. I did the same thing, set the cruise at 85 and hauled azz. the bulk of the traffic was goin' that fast!! What a classy ride in the boxster. I had the top down most of the way around atlanta in the evening, what a fun trip. And I averaged around 31mpg at 80-85 the whole way. After that, I dont think I could do the weekend trip in anything else....

iflyadesk · 08-13-2007, 12:30 PM

BTW, I have a guest bedroom for anyone who is passing through the desert. I grew up on the east coast and the thought of driving 2hrs one way for anything was annoying. Now, I'll drive 8hrs to Denver for a weekend getaway. When I move back east in a few years, my horizons will definitely be larger!

As for the altitude, I've never felt my S at anything shy of 5,000 ft. I can't wait until Nationals at Mid Ohio in September!

skip_168 · 08-13-2007, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iflyadesk

BTW, I have a guest bedroom for anyone who is passing through the desert. I grew up on the east coast and the thought of driving 2hrs one way for anything was annoying. Now, I'll drive 8hrs to Denver for a weekend getaway. When I move back east in a few years, my horizons will definitely be larger!

As for the altitude, I've never felt my S at anything shy of 5,000 ft. I can't wait until Nationals at Mid Ohio in September!

Nice, I liked that area. I worked a couple of contracts out there, I wish i had the boxster out there to go exploring....