KC10Chief

Have any of you guys ever taken your third gen's on a long road trip? How did it do? I still haven't left the state with mine yet. No time. Anyways, when this semester of college is over, I'm going to drive to Colorado and Utah to do some mountain biking for a couple weeks. I'm also going to drive out to Vegas and stay a couple nights. Might even go into southern California. Anybody ever driven through Death Valley? Anyways, anybody have any advice or stories or cool pics? My trip will probably be around 3,000 miles or so. I'm taking it on a short road trip this weekend. Going to a montain bike race about 120 miles from here. It runs great on the highway. Anybody ever driven theirs up a mountain? I want to drive mine up Pikes Peak. Thanks for any info or pics! Matt

firebird13

I have not but this spring break ill problly drive my to my dads house but no big deal 100 miles

Squeeks83

well a few months back my car club had a dyno gathering in portland, oregon i drove from seattle to there, and back, the hole trip along with crusing a good amount ended up being exactally 1k on my car. the only problems i had was scrapign my exhaust on the back twisties that we went on. good luck.

bigals87z28

ill be taking her on a nice long trip down to MD for the TGO nats... i belive it will make it.. i dont figure why it wouldnt? i dont understand why people get all antsy when they drive long distances.. its like when people go to the track for the first time and they think something is gunna blow up... my car has been driven 130,000 miles and it runs like its new... if you change you oil, check your trans fluid... check you coolant... you should be more then fine... have your sensors checked.. i plan on doing all that before i go on my trip...

1991 Z-28

ive owned 4 thirdgen camaros....

they do not do well on long road trips... i just recently drove 400 miles to drop my car off at thirdgenresource.com, and my front caliber like just broke, almost everytime i drive to the ocean something breaks, even if its running perfect, i dont ge tit maybe ive just had bad luck, but my first one was an 85 camaro had so many problems now im wiht a 91 much more reliable but still never seems to have som ethin go wrong on a road trip

Slade1

I took mine from Toronto, Canada to Santa Clara, California and back... had no problems with it...

Mine does cross continent like it was a joke...

89cmrodriver

im kinda scared to take mine on long trips..nothing ever beaks but what if something did...i guess its dumb to be like that cause u drive it around tow with no problems why not far with no problems?

V6camaroman

before i bought my car my cousin owned it and he drove it from NY to las vegas and back with no probs. going through new mexico one night he said he traveled for close to 3 hours at over 120mph.

Timz2882

iTrader: (1)

im the same way. i wanted to go to the TGO nats. this yr but figured no something might brake and so im not goin and plus ill be savin gas money and if im moddin something i wont have to rust and chance of something braking.

john5.7 87Iroc

Dont worry about it. Just check and make sur eeverything is working properly. As long as you've taken care of it it should do all right. I've driven to Atlanta and back a bunch of times. Never had a problem.

GNR4EVR

I drove my '86 T/A from Memphis to Louisville, KY and back, and then from Memphis to St. Louis and back (KY is about 7 hours, SL is about 5 hours), and didn't have a single problem. And this was with a bad valve cover seal on the KY trip, and a bad carb on the SL trip.


My '91 GTA was driven to Memphis from about an hour north of St. Louis after sitting in a barn for over a year, not a single problem.

SpeedJunkie

Went from Boston Mass. all the way to Florida NON STOP. only for gas. Took 26 hours and an extra buddy with my girlfriend. No problems and 20mpg the whole way......gotta love it....


Oh and sleepin in the back of a camaro is not fun:lala:

DJP87Z28

What is this"long road trips"?? Hell, I use my 87 IROC every year
for vacations from Ohio to Florida since I have owed this car (note: original owner). I look forward to these trips and enjoy outfoxing the State Troopers (I win some/lose some years).
If your car is that unreliable do some work on it. Sixteen trips X's 2400 miles = 38400 vacation miles and the only problem I had was a failed Alternator.

Jokerman

Well every few months i drive home which is ruffly 420miles from here. I usually run about 85-100mph and have no problems. When i first got my rs i drove her home from indiana in the middle of summer (end of june) through rush hour st. louis and had absolutly no problems.

300hpse

iTrader: (2)

we took my friends 92 3.1 firebird from denver, co to new orleans (1200 miles, 20 hours), straight through both ways, not a single problem and gas milage was suprisingly good, and it was a comfortable trip, no complaints, except one problem, my friend did lock his key in the car once and didnt have a spare, luckily a locksmith in louisiana is only $25

Mark A Shields

I'd suggest changing your oil before you leave.

And check other fluid levels while you're at it.

300hpse

iTrader: (2)

you could also do what we did the the 92 bird, just take it to a private mechanic and pay them to do a complete check over for a road trip, $80 bucks now is worth it rather than be stranded 500 miles from home

patrickm00

i've done 3 or 4 800-900 mile continuous drives , and also did 2400 miles driving 3 days out of 5 (900, 2 day break, 700, 800) and never had a single thing go wrong, either with the 88 TPI GTA or the 92 TPI Trans Am Conv, and most of those times the cars were pretty fully packed.

my advice is bring extra fluids (oil, water, atf, antifreeze), a good ratchet set, and an extra fan belt. do the oil change before you go. if it's been a while, maybe a transmission flush too.

if you've got room, might also bring a soldering iron and some pieces of wire, and some 2' or so chunks of vacuum and water hoses with some connectors, and some epoxy. those should get you through the majority of on the road problems you're likely to have. obviously keep the car in good shape normally, and the chances of doing something like blowing a master cylinder or the transmission giving out is low.

DJP87Z28

Why take a Trip if you have to pack all that Sh-t??? What year are you living in??? My car is a lot more reliable then what your talking about. I wouldn't back of the driveway with all that Cr-p.

igotslicksNchix

why not bring all that? When i had my 88 formula i checked the size of all the bolts that hold together something that breaks (water pump, thermostat housing, little nuts on the hose clamps...etc....) and wrote the sizes down, then put together a thirdgen-specific tool set. Also had a serpentine belt, and a bottle of every fluid you can think of, and it all fit snugly in the little well in the back. Had a carpeted piece of wood i placed over the well, and bam, emergency kit hidden out of sight.
Ironically, had all this crap back there, blew a tire out, and had to walk a mile and a half to call for a tow truck because i didn't have a spare

SMURFN' Z28

iTrader: (2)

well i just compleated a 3000 mile florida trip. it put my car over the 50,000 mark... the car ran beautifully getting 25 mpg the whole way w/ just two misshaps. on the way down, after being awake for about 24 hours my fuel pump decided to take a dump at 6 am just outside of atlanta. My car is in pefect tune, but there was really noway of predicting that would happen. after 10 hours of being a zombie stranded in georgia i ended up bending over and taking it up the bunghole and spending over 400 dollars to get that damn thing fixed. I know i got raped, but there was really nothing i could do. if it had happend at home it woulda been under 100. its very frusterating to pay somebody to a job you know you could have done yourself if you had your garage and tools. There is alot more crap associated w/ that adventure, but i wont keep rambling. mechanically everything went smoothly the rest of the trip, but on the way back when we went on the jack daniel's tour in linchburg tenn. my roommate pulled up too far over the cement parking stoper, i didnt think much of it, but it turned out that the cement stop had two metal rods sticking out of it, one of witch decided it would like to punch a hole through my front GFX. man was i pissed! I think i would have to think long an hard about doing a long trip like that again.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

When I bought my car in Atlanta I drove it back to Dallas. Which is a healthy trip. It took me 11 hours and the car did great. My belts were in bad shape and I needed alot of new hoses. My cruise control wasn't working. My wipers sucked. But it's comfortable enough on long trips. My car is in alot better shape now then when it was when I bought it. If your car is in good repair I wouldn't worry about it. If you do drive it in the desert I will caution you to watch the heat. Carry some water with you and check your radiator every so often. Cars can and will overheat in the desert. Third gens are not great when it comes to heat dissapation. Bear this in mind.

patrickm00

i generally leave a quart of oil and atf in the car anyhow, the belt and soldering iron take up essentially no space and weigh about 1lb total.

given some past troubles i've had with the spare tire, i've ditched that, so there's plenty of space for a ratchet set, 2-ton hydraulic jack, and gallon of coolant.

and besides, i've never used that on any trip, but it's nice to have in case there's an emergency. i've actually helped more people stranded on the side of the road than i've had to be saved.

when i said my car was loaded with stuff, it was because i was moving, not stuff for repairs. but basically, i would've had the fluids and belt come with me on any 1000 mile drive anyway.

devianb

Seeing as how my thirdgen is my only mode of transport at the moment, I take it on all of my vacations. My longest trip was 340 miles.

It runs smoothly on the hiway. I have never once had a problem develop when I was on the hiway. Stuff only seems to happen to my car when I am in the city on a hot summer day waiting for one of those 4 lane with 2 turning lane lights to turn green.




You guys use your cruise control?

I have stopped using mine since I got tired of resetting my speed because of slower traffic and increased traffic volume. Besides, I get just as good milage if I didn't use it.

Jokerman

Ya i turn it on occasionally if i am taking a foot brake. (foot falls asleep or just need a quick stretch in the car) Its more of a hassle than anything since you enevitably have to reset it within 5 minutes to keep with the flow of traffic or what not. Not to mention i start to fall asleep if i don't have a gas pedal to keep me thinking. Oh ya and i managed almost 30mpg once from st. louis to chicago at 68mph with a slight 5mph tail wind. Quite amazing really.

redbird_400

I have only taken her up to 110 miles in distance. Did just fine.. stock motor and all

DJP87Z28

I cannot belive these Posts. We are talking about Modern Cars here and not some relic from the Forties or
Fifties . "I took my car on a 110 mile trip with no problems" for example,:lala: :lala: These 3rd Gen cars were meant to be driven . If your car is this unreliable fix it or store it and just look at it.:hail: :hail: That may be the problem to many short trips.

billsfirebird

iTrader: (1)

Ive driven my 84 Iron Duke 1200 miles round trip from my home in southwest indiana all the way up to Cleveland Ohio.

Ive also driven it 400 miles round trip to St. Louis and back too.

GOT GREAT GAS MILEAGE!!!

Topless91RS

Lets see, my car has been on these road trips...

Rock Hill SC to St. Petersburg Florida: ~1500 miles (round trip)
Rock Hill SC to Montgomery NY: ~1600 miles (round trip)
Rock Hill SC to Boone NC: ~600 miles (round trip)
Rock Hill SC to Myrtle Beach SC: ~600 miles (round trip)
Rock Hill SC to Asheveille NC: ~400 miles (round trip)

My old 89 RS made 2 trips to NY and never had a problem!

And both these cars are/were my daily drives... 50 miles round trip to work everyday!!

Thses cars are a lot more durable than I guess some people think!! A friend of mine, I think she is on here Ryane, she has like 275,000 on her 91 Z.

FyreLance

lol I bet it did, darn those 4-bangers ;-)

formul8!!

Took mine from Chicago to the F-body gathering in Bowling Green,KY last September. The was completely flawless the whole trip, and even handled 8 passes down Beech Bend Raceway!!

My ONLY complaint: The stock Formula seats SUCK! My back hurt from them.

Here is one of my runs from Bowling Green:

FLYNLOW92rs

iTrader: (53)

I made it to Daytona Beach this weekend..... :lala: :lala:


I have drove it to Iowa and Florida.....Over 4,000 miles....

DJP87Z28

Why is when you make a Long trip with your 3rd Gen Car you act like it was a BIG adventure & you made it with no problems ???

pskel350

I havnt taken my car on any long trips yet.....its been in the shop to much :lala:

But I am taken it to the Florida Keys in September

KCobain147

I took my 91RS down to Bowling Green Kentucky from Buffalo NY, i think the whole trip was a total of around 1500 miles. She took it perfect, not a damn problem except i rear ended a newer SS on the counrty side cruise. The @$$hole couldnt drive to save his life. But anywho, the car did fine. Just get an oil change before you go and right when you get back, and check all your fluids. Hey Formul8, were you the one eating with your wife at that burger joint across the road from the NCM? i think you messaged me a while ago bout my plates..WHY FORD

3.1EyeCandy

iTrader: (3)

It's 1000 miles one way for me to get home from school. That said, I spent 6 days of my Spring break under my car fixing among many other things a leaky radiator. Then drove back 1000 miles.

I've done the trip 3 or 4 times and this is the first I've had any problems. Then again, the radiator was stock with 150,000 miles on the clock

formul8!!

Nope, wasn't me.

Are you going to this years event?

I WILL BE THERE!! :rockon:

KCobain147

I dont have my cash in yet but i plan to go..i know i met up with bandit and met his family, but there was someone else from here too i talked to when i got back

jcjohnston78

my car has 210,000 miles before the motor started knocking to point where i could keep the car running. (tranny and rear end still going strong)

i take my car everywhere i go and i love it. i drove from dallas to destin florida last summer about 1200 miles. i got cruddy gas mileage, but i drove the whole distance only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks. i drove around 80-90 miles an hour with no problems or overheating.

i generally went on a road every other weekend for about 2 years most trips averaging around 700 mile around tripand some of those trips were either in the dead of winter or 105 plus weather in texas in west texas.

once i get the car running, with the lo5 motor i just got, ill being making a trip to nevada and to cali. then at the end of summer ill be visting family in IL.

firebirdpl

drove my 89 formula from long island New York down to miami florida, no trouble. it loved cruising around 80 mph or so dont sweat it if its running good make sure you have fresh oil and just go for it

YellowIROC305

I drove my IROC out here to school in Arizona from Chicago last summer. 2000 miles or so. 30+ hours of driving. It did flawlessly....until I started driving it around out here...then the problems came . Five more weeks....and it's back home to Illinois. I'm praying all goes good. :hail:

Actually..not completely flawlessly out here....I spilled my milkshake all over the carpet. Smelled like one for months even after I got it out. Have never ordered a milkshake since....

IROZINCO

iTrader: (1)

I drive mine to TN and back every year for Christmas. That's 2400 miles round trip. I bought it in FL and drove it to CO with bald tires, the check engine light on - no speedo and a starter problem. It STILL got 22 mpg, and I got there with no problem (about 1600 miles, ow) I do live in colorado, if you are coming out here there are a couple of things you need to know. 1st, if it's a carbed car, FORGET pikes peak. Ditto if you have drum rear brakes. The altitude up here kills cars. Colorado Springs (where you start to go up PP) is at 6500 ft. YOu'd have to get the carb adjusted just to run right in the 'Springs. let alone to go another 8000 ft up the peak. Plus, even the TPI cars tend to overheat on a climb like that. You are basically doing 20 and climbing for OVER an hour. Your cooling system better be up to the job! ON the way down, they actually have a check station about 1/3 of the way down to measure the temperature of your brakes! We loose about 2-3 tourists off the side of the mountain every summer, 'cause they can't drive it! Colorado is a beautiful state, but it's hard on cars! Just going over I-70 thru CO, the high passes are at 10,000 ft! There are always people with overheating problems on the side of the road on the up side, and you can SMELL the brakes on the downside! But if you have an FI car with a good cooling system and good brakes, there are LOTS of things to see here besides Pikes Peak.

KhaotikRaje

Hey, Chief - kind of ironic about where we wanna go with our thirdgen's. I live in Utah now, and I've been up here for 4 years. Oddly enough, I moved here from Oklahoma City. I haven't been outta state with my IROC yet, but first place I'm gonna go is either Jackson Hole, WY, or Las Vegas, NV. I'm leanin towards Jackson - it's closer, and a lot more scenic. When I moved up here, I actually had to move twice - couldn't get all the stuff in one move! Haha...1st run we headed north thru Kansas, then turned left at Salina to go towards Colorado. Outran a tornado by the KS/CO border that day in a Penske moving truck

2nd route took us thru west Texas, New Mexico, and southern Colorado before heading into Utah. That took longer. It's a long drive from OKC to Utah by the northern way - about 15 hours to Denver, and from there to Utah you can't go straight (have to head north thru Cheyenne then westbound and back down thru Evanston and Echo, UT - real pretty. Somewhere in WY we topped out at 11,700 feet. Really cool), so it's another 13 hours. You could do it in about 9-10

Oddly enough, I wanna see a friend of mine in Midwest City down there, and see how things have changed (I used to live in Choctaw, actually) in my hometown. I can't wait till I get my car up to speed, and have some time to do the trip. Who knows, maybe we'll pass each other on the road.

-Casey

KCobain147

That whole milkshake thing is why no one, including myself, eats or drinks in or near my car. my friends make fun of me all the time for it..but my car is clean..and i intend to keep it that way

igotslicksNchix

Formul8!! dude, i absolutely love your car. i had an 88 formula 305tpi 5 speed i miss it sooooo much. beautiful car man just beautiful. If only my paint was as clean as that ! now you've got me going lol....MUST FIND ANOTHER FORMULA

snflupigus

Omaha to Vegas. and back of course

Omaha to Denver and Fort Collins many times.

Omaha to Kansas City many times.

Omaha to Iowa City, Ames and Cedar Falls. many times

I can get 360 miles on a tank when cruising on vacations. i get 200 even in the city.

I love driving my car. sometimes ill put 200 miles on it in a day durring the summer, just cruising through the country here in Iowa and Nebraska.

Jon92TA

These cars were born to run, there're great on the highway. My usual run is LA to Vegas. Here's a stop at Calico Ghost Town.

ES87iroc

*shrugs*

I put over 25,000 miles on my car the first year I had it. (00') I did put a new motor in it and some other things to get it on the road, but nothing out of the ordinary.

It seems like the less I drive the car, the more I end up spending on it. (I don't drive it daily anymore)

Pete92TA

I drove my bird from Lakesuperior(Marquette,MI) to the gulf. 1760miles Twice. once to bring it down there to live for about 4years then I brougt it back. While it was down there I got to drive on daytonaa beach.

DreamState21x

Im in the military and go home to Fl every year sometimes twice a year from TX.. Its about a 27hour drive and I drive straight through without stopping for the night and I have never had even one problem with mine.. It the gas mileage is so much better on the highway.. 150to a tank city(alot of stop and go traffic tho) over 300 on highway..