Cross country trip in my ss/sc
06-12-2015, 12:27 PM
#1
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 10-30-13
Location: Morgantown, WV
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cross country trip in my ss/sc
So a little background: I've lived in West Virginia for about 14 years now. Got a job with Amazon right out of college in Northern California just outside of San Francisco. At first my plan was to ship the car and fly there. After checking out the cost of shipping the car across the country, I decided to just drive it there.
My trip was a little unconventional. My girlfriend is staying with her parents in Kansas for the summer, so I decided to take a detour and visit her for a couple weeks before I went all the way through to California. I would start in West Virginia and go through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, then up California. Total driving time (according to the GPS) was 39 hours, although I'm not sure what the actual time was.
The car is a 2006 SS/SC with an Injen intake, GM Performance Division exhaust, GM Performance Division Stage 2 kit with a custom tune, and GM Performance Division clutch. When I started the trip it had 83,xxx miles on it. Before I left West Virginia I had the throttle body cleaned, new air filter installed, as well as all fluids checked.
Just before I left West Virginia
Saying goodbye to Mothurrrr
I made the 14.5 hour trip to Kansas in one shot. Didn't see anything too interesting. I was driving through Kansas at like 1 am so I was able to absolutely FLY down the highway.
Middle-the-night-fill-up somewhere in Kansas
I didn't drive the car much while I was in Kansas. Although my oil still had quite a bit of life left, I decided to go ahead and change it while I was there for good measure. It also got a bath courtesy of the girlfriend.
Saw this mint looking e30 at a Walmart (I have a soft spot for old BMWs)
Left Wichita at about 9:30 in the morning on Saturday. My first stop was Amarillo, Texas. I got to see Cadillac Ranch but I didn't take any pictures. Too many people. Still a cool thing to see, especially since I didn't even know I would be passing it.
Lunch break!
Driving through New Mexico sucked. There isn't a ton to see and the sun was setting, so I was blind.
Arizona was sick. I will definitely be returning in the future to spend some more time here. Beautiful landscapes and 75 mph speed limits with no police anywhere. Got with a group of other cars and blasted down the highway for hours.
California is where it got interesting. When you cross into California, you have to go through a vehicle inspection where they check to see if you have any plants or produce in your vehicle. Apparently you cannot bring any fruits or veggies from other states into California. Luckily they didn't find out how toxic I was having just eaten two bananas from Kansas.
Certified banana-free
I also wanted to top off my tank when I crossed over. I was going to be driving through the desert and didn't know when I would see another gas station. Luckily, gas is super cheap in Southern California.
Premium was only $4.80........
Many hours of driving through the desert and wine country, I finally got to my new home. I pulled in at about 4 in the afternoon on Sunday.
The car made it all the way here cruising at 75 mph or higher for hours on end without a single problem, even when I spent long periods of time in triple digit temperatures. I had my concerns about how comfortable I would be being cramped in a two door cobalt with most of my possessions stuffed in the back, but I never felt fatigued. I would gladly drive it all the way back to West Virginia.
Overall it averaged 30.4 mpg and my total cost of fuel was right around $320. A couple days after I got here it wouldn't start and I found out it still had the original battery, so that had to be replaced. I'm just glad it got me here before it decided to die somewhere in the middle of the desert. It also passed all of California's emissions tests with no problem.
She's now officially a Californian. Just waiting on my front license plate bracket to come in so I can put the front license plate on.
My trip was a little unconventional. My girlfriend is staying with her parents in Kansas for the summer, so I decided to take a detour and visit her for a couple weeks before I went all the way through to California. I would start in West Virginia and go through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, then up California. Total driving time (according to the GPS) was 39 hours, although I'm not sure what the actual time was.
The car is a 2006 SS/SC with an Injen intake, GM Performance Division exhaust, GM Performance Division Stage 2 kit with a custom tune, and GM Performance Division clutch. When I started the trip it had 83,xxx miles on it. Before I left West Virginia I had the throttle body cleaned, new air filter installed, as well as all fluids checked.
Just before I left West Virginia
Saying goodbye to Mothurrrr
I made the 14.5 hour trip to Kansas in one shot. Didn't see anything too interesting. I was driving through Kansas at like 1 am so I was able to absolutely FLY down the highway.
Middle-the-night-fill-up somewhere in Kansas
I didn't drive the car much while I was in Kansas. Although my oil still had quite a bit of life left, I decided to go ahead and change it while I was there for good measure. It also got a bath courtesy of the girlfriend.
Saw this mint looking e30 at a Walmart (I have a soft spot for old BMWs)
Left Wichita at about 9:30 in the morning on Saturday. My first stop was Amarillo, Texas. I got to see Cadillac Ranch but I didn't take any pictures. Too many people. Still a cool thing to see, especially since I didn't even know I would be passing it.
Lunch break!
Driving through New Mexico sucked. There isn't a ton to see and the sun was setting, so I was blind.
Arizona was sick. I will definitely be returning in the future to spend some more time here. Beautiful landscapes and 75 mph speed limits with no police anywhere. Got with a group of other cars and blasted down the highway for hours.
California is where it got interesting. When you cross into California, you have to go through a vehicle inspection where they check to see if you have any plants or produce in your vehicle. Apparently you cannot bring any fruits or veggies from other states into California. Luckily they didn't find out how toxic I was having just eaten two bananas from Kansas.
Certified banana-free
I also wanted to top off my tank when I crossed over. I was going to be driving through the desert and didn't know when I would see another gas station. Luckily, gas is super cheap in Southern California.
Premium was only $4.80........
Many hours of driving through the desert and wine country, I finally got to my new home. I pulled in at about 4 in the afternoon on Sunday.
The car made it all the way here cruising at 75 mph or higher for hours on end without a single problem, even when I spent long periods of time in triple digit temperatures. I had my concerns about how comfortable I would be being cramped in a two door cobalt with most of my possessions stuffed in the back, but I never felt fatigued. I would gladly drive it all the way back to West Virginia.
Overall it averaged 30.4 mpg and my total cost of fuel was right around $320. A couple days after I got here it wouldn't start and I found out it still had the original battery, so that had to be replaced. I'm just glad it got me here before it decided to die somewhere in the middle of the desert. It also passed all of California's emissions tests with no problem.
She's now officially a Californian. Just waiting on my front license plate bracket to come in so I can put the front license plate on.
06-12-2015, 02:08 PM
#5
I should have done something like this for my trip up the CA coast. Not near as long as yours. Also, don't always count on there not being any cops in AZ. You may have either not seen them or gotten lucky.
A suggestion for the next AZ trip is to take State Route 89A from Flagstaff to Prescott. Then 89 to Wickenburg. It's a great drive!
A suggestion for the next AZ trip is to take State Route 89A from Flagstaff to Prescott. Then 89 to Wickenburg. It's a great drive!
06-12-2015, 02:25 PM
#7
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 10-30-13
Location: Morgantown, WV
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I should have done something like this for my trip up the CA coast. Not near as long as yours. Also, don't always count on there not being any cops in AZ. You may have either not seen them or gotten lucky.
A suggestion for the next AZ trip is to take State Route 89A from Flagstaff to Prescott. Then 89 to Wickenburg. It's a great drive!
A suggestion for the next AZ trip is to take State Route 89A from Flagstaff to Prescott. Then 89 to Wickenburg. It's a great drive!
Moderator
06-12-2015, 09:40 PM
#10
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 10-30-13
Location: Morgantown, WV
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
06-12-2015, 09:41 PM
#11
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 10-30-13
Location: Morgantown, WV
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No I haven't read that one. I'll have to check it out. It was a great experience getting to drive cross country. I highly recommend it to anyone!
06-13-2015, 05:12 AM
#15
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: 11-08-12
Location: San Diego
Posts: 1,711
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I live in San Diego now. Moved here with my G5 GT packed with my books and clothes with the GF. that's it. Drove from NE ohio straight here, stopped at the Grand Canyon. It was a fun trip. No problems.
06-13-2015, 11:34 AM
#17
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 10-30-13
Location: Morgantown, WV
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
06-16-2015, 11:37 PM
#19
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: 11-27-06
Location: OH
Posts: 704
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I recently took a trip from Ohio to North Carolina last month in the car. Roughly a 7-8 hr. trip. With my height, (6',8") I was very surprised at how wonderful that little car was to burn up miles in. I got roughly 30MPG as well driving through the West Virginia turnpike at around 70ish with A/C on. Certainly not as long of a drive as you did, but I'll attest to the fact that these are good road trip cars as well.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post