4,217 miles of smiles...( really long with photos)
07-19-2013, 05:31 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
4,217 miles of smiles...( really long with photos)
This is really long so I apologize in advance.
Car; 2013 Supersonic Blue GS Coupe A6 with 2,600 miles on the clock when we left home on 3 July, Bridgestone RFT Tires, Hawk one-piece ceramic brake pads.
Traveled to Weatherford, OK., Albuquerque, NM., Durango, Co., Kayente, AZ., Sedona, AZ., Kingman, AZ., (via Route 66), Scottsdale, AZ., Tucson, AZ., then back to Albuquerque, Weatherford, then home. 15 days, 4,217 miles and lots of two-lane roads.
The car ran great averaging 25.4 MPG for the entire trip from start to finish, which included drives around the local towns, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, etc., and other places in the cities we visited.
An early brief hiccup was going into Monument Valley after a lunch break I got a XX on the left rear TPMS Sensor. Then as quickly as it came on it got normal again. Never did it again and it is the subject of another post I did a week or so ago.
One interesting thing; my former car was a 2010 base coupe and because Missouri requires a front plate (was stopped three times), I had the front plate that is sold by a forum vendor that goes in the middle of the front grill. When I bought my 2013 GS I purchased the same mount and have had it on the car since I took delivery in September. On our run from St. Louis to Weatherford, OK. on the first day the ambient temps were in the low to mid 90s and my coolant temps at 75 to 80 mph were 196 to 205 depending on whether it was a straight flat run or pulling a hill. At one rest stop just for the heck of it and to see if it made any difference (and I think it looks better without it) I pulled the front plate. For the rest of the day on the run to Albuquerque I was now seeing temps of 190 to 196! When I took a good look at the plate, it looked as if I was probably blocking anywhere from 25% to 30% of the air into the engine from the front grill. Removing the plate increased the air to the engine and even in 100+ ambient temps during the rest of the trip I was seeing the 190 to 196 temps at 75 to 80 mph; pretty interesting to me. Now I am bent on finding a different solution to the front plate.
On the way back going through Oklahoma City on I-44 East at 8am on Thursday morning in rush hour traffic and a construction zone, the car in front of me ran over a road sign that was laying in the road and tossed it up at me; it hit my hood, smashed into the windshield, then across my painted top which I have a black vinyl wrap on. Thankfully the sign wasn't metal but one of those heavy plastic ones but it left some serious marks on my hood, which was covered with Expel Ultimate film, scratched and gouged my windshield (it will have to be replaced) and took a chunk out of the weather-stripping and a small chip out of the painted top at the leading edge. The vinyl wrap on the top is toast but with the chip out of it it will probably have to be repainted anyway so I will wrap it after it is fixed. At the next gas stop I was able to get the scrapings off of the hood using the Xpel cleaner. Problem was that the film had a crease in it so I figured it would mean new film on the hood when I got home.
After running a few hours in 95+ temps at one of the next stops I checked the hood and the crease in the Xpel film was completely gone and now you can’t even tell that anything even hit the hood.
During the trip every Corvette we came across gave a wave. Most evenings when we were washing our cars local folks and Corvette owners would see us and drop by and chat with us; pretty cool.
On our drive out of Amarillo on I-44 a Jetstream Blue GS Coupe going the same direction we were, passed me and when he got along side, gave me the thumbs up and a great wave. He did this with the other two cars in our group too. Great to see!
So, that’s it. A great trip in a great car that ran absolutely beautifully. Had it not been for the mishap in Oklahoma City the trip would have been pretty flawless. As it was, we had a great time and as many know, the Corvette is a great road machine. We had more people looking at our cars and taking photos then I have ever seen. At one gas stop a lady asked if she could take a photo of my car for her son who was a big Corvette fan. One thing about driving a Corvette across country; you never have to start a conversation; someone is always wanting to talk about the car.
FWIW; I used the factory Nav the entire trip and it worked perfectly
One disappointment however; I have Hawk one-piece Ceramic pads and the dust those pads give off is much more than I would have ever expected based on my experience with ceramic pads on my previous 10 coupe. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know that I had ceramic pads on the car. Really not happy with the pads and considering how much they cost I would have expected a lot less dust. Maybe my expectations were too high.
Here is a photo of my wheels after only 300 miles. I washed the car every day and got the dust off each time. My wheel barrels are chrome and the rotor hats are black so you can see how much dust the pads gave off.
Below are some photos from the trip. This is a great road car!
The Big Texan, Amarillo, TX
Monument Valley
Road Kill Cafe on RT66
RT66
Sedona, AZ.
Pinnacle Peak Patio, Scottsdale, AZ
Hood scrape
Car; 2013 Supersonic Blue GS Coupe A6 with 2,600 miles on the clock when we left home on 3 July, Bridgestone RFT Tires, Hawk one-piece ceramic brake pads.
Traveled to Weatherford, OK., Albuquerque, NM., Durango, Co., Kayente, AZ., Sedona, AZ., Kingman, AZ., (via Route 66), Scottsdale, AZ., Tucson, AZ., then back to Albuquerque, Weatherford, then home. 15 days, 4,217 miles and lots of two-lane roads.
The car ran great averaging 25.4 MPG for the entire trip from start to finish, which included drives around the local towns, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, etc., and other places in the cities we visited.
An early brief hiccup was going into Monument Valley after a lunch break I got a XX on the left rear TPMS Sensor. Then as quickly as it came on it got normal again. Never did it again and it is the subject of another post I did a week or so ago.
One interesting thing; my former car was a 2010 base coupe and because Missouri requires a front plate (was stopped three times), I had the front plate that is sold by a forum vendor that goes in the middle of the front grill. When I bought my 2013 GS I purchased the same mount and have had it on the car since I took delivery in September. On our run from St. Louis to Weatherford, OK. on the first day the ambient temps were in the low to mid 90s and my coolant temps at 75 to 80 mph were 196 to 205 depending on whether it was a straight flat run or pulling a hill. At one rest stop just for the heck of it and to see if it made any difference (and I think it looks better without it) I pulled the front plate. For the rest of the day on the run to Albuquerque I was now seeing temps of 190 to 196! When I took a good look at the plate, it looked as if I was probably blocking anywhere from 25% to 30% of the air into the engine from the front grill. Removing the plate increased the air to the engine and even in 100+ ambient temps during the rest of the trip I was seeing the 190 to 196 temps at 75 to 80 mph; pretty interesting to me. Now I am bent on finding a different solution to the front plate.
On the way back going through Oklahoma City on I-44 East at 8am on Thursday morning in rush hour traffic and a construction zone, the car in front of me ran over a road sign that was laying in the road and tossed it up at me; it hit my hood, smashed into the windshield, then across my painted top which I have a black vinyl wrap on. Thankfully the sign wasn't metal but one of those heavy plastic ones but it left some serious marks on my hood, which was covered with Expel Ultimate film, scratched and gouged my windshield (it will have to be replaced) and took a chunk out of the weather-stripping and a small chip out of the painted top at the leading edge. The vinyl wrap on the top is toast but with the chip out of it it will probably have to be repainted anyway so I will wrap it after it is fixed. At the next gas stop I was able to get the scrapings off of the hood using the Xpel cleaner. Problem was that the film had a crease in it so I figured it would mean new film on the hood when I got home.
After running a few hours in 95+ temps at one of the next stops I checked the hood and the crease in the Xpel film was completely gone and now you can’t even tell that anything even hit the hood.
During the trip every Corvette we came across gave a wave. Most evenings when we were washing our cars local folks and Corvette owners would see us and drop by and chat with us; pretty cool.
On our drive out of Amarillo on I-44 a Jetstream Blue GS Coupe going the same direction we were, passed me and when he got along side, gave me the thumbs up and a great wave. He did this with the other two cars in our group too. Great to see!
So, that’s it. A great trip in a great car that ran absolutely beautifully. Had it not been for the mishap in Oklahoma City the trip would have been pretty flawless. As it was, we had a great time and as many know, the Corvette is a great road machine. We had more people looking at our cars and taking photos then I have ever seen. At one gas stop a lady asked if she could take a photo of my car for her son who was a big Corvette fan. One thing about driving a Corvette across country; you never have to start a conversation; someone is always wanting to talk about the car.
FWIW; I used the factory Nav the entire trip and it worked perfectly
One disappointment however; I have Hawk one-piece Ceramic pads and the dust those pads give off is much more than I would have ever expected based on my experience with ceramic pads on my previous 10 coupe. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know that I had ceramic pads on the car. Really not happy with the pads and considering how much they cost I would have expected a lot less dust. Maybe my expectations were too high.
Here is a photo of my wheels after only 300 miles. I washed the car every day and got the dust off each time. My wheel barrels are chrome and the rotor hats are black so you can see how much dust the pads gave off.
Below are some photos from the trip. This is a great road car!
The Big Texan, Amarillo, TX
Monument Valley
Road Kill Cafe on RT66
RT66
Sedona, AZ.
Pinnacle Peak Patio, Scottsdale, AZ
Hood scrape
07-19-2013, 05:45 PM
#5
Pro
Thread Starter
07-19-2013, 05:46 PM
#6
Pro
Thread Starter
Ya, talk about an attention getter! Seeing that thing flying at you and no place to go is a real interesting experience. Just glad it wasn't metal. When it hit the windshield it was like a canon going off.
07-19-2013, 05:47 PM
#7
Race Car Tech
Looks like you had a great time. Nice photos 
The only thing I don't like about long road trips....they eventually come to an end.
The thing I do like is planning for the next one.
The only thing I don't like about long road trips....they eventually come to an end.
The thing I do like is planning for the next one.
07-19-2013, 09:57 PM
#12
Pro
Thread Starter
07-20-2013, 12:15 AM
#17
Racer
I guess that trip is a good excuse for missing the meeting this month. Some of the most beautiful photos I've seen on the forum although I love your car so I might be a little prejudiced.
07-20-2013, 01:40 AM
#18
Race Director
Member Since: Sep 2007
Location: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
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Glad you enjoyed your trip, except for the mishap of course. You should have hollered while in Phoenix. We usually throw parties for visiting dignitaries.
By chance, after you left Tucson and headed back to Albuquerque, did you happen to go up Rt 191 in AZ? If so, would you please write up a comparison to the Tail of the Dragon after you do that one. I missed the Tail on 3 of my East coast trips, so I have no experience there. (yet)
By chance, after you left Tucson and headed back to Albuquerque, did you happen to go up Rt 191 in AZ? If so, would you please write up a comparison to the Tail of the Dragon after you do that one. I missed the Tail on 3 of my East coast trips, so I have no experience there. (yet)
07-20-2013, 09:32 AM
#20
Pro
Thread Starter
Glad you enjoyed your trip, except for the mishap of course. You should have hollered while in Phoenix. We usually throw parties for visiting dignitaries.
By chance, after you left Tucson and headed back to Albuquerque, did you happen to go up Rt 191 in AZ? If so, would you please write up a comparison to the Tail of the Dragon after you do that one. I missed the Tail on 3 of my East coast trips, so I have no experience there. (yet)
By chance, after you left Tucson and headed back to Albuquerque, did you happen to go up Rt 191 in AZ? If so, would you please write up a comparison to the Tail of the Dragon after you do that one. I missed the Tail on 3 of my East coast trips, so I have no experience there. (yet)
