duplantisjj

Thought I'd post these notes about my recent trip. I'm new here, so excuse me if this is a bit long. Some folks may find some of the point below useful.

About a week ago I did my 4,500 mile trip in my (new to me) 2013 Black GS. Total trip was 8 days on the road and two days parked at Cedar Point, OH. I went from Slidell Louisiana to Scobey Montana in 3 days, picked up my daughter then we headed East to Sandusy Ohio and then South to Pigeon Forge Tennessee and then back home to Louisiana. Google says 4,577 miles and 68 hrs driving time.
Here’s some quick notes:

-On first day , after 5 hours of driving I got stuck in a traffic jam in Little Rock, AR. My engine coolant temp climbed to 227, I started getting really worried but it dropped back down to 204 once I got moving again. Outside temp was mid 90s but I suspect the problem was with my stretch fit nose mask (more on that later).

-I brought some Mequiar’s Ultimate Wax Quick Detailer, I ended up wiping the car down each night with MF towels.

-Second day called for rain, so I yanked the bug mask off and decided to go without. Realized that my engine ran about 10 deg cooler without the bug mask but I had tons of bugs the clean off the front end that night. I’m really liking that Mequiar’s Ultimate Wax. I did two coats before I left and it seems that with the spray, the bugs just wipe right off. Also it does a good job on the wheels and the rest of the car. I had one of those California dusters too and that came handy each night and each morning.

-OK is it just me or does it seem like EVERY frickin car you go to pass,,,speeds up when you pass???? I stayed on cruise control most times and kept it reasonable at 70-80 depending on the limit. Coming up and moving over to pass cars then having to eventually speed up to get around these people. Not sure what was going there but it happened a LOT. Mini-vans, sedans, whatever. But I did notice that people in the left lane tended to move over when I came up from behind.

-Everyone seems to always be looking at me, everywhere!! Takes some getting used to.

-I have the 9500 iX installed on the Blendmount and I watch two different times where some bozo trying to show me how fast his car was got in trouble with LEO. One time I tried waving this dude down who was in a Dodge Challenger and got next to me. He didn’t even look over at me as I was doing the LEO lights with my fingers (My escort was going crazy on Ka band) and he got on it. I just sat back and watched the LEO pop out from the under pass ahead and pull that guy over. I tooted my horn and waved as I passed.

-If you stop at a rest stop, be prepared to chat about Vettes with anyone that drives up. Every time I pulled over I ended up spending 10-15 minutes with some person chatting about my car while I sprayed the windshield and did a quick bug wipe.

-If you care about your Vette, don’t take it to Northeast Montana! I got very lucky with only having two small rock chips on the hood which actually happened in Chicago ( I hate Chicago drivers!!) but in Montana there’s lots of breaks in the road that have gravel patches and pot holes. Each time I seen a sign that said “loose gravel ahead” I slowed to nearly a complete stop and rolled slowly over those patches. And there’s lots of small two lane roads where you get to compete for road space with 18 wheelers.

-Picked up my daughter and headed towards Ohio. We had to drive through some severe weather on our first day. I put the bug mask back on before we left because I was getting nailed with bugs really bad in Montana and North Dakota. During a very heavy rain storm almost in Minneapolis I noticed my engine temp climbing towards 220. The outside temp was in the 70s and we were driving about 40 MPH in cool, heavy rain. I decided to pull over at a gas station and check things out. The bug mask was wet and I popped it off and wringed it out. It was full of water, at least a quart came out of it. I decided to toss it in a plastic bag and put it the back and figure out what to do with it later. The temp immediately dropped down to 194 and had no further problems that day with temps. The next day we were stuck in traffic in Chicago and the outside temp was 90, the engine sat steady between 195-205. The bug mask stayed off ever since and the temp issues went away.

-I had one issue with a frickin garden (yard work) truck pulling a trailer full of lawn mowers that cut me off when I was in the left lane. I was going about 75 and passing like normal. When he jumped in the left, I started slowing down and tried to move over because as soon as he sped up, all kinds of junk came flying out of the trailer. My daughter and I heard a few hits on the car and I immediately knew I had received my first rock chips. I stayed back until that truck dust settled down and then when he moved over I got next to him. It was a truck load full of possibly Mexicans???. I gave them the American single finger salute and moved on. Later that night I found two small chips on the hood and a small chip on the passenger windshield.

-On the last night going home I noticed my dash darker than normal. I realized that my DIC and AC buttons were not lit. After I got home, I read the manual and played with the dimmer switch but still nothing. I tried pressing and turning and holding and holding and turning nothing. The lights are off, they are not dim and the switch does nothing to the gauge cluster. The gauge lights work but the illumination does not change. I’m thinking I have a bad dimmer switch as I couldn’t find a fuse related to the switch.

-Tires were at 7/32 depth when I left and are now at 5/32nd. The car had about 6K miles when I left and now now has 11,143 on the original GY SC EMT tires. I guess that’s not bad for the runflats as I hear they are notorious for poor life. I think I can get another 3-4K miles from these.

-The GS has a rough ride and it was tolerable. With that said, after 13 hours of driving, my damn butt hurt, my back hurt, my arms hurt and I really feel like I was beat up. But honestly I think 13 hrs driving a Caddy and I’d feel the same way.

-My oil went from 89% life to 22% life. I’ll be bringing it in for that soon and plan to have them check my dimmer switch. All in all, I’m pretty impressed with the car, I averaged 26 MPG for the trip which isn’t bad.

Aviator

Nice road trip - sounds like you had fun, and what a great way to spend time with your daughter!

4SUMERZ

Except for the rock chips, sounds like you had a good time.
On our many road trips, rock chips are just part of the dangers, but I don't worry aboput it much. I got the car to drive, not sit behind it at car shows.

GL10DR

Sounds like it was a good trip, lived on the west side of MT (Missoula) when young, traveled some in my life and always dreaded going through Chicago Congratulations on the GS and welcome to the forum

Blazin383

Great play by play and all in all it sounds like a great drive! Get used to the goofball actions of those on the roads around you, and everyone wanting to chat and ask questions/tell stories at every gas station and rest stop!

Hope you get the dash light issue figured out!!

phileaglesfan

Those bug masks look like the engine is trying to suck it down the intake. You should just go with a good clear bra if you want protection that you don't have to worry about.

Sounds like a great trip.

SSWEET

Does your nose mask have an opening for the grill area? I have one that does for my Grand Sport and I don't see the temps you mentioned you were having with the mask on.

cclive

I use my cruise control all the time and it really shows you how erratically many people drive. I find that many people will slightly speed up after I pass them, then when I get a few hundred yards in front, they back off and start falling back...very strange. Glad you had a good trip. The C6 is a really great long distance car.

OrangeCrusher

It's not just you; that drives me crazy. In general, people suck at driving, and apparently using cruise control is just too difficult for them.
Thanks for the notes

Tally Ho

It sounds like you had a great time minus the rock chips and bad drivers. I use a nylon stretch bra to keep the bugs off. It does not have any effect on my cooling system.

I spent 3 months in Scobey back in 1984. It probably hasn't changed much. I was in the USAF then. We set up a temporary radar site.

Johnny_B_Good

Interesting read thanks for sharing. Let us know how you make out with the dimmer switch.

blittle

Great description of the road trip! I too get some of the same driver behavior when passing folks OR....they come up behind ME ( I have the cruise set at maybe 70 ) in their Subaru and then "throttle up" and whiz by..... There's a mentality out there that gets a kick out of "blowing by some old dude in a Vette" .....maybe you are not "old" but I am, sorta of!!! Every now and then, I succumb to the temptation and put my foot into and "BAM" they are gone!!!

1968swbbigblock

Be glad you did not hit Cedar Point this weekend - they had to close for 2 days due to a water main break in the park!

Boomer111

Boy those GS's run cool.

duplantisjj

Thanks to all for the read. I didn't realize it was that long until after I posted.

Nope, it doesn't have an opening for the radiator grill. I think it just get's sucked up across the grill when you're moving. It's a typical stretch lycra fabric but it seems to hold lots of water which I'm sure blocked the air flow in the rain.

That's exactly what I started doing. It seemed to be almost automatic reaction after a while.

It still has only one blinking light and lots of dust. Not much else to do there but farm and work in the oil field.

Yeah, that was really for my daughter, she's 12 and I'm 51. She was worried about which coasters to ride and I was worried about someone in a beat up mini-van parking next to my car. We stayed at the Hotel Breakers and I found a fairly safe place to park for a few days. But each morning while my daughter was sleeping, I was out there sipping coffee and wiping the dust off the car..my daughter says "Daddy you're a bit obsessed with your car"

I didn't really know what proper running temp was supposed to be. It just kind of freaked me out when 5 hours into my 10 day journey, my temp was climbing above 220. I'm sure it was related to the mask.

All in all it was a fantastic ride and I really enjoyed being on the road with the car. I received compliments everywhere. I traded an Audi S6 with a V10 for the GS and I NEVER once had anyone, anywhere come up to me and ask me about my Audi. Rock chips are part of life in any car, I still plan to take more trips. The car loves the open road. I'm sure the dealer over here (Ross Downing) will be able to fix the dash lights. It has a CPO warranty and maintenance is included. I'll bring it there for an oil change soon and have them check the dash out.

Johnny

su8pack1

CheckSix

HA! I live in the Chicago area and have to put up with that crap all the time.

Also have a '13 GS too. Also got the obligatory rock chip from a damn truck a few weeks ago but mine is on the roof.

I used to hunt out in Broadus and south of Miles City. I used to go to Jordan for speed goats too! Love eastern MT!!

Wildmanht

Cool trip with your daughter. Regarding the chips, think of it as a good badge of a vacation honor.

Rockyravoli

Great story; thanks for sharing.

stp357

It's true, when you're in a Vette, rest assured eyes are on you. Now you know how a celebrity feels. Enjoy the notoriety!