ttcheung
Veteran Member
Quite a long read, but I suppose that's what this forum section is for.
Last year we sold our 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT and replaced it with a JSW that had 136k miles on it. Although 300hp and boxer rumble from an AWD was very fun, the JSW got close to double the MPG as the Legacy. I had invested some items into the vehicle, and the JSW has Koni Yellows, Neuspeed Race Springs, GTI rear sway bar, ADVAN RS wheels, a Diesel Geek Short Shifter kit, and a KermaTDI tune.
Fast forward to September of this year; it was time for me to head out to the East Coast for a new job. Rather than fly and ship the car, I decided to pack what I could into the car and take a solid drive across the country. Three crates, some boxes, cooler, minor roadside tools, sleeping bag, bike, roof rack, and away I went. Initially I had thought of mounting the racks and bike on top, but through some local freeway testing, the wind noise and efficiency losses were too much for such a long drive.
After finally weaving out of the Bay Area morning traffic one more time, I passed Lake Tahoe and my first stop was Carson City Nevada, to visit my old college roommate. After that, I continued on US HWY50 (Loneliest Road in America) through the Great Basin; it was nothing short of expansive. Straight roads as far as the eyes can see, solitude for up to 30 minutes at a time. Middlegate and Shoe Tree were one of the few landmarks along the way. Prior to the trip I had just taken the car to VW for the emissions recall, and was running on the OEM tune. The car was still able to go 120mph with room to spare. Even at 7000+ft elevation and curvy mountain roads, the car's low-end torque and tight body controls made it feel light on its feet. I spent the night in Ely, and with so little light pollution, I could literally see all the stars in the sky.
The next morning I continued on HWY50. East of Ely, I decided to step outside of the car with the engine off, and the surroundings were so quiet that my ears were literally ringing. Entering Utah and joining Hwy50 with I-70 it was about 100 miles of no phone/roadside services. The desolate surroundings truly makes one feel so small. Leaving the Great Basin, I could start seeing crazy rock formations take place, and after going through the San Rafael Swell, I was driving into Arches National Park. After driving along the Colorado River back onto HWY50/I-70, I crossed into Colorado and stopped by Flyin' Miata. From there I starting to climb into the Rockies and onto I-70's elevated skyways (awesome awesome engineering feat). At Vail I turned into the KermaTDI office, and then back onto I-70 and into the 11000+ft Johnson Tunnel, which exited me out to Denver. The elevation noticeably reduced power, but a quick downshift to 5th was all that was needed.
I spent two nights in Denver at friends' place, and then it was eastward, shaking off the last bit of the Rockies and into the Kansas Great Plains. What everyone have said about the corn fields are so true, miles and miles of maize. Our society consumes so much of this product, and it's changed agriculture so much.
Having claim to "I drove in Kansas," I then took non-interstate roads to see rural America, and then headed north into Nebraska I-80 and went through (literally straight) for an entire afternoon and evening, and into Des Moines. All this was so different than the concrete jungle lifestyle I've been immersed all my life, and I really got a sense of "simple life" out there. There's also a deja vu feeling of being on a familiarly-named freeway, but in other parts of the country, as I was used to the traffic-ridden version of I-80 back in the Bay Area.
From Des Moines, I stopped by the World's Largest Truck Stop in eastern Iowa, and then passed through the southern part of the Greater Chicago metro. The cornfields have started disappearing and were being replaced with more and more forests and rivers. I noticed that I-80/I-90 junction was a HUGE trucking corridor, with more big rigs surrounding me than cars. I stopped in Ann Arbor that evening. I also noticed that my tires were taking a huge beating with respect to camber wear, and the cupping effects were audible at anything below 70mph. My camber was not that high, and I wonder if the accelerated wear was due to long straight stints.
From Ann Arbor, I chose to go through Ontario, the Falls, and into upstate NY. The drive from Ann Arbor into Boston would be the longest, about 780 miles, but seeing the last bits of summer green was yet another welcoming change in scenery. As I crossed into the Massachusetts border with another easy two hours left to the Atlantic, I took one more picture of the car next to the state welcome sign.
Inside I felt, "wow, really did it. a little tired, but my body is still comfortable." Averaging an honest 80mph, I was getting easily 580 miles per tank. The car was rock solid (even if not built in Deutschland) and wind noise was minimal. The front of the car had collected so many bugs along the way. Finding diesel stations were not difficult, and it was a somewhat peculiar sight to have my car parked next to groups of big rigs, filling up the tank.
This is seriously the best way to see and absorb America, while we still can. Not getting into any politics, but who knows what our volatile future will bring? This was my second time doing a cross-country trip, with my first going through the southern U.S. with some friends in an older Maxima, also ending up in Boston. Many things are put into perspective as I see just how large our country is; however, what's even crazier is that as expansive as the Great Plains are, most, if not all of it, has been turned into agriculture, including the drier, western parts. While people might say this part of the drive was boring, I used the solitude to help cleanse the mindset in preparation for the next chapter in our family's lives.
The only complaint, as mentioned, was the absurd tire wear. 36PSI, alignment done back in January, car tracked straight, -1.4deg camber front, -2.0deg rear, yet the fronts took a huge beating.
Last year we sold our 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT and replaced it with a JSW that had 136k miles on it. Although 300hp and boxer rumble from an AWD was very fun, the JSW got close to double the MPG as the Legacy. I had invested some items into the vehicle, and the JSW has Koni Yellows, Neuspeed Race Springs, GTI rear sway bar, ADVAN RS wheels, a Diesel Geek Short Shifter kit, and a KermaTDI tune.
Fast forward to September of this year; it was time for me to head out to the East Coast for a new job. Rather than fly and ship the car, I decided to pack what I could into the car and take a solid drive across the country. Three crates, some boxes, cooler, minor roadside tools, sleeping bag, bike, roof rack, and away I went. Initially I had thought of mounting the racks and bike on top, but through some local freeway testing, the wind noise and efficiency losses were too much for such a long drive.
After finally weaving out of the Bay Area morning traffic one more time, I passed Lake Tahoe and my first stop was Carson City Nevada, to visit my old college roommate. After that, I continued on US HWY50 (Loneliest Road in America) through the Great Basin; it was nothing short of expansive. Straight roads as far as the eyes can see, solitude for up to 30 minutes at a time. Middlegate and Shoe Tree were one of the few landmarks along the way. Prior to the trip I had just taken the car to VW for the emissions recall, and was running on the OEM tune. The car was still able to go 120mph with room to spare. Even at 7000+ft elevation and curvy mountain roads, the car's low-end torque and tight body controls made it feel light on its feet. I spent the night in Ely, and with so little light pollution, I could literally see all the stars in the sky.
The next morning I continued on HWY50. East of Ely, I decided to step outside of the car with the engine off, and the surroundings were so quiet that my ears were literally ringing. Entering Utah and joining Hwy50 with I-70 it was about 100 miles of no phone/roadside services. The desolate surroundings truly makes one feel so small. Leaving the Great Basin, I could start seeing crazy rock formations take place, and after going through the San Rafael Swell, I was driving into Arches National Park. After driving along the Colorado River back onto HWY50/I-70, I crossed into Colorado and stopped by Flyin' Miata. From there I starting to climb into the Rockies and onto I-70's elevated skyways (awesome awesome engineering feat). At Vail I turned into the KermaTDI office, and then back onto I-70 and into the 11000+ft Johnson Tunnel, which exited me out to Denver. The elevation noticeably reduced power, but a quick downshift to 5th was all that was needed.
I spent two nights in Denver at friends' place, and then it was eastward, shaking off the last bit of the Rockies and into the Kansas Great Plains. What everyone have said about the corn fields are so true, miles and miles of maize. Our society consumes so much of this product, and it's changed agriculture so much.
Having claim to "I drove in Kansas," I then took non-interstate roads to see rural America, and then headed north into Nebraska I-80 and went through (literally straight) for an entire afternoon and evening, and into Des Moines. All this was so different than the concrete jungle lifestyle I've been immersed all my life, and I really got a sense of "simple life" out there. There's also a deja vu feeling of being on a familiarly-named freeway, but in other parts of the country, as I was used to the traffic-ridden version of I-80 back in the Bay Area.
From Des Moines, I stopped by the World's Largest Truck Stop in eastern Iowa, and then passed through the southern part of the Greater Chicago metro. The cornfields have started disappearing and were being replaced with more and more forests and rivers. I noticed that I-80/I-90 junction was a HUGE trucking corridor, with more big rigs surrounding me than cars. I stopped in Ann Arbor that evening. I also noticed that my tires were taking a huge beating with respect to camber wear, and the cupping effects were audible at anything below 70mph. My camber was not that high, and I wonder if the accelerated wear was due to long straight stints.
From Ann Arbor, I chose to go through Ontario, the Falls, and into upstate NY. The drive from Ann Arbor into Boston would be the longest, about 780 miles, but seeing the last bits of summer green was yet another welcoming change in scenery. As I crossed into the Massachusetts border with another easy two hours left to the Atlantic, I took one more picture of the car next to the state welcome sign.
Inside I felt, "wow, really did it. a little tired, but my body is still comfortable." Averaging an honest 80mph, I was getting easily 580 miles per tank. The car was rock solid (even if not built in Deutschland) and wind noise was minimal. The front of the car had collected so many bugs along the way. Finding diesel stations were not difficult, and it was a somewhat peculiar sight to have my car parked next to groups of big rigs, filling up the tank.
This is seriously the best way to see and absorb America, while we still can. Not getting into any politics, but who knows what our volatile future will bring? This was my second time doing a cross-country trip, with my first going through the southern U.S. with some friends in an older Maxima, also ending up in Boston. Many things are put into perspective as I see just how large our country is; however, what's even crazier is that as expansive as the Great Plains are, most, if not all of it, has been turned into agriculture, including the drier, western parts. While people might say this part of the drive was boring, I used the solitude to help cleanse the mindset in preparation for the next chapter in our family's lives.
The only complaint, as mentioned, was the absurd tire wear. 36PSI, alignment done back in January, car tracked straight, -1.4deg camber front, -2.0deg rear, yet the fronts took a huge beating.
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