Tips For A Road Trip

Hi All. I'm going to be driving my '99 996 C2 from Chicago to LA in mid-June and then back in end-August. The car has about 24,000 miles (I bought it pre-owned when it had 21,000). This will be my first extended road-trip with my baby. Wanted to know if there are any tips, hints, or Porsche-related carry-on's I should know/have before I depart. The car was serviced at 15K miles, and I plan on getting the major 30K servicing done before I leave, even though I will have only ~26,000 miles by then. Better earlier than later I say. One final random thought: I have the option of taking either I-80 (Northern route), going through Iowa, Neb., Colo., Utah, or I-40 (Southern route), going through Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Would appreciate any thoughts on which trip is more "fun" (however, you define it). Looking forward to the drive. It should be gorgeous.

Nice tour!, Just be carefull with the radars .... I get caught the day before yesterday...

Does the "historic" Rt 66 do it too? That may be too long though.

bilstein, what detector are you using. I've purchased a Valentine One and found it to be excellent so far. Have never gotten caught, despite the outrageous speeds I drive at. Lots of close calls though...which is why you gotta love the legendary Porsche brakes . Thanks for the tip, though. I heard Arizona's the place to let the car rip. Regards.

IMHO, the 80 route is bringf or half, and much better for a while, and then bad again. The good part, is realy in colorado, for the sites. I drove here (San Diego) from Chicago in September with my Wife for the move. We went past Denver straight west, into Rifle, so I could see the true rockies. That was nice, but the rest of 80 is just go-fast and hotels. Utah (no offense) is scary. I was being stared at the whole time I stopped for gas in SLC. If you have alot more time, I really suggest a round that will take your through montana (I-90) and then down though maybe colorado and then nevada, for a true look at what the states have to offer in differences. Thats a bit longer than what you wanted possibly, but an idea. The 40 route I have never taken, but planned on it in the future. Nevada on 80 is boring, except for the large mountain formations in the dester. Spend the 50 bucks and buy "Streets and trips" by microsoft, and look at that for a few days to plan your route. It helped us alot. ( We had a laptop in the car with it on there, so my wife would boot it up and tell me where to go). It might benice to bring LOTS of CDs, and make sure your Phone works in the rural areas (even my 50 state phone did not work on 15 in Utah for a few hours - And ATT has the biggest network). A run flat can is nice, for limping to wherever. Maybe some octane boost. Being from Chicago, you will soo figure out that your precious 93 octane peters out by Maybe Colorado, probably Utah. California is 91 (Ugh). It DOES make a difference going over the mountains. We simply made it a point to go over the largest part of the rockies in Colorado, and that was the bets part of the trip, with the tunnels and such (Bwwwhhhhaaaaa). HTH, Brendan Campion

How about crossing the border into Canada and heading west on the TransCanada Highway? The scenery is stunning, 94 octane is available and the US$ is worth almost $1.60 canadian dollars. Head through the Canadian Rockies into Vancouver and down the Pacific coast through Washington, Oregon and into California. The money you save going through Canada will buy you a few cases of wine as you pass through Napa Valley. Highway 1 in California was built with Porsches in mind. Save money, get the "international" experience and see the widest range of scenery.

Oh and don't forget your Valentine One radar detector. I have had one for years...there is no substitute. Don't forget to change your speedometer to KPH in Canada, the Mounties don't accept that "you thought 110 meant miles per hour"

The "going to the sun" highway through Glacier Park opens in early to mid-june. The northern route (SD, MT, WY) is sparsely populated, stunningly beautiful, and basically that means you won't need a radar detector. If you have the time I would drive I90 to MT and then south over Bear Tooth pass (Red Lodge) into Yellowstone, then back into MT and up and through Glacier. Then on to Spokane and eitehr west from there to Seattle or slightly south into Portland. Do the Oregon coast and then I5 to Napa valley. June would also be a really good time to hit the wine country in Washington state and the highway west, by Mt Adams, from Goldendale down to the columbia river is MADE for Porsches. My wife and I picked up our Porsche at POE last June, drove to Memphis, St Louis, KC, IA, Rapid City, Lewistown Mt, and home to Seattle without a radar detector. Our Porsche: <a href="http://www.hobbystage.net/porsche/whatever" target="_blank">http://www.hobbystage.net/porsche/whatever</a>

[quote]Originally posted by cooper996: <strong>Oh and don't forget your Valentine One radar detector. I have had one for years...there is no substitute.</strong><hr></blockquote> I'd also recommend a radio scanner too for those open stretches where smokey relies on aircraft too. This is from bitter experience of being radar'd to the hilt, observant and still got nailed at 100mph by a plane that was out of view.

Bear in the air. I90 near Ellensburg or I5/Toledo 40 miles North of Portland? Safest thing to do in Washington State or Oregon is to set the cruise control about 5 miles above the speed limit.

Cops handing out tickets from the air? Now that is ridiculous!! I didn't even know they did that. How exactly does that work? Do they tag you and then send a cop car to chase you down? Any ideas on where to let it rip besides the West Coast highways (Many thanks to all who have suggested good routes through the West Cost states). Regards.

Let'r rip. The Autobahn comes immediately to mind. West coast highways... Across MT or WY be careful, but let'r rip! elsewhere ???

Being from Washington I had to reply, The North Cascades highway from I-5 to Winthrop is also made for Porsches. Last summer I raced/hung with a 993 turbo all the way. It is one of my BEST Porsche memories. That highway is gorgeous. I was surprised how well my 996 kept up too.

We just did a mini-road trip of 600mi. I recommend Valentine 1 Mobil One motor oil (1 qt) Meguiars Final Touch and a few flannel cotton rags for the occasional bird encounters

North Cascades highway is BEST travelled in the fall at a leasurely pace (well, mostly)to observe the beautiful fall colors.