| gohan_64 |
OK, heres the story.
I only have one car: 1989 240sx 220,000 kms....
Now, I want to go and visit jasper for a bit, but I'm not sure if I should rent a car, or if I should just take my car.
My car is pretty old...and, honestly, I'm not sure if it will actually make it. That's my issue.
Do you guys think my car will make the trip?
Have you guys taken long drives in high speed using really old/high-mileage cars? If so, what were you driving and where did you go? |
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| louren22 |
| Dude, thats nothing. Im sure many members on here can give stories of much longer trips in much older cars. Dont worry about it. Dont waste money on a rental. Take the S13. |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
Is there any specify reason why you don't think it would make it? Funny noise? Leaking some unknown fluid?
My 87 fifth ave's been to calgary, Jasper, I think arizona once before I got it. Shoot I towed anoher car 200miles ont eh highay withit(and a car dolly) |
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| 95EagleAWD |
I did 2600 miles in a 15 year old car that I've never seen before.
Give 'er. :thumbup:
Jasper's not far and it's not like you in the middle of nowhere on the way there. |
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| notaturbotalon |
| If the car's stock and in decent condition I don't see why it would be a problem. Highway driving is usually easier on a car than city driving. |
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| Tech2 |
| Just bring whatever you need in preparation for a breakdown, which you should do in any car anyways. mostly that's a credit card or two. |
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| Savage |
| i would say just double check fluids and stuff makesure your tires are at a good pressure. just simple stuff like that. i'm sure it'll be fine and like the others have said it's a well known route and just bring some emergency cash like said. |
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| Can't Stop Spin |
| I drive my 92 Corolla back and forth from Edmonton to Ft. Mac no problems. And it has over 400K on it... You should be fine imo |
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| Alpha Gangsta |
| I used to do regular drives in my old 85 200SX to calgary and back all the time... I jsut has to stop off at gasolien alley to add more oil to the engine due to it burning so much. haha |
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| the_saint |
quote:
Originally posted by notaturbotalon
If the car's stock and in decent condition I don't see why it would be a problem. Highway driving is usually easier on a car than city driving.
Ditto.
If it isn't burning oil, or losing fluid, and you have GOOD brakes, you shouldn't be worried.
I took the RX-7 on a 7000 km road trip a few years back out to the Rockies :)
I don't ever think twice about road trips :) |
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| yadunknow |
id rent its pretty cheap and
the ride on the way is so much smoother!
feels like your not even moving when your driving a brand new car on the highway |
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| Mr.DC5 |
I would say rent a car.
You will likely have more bills in the end if you take your car. |
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| 95EagleAWD |
quote:
Originally posted by yadunknow
id rent its pretty cheap and
the ride on the way is so much smoother!
feels like your not even moving when your driving a brand new car on the highway
quote:
Originally posted by Mr.DC5
I would say rent a car.
You will likely have more bills in the end if you take your car.
:dunno:
What?
The whole point of dropping a load of cash on your own car is....
TO DRIVE IT!!!!
I'll never understand why you would own your own if you never take it out of the city. Just own a bicycle and rent a car if you have to go out of town.
Drive your car, seriously. It's much more enjoyable bombing down the highway in your own car than in Hertz's Impala... |
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| TrevorK |
I rent a car because I don't want to leave my nice shiny car parked in the middle of Banff with all the drunk tourists.
If it's really that big of a concern, provided you're old enough, it's only $20/day to rent a car. If peace of mind is worth that to you, then go for it. |
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| SilverZ24 |
quote:
Originally posted by 95EagleAWD
Drive your car, seriously. It's much more enjoyable bombing down the highway in your own car than in Hertz's Impala...
It depends, lots of people cars are shittier than an Impala. And there isn't a lot of fun highway driving between here and Jasper (unless you go up to miette) so a comfy sedan might be a lot better than a lowered sports car.
And you can't compare your 15 year old car to the majority of 15 year old cars on the road. Most are POS's and not very reliable or comfortable for a highway trip. |
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| nismokutz |
| i'd drive my car but i like driving my car...lol. rather drive my car more than sum shitty red bmw or w/e....lol |
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| SilverZ24 |
WTF? I never said anyones car was shitty. I said lots of old cars are shitty and not as comfortable as most rentals for a highway drive, so a rental might be a good idea for some people.
And I'm glad you like your car better than mine. Whatever it is, it must be pretty impressive it it makes mine look shitty. :rolleyes: |
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| 95EagleAWD |
quote:
Originally posted by SilverZ24
It depends, lots of people cars are shittier than an Impala. And there isn't a lot of fun highway driving between here and Jasper (unless you go up to miette) so a comfy sedan might be a lot better than a lowered sports car.
And you can't compare your 15 year old car to the majority of 15 year old cars on the road. Most are POS's and not very reliable or comfortable for a highway trip.
I dunno, I drove my Talon everywhere too. I never had a problem on the highway with it.
Highway driving is not hard on a car... constant speed, constant RPM, tranny doesn't move, etc... it's the easiest driving there is.
quote:
Originally posted by TrevorK
I rent a car because I don't want to leave my nice shiny car parked in the middle of Banff with all the drunk tourists.
Where's your sense of adventure!?!? :p I leave mine everywhere... it goes to Safeway, work, etc. Just be smart about where you park it, and it's pretty much all good. Leave it on Banff Ave, or Connaught in Jasper, right out in the open and it'll be just fine. 99.9% of people don't touch cars.
At night, park it underground. |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
my 20yr old car is a hot weather highway cruiser... 2000rpm at highway speed, pillow top leather seats, all 4 windows are power, power sunroof, A/C..... a good cruise control.....
Me and the wife went from Athabasca to Calgary for a Saturday, I wanted to take my car instead of her 02 Neon, just cause, but due to the time we where leaving, she drove there and I drove back, and she refuses to drive any vehicle other than her own. Hers was in the shop for a new short block.. It was either my car or teh rental... she really didn't want to drive the rental, but it was smaller so it was better than mine :P |
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| nismokutz |
quote:
Originally posted by SilverZ24
WTF? I never said anyones car was shitty. I said lots of old cars are shitty and not as comfortable as most rentals for a highway drive, so a rental might be a good idea for some people.
And I'm glad you like your car better than mine. Whatever it is, it must be pretty impressive it it makes mine look shitty. :rolleyes:
easy boy i was kidding about ur car, i'm sure car is real nice and fast...:D |
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| Godzilla |
| Do the drive, i've drivin my 88 toyota all over the provence no problems and im driving my skyline back from vancouver, no worries here. |
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| Godzilla |
| Do the drive, i've drivin my 88 toyota all over the provence no problems and im driving my skyline back from vancouver, no worries here. |
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| S O |
At 295,000 I drove my car to Fort Mac and back for four months. At 315 I took it to Ontario and back. At 365 I took it to Lethbridge and back for eight months. Now, at 400,000 I think I should check the tranny fluid. But it's all been smooth sailing.
(But change the damn oil on time, there's no excuse for not following proper maintenance schedules and it does make a difference.) |
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| gohan_64 |
Thanks a lot for the tips guys, I took the a13 to jasper today. It was sweet. Up until today, Ive just been driving it in the city, and I must say, driving on the highway was sweet.
Problem was, though, I don't have cruise control...but that was okay i guess....and I guess the stock bucket seats on the 89 s13 arent as comfortable as I thought, but it ran well on high speeds.
I checked te coolant, the oil, the brake fluid, and the tire pressure and took care of all those. I also took a set of socket wrenches, booster cables, air compressor, and my usual set of tools.
Fortunately nothing bad happened at all. The car is all stock KA24E, but it ran really well.
The reason I was worried, bas because (1) it's 16 years old, (2) it has 220,00K, (3) I had to change the alternator before because the original one died while i was on the road (thats the main reason for my anxiety), and (4) my rotors need to be changed soon...
But luckily nothing happened and I did an 800KM trip without any problems....
Only one thing, the KA24E kind of had a tough time accelerating on the uphill, but thats ok....maybe its time to move on to an sr ahahhaha
Thanks again for the tips guys |
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| JeepGirl |
i know this is an old topic but i had to post anyway. and yes i know my car isnt near as kewl or fast as all the rest of yours, doesnt matter, my car is for fun and its painted with bright candies for safety (so when some shmuck hits me in traffic on the yellowhead he cant say in court that he didnt see me!! ) its a visability thing.
my husband and i just returned from our vacation to the Kootaneys in my 3G civic hatch. big camping trip, gone for 3 weeks. 1200lbs of gear/2 seats/2 peoples.
its a 1300cc w/5spd, centerforce stage1, carbed, yukon denali power/leather/heat/massage seats. 23 year old car...
after 3800k we had only spent $180 on gas and on the return trip home, we stopped in revelstoke to top up the tank and drove non-stop to edmonton on that one full tank.
we were able to do 110kph in fifth up 7% grades.
my hubby giving the thumbs up beside the 3G civic logging truck.
Top Of The World Park after 3 hours of driving at 10kph due to the 30bajillion 6inch deep potholes.
leaving White Swan Lake Provincial Park
posed with a bunch of exotics in Nakusp BC
packed for camping.
the Ultimate in honda traveling comfort.. 05 yukon denali seats.
1300cc's of RAW POWER!!!
5:30AM on the Needles Cable Ferry on our way to Vernon via the Monashee pass. (best highspeed twisties you will ever find!!
i say, if you think the car can handle it, go for it. just have some cash in the bank if things go sideways on your trip. most of all just have fun.
again, sorry for hijacking. |
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| midnite |
the truth is that nobody can predict the future and if the car will make it or not, so just pack smart and be prepared.
that's a cool little civic :D |
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| dc2696 |
Prolly would have been a better idea to start your own thread about ur trip/car JeepGirl:)
I'd just like to add, the only reason I would rather take say a new car or my truck over my miata is comfort. I couldn't imagine ridding in that thing for over 2hours, plus no cruise and thats always a nice feature on long trips. |
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| JeepGirl |
yeah i know i need to start my own build thread.... i figured someone would eventually give me hell for that :p
and yes, cruise control would have been a godsend on our trip, the last stretch of the trip i did took 8 hours of non-stop driving, in vacation traffic :mad:
i might start my own build thread here, but i think most of the "enthusiasts" are into the newer models of honda... no love for the oldschool..... though i will be looking for a new school drive train very soon.. b series maybe k series.... hubby wants a 2L for it but it'll be really expencive. |
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| dc2696 |
quote:
Originally posted by JeepGirl
yeah i know i need to start my own build thread.... i figured someone would eventually give me hell for that :p
and yes, cruise control would have been a godsend on our trip, the last stretch of the trip i did took 8 hours of non-stop driving, in vacation traffic :mad:
i might start my own build thread here, but i think most of the "enthusiasts" are into the newer models of honda... no love for the oldschool..... though i will be looking for a new school drive train very soon.. b series maybe k series.... hubby wants a 2L for it but it'll be really expencive.
lol no prob, definately start a thread if thats what your plans are, I aswell as most here I'm betting would love to see that. Don't worry theres plenty of love for the old schools.:thumbup: |
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| Bad Egg |
If you don't trust your old beast, and don't have the mechanical experience to know what it may need, take it to a decent mechanic and get it checked a week or two before your road trip. If you fix potential problems ahead of time you are much better off, and the savings in towing and general PITA will more than cover your mechanic's bill. That will cut out the majority of breakdown risk, and is good peace of mind for everyday driving.
Get an AMA membership, the full-blown Plus version, if you have a car that the average small town garage will have trouble with. Then you can tow it a longer distance at a flat rate to get it someplace where they know what kind of car it is.
Get a cellphone, if anyone still doesn't have one, and keep it charged while travelling. Your AMA won't do you any good if you can't make a call. |
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