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7000 Mile Roadtrip!

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11K views 58 replies 27 participants last post by  Killer-Bimmer  
T
#1 ·
Completed final planning for our "Great Tour of the USA Roadtrip"...miles / smiles tally is 7000 miles!

Figured we have a *good* car (34K miles) with family in 5 states from coast to coast...so let us pack the kids and hit the highway.

Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama...and back to Florida!

Along with family...Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, and Grand Canyon will be observed!

Fuel bill alone tops ~$1500!

Oh well, you only live once...with aunts hitting 99 years old...the time has come.

Today the car got a wash, wax, and I changed the oil. Tires are 15,000 miles old and earlier this week a new battery went in (original battery would have hit 5 years).

Hope the M5 doesn't let us down and cross our fingers we can beat 18 mpg...

Will attempt to post a few shots along the way...can't think of a better car to see the US of A.

I just wish I was still in Germany with unlimited speed limits...:)

Wish us luck!
 
M
#2 ·
Best of luck!!! I love long range road trips, that should be an epic one for your family. Hopefully an oil change is planned when you hit the California coast, at midway point so the beast will be freshly lubed.
 
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T
#3 ·
Make sure to take plenty of pictures along the way!

The wife and I are planning on taking our four year old up to northern California from Los Angeles in three weeks. Really looking forward to putting some miles on the beast! I calculated about $280 for gas if I average 15mpg, can't even imagine putting $1500 in just a few short weeks.
 
A
#4 ·
Best of luck on the trip. Take plenty of photos, and enjoy the journey. I did a 5000 mile trip with mine for Christmas 2011. I cannot wait to do the next cross country voyage.
 
S
#5 ·
I hit 21.4mpg average in New Mexico on the way to Vegas for MFest lol. That was the best I got on that one tank. But you'll get around 19-20mpg easily.
 
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#8 ·
Good luck and make sure to carry a few extra quarts of oil for the trip :cheers:
 
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B
#9 ·
7000 mile road trip, now that's confidence in your Ultimate Driving Machine! Enjoy the journey.:cheers:
 
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G
#10 ·
Good luck, be safe, and enjoy! Keep us posted. :)
 
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S
#11 ·
let us know when you break down.....not the best idea there...
 
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S
#13 ·
You said 15,000 miles on tires, but not what kind. I am only familiar with OEM Michelin PS2s, and new they start with 8 mm tread. Wear bars are at 2 mm, and there's a warning saying wet weather performance decreases below 4 mm. Guessing you're not much more than 4 mm at your 15,000 mile point and you're likely to get some rain on the way. That's all I'd be worrying about. Again, this is only for the PS2s, not sure about other brands.
 
T
#14 ·
Thanks!

A trip from San Diego to FL returned 17.8 mpg...so I'm not confident we will get much more than that. The Midwest is more congested so expect a bit less although the speed limits are lower. We will see. The car is a manual too so wonder if that is an impact-assume 7th from the SMG lowers the cruise rpm more.

We've been pretty lucky with oil consumption, but a quart or two will be in the trunk! Last 2500 mile trip used less than 1 quart.

Tires are Continental DW's. Their tread is likely deeper channeled than the Michelins. Good point though...will take a look. I did check for nails...a bit odd, but we pick up one every 6 months in our area...frustratingly.

No oil change. I'm not comfortable with a 7000 mile oil change interval, but highway miles will minimize my concern. Normally, I do 5000 miles with this car. I couldn't think of waiting until 15,000 miles as BMW says. Even just had a friend who lost his 6 cylinder M3 to rod bearing failure...he did the long changes and very little hot rodding-158,000 cruising down the highway...finally gave up the ghost. Apologize for the tangent...

I do detect a bit of unreliability concern in this thread! We've had one issue in 25,000 miles...ABS module/hydro unit failure. Otherwise...wife's daily driver (she is a very lucky woman, I think! Ha...)

MPG seems to dominate the world now a days. I even caught myself commenting the virtues of mileage with another car nut...when I should have been excited about the fact that I have three cars that total 1370 HP! Two are modern stock or nearly stock automobiles! We budgeted for the fuel bill-means we give up in other areas to make it happen...certainly not an insignificant number.

I've done One Lap of America twice and road trips can be the ultimate way to see the country...this time it will be at our pace with family rather than 7200 miles in 10 days! (got three weeks for this deal).

Thanks for the comments...even my 7 and 4 year old are looking forward to it.

This might be a crazy idea in the end, but...it will be memorable!

Tim
 
#16 ·
Safe travels on your trip!
 
K
#17 ·
Good luck with your trip and post pics!

:cheers:
 
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A
#21 ·
Or; perhaps you could give them to me, maybe. :hihi:
 
T
#23 ·
Graffm: Thanks for the offer. Fort Worth will simply be a stop for shut eye and back on the road early the next day...2 600 mile days.

Our turn around point is San Diego...where we will spend 4 nights R and R. Other than the Grand Canyon...haul arse to Tampa as speed limits allow!

I somewhat regret not protecting the front bumper when we first got the car...either the Indy Red and/or the paint is very soft. In 25,000 miles on reasonable Florida roads...more rock chips than I expected...certainly compared to our previous autos. Then again, it seems everyone is driving slower so tend to follow more than lead (ie everyone is in the way!) :D

T minus 4 days...

First stop is Nashville, TN.
 
T
#25 ·
Graffm: Thanks...certainly don't want the runs!

Well, successful departure! 700 odd miles the first day and an equal amount the second...sitting in Dubuque, Iowa after staying the night in Nashville.

Did an enroute stop at the St Louis Arch...first monument visited. Very impressive construct...little ones really enjoyed the ratcheting elevator...

Illinois had the worst roads, Georgia the worst left lane hogs, and Tennessee the best views...

Son was impressed as we climbed thru Chattanooga and 2000 feet (watched it on the Nav screen)...it will be interesting to see his reaction as we crest Pikes Peak...@ 14,100 feet!

Sitting near 18.3 mpg and zero oil consumption as we cruise at 3100 rpm. The sound of that V-10 is a real treat.

An impressive cross country car...quiet, solid, power...what a treat throttling this thing for a vacation...

Got to go find a car wash...thought Florida was buggy...spring in Iowa is full of 'em!
 
A
#26 ·
Tim_Mc said:
Graffm: Thanks...certainly don't want the runs!

Well, successful departure! 700 odd miles the first day and an equal amount the second...sitting in Dubuque, Iowa after staying the night in Nashville.

Did an enroute stop at the St Louis Arch...first monument visited. Very impressive construct...little ones really enjoyed the ratcheting elevator...

Illinois had the worst roads, Georgia the worst left lane hogs, and Tennessee the best views...

Son was impressed as we climbed thru Chattanooga and 2000 feet (watched it on the Nav screen)...it will be interesting to see his reaction as we crest Pikes Peak...@ 14,100 feet!

Sitting near 18.3 mpg and zero oil consumption as we cruise at 3100 rpm. The sound of that V-10 is a real treat.

An impressive cross country car...quiet, solid, power...what a treat throttling this thing for a vacation...

Got to go find a car wash...thought Florida was buggy...spring in Iowa is full of 'em!
Click to expand...
Obviously, you haven't been to Michigan.
 
T
#27 ·
Ok...to clarify...out of states traveled...Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Iowa...Illinois is #1 thus far.

Now off the interstate...Iowa surface streets remind me how fortunate I am to live in FL...the concrete expansion joints and frost heaves are so nasty. I don't miss them one iota.

I feel for all north of the southern 1/3 of the US!
 
T
#28 · (Edited)
Departure from Tampa:



Nashville stop over near airport:



Crossing Mississippi to St Louis:



"GOING UP" in the arch:



At altitude from arch:



Crossing Mississippi again into Iowa:



Dubuque, Iowa and the crazy 'people' there:



Now in middle of Iowa...1938 miles covered, 18.3 mpg (with some in town), two car washes, and zero oil. Lots of smiles...next stop is Omaha, Nebraska...

Iowa takes the award for the worst bugs...just 200 miles results in a covered frontal area!
 
B
#29 ·
When I did my cross country trip I actually made a list of hand carwashes in the cities I would be stopping in. I looked them up online through various forums to get the best recommendations so I would be able to get a good handwash/ and detail in each city.
 
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