Back from Florida....3000 miles and quite the story (PICS)
04-13-2004, 09:03 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
Back from Florida....3000 miles and quite the story (PICS)
Just got back from my Senior trip to Florida (Tampa/Clearwater), a grand total of ~3000 miles round trip. Had a lot of fun while I was down there, but I the part you're probably more interested in is the trip, so here we go:
Route:
I-90w from Rocheter, NY to Erie, PA
I-79s from Erie, PA to West Virginia
rt19s through WV
I-77s from WV to South Carolina
I-95s from SC to Jacksonville, FL
I-295s around Jacksonville, FL
I-10w across FL
I-75s to Tampa
I-275s through Tampa to our Hotel (Sailport Resort)
Notes:
NY: Been there, done that, nothing new
PA: Snowstorm in Erie, PA. You guys need to learn to plow the roads, plus the absense of a sholder on the road made for some tricky driving (espeically with my ES100 tires). Hopefully the last we see of snow.
WV: You guys rock....80-90mph cruising speeds through the mountains was CRAZY fun. Lots of small-town speed traps on rt19, but that's expected. Mountain passes on the interstate were clear of cops though. Great roads btw, little if any pot holes & very reflective lines, with good signage.
VA: All I have to say is I seriously saw a cop in a tree with a radar gun 100' after the speed limit dropped 25mph.
NC: Eh, nothing too special. Good roads, decent speeds, leniant cops, but WV has you beat hands down.
SC: Good roads as well, excessive abundance of sex shops off the insterstate though, lol.
GA: More psycho cops, low speed limits, and some of the most boring roads in the whole trip.
FL: Maybe it was just because it was 3am, but seems something is wrong when you're cruising at ~100mph & are getting passed by everyone. Nice quality roads though. It wasn't just my speedo either as other vehicles in my caravan had similar speeds displayed.
The Good:
-Weather was great, Tampa is an awesome city (especialy Ybor City) at night, and Clearwater is great by day, although has a bit of a parking problem.
-My newly installed Iceshark headlight kit lit up the road at night like it was daylight.
-My new Yokahoma AVS ES100's were GREAT. A little finicky in the cold, but once we hit decent weather (even rain) they were glued to the road
-944 Brakes/Iceshark lights saved me at one point when I had to avoid a deer while traveling at 80mph. Good lighting gave me enough of a heads up, while good brakes/tires allowed me to stop with plenty of time. My roommate's sholder still has bruises from the seat belt though (that'll teach him to put it on the right way).
-McDonalds is DIRT CHEEP down south. Like $3 for a value meal, compare with $5-$6 up here.
-$1.50/gal gas in GA
.
-Kudos to the Porsche seats being very comfortable and supportive. After about 15hrs of driving, I still felt very aware & with it. I only pulled myself because I felt I must be in rough shape, even though I felt fresh as day physically.
The Bad:
-I think I still have issues with my voltage regulator (gonna 2x check my installation again), but my voltage bounced between 12v & 16v the entire trip (bounced at about 1-2hz), yet at times 'locked on' right at 14v for extended periods. Thinking maybe I have it installed 'loose'
The Ugly:
After 20hrs of driving, ~15-20min from our destination, I was following a gas tanker truck southbound on I-75 just north of Tampa at about 80mph (speed of traffic), in pretty heavy traffic. We were both in the right lane, and I would say I was at a safe following distance, or at least the best you can manage in heavy traffic, when a HEAVY steel mudflap flew off the back of the tanker truck. It then flew through the air with about the predictability of a sheet of paper, as I attempted to swerve into the left lane to miss it. I didn't quite make it in time, as it struck (edgewise, vertically) dead on with my (recessed) brand new Iceshark headlights. The driver did stop, but I still was left with no headlight, and a return trip through the night back to NY in a few days. After numerous calls with the insurance company, everything was straigtened out. MAJOR kudos to Salamia's Body Shop in Tampa, FL for getting my car repaired back to driveable condition in a matter of just 4 days, including waiting on parts.
The Damage:
- Shattered Iceshark Light kit 3 days old (Cibie Lense, 90/100w Bulb)
- Crushed Headlight Bucket
- Severed/Shattered Fiberwerks Front End
- Bent Radiator support (just the section visible)
- Bent Header Panel
- Cracked Power Steering Line (cooler line)
- Foglight Shattered, as well as housing.
- Turnsignal AWOL
- Clear Marker AWOL
- Wiring for turnsignals/Foglights severed/missing
- Minor damage to the Fender
- No damage to the hood (after pulling out the headlight bucket, it returned to it's normal position).
I'm currently shopping for a bodyshop in the Rochester, NY area to complete the work. Anyone have any suggestions?
Also, obviously I'll need a new Fiberwerks front end. I was thinking this time of maybe doing a sidemarker delete on it. Does anyone know how possible/legal this is, also how complex would it be to have done? Anyone else do it before?
Pictures:
Before (Last summer):
Route:
I-90w from Rocheter, NY to Erie, PA
I-79s from Erie, PA to West Virginia
rt19s through WV
I-77s from WV to South Carolina
I-95s from SC to Jacksonville, FL
I-295s around Jacksonville, FL
I-10w across FL
I-75s to Tampa
I-275s through Tampa to our Hotel (Sailport Resort)
Notes:
NY: Been there, done that, nothing new
PA: Snowstorm in Erie, PA. You guys need to learn to plow the roads, plus the absense of a sholder on the road made for some tricky driving (espeically with my ES100 tires). Hopefully the last we see of snow.
WV: You guys rock....80-90mph cruising speeds through the mountains was CRAZY fun. Lots of small-town speed traps on rt19, but that's expected. Mountain passes on the interstate were clear of cops though. Great roads btw, little if any pot holes & very reflective lines, with good signage.
VA: All I have to say is I seriously saw a cop in a tree with a radar gun 100' after the speed limit dropped 25mph.
NC: Eh, nothing too special. Good roads, decent speeds, leniant cops, but WV has you beat hands down.
SC: Good roads as well, excessive abundance of sex shops off the insterstate though, lol.
GA: More psycho cops, low speed limits, and some of the most boring roads in the whole trip.
FL: Maybe it was just because it was 3am, but seems something is wrong when you're cruising at ~100mph & are getting passed by everyone. Nice quality roads though. It wasn't just my speedo either as other vehicles in my caravan had similar speeds displayed.
The Good:
-Weather was great, Tampa is an awesome city (especialy Ybor City) at night, and Clearwater is great by day, although has a bit of a parking problem.
-My newly installed Iceshark headlight kit lit up the road at night like it was daylight.
-My new Yokahoma AVS ES100's were GREAT. A little finicky in the cold, but once we hit decent weather (even rain) they were glued to the road
-944 Brakes/Iceshark lights saved me at one point when I had to avoid a deer while traveling at 80mph. Good lighting gave me enough of a heads up, while good brakes/tires allowed me to stop with plenty of time. My roommate's sholder still has bruises from the seat belt though (that'll teach him to put it on the right way).
-McDonalds is DIRT CHEEP down south. Like $3 for a value meal, compare with $5-$6 up here.
-$1.50/gal gas in GA
.-Kudos to the Porsche seats being very comfortable and supportive. After about 15hrs of driving, I still felt very aware & with it. I only pulled myself because I felt I must be in rough shape, even though I felt fresh as day physically.
The Bad:
-I think I still have issues with my voltage regulator (gonna 2x check my installation again), but my voltage bounced between 12v & 16v the entire trip (bounced at about 1-2hz), yet at times 'locked on' right at 14v for extended periods. Thinking maybe I have it installed 'loose'
The Ugly:
After 20hrs of driving, ~15-20min from our destination, I was following a gas tanker truck southbound on I-75 just north of Tampa at about 80mph (speed of traffic), in pretty heavy traffic. We were both in the right lane, and I would say I was at a safe following distance, or at least the best you can manage in heavy traffic, when a HEAVY steel mudflap flew off the back of the tanker truck. It then flew through the air with about the predictability of a sheet of paper, as I attempted to swerve into the left lane to miss it. I didn't quite make it in time, as it struck (edgewise, vertically) dead on with my (recessed) brand new Iceshark headlights. The driver did stop, but I still was left with no headlight, and a return trip through the night back to NY in a few days. After numerous calls with the insurance company, everything was straigtened out. MAJOR kudos to Salamia's Body Shop in Tampa, FL for getting my car repaired back to driveable condition in a matter of just 4 days, including waiting on parts.
The Damage:
- Shattered Iceshark Light kit 3 days old (Cibie Lense, 90/100w Bulb)
- Crushed Headlight Bucket
- Severed/Shattered Fiberwerks Front End
- Bent Radiator support (just the section visible)
- Bent Header Panel
- Cracked Power Steering Line (cooler line)
- Foglight Shattered, as well as housing.
- Turnsignal AWOL
- Clear Marker AWOL
- Wiring for turnsignals/Foglights severed/missing
- Minor damage to the Fender
- No damage to the hood (after pulling out the headlight bucket, it returned to it's normal position).
I'm currently shopping for a bodyshop in the Rochester, NY area to complete the work. Anyone have any suggestions?
Also, obviously I'll need a new Fiberwerks front end. I was thinking this time of maybe doing a sidemarker delete on it. Does anyone know how possible/legal this is, also how complex would it be to have done? Anyone else do it before?
Pictures:
Before (Last summer):
Last edited by Scootin159; 04-14-2004 at 03:13 PM.
04-13-2004, 09:04 PM
#2
Drifting
Thread Starter
Day before, after snowstorm in Erie, PA: (Notice all the ice on the ground I had to clear to get the headlights to retract correctly. All that ice had collected on the plastic surrounds of the buckets.
04-13-2004, 09:08 PM
#5
Three Wheelin'
Hey man, I am looking in to the fiberworks kit too. I have not seen it at that angle yet. I think some screens would help the appearance a little.... But it does look sharp.
Trending Topics
04-13-2004, 09:11 PM
#10
Drifting
Thread Starter
After hitting me, the mudflap continued on it's path of destruction taking out a Dodge Ram 1500, and totaling this Hyundai. If you can see in this picture, it actually impaled the radiator, and continued through, eventually actually cracking the oil pan. The car lost all it's antifreeze & oil on the side of the road.
04-13-2004, 09:13 PM
#13
Drifting
Thread Starter
The "Flap". It actually weighed in at about 10-20lbs. Here you can see the passenger side one, notice the missing drivers side one. The driver was ticketed for having an 'unsecured accessory'.
