Road Trip Ramblngs
09-09-2013, 11:15 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Road Trip Ramblngs
Did a 800 mile drive this past Saturday. All Highway. The GTS is a joy to road trip in.
Got some new tires before the trip. In the past I always put on the stickiest Extreme Performance Summer tires. Since my foot isn't going to let me do any autocrossing for a while decided to pick some from the Ultra High Performance All Season category and try to get more than a year out of a set of tires. Chose Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus. Not as much dry pavement traction as the Dunlop Direzza Sports when I punch the go pedal at low speeds BUT much smoother and quieter on the highway with less trammeling (tendency to steer toward the lower side of the lane). So far...happy with 'em. Will see how they last.
At every stop on the trip got "Nice Car," and/or "Cool Car" comments, and from all ages, both male and female. At one stop it started a little creepy. A guy had followed me into the restroom and just as I opened the stall door to go wash my hands asked if that was my Porsche out there. Was relieved to find he was just another car guy on a road trip instead of someone trying to proposition, rob, or carjack me. As we walked out to the car said he was a Mustang guy, had heard me drive into the gas station, and wondered if it had a stock motor or Chevy transplant. Said it didn't sound like any Porsche he had heard. He seemed to know about the 928 until I offered to show him the motor and he stepped to the back of the car.
Had a couple of rolling encounters too. In a construction zone there was one of those light up text signs. They usually flash "Contruction Zone" then "Reduced Speed Ahead." This one was towards the end of the construction zone and flashed "Attention" then "Prepare To Speed."
Came up on a U-haul truck and a Volt acting as self appointed speed police. Driving side by side not letting anyone pass. The problem I had was they were only going 60 mph on a 75 mph Turnpike. The first couple of miles I patiently followed the U-haul in the fast lane, and did not tailgate. As cars started stacking up behind I flashed my brights, then turned on both headlights and fog lights and flashed some more. It was obvious they were either completely oblivious or were being mischievous so I decided to pass them on the shoulder. I lagged behind a bit, then downshifted and nailed it. Hopefully if they were blocking on purpose I would surprise the volt driver and get around before he could block me.
Well, just as I pulled onto the shoulder accelerating hard the gravely asphalt shoulder turned into a concrete lane. Passed the volt very quickly and just as I pulled back in front of the Volt the extra right lane turned back into shoulder. I was both surprised and a little freaked out. It looked like a lane for construction vehicles to access a pile of dirt off to the side of the highway. Not only have I not ever seen anything like it on the turnpikes in Oklahoma, don't think I could have timed the pass to use the extra lane if I had known it was there. It was almost magical.
As I left them behind I glanced in the mirror and noticed both the lane police had pulled into the same lane and the first of the 20 or so cars that had stacked up behind had started passing.
Hope you enjoyed reading about my day trip as much as I enjoyed taking it.
Got some new tires before the trip. In the past I always put on the stickiest Extreme Performance Summer tires. Since my foot isn't going to let me do any autocrossing for a while decided to pick some from the Ultra High Performance All Season category and try to get more than a year out of a set of tires. Chose Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus. Not as much dry pavement traction as the Dunlop Direzza Sports when I punch the go pedal at low speeds BUT much smoother and quieter on the highway with less trammeling (tendency to steer toward the lower side of the lane). So far...happy with 'em. Will see how they last.
At every stop on the trip got "Nice Car," and/or "Cool Car" comments, and from all ages, both male and female. At one stop it started a little creepy. A guy had followed me into the restroom and just as I opened the stall door to go wash my hands asked if that was my Porsche out there. Was relieved to find he was just another car guy on a road trip instead of someone trying to proposition, rob, or carjack me. As we walked out to the car said he was a Mustang guy, had heard me drive into the gas station, and wondered if it had a stock motor or Chevy transplant. Said it didn't sound like any Porsche he had heard. He seemed to know about the 928 until I offered to show him the motor and he stepped to the back of the car.
Had a couple of rolling encounters too. In a construction zone there was one of those light up text signs. They usually flash "Contruction Zone" then "Reduced Speed Ahead." This one was towards the end of the construction zone and flashed "Attention" then "Prepare To Speed."
Came up on a U-haul truck and a Volt acting as self appointed speed police. Driving side by side not letting anyone pass. The problem I had was they were only going 60 mph on a 75 mph Turnpike. The first couple of miles I patiently followed the U-haul in the fast lane, and did not tailgate. As cars started stacking up behind I flashed my brights, then turned on both headlights and fog lights and flashed some more. It was obvious they were either completely oblivious or were being mischievous so I decided to pass them on the shoulder. I lagged behind a bit, then downshifted and nailed it. Hopefully if they were blocking on purpose I would surprise the volt driver and get around before he could block me.
Well, just as I pulled onto the shoulder accelerating hard the gravely asphalt shoulder turned into a concrete lane. Passed the volt very quickly and just as I pulled back in front of the Volt the extra right lane turned back into shoulder. I was both surprised and a little freaked out. It looked like a lane for construction vehicles to access a pile of dirt off to the side of the highway. Not only have I not ever seen anything like it on the turnpikes in Oklahoma, don't think I could have timed the pass to use the extra lane if I had known it was there. It was almost magical.
As I left them behind I glanced in the mirror and noticed both the lane police had pulled into the same lane and the first of the 20 or so cars that had stacked up behind had started passing.
Hope you enjoyed reading about my day trip as much as I enjoyed taking it.
.