Picking the car up next week- Advice for longgggg drive home

[SloPoke]

So my alpine white 1M is coming in on the Toronto which will be in the NJ port on 11/24-11/25. My dealer in Bridgeport Connecticut said to schedule my flight for 11/29-11/30. I plan on flying up in the early AM from Atlanta and at the dealership around noon. He promised me I can be out in less than 30 minutes so I can get in at least a good 7-8 hours of driving for the day. I'll stay somewhere for the night and drive the other 8-9 hours the next day. A few questions to you all-

Any areas to steer clear of?
Any areas that I must see?
How bad will driving constant highway RPM screw up the break in?
Any locals know what the weather/streets will be like?

I'm hoping my color choice won't be indicative of the weather I will see.....

[v1k0d3n]

bring plenty of music, and drive CAREFULLY!

[MDORPHN]

OK to cruise at same speed on highway so long as you shift gears. At 65 - 70, I suspect you could shift between 4th, 5th and 6th.

Neil

[dean_g]

Don't drive through Jersey terrible roads/road rage. No I am kidding you will be fine. My car is also on the Toronto and I should be picking it up around the same time. If you happen to stop through Jersey to rest or whatever the case may be let me know and maybe we can meet.

Cheers,
Chris

[Yellowceta]

Take some Trakk Tape and don't get lazy on the install. During my 725 mile trip back home with mine, my first rock chip missed the tape by 6 inches. I also drove between 50 and 80 mph in order to vary rpm's from 1800 to 2700. It got annoying at time passing people only to slow down and get passed. Don't stay behind the big rigs and you should be good! Enjoy the drive!

[torquedemon]

Have your music ready, a nice pair of shades, and comfortable shoes.
try your best to shift through the gears frequently although its tempting to throw it in cruise in 6th during long drives...

I have no experience with traktape but it sounds like a good idea for a long drive in order to avoid chips...stay away from semis and trucks...most importantly..
ENJOY the CAR and drive safely!!

[OAM]

Definitely get yourself some trakk tape. Not sure what your planned route is, but PM me and I could hook you up with some lodging options.

[tkbr0wn]

You can go 75-80 and be in one of three gears varying your RPM's enough. Its a PITA, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Just shift gears after every song on the radio or something like that.

[SloPoke]

So Trakk tape does not advertise too well. Where the crap can I get this? If I can't get it in time, I'm just going with the blue painters tape.

[TEAM SLO]

I was going to suggest the blue painters tape, but I would also put 2-3 layers on the car, mirrors, bumper, front 1' of the hood, maybe even a 2" strip at the beginning of the roof.

Also, along the back door/quarter panel right in front of the rear wheel.

Will look rediculous but once you're home, it would be worth it.

[BlitzM]

I had an 1,100 mile drive home with mine. I used blue painters tape to cover the the front of the car (hood,fenders,bumpers etc.) and the rear fenders. Very easy and cheap to work with.

I had all season tires shipped to the dealership and drove home on those. The weather can really mess with you. Forecasts vs reality can be very different. I had a snow storm in Montana and then freezing rain at lower elevations. In Wyoming I ran into solid black ice for about 100 miles. You really better think hard about driving home on summer tires, especially if you don't have much experience in winter driving.

I tried to get off the highway every 50 miles or so to go thru the lower gears. You can get get 4th,5th,6th on the highway but it's worth the extra effort to get off and go thru 1st,2nd,3rd.

[eeghie]

More than continuously varying rpm: don't use the cruise control. The M crew also recommended to accelerate now and then and taking taking your foot of the gas progressively quicker. This so that the rear side of the differential cogs are also worn in and resulting chips sub sequentially flushed at first service.

If you're tempted to take the I87 to Montreal: I've heard that due to a major bridge collapse in Vermont there's a nasty local detour of over 1 hour in Vermont. Not a 100% on this one, but it seems worthwhile to double check

[DriveHard]

10 day forcast shows low to mid 50's.. No snow.. It will be chilly, somake sure you warm the tires up before you see how fast 2nd is LOL.. also remember that cold brakes are just as bad.. ( this may seem mundane to local north easterners....but OP appears to be from GA...)

if you cant fing track tape >> look here http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

Im not going to get into the whole break in thing... Personally i break my cars in like i am going to drive them...but thats just me..

Just vary RPM a little.. Make a game out of it... practice your heel and toe from 6th to 5th.... Mid day your gonna be in traffic anyway / somewhere . youll be forced to shift ..

bring a tire pressure gauge.. dealers always set on the high side.
stop at a gas station on the way back and get glass cleaner, bring a rag with you.. you will thank me later....

music / phone charger / take your wallet out of your back pocket / and remember you cant see the radio display with polarized sunglasses..

enjoy the trip.. and congrats

[OAM]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

So Trakk tape does not advertise too well. Where the crap can I get this? If I can't get it in time, I'm just going with the blue painters tape.

You can order it here. http://trakktape.com/Ordering.html

[eeghie]

Originally Posted by DriveHard

... and remember you cant see the radio display with polarized sunglasses..

excellent reminder, this annoyed the hell out of me on my first drive.

[carchrism5]

Congrats on your purchase. Here are a few pointers for you trip.

I'm assuming you are just headed south down towards home, so I would take the Merrit Parkway from Bridgeport down into NY (turns into Hutchinson Parkway) and then take 287 west to the Tappan Zee Bridge. Take 287 to the Garden State Parkway South. That way will eliminate a lot of NYC traffic and the Merrit/Hutch/GSP do not allow trucks so smaller chance for rock chips.

Be careful on the GSP in regards to cops.

STAY AWAY from the Southern MD/ DC/ Northern VA area any time remotely close to peak hours/rush hour. (also watch out for their sneaky speed cameras in DC).

Do NOT speed in VA at all, not worth their absurd fines.

If you do not have an EZ Pass you should go online and order one ASAP or be prepared to spend some time waiting at toll lines from NY down past Washington DC.

Wait until you get to NJ to buy gas and then fill up right before you leave NJ, gas is quite a bit cheaper there.

If you are planning on doing the clearbra on the car you may consider getting it done here in CT. There is an installer who has done my 1M and another member's on here. He uses 3M Venture Shield.

[de85275]

Ditto on watching your speed in VA. Don't worry about adjusting your speed, there will be plenty of jackasses in Audi's and Infiniti's that will temp you into showing them what's up.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

You can go 75-80 and be in one of three gears varying your RPM's enough. Its a PITA, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Just shift gears after every song on the radio or something like that.

That's a very good idea.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

So Trakk tape does not advertise too well. Where the crap can I get this? If I can't get it in time, I'm just going with the blue painters tape.

The blue is what I was going to do.
Was concerned about the and other reactions from other drivers, so I was looking for a clear tape. Too bad I just learned about this Track Tape... No time to order.
However, given their price, why not get something I can reuse multiple times?
http://www.circlebmwparts.com/cgi-bi...ords&nh=7&mh=1

What's the opinion on car bras (or nosemask... did they change names?). Too passe? Too douchy?

[MPBK]

^^^ any comments on using a bra nowadays?
They were kind of cool 30 years ago... for some reason, I don't know why, they either spell douche bag or automatically put a rug on my head.