Road Trip in my 1LE!!!!

[BlackenedRR]

I'm getting ready to take my first real vacation in about 11yrs. Starting June 5th I will be driving west from Fort Worth, TX on my way to San Diego, CA. I'm planning on stopping in Tucson, AZ to see some family and friends on the 6th, heading to Phoenix, AZ and stopping there on the 7th and then on to sunny So Cal on the 8th. It's been about 9yrs since I've been to Phoenix and 11yrs since I've been to San Diego, and after all the rain we've had in TX lately I seriously cannot wait for some nice weather!!! If anyone sees a black 2015 2SS 1LE with TX plates in these areas during these dates, it'll most likely be me!

Oh yeah, does anyone in the Phoenix area know if they still do the Saturday car show at Scottsdale Pavillions? My best friend and I might make a trip back to AZ for the day if the show is still going on.

[Olddudesrule]

Yup, still do the show at Pavallions, off the Indian Bend exit of the 101 I think. You'll be driving by the Bondurant Motorsports Park during the NASA HDPE day, so look for a white 2014 1LE!!

[nvydvr]

Also, Google cars and coffee in the cities you'll be in. Lots of good folks and cool cars.

[Elvira1le]

If it looks like you drove by a mirror, that would be me. might se you in Scottsdale.

[BlackenedRR]

Yeah, from what I can see I'll be too late or too early for all the Cars & Coffee events. I'm still not sure where I'll be staying once I get to Phoenix, pretty sure I'll get a hotel room in the Scottsdale or Tempe areas.

[homewrecker]

Keep us posted. Got a beer waiting for you by Qualcomm stadium!

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

[BlackenedRR]

Thanks, offers like that make me wish I still drank... LOL!!!!

[67Builder]

Are you doing the road trip on the stock tires?

[BlackenedRR]

Yep, can't really think of a reason why I shouldn't aside from tire wear. But I plan on getting new wheels and tires in the near future, possibly while I'm in California, so I'm only going be adding about 3100 miles to this set between driving out there and then back and I've only put 3k miles on them since I bought the car in late Feb. My normal driving in the car adds up to 150-200 miles per week. The dealer SAID they put new tires on when I bought it and if they're lying then these are the best 18k mile performance tires I've ever seen in my life because they didn't show any signs of wear. Or the previous owner drove around like a grandma for almost 1 1/2 years... LOL!

[BlackenedRR]

Well I made my trip, had lots of last minute changes to my plans, but had a great time. The car performed FLAWLESSLY!!!! Ok, the "Battery Saver Activated" warning popped up while I was driving through Los Angeles, but I didn't notice it having any effect on a damn thing with the car. I switched to the performance menu and kept an eye on my voltage levels for a bit, never dropped below 12.6 volts.

I do have to admit, being stuck in LA traffic for almost 5hrs made me truly question my decision to buy a manual equipped car, but once I got north of LA and hit the Grapevine, all doubts went BYE BYE!!!

I didn't get to spend as much time in San Diego as I wanted, had to make an unexpected trip to San Jose since my best friend's plans to fly down for the weekend got axed by Uncle Sam. But I was in town for the little earthquake on Friday morning. I had just crawled into bed at my hotel when the bed started shaking, made me seriously question what kind of hotel I had checked myself in to.

I have to admit, I really, truly miss the weather in AZ. I stayed a night in Tucson and a night in Chandler on my way out west so that I could visit friends (and maybe so that I could blast through the central Phoenix tunnel a few times... LOL!!!!), and even though it was hot as Hell, I loved it!!! There's something to be said for being able to dress nice and go out when it's 106 degrees and it's so dry you don't break a sweat. Too bad I can't just transfer to a police department there, I'd be packing right now!!

The only time I got pulled over during the 4200+ miles of driving was right here in Texas. I got stopped on my way home while blasting through Colorado City for doing 95 in a 75. Once the officer found out I was a LEO he gave me a warning and asked me to keep it closer to the speed limit until I got outside the city limits. Done and done!

So here's a few of the exciting moments I had in my car during this trip:

I may or may not have, on a long stretch of highway in New Mexico, opened it up and tapped on 150mph's door. Car felt incredibly stable and planted, tempting me to keep my foot in it even longer.

It seems like every Mustang I encountered wanted to race, but fearing that they might mistake my car for a crowd and wreck into me, I behaved and let them "beat me".

While heading back east through the mountains outside of San Diego I came across an older gentleman in A blue C6 Z06. I kept up with him most of the way down the moutain until I felt the back step out of line on a few of the tighter curves. I know it was pretty windy in that area so I'm guessing I was just getting pushed around as once I was closer to the bottom and out of the worst of the high wind areas I was back to feeling totally planted in the curves.

While trying to make it through LA traffic I came across a 1st gen CTS-V that sounded WICKED!!!! I didn't get a chance to make out the sticker on it's back window, but I did hear the distinct whine of a blower and it was nice! Apparently he knew a secret about getting through LA traffic that I didn't because I never saw him again once he flew by. Meanwhile I was having trouble just getting up to 40mph...

Teslas, Teslas EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!! I expected to see quite a few of them in Cali, but they were all over the place! Ran into a matte black one in Orange County, sitting on gold wheels with a plate that read "WAT GAS". Made me laugh, and also looked badass.

People of California, I must ask... WHY DOES NOBODY MOVE TO THE RIGHT?!?!?!?!

Well my stock G2s now have about 9000 miles on them, and even with my decidedly spirited way of driving they seem to be holding up rather well. I was fully expecting to have them about as bald as me by the time I got home, but they're looking just fine. Still, I'm doing the "which tire should I get to replace my G2s" deal. I did catch a large nail in my right rear, so new tires all the way around are coming soon.

I only saw one other 1LE during my trip, a yellow 2013 on I-20 just outside of Westbrook, TX. Can't say that I was really looking for any on my drive, but a yellow car with a black hood tends to stick out rather well!

Anyway, now that I'm home it's time to start planning the next big road trip in my 1LE. I'm thinking about taking my Dad on next year's Power Tour as we've talked about it since the first year but we've never been able to make it happen. Now I've got a great car for the trip and I'm in a place where I can finance the entire trip, so I'll I need him to do is take time off from work to go. I'm also trying to get all the work done on my 96 Chevy Crew Cab 1/2 ton so I can get it back on the road and give the 1LE a cozy spot in my shop before winter gets here. Gonna be heading to Nfamus this Monday to get the ball rolling on moving my truck to their shop for a full custom air suspension and back half, then bring it back to my shop for an LSX/6L80E swap. As much as I love driving my 1LE, I really miss having my truck as my daily. Plus if I get it all completed before Power Tour then I'll make it a family trip and have my parents drive the truck with a small trailer full of tools, parts and extra wheels and tires while I drive the 1LE with a willing navigator (someone who will open my energy drinks, hand me peanut butter M&Ms, not throw a fit over my love for heavy metal and won't complain that the Recaros are too firm for a road trip. Wouldn't hurt if it ends up being a hot chick, either...). Oh yeah, now that I'm home I also need to finally make time to hit some of the local Camaro meets and get my butt to a Cars and Coffee one of these days.

[AG454]

Nice to know that even LEO's speed once in a while. 😈

[sherob]

Nice write up... Look in to Denver... nice and dry here, but hardly ever that hot. LOL!!!!

[alrock]

Sounds like it was a great trip

[Rrm20151le]

Glad you were able to take a vacation and enjoy your 1LE.