Survived 2700 Round Trip to Florida
Thread Starter
Evolved Member
iTrader: (9)
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,222
Likes: 8
From: Rochester, NY
Survived 2700 Round Trip to Florida
Well I had a great time down in Florida on my vacation, visited friends I haven't seen in years and met quite a few new people too. Here are some shots of my car all cleaned up at my friends place which was in a real seedy part of Palm Gardens near West Palm Beach. I've had quite a few people comment on them throughout my travels so despite their less aggressive +35 offset they still look pretty decent.
One thing I noticed is that on the way down my car had minimal road wear although most of the driving was in the dry and the car survived the winter with only slight front end wear on the paint. Apparently the return trip wasn't so kind as I had about 6-8 hrs of wet driving which at times was a torential downpour. I was still moving anywhere between 60-80mph depending on if there was water pooling on the roads, hydroplaning was a real danger with these summer performance tires.
I can now say that the next time I get a car that getting some 3M protective clear bra on the front end will be a wise move. The entire lower clip looks like it was sand blasted by the wet driving and even the front bumper area isn't in that great shape either. Seems sad that the entire winter had maybe 20% of that wear and this long trip beat the paint up that bad due to the rain. All I can say is next time I'm flying, 2700 miles round trip was like packing 2 months of driving into 4 days and was a real challenge even for a 2 week vacation. On a sidenote my factory Aero kept the sides of the car in pristine shape but the sandblasted front end is somewhat dissapointing to say the least.
Is the paint on these cars that weak or would the damage have been just as bad on any other car? What are peoples experience on using the 3M or similar clear bras?
Evolved Member
iTrader: (21)
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,453
Likes: 0
From: Clifton New Jersey Lived: Daytona Beach, Florida Lived: Port Orange, Florida
Well I had a great time down in Florida on my vacation, visited friends I haven't seen in years and met quite a few new people too. Here are some shots of my car all cleaned up at my friends place which was in a real seedy part of Palm Gardens near West Palm Beach. I've had quite a few people comment on them throughout my travels so despite their less aggressive +35 offset they still look pretty decent.
One thing I noticed is that on the way down my car had minimal road wear although most of the driving was in the dry and the car survived the winter with only slight front end wear on the paint. Apparently the return trip wasn't so kind as I had about 6-8 hrs of wet driving which at times was a torential downpour. I was still moving anywhere between 60-80mph depending on if there was water pooling on the roads, hydroplaning was a real danger with these summer performance tires.
I can now say that the next time I get a car that getting some 3M protective clear bra on the front end will be a wise move. The entire lower clip looks like it was sand blasted by the wet driving and even the front bumper area isn't in that great shape either. Seems sad that the entire winter had maybe 20% of that wear and this long trip beat the paint up that bad due to the rain. All I can say is next time I'm flying, 2700 miles round trip was like packing 2 months of driving into 4 days and was a real challenge even for a 2 week vacation. On a sidenote my factory Aero kept the sides of the car in pristine shape but the sandblasted front end is somewhat dissapointing to say the least.
Is the paint on these cars that weak or would the damage have been just as bad on any other car? What are peoples experience on using the 3M or similar clear bras?
Thread Starter
Evolved Member
iTrader: (9)
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,222
Likes: 8
From: Rochester, NY
mitsu paint suxs!! you should see my evo's front that has done round trip NJ to FL 3.5 times
It was fun in the sense that it's not something I would do every day but these days were very long for a solo drive. Total driving time on the way down was estimated by google maps at 21.5 hrs and actual drive time minus stops was around 17 hrs so I was moving pretty good. On the way down I took the east coast route where as the way back I went up through West Virginia and flew through the mountains. The car just pulled right through those twisty roads like nothing at 80-85 mph on cruise control and handled great.
Trending Topics
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Orlando, Fla
I've taken the trip several times back and forth from Central Jersey to Ft. Lauderdale/Orlando/Melbourne. The drive sucks in any car, big or small. Not only is the 17hrs boring as all hell, It will eat the paint on any car.
One time I tried to drive staight through and got SO exhausted in Georgia, I had to stop for a 3 hour nap in some crack hooker hotel. I was so worried my car was going to get broken into.
One time I tried to drive staight through and got SO exhausted in Georgia, I had to stop for a 3 hour nap in some crack hooker hotel. I was so worried my car was going to get broken into.
at least you got to learn you car some more haha
