Probably about 2,200 miles roundtrip, probably 95% highway driving as the destination is rural New England.

I have just replaced the fuel filter, used Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner in the gas, I have a brand new alternator and drive belts, and I have a little under 2,000 miles on my oil (Mobil 1 Synthetic) and oil filter (Nissan OEM). Didn't have time to replace my coolant but I hope that will be all right.

Question: any tips about the road trip or last minute things I should worry about?

Also, I put on new struts and springs a month ago and haven't "noticed" any alignment problems but some say you need to get an alignment after strut work. Other seem to think that the alignment adjustments are totally independent of the suspension system so I don't need to bother. Am I going to wear one side of my tires hardcore after 2,000 miles? The car drives dead evenly.

 

Bring some oil with you
Bring some radiator fluid
Bring trany fluid
Bring a fire extinguisher if you can
Road flares never hurt either

The road is a harsh mistress, be prepared!

 

I have been told by numerous mechanics that an alignment is required after any suspension work.

I don't think that you will ruin the tires in 2,000 miles.


Remember that your car has an aluminum engine block, the most imortant thing that you can do for your car (after regularly changing your oil) is to never and I mean NEVER let your engine overheat. So if you become stuck in traffic behind an accident or road work give your engine a break and turn off the AC & don't turn it back on until you are moving at least 20 mph.

Enjoy your trip you will love New England I grew up there.

Remember that driving over 70 no matter what the rest of the traffic is doing means you can be pulled over by a trooper and given a ticket even if everyone around you is going at that speed.

Mr. P

 

Are you sure about not ruining the tires? An aligment is definately a good idea after any kind of suspension work. He may not even notice its wearing wrong. I remember when I did my suspension the tire wore out only in the inner part, within a few weeks I had no tread left and my car would skid all over place, the anti lock would kick in when it was slighty wet outside, its definately not safe.

Even if its not wearing prematurely, the tire may not have optimal contact with the road. You can have bad gas mileage, bad handling, and the steering wheel might pull to the sides and wobble

Okay enough, what I'm trying to say is you may not notice it anytime soon.

Ditto with the overheating and taking fluids with you. Make sure your spare is good. If I were you I might even buy a steelie and have it as a full size spare... You never know where you may get stuck.

Good luck and enjoy your trip... make a stop in NYC and say hello

 

Not in any way intended to disrespect anyone's opinion but gee wiz some of you guys sound like you've never taken a trip out of your own neighborhood.

The Maxima is a super reliable vehicle. Sure you could go out and buy a full size spare but why not buy 2 or 3 of them & take them with you along with a spare engine. It's not like he's driving a 10 yr old chevy. Does your car use up a quart of oil every 1000 miles (half of the trip)? if not why bring oil with you. If you need a little you can stop at almost any store in America & buy a qt of oil.

If something happens to your car where you suddenly loose all of your engine oil, having a spare 4 or 5 qts in the trunk isn't going to help.

Use common sence and enjoy your trip.

Mr. P (old geezer whose been driving for 40 yrs)

 

OK, this may seem like a silly question, but I've only had my Max for a month or two now. The question is, Will a full-sized spare fit in the same place as the spare? I admit I haven't checked it out, but figured you guys might be able to spare me the bother, since I am obviously lazy! I was planning on getting an extra of my 17" OEM Titanium SE wheels. I'd rather get around to getting it already, rather than have to get one quickly if the need arose. (Knock on wood)

 

Your right but then again its no fun getting a flat and having to drive to some redneck shop to get a new tire, especially if he has aftermarket wheels. I've taken a few road trips in my Max all over the North East. Now that I think of it, I've hit every state North of and including Pennsylvania except Vermont.

 

1) Some good tunes!
2) Money for cool random crap you see along the way.
3) Map? Nah, Men don't need maps.

Just thought I'd throw my 2cents in.

 

Oh one other tip before you leave on your trip. If you are not already a member join the AAA you will save the annual fee the very first time you have to get towed & they will provide custom trip maps for free.

Mr. P

 

Thanks for all the tips. I haven't had my tires off the car since the suspension (well once a week after) so I don't know if they're wearing on the inside. All I know is the car seems to drive fine.

Good question, will a full size spare fit in the spare well?

 

Yes a full size spare will fit, you just have to trim the bottom of the trunk liner a little.

 

Get an alignment done before you drive 2000 miles. It should not be considered optional. You can affect all aspects of the suspension by changing your struts and it only takes a little bit to wear the tires wrong. Once the tire starts wearing wrong, there is little you can do to correct it. Even if you get an alignment, the tire is not uniform across the tread contact patch and can cause odd noises, pulling, vibration, cupping, wandering, problems with return to center, uneven tire wear, etc.

Spend the $50 bucks and get it done. It's cheaper than having to replace your tires.

 

this has got to be the best tip... seriously.

and get gps... better than maps.

 

Portable Jump starter. I never use it, but I helped alot of stranded commuter.

 

So ok now you gotta tell all of us how your trip went!!!

Did your ruin your tires?

Did you have any problems?

Or did everything go just fine?

Mr. Peabody

 

edit: nevermind, just looked at the date on the thread...

he's back already.

 

Right, so we want to know how it went.

Mr. P

 

why would you want to bring fluid. if you're gunna bring the fluids you'll probably need to also bring along something to fix a leak. like duct tape. but i don't think you'll need oil or transmission fluid. one thing that can help is a can of that fix-a-flat stuff. don't wanna get stuck on a stretch of highway with no exits in the middle of the night and a flat tire. but your car will be fine. if my '94 can make a round trip from miami to toronto yours can do the same.

 

id bring fluid...at least oil. so now that you're supposedly back, how did it go

 

THE MAX WAS STELLAR:

No probs, back safe and sound. There was one tense moment when it wouldn't start at a "service area" on the NY Thruway, but it turned out that it was just my negative terminal on the battery had come loose (I have it duct taped down for the time being, haha). So I just put a ton more duct tape on and it was all good. It was a bummer, though, because it reset my trip odometer so I don't have an exact total, but I think it was ~2500 miles.

My best gas mileage on a tank was 29.5 average MPG (NY Thruway driving at 75-80 mostly) and my most miles per tank was 458 miles (gas light was fading in and out ominously, only about 1.5 gallons left in the tank when I filled it.

I think I saved a lot of gas in Vermont by coasting down all the hills. Who cares about brake pads—you save a ton of gas by coasting down in neutral rather than in gear, although of course it's not quite as safe.

All in all, it was a lot of driving for only a 9-day vacation, but it was worth it.

VQ Power – ohyeah®

 

Oh, about the tires: after all these miles, there is NO clear evidence that the tires are wearing unevenly. Props to my suspension install, I guess. The car drives and steers just like it did before. Maybe after 15,000 miles I'll notice uneven wear. But it can't be too out of alignment. Broaner22 said he didn't have alignment probs after his suspension install either.

 

Thanks for letting us know LOL glad that you had a good trip. Isn't New England beautiful.

Mr. P

 

It's my favorite part of the country, hands down. Here's a shot with my two beauties on Route 9; my girlfriend looking particularly b!tchy for some reason and the Max looking nice as ever!

 

Is she wearing Teva's?


lol....j/k Glad you made it ok...would you do a similar trip again?

 

What do you concider "rural New England"? I went up to northern maine last month, about as far north that you can go and still be in the US. Now that area is rural. The only problems I had were a few paint chips in the hood from something (rocks or bugs).

 

The parts that are neither urban nor suburban is what I consider rural....

Never been to northern Maine.

 

Drive hard and have fun.