Final Update: 960 Miles in 16 Hours

"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
08/01/2016 at 23:10 • Filed to: SUBARU

Original estimate of 1,000 was a little high. Final reading of 24.6 MPG isn’t bad considering most of this was done at over 80 MPH. Thanks for helping break up theboredom Oppo Original stuff below.

Phoenix to SA in our 2013 Outback with my wife, two kids, and one of the dogs. I10 most of the way. Should be 995 miles door to door. I will try to answer during the periods that I am not driving and have cell phone coverage, which may be spotty. Plan is to leave here at 4 AM and be home sometime around 9 PM after the 2 hour time zone shift (Arizona is Mountain time zone, but doesn’t observe DST).

Update 0: Here we go...

Clock still on central time. Yep, it is still 83F at 4 AM here in try desert.

Update 1: Wilcox, AZ. Been raining a lot so far. Mostly uphill out of PHX. Getting around 24 MPG.

Update 2: Only made it 50 mileS to San Simon before the kids had to pee again.

Update 3: Passed the keys off to my wife in Deming, NM. 314 miles in now. MPGs have climbed to 25.8 as we’ve been going downhill. That will drop when we climb east of El Paso. Saw a Mustang with many vents, scoops, and spoilers. None were functional.

Update 4: Just ate lunch in Socorro, just east of El Paso. 430 miles in. Kids and dog ran around. The next 50 miles or through the mountains are nice, but things get super boring after that.

Always feels good to be back in the home state.

Hello Juarez, Mexico!

This was causing some congestion around downtown El Paso.

Update 5: Kids and dog require lots of breaks. Going well but still have 300+ miles to go at 5 PM.

Update 6: Over 12 hours now. 760 miles in. About ready for this to be done with. Everyone has done really well. Getting 25.2 MPG. Saw an average as high as 26.4, but once the speed limit hit 80 I’ve been taking full advantage and the mileage has dropped. In for what should be the final fuel stop now.

DISCUSSION (18)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 07:16

... we will definitely know you by that trail of blown head gaskets ...

Seriously, though, be safe and aware of your level of fatigue. That’s a pretty long single leg trip... I’ve only done slightly more before, and I didn’t have a heavy-laden car or that many passengers.

Arrivederci > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 08:18

Looks like you’re about one hour in now - guessing you’re about 20-30 minutes outside Tucson now?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 08:46

Man, I cant stand driving in the middle of the night. I could drive for hours on end when its light out but as soon as darkness hits, straight highways just kill me. Now, running something like tail of the dragon after midnight though is spectacular. But maybe if I drove at night instead of the day, I wouldn't get hit on the highway at least!

gawdzillla > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 09:06

how fast you going ? / gas mileage you are getting ?

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 09:43

Thanks! I've actually done this trip solo before and it can be quite tiring. Fortunately, my wife and I have a pretty good driver switch schedule going.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 09:45

Yeah. I just left SA on Wednesday so my body is still on that time. Leaving at 4 AM felt like leaving up at 6 like I do for work every day. Without daylight savings the sun was up by 5:30 so not too much in the night.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Arrivederci
08/01/2016 at 09:45

Yep was getting to Tucson when you posted

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 09:46

How do they just choose to not do daylight savings?? Haha that seems wild to me and would be sure to screw people up.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > gawdzillla
08/01/2016 at 09:47

Just stopped for first break. Going around 81. Getting 24ish MPG. Usually do better, but mostly uphill and a pretty full car.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/01/2016 at 09:54

Arizona only did it for one year after the uniform time act was passed before getting a federal exemption. I'm not sure of all the details, but yeah it can be confusing to keep track of. Makes sense to not so it in the desert though.

gawdzillla > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:00

thats not bad for a full car !

i had an older outback and i loved it

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 10:13

Well daylight savings in general doesn’t make any sense anywhere at this point. I just think it should be consistent everywhere. Probably would be best to just get rid of it everywhere else. I think there is some statistic how daylight savings causes some ridiculous number of accidents every year.

E90M3 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 15:12

Always feels good to be back in the home state.

Kinja'd!!!

Yes it does

Batman the Horse > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 15:14

Did you bring oil for your leaky piston rings?

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Batman the Horse
08/01/2016 at 15:19

Haha nope. The FB25 in this particular Outback has been well behaved. In my Forester, on the other hand, I always keep 0w20 handy. I’m going to have to have that one fixed under the extended warranty from the law suit settlement at some point I think.

I hoon, therefore I am > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/01/2016 at 15:44

How do you like the Outback? I’m finally calling for a replacement for my girlfriend’s 160k mi Civic with something a touch larger and more reliable*, and non-enthusiast friends have suggested the Subie.

*In the past two years, I’ve replaced: head gasket, wheel bearing, suspension bits, window regulator, and now AC compressor which managed to physically break into pieces in the middle of the AZ summer. NONE of this has been easy.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > I hoon, therefore I am
08/01/2016 at 16:02

I like it, my wife loves it. 50,000 miles in and not a single mechanical issue yet. Ours is a 2.5i Premium with the CVT. It rides great, the seats are super comfy for long hauls, and it handles better than most CUV’s I’ve driven (though I wouldn’t exactly call it “sporty”). You get used to the CVT. It fades into the background and gives this thing better MPG than you’d expect from something this big. Definitely not fast, but the CVT gets it off the line OK. It can be a bit goofy in the mountains, but you can switch it into “manual” mode and use the paddles to get it into a better ratio. That’s about the only thing they’re good for.

Definitely recommended if they have a sale. Ours stickered at $27,500. Got it for $24,500 plus negotiated in a roof bike rack for free. On top of that Subaru was offering 2/24,000 scheduled maintenance for free, so we got the first 3 oil changes and tire rotations at the dealer gratis. I may have been able to knock a few hundred more off, but I'm happy with the deal.

I also own a 2014 Forester 2.5i 6-speed manual. More fun, but way less refined. I've only had it for 9 months so I can't comment much on reliability.

Braniff747SP > I hoon, therefore I am
08/01/2016 at 18:22

We have a 2015. It’s fantastic.