Driving from Florida to California

[Dpc2u]

Sounds like an awesome trip, aside from the potential axe murderer! Glad all went well.

[BMWM5NYC]

Glad you had a good time. I have done cross country from NY to CA , 3 times, Southern route (E46 M3,2002), then Northern route (F10 M5,2017) and central this year.(F10 M5) Like you said Utah is breathtaking. Colorado and Arizona are beautiful as well. I Love cross country driving.

[BGBF18]

Welcome to San Diego!

Word to the wise, don't speed. You will want to, but don't.

I was pulled over on I-15S doing 97 in a 65 during a momentary burst of exuberance (first time driving an M4) by a hidden motorcycle CHP dude.

$490 + points and possible suspension of my license for 2 weeks. Not cool.

I left socal for 3-4 years and when I came back they about tripled the damn police patrols...killing my fun!

[swagon]

Seems like a great trip, except that horror story.

Your friend must really like you to go with you the 2nd time.

[cjm41]

Originally Posted by BGBF18

Welcome to San Diego!

Word to the wise, don't speed. You will want to, but don't.

I was pulled over on I-15S doing 97 in a 65 during a momentary burst of exuberance (first time driving an M4) by a hidden motorcycle CHP dude.

$490 + points and possible suspension of my license for 2 weeks. Not cool.

I left socal for 3-4 years and when I came back they about tripled the damn police patrols...killing my fun!

San Diego seems devoid of police, at least downtown. I've seen some CHP on the highway but even that seems scarce. I did see a San Diego cop get on I-5 last night as I was passing the on ramp, it was past dusk, he had no headlights on and the car looked like it was on it's last legs.

I don't know if there is a budget issue with the San Diego PD, but it looks like they're buying their cars from other department's auctions of 10 year old cars. They're driving the crown vics from the late 90s.

I'm going to try to get out of town this coming weekend and hit some fun roads. Maybe 79 through Julian then 78 into Anza Borrego. There's a BMW meet in San Marcos Saturday night I might check out, maybe do that run during the day then bring the M3 to the meet all sweaty and beat up from the mid-day run.

Went for a drive last night, wasn't an exhilarating drive, just some cool scenery.

.

[Scrippy]

Great post OP! These cars are fantastic and much more robust than folks let on, hence some of our spastic/obsessive compulsive recommendations for the journey. Someone here said they are not good for 600-1000 mile stretches and I vigorously disapprove of this message. I haven't experienced all the cars but this one (E9X M3) is a great all around awesome sports car that will keep you in love unless you're not looking for love cause you're a player! I thought your pics were pretty cool too. Random but they convey a feeling of appreciation of the angles the car possesses that might go unappreciated. Lastly......I was going to wear your face while playing morrissey and eating thinly sliced HAM. My only regret was selecting the murder boots instead of my "murder red" Nike Cortez tennies! Great post man thanx for sharing!

PS:Pic attached of what could have claimed your and passengers face if I would have followed my murder heart and style!

[cjm41]

Thanks man- I agree this car is pretty killer long haul. Is it a 750iL? No. But I've driven a e60 535i sport, Nissan Maxima, Dodge Ram Quad Cab, and a Kia Soul over 1000 miles at a pop and this car takes the cake. Yeah, I found myself adjusted a couple time but I put the seat pretty far back and opened up the side bolsters and it was pretty comfortable. The brand new PS4Ss may have also played a role in the comfort.

I def take some weird pics of the car. I guess as a creative person I like to try and capture something different. Everyone has seen this cars from every angle so it's fun to try and isolate areas of the car. There really isn't a bad angle and it helps to remind me how timeless and well-designed this car really is.

Morrissey haha. I don't know why I instantly pictured someone tied up with a madman cutting their hair in a basement with turn of the century farm tools all over the place while "Hairdresser on Fire" is played on a scratched up record.

Originally Posted by Scrippy

Great post OP! These cars are fantastic and much more robust than folks let on, hence some of our spastic/obsessive compulsive recommendations for the journey. Someone here said they are not good for 600-1000 mile stretches and I vigorously disapprove of this message. I haven't experienced all the cars but this one (E9X M3) is a great all around awesome sports car that will keep you in love unless you're not looking for love cause you're a player! I thought your pics were pretty cool too. Random but they convey a feeling of appreciation of the angles the car possesses that might go unappreciated. Lastly......I was going to wear your face while playing morrissey and eating thinly sliced HAM. My only regret was selecting the murder boots instead of my "murder red" Nike Cortez tennies! Great post man thanx for sharing!

PS:Pic attached of what could have claimed your and passengers face if I would have followed my murder heart and style!

[SkiFly01]

Originally Posted by cjm41

Yeah, I found myself adjusted a couple time but I put the seat pretty far back and opened up the side bolsters and it was pretty comfortable.

Yea the OEM seats are nice but do start to hurt after a few hours. Not like my Z32, I could sit in those all day, no issues. I can't complain too much though cause the E92 seats are more comfy for those 1,000 mile days when compared to my R1200GSA.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by cjm41

I've been missing from the forums for a few months (although I've been relatively active on the E9X M3 Facebook group). I've been busy with work, traveling a lot, dealing with some issues that arose in my personal life and my car has been in storage.

I drove a friend from Tampa to San Diego about a month ago in her car (helped her move with her cats) and the deal was she'd put me up for a month instead of paying for my plane ticket home. While I was out here I'd explore a business opportunity and just take a semi-vacation. I'm a self-employed web developer with a hosting and maintenance business + a consulting (retainer-based) side of my business, so I can work from anywhere, but I must work (always on call).

What ended up happening is... I fell in love with Southern California. The geography, the weather, the scenery, the roads, the national parks, the weather, the roads, the food, the weather, and the weather. The people... are growing on me a bit (I'm originally from NY and there is a noticeable lack of urgency here which can be frustrating). In light of being positive, we'll avoid mentioning the state government, gas prices, etc.

I'm thinking of staying for a few months, maybe longer, I'll be staying with my friend another month and I'd ultimately like to find a month to month corporate rental or a townhouse with a garage.

Anyway...

I'm flying back to Tampa in 3 days and will be there for about a week. I was going to ship my car but the lowest quote came back at $1,630. I've opted to take this opportunity to drive, what I believe to be, a pretty special car across America. I did the drive in a Kia a month ago so I'm not thrilled, but I think I'll ultimately look back at the drive and appreciate it.

Here's my scenario, I'd love some input regarding special considerations I may not be thinking about or going about the wrong way

The car has 81,000 miles. I bought it a year ago with 76,000 miles, fresh off a warranty from the previous owner.

In the last 3,000 miles I've done:

- New driveshaft
- DCT pan and flush
- Brake fluid flush
- Alignment
- Wheels balanced

1,200 miles ago I did:

- Rod bearings
— Oil change
— Motor mounts
— New x-pipe

Before leaving I'd do (items I have on hand):

- Valve cover gaskets
- Spark plugs (and tubes)

Questions:

- Am I missing anything? Anything that really needs to be done before a 2500 mile trip, where the car is running for 12 hours at a pop? The car has about 60% front and 30% tread left on the Hankook Ventus V12s, I'm thinking of doing another road force balancing and alignment before leaving (there is a slight shimmy at 80MPH and I raised my suspension up about .25 inches recently). Only known issue with the car is a small leak from the valve cover gaskets, which I am addressing. I'd like to put new PS4Ss on the car but I've got curb rash on two wheels. Thinking I'd like to powdercoat and install the PS4s once I get to California.

- Car has no cats and an Alpine Stage II tune for 93 octane. Should I put cats on the car before leaving and tune to a stage I for 91 octane? I'm not worried about the cats in CA unless I plan on making this permanent and switching to CA plates, but the car is a bit stinky and loud, I was gonna re-cat at some point anyway.

- the front bumper needs a respray as it's pretty pitted, the hood could prob use it too. I do plan on taping off some high-rock/bug areas anyway.

- I'm considering storing the car at The Vault in San Diego when I get it here. I'll be making the most of my weekends with the car but won't mess with it much during the weeks since I'm staying downtown.

- Per usual, I'll be traveling with a small bag of tools, couple quarts or 10w60, coolant, code reader, laptop with tuning software and cables. I am not loading the car down, I'll have a backpack and a desktop computer. A lot of my clothes are in CA right now and I'm leaving most of my belongings in FL. Am i missing anything crucial?

I know these cars are bulletproof, but let's not pretend it's not a decade old German car. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit stressed about putting 2500 miles on the car in 3 days.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

I live in San Diego and I moved to Knoxville for a year and made the trip on I40 a few times. Then I bought a car in Jacksonville and drove it to San Diego. Later I bought a ZHP in Rhode Island and drove it San Diego. Finally in 2015, I bought another car in Ontario, Canada and drove it to San Diego. There is no better experience than driving one of these cross country. We forget these cars were made to be driven. As far as California goes, if you register it here, you will have to have a physical DMV inspection and smog test. you can put the car together here. I would probably do the cats there so you don't have to ship them if you still own them. Also, if you have any issues on the drive, some dealerships might just blame it on your mods etc.

Save the money for shipping, get some Trakktape for the front of the car and drive it cross country. Take the long way. Go through Utah if possible, great roads and amazing scenery. Best of luck!

[cjm41]

Originally Posted by nachob

I live in San Diego and I moved to Knoxville for a year and made the trip on I40 a few times. Then I bought a car in Jacksonville and drove it to San Diego. Later I bought a ZHP in Rhode Island and drove it San Diego. Finally in 2015, I bought another car in Ontario, Canada and drove it to San Diego. There is no better experience than driving one of these cross country. We forget these cars were made to be driven. As far as California goes, if you register it here, you will have to have a physical DMV inspection and smog test. you can put the car together here. I would probably do the cats there so you don't have to ship them if you still own them. Also, if you have any issues on the drive, some dealerships might just blame it on your mods etc.

Save the money for shipping, get some Trakktape for the front of the car and drive it cross country. Take the long way. Go through Utah if possible, great roads and amazing scenery. Best of luck!

Already in San Diego. I did take the long way, Utah was unbelievable.

I didnt tape the front im in desperate need of a resprayed.

My Florida registration is good until January, I'll pick up some cats between now and then.

[Christforeman]

If you need to borrow some cats for smog feel free to let me know, I’m local in San Diego as well.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by cjm41

Already in San Diego. I did take the long way, Utah was unbelievable.

I didnt tape the front im in desperate need of a resprayed.

My Florida registration is good until January, I'll pick up some cats between now and then.

Welcome to San Diego then. I was born here, keep complaining about this and that. Keep looking for another place to live and even moved away to Knoxville for cheap housing....still here. As soon as I find something better, I'm out of here..... but I have a feeling despite all the griping when will probably end up fertilizing some chaparral plant somewhere here. Best wishes!

[BeaterM3]

Originally Posted by XKxRome0ox

the TA's are ticking time bombs
i had to replace mine at about 67-68k miles
it didn't completely fail yet but i was starting to get the error code and warning signs from 1 of them
didn't want to be stuck at a bad time

you can always get some money back for the used TA's as core charge if you're buying from Abdul / Mpower ... or sell them outright on the forum or elsewhere
or open them up and replace the gearing and whatnot yourself

bottom line, it can't hurt to replace the TA's with your current mileage and planned road trip

The TAs going out aren't gonna strand you anywhere. He would just need to granny foot it until getting them replaced. But I would replace them if going cross country as well.

[ATLIEN]

Originally Posted by nachob

I live in San Diego and I moved to Knoxville for a year and made the trip on I40 a few times.

Big ups to Knoxville. I lived there for 4 years and the roads in that area of the country are perfect! I live in Greenville, SC now and the roads here are crap!

[nachob]

Originally Posted by ATLIEN

Big ups to Knoxville. I lived there for 4 years and the roads in that area of the country are perfect! I live in Greenville, SC now and the roads here are crap!

Knoxville nice. I picked up the wife there. 23 years and I've offered to move back for her to be close to family and she says no thank you. She likes San Diego and her best friend moved out here too. Both nice places but San Diego has amazing diversity of geography, foods, people, jobs and ideas that makes it still one of the nicest big cities in the US. I do miss the thunderstorms from Knoxville but not the heat. I hope it works out for the OP. He should try Cars and Coffee in San Clemente Saturday too.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by cjm41

San Diego seems devoid of police, at least downtown. I've seen some CHP on the highway but even that seems scarce. I did see a San Diego cop get on I-5 last night as I was passing the on ramp, it was past dusk, he had no headlights on and the car looked like it was on it's last legs.

Agree, I feel like I never see any cops in San Diego and I'm there fairly often for work. Maybe they're all just undercover

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by cjm41

8. I won a TireRack photo contest.

show us the winning photo


and your passenger

[cjm41]

Originally Posted by nachob

Welcome to San Diego then. I was born here, keep complaining about this and that. Keep looking for another place to live and even moved away to Knoxville for cheap housing....still here. As soon as I find something better, I'm out of here..... but I have a feeling despite all the griping when will probably end up fertilizing some chaparral plant somewhere here. Best wishes!

I've lived in New York, Savannah, Tampa, St. Petersburg. This is by far the most extreme change for me. I might still be in my honeymoon phase with San Diego but I really love it. I almost feel like I wasted the first 36 years of my life living in lesser places with nothing to do. Ultimately I see myself moving away from downtown and maybe building some cool glass style house on 20 acres (with a six car garage, of course) outside the Julian area. There is a 20 acre piece of property in Jamul where you can see downtown SD and the Pacific (about 30 miles away) for like 150k. That is unbelievable to me, coming from flat ugly places.

Then I discovered the the North County area a couple weeks ago and really liked that.

I've got to figure out the area a bit more, but so far it seems like I could stay for a while.

Originally Posted by nachob

Knoxville nice. I picked up the wife there. 23 years and I've offered to move back for her to be close to family and she says no thank you. She likes San Diego and her best friend moved out here too. Both nice places but San Diego has amazing diversity of geography, foods, people, jobs and ideas that makes it still one of the nicest big cities in the US. I do miss the thunderstorms from Knoxville but not the heat. I hope it works out for the OP. He should try Cars and Coffee in San Clemente Saturday too.

I went to a BMW meet in San Marcos on Saturday night. I had the only e92 M3 there. It was small, not bad. I think BIG EURO on Sunday Morning kept everyone at home.

Originally Posted by JP10

Agree, I feel like I never see any cops in San Diego and I'm there fairly often for work. Maybe they're all just undercover

There are no cops here. It's bizarre. I researched this and already have a few funny stories.

- The crime rate is extremely low for the population. I think it's like the safest big city in the US (or one of). Whatever they are doing seems to be working.

- I currently live in the 17th floor of a highrise in the Cortez Hill area, I can see as far south as Tijuana and as far west as Anza Borrego. My eyes cover some ground, but the wildest shit happens right beneath me. On Friday a car hit a pole, it was likely totaled (it sure wasn't driveable). It was blocking a lane of traffic and a crosswalk. Person just gets out and takes off. Car sits there for about an hour and a half, people walking by, minding their own business, maybe giving it a glance or two. The kind of shit that would attract a crowd in another city... was just "whatever" here. After about an hour or so, a cop just happens to be driving by, so he tosses his lights on and gets out, looking kind of confused, I can see him asking questions and people shrugging.

Point is- in Florida that would have called for 4 cop cars, 2 fire trucks, 2 ambulances, and a helicopter, if it wasn't blocking traffic. In San Diego is was merely the off-chance discovery of a cop passing by a major intersection.

Today I did see a car accident and some nutjob run into a parking garage, 5 cop cars show up (I wasn't even sure if SD had 5 cop cars, at least 5 cop cars that ran) and I can hear this dude SCREAMING at the cops. Finally they dragged him out of the garage horizontally with a bag over his head and tossed him on a cop car.

That's about it for the cops though. If I had an actual emergency, I wouldn't expect to see them quickly, or possibly at all.

Originally Posted by XKxRome0ox

show us the winning photo


and your passenger

I posted them earlier in the thread, but here's a link to the "win" on Instagram:



My passenger is also in the thread somewhere barely visible and blurry. We're pretty private people. We've done pretty much everything together (to include living together) for about 8 years, you wouldn't even guess that we know each other by looking at our social media. haha.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by cjm41

I've lived in New York, Savannah, Tampa, St. Petersburg. This is by far the most extreme change for me. I might still be in my honeymoon phase with San Diego but I really love it. I almost feel like I wasted the first 36 years of my life living in lesser places with nothing to do. Ultimately I see myself moving away from downtown and maybe building some cool glass style house on 20 acres (with a six car garage, of course) outside the Julian area. There is a 20 acre piece of property in Jamul where you can see downtown SD and the Pacific (about 30 miles away) for like 150k. That is unbelievable to me, coming from flat ugly places.

Then I discovered the the North County area a couple weeks ago and really liked that.

I've got to figure out the area a bit more, but so far it seems like I could stay for a while.

I went to a BMW meet in San Marcos on Saturday night. I had the only e92 M3 there. It was small, not bad. I think BIG EURO on Sunday Morning kept everyone at home.

There are no cops here. It's bizarre. I researched this and already have a few funny stories.

- The crime rate is extremely low for the population. I think it's like the safest big city in the US (or one of). Whatever they are doing seems to be working.

- I currently live in the 17th floor of a highrise in the Cortez Hill area, I can see as far south as Tijuana and as far west as Anza Borrego. My eyes cover some ground, but the wildest shit happens right beneath me. On Friday a car hit a pole, it was likely totaled (it sure wasn't driveable). It was blocking a lane of traffic and a crosswalk. Person just gets out and takes off. Car sits there for about an hour and a half, people walking by, minding their own business, maybe giving it a glance or two. The kind of shit that would attract a crowd in another city... was just "whatever" here. After about an hour or so, a cop just happens to be driving by, so he tosses his lights on and gets out, looking kind of confused, I can see him asking questions and people shrugging.

Point is- in Florida that would have called for 4 cop cars, 2 fire trucks, 2 ambulances, and a helicopter, if it wasn't blocking traffic. In San Diego is was merely the off-chance discovery of a cop passing by a major intersection.

Today I did see a car accident and some nutjob run into a parking garage, 5 cop cars show up (I wasn't even sure if SD had 5 cop cars, at least 5 cop cars that ran) and I can hear this dude SCREAMING at the cops. Finally they dragged him out of the garage horizontally with a bag over his head and tossed him on a cop car.

That's about it for the cops though. If I had an actual emergency, I wouldn't expect to see them quickly, or possibly at all.

I posted them earlier in the thread, but here's a link to the "win" on Instagram:



My passenger is also in the thread somewhere barely visible and blurry. We're pretty private people. We've done pretty much everything together (to include living together) for about 8 years, you wouldn't even guess that we know each other by looking at our social media. haha.

San Clemente is the best. The drive back is awful so just hang out for a bit. It's an hour north of San Diego at the San Clemente Outlet Mall. It starts at 8:30 am. Highly recommend it.

If you want to try something unique go to the Old Town Mexican Cafe and order two chicken verde enchiladas a-la-carte with a side of beans and the handmade CORN tortillas. Don't be like every other tourist and get flour! The corn ones are the best in the world and one of the last places they make them by hand still. Enchiladas in green sauce are legit like my mom used to make. Finally wash them down with a Pacifico beer and I will make you an honorary local. For Thai food go to Thai House on Convoy in Kearny Mesa. It's reasonable and really good. I still like Phil's for BBQ no matter what the southern BBQ snobs say and definitely try a fish taco at Rubio's with corn tortillas. Be careful with BMW of San Diego and their insane ridiculous service "action plans". At least BMW of El Cajon is run by humans you can talk to. The Air and Space museum in Balboa Park is really cool and worth visiting. If you want to try something really cool, drive down to Chula Vista there is a Mexican Bakery named La Concha on E street between 3rd and 4th. They make the best Mexican conchas and picones (mexican pastries). You should have one of each. Best wishes and welcome.

[miratyn]

I knew that it is impossible not to fall in love with California when you travel by car. Traveling by car has become so common for me that I hardly want to take a motorcycle or scooter to ride around some city. I recently bought tickets for https://www.dbauskunft.com/de/ to go to Germany. I wanted to see the country and several cities and to ride in another car. Of course, I took a brand-new BMW for rent and used it there every day. I liked the car. Perhaps all my impressions of new places depending on the vehicle I am driving at that moment.