Well as some may know, I am a new owner of a 2005 Sonic Blue GT which is currently in Florida awaiting my arrival this Wednesday. What was going to be a round trip flight is now a one way flight with a drive back up north. I've never done this drive and my GT has only 12 miles on it as of right now. By the time I get home to NYC it'll have about 1500 miles. I'd appreciate any suggestions on making this as easy as possible on my new baby. A straight drive would be about 19 hours 1250 miles. Recommendations?

Thanks!

 

1) Enjoy the ride and don't push it (no pun intended). 2) It is a long drive so make sure you take plenty of breaks. 3) Avoid, if possible, speeding tickets 4) see if it is possible to wipe the permagrin off your face during the trip, I don't think sooooo.

Congrats! Be safe!

 

Have Fun?

Seriously though, I remember back when 05's first started showing up and
many people were of the opinion to avoid constant speeds for the first 1000k or so. Better to vary your speeds such as around town driving and occasionally getting on it a bit.

The drive sounds fun, I don't mind long drives especially in the Mustang but you could always trailer it up there. Rent a UHaul pickup and a full trailer and spare your Car from the abuse that can come from a long distance drive.

Good luck, Congrats , and take some pics.

 

Also, not sure if this is BS (Urban Legend) or not...but from what I have heard...you should vary your speed during the first 500 mi to break in the engine properly and ensure the piston rings seat nicely and don't leave wear patterns. So it would be "bad" to hop in the car with 5mi on the odo, hit the interstate and set the cruise on 70mph for a few hours.

Interested in seeing what others think about this...

 

We are going on a road trip ourselves this weekend. The ride from Fl to NY will be great. You can either do highway or old roads. You can do ocean side or mountains. We have done ocean side. You go through small towns, with tree lined streets and historical sites. Take your time see the sites. We made the trip in two days. If you prefer mountains this time of year (cooler), you can pick them up in TN. and follow them north to Pa. then NY. Just pick out towns or cities you would like to visit. Use the web or go to triple A and ask for maps. They will be very happy to assist you. We are going from Pa. to NC then to Virg. We are driving the Blue ridge mountains. Hope you have a great trip. Weather is suposed to be great this weekend. Be safe.

 

Simple and straight, take 95 door to door and be sure to vary your speed.

If you have the time do like Starr suggested and take the scenic route.

And bring your camera!

Oh and enjoy the permagrin

 

You could stop in SC and buy my lunch.

 

Many moons ago i was stationed in Brunswick, GA on coast and my home was in Philly so I drove it several times. If you have the time, take the scenic roads and a good digital camera with plenty of memory and an extra battery. Take the scenis route, there is SO much to see along the coast that us Northerners don't have a chance to see. I'd love to have the time to make that trip.

I also would vary my speeds for the 1st 500 miles or so, just don;t get on the interstate and put it on 70 or so and forget it. Also give it a few miles before you really get on it.

 

What part of FL?

I drove mine from my home in Cape Coral, FL to my parents in Canton, OH the day after I got mine. I can tell you that it was the best drive of my life. I've made that trip more than a few times, and it pretty much stinks. 1150 miles. In the '05 I got there and I wasn't even tired or sore, I actually wanted to keep driving. My tips, from experience:

1) Drive through the night. You'll save so much time, and avoid so many idiots on the road, and be less likely to get popped by the po-po's. Of course, get a good nights sleep and a nap prior to leaving, but trust me, this is my number 1 tip.

2) Start off nice and easy and don't use your cruise for your fist couple of hundered miles. If you got a manual (I hope), use both 4th and 5th gear on the interstate to vary your engine rpms. Shift gently, you won't harm anything.

3) After a couple of hundred miles it's ok to start to use the cruise, just bump it up and down a few miles per hour every mile or so until you get to the majic 1000 mile mark.

4) Use the ramps as a chance to have some fun!

5) Mountain Dew, Quick Meals INSIDE the fast food joints, Mountain Dew, Beef Jerkey, Mountain Dew... you can excersie it off later.

6) And most important, after you hit 1000 miles, start hunting for your first kill!

Also, I was going to say that you should use the bathroom while your car's filling up w/ gas... but I don't recommend that until you find out if you've got the infamous gas tank problem. Remember that if you do, turning the nozzle upside down helps.

Have fun!

 

Thanks John, definitely more along the lines of what I was looking for.
Purchased my GT from Maroone in Margate and I'll be leaving out of Deerfield Beach. Now one would think living in NYC with it's nightmare traffic jams that I would have gotten an auto but I couldn't see getting my 1st Mustang GT without a manual tranny. A V6 maybe but definitely not a GT IMHO of course, no offense to those who went stickless.

I'll be sure to bring along my Canon Rebel and grab a few senic shots during my journey. Thank you everyone else for their helpful suggestions except Donna.

PS: I practically giggled like a little school boy when my friend in Florida had the dealer remove my car from their display ramp out front and let me listen to them start her up on her cellphone! My cheeks are starting to hurt and I've gotten and hour and a half of sleep since Wednesday night!

 

what dealer did you buy your car from i'm thinking of doing the same since i can't get a car in ct.

 

I'd grab an oil change and filter somewhere around 500 miles.

 

I just happened to get lucky actually. I have a job interview in Margate Florida this coming Wednesday and on a whim I punched in Margate's zip code into Ford's vehicle inventory search and found my car at Maroone Ford of Margate! So just do a zip code search of surrounding states and do what I did on Ford's sight, you never know. Good Luck

 

Really? How come? I was figuring on doing it when I got home after the trip. What oil would you recommended? and should I go synthetic?

 

Not on the 1st oil change. Maybe even have the dealer do the 1st one.
I believe the 5w20 is some kind of synthetic blend no? We charge 2-5 more bucks if that little cap says 5w20.

I plan on changing the 1st oil change at 500 mi. using for only once, for filter/oil.
1500 for the next, mobile 1. then at 3000, and every 3000.

Just one of millions of opinions.......

 

That should put you in VA for dinner. I'm always up for food

 

Don't forget to bed in your brakes. Do a search on here, there's a procedure that I followed that seems to have worked very well! I've had no squeaks (knocks on wood). I also say vary your speed/rpms.

 

It's just my opinion; I believe that during the break-in period its good insurance and oil/filters are cheap.

As the parts are wearing in, metals are picked up by the oil and removed by the filter. Most filters are only good at removing particles down to 25-40 microns in size; the best are good down to 10-15. So you end up with particles 10 microns or less in size floating around in your engine carried by the oil. The only way to get rid of them is by changing the oil.

I changed mine over to straight 5-20w Dino oil at 50 miles and used a Mobile 1 filter. I changed the oil and filter again at 500, then 1500 miles and finally I switched to Mobile 1 full synthetic at 2500 miles.

I'm also running a "FilterMag" RA-365 (http://www.filtermag.com) that I slapped on when I picked the car up to grab the ferrous metals that are smaller than 10 microns.




Call me **** but that's what I did . . . . .

 

Dont forget driving music (i.e CD's, ipod etc)

 

Ok a little help on this one please. I searched but obviously didn't come up with what you mean. Anybody?