[335dFan]

Closed on the sale of our house in Maryland, packed up the 2012 Forester and the 2011 335d, and headed west, with the eventual destination being Oregon. We are taking our sweet time getting there as we are in no hurry and the cars are loaded to the gills. So I thought I would post mostly daily reports on mileage and other observations. Being retired military we are staying mostly at military installations, some rather obscure. Last night was at Pittsburg Air Reserve Base; see the attached pic from our room of the Forester on the far left and the D on the far right. We use Midland walkie-talkies to communicate.

First mileage comment is a computer forecast only as it's only about 275 miles from our old house in MD to this base. A little while before stopping it was telling me I was going to get 640 miles on the tank, which will not bear out at the end but is an interesting relative indicator. But it is surprising given the weight in the car, which brings me to my second comment.

There is too much weight in the car. Although the worldly treasures are distributed in the trunk, rear seat, and pax seat, the car is sitting lower on its rear haunches and feels like it wallows. It is not horrible but bothers me and I hope I am not going to break something. I noticed last night an unusual build-up of black material on my rear wheels. Don't know if it is tire from rubbing or what. I usually have no brake dust. Will look some more this AM before we start off.

Lastly I must have ended our yesterday's journey in the middle of a regen as it was hot and the fan stayed on. This recurred after the short run to dinner and then again at the night's final shutdown. Will monitor further.

[GreaseJunkie]

It sounds like you've done this before, so I don't mean to insult, but did you up the tire pressure according to the door placard? I would imagine that as long as you haven't exceeded capacity, that the car should be a-ok. As far as the black stuff, could be anything. Whats the consistency? Did you drive through any paving or construction? Seems odd that it would amass on the rear tires more so than the fronts, if it were brake dust.

Either way, good luck and happy tavels!

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by GreaseJunkie

It sounds like you've done this before, so I don't mean to insult, but did you up the tire pressure according to the door placard? I would imagine that as long as you haven't exceeded capacity, that the car should be a-ok. As far as the black stuff, could be anything. Whats the consistency? Did you drive through any paving or construction? Seems odd that it would amass on the rear tires more so than the fronts, if it were brake dust.

Either way, good luck and happy tavels!

In fact I was going to check the tire pressure this AM as I did not before I left due to the myriad of things to think about before we left. I have a very good tire gauge and compressor on board. Thanks for the reminder.

The rear wheels are bowed in at the top more than usual, like the way all BMWs seem to be typically at higher rates of speed.

The other thing I am pondering is whether to tighten up by a couple of clicks the rear JRZ RS1 dampers. Couldn't hurt I suppose. Any thoughts?

[Mark M]

Good luck and safe travels to you both!

As for the range prediction part of the trip computer, I've always found mine to be somewhat optimistic too (60 to 80 miles optimistic). Typically once fuel gets down to 1/4 tank the car drastically scrubs off estimated miles remaining and then seems to generate a more realistic number.

Of note, I have gone through the secret menu process to adjust the trip computer's calculated mpg to match my hand calculated mpg, so that piece is correlated. I guess it is just another nuance of our fun car.

[335dFan]

Final post at the start of day 2. 289 miles yesterday; just shy of 450 to go today. Put 43 psi in rears and tightened up JRZs by 2 clicks.

[GreaseJunkie]

Stiffer dampers on the weighted end cant hurt a thing, just remember to drop em back down once you unload.

Btw, Mark M, what secret menu do you speak of? Is it only on the D's? I've found my gasser's consumption gauge to be quite pessimistic, but I switch from city to highway quite a lot.

[modobrew]

i'll be following. this type of stuff intrigues me.

[AzureHaze]

Safe travels buddy.

Looking forward to your usual pics of the open road!

[WreckerX5d]

You really are taking your time lol. I usually do 800mile/day trips when doing long distance.

[DieselRacer]

Originally Posted by modobrew

i'll be following. this type of stuff intrigues me.

Me also...

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

You really are taking your time lol. I usually do 800mile/day trips when doing long distance.

Me too but not when caravanning, tired, overloaded, and not in a hurry.

[Yozh]

Looks like a fun trip. Hope you will see some cool places. And now you will be on the Wet Coast

[grzes]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

You really are taking your time lol. I usually do 800mile/day trips when doing long distance.

oh boy, 800 mile in one day??? that is like 14 hours, estimated, where is the pleasure??

[335dFan]

Day 2 covered 471 miles, some of which involved an aborted attempt to enter the Navy installation at Crane, IN through what turned out to be a closed gate. A lot of back-tracking. Went from PA to WV to OH to IN. Saw a rare vehicle in the wilds of southern OH (see pic). Driving on US 50 through Indiana is interesting as part of that coast to coast road.

Filled up the D with 517.1 miles on the trip counter using 14.031 gallons for a paltry 36.854 mpg.

Total mileage so far 761 miles.

[DieselRacer]

Cool pictures, I had good mpg's for a while until I installed my JBD.

[modobrew]

keep it up. enjoying this.

[PSEE]

F4D Skyhawk?

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by PSEE

F4D Skyhawk?

Close...A-4 Skyhawk. The varieties of the F-4 were Phantoms

[335dFan]

Day 3 was a short one: 199 miles from Crane IN to Scott AFB IL. Scott AFB hosts the Air Mobility Command, so the pics are mostly related to the transport mission. I have flown on the C-130, the C-141, and I think the KC-135.

Also show an old barn and our lunch spot.

Travelled on US 50 most of the way. No fueling needed by the D. Total trip mileage 960 miles.

[DieselRacer]

Quick question, is everyone or almost everyone on here in the military, I see titles in your sigs saying so, I have bought 3 diesel cars, all used cars, by gentleman in the military, it's cool to see, thanks everyone for your service...

[Yozh]

You should have a title too. It's the rating on this forum.

[DieselRacer]

Originally Posted by Yozh

You should have a title too. It's the rating on this forum.

is it really I though it was like a military forum, sorry for the hi jack