As soon as I cross the Missouri-Kansas state line and enter the toll section of Interstate 70, the 2009 Nissan GT-R and I are driving through a pretty terrific thunderstorm.
There's not much hail, fortunately, so the bodywork takes no welts. The flash flooding is considerable, though, and at times visibility seems like it's not more than a few feet in front of the Nissan's nose. Motorists are pulling to the shoulder. And the GT-R's Bridgestone Potenza RE070Rs, particularly the rears, are hard-pressed to find traction. I reduce speed (a lot) but still find myself countersteering every other minute. I don't know if I'd call these tires great in the wet. But given how much water is on the road, this isn't a fair test.
Finally, the storm is over and we enjoy this post-nuclear sunset near Topeka while waiting at the toll plaza. After nightfall, I roll into Hays, Kansas, planning to grab a room at one of its many chain motels. But everything is booked up by summer vacationers. I end up with the very last room at the Best Western in Waukeeney, KS, which is about 45 minutes farther west. Clearly, not everyone has put their summer travel plans on hold due to high gas prices.
I see a lot of husband-and-wife Harleys during my road trip west, but this is the only one with a side car. After they complete their pass on this stretch of I-70 just west of Columbia, MO, this couple politely moves to the right lane and he gives me a thumbs-up. (The camera is zoomed in this pic, so my following distance is more conservative than it appears.)
Before leaving Missouri, by the way, I give our Nissan GT-R one last fill of 93 octane, its preferred drink, according to the label on its fuel door. From here on out, it will have to make do with inferior 91.
Tomorrow, we'll cross into Colorado and find some twistier back roads.
Erin Riches, Inside Line Senior Editor @ 1,567 miles
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sure it wasn't a bunch of bikers on the way to sturgis? )
I love the road trip stories. Its fun hearing about the car and all, but the stories you have along the way are much more interesting.
Erin, you're doing okay, but let's travel back in time to 1992, when an ace Car & Driver writer named Larry Griffin wrote "Border to Border and Back." His travelogue of a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX was incredible. His test review of a Talon TSI AWD a few months earlier was even better. How I wish I could have sat at his feet and learned the craft.
Why is 93 octane unavailable?
That sunset is just wild.
I live in Illinois, right outside of st. louis. We have 93...
I'd say a real storm from mother nature is a fair test. Was that awesome sunset unfair, too?
It really bugs me that the premium gas in CA is only 91...
You guys must be really pleased that the break in period is over. Unleash the Power!
We have 93 everywhere here In Kentucky.
When making a similar trek across country, I could only find 90 Octane in Texas and New Mexico.
92 octane is highest in Portland OR.
Not surprised the GT-R had trouble in the wet; are those Bridgstones "summer tires"? Should make for great desert cruising though.
kurtamaxxxguy, the Bridgestone Potenza RE070R is a newer, run-flat version of the Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires that were the factory shoes on MY2004-2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi (2004/2005)/STI (2006-2007). Notice how similar the tread patterns are by using the links below. Being familiar with the RE070's tread pattern, I was able to figure out what the GT-R had in early spy photos and videos such as the footage from Laguna Seca Raceway in late 2006.
GT-R testing at Laguna Seca:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/GeneralFuture/articleId=119632
Photo with the RF tire exposed:
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com//media/il/future/09.nissan.skyline.gtr/gtr.lag.seca.kgp.pits.500.jpg
The RE070s are considered an "Ultra High Performance Summer" tire on the Tire Rack's web site while the RE070Rs are considered "Extreme Performance Summer" tire there. I haven't read much about the RE070's wet traction. All I know is they have some of the stiffest sidewalls of any street tire and they perform well at open track days.
PS-Hope the FXT is running well! :o)
Tire Rack - Bridgestone Potenza RE070:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE070
Tire Rack - Bridgestone Potenza RE070R:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE070R+RFT
I wish I could edit the comment above. :(
I meant "are considered an 'Extreme Performance Summer'" tire above when referring to the RE070Rs.
I also typed in the "PS" comment after the Tire Rack links. For some odd reason, it got moved up. :shrug:
Did you stop at the "world's largest prairie dog"? It's not too far away from there. I've traveled through Hays and Waukeeney many a time.
Octane - octane prevents detonation, but so does going up to ~4/5ths of a mile by the time you reach the CO/KS border and you stay at high elevation (and, more importantly, lower oxygen levels) throughout much of the West. Where you aren't at high elevation, liberal environmentalists (whose brains are normally oxygen-deprived) rule and you get weaksauce for gas, presumably to save the whales or some such.
Who vacations in KS?
cz75, high elevation doesn't pose the same oxygen density limitations when we're talking about a turbocharged engine.
It is surprising the car didn't perform better in the wet, especially considering it is AWD and the tires are essentially new. Despite the Bridgestones being "extreme performance summer tires", they're not slicks so they should provide some degree of wet traction.
How fast was the car being driven in the rain storm? If the rain was heavy enough that it impeded vision so severely, it probably would have been better to pull off the road. We get similar storms during the summer months here, and it is not uncommon to either pull off the road or slow down to speeds in the low 20's just to stay safe.
As a Kansas native I have only seen one gas station with 93 octane, and that was located in Wichita. Once you get into Colorado, 87 is "Mid-grade" at some stations.