SL Diesel - Yet Another Coast to Coast Road Trip - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mach4 · #46 05-16-2015, 11:08 PM

Most likely I-40 but I'll check the weather in the a.m. to see if that changes the plan.

Skid Row Joe · #47 05-17-2015, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mach4

Most likely I-40 but I'll check the weather in the a.m. to see if that changes the plan.

The bands of heavy weather and rain are running from San Antonio north to Kansas and Nebraska. They're traveling west to east every day now. Either way you'll likely have to run through them. I'd go I-40 because of the cooler weather, not needing the AC.

If you have a Smart phone with Internet, you've got access to color weather radar wherever you are.

mach4 · #48 05-18-2015, 12:15 AM

After all the severe weather yesterday, I checked the radar before heading out and found I was facing this (blue is the track of I-40 west). It was pretty intense for a bit but really wasn't all that bad. Quickly got through the rough stuff and then just a long stretch of steady rain.

Once clear of the rain it was a beautiful day of driving for the rest of the trip.

It didn't take long to leave the lush green vegetation behind and soon the landscape was virtually treeless.

In the "Dumb Stuff You See on the Road" category, was this. These guys were cruising down the interstate at 65. Just couldn't believe it.

Of course this was a contender for the category too...

The car performed really well again. Well above 30 mpg again for the first part of the day, then winds and climbing up toward the Continental Divide and running pretty fast definitely took its toll. I'll fuel up in the morning to see how bad the damage is.

With any luck, should be home tomorrow.

Skid Row Joe · #49 05-18-2015, 12:39 AM

I love the scenic drive from N. Little Rock to Ft. Smith, AR on I-40.

At the Morrilton, AR., exits, and to the south of I-40 at the top of Petit Jean Ozark Mountain, is the Winthrop Rockefeller auto collection.

OM617YOTA · #50 05-19-2015, 09:49 AM

Good to hear your trip is going well and safely. Beautiful pictures.

mach4 · #51 05-19-2015, 01:51 PM

First the numbers...

What is absolutely amazing is the similarity to the last trip in Feb/Mar (SL Diesel - Another Coast to Coast Road Trip). On that trip I did 5856 miles on 188.36 gallons of fuel, costing $522.93, with average MPG of 31.1, average fuel cost $2.78 and cost per mile of $0.089. I'd have to say that's pretty consistent! I started tracking the type of fuel as it's becoming fairly common to find B5-20 fuel at the truck stops. I like this as it means I don't have to add two-stroke oil for lubricity.

The last leg was pretty uneventful with really nice weather along the entire track.

It was up and over the continental divide

The open expanses of road across New Mexico are truly amazing.

Soon the flatness gave way to spectacular rock formations across western NM and Arizona.

On this trip I took the Interstate to Flagstaff and then south to Phoenix. The road is wonderfully scenic and really nice.

mach4 · #52 05-19-2015, 02:00 PM

The road into Flagstaff is really pretty

Sometimes it appears the road is going to run right into the side of the mountain.

Overall spectacular scenery.

Finally, the home stretch with the mountains east of San Diego.

mach4 · #53 05-19-2015, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mach4

I will need to find a way to get the oil changed somewhere between here and home though.

I was concerned about the idea of getting the oil changed along the return route as it would be over the "normal" interval.

However, after giving it some serious thought I decided it was OK to overshoot my oil change interval this one time. I based this on a number of factors, but the primary one was based on the theory of "engine % oil remaining" calculators used on many late model cars. These devices typically incorporate a number of "factors" including actual engine revolutions, rpm, temperature, drive duration, elapsed time and load. They start with a pre-determined number of revolutions that a engine should be able to make before needing an oil change including a comfortable margin, then de-rate that for low or high temps, short trips, excessive rpms or load and elapsed time since last change.

I change my oil at 5k miles normally, which I believe is the factory recommended interval for the 617. The rear end ratio of the typical 123 diesel is 3.07 while in my 107 I'm running the 2.47 which means the 123 engine is turning 1.24 times as many times as mine for the same distance. Stated a different way, if I was running a 5k change interval for this engine mounted in a 123 chassis, I would be able to run 6200 miles in my 107 on an equivalent basis. Since there were no adverse temps on this trip, my drive duration was essentially 10-11 hours at a time, the elapsed time was less than a month, and loads and rpms were well within the "normal" range, I felt OK about running a bit longer this one time. The total trip mileage was actually under 6000 miles by just a skosh and the oil was changed early, just before leaving.