Wrap-up
The morning after ending the journey, I went back to the car to continue unloading it. In the sunlight, I could see the adornments collected throughout the journey on the car. Hundreds of bug splats covered the front from the fog lights up to the Thule roof box. A coating of desert dust was also present, dulling the shine of the finish which was polished and waxed shortly before the trip. However, one part that was largely spared from bug stains was the windshield. I later realized a treatment for one thing inadvertently aided in repelling bug stains. While preparing for the trip back in Maryland, I had coated the exterior of the windshield with some RainX I had for years. Having driven through a fierce rain storm with the Mazda3 during the first trip, I wanted to use up the RainX and reap the water repellent benefits. Ironically, I came across no rain at all during the Kizashi's journey and mostly watched the RainX bead up the windshield wash I often used. However, the combination of the hood deflector, RainX, and the windshield wash greatly reduced the number of bugs that hit and stained the windshield. The few bugs that did splatter on the windshield were easily cleaned with just the windshield wiper fluid and the wiper blades. Due to this, not once did I have to clean the windshield manually at any stops. The picture below shows the contrast of the windshield's cleanliness compared to the rest of the car at the end of the journey. I believe the RainX significantly aided in the repelling and quick removal of the bug stains.
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For easier unloading to the apartment, I opted to move the car to a closer parking spot. As I maneuvered from the tight spot at the end of a back lot, I heard a horrible scraping noise. With the weight of the fully loaded trunk, the rear of the car sagged and didn't clear a curb. &%#! I quickly got out to inspect my damage and saw that the bottom portion of the bumper had new scratches, including the area below the exhaust with a scratch on the exhaust finisher itself. The Kizashi features a low bumper by design but when the trunk is fully loaded, it will catch on most curbs. It greatly irritated me that I damaged my Kizashi within minutes of first driving it after the journey. However, it wasn't like the Kizashi made it through the journey completely unscathed so it was just another thing to fix.
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I spent the next couple days unloading the car, unpacking, and making IKEA and Costco runs for the apartment. I also indulged in my tradition of visiting an In-N-Out Burger shortly after returning to California. (In full disclosure though, as a vegetarian, I just get their grilled cheese sandwiches and fries.) Nonetheless, a meal there is part of the California experience. And so are the higher gas prices. Regular is averaging about $3.00 in my area, a good 70 cents per gallon more than back in Maryland when I left.
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When I got gas at Costco, I calculated the mileage given most of that tank was for the last Nevada to California segment of the journey. The Fuelly app calculated it to 26.5 MPG. The few short trips since arriving probably brought the figure down a bit, but it was in range of the average for the cross-country trip. The fuel economy logs on Fuelly showed that the Kizashi averaged roughly 27 MPG for the entire trip. The Kizashi's fuel economy read-out figure was 29.5 MPG but it has always been 2 MPG high of actual figures. 27 MPG looked to be the real average for the entire trip which was on the higher end of what I expected given the cargo weight and the roof box. The Kizashi also displayed an average speed of 68 MPH for the entire trip which made sense given the thousands of miles of 70 to 80 MPH speed limit roads. I thankfully also never hit any traffic, even driving through major cities. Construction zones were also never clogged to bring the flow of traffic down to significant slow-downs. The average MPG and MPH reflect the rather smooth journey through the I-70 and I-15. The route also had few tolls and the only one I took from a lack of a decent alternative was the toll segment on the I-70 in Kansas between Kansas City and Topeka. The toll cost was $3.00.
Throughout the thousands of miles, the Kizashi reaffirmed everything I already knew about the car; it is one solid and reliable car capable of just about any journey. The Kizashi is also comfortable for driving hundreds of miles in a day and didn't fatigue me like other cars did on long journeys. Also, the various components of the car, both original and aftermarket, worked well for the most part.
The Kizashi's engine proved as always to be a well-suited powerplant for the vehicle. While nothing fancy, it's predictable in its reliability, performance, and fuel efficiency. Very few people on this forum have had problems with the Suzuki J24B engine. While the performance isn't sometime to get all excited about, it's adequate for the vehicle and was actually top of its segment for base engines when the Kizashi debuted. The problem was it was the only engine for the Kizashi. While the now-dated multiport fuel injection engine doesn't return class-leading fuel efficiency, I find it rather predictable and consistent. As proof, I was able to accurately predict the fuel economy range the car would yield on the trip in my very first post I wrote days before the trip. The engine also did not burn any of the Mobil 1 5W-30 motor oil.
One of the weaknesses of the Kizashi is the JATCO CVT found on most models. Some units are known to get problematic when overheated. However, this factor was completely irrelevant for my 6 speed manual model. It was nice to not worry at all about the transmission regardless of terrain. Given the long interstate freeways, I rowed it into 6th and didn't worry about shifting for hours at a time. Perhaps if I had a CVT model, I may have encountered some trouble in the Rockies with a fully loaded car running for hours at a time.
I discussed the brakes in an earlier post but these aftermarket components certainly proved their superiority. I replaced the OE brake pads and rotors rather prematurely when the rotors warped following brake fade on a mountain drive years ago. I wanted to upgrade the components to something that was more robust against brake fade and warping on a spirited drive, especially in demanding alpine environments. The Z23 brake pads and slotted rotors certainly did their job in keeping the speeds in check throughout the trip, especially in the Rockies.
This trip was the first time I used the Kizashi's cruise control significantly. It was a welcomed feature on the long drives so I could relax and occasionally massage my legs. It maintained the speed reliably in most terrains but would sometimes overcompensate on mild climbs. It was at these times I would turn it off or cancel it. Regardless, the cruise control is an excellent feature in getting optimal fuel economy for any given speed and works well to keep one's speed in check to avoid trouble with the law.
Speaking of trouble with the law, a long distance drive on the same interstate offers one to see the same cars and trucks multiple times as you pass them or they pass you. The same with speeders and those who drive erratically. I recall an occasion in Missouri when I was passed by a first-gen Jeep Compass at a very high rate of speed. A while later, I was pleased to see the same Jeep pulled over by a State Trooper. The same thing happened again in Las Vegas. A hideous yellow-painted Toyota Prius weaved through traffic at a dangerous speed. Once I got past the city limits and in the desert, I noticed that a Highway Patrol car pulled over the Prius. It was pleasing to see these drivers pay the consequences.
On the trip, my tires showed their quality though they are not new. After the dismal OE Dunlops, I splurged and got some of the very best All Seasons I could get. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires on my Kizashi have been impressive since day one and continue to deliver excellent traction, even with over 30,000 miles on them now. Even at this mileage, they provide confident traction in every regard while in comparison, the OE Dunlops had sidewall cracks and the tread was nearing the end of their usability by 30,000 miles. Much like the brakes, I will seriously consider the same tires when time comes to replace them.
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I have long and repeatedly posted about upgrading the Kizashi's headlight bulbs to HIDs and LEDs. The journey proved that these components are upgrades that put down a superior amount of light on the road. The HID low beams lit up the road well and wasn't likely to blow out to leave me with an inconvenient and complicated bulb replacement the Kizashi is notorious for while on the road. The LEDs for the DRLs gave me a sense of improved safety as I was more visible to other motorists during the day. At night, the LEDs as high beams lit up the roads so I could better see deer, debris, or curves up ahead. From avoiding shredded tires on the road to slowing down optimally for a curve on a dark canyon road, the HID and LED systems in my headlights proved their worth. I was looking forward to using my yellow HID fog lights in the Rockies but having the lens for one damaged earlier in the trip, I couldn't. After duct taping the broken one, I didn't want to risk the bulb's heat damaging the tape while using the other one.
For navigation, I used Google Maps on my newly-acquired Kyocera DuraForce Pro. I was initially set on reluctantly plunking out the dough for an overpriced iPhone7, but when I saw the Kyocera in the T-Mobile store, I was instantly attracted to its features that were so un-iPhone-like; fully waterproof to IP68 ratings including drop damage resistance with a shatter-resistant screen and Mil-spec ratings for heat, humidity, vibration, drop, and dust resistance. It was also significantly cheaper than an iPhone7. During the road trip, it proved its superiority to an iPhone with its heat resistance. In the past, my iPhones would overheat in the sun when used as navigation in holders against the windshield. The iPhone has an overheat protection feature that would seize the functionality of the phone if not turn itself off completely. A coworker once asked me to revive his iPhone after it overheated and refused to turn on for hours. In contrast, the Kyocera worked reliably even in the heat and the most it would do was discontinue battery charging when temperatures got too hot. However, it never stopped working unlike an iPhone. I also found that directing the AC to defroster mode rushed cold air up against the windshield and cooled the phone, allowing it to charge if needed.
The dash camera started to act up after a while and gave me error messages related to the memory card. I figured it was from the constant overwriting. After clearing out some space, it worked fine again for a while. Due to these issues, I lost some footage I wanted to preserve such as the welcome signs for every state, but managed to save every state's sign except for Pennsylvania and West Virginia which were the first two states out of Maryland. Since ending the trip, I downloaded all the footage off of the camera and cleared the memory card. The dash camera has been recording reliably since.
The Thule Force Alpine proved to be a solid choice for a roof box. It presented no issues throughout the journey and did not reduce fuel economy significantly. It was also very stable even at higher speeds exceeding 85 MPH. For the trip, it allowed me to carry about 50 lbs of extra cargo. While the roof racks and cargo box did add some noise at freeway speeds, it wasn't loud enough to be bothersome. Closing the moonroof's headliner cover sealed out a lot of the noise. The roof box dimensions is also one that allows cars like the Kizashi to still clear most garages with the roof box on.
The journey in the Kizashi concluded with 2733.7 miles driven during 3 full days through 13 states across the middle of the United States. The route had me drive my Kizashi through a variety of regions ranging from the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, to the Mojave Desert. Despite the demands of driving nearly a thousand miles a day through various environments, the Kizashi performed well and delivered me with no malfunctions on the part of the vehicle. It proved itself early on in Motor Trend's "Tokyo to LA: The Hard Way" and it did again for me personally in my own "DC to OC: The Kizashi Way".
Signing Out.
-KuroNekko
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