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Preparing for Long Trip/Desert


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In a couple months I will be moving from Illinois to Phoenix, AZ. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips to prepare my little one for the onslaught of Phoenix heat? Are there things I should do with the antifreeze? What can I do to protect against dust and sand getting into things? I am seriously considering having the car shipped and taking a train to save on putting excess miles on her - and quite possibly my company will pay for transfer fees, do posters here think it is worth it or should I give her the workout?

Also, I have noticed a few posts about stereo and speakers on the 2LT and I was wondering if, short of installing new speakers or a subwoofer, could anyone suggest some EQ settings that would give me the best sound? It's weird - some songs sound great no matter what the setting, but others I keep having to play around with the treble/bass setting almost from one song to the next. Has anyone found a good base setting that I can set and forget it?

Thanks in advance!

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id wash the car and give it a good wax ... im talking 3 or 4 coats...

Arizona sun is BRUTAL...

once you get there your gonna want to protect the paint job as much as possible (unless you have a garage or park in the shade always)

ask Bluer ... that guy is a beast when it comes to detailing and maintaining a car. he lives in florida and has already waxed his spark about 40 times last i checked. he also washes the car every other day i believe lol

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Check the tire pressure, running too low or too high can cause a blowout at high speed and temperature. These stock tires are B grade for temperature, meaning they don't dissipate heat from the tread as well as A grade, and will wear faster in heat. I run 42psi cold, since I frequently drive faster than 80mph, due to our high limits. Also, once you move there, your going to want your windows tinted, they charge way too much for tint in the north, fyi, I suggest doing it in AZ, it's also legal to have darker film in most southern states. I have taken mine through west TX desert in summer, 85mph on I10 in 115 degree heat, no problems.

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Thanks for the tips so far, I'm very excited about my coming relocation but I know there's a lot I'll need to do to maintain my car.

There's nothing special that needs to be done other than normal, routine maintenance. Any well maintained vehicle should make it through a summer in Death Valley, or a winter in Churchill without problems, modern vehicles are designed for those extreme conditions. When I relocate in the next year or two, since I don't have much I'm bringing with me, I'm buying a older Suburban or a truck based van instead of paying over a grand to rent a moving van, they're dime a dozen here. The Spark is too small to fit two people, boxes and two cats in cross country. I'm towing the Spark, and selling the 'burban or van gas hog soon after the move and recoup my money I would have given U-Haul for their crappy truck.

Edited by austex04
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I forgot to mention all this in my earlier post. I had a 2000 cavalier and moved from TN to AZ in 2002. (bought the car in TN) Here's what I did to prepare her for the trip w 62,000 miles on the cavalier. Spark plugs,(car didn't have plug wires) transmission flush, changed the oil, new air filter and fuel filter. Never touched the coolant. The car drove perfectly fine in AZ year round. In case you haven't heard, it does indeed get cold; very cold there in the winter time. Car never over heated etc. I flushed that coolant around 100K miles or so.....

By no means do you need to do any of the above things I mentioned. Like I said the car had 62K miles so it was about time to do all that regardless of moving to AZ or not. Best of luck in your trip and your relocation! You should "side track" and stop by Elephant Butte Park and the Grand Canyon. The canyon is only about 5.5 hrs from Phoenix :)

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