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Downside to owning a new 718S

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#1 · (Edited)
It’s sad that I now fully realize that the roads around here are just horrible! And like when I was taking my first born son from the hospital many years ago- I realize just how bad drivers around here are. Oh and lots of traffic. Not to gripe but my new 718 cost is going to pale compared relocating and finding a new home! Live north of Boston MA currently. How about other folks? Best place to live for your 718?
 
#3 ·
I'm a native of the northeast, so I know. It's another world here - east Tennessee/Western North Carolina. High density of superb roads. Now, after 15 years here, there's a lot of paving that they need to do, and it is in progress. Much more temperate; longer season.
 
#7 ·
I live just west of Boston. When I complain about the roads it's really a complaint about the congestion and all that brings about. Still, the 128 speedway is an eye-opening commute in the morning!
 
#8 ·
The entire state of Michigan should be shut down, condemned or detoured. Those who say Michigan isn't that bad are obviously biased citizens or are comparing it to any number of third-world countries. Unpaved third-world countries.
 
#12 ·
Maybe there are worse places than MA but it’s not so much just the potholes- there is so much loose debris, rocks and pebbles from all the sanding and plowing! The sticky tires grab the stuff and all I can hear are the pebbles bouncing around in my wheel wells. It’s making me crazy.

Things I just didn’t notice driving the RAM.
 
#16 ·
New Jersey.

I know! I know! It may be hard to believe, but NJ actually has a central-western rural area where roads are fun to drive on.
Actually these roads, in our version of "horse country", are fairly nice. The US Equestrian Olympic Team stables is about 10 minutes from me. The best driving areas include Warren, Hunterdon and western parts of Morris county. Lots of nice farms along with rural sights and pleasant country lanes.

I'm also pretty close to Bedminster, so we've got a temporary increase in noisy black-helicopter traffic....but this too shall pass. One hopes.

Our Porsche club runs road rallies in this horse country area, with lots of interesting turns, switchbacks, quaint villages, narrow bridges, etc.

Northeastern NJ roads, especially as you get closer to Newark and New York City, are more of what most people imagine: urban and awful.

Southern New Jersey, in the Pine Barrens area is also surprisingly rural with decent smooth, twisty roads (but it's super flat there). The Pine Barrens area has low population and is warmer with less "frost heaves" so roads tend to stay in good shape longer. They use much less salt in southern NJ too, so driving season is longer.

Some of you guys mentioned Massachusetts. My older daughter went to UMASS and, after graduation, she decided to stay in Boston to work. So I bought a decent, used Nissan that she could drive while she was living there. A year later, she got a job offer in the Princeton area and came back to NJ. By that time, her Nissan looks like it had been attacked by an angry mob of people with ball-peen hammers. It was unreal how rough Boston traffic was on that car. It seems much worse than Newark.
Although I do have a "Newark car story": One of my brothers attended NJIT in Newark. One time, upon retuning from class, he discovered a homeless person had broken into his car and was sleeping in the back seat.

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#18 ·
Although a move just because of the new 718 was said mostly tongue in cheek... it makes the idea of a move more realistic as we are considering options anyway. Although Europe would be interesting... I don't see that happening... too far from family and friends at this stage of the game.
 
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#19 ·
In south west Connecticut there are definitely roads that I actively avoid. They are just too bumpy.


Then there are the roads which are slightly bumpy and must make me look like I'm drunk because I'm weaving around avoiding the pot holes!
 
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#20 ·
I've driven the roads of most U.S. states -- and I'll be driving more of 'em this time next month, up in the northeast. I've ridden many of them in the south on a motorcycle, too. I've driven in a number of foreign countries, too: much of western Europe (including the U.K.) and select places in Central and South America, as well.

Each time, I note things like pavement quality, general driving/traffic habits, general vehicle condition, etc. almost by osmosis.

Some observations:
- In general, road quality is dictated by state funding -- even stretches of state highway that go through federally-owned land such as National Forests. Nowhere is this more evident than on the Cherohala Skyway in the Smoky Mountains. The pavement is phenomenal on the North Carolina side -- and right at the state line with Tennessee, it changes drastically for the worse. That stretch is within the Nantahala National Forest -- but it's a state highway.
- U.S. Highway condition also varies state by state -- but since it's largely federally funded, condition is as much a political 'porkbarrel' issue as anything. For example: Before Bill Clinton because President, Arkansas' highways were atrocious. Within 2-3 years after he took office, the state had some of the country's best roads.
- The farther north one goes, the more funding roads need to be kept in good condition. Why? Freezes. In Texas, we rarely have to worry about snow, much less frozen ground, salt, melt-off erosion, etc. Yet the density of roads in the north (at least in the U.S.) is higher than in the south in most cases ... and, in general, population and economic growth is higher in the South than in the North. Those factors, among several others, are largely why Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, etc. are frequently on the worst-roads list: Those states have far bigger issues than road condition to address ...
- Internationally, roads fit the transportation culture. Germany's known for its Autobahn primarily because it was conceived and built during a time when roads were primarily thought of as individual transportation lanes, while things like rail and ship were commercial and/or military -- or blown to bits because of WWII. In Eastern Europe, roads are also individual but primarily serve focused locales and small commercial endeavors such as farming -- much like a lot of the western U.S. before WWII. Only countries with a reason to have highways between regional economic centers have them, and density varies depending on a country's level of urbanization and post-industrial development: England and Germany have tons, while Sweden and Russia have few.

Anyway ...
Best roads in the U.S. - Arizona
Worst roads in the U.S. - New York (this may change after my trip, LOL)
Best roads in Europe: Italy
Worst roads in Europe: Britain, anywhere in the Balkan peninsula

All of that pales in comparison to the roads in Panama and Ecuador. I wouldn't own a late-model car of any make or model in either of those countries.
 
#22 ·
Good assessment, agreed.

I live 60 miles west of Chicago in farm and horse country. Wonderful two lane blacktops with some nice curvy sections. Some that local car clubs frequent. Unfortunately you have to be careful in the spring planting season and again during harvest in the fall. **** farmers drag huge clumps of mud onto the roads and they can easily destroy the front of low cars. This past winter was pretty severe and the roads aren’t so pristine this spring. Quite a bit of frost heaving, but thankfully no potholes to speak of.
 
#21 ·
Yeah this North East location poses a challenge for me. I think the problem is exacerbated by a couple things- it's still early spring. There are lots of patching going on. So in addition to all the winter's decaying roads and the debris left behind- there are tons of new patches leaving behind wonderful black nuggets of fun. In addition to all this I'm also hyper-aware now... and I swear these Pirellis pick up everything!

Viffermike- if you or anyone else find some fun places up here please let me know!
 
#23 ·
NH resident, work in MA. The roads are just awful. I cringe hearing the hot patch gravel pinging off my undercarriage. That said NH in the summer is fantastic driving esp around the lakes region.

Give and take I guess.
 
#24 ·
Indeed... it is not just the sand- but mostly the hot patch gravel and the loose decaying road gravel this is torturing me. Seems like I hear this MUCH more with this car- I expect the sticky tires are just picking up everything loose on the road. I'll definitely head up north in the summer!
 
#25 ·
I live next to Princeton, NJ, and just replaced my 3rd tire in 1 year of owning my 718 Boxster, all punctures / damage from the road. It's very frustrating the amount of concentration you need around here to avoid potholes, but there are plenty of good driving roads and highways to get it out and stretch its legs. Unfortunately, that also means pretty much garaging the car from December - March when the temps drop below 45F because I could only find summer tires for my 20" wheels. :(
 
#27 ·
It's all about trade offs. In central Florida I can drive year round on well paved, but mostly flat and straight roads. Not very stimulating. So, beat your car up for some nice fun or drive brain-dead staring straight ahead without car damage. I'll have to drive 500+ miles to find some nice, long stretches of curves. Jealous of those that have both good roads and challenging terrain (I remember Colorado back-roads well).
 
#29 ·
It's not just about the condition, potholes, etc. Here in the UK I suspect the stuff they put on the surface is designed to give as much tyre roar as possible. They'd probably call it a safety measure to keep you awake! Sometimes I find a nice bit of tarmac with no tyre noise but not often. I'm sure that when I drive in France and Germany there is less tyre roar. I do tend to err on overinflating rather than under-inflating my tyres. Could that also be an issue?
 
#30 ·
It's not just about the condition, potholes, etc. Here in the UK I suspect the stuff they put on the surface is designed to give as much tyre roar as possible...…..?
Here in the US some of the roads are made with recycled millings from old roads. If a road is in bad shape, they grind out all the old top surface with a giant milling machine. Often they re-use the old millings as filler, by adding it to the mix of the new asphalt. I'm sure it saves money.

The roads with more recycled millings seem to have more texture and create more noise
 
#32 ·
Wow. Seems like lots of places have roads in disrepair. We have some bad potholes but it’s mostly all the lose gravel from the road patch that makes me crazy. :(
 
#35 ·
In my experience there are no better twisties than in CA. The entire range of roads in the Sierras and in the coastal hills i.e. Agoura Hills and the like. Ive done them all on motorcycle, bicycle and rental cars. It was like Heaven for a guy from NJ dodging potholes to survive the ride to some decent roads in southern NYS and western ND/PA.

If you like top speed with good access to twisties then southern Utah and all of western Nevada are amazing. You can drive from mountain passes into virtually deserted straight highways that will allow you to go as fast as your guts will tolerate.

Mike
 
#36 ·
If you like top speed with good access to twisties then southern Utah and all of western Nevada are amazing. You can drive from mountain passes into virtually deserted straight highways that will allow you to go as fast as your guts will tolerate.

Mike
True, dis. Actually, pretty much the entire state of Nevada is this way -- and the farther east and north you go, the less chance of a close encounter of the first, second, or LEO kind. ;)

Case in point: In the Fall of 2008 on Nev. 487/Utah 21, from Great Basin National Park to a couple of miles west of Milford, Utah, I did not encounter a single car. Not one. In roughly 50 miles.
 
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#37 ·
So... some of this rant is meant for a little humor... but yeah I'm a tad neurotic about my new 718. And I've been complaining about the roads around here and then today, on the way home, I get stuck in scarified pavement!! Oh my.. it was torture. Road debris from tearing up the road everywhere! And now I need to watch for high manhole covers! Yikes.. more poor car. I can't win.

The good thing is they finish roads quick once they start ripping the old asphalt up! But I need to be on the look out!
 
#38 ·
The good thing is they finish roads quick once they start ripping the old asphalt up! But I need to be on the look out!
You are in Massachusetts? Don't go through Belmont on a work-started road! I've seen projects where they'd start and not finish until 6 months later! :(
 
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