How long before you were comfortable driving your roadster?

[TPM3]

I have about 300 miles on my roadster since I got it on the road a couple of weeks ago. I've driven it in rush hour, on I95 near D.C., at night, and on back roads. Everything works, no weird noises, no overheating, brakes work, steering is good. But still I am on edge, thinking "I bolted all of this together with almost no help (and no experience) and am now driving down 95 at 65mph - when is something going to fall off?"

Has anyone else had this unease? And when does it go away?

[scottiec]

I have about 300 miles on my roadster since I got it on the road a couple of weeks ago. I've driven it in rush hour, on I95 near D.C., at night, and on back roads. Everything works, no weird noises, no overheating, brakes work, steering is good. But still I am on edge, thinking "I bolted all of this together with almost no help (and no experience) and am now driving down 95 at 65mph - when is something going to fall off?"

Has anyone else had this unease? And when does it go away?

I can't answer your question since mine isn't finished yet. But do you live near DC. Im in Sterling, VA. If you are local let me know

[cgundermann]

Building other projects, I always felt that "what if' feeling and routinely went in and re-checked all my component torque settings for brakes, steering & suspenion components after 500 miles when everything settled. I've had that feeling every time, don't jinx yourself - trust your wrench turning, but also know that stuff does happen besides best efforts when your building an entire car. That's the fun & hate in it...

I say this, when I haven't tooled my around that far...and I have that pit in my stomach thinking about it. Pushing it at the limits and not having that unease is dangerous and is a whole different conversation!

[wallace18]

Try using secondary roads for a time. I-95 is not the greatest place to drive one of these IMO anyway. After you rack up some back road miles you will feel better about the whole thing, IMO.

[Lowrod]

I deal with multipal Car manufactures in performance of my daily job, I see the attention to detail put into production cars and feel as safe in my person built car! Not to take anything away from our automotive producers of U.S. work force. Drive-on and enjoy.

Good work practice is to check any noise, creak or personal concern.

Be Safe and enjoy the journey.

[scottiec]

I deal with multipal Car manufactures in performance of my daily job, I see the attention to detail put into production cars and feel as safe in my person built car! Not to take anything away from our automotive producers of U.S. work force. Drive-on and enjoy.

Good work practice is to check any noise, creak or personal concern.

Be Safe and enjoy the journey.

Lowrod, are you hiring!?

[Gumball]

Me and a friend refer to the process of becoming confident in new builds as "doing concentric circles." The first miles are spent close to home and subsequent trips move the circle of travel out a little farther each time. Once there are a few hundred miles under the car's wheels and it isn't doing anything troubling - i.e., not leaking, wiring seems to be okay, steering and brakes are functioning properly, chances are it's good to go.

As others have mentioned, it's a great idea to do a follow-up check a few times to make sure that everything is still tight after use and heat cycles, but you should be able to have piece of mind after proving the concept during the break-in.

Oh, and having a truck/trailer at home or a AAA card in the glove box go a long way to put any remaining worries to bed.

[Dave Howard]

I had my 2012 Coyote/MkIV legal a registered with the raw body on and no interior for about a month during the summer of 2013. Worked out a few bugs. Set up ride height and a final tweak on brake bias. Put on about 500 kilometers. Took the body off for the body work/paint and final assembly through the fall and winter. The car was complete and waiting for the snow to leave the spring of 2014. I made a 1,400 kilometer round trip to Calgary for tune on the Coyote. No drips...No strange noises...No strange smells...The car tracked perfect and steered and stopped like it should. By mid June that year, I packed a few things and drove 3,500 kilometers to Ontario. Steep learning curve. Later it was another 4,300 kilometers across the northern Sates back west. What an amazing way to see these GREAT countries. Five inches off the ground in an open top sports car.

[patb]

Ihave had mine on the road for 1 1/2 seasons, have over 10,000 mi on roadster. every few thousand miles i jack the unit up and go over all critical bolting. It helps with the confidence factor that you put the car together properly. confidence will come with time.

[David Hodgkins]

I have about 300 miles on my roadster since I got it on the road a couple of weeks ago. I've driven it in rush hour, on I95 near D.C., at night, and on back roads. Everything works, no weird noises, no overheating, brakes work, steering is good. But still I am on edge, thinking "I bolted all of this together with almost no help (and no experience) and am now driving down 95 at 65mph - when is something going to fall off?"

Has anyone else had this unease? And when does it go away?

First off, congratulations on getting your build on the road! I remember driving down the freeway for the first time and absolutely white-knuckling it. In my case I had a ton of help from local builders and the forum, but it still took me a while to feel more confident. I did pop a nut holding one of the gas tank straps after I got it on the road. Luckily I was going slow out of the driveway when the bolt popped. I hadn't tightened it properly. Needless to say I did another - more thorough - bolt check.

One thing that helped a little was finding a BIG parking lot on a weekend and testing the limits of grip. Doing donuts and drifts without anything falling off builds confidence quickly!

Two more things to add:

• These cars do not have the maintenance schedule of a production car. Perform a full bolt check at least once a year, and make sure your suspension is lubed and swings through its travel without binding.
• A good lift is the best tool you can buy. Inspecting your car from below is invaluable.

[alv69]

I have built quite a few cars and race cars before that and have always taken a short 10 mile ride brought it home and checked everything over nut and bolt it and driven anywhere after. it all comes down to care taken when assembling the vehicle, remember your *** will be in the seat and there will be other people in the cars you will be going by, make it safe.

[mikeinatlanta]

I would say that in terms of reliability everyone is different. I'd be more worried about comfort with the power, weight, and handling. I was just getting comfortable with my new Motus motorcycle, maybe for about fifteen minutes before it put me in the hospital. Never get too comfortable driving.

[Raceral]

Been doing this for a long time and I stil HATE interstates....