SteveM

Lindau to Berchtesgaden https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Lindau&daddr=47.5579573,10.1080289+to:47.6150739,10.4657381+to:47.5772448,10.6111651+to:47.4139904,10.8546786+to:47.6081058,11.3371707+to:47.6761974,12.0654013+to:47.6506047,12.3605381+to:47.6978379,12.6050092+to:47.6488402,12.8501583+to:Berchtesgaden,+Germany&hl=en&ll=47.279229,10.266724&spn=1.460875,2.469177&sll=47.641798,12.751694&sspn=0.362707,0.617294&geocode=FYYC1gIdVbCTACmdDsneNgybRzGAL2Eh-qo4RQ%3BFUWt1QIdfDyaACkd00bSpn6bRzF6f1-rCCprgw%3BFWGM1gIdyrGfAClJpxiAYmKcRzGkyYHA5EvJjg%3BFZz41QId3emhACnHo8tBTvWcRzHc_1Gs94n-rg%3BFeZ60wIdFqGlACnznHgpr_ycRzGqkAbiuRSmeg%3BFSlx1gId0v2sACmBltTK-aOdRzGCrHmSSciXyg%3BFSV71wIdeRq4ACm3lDSxmCR2RzFQT6eDFQXsQQ%3BFSwX1wIdWpu8AClt33VDzUZ2RzG9ydXTLy4LQg%3BFa3P1wIdUVbAACn3gQAO8112RzHdetX2eCrHZw%3BFUgQ1wId7hPEACnLRZZ-E_N2RzHgso5rJj8cNQ%3BFWTH1gIdil3GACnTndeoXet2RzFwtzcJpCUdBA&oq=Berchtesgaden&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=9&sz=11&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9&z=9

whatever route you take make sure you take in the route 500 from Baden Baden... awsome stretch of road! done a lot of the roads south from that route in Switzerland and Austria and will be heading further south to do the north east corner of Italy this summer on our way down to Croatia

Don't worry Stevo, it'll happen for you one day. I thought ekona or mouthwash would sniff that out with a reply like that haha Stevo, ekona sex and mouthwash... all go together quite well really

several things really looking forward to the spring and the warmer dry days that come with it so i can get out and ride the new motorbike. also the start of a new season on a new lake with new challenges including accessing the fishing from a boat and our longest ever european trip this year in the 350 roadster driving all the way down to Dubrovnik in croatia then accross to italy and back home

Autoglym Cabriolet Fabric Hood Maintenance Kit. follow the instuctions carefully as its a pain in the backside to get off the paint if you do not protect it properly when applying. also some silicone lubricant on the joints and runners in the rear hoop

used anti squeel plates..... how tight? contact Clark motorsport and get yourself some new ones http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/207-clark-motorsport/

the 06 engine with 296BHP, the later HR engine is called a HR engine DE DE Revup HR

good for wafting yes but also pretty quick! E320 CDI is 220bhp and 380lbft of torque (un modified)

can pick them up for sub 25k these days....

i had a 2007 320d touring (M sport). in the M sport spec with the low profile tyres it was very crashy (suspension) and i got absolutely nowhere near the suggested MPG figures. its one of the shortest times i have owned a car for, sold it on and bought a same year big Merc estate and get similar MPG with much nicer road manners and many many more toys look for 2007 E280 or E320 Mercs with under 70k and you will find loads in your budget... much much much more car for your money and similar fuel economy and a much nicer place to be for motorway miles oh and an E320 comes with a 0-60 time of about 6.5 seconds and has a bucket load of torque!

Col du Petit St Bernard SS26 and SS27 Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Bourg-Saint-Pierre

been there done that for several years and have worked out just how many miles we can do in a day in which conditions and on what roads... but i guess we shall see, if your only doing 150 miles in 8 hours including stops then you need to use the right hand pedal a bit more plans have already changed slightly... going to give Rome a miss and fly there for a longer break another time, really dont fancy driving int Rome for an overnight stay and know we should stay there a bit longer

everyone gets hung up on the tax for cars.... £500 a year is only £1.40 a day.... he wants a 150bhp plus, 2005 and up car thats capable of carrying 5 plus a large boot space and is good for long trips yet is fun to drive. you are going to end up paying somewhere..... you might as well get a big fun barge and pay the extra tax as far as i am concerned (hence i bought a 3ltr V6 turbo diesel Merc as a run around) but each to their own

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201412159662989/sort/pricedesc/model/9-3/engine-size-cars/2-6l_to_2-9l/radius/1500/price-to/5000/postcode/rh12hz/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/make/saab/usedcars/page/1/body-type/estate/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles?logcode=p Budget £4000-4500 - DONE Must fit 4 18x9.5" wheel in it ( He wants to fit 4 wheels inside his car to take for drifting.-Grundy) - DONE Must have 5 seats - DONE ideally a 5 door but 3 will work - 5 door Estate DONE ideally jap or german but open to ideas - idea... Swedish DONE ideally newer than 2005 - 2006 DONE ideally over 150bhp - 250bhp and 0-60 in just over 6.5 seconds DONE Must be good for a road trip or long distance driver - DONE Must be fun (i know this is a bit of hard one as everyone's idea is different) - read above.... 250bhp 2.8ltr turbo... 2nd and 3rd gear will be HUGE fun DONE within 2 hours of Cambridge - now that one could be difficult as i dont know where that car i linked is Mileage no higher than say 110k - 65.5k miles DONE

we have thought about Troyes as we stopped in there for lunch and had great Moule fritte in the old town one year. to be honest we will probably try and come back up via Germany and Belgium because of the tolls in france but if you could PM me the details anyway that would be great... i will send you a PM about it cheers

what he said

do a bit of research before you go on roads you want to drive and possible places you want to see then just go for it.... most places in the Alps are out of season Ski resorts so have LOADS of rooms available plus you will end up in small out of the way villiages that you would never find on the internet let alone think of booking a room there i sent Will a few bits last year based on a bit of research i had done and by the sounds of it he had a blast

yep as Will said... we budget for £100 a night and never end up spending that amount, pretty much ended up at between £60 to £90 top tip.... if you stay in a decent sized hotel you can rob the breakfast buffet and make up a lunchtime sandwhich as most of the swiss / german / austrian type breakfast include ham and cheese with nice rolls and a basket of fruit. i never felt comfortable doing that to a small family run place but the bigger ones no problems. means you can stop for lunch wherever you want. we had a great packed lunch at the top of the Stelvio whilst everyone else was queing for overpriced food from the stalls

Diga di Luzzone Dam

lol i was thinking of messaging you with details Will...

not cheap mind you! nearly a grand in petrol alone....

when you enjoy the driving and the roads are great you dont realise the hours and distance you do! we actually end up having to stop ourselves after about 7 or 8 hours each day. not booking hotels is the key to it.... just drive till you feel like stoppinng then find somewhere nice, we have ended up in some fantastic locations doing this

for the last 2 years we have done about 2500 miles in a week so this actually works out less miles per day (3500 miles in 2 weeks) but yes its a lot of driving.... but on some GREAT roads

So each year we take a week out and go on a road trip in the roadster, a couple of years ago we went to the south of france via the Verdon Gorge and on down to Monaco to drive the circuit then up to do the Col de Turini . last year was the Swiss end of the Alps taking in most of the major passes including the Furka, Stelvio, San Bernadino..... the list goes on. so this year we have been talking about taking 2 weeks out to travel a bit further! after meeting several people on our trips who have said the the coast road in Croatia is worth driving we are thinking of giving it a go! so far we have a pretty full schedule! Day 1 (Saturday) home to Calais then to Heidelberg in Germany – 460 miles (long first day) Day 2 (Sunday) Heideleberg to Konstanz (Germany) via the Route 500 – 180 miles Day 3 (Monday) Konstanz to Davos (Switzerland) via Liechtenstien the onto the Diga di Luzzon dam (massive climbing wall, my other half is into climbing) and then along the San bernadino pass – 250 miles Day 4 (Tuesday Davos to Merano (Italy) along the Fluela pass, Ofenpass, Umbrailpass, Stelvio Pass (opposite direction to we did it last year) – 150 miles Day 5 (Wednesday) day in the mountains around Merano and Bolzano – 150 miles Day 6 (Thursday) Merano / Bolzano to Rovinj (Croatia) – 280 miles Day 7 (Friday) Rovinj to Split (Croatia) along the coast road – 260 miles Day 8 (Saturday) Split to Dubrovnic (Croatia) along the coast road - 140 miles Overnight ferry to Bari (Italy) Day 9 (Sunday) Bari to Sorrento (Italy) over the mountain roads – 220 miles Day 10 (Monday) Sorrento to Rome via Amalfi – 200 miles Day 11 (Tuesday) Rome to Livorno / Pisa along the coast – 200 miles Day 12 (Wednesday) Livorno / Pisa to Bologna and the Ducati Factory then on to Verona (Italy) – 200 miles Day 14 (Thursday) Verona to Bern (Switzerland) via the Furka Pass and the Grimsel Pass – 300 miles Day 15 (Friday) Bern to somewhere in either France or Germany, undecided yet – 250 miles approx Day 16 (Saturday) back to Calais then home – 250 miles approx. we have a day in hand ( the Sunday at the end) to either spend time at home chilling OR extend the trip 1 day longer somewhere in the middle lots of planning still to do but really starting to look forward to this now