giggsyson Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Alright guys Thinking of taking the z to the italian gp next month. According to google its approx 1000 mile journey. Any of you have any experience of driving through france / italy? Any advice? Also, and i dont want to sound boring, but what can i expect the damage to be fuel wise? Does the z get decent figures? Needless to say im very excited about the possibility of my trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 stick to 70mph and you'll get 33mpg id say. big difference between travelling at 70 and travelling at 80 in terms of economy. also as for driving on the continent, keep repeating "give way to the left, stay on the right" to yourself at any junction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 65mph in 6th gear gets me close to 40mpg everytime! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Don't speed, regardless of how safe you think it might be or that you can't see any police. Really not worth it. Check your car over thoroughly as well, paying special attention to how much tread you have left as it can be a right pain trying to source tyres over a weekend in Europe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 stick to 70mph and you'll get 33mpg id say. big difference between travelling at 70 and travelling at 80 in terms of economy. also as for driving on the continent, keep repeating "give way to the left, stay on the right" to yourself at any junction! ^ spot on, set the CC (if you have it) to 70 and enjoy the scenery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggsyson Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Cheers boys I have cc but ive never used it :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 There are specific laws for driving on the continent. Something like needing to have a full set of spare bulbs, a high vis jacket, a first aid kit and a warning triangle in the car at all times. Also you'll need some of those light diverters for your headlights... When i drove to the nurburgring i was paying around £1.65 a litre on average through Belgium and Germany. It might have dropped down now though, that was in 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Cheers boys I have cc but ive never used it :/ Think I only used it on long motorway roadwork 50mph bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 In addition to the above, if you're driving through it's worth noting that anything alerting you to the presence of speed cameras is now illegal so things like satnav with that capability must have that option switched off to be legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jixaman Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Done this many times mate, the trip, not the GP... Head for the tunnel on a night train, drive through the top of France through Belgium towards Bruges, Brussels and an overnight or two in Spa / Malmedy. Next day is the long haul to Interlaken, reason for heading into Belgium is so you can hit Germany where even on non Autobah routes speed is tolerated (once was doing 170 on the bike and realised Porsche man was about to mow me down I was going so slow but sitting ton 20 in the car passes the journey quickly and safely), anyway your heading for Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Basel, Bern, Interlaken where we stay at the Goldkey (ask for a room facing the south), again its a couple of days here. Next day is spent playing in the Alps, theres many ways you can do the passes but we like Grimsel to Furka to St Gottards to Nufenen (where I touched god, well a mad moment stood on the edge of the cliff and leaned into the wind, ok it was only a little lean but it was exilerating none the less) to Lower Furka towards Brig where its onto the Simplon (the run down to the border crossing at Gondo is fantastic and everyone down below hears you coming, like the Italian brder guards, Swiss side is unmanned) we go onto Baveno and stay at La Sorgente, look it up on Google Earth, real nice base to hit Monza from. On our return to Baveno from Monza we head for Varese and Laverno where we take the ferry to Varbania, just so so relaxing... Mind Monza is in a park in the middle of the city, traffic is a mare and try to get the road into the track figured out as its not so clear when your there... Its a handful of Euros to get in even just to look but worth it... If going to the GP book into a park and ride type setup on the outskirts of Milan, saves taking the car somewhere you’ll never get near on a day like that... You asked about speeding, from experience, Northern France at night heading for Belgium never been stopped sitting at the ton, Belgium been stopped three times all were all light hearted warnings (once went past them so fast in the rain they didn’t even bother), Germany your more likely to get pulled for bad driving than speeding and Italy the police are more corrupt than the government (speed trap and all of us fleced 40 euro cash, no receipt or ticket, let go only to have his mate 2 miles down the road try to pull us again, he got the vickies). Switzerland try not to sneeze or even fart too loud, I am still bamboozled as to how I was let free to walk out of court on a Sunday afternoon... Fuel ? A Prius sitting at 55 would get you there and back for twenty quid but you have a Z, enjoy it... Cant wait to get over again, have fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wideboy Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Too old to read Jixamans tiny writing, so here's my 2p. The Z is the perfect car for this trip Long distance GT cruiser, enjoy! I'm just back from a 3k mile Alps and Nurburgring trip from Scotland and did similar with the addition of Monaco and Swiss Alps last summer! Tips: Electric tape to block the far left of your light beam saves you £8 on deflectors that don't work all that well anyway Fuel is cheaper here than continent, top up at Dover/Folks, (with the exception of Luxembourg, which is super cheap). Italy was crazy expensive ,last year. Also, lots of fuel station auto pay machines wont accept your UK card, and many are unmanned at night! Apart from the obvious fluids/brakes/tyres checks. Check your fan motors are running, it's hot in summer and you're driving so far it's pretty likely you'll hit a jam at some point. You don't want to cook your engine! Speed camera warnings, my Tomtom only warns you of 'dangerous' bits of road in France, which just happen to coincide with fixed cameras... France has new rules now, excessive speed = 3day ban and a fine, on the spot. ie you can't drive off the motorway unless you have another insured driver... If you get really heavy footed they now just take 750 euros as a deposit so you turns up to court, and or they take your car. be careful. Having said that, 90ish on payage has been fine for me. Payage, if you're on your own, but even if not get the liberte toll tag, you can drive straight through the tolls at 20odd mph, you get a bill in the post. Can save loads of time in ques/running round your car to pay! Germany has the highest standard of driving in the EU, by miles! I LOVE driving there, added bonus of unlimited autobahns, but be careful in the bits with limits, they're enforced! Belgian drivers on the other hand are mostly blind muppets who enjoy tailgaiting at any speed you happen to be doing, and cutting you up no matter how fast you're going, enjoy... Have fun, and don't worry about the fuel bills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.