Holiday Checklist

[Roseyboy]

i did a very similar journey in my 2.4. the only difference was we stayed in les houches instead of where your staying, and that we used any road that wasnt a motorway so we didnt pay any tolls.
the ammount of fuel you save by going 55mph is absolutely loads on a distance like that. were talking like 12 hours and almost using half a tank

I'm right in thinking that going 55mph saved you half a tank and not going 55mph got you there on just half a tank?

[bensonsnuts]

If i was you why not get a stainless end pipe made up and have it exit behind the rear wheel to save it getting damaged again.I'm sure you can get the S/Steeel pipe done for less then what they want on ebay as you do not need that rear box on it.Its worth looking around and see what you can get made up cheaper

Much better with a side exit ....also means in the summer you can drive round with the rear window down without gassing yourself

[dieselboy]

You can fail for being 'excessively noisy'.

having no silencers at all doesnt mean it will be noisey.

the mot rule is that it must not sound disimilar to another vehicle of the same make, model etc.
the mot tester can percieve this any way they want. this is why one place will fail and another will pass

[dieselboy]

I'm right in thinking that going 55mph saved you half a tank and not going 55mph got you there on just half a tank?

i honestly dont know. but i think from what i remember we got from south east london to lyon on 1 tank of 40 litres veg and the rest diesel. we left london at about 11pm and got to lyon the same time next day after ending up in belgium accidentally because the french road signs are rubbish.
we didnt use any motorway so we never cained it.

but watch out for the french racing drivers who overtake on every opportunity. its like some sort of synchronised driving.
i spent miles waiting to overtake this caravan and then got overtaken by 5 cars. they are dangerous idiots, overtaking on blind corners and all sorts.
at one point i tried to not let some people in by not slowing down, but they would of had a head on with the car coming the other way.
on the last run back, similar thing happened so i started using that gravel hard shoulder to get round someone as i had been overtaken and then the next safest place was blocked by the car in front.
the next funny one was when i drover over a roundabout for some idiot who overtook in a dangerous place to just get stuck behind the thing i was stuck behind in the first place.

the mountain roads eat the fuel. but we got to monaco and back, on about 160 litres of veg oil and top ups of diesel.
next time we do it though, i will use atf fluid or keep using white spirit in the tank because the altitude made my pump loose a lot of veg oil fuel.

[Sancho]

having no silencers at all doesnt mean it will be noisey.

the mot rule is that it must not sound disimilar to another vehicle of the same make, model etc.
the mot tester can percieve this any way they want. this is why one place will fail and another will pass

]
Take the exhaust off your surf and see if it means it will be noisy.....

You have to have a silencer, as the requirements refer to "the effectiveness of the silencer in reducing exhaust noise to a level considered to be average for the vehicle". It is subjective but if you have no silencer they will argue that it can't be effective becuase it doesn't exist.

[dieselboy]

]
Take the exhaust off your surf and see if it means it will be noisy.....

You have to have a silencer, as the requirements refer to "the effectiveness of the silencer in reducing exhaust noise to a level considered to be average for the vehicle". It is subjective but if you have no silencer they will argue that it can't be effective becuase it doesn't exist.

that is one to keep in mind.

the loudest exhaust i ever made was 117dB! (measured at just over 1m at 45 degrees)
can you imagine even being in that car

[Woodylovestosurf]

[QUOTE=Roseyboy;395117]Yo,

I'm off to La Plagne skiing in Feb and last year I bombed it down there in my RX8 without really having to worry about anything other than the horrible fuel bill.

This year we are taking the Surf and as its had a few problems since we bought it before Xmas and I would really love a checklist of things to check before we go and any common parts that might break while we are away and any spares I should keep in it.


See its not the shortest of journeys and I will be trying to keep up with my speeding father in law, so any hints, tips and advice on long journeys in the Surf and taking it up the alps into snow (it has all terrain tyres with chains and dual batterys) would be great.

[End Quote]

Hi Just saw this thread. I am just getting ready to take the Family in our 96 SSRG Surf down to Les Coches. We are going next week. Its very near to La Plagne, so would be very interested to find out if you had a good journey. Do you have any tips as we will be travelling the same route??. We have driven through Europe lots of time only in the spring and summer, but not in winter.

Woodylovestosurf

[Roseyboy]

Hi,

The journey took quite a while as we went on the busy school half term (10am to 4am return time), so it took a while but apart from that the weather was fantastic, like a warm summers day here, there is no advice i can give to anyone who has driven in Europe before, there are plenty of rest stops which is important every 4 hours or so on the motorways, tolls cost about 70euro each way and you should avoid a lot of glare driving at night in your surf being a bit high up. apart from that you should be good to go, buy fuel before you get to the alps though as with everything it costs about double up the mountains. Oh and if your sat-nav says go to the Paris route down avoid it, go Reims, Lyon etc.

Thats about it. Have a great time down there, the weather / snow was perfect when I left on Saturday.