Readying my mk2 to drive across France - tips anyone?

[AlpineWhite]

Hi all,

In the summer I'm taking the mk2 to the alps with 3 passengers (hardly any luggage - that's going separately). I was wondering if anyone's done big trips like this before and what advice you'd give?

This is what has been done to the car / will be done to it by the time we go:

-Brakes sorted
-Replacement dampers
-New front wheel bearings
-Oil + filter change
-Gearbox oil change
-New tyres (Proxes most likely)

I'll be taking spare oil, coolant and some roadside tools with me. Also i'll get the headlight deflectors, triangle and spare bulbs before we go.

I'll be sharing the driving and we're going to have an overnight stop around calais on the way back.

It'll be the first time i've driven for any length of time abroad.

Any tips from your experience will be much appreciated!

Thanks!
Ant

 

[Dolly_Gti]

ive never driven abroad, but im going to the nurberg in may! so i need info to.

i know u have to have spare bulbs and stuff, minimum tyre tread is 3mm not 1.6mm
you need GB plates obviously.

my top tip to you is.. drive on the wrong side of the road

 

[old 'uns]

euro breakdown cover!! worth every penny

 

[jcs356]

Whereabouts are you going to in the alps?

Here are my tips - I took my S3 to the south of France last summer - great fun.

If you've got a sat nav that has speed camera locations on it or a speed camera detector leave it in the UK as they are illegal in France and police will confiscate them if they spot them.
Take a photocopy of your driving licence, passport, V5 & insurance certificate and hide it somewhere in the car in case the originals get stolen.
Driving in France is a pleasure compared to the UK - the roads are so much quieter. The paeage (toll roads) are also very quiet and easy to sit at 80mph quite easily. If fact cruise control is a useful add on for roads like this as you can go miles and miles without having to touch the brakes.
Remember that the speed limit on motorways drops from 130kph to 110kph when it starts to rain (makes sense, why isn't the UK like that).
Definitely worthwhile having Euro breakdown cover for peace of mind.
Get yourself a flourescent coat to go with your triangle & bulbs. Don't think it is mandatory but useful all the same.
You can get GB badges from the ferry if you need them - not required if you have the GB/Euro flag numberplates.
Most importantly, make sure your cd player is working - French radio is c**p

Have fun

 

[AlpineWhite]

we're going to be based in la berarde- SSW of Chamonix and in the middle of grenoble - turin. Should be an awesome couple of weeks!

Thanks for the tips so far guys. Will definitely be getting breakdown cover.

I'm sure we'll have a couple of ipods along with us - been on long trips in hire cars with french and spanish radio before! Although once we found 'i am the one and only' by the one and only Chesney Hawks. How strange!

Good point about the speed limits and GB badges too.

If anyone's got any more tips, keep em coming

 

[Tom B]

Buy your beam benders now before you get to Dover as they're rather expensive there. They're sold on eBay for £2.99

I'd also look at getting the coolant changed if Andy didn't already do it. It'll be lovely and hot on the drive down, so you don't want the car overheating on the way.

 

[andyj]

99% sure I did it when I serviced the car about 8 months ago

along with the brake fluid

 

[warren_cox]

Be worth taking a minimum standards tool kit in the car in case of easy fix emergencies. Things like

1) Hose repair tape
2) Assorted size jubilee clips
3) A limited tool kit (inc srewdrivers, flexible shafted jubilee clip wrench, 10 & 13mm spanner)

Check the spare, and that you have your jack, wheel wrench!

Might also be worth brushing up your knowledge of foreign road signs if you can get a book.

 

[AlpineWhite]

yep the coolant is bright pink G12+

Good point about hose repair tape and jubilee clips! another thing to add to my roadside kit.

 

[Ben16v]

Whereabouts are you going to in the alps?

Here are my tips - I took my S3 to the south of France last summer - great fun.

If you've got a sat nav that has speed camera locations on it or a speed camera detector leave it in the UK as they are illegal in France and police will confiscate them if they spot them.
Take a photocopy of your driving licence, passport, V5 & insurance certificate and hide it somewhere in the car in case the originals get stolen.
Driving in France is a pleasure compared to the UK - the roads are so much quieter. The paeage (toll roads) are also very quiet and easy to sit at 80mph quite easily. If fact cruise control is a useful add on for roads like this as you can go miles and miles without having to touch the brakes.
Remember that the speed limit on motorways drops from 130kph to 110kph when it starts to rain (makes sense, why isn't the UK like that).Definitely worthwhile having Euro breakdown cover for peace of mind.
Get yourself a flourescent coat to go with your triangle & bulbs. Don't think it is mandatory but useful all the same.
You can get GB badges from the ferry if you need them - not required if you have the GB/Euro flag numberplates.
Most importantly, make sure your cd player is working - French radio is c**p

Have fun

Good hints, but the speed limit would never be at 130kph as its always raining!!!

Mates are the best tool if you get bored, and make sure your windows work. As many tools as you find usefull are best, when i went to the ring i had enough tools to do a service, wheel swap, bumpers off and loads of other stuff because i knew what i needed. Definitily recommended.

 

[R French]

Hi, A couple of hints to help you, I live/work on the Swiss French border on the Dura side and do the journey fairly regularly. If you decide to go into Switzerland make sure you enter on a minor road or you will get stung for a 1 year tax disc ~£40.

Don't bother with beam deflectors - just use some normal black insulting tape cut to the right size. This works in exactly the same fashion and costs nothing if you have some. Experiment on a dark night to cut your N/S beam down to the centre of the road and cut your O/S beam further to the edge.

Keep an eye out for the French fuzz with a radar - they usually hide in the central reservation by the stantion of a bridge once you get into the Champagne region (usually signs saying "radar" give it away). They fine you on the spot or take you to a cash point. Usually 80 Euro for 180kmph ish. Be nice it goes lower. Do not speed in Switzerland. They are not nice and can take your car off you. I do not jest, seen it happen.

You can get screwed for car parking in Chamonix centre - if you are prepared to walk/bus a little then you can save a load as the bigger car parks are out of town. Still cheaper than the UK though!

If you intend to drive high up you must get snow chains or winter tyres, you'll be stuffed without them. I'd reccommend leaving the car and getting the bus as it's cheap and very reliable. If not a taxi can always get you back down.

Check for combined ski passes if this is what you are up to, they work out alot cheaper than for one resort as you can just about get anywhere from Chamonix these days.

Snow is not so good at the lower levels at the moment (St gervais 2300m) need to hit 2900+metres before you have fun.

Have fun and good luck

 

[goble]

possibly a coil pack???????

 

[jcs356]

possibly a coil pack???????

Do Mk2's have coil packs? I thought they were 'old' enough to still have a distributor?

Other tip - speed cameras in France look like pay and display machines - similar sort of size grey boxes in the central reservation (weird), and they aren't painted yellow like they are in the uk.

 

[goble]

no i said coil PACK not PACKS
the name distributor, distributes the spark from the coil pack,which is mounted on the bulkhead.

 

[Fl@pper]

i think he meant the coil and igniter unit as one

 

[lunalupi]

Spare oil - if your car needs any after a long drive, its best to have some with you rather than having to go out for some (as I had to do on the way to the Nurburgring, getting lost in the process)

Oh, and don't forget the essential long-trip-acompanyment - sweeties

 

[jcs356]

no i said coil PACK not PACKS
the name distributor, distributes the spark from the coil pack,which is mounted on the bulkhead.

My mistake, you originally said 'possibly a coil pack'. Using 'a' implies to me that there is more than one on the car, as opposed to saying 'possibly THE coil pack' which shows that there is only one on the car.

Sorry for being a pedant.

And yep, you are quite right, the coil makes the high voltage and the distributor sends it to the plugs. I ought to have remembered that.

 

[AlpineWhite]

Back! And with pics

Hi all,

Well I've just returned from the road/climbing trip. The Ibiza ran like clockwork, really couldn't have been better. We totalled 1,944 miles with 31 hours behind the wheel. Loughborough to the village was the best part of 800 miles, the rest was clocked up on mountain passes.

A big big thank-you to all of you who offered advice above.

We were based in a village called La Berarde, which is bascically at the end of a 30km mountain pass which we ended up driving along 4 or 5 times (shucks). This road was one of the highlights for me, I thought i'd share it with you... photos below! It had it all: Blind bends, open hairpins, banked corners, walled sections, open road down to the valley, bridges, tunnels..... I could go on! Anyway:

Heading into the last town before the pass:

'The' road:

At the campsite:

Ferryport at 9 this morning (and not looking too bad for 1700+ miles worth)

We couldn't work out the beam benders, so gaffa tape was used instead!

We ended up doing a bit of a topgear challenge to catch the last ferry on monday night. Staying within the speed limits (didn't have enough euros to be stopped by the police!), we missed it by 20 minutes or so. Cue 9 hours of bad napping portside in Borlougne .

We ended up leaving a couple of days early because of rain in the alps. Of 3 people in the car, my card ran out, one person forgot his cards and the other guy's card didn't work.... so we had a set amount of euros and pounds with which to pay for a ferry, tolls and petrols. It certainly added to the experience!

 

[MarkJ]

Wow, looks beautiful there in the pics. Some nice windy roads to swing the Ibiza round too!

 

[AlpineWhite]

Some nice windy roads to swing the Ibiza round too!

Certainly were! the 30km (approx 20 miles) road takes about 50 minutes to drive. All 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear work. So much fun to take the Ibiza round, even with two passengers + kit. Especially after having driven it a few times, you start to learn where you can have fun