rock steady...

[johnnyturbo2002]

on the autobahn today with my 520i at over 205km/h (barely) ...of course there wasn't much left which made me wonder about chipping or sending over my 540;)





And yes, the passat tdi was pulling away from me:( ...but then again I was a bit concerned about my fuel cost was it was 100€ to full the other day ( state side 135USD)

[bsell]

on the autobahn today with my 520i at over 205km/h (barely) ...of course there wasn't much left which made me wonder about chipping or sending over my 540;)





And yes, the passat tdi was pulling away from me:( ...but then again I was a bit concerned about my fuel cost was it was 100€ to full the other day ( state side 135USD)

That's pretty respectable considering the size difference between the two cars...

Those new turbo diesels hold their own pretty well on the autobahn. Their torque advantage helps them get back up to speed faster with less drama than our cars.

The tire guy I use has to keep changing out the rear tires on his father's 535TDI due to wheel spin in town from all of that torque.:D

The best I've done with my 525 auto is 220kph (with the wind;) ) but it is chipless and has 235's on the 18" rims and a body kit. I figure without the kit and with the stock-sized snows I could get more but who cares? I would rather be driving around corners than just burning straight down the road.

Brian

[johnnyturbo2002]

That's pretty respectable considering the size difference between the two cars...

Those new turbo diesels hold their own pretty well on the autobahn. Their torque advantage helps them get back up to speed faster with less drama than our cars.

The tire guy I use has to keep changing out the rear tires on his father's 535TDI due to wheel spin in town from all of that torque.:D

The best I've done with my 525 auto is 220kph (with the wind;) ) but it is chipless and has 235's on the 18" rims and a body kit. I figure without the kit and with the stock-sized snows I could get more but who cares? I would rather be driving around corners than just burning straight down the road.

Brian

Yeah no kidding, One the way I had to go through some back roads where there were a few corners and being used to the Volvo (read ..whoa tilt!!) I was very pleased by the feel I was getting in the bimmer...nice and snug.
Of course, some 17's or bigger with a lower profile tire would be great but alas..three kids and a wife take precidence..

[shogun]

Hey, guys, what's up?
That was not max speed. The Euro version of the 520 with the M50B20 engine has a Vmax of 211 kmh, and that is info from the factory.
http://www.e34.de/e34/leistung.htm

So, it should be a bit faster I assume.

Yes, and for sure the Passat TDI will pass you. I had one last time in Germany from EUROPCAR from Frankfurt to Hamburg and back to FFM Airport, so a long Autobahn trip in Germany.
Very low diesel consumption and a nice high speed.
The V6 TDI has 132 kW = 180 HP as most powerful Passat diesel ever – but fuel consumption is only 7.6 l/100 km.
the 'normal' TDI has 120 kW (163 bhp)
Maximum torque of 370 Nm (V6 TDI) at an engine speed of only 1500/min. The top speed of the Passat saloon with V6 TDI engine is an impressive 226 km/h; the Variant estate car reaches 223 km/h. Other performance data are just as impressive, for instance acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in only 8.7 seconds (Variant: 8.9 seconds).

[t.wak]

The fastest I'd gotten my stock 525i auto was 230kmph indicated. I think that's the limiter anyway? Not that it had much more in it.

I'm looking at an EAT chip anyway, so will see if it makes any difference.

[johnnyturbo2002]

Hey, guys, what's up?
That was not max speed. The Euro version of the 520 with the M50B20 engine has a Vmax of 211 kmh, and that is info from the factory.
http://www.e34.de/e34/leistung.htm

So, it should be a bit faster I assume.

Yes, and for sure the Passat TDI will pass you. I had one last time in Germany from EUROPCAR from Frankfurt to Hamburg and back to FFM Airport, so a long Autobahn trip in Germany.
Very low diesel consumption and a nice high speed.
The V6 TDI has 132 kW = 180 HP as most powerful Passat diesel ever – but fuel consumption is only 7.6 l/100 km.
the 'normal' TDI has 120 kW (163 bhp)
Maximum torque of 370 Nm (V6 TDI) at an engine speed of only 1500/min. The top speed of the Passat saloon with V6 TDI engine is an impressive 226 km/h; the Variant estate car reaches 223 km/h. Other performance data are just as impressive, for instance acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in only 8.7 seconds (Variant: 8.9 seconds).


What happened was nerve..36 years old now and images of death are closer than they used to be at 18-30... The next BMW that I want will be the 740td...that is an autobahn burner, and big enough for the whole dorf!

[LunatiC]

The V6 TDI has 132 kW = 180 HP as most powerful Passat diesel ever – but fuel consumption is only 7.6 l/100 km.
the 'normal' TDI has 120 kW (163 bhp)
Maximum torque of 370 Nm (V6 TDI) at an engine speed of only 1500/min.

Sounds like an awesome car shogun! I'd love a chance to drive (at any speed) on the autobahn. The closest I've been to driving on an autobahn is being a 12 year old passenger in a tricked out E21 on a Swiss Autobahn (I believe they are a little more restricted than their more northern cousins) and I distinctly remember some sort of Porsche driving in the opposite direction at an excessive speed. I couldn't even see what Porsche it was, and I nearly broke my neck just trying to look at it.


The fastest I'd gotten my stock 525i auto was 230kmph indicated.

Where abouts did you find a place to drive so fast?

[Jehu]

If say on a whim i wanted to ship my LHD 540 over to Europe to drive the various motorsport lures there Can i drive it in Britain thru the Chunnel and onto the Continent or would i need to have it delivered to a LHD Country? Anyone ever do this round trip, loose schedule? Any idea of who a reliable freghter for such a thing would be?

[LunatiC]

If say on a whim i wanted to ship my LHD 540 over to Europe to drive the various motorsport lures there Can i drive it in Britain thru the Chunnel and onto the Continent or would i need to have it delivered to a LHD Country? Anyone ever do this round trip, loose schedule? Any idea of who a reliable freghter for such a thing would be?

I have never been to the UK, nor have I ever shipped a vehicle to any other place in the world, so take my words with a grain of salt. Having said that...

Even though the UK is a RHD country, it is legal to drive LHD cars there. The Chunnel does allow cars to be transported from the UK to Continental Europe and back again -- in fact heaps of British automobile afficionados bring their cars over to do the Nurburg. I wouldn't imagine there be any restriction on bringing cars over to a RHD country if the item in question is a LHD one.

Here in Australia (a RHD country) it is illegal to drive a LHD car except for the following:
- the car is 30 years or older,
- has significant signage stating cautionaries that this is a LHD car (as if it was some sort of vermin and that you need to keep away)

IMO this is ridiculous, however having said that, it is still legal to import a LHD car or ship it to our country. As far as things are concerned, you are just shipping a car, and whether it is LHD or RHD is irrelevant. You just won't be able to drive it on the road here, that's all :D I would imagine quite a few cars get imported here to Aus for track events and racing, anyway.

So even though our rules here are more stringent than in the UK, there are some leeways. So I would imagine legal-wise you shouldn't have a problem bringing your car over from the States to Europe, whether that be the UK or another country.

[Jehu]

Now if i could be sure i could adapt menatlly and not unconsciouly revert in the middle fo the road and "correct" myself into an accident.

[javoresku]

I had a similar experience on a Bulgarian highway following a TDI Skoda Octavia (about the same size as the VW Passat). I was able to accelerate faster than him once we reached 160, but wanted to see how fast the diesel powered Skoda is. We went up to 227 km/h according to my trusty old Garmin. Speedo was well past 240 and I feel the M30 had more to give if I wanted it to. I followed this guy for about 40 kilometers and decided to back after seeing the fuel gauge moving rapidly left.

[johnnyturbo2002]

If say on a whim i wanted to ship my LHD 540 over to Europe to drive the various motorsport lures there Can i drive it in Britain thru the Chunnel and onto the Continent or would i need to have it delivered to a LHD Country? Anyone ever do this round trip, loose schedule? Any idea of who a reliable freghter for such a thing would be?


We brought over our Volvo XC on a boat, basically from Long Beach CA to Bremerhaven which cost about 1750 USD and then some import tax. There are plenty of places to ship from and to, do a search. Be very aware that fuel costs are crazy!!! 100 Euro just for a fill on regular grade benzin.
I believe that you can drive in England with a LHD, but it is bad enough there with a RHD, I have no idea how many times I was going the wrong way in little villages:p

[Omega]

In the UK you can pretty much please yourself with a temporary import as long as it's roadworth and insured. Left hand / right hand drive doesn't matter. Just make sure your american tags are in date. We can register LHD vehicles as well but you tend to get a loading on your insurance premium. I am still dreaming of a B10 Bi Turbo.....

You can put your car on the Chunnel and travel from UK to France with it if you wish, but to be honest unless you have a deep yearning to see where your ancestors came from or have a penchant for rain and drizzle I would go straight to Germany and burn down the autobahn. Head south to Bavaria and experience their great roads and beer.

As for an itinary: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Back to Sewden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Bottom of France, Spain and finally Portugal. I have done most of this trip, although not in one go!

As for driving on the "wrong" side of the road. The roads in the UK are so conjested you are physically unable to move into the wrong lane.....

[johnnyturbo2002]

So, you can bring your car over like stated in the posts but it will take a while and might not show up on time (our was to take 3-4 weeks and it took about 2 months!)

Be prepared to get looks like you are an alien, also, there have been terrorist warnings so keeping a low profile is hard with plates from well known states like NY and CA.
In Austria, one can go down any little road to a village and find many guest houses for around 40€ per night with breakfast included. (most have their own shower ect) the same can be said for most all of the European B&B's/pensiones .
If you want to stay in a place like Prague or any other big city for a long period of time or for a few days, it is much easier and cheaper to rent an apartment ( unless you are going by yourself) by the night.

[Jehu]

Terrorists huh? So having the name of the main Israeli battle Tank on my plate might tend to provoke something? That's not the reason i chose it btw,it means chariot or basically a moving seat but i suppose there could be some misunderstanding among the assasinate first ask questions later crowd.