RE: Pure Driving Experiences: A6 Autobahn
Discussion
Mastodon2 said:
These adverts crudely disguised as videos of interest to petrolheads really are s
t.
Indeed. Why does the 'dialogue' sound as if it's written by bedroom-bound 14-year-old who thinks he's on-message/hip? And why does Sutcliffe have to engage smarm mode?t.And can someone please remind me, I didn't quite catch the make / type of tyre fitted to the S5?
dvs_dave said:
Uh Oh. An Autobahn story.
Que a ton of chinny reckon tales about doing a 150mph and a train of AMG/M/RS/911/exotica/whatever steaming past like you were stood still.
Also the inevitable catching and overtaking a line of expensive German bahnstormers hard up to their 155mph limiters, and you sailing past at 157 mph in your much less fancy unrestricted car that you've "possibly" managed to wind up to that. You waving, looks on their faces etc etc. Like you can actually discern the look on someones face when driving at that speed.
Come on, who's gonna be the first?
Go on then.Que a ton of chinny reckon tales about doing a 150mph and a train of AMG/M/RS/911/exotica/whatever steaming past like you were stood still.
Also the inevitable catching and overtaking a line of expensive German bahnstormers hard up to their 155mph limiters, and you sailing past at 157 mph in your much less fancy unrestricted car that you've "possibly" managed to wind up to that. You waving, looks on their faces etc etc. Like you can actually discern the look on someones face when driving at that speed.
Come on, who's gonna be the first?
My diesel Mondeos (top speed ~130mph) have able to keep up with almost every vehicle on the autobahn on my various trips to Deutschland, probably because every 'overtaking lane' has a 2.0D car at the head of it.
When the traffic is light, some people drive fast, but most people aren't achieving 'warp speed'. If you're travelling at 200+ km/h, being overtaken is fairly rare.
My much quicker, old Octavia vRS was fairly capable on the French autobahns at times.
ps. It's not that actually that difficult to see the look on somebody's face if you are passing them at a relative speed of around 2mph....
Only 166! Actually not bad but I quite often get that on the way to and from work, A5 up to Bad Gambacher Kreuz, then A45 to Schwerte and then A1 for the rest. There's a couple of stretches where you can really hammer your car depending upon the time of day. He might of been better going off of the A6 and onto the A67 just north of Mannheim and there's a lovely long straight between Viernheim and Lorsch where I've seen an indicated 177 and then it goes into 2 lanes! I have Pirelli P-Zeros mind you, and not an Audi (quite surprised he wasn't sitting on someone's tail!)
dvs_dave said:
Uh Oh. An Autobahn story.
Que a ton of chinny reckon tales about doing a 150mph and a train of AMG/M/RS/911/exotica/whatever steaming past like you were stood still.
Also the inevitable catching and overtaking a line of expensive German bahnstormers hard up to their 155mph limiters, and you sailing past at 157 mph in your much less fancy unrestricted car that you've "possibly" managed to wind up to that. You waving, looks on their faces etc etc. Like you can actually discern the look on someones face when driving at that speed.
Come on, who's gonna be the first?
It's not the exotica that scared me but the HGV's. Sat in the back of a 1970 Mercedes camper, on tour with a band, with a 4.0L 4 cylinder that made about 60hp we were trying to get up to speed and the speed the HGV's caught up to our tail in the slow lane was absolutely terrifying! Que a ton of chinny reckon tales about doing a 150mph and a train of AMG/M/RS/911/exotica/whatever steaming past like you were stood still.
Also the inevitable catching and overtaking a line of expensive German bahnstormers hard up to their 155mph limiters, and you sailing past at 157 mph in your much less fancy unrestricted car that you've "possibly" managed to wind up to that. You waving, looks on their faces etc etc. Like you can actually discern the look on someones face when driving at that speed.
Come on, who's gonna be the first?
Mastodon2 said:
These adverts crudely disguised as videos of interest to petrolheads really are st.
Especially when the most exciting thing they can dream up is a black saloon car driving in a straight line. On a motorway. At night. I am amazed they can make 166mph so boring. t.I suppose it will be good for Dunlopillo sales.
Stunning! I rarely get the opportunity to drive in Europe and last time I had the chance to head down the autobahns was as a student in '97 travelling from Dover to Laarbruck in a Fiat 500... obviously not quite the same at Sutcliffe's run!
Lovely motor but then I'm an Audi geek so perhaps I'm biased on the wheels front. I also like the fact you've got an experienced car man visibly challenged by the experience. Some tense moments for sure.
This series is very much opening my eyes to new adventures... it's just a question of finding time to do them as they keep coming and are spread all over the place! That said, post Wilton on Sunday a mate and I are heading onto Wales for an extended weekend with his 911. This includes Crickhowell (we hope).
Whether you like them or not is probably question of personal perspective. One mans great drive is another mans waste of time.
Lovely motor but then I'm an Audi geek so perhaps I'm biased on the wheels front. I also like the fact you've got an experienced car man visibly challenged by the experience. Some tense moments for sure.
This series is very much opening my eyes to new adventures... it's just a question of finding time to do them as they keep coming and are spread all over the place! That said, post Wilton on Sunday a mate and I are heading onto Wales for an extended weekend with his 911. This includes Crickhowell (we hope).
Whether you like them or not is probably question of personal perspective. One mans great drive is another mans waste of time.
"It's got brand new Dunlop tyres...20 Inch tyres"
Good job they were, 19" or 21" wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective on those rims.
I like the way the car is shown at 160-odd, then the camera switches to the drivers' face and he (under the pretence that he is still at 160-odd) takes his hand off the wheel and gesticulates while saying something along the lies of: "we are covering ground at a rally high rate, Unbelievable!".
Good job they were, 19" or 21" wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective on those rims.
I like the way the car is shown at 160-odd, then the camera switches to the drivers' face and he (under the pretence that he is still at 160-odd) takes his hand off the wheel and gesticulates while saying something along the lies of: "we are covering ground at a rally high rate, Unbelievable!".
Edited by MC Bodge on Thursday 1st August 18:55
surveyor said:
I found 125mph to be a little faster than I was comfortable at... Ended up cruising between 100 and 110mph....
Last year when I took the 328 to Germany we had a bit of fun on the Autobahn.Managed a sat nav confirmed 138mph before slowing down. I agree, around 100-110mph is a comfortable cruising speed for distance driving (economy wasn't great though!). Above that I found it quite tiring as you need to be uber alert to other cars plus even slight bends can seem rather scary at 120mph+.
g3org3y said:
Last year when I took the 328 to Germany we had a bit of fun on the Autobahn.
Managed a sat nav confirmed 138mph before slowing down. I agree, around 100-110mph is a comfortable cruising speed for distance driving (economy wasn't great though!). Above that I found it quite tiring as you need to be uber alert to other cars plus even slight bends can seem rather scary at 120mph+.
An indicated 120mph in a Mondeo estate seems to be a comfortable cruising speed for carting the family in normal, good conditions on t'autobahn. On an empty, straight, 3-lane UK motorway, hogging the middle lane, the world would be your oyster, until the law caught you.Managed a sat nav confirmed 138mph before slowing down. I agree, around 100-110mph is a comfortable cruising speed for distance driving (economy wasn't great though!). Above that I found it quite tiring as you need to be uber alert to other cars plus even slight bends can seem rather scary at 120mph+.
I've found in the past that the higher the speed the more stable the car or bike feels in a straight line(possibly something to do with the wheels spinning quickly?) although I've never driven near Mach 1 or fast as the bloke in the video.
Edited by MC Bodge on Thursday 1st August 21:43
Spuffington said:
I know this section of autobahn very well, having lived in Frankfurt for a long time.
My PB was actually indicated 160mph in my (UK) E60 535d whereas a rented 997.1 S had me at 260kph (roughly similar speeds) but the E60 felt more nailed down and I didn't have the balls to attempt faster in the 911 despite there clearly being much more in it.
Personally, I find a comfortable cruising speed around the 130mph mark - each 5mph than that feels exponentially faster, whereas 130mph feels just right in most premium cars I've driven over there.
130 mph is about 210 km/h; if you can cruise "comfortably" at that speed, you must have superhuman reflexes. Anything slower that might happen to pop up in front of you is going to make things interesting....My PB was actually indicated 160mph in my (UK) E60 535d whereas a rented 997.1 S had me at 260kph (roughly similar speeds) but the E60 felt more nailed down and I didn't have the balls to attempt faster in the 911 despite there clearly being much more in it.
Personally, I find a comfortable cruising speed around the 130mph mark - each 5mph than that feels exponentially faster, whereas 130mph feels just right in most premium cars I've driven over there.
scherzkeks said:
130 mph is about 210 km/h; if you can cruise "comfortably" at that speed, you must have superhuman reflexes. Anything slower that might happen to pop up in front of you is going to make things interesting....
I guess you really have to drive at 210 km/h on the autobahn to understand why it's not dangerous, really.Admitting you have a decent car (a 5 series feeling much more stable at that speed than a tuned up Peugeot 307).
MartiniBianco said:
I guess you really have to drive at 210 km/h on the autobahn to understand why it's not dangerous, really.
Admitting you have a decent car (a 5 series feeling much more stable at that speed than a tuned up Peugeot 307).
Not dangerous? Oh, please. Also, I live in Germany.Admitting you have a decent car (a 5 series feeling much more stable at that speed than a tuned up Peugeot 307).
Edited by scherzkeks on Thursday 8th August 10:08
It is late but I wanted to contribute my own autobahn story, simply because I enjoy telling it and because I think PH is the place to share it.
Myself and some close friends (who also read PH, so will be interesting to see if they see this post) used to go to Le Mans every year before marriage, kids etc. For the last few years we made more of a eurotrip out of it, doing a session at the ring and staying over in pistenklause etc, amsterdam etc. Too many stories to tell and some amazing times... We would drive whatever we had, from a rental some years, to convoys or rather more interesting metal. We stretched it out for a whole week at one point about 4yrs ago: Le Mans, Nurburgring, Porsche factory and museum, BMW factory and museum and also Alpina before back home. One of my close mates had a prev shape (supercharged) B7 at the time, and had been in regular contact with Alpina. They are very close to their customers at Alpina. At the time they were about to release the new twin turbo B7.
This was a car that hadn't been released yet, not driven by journo's or even seen by anyone in the UK. We turned up at the factory in our rental Fiat Ducato based campervan (whom we had nicknamed Marv and for which we had to pay damages to the tune of £1250 following our trip.....). Our B7 man had been enquiring about the new B7, and had managed to get an invite to drive it whilst we were over there.
We didn't dare park at the factory in our rotten and embarrassing camper, so snook round the corner and walked to Alpina in the least smelly and creased clothes we had left, only to be handed the keys to a late prototype B7, brimmed with fuel, with guidance of a good country road route out and a derestricted autobahn section back. We all piled in (5 up), somewhat taken aback by the surreal nature of what reality was being served up. We set off, country roads were amazing in themselves and my mate was pushing fairly hard, the Alpina being able to generate immense stability and grip without seemingly much roll at all, despite the forces and weight in play. We went into a farm track to do some photos, got chased out by the largest St Bernard type dog you can ever imagine (seriously - we wanted 1500bhp with that beast hunting us down) before getting back onto the autobahn section that was in the satnav.
My mate does not hang about when there is a clear road, but he is well judged. The B7 was awesome and quickly reached and surpassed what you would consider silly speeds. We went over 150 several times, eventually hitting a max of 173mph; 5 up, in a god knows how valuable prototype. Alpina are famed for accuracy of speedometer, which even at 173 was precisely the same as the GPS verified speed we were clocking too. I was sat in the middle (on the dreaded lump) of the back seat, video camera in hand capturing it all. At 173 we were all calm, serene and comfortable. We were still chatting (albeit probably a bit of nervous chat) but it wasn't stretching the car at all. All in all a once in a lifetime chance event. Amazing and unforgettable, and part of what these road trip adventures are all about.
A couple of weeks later was the car's official UK first outing and unveiling at Goodwood. We were there for the last day of my stag weekend and there it was. They had brought over the exact car that we had borrowed
Myself and some close friends (who also read PH, so will be interesting to see if they see this post) used to go to Le Mans every year before marriage, kids etc. For the last few years we made more of a eurotrip out of it, doing a session at the ring and staying over in pistenklause etc, amsterdam etc. Too many stories to tell and some amazing times... We would drive whatever we had, from a rental some years, to convoys or rather more interesting metal. We stretched it out for a whole week at one point about 4yrs ago: Le Mans, Nurburgring, Porsche factory and museum, BMW factory and museum and also Alpina before back home. One of my close mates had a prev shape (supercharged) B7 at the time, and had been in regular contact with Alpina. They are very close to their customers at Alpina. At the time they were about to release the new twin turbo B7.
This was a car that hadn't been released yet, not driven by journo's or even seen by anyone in the UK. We turned up at the factory in our rental Fiat Ducato based campervan (whom we had nicknamed Marv and for which we had to pay damages to the tune of £1250 following our trip.....). Our B7 man had been enquiring about the new B7, and had managed to get an invite to drive it whilst we were over there.
We didn't dare park at the factory in our rotten and embarrassing camper, so snook round the corner and walked to Alpina in the least smelly and creased clothes we had left, only to be handed the keys to a late prototype B7, brimmed with fuel, with guidance of a good country road route out and a derestricted autobahn section back. We all piled in (5 up), somewhat taken aback by the surreal nature of what reality was being served up. We set off, country roads were amazing in themselves and my mate was pushing fairly hard, the Alpina being able to generate immense stability and grip without seemingly much roll at all, despite the forces and weight in play. We went into a farm track to do some photos, got chased out by the largest St Bernard type dog you can ever imagine (seriously - we wanted 1500bhp with that beast hunting us down) before getting back onto the autobahn section that was in the satnav.
My mate does not hang about when there is a clear road, but he is well judged. The B7 was awesome and quickly reached and surpassed what you would consider silly speeds. We went over 150 several times, eventually hitting a max of 173mph; 5 up, in a god knows how valuable prototype. Alpina are famed for accuracy of speedometer, which even at 173 was precisely the same as the GPS verified speed we were clocking too. I was sat in the middle (on the dreaded lump) of the back seat, video camera in hand capturing it all. At 173 we were all calm, serene and comfortable. We were still chatting (albeit probably a bit of nervous chat) but it wasn't stretching the car at all. All in all a once in a lifetime chance event. Amazing and unforgettable, and part of what these road trip adventures are all about.
A couple of weeks later was the car's official UK first outing and unveiling at Goodwood. We were there for the last day of my stag weekend and there it was. They had brought over the exact car that we had borrowed
One thing which always make me smile on the autobahn, is the 'weather' induced restrictions. The theory is that for corners or bridges which become perilous in the wet, you're slowed from unrestricted to 120, then to 100, then to 80...
UNTIL the major danger is passed, after when point, there is a handy sign confirming that, despite the torrential rain, you can now drive as fast as you possibly dare!
UNTIL the major danger is passed, after when point, there is a handy sign confirming that, despite the torrential rain, you can now drive as fast as you possibly dare!
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