Chimaeras to Le Mans
Discussion
Pupp said:
Can you get there on £40 of fuel (doubt I'd get to Dover 
)?
I very much doubt it mate. )?But in true Top Gear challenge tradition the plan is to attempt the 381 driven miles from Hertfordshire to Arnage on one forty quid 65 litre LPG fill (driving at a steady 80 - 85).
To do that I need to average 26.66 mpg on LPG which is a very tall order even for 'Ol Gasbag'. Current estimates say I'll run out of gas and be forced to flick to petrol just 13 miles short of our destination.
But knowing me I'll very quickly get caught up in the whole Le Mans thing & end up giving it the beans as I swap places with my mate in his old Porker.
http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features/re...
If I nail it (which I almost certainly will) the LPG range is more or less 300 miles dead, last year I was pulling a gas powered 140 when a blanket behind the seats decided to come free in the howling wind and covered my face
That was a trouser soiler I can tell you
Look out for the boys in blue chaps, the road to Le Mans is like a rolling British cash machine for them
Richard 858 said:
The very best of British luck to all of you making the trip (it'll be a good shake down for your turbo conversion Gary). I'm planning to make the more sedate pilgrimage to LM Classic again next year.
The Classic is by far my personal favorite, little or none of the mindless Le Mans hooligan chavs... & nothing beats the sight, sound & smell of a Cobra chasing a GT40 in the dark.Flames from their exhausts, disc brakes glowing red hot & the thunderous audio onslaught of the combined 14 litres & 16 cylinders fighting it out.
It doesn't get any better than that in my book, a truly epic and emotional atmosphere
Out on the 23:15 Portsmouth to Le Havre on Wednesday. Looking forward to a nice cross-country drive down to Houx on Thursday morning - me in the Chim and mate in a Porky Carrera 4. Hot start worries resolved with a little help from Dave - the Le Mans jams hold no fear! See you there folks. Eric
oily mist said:
Out on the 23:15 Portsmouth to Le Havre on Wednesday. Looking forward to a nice cross-country drive down to Houx on Thursday morning - me in the Chim and mate in a Porky Carrera 4. Hot start worries resolved with a little help from Dave - the Le Mans jams hold no fear! See you there folks. Eric
'Ol Gasbag' swallows it all up yet again...
And that's without even touching all the ample additional storage space on the parcel shelf
I still dont think she'll quite make it all the way from Hertfordshire to Le Mans on one £40 fill of LPG but that's no problem as I'll probably just do the last 30 miles on petrol.
Same deal on the way back... fill up with cheap as chips Carrefour GPL in Le Mans, drive 350 miles home on £35 of French supermarket gas and cover the last 30 miles round the M25 to my house on petrol.
So just two fills and still 80 miles or more of petrol left in the tank when we arrive home, this is one cheap to run & very practical TVR
- 14.3 gallons of LPG
- 5.3 gallons of reserve petrol
- One palatial Coleman 5 man dome tent
- The Surrey Top foldy roof
- Tools
- Jack
- Emergency spares & sundries
And that's without even touching all the ample additional storage space on the parcel shelf
I still dont think she'll quite make it all the way from Hertfordshire to Le Mans on one £40 fill of LPG but that's no problem as I'll probably just do the last 30 miles on petrol.
Same deal on the way back... fill up with cheap as chips Carrefour GPL in Le Mans, drive 350 miles home on £35 of French supermarket gas and cover the last 30 miles round the M25 to my house on petrol.
So just two fills and still 80 miles or more of petrol left in the tank when we arrive home, this is one cheap to run & very practical TVR
The excitement builds on this thread every time I look, looking good Chimpongas, there's nothing like getting prepared for a foreign road trip, I've not done it yet in the Tvr but it's on my list,
Hurray for the Chimaera boot space. I bet your all buzzing in anticipation, Goodluck lads.
Hurray for the Chimaera boot space. I bet your all buzzing in anticipation, Goodluck lads.
Andav469 said:
ChimpOnGas said:
Not long now boys 
The car is fuelled up and ready to go 
Regular unleaded at the same station is £1.15p so their LPG is better than half price fuel.
Here's how the cost equivalent looks in this case:
£1.15 / £0.55 = 2.090 X 24mpg = 50.18mpg petrol cost equivalent fuel economy from a TVR
Hertfordshire to Le Mans and home again for less than £100 in fuel, cheap as chips and more money left for
if you see me on the way down!
AJV8 said:
pincher are those 16 inch estorilles all round ? I've been dying to see one set up like this if so. Bon Voyage all, sure it will be an epic trip !
Indeed they are Not technically mine but you know what they say about possession being 9/10ths of the law and all that
Made it down without any issues (except for the one speeding fine in our group - about 10 miles from the Bolougne peage
Just heading back from the CBW, via Carrefour. Am a bit wet
Got back late last night and 'Ol Gasbag' did me proud again, covered 798 miles in total much of it at a fair old lick but fortunately no fines and all for just £95 of LPG
That's a petrol cost equivalent of 43.93mpg, not a bad average fuel economy over the full 798 miles when much of it was completed close to or over 100mph.
Somehow our gang found ourselves walking the track at 4.00am on Saturday morning on our way back from the driver's parade party, before we were politely ejected by the officials at the pits.
I think we were lucky not to have our weekend passes confiscated, yet another fantastic hedonistic trip to Le Mans
Let the recovery begin
That's a petrol cost equivalent of 43.93mpg, not a bad average fuel economy over the full 798 miles when much of it was completed close to or over 100mph.
Somehow our gang found ourselves walking the track at 4.00am on Saturday morning on our way back from the driver's parade party, before we were politely ejected by the officials at the pits.
I think we were lucky not to have our weekend passes confiscated, yet another fantastic hedonistic trip to Le Mans
Let the recovery begin
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