Discussion
We made it to Deutschland! If you're reading this in the future, this is exciting because we are in the midst of a global pandemic and this week:
A) Germany was willing to take visitors from the South of England and
B) UK was willing to let us back in from Germany without a two week quarantine.
Saturday we drove down and stayed in a town called Elham 15 mins from Folkestone. We had the choice of forging a path through London or all the way round the M25 but the 5 minute saving didn't seem worth it so motorway it was. All was going well until we hit the concrete sections with the strange expansion joints on the south side of the M25 and and R8 just hated it. Slapping as we went over the expansions and a strange resonounce if we were going at anything over 70 meant we were sticking to the speed limit in that bit!
The missus had her first drive as we came of the motorway on the way to Elham. It's not that easy a car with the light flywheel and gated shift but she bossed it. She even managed to squeak it into the small car park at the pub that had me puckering!
A) Germany was willing to take visitors from the South of England and
B) UK was willing to let us back in from Germany without a two week quarantine.
Saturday we drove down and stayed in a town called Elham 15 mins from Folkestone. We had the choice of forging a path through London or all the way round the M25 but the 5 minute saving didn't seem worth it so motorway it was. All was going well until we hit the concrete sections with the strange expansion joints on the south side of the M25 and and R8 just hated it. Slapping as we went over the expansions and a strange resonounce if we were going at anything over 70 meant we were sticking to the speed limit in that bit!
The missus had her first drive as we came of the motorway on the way to Elham. It's not that easy a car with the light flywheel and gated shift but she bossed it. She even managed to squeak it into the small car park at the pub that had me puckering!
Sunday we were up at the crack of 8:30 for breakfast after a refreshingly English cold shower and on the road by 9am. Half way to the Euro Tunnel we got the "Oil Low - Add 1 Litre message".
The V8 is kind of famous for using oil - Audi say up to 1L per 1000 miles is normal. And it's not the normal fill-ya-tractor buy at the services type oil. Oh no. Its fancy expensive oil.
But I'd planned for this so I'd bought a litre and had it nestled securely in the frunk before heading off.
So we got to the parking after checking in to the train and smashed in the litre bottle i'd brought. The guy in the lovely Lotus near us may have snorted a little but he was kind.
On checking in they decided our car was low or wide so we got on with the vans. Pulled in behind a trailer containing a pile of rust that was vaguely in the shape of a Lancia.
The V8 is kind of famous for using oil - Audi say up to 1L per 1000 miles is normal. And it's not the normal fill-ya-tractor buy at the services type oil. Oh no. Its fancy expensive oil.
But I'd planned for this so I'd bought a litre and had it nestled securely in the frunk before heading off.
So we got to the parking after checking in to the train and smashed in the litre bottle i'd brought. The guy in the lovely Lotus near us may have snorted a little but he was kind. On checking in they decided our car was low or wide so we got on with the vans. Pulled in behind a trailer containing a pile of rust that was vaguely in the shape of a Lancia.
Sunday was just smashing our way through France. We stayed on the Autoroute toll roads all the way to Saarbrucken. 130kph speed limits is nice but they are heavily enforced with hidden speed cameras so we stuck on the tunes, grabbed the cruise control and arrived in Germany 5 hours later.
Only exciting thing that happened was coming out of a toll booth on wet concrete. I floor it in 1st as you do and it spins up. OK. 4wd is a broad church, let's see about 2nd. Nope, that's kinda slithery now. Missus unhappy, asking why men have to speed away from toll booths. Dunno, it's just what we do.
Saarbrucken was quite pleasant even if the temperature had dropped a lot. Most restaurants were shut because Sunday so we booked into a fancy place and ate well.
Only exciting thing that happened was coming out of a toll booth on wet concrete. I floor it in 1st as you do and it spins up. OK. 4wd is a broad church, let's see about 2nd. Nope, that's kinda slithery now. Missus unhappy, asking why men have to speed away from toll booths. Dunno, it's just what we do.
Saarbrucken was quite pleasant even if the temperature had dropped a lot. Most restaurants were shut because Sunday so we booked into a fancy place and ate well.
Edited by seefarr on Tuesday 13th October 21:16
OK, more about the car I promise.
I'm feeling a bit stressed by the oil usage so we find a German auto parts store and buy two litres of oil. At €22 a litre. Like I said, it's fancy feckin oil.
We are into Germany now and ready to stretch our legs on the way down to the alps. As soon as we pull onto the motorway we see the lovely unrestricted sign. Only time I've ever been on Autobahn before was in the Evo and that didn't exactly enjoy high speed cruises or a rental diesel E class which was dull. But the R8 is perhaps unsurprisingly loving it.
This may be a pertinent time to mention fuel efficiency. It doesn't have it. At a steady 130kph (80mph) on cruise control it will average 22mpg. We have used many dinosaur squeezings in this trip, but we ride public transport the rest of the year so its probably OK.
Now that that's out the way I'm cruising at 100mph with bursts North of 120mph with not even a squeak from the passenger seat so it must seem as planted on her side as it does mine. Not being able to see the speedo from the passenger seat is also probably helping here. There's a fair amount of traffic as always so that seems quick enough anyway. She hits over 100mph a few times too and we get passed by a BMW 2 series Active Tourer wound up to north of 120mph with a frazzled looking women at the wheel. Germany.
We get a few tunnels to play V8 songs into and all is happiness. Coming down into a speed limited section everyone else plants on their brakes and I just coast down.
.
.
.
FLASH
.
Damn.
OK, let's not do that again. We lunch in Ulm which was Einstein's birthplace and has some pretty old houses, then a quick drive into Lindau in the Bodensee.
I'm feeling a bit stressed by the oil usage so we find a German auto parts store and buy two litres of oil. At €22 a litre. Like I said, it's fancy feckin oil.
We are into Germany now and ready to stretch our legs on the way down to the alps. As soon as we pull onto the motorway we see the lovely unrestricted sign. Only time I've ever been on Autobahn before was in the Evo and that didn't exactly enjoy high speed cruises or a rental diesel E class which was dull. But the R8 is perhaps unsurprisingly loving it.
This may be a pertinent time to mention fuel efficiency. It doesn't have it. At a steady 130kph (80mph) on cruise control it will average 22mpg. We have used many dinosaur squeezings in this trip, but we ride public transport the rest of the year so its probably OK.
Now that that's out the way I'm cruising at 100mph with bursts North of 120mph with not even a squeak from the passenger seat so it must seem as planted on her side as it does mine. Not being able to see the speedo from the passenger seat is also probably helping here. There's a fair amount of traffic as always so that seems quick enough anyway. She hits over 100mph a few times too and we get passed by a BMW 2 series Active Tourer wound up to north of 120mph with a frazzled looking women at the wheel. Germany.
We get a few tunnels to play V8 songs into and all is happiness. Coming down into a speed limited section everyone else plants on their brakes and I just coast down.
.
.
.
FLASH
.
Damn.
OK, let's not do that again. We lunch in Ulm which was Einstein's birthplace and has some pretty old houses, then a quick drive into Lindau in the Bodensee.
Edited by seefarr on Tuesday 13th October 21:03
seefarr said:
OK, more about the car I promise.
I'm feeling a bit stressed by the oil usage so we find a German auto parts store and buy two litres of oil. At €22 a litre. Like I said, it's fancy feckin oil.
We are into Germany now and ready to stretch our legs on the way down to the alps. As soon as we pull onto the motorway we see the lovely unrestricted sign. Only time I've ever been on Autobahn before was in the Evo and that didn't exactly enjoy high speed cruises or a rental diesel E class which was dull. But the R8 is perhaps unsurprisingly loving it.
This may be a pertinent time to mention fuel efficiency. It doesn't have it. At a steady 130kph (80mph) on cruise control it will average 22mpg. We have used many dinosaur squeezings in this trip, but we ride public transport the rest of the year so its probably OK.
Now that that's out the way I'm cruising at 100mph with bursts North of 120mph with not even a squeak from the passenger seat so it must seem as planted on her side as it does mine. Not being able to see the speedo from the passenger seat is also probably helping here. There's a fair amount of traffic as always so that seems quick enough anyway. She hits over 100mph a few times too and we get passed by a BMW 2 series Active Tourer wound up to north of 120mph with a frazzled looking women at the wheel. Germany.
We get a few tunnels to play V8 songs into and all is happiness. Coming down into a speed limited section everyone else plants on their brakes and I just coast down.
.
.
.
FLASH
.
Damn.
OK, let's not do that again. We lunch in Ulm which was Einstein's birthplace and has some pretty old houses, then a quick drive into Lindau in the Bodensee.
I did 5 years in Germany, I'm feeling a bit stressed by the oil usage so we find a German auto parts store and buy two litres of oil. At €22 a litre. Like I said, it's fancy feckin oil.
We are into Germany now and ready to stretch our legs on the way down to the alps. As soon as we pull onto the motorway we see the lovely unrestricted sign. Only time I've ever been on Autobahn before was in the Evo and that didn't exactly enjoy high speed cruises or a rental diesel E class which was dull. But the R8 is perhaps unsurprisingly loving it.
This may be a pertinent time to mention fuel efficiency. It doesn't have it. At a steady 130kph (80mph) on cruise control it will average 22mpg. We have used many dinosaur squeezings in this trip, but we ride public transport the rest of the year so its probably OK.
Now that that's out the way I'm cruising at 100mph with bursts North of 120mph with not even a squeak from the passenger seat so it must seem as planted on her side as it does mine. Not being able to see the speedo from the passenger seat is also probably helping here. There's a fair amount of traffic as always so that seems quick enough anyway. She hits over 100mph a few times too and we get passed by a BMW 2 series Active Tourer wound up to north of 120mph with a frazzled looking women at the wheel. Germany.
We get a few tunnels to play V8 songs into and all is happiness. Coming down into a speed limited section everyone else plants on their brakes and I just coast down.
.
.
.
FLASH
.
Damn.
OK, let's not do that again. We lunch in Ulm which was Einstein's birthplace and has some pretty old houses, then a quick drive into Lindau in the Bodensee.
Edited by seefarr on Tuesday 13th October 21:03
You *very* quickly learn that when the locals slow right down, you need to!
You’ll only do it once.
Its interesting hearing about the V8 MPG.
I have a V10 manual and its usually around 21-22mpg day to day. I did a 180 mile each way trip last weekend. One way I was 70-100mph all the way and a lot of overtakes and steady sitting at 90mph and I got 25mpg. On the way home was 70mph pretty much all the way and I got 26mpg.
I have a V10 manual and its usually around 21-22mpg day to day. I did a 180 mile each way trip last weekend. One way I was 70-100mph all the way and a lot of overtakes and steady sitting at 90mph and I got 25mpg. On the way home was 70mph pretty much all the way and I got 26mpg.
PaulJC84 said:
Its interesting hearing about the V8 MPG.
I have a V10 manual and its usually around 21-22mpg day to day. I did a 180 mile each way trip last weekend. One way I was 70-100mph all the way and a lot of overtakes and steady sitting at 90mph and I got 25mpg. On the way home was 70mph pretty much all the way and I got 26mpg.
Kind of dissapointed to here this! I discounted a V10 as I'd read the fuel efficiency was mental. Maybe a walnut blast will improve mine. I have a V10 manual and its usually around 21-22mpg day to day. I did a 180 mile each way trip last weekend. One way I was 70-100mph all the way and a lot of overtakes and steady sitting at 90mph and I got 25mpg. On the way home was 70mph pretty much all the way and I got 26mpg.
Anyway, fuel is for burning so next day we did. Here's the route if anyone cares - I think it was fabulous but I put it together so...
https://goo.gl/maps/ZUC4TwDm3344gb83A
We turned right out of Lindau and straight into Austria. Austria is currently on the naughty list for GB so we didn't stop other than in deserted road side parking. The drive would have been great (well sighted fast speepers) except I had a police van swing in behind me so we studiously adhered to the speed limits. At the German border town of Baldershwang, he turned around and we found ourself with a very special bit of road all to ourselves. Fast, slow, hairpins it had it all. I was like a pig in the proverbial in the Audi and it was loving it. Only downside was that the temperature was hovering just above 0c so I was very cautious about ice in the shade.
We went down to Oberstdorf which is tucked up right into Austria but still in Germany for lunch. Pretty alpine village and we managed to stumble upon a burger and chips that came with truffle mayo that may as well have been crack.
Back into Austria for another pass after lunch and it was just as good as the first one after we'd stopped and let the traffic go past. I was getting used to giving it the herbs in 2nd out of the tight hairpins, feeling the rear start to give way. The missus was starting to feel like 2nd was too ambitious!
Utterly stunning scenery all the way along, with snowy mountains, autumnal leaves and lakes.
We finished up in Füssen in Germany overnight. More cute medieval village, beer and pork = happiness.
Congrats on the car, I had a similar one for 10 years and the only thing that I had an issue with was radio reception. Its an absolute peach of a car, the only reason I moved it on was I wasn't using it enough. 46k kilometre's in 10 years! I had the mag ride and found it brilliant. I didn't use the car for small journeys and when I did use it I drove it hard, I did 2 carbon cleans (easy to diy!) and there was never a large build up (compared to golf gti or rs4) I suspect the harder driving helped?!
Don't stress over the oil consumption, the engine differs a bit from rs4 as it has a dry sump, if you check the oil level on the dipstick it will vary massively all the time, I was advised to only top up oil when you got an advisory message on the dash and only to add 1l.
Fair play for upgrading the mmi, that was the weakest point on the car!
Don't stress over the oil consumption, the engine differs a bit from rs4 as it has a dry sump, if you check the oil level on the dipstick it will vary massively all the time, I was advised to only top up oil when you got an advisory message on the dash and only to add 1l.
Fair play for upgrading the mmi, that was the weakest point on the car!
Great write up! I love the early V8 manual R8, it seems destined to be (already?) a future classic and the design in my opinion is really timeless, i actually think the original is better than the current model's fussiness in terms of looks.
My current car; 2014 Cayman 2.7 PDK is approaching the end of it's warranty and i'm really tempted by the R8 but just don't know if i could live with the fuel economy and the age of the vehicle (owners, Sat Nav, switchgear, etc.) but this thread is fantastic to hear about one that is being used.
Happy roadtrippin and keep the content coming regardless of whether it's the car or your travels - We all need the escape at the minute!
My current car; 2014 Cayman 2.7 PDK is approaching the end of it's warranty and i'm really tempted by the R8 but just don't know if i could live with the fuel economy and the age of the vehicle (owners, Sat Nav, switchgear, etc.) but this thread is fantastic to hear about one that is being used.
Happy roadtrippin and keep the content coming regardless of whether it's the car or your travels - We all need the escape at the minute!
Second alpine road trip day was amazing. We had great weather the whole day (apart from a bit of cloud on some passes). If I was doing this again in two days, I'd take three days but in two days I would have pushed on to Gamisch on the first day rather than Füssen as the second days drive was pretty long.
Actually, speaking of Füssen the hotel we stayed in had parking at the hotel (€10 a night like every hotel in Germany). We got kind of stressed getting in though. First level down was OK - I made it in one pass but no parks there. The next ramp down was steeper and tighter and I had to back up a couple of times to get down. I was frazzled by the time we got it in the parking spot and not looking forward to getting it out. The front diff locks up a lot when it's cold so your turning circle is worse and it makes hideous noises.
The room was super heated like all of Europe and I ended up having nightmares about driving it out of the car park all night!
As I got to the car a friendly German bloke wanted to chat about it and I just wanted to leave - sorry bloke. I had the missus walking up I front to make sure there was no contact but I did it in one go with no reversing in the end. The locking diff was happy on the slippery concrete so good turning circle and no horrible sounds. Success!
Second days trip and again, fabulous:
https://goo.gl/maps/Z3SLTNMX3bvvZWgcA
So we made it past Garmisch-Partenkirchen (via Austria) all good and started the trip I'd outlined. We turned off the main road and onto a tiny little sub-B road that was 1.5 Audis wide. The missus was driving at this stage and was not happy about this. We got to the start of a random toll road that was on the way that consisted of a man in a shed taking €5 in a bucket from the occasional car that went past. We checked out googles and this was certainly the quickest way to get anywhere. I magnanimously offered to drive in the tight bits, paid the man and we were off. The road promptly widened up to 1.9 Audis and we hadn't seen any oncoming traffic or lane marking.
Hang on, is this a one way toll road like that famous one around Nuremburg I hear so much about
? Speed is building gradually but we're making progress when the boss in the passenger seat notices that the road signs point in both directions. Back off and come face to face with a camper van round the next corner.
Cool.
The road was a beaut though, even if we weren't setting a new lap record. A beautiful river running beside it as we ducked in and out of the forest.
Actually, speaking of Füssen the hotel we stayed in had parking at the hotel (€10 a night like every hotel in Germany). We got kind of stressed getting in though. First level down was OK - I made it in one pass but no parks there. The next ramp down was steeper and tighter and I had to back up a couple of times to get down. I was frazzled by the time we got it in the parking spot and not looking forward to getting it out. The front diff locks up a lot when it's cold so your turning circle is worse and it makes hideous noises.
The room was super heated like all of Europe and I ended up having nightmares about driving it out of the car park all night!
As I got to the car a friendly German bloke wanted to chat about it and I just wanted to leave - sorry bloke. I had the missus walking up I front to make sure there was no contact but I did it in one go with no reversing in the end. The locking diff was happy on the slippery concrete so good turning circle and no horrible sounds. Success!Second days trip and again, fabulous:
https://goo.gl/maps/Z3SLTNMX3bvvZWgcA
So we made it past Garmisch-Partenkirchen (via Austria) all good and started the trip I'd outlined. We turned off the main road and onto a tiny little sub-B road that was 1.5 Audis wide. The missus was driving at this stage and was not happy about this. We got to the start of a random toll road that was on the way that consisted of a man in a shed taking €5 in a bucket from the occasional car that went past. We checked out googles and this was certainly the quickest way to get anywhere. I magnanimously offered to drive in the tight bits, paid the man and we were off. The road promptly widened up to 1.9 Audis and we hadn't seen any oncoming traffic or lane marking.
Hang on, is this a one way toll road like that famous one around Nuremburg I hear so much about
? Speed is building gradually but we're making progress when the boss in the passenger seat notices that the road signs point in both directions. Back off and come face to face with a camper van round the next corner.Cool.
The road was a beaut though, even if we weren't setting a new lap record. A beautiful river running beside it as we ducked in and out of the forest.
Edited by seefarr on Thursday 15th October 22:25
That toll road, I remember it well from my Austria trips. It’s right next to the Isar river flowing into Sylvenstein reservoir which you cross via a nice bridge.
Shame you weren’t there in summer. Going from west to east along that road, just before its end via a right turn over a small bridge, there are parking spots for stopping and dipping your feet into crystal clear alpine river water where the Isar is still young and a few meters wide only. Remember doing that when it was 32 degrees outside and the water was like 12 degrees or so. Good times
Shame you weren’t there in summer. Going from west to east along that road, just before its end via a right turn over a small bridge, there are parking spots for stopping and dipping your feet into crystal clear alpine river water where the Isar is still young and a few meters wide only. Remember doing that when it was 32 degrees outside and the water was like 12 degrees or so. Good times
From the toll road we were spat out on a lively little road past some lakes. No traffic and some fast perfect roads with the occasional spot of lake scenery was perfect.
Round the lakes Turgensee and up to Schiersee for lunch then onto the thext pass. Another perfect road and I'm trusting the brakes to lean hard now. We stop off at a nice river and the Tazerwurm waterfall.
I finally get my turn I the passenger seat and the missus gets a chance to start playing with the Audi on yet more empty roads.
We pull into our Berchtesgaden hotel via some crazy narrow roads and a minor disagreement but all is well and we eat another kilo of pork each. Just like lunch.
Round the lakes Turgensee and up to Schiersee for lunch then onto the thext pass. Another perfect road and I'm trusting the brakes to lean hard now. We stop off at a nice river and the Tazerwurm waterfall.
I finally get my turn I the passenger seat and the missus gets a chance to start playing with the Audi on yet more empty roads.
We pull into our Berchtesgaden hotel via some crazy narrow roads and a minor disagreement but all is well and we eat another kilo of pork each. Just like lunch.
Is the required oil not VW 504 - 507? it's what both my (non R8) V8 and V10 use. Cheap as chips from TPS, Quantum longlife which is Genuine VAG oil and what they come from the factory with, 20 Litre box (similar to a large wine box) with a tap fitted is around £60 odd. If its too big just fill a couple of smaller bottles for long trips.
DamnKraut said:
That toll road, I remember it well from my Austria trips. It’s right next to the Isar river flowing into Sylvenstein reservoir which you cross via a nice bridge.
Shame you weren’t there in summer. Going from west to east along that road, just before its end via a right turn over a small bridge, there are parking spots for stopping and dipping your feet into crystal clear alpine river water where the Isar is still young and a few meters wide only. Remember doing that when it was 32 degrees outside and the water was like 12 degrees or so. Good times
That's the one! But it was ~5c outside so not too keen dipping feet in the water! Shame you weren’t there in summer. Going from west to east along that road, just before its end via a right turn over a small bridge, there are parking spots for stopping and dipping your feet into crystal clear alpine river water where the Isar is still young and a few meters wide only. Remember doing that when it was 32 degrees outside and the water was like 12 degrees or so. Good times
ninepoint2 said:
Is the required oil not VW 504 - 507? it's what both my (non R8) V8 and V10 use. Cheap as chips from TPS, Quantum longlife which is Genuine VAG oil and what they come from the factory with, 20 Litre box (similar to a large wine box) with a tap fitted is around £60 odd. If its too big just fill a couple of smaller bottles for long trips.
See that requires prior planning and not buying it from an Auto parts store in bumfeck nowhere Germany. I didn't actually think I'd use a litre!!! Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff