Discussion
Hello all!
I'm planning a trip down to Tuscany in mid September and would really appreciate any advice on getting there and back (in a '99 Chimaera 450)in the most enjoyable/trouble free way.
We plan to drive down through France and cut across to Italy via the Mont Blanc tunnel.
Would you consider using non-toll roads vs toll roads?
Is Optimax freely available in France/Italy and if not whats the best alternative?
Would you recommend taking any spare fuses or other parts not freely available on the continet?
Any tips for the ferry re damage limitation?
Are there any particular roads down there not to be missed?
How do they catch you speeding?
The one thing I do know is to have is RAC European Breakdown Cover which is already arranged.
Many thanks in advance
I'm planning a trip down to Tuscany in mid September and would really appreciate any advice on getting there and back (in a '99 Chimaera 450)in the most enjoyable/trouble free way.
We plan to drive down through France and cut across to Italy via the Mont Blanc tunnel.
Would you consider using non-toll roads vs toll roads?
Is Optimax freely available in France/Italy and if not whats the best alternative?
Would you recommend taking any spare fuses or other parts not freely available on the continet?
Any tips for the ferry re damage limitation?
Are there any particular roads down there not to be missed?
How do they catch you speeding?
The one thing I do know is to have is RAC European Breakdown Cover which is already arranged.
Many thanks in advance
Did exactly that same journey in April this year and what a pleasure it was (on the way down anyway). Didnt take the TVR, but will do at some point in the near future.
The drive is almost a pleasure - its long (1200 miles each way) and you really should do it in two days (I did it in one once). I did just stick to the autoroutes though - could do the other roads, but it will take you twice as long as a result. Super isnt too bad to find and most service stations have it - though not all of the time, but do note that service stations are frequent on the continent so there should be no problems about getting fuel at any point.
The france part of the journey is a little dull (sorry all French people out there). Its too flat and all fields either side - but dont go via Paris and take the other autoroute and you should sail through with no major problems. The charges arent too bad either - total should be a tank of petrol so well worth it. Once you start getting on to the ATB (The motorway to the Mont Blanc tunnel) things get interesting - lots of mountains etc. Still fairly flat, but nice to look at. Once you start getting into the mountains then take it easy - you'll notice the lack of power and temperature drop.
The tunnel is OK too - they run cars only through it at a set distance, but this doesnt seem to cause too many hold-ups but do expect to wait for 10 - 20 minutes before going through. Oh, and if you havent been through it before - put the hood up (its VERY LOUD) and dont wear too much - outside was around 10C while the tunnel was pushing 25C!!!! Again, heat buildup and lack of power take their toll on cooling of the car (I was in a Vectra that saw a big increase in water temp when running through it!).
The other side is great - lots of winding roads and amazing scenery. It does get a little dull around Turin etc as it is again very flat, but good fun with the local traffic!
Once you start on the A1 towards Rome at the top of Tuscanny then it gets very interesting - the Autostrada cuts through the hills and rids up and down all the time. Its two lanes but good fun. Oh, and one word of warning - when the road signs say 60KPH - they mean it!!! Some corners are very tight.
On the way back I did take the road to the east coast first and then cut through the mountains up toward Aosta etc. Very nice and classic mountain roads (again Autostrada). Progress is good and you can really get some miles behind you at decent speeds (though cant condone speeding
).
Overall an excellent journey - not too expensive and you can enjoy some of the scenery. If you have the time then do take some detors. I didnt have the spare time, but well worth it if you can. European drivers are actually well behaved on the roads - lane discipine is excellent and it is a pleasure to drive on the roads. Though once you hit the small single carriageways in Italy watch out for those damn vespa trucks..... they WONT get out of your way....
Hope this helps and enjoy. If there is anything else that you need to know then please let me know....
Cheers,
Paul
The drive is almost a pleasure - its long (1200 miles each way) and you really should do it in two days (I did it in one once). I did just stick to the autoroutes though - could do the other roads, but it will take you twice as long as a result. Super isnt too bad to find and most service stations have it - though not all of the time, but do note that service stations are frequent on the continent so there should be no problems about getting fuel at any point.
The france part of the journey is a little dull (sorry all French people out there). Its too flat and all fields either side - but dont go via Paris and take the other autoroute and you should sail through with no major problems. The charges arent too bad either - total should be a tank of petrol so well worth it. Once you start getting on to the ATB (The motorway to the Mont Blanc tunnel) things get interesting - lots of mountains etc. Still fairly flat, but nice to look at. Once you start getting into the mountains then take it easy - you'll notice the lack of power and temperature drop.
The tunnel is OK too - they run cars only through it at a set distance, but this doesnt seem to cause too many hold-ups but do expect to wait for 10 - 20 minutes before going through. Oh, and if you havent been through it before - put the hood up (its VERY LOUD) and dont wear too much - outside was around 10C while the tunnel was pushing 25C!!!! Again, heat buildup and lack of power take their toll on cooling of the car (I was in a Vectra that saw a big increase in water temp when running through it!).
The other side is great - lots of winding roads and amazing scenery. It does get a little dull around Turin etc as it is again very flat, but good fun with the local traffic!
Once you start on the A1 towards Rome at the top of Tuscanny then it gets very interesting - the Autostrada cuts through the hills and rids up and down all the time. Its two lanes but good fun. Oh, and one word of warning - when the road signs say 60KPH - they mean it!!! Some corners are very tight. On the way back I did take the road to the east coast first and then cut through the mountains up toward Aosta etc. Very nice and classic mountain roads (again Autostrada). Progress is good and you can really get some miles behind you at decent speeds (though cant condone speeding
). Overall an excellent journey - not too expensive and you can enjoy some of the scenery. If you have the time then do take some detors. I didnt have the spare time, but well worth it if you can. European drivers are actually well behaved on the roads - lane discipine is excellent and it is a pleasure to drive on the roads. Though once you hit the small single carriageways in Italy watch out for those damn vespa trucks..... they WONT get out of your way....
Hope this helps and enjoy. If there is anything else that you need to know then please let me know....
Cheers,
Paul
Just got back from Tuscany. Before we went, we did debate on whether the TVR should accompany us, but because I am slightly paranoid, we decided against it, flew out and hired a (swallow) Vauxhall Corsa whilst we were there (look - I don't work in IT, I couldn't afford anything bigger).
To be honest, apart from the fact that my 1.2 Corsa was an absolute nightmare, I am glad I did it. We rented a mill-house with some friends and slummed it around right near nowhere (Poppi if you must know) in the back of beyond. It was a trully great area but there was no way the TVR would be happy on some of the dirt tracks that the Wops call roads. How they managed to reverse their tanks down those at any speed, God only knows. For the TVR, it would have been new exhaust here, new sump there, new engine mounts everywhere!
Still - the main roads are awesome, and if you stay on the beaten track you'll have a great time driving. I hope you don't break down though... All the wild-eyed mechanics I saw at the garages were much more interested in touching my wifes arse than filling up my Corsa.
To be honest, apart from the fact that my 1.2 Corsa was an absolute nightmare, I am glad I did it. We rented a mill-house with some friends and slummed it around right near nowhere (Poppi if you must know) in the back of beyond. It was a trully great area but there was no way the TVR would be happy on some of the dirt tracks that the Wops call roads. How they managed to reverse their tanks down those at any speed, God only knows. For the TVR, it would have been new exhaust here, new sump there, new engine mounts everywhere!
Still - the main roads are awesome, and if you stay on the beaten track you'll have a great time driving. I hope you don't break down though... All the wild-eyed mechanics I saw at the garages were much more interested in touching my wifes arse than filling up my Corsa.
I have just returned from my trip (in the Chimaera) from Dublin to Perugia (Umbria) 3600 miles and it did'nt miss a beat, just got a bit hot crossing the alps (but it did'nt over heat!)
We broke the journey in Buckingham and in Mutzig (great little hotel 70 euro a night with evening meal)only real problem was trying to use the Gottard Tunnel on a saturday (huge cue 3 hours plus, got pissed off with it so went over the top!)
Where ever we drove the TVR down there it turned heads and the great noise bouncing of old walled towns we went through was fab
came back via Monaco (fab drive from Monaco to Grenoble through the hills) and Le Touquet (stayed at the Westminster Hotel)
We took various spares (which we did not thankfully need)
1 X fan belt
1 X otter switch
40 amp fuses for fans
1 X can radweld
1 X Throttle Cable ( Kindly lent to me by Colin Logan)
1 X Set of hoses ( Kindly lent to me by Colin Logan)
would I do it again ......Oh yes
We broke the journey in Buckingham and in Mutzig (great little hotel 70 euro a night with evening meal)only real problem was trying to use the Gottard Tunnel on a saturday (huge cue 3 hours plus, got pissed off with it so went over the top!)
Where ever we drove the TVR down there it turned heads and the great noise bouncing of old walled towns we went through was fab
came back via Monaco (fab drive from Monaco to Grenoble through the hills) and Le Touquet (stayed at the Westminster Hotel)
We took various spares (which we did not thankfully need)
1 X fan belt
1 X otter switch
40 amp fuses for fans
1 X can radweld
1 X Throttle Cable ( Kindly lent to me by Colin Logan)
1 X Set of hoses ( Kindly lent to me by Colin Logan)
would I do it again ......Oh yes
quote:
Is Optimax freely available in France/Italy and if not whats the best alternative?
. . .
Are there any particular roads down there not to be missed?
Hi
Ii've just returned from 2750 miles around Italy and France (via Mont Blanc) in my Griff 500 and its a great trip to do.
I found that my car - which runs fantastically on Optimax - suffered lots of pre-ignition (pinking @ high revs) on Italian and French super unleaded. Perhaps the heat had an impact but next time I would definately fill up here with crapola fuel first and tweak the ignition timing a little to make sure it could cope abroad.
As for great roads, I can second the Monacco/Grenoble route through Gap and Sisteron. Its where the Monte Carlo rally is held and takes in much of the Route Napoléon. Read about it here:
www.pistonheads.com/roads/europe.asp?area=france#0
Expect to create a stir in a TVR too. They are sooo rare there that everbody assumes its some kind of hundred grand supercar. I had a few Italian petrol station owners forcing me to open the bonnet to exclaimations of "Englaisie Ferrari". All good fun!
Enjoy
Marco
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