Sensible family daily wagon - Mercedes Benz S211 E500
Discussion
Yesterday was a little bit of prudent prep.
Firstly, ensuring that the OG spare was correct at 60psi
next... the tyres for one occupant and luggage, over 130mph and +3psi for (V rated) winter tyres.
After sitting for a week, the arch gaps on the ride height look correct, too.
Battery now sitting on conditioner for optimal performance under load... has to be worth a couple of mph, for sure.
Firstly, ensuring that the OG spare was correct at 60psi
next... the tyres for one occupant and luggage, over 130mph and +3psi for (V rated) winter tyres.
After sitting for a week, the arch gaps on the ride height look correct, too.
Battery now sitting on conditioner for optimal performance under load... has to be worth a couple of mph, for sure.
E90_M3Ross said:
Hope you have a great trip! I do a lot of short trips and I am quite tempted to get a battery conditioner which I could probably leave to plug in overnight once a week or so.
I can highly recommend one of the Victron ones. Think I paid £75 from Amazon for the 5ah, plus got the extension lead and car connections elsewhere. It has Bluetooth as standard and tells you condition and what it’s doing. Really impressed as you have to pay extra for this on most.Summer alloys to be refurbished. I'm going to go for diamond cut again, despite the fact that the finish doesn't last. They just look great when clean -- I do recall having seen another finish which seemed a suitable alternative to diamond cut, but alas I don't recall what it is and don't know whether spit and polish offer it.
Must've forgotten to take a photo of the fourth!
Must've forgotten to take a photo of the fourth!
That's pretty cool. I fear the ship has sailed on this one and I'm a sucker for the five foot diamond cut finish, but I'll make a note for the next refurbishment of the winter alloys.
This evening I packed the car with luggage for myself and family, despite travelling alone and headed to Harwich. I'll likely forget to pay the sodding Dartford tunnel charge tomorrow (someone remind me?) but it was all plain sailing. Even the average speed zones a-plenty weren't the usual tedious travail that they usually represent. The car was happy cruising at 80ish. I topped up ready for tomorrow in Harwich.
It's an early arrival tomorrow at 8am continental time, so I'll hit the sack soon and rest before a long drive tomorrow to Füssen by the border with Austria. My thinking is to locate myself somewhere that I'll be able to pick up an Austrian autobahn ten-day sticker without too much bother. Hopefully, the German autobahnen will be free flowing and fast, to raise the average speeds, so I can chill for a while in the Old Town upon arrival.
This evening I packed the car with luggage for myself and family, despite travelling alone and headed to Harwich. I'll likely forget to pay the sodding Dartford tunnel charge tomorrow (someone remind me?) but it was all plain sailing. Even the average speed zones a-plenty weren't the usual tedious travail that they usually represent. The car was happy cruising at 80ish. I topped up ready for tomorrow in Harwich.
It's an early arrival tomorrow at 8am continental time, so I'll hit the sack soon and rest before a long drive tomorrow to Füssen by the border with Austria. My thinking is to locate myself somewhere that I'll be able to pick up an Austrian autobahn ten-day sticker without too much bother. Hopefully, the German autobahnen will be free flowing and fast, to raise the average speeds, so I can chill for a while in the Old Town upon arrival.
bolidemichael said:
I'll likely forget to pay the sodding Dartford tunnel charge tomorrow (someone remind me?)
Don't forget to pay the Dartford charge*(*) I know I'm 1 hr and 19mins early with the reminder but I did this on my phone so when I log in in the morning and refresh it'll probably post this again
Thanks BC. I paid it this evening, then checked my inbox to find that I've actually paid it at least four times!
The drive today was smooth. I must've taken to wrong turn around three or four times on the labyrinthine Dutch motorway network. Once in Germany, the weather was poor initially then littered with congestion, limits and roadworks for most of the five hundred or so miles. German motorway manners are poor, not too dissimilar to British standards particularly on dual carriageways where they'll fail to move right for faster vehicles, hanging on for 'eventual' overtakes.
Whether it was the fact that I barely drove any urban roads at all, or that the rear tyres were hugely inflated to accommodate >130mph speeds, the mpg was really high, longer for 29ish for most of the day until the final stretch during which I managed to mash the throttle for a while. However, I saw 450miles out of a tank... perhaps the spark plug refresh helped, too? The super unleaded 100ron was €2.59/L on the autobahn(!), so I just topped up with twenty five litres and filled up in Füssen, my destination where is was €1.75/L.
Harking back to tobinen's warning, I suspect that the SBC repair hasn't been done well. The brakes are juddering and I'm fearful that the discs will be f
ked again by the time the journey is done. I'm annoyed that I haven't had smooth brake action for thousands of miles and three sets of brakes. Why, oh why did I cut corners with this?
Anyway, it isn't bad enough to ruin the journey in this excellent car. A wonderful part of the drive was when the Alps appeared in the distance.
I'm parked on a double deck ramp, which was reserved for me!
My room number is very appropriate
Some Bavarian hearty fare. The 7.8% beer with pretzel and egg is a traditional pre-Easter/Lenten offering (chargeable).
Some Bavarian randomness
One for jeremyc
As for tomorrow, I can't decide whether to go and see the fairytale castle of Ludwig II, Neuschwanstein, or drive early to Venice and unload luggage to the hotel and save the girls carrying stuff.
The drive today was smooth. I must've taken to wrong turn around three or four times on the labyrinthine Dutch motorway network. Once in Germany, the weather was poor initially then littered with congestion, limits and roadworks for most of the five hundred or so miles. German motorway manners are poor, not too dissimilar to British standards particularly on dual carriageways where they'll fail to move right for faster vehicles, hanging on for 'eventual' overtakes.
Whether it was the fact that I barely drove any urban roads at all, or that the rear tyres were hugely inflated to accommodate >130mph speeds, the mpg was really high, longer for 29ish for most of the day until the final stretch during which I managed to mash the throttle for a while. However, I saw 450miles out of a tank... perhaps the spark plug refresh helped, too? The super unleaded 100ron was €2.59/L on the autobahn(!), so I just topped up with twenty five litres and filled up in Füssen, my destination where is was €1.75/L.
Harking back to tobinen's warning, I suspect that the SBC repair hasn't been done well. The brakes are juddering and I'm fearful that the discs will be f
ked again by the time the journey is done. I'm annoyed that I haven't had smooth brake action for thousands of miles and three sets of brakes. Why, oh why did I cut corners with this? Anyway, it isn't bad enough to ruin the journey in this excellent car. A wonderful part of the drive was when the Alps appeared in the distance.
I'm parked on a double deck ramp, which was reserved for me!
My room number is very appropriate
Some Bavarian hearty fare. The 7.8% beer with pretzel and egg is a traditional pre-Easter/Lenten offering (chargeable).
Some Bavarian randomness
One for jeremyc
As for tomorrow, I can't decide whether to go and see the fairytale castle of Ludwig II, Neuschwanstein, or drive early to Venice and unload luggage to the hotel and save the girls carrying stuff.
I had best get a quick catch up in before the return journey begins tomorrow.
Leaving Füssen was relaxed, with a morning walk up to a high point in town that housed the Stations of the Cross. From there I could see the Neuschwanstein (the white castle) and Hoheschwanstein (the yellow castle) nestled in the hills.
Before leaving the car park... I first had to get to my car:
easily done however, with the beautiful German hostess operating the lift (out of shot, sorry!).
After checking out, the next stop was to buy an Austrian vignette. I had a couple of options - a ten day pass or a two month pass. Considering that I may drive to Athens in April and that I'll still be banned from France until mid-May, I opted for the two month pass -- you pay €29.90 and the vendor punches the holes into the sticker, accordingly.
Next was a fabulous, meandering road that climbed through the mountains and back down again to get to the motorway, direction Innsbruck. As in Blightly, most drivers seem happy to join a caravan and amble along at below the posted limits, which doesn't sit well with my motorcycling tendencies -- so it was quite a ride planning ahead and executing some really enjoyable and satisfying overtakes. I made loads of progress, the downside being that I missed quite a few photo ops in my haste! Still, it's all about the experience and all that...
The motorway took me up towards and through the Brenner Pass -- €11 it cost at the mandatory tolls. However, it was a treat and despite the low speed limits on the Italian side, there were good sight lines and little enforcement, so I made decent progress. Of course being Italy, it wouldn't be a proper driving experience without an inappropriate vehicle being driven inappropriately fast, and I was being harassed by quite a few sporting drivers in combis, 3.5Ts and most notably a generic box thing that was determined not to let me pass nor subsequently get away! Got to love the Italian spirit!
From there, I continued onto the tolls and the autostrada.
The autostrada was moving well and with some lane three dawdlers... the Italians have quite strange behaviour with a hovering behaviour between lanes which I don't quite understand. At some point, a Seat Cupra almost entered the rear hatch of the E500, so I moved aside for him. From then on I had found my battering ram and sat far back enough so as to not make it into a macho race, but close enough to watch him scare the hell out of everyone dawdling in lane three, at which point I'd enthusiastically accelerate in order to prevent the deposed vehicle from prematurely ambling into my path and severing the link. It was astonishing to witness the Pavlovian obedience with which vehicles would move to one side for such aggressive driving behaviour. I, personally speaking, couldn't maintain the stress of that driving style, for sure. It seems, however, that my big balled Italian friend couldn't keep it up either, for eventually he pulled to one side for me and I continued on my way,back to being held up by dawdling lane hoggers, tooBritish polite to try and 'smash their rear end in', fnarr.
The bridge to Venice is long and limited to 70kph with two speed camera on the short stretch. Of course, that doesn't deter the locals from gunning it!
At the end of the bridge is Piazzale Roma -- the destination for a train and most cars. I found an open car park which is incredibly narrow and manned by expressive Italian men who shouted at me for daring to park my own vehicle! I chucked them the keys and started to lug our baggage to the Hotel Marconi situated right next to the Rialto bridge.
On the second run, I found the car tucked in a corner. I opened the boot using the control in the driver's door, without checking what was behind... a concealed railing to a disabled access ramp.
Bugger... I re-did was was undone with the respray in 2021.
Leaving Füssen was relaxed, with a morning walk up to a high point in town that housed the Stations of the Cross. From there I could see the Neuschwanstein (the white castle) and Hoheschwanstein (the yellow castle) nestled in the hills.
Before leaving the car park... I first had to get to my car:
easily done however, with the beautiful German hostess operating the lift (out of shot, sorry!).
After checking out, the next stop was to buy an Austrian vignette. I had a couple of options - a ten day pass or a two month pass. Considering that I may drive to Athens in April and that I'll still be banned from France until mid-May, I opted for the two month pass -- you pay €29.90 and the vendor punches the holes into the sticker, accordingly.
Next was a fabulous, meandering road that climbed through the mountains and back down again to get to the motorway, direction Innsbruck. As in Blightly, most drivers seem happy to join a caravan and amble along at below the posted limits, which doesn't sit well with my motorcycling tendencies -- so it was quite a ride planning ahead and executing some really enjoyable and satisfying overtakes. I made loads of progress, the downside being that I missed quite a few photo ops in my haste! Still, it's all about the experience and all that...
The motorway took me up towards and through the Brenner Pass -- €11 it cost at the mandatory tolls. However, it was a treat and despite the low speed limits on the Italian side, there were good sight lines and little enforcement, so I made decent progress. Of course being Italy, it wouldn't be a proper driving experience without an inappropriate vehicle being driven inappropriately fast, and I was being harassed by quite a few sporting drivers in combis, 3.5Ts and most notably a generic box thing that was determined not to let me pass nor subsequently get away! Got to love the Italian spirit!
From there, I continued onto the tolls and the autostrada.
The autostrada was moving well and with some lane three dawdlers... the Italians have quite strange behaviour with a hovering behaviour between lanes which I don't quite understand. At some point, a Seat Cupra almost entered the rear hatch of the E500, so I moved aside for him. From then on I had found my battering ram and sat far back enough so as to not make it into a macho race, but close enough to watch him scare the hell out of everyone dawdling in lane three, at which point I'd enthusiastically accelerate in order to prevent the deposed vehicle from prematurely ambling into my path and severing the link. It was astonishing to witness the Pavlovian obedience with which vehicles would move to one side for such aggressive driving behaviour. I, personally speaking, couldn't maintain the stress of that driving style, for sure. It seems, however, that my big balled Italian friend couldn't keep it up either, for eventually he pulled to one side for me and I continued on my way,back to being held up by dawdling lane hoggers, too
The bridge to Venice is long and limited to 70kph with two speed camera on the short stretch. Of course, that doesn't deter the locals from gunning it!
At the end of the bridge is Piazzale Roma -- the destination for a train and most cars. I found an open car park which is incredibly narrow and manned by expressive Italian men who shouted at me for daring to park my own vehicle! I chucked them the keys and started to lug our baggage to the Hotel Marconi situated right next to the Rialto bridge.
On the second run, I found the car tucked in a corner. I opened the boot using the control in the driver's door, without checking what was behind... a concealed railing to a disabled access ramp.
Bugger... I re-did was was undone with the respray in 2021.
Edited by bolidemichael on Tuesday 28th March 08:57
do you anticipate sorting it out soon or waiting a while? Have a safe trip back. I stopped at that exact filling station last summer for a vignette. I think we also stopped at the appropriately named Pizzeria Ferrari. We also visited Neuschwanstein having left Munich in the morning. Great to visit, killer hill to get there. The people that build it worked very hard.
I have such a thing for Bavaria generally, and is one of my favourite places to visit. Oktoberfest being a particular highlight.
I think we went on to Innsbruck from there, so nowhere near as south as you. Looks to be a great trip though, with some great stops.
I have such a thing for Bavaria generally, and is one of my favourite places to visit. Oktoberfest being a particular highlight.
I think we went on to Innsbruck from there, so nowhere near as south as you. Looks to be a great trip though, with some great stops.
JakeT said:
I stopped at that exact filling station last summer for a vignette. I think we also stopped at the appropriately named Pizzeria Ferrari. We also visited Neuschwanstein having left Munich in the morning. Great to visit, killer hill to get there. The people that build it worked very hard.
I have such a thing for Bavaria generally, and is one of my favourite places to visit. Oktoberfest being a particular highlight.
I think we went on to Innsbruck from there, so nowhere near as south as you. Looks to be a great trip though, with some great stops.
There's something cool about that, isn't there? Just as well I did purchase one, incidentally, as there was a divertion via border control in Austria from Italy and I suspect that they waived us past as they were checking that we had the appropriate sticker in the window...I have such a thing for Bavaria generally, and is one of my favourite places to visit. Oktoberfest being a particular highlight.
I think we went on to Innsbruck from there, so nowhere near as south as you. Looks to be a great trip though, with some great stops.
Strangely enough, my friend -- upon hearing that I had stopped in Fussen, told me a story of when he stopped there and met the owner of the pizzeria who was the President on the Bavarian (iirc) Ferrari Owners' Club! It must surely one and the same...
We both know that any European road trip is a great one and there is so much culture to experience and discover... this trip to Venice does seem particuarly exotic and travelling over the mountains each way but on different roads has been tremendous -- particularly on the quieter route from Venice and into Salzburg, northbound.
Yesterday's drive was great -- one we got out of Venice... not to say anything negative about the place, we had a wonderful time staying at the Hotel Marconi which is situated right next to the Rialto Bridge. The food was superb at all the places we tracked down (don't eat anywhere with photos on the menu or with a 'tourist menu') and the ambience around, superb. However, lugging all the baggage to the car, twice, ensured that I covered over three miles by foot before we'd even started!
A drive into the mountains saw the typical drama of approaching and entering the Alpine mountain range with its evocative snow peaked caps. The traffic was light and afforded plenty of opportunty to make good time without going mad with speed. The service stations are largely pleasant in this part of the world, though we only stopped twice -- once for a leg stretcher and another as I hadn't had a coffee all day and was in need of a pick me up for the final hour.
Along the way, the temperature which had began at a t-shirt donning 15degC, had dropped to -2degC! We also crossed a milestone of 184,000 miles, having ticked over 183,000 miles somewhere in The Netherlands.
Unfortunately, Mrs BoMi was taking the photos so they're mostly st, but here's a semi-decent one for you to get a flavour of the scene in which we were emersed for the drive.
There were a number of tunnels, too. Some were very impressive -- the series of tunnels and connecting bridges that form the road network in this part of the world never cease to amaze me -- to the engineers of this world, I salute you.
Arriving in Salzburg -- a city of which I know little other than being the home of Red Bull -- was a pleasant surprise. It's built within a rocky outcrop and there is a large white citadel on top of an isolated rock in the centre. It's amusing to wander around and see buildings seemingly buttressed against huge rock faces that drag the eyeline upwards to a comical extent.
We had been tipped off about the Blauegans (Blue Goose) -- a hotel which has stood on the site since 1350! We were staying there, but had booked a table to dine and sample their weiner schnitzel. I left after a generous amount of local wine and schnapps, walking through the tunnel in the rock to our more modest hotel on the other side.
The car? I'm surprised that I thought of seeling it tbh -- it's such a fantastic tourer and since it's quite light and agile, and seems to perform well against modern vehicles, too. The adjustable suspension is noticeable and effective.
A drive into the mountains saw the typical drama of approaching and entering the Alpine mountain range with its evocative snow peaked caps. The traffic was light and afforded plenty of opportunty to make good time without going mad with speed. The service stations are largely pleasant in this part of the world, though we only stopped twice -- once for a leg stretcher and another as I hadn't had a coffee all day and was in need of a pick me up for the final hour.
Along the way, the temperature which had began at a t-shirt donning 15degC, had dropped to -2degC! We also crossed a milestone of 184,000 miles, having ticked over 183,000 miles somewhere in The Netherlands.
Unfortunately, Mrs BoMi was taking the photos so they're mostly s
t, but here's a semi-decent one for you to get a flavour of the scene in which we were emersed for the drive.There were a number of tunnels, too. Some were very impressive -- the series of tunnels and connecting bridges that form the road network in this part of the world never cease to amaze me -- to the engineers of this world, I salute you.
Arriving in Salzburg -- a city of which I know little other than being the home of Red Bull -- was a pleasant surprise. It's built within a rocky outcrop and there is a large white citadel on top of an isolated rock in the centre. It's amusing to wander around and see buildings seemingly buttressed against huge rock faces that drag the eyeline upwards to a comical extent.
We had been tipped off about the Blauegans (Blue Goose) -- a hotel which has stood on the site since 1350! We were staying there, but had booked a table to dine and sample their weiner schnitzel. I left after a generous amount of local wine and schnapps, walking through the tunnel in the rock to our more modest hotel on the other side.
The car? I'm surprised that I thought of seeling it tbh -- it's such a fantastic tourer and since it's quite light and agile, and seems to perform well against modern vehicles, too. The adjustable suspension is noticeable and effective.
Today was a work day, so I headed off towards Obertraun for a site visit. It is beyond the town of Bad Ischl and past Lake Hallestatt -- around ninety minutes' drive from Salzburg.
This view over the town of St Gillen and Lake Wolfgangsee greeted us enroute
The road alongside Lake Hallstatt
It's a little different to SW London
We did detour via Bad Ischl, ostensibly to visit a long-established chocolatier, but actually to add to my son's (and camerman for the day) ranking of European McDonald's chicken nugget league table. These were hot and crispy but with a little too much padding to the coating. The cranberry and devil's hot sauce were good options, though.
There was a moment when we were driving back to Salzburg that it felt so wonderful to be on open sweeping roads in the countryside with a majestic backdrop. Truly what roadtrips deliver for those with the ability to spend time getting to a far flung destination -- thankfully, I have work to drive me to these interesting places -- water tends to be found in pristine locations.
Arriving back in Salzburg, I took the opportunity to fill up before tomorrow's drive -- witness the elegance with which the ENI station laid on conveniences for the driver -- it's almost as though they reflect the respect and trust in the society. A bucket and squeegy, a water spout for the windscreen washer bottle and a portable and charged tyre pressure unit -- I've only seen this before in Denmark.
After last night's gourmet food, I couldn't resist
To tomorrow -- a couple of decisions. Firstly, where to pitch the sweet spot for autobahn driving for V rated winter tyres with effectively three occupants (two children are barely an adult weight) and a decent amount of luggage.
I somehow think that fully loaded >150mph specs are overkill, so may pitch it at 'full loaded <130mph' specs, since I'll seldom exceed 130mph for long spurts tomorrow.... which leads me to the next question.
I've looked at Autobahn speed hunter.com in order to maximise my time on derestricted autobahnen. The last few times I've criss crossed Germany, I haven't hit many derestricted parts, so tomorrow I think that I'll go via Nuremberg and Frankfurt -- the stretch between Munich via Ingolsdadt and to Nuremberg seems to be almost uninterrupted de-restricted motorway. I'll just had to remember to head in the correct direction from Munich, as Waze always pulls me towards the quickest route.
I'll really like to make in to the Nordschleife in time for the start of the tourist drive tomorrow... last time I was there it was closed early, so we cannot afford to leave it too late.
This view over the town of St Gillen and Lake Wolfgangsee greeted us enroute
The road alongside Lake Hallstatt
It's a little different to SW London
We did detour via Bad Ischl, ostensibly to visit a long-established chocolatier, but actually to add to my son's (and camerman for the day) ranking of European McDonald's chicken nugget league table. These were hot and crispy but with a little too much padding to the coating. The cranberry and devil's hot sauce were good options, though.
There was a moment when we were driving back to Salzburg that it felt so wonderful to be on open sweeping roads in the countryside with a majestic backdrop. Truly what roadtrips deliver for those with the ability to spend time getting to a far flung destination -- thankfully, I have work to drive me to these interesting places -- water tends to be found in pristine locations.
Arriving back in Salzburg, I took the opportunity to fill up before tomorrow's drive -- witness the elegance with which the ENI station laid on conveniences for the driver -- it's almost as though they reflect the respect and trust in the society. A bucket and squeegy, a water spout for the windscreen washer bottle and a portable and charged tyre pressure unit -- I've only seen this before in Denmark.
After last night's gourmet food, I couldn't resist
To tomorrow -- a couple of decisions. Firstly, where to pitch the sweet spot for autobahn driving for V rated winter tyres with effectively three occupants (two children are barely an adult weight) and a decent amount of luggage.
I somehow think that fully loaded >150mph specs are overkill, so may pitch it at 'full loaded <130mph' specs, since I'll seldom exceed 130mph for long spurts tomorrow.... which leads me to the next question.
I've looked at Autobahn speed hunter.com in order to maximise my time on derestricted autobahnen. The last few times I've criss crossed Germany, I haven't hit many derestricted parts, so tomorrow I think that I'll go via Nuremberg and Frankfurt -- the stretch between Munich via Ingolsdadt and to Nuremberg seems to be almost uninterrupted de-restricted motorway. I'll just had to remember to head in the correct direction from Munich, as Waze always pulls me towards the quickest route.
I'll really like to make in to the Nordschleife in time for the start of the tourist drive tomorrow... last time I was there it was closed early, so we cannot afford to leave it too late.
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