and we're off !

[paultv]

First job since lockdown...and we're off to Switzerland, warm day, top off and a quick stop after the first 250km.

Feels great to be on the road for a long drive at last...so far all good!

Paul

[steve_k]

have a safe trip buddy, & don't forget plenty of pics.

[tha881]

Bet you've been looking forward to getting it back on a long run! How many miles or km will you doing? Do you have plans for driving any mountain passes while your there?

[paultv]

Round trip will be 1500km and yes I'm taking the pretty route to chaud de Fonds on the French border which is 1km up!

Just stopped by Baden Baden...250 km left to drive ...should be fine but there's often crazy weather up in them thar hills!

Paul

[paultv]

E30's alive and well....seen 3 so far today..nice thumbs up from a guy in a slightly lowered 325i...and a honk and wave from a bloke in an SUV.

Just passed the BBS factory on the A5 north of Basel...sorry going too fast to snag a photo!

Paul

[martauto]

Hi Paul, loads of pics please
Have a good trip and keep safe mate.

Mart.

[paultv]

I took the pretty route into France then south along the border and finally into Switzerland...

Great mountain pass roads...curvy and empty...a joy to drive....

Oh yes and one more E30 outside a garage..so total 4!

[Tzantushka]

Enjoy!

I’m very jealous. 13deg C and rain in our part if the world - can’t wait for Summer

[Brianmoooore]

Enjoy!

I’m very jealous. 13deg C and rain in our part if the world - can’t wait for Summer

So am I! Was due to spend a couple of weeks about 60 miles from where you are last month, but it ain't going to happen now for this year at least.

[Cloggy Saint]

Enjoy!

I’m very jealous. 13deg C and rain in our part if the world - can’t wait for Summer

13C and rain is our summer.

[paultv]

Well I made it just fine!

After 330 miles on the clock I refilled the tank to the very top and squeezed in 39 litres - 8.579 uk gallons.

So thats 38.466 miles to the gallon.

I certainly spent some time doing a steady 70 ish but also plenty doing 90 and more...so I reckon this is pretty good...the replacement 3.46:1 diff I fitted has certainly reduced the over excited rev behaviour of the engine and it still pulls like mad...so I reckon this ratio is a great compromise for this car if you do a lot of long haul.



Paul

[Cloggy Saint]

38.5 mpg is amazing, even on a run I don't see any more than 25

[paultv]

I'm sure I've made an error with the math or the mileage...its too good to be true! I normally get just over 300 miles on a tank .... which is crap...perhaps the reccond injectors have helped a bit.

I'm doing about 2750 revs in 5th at a tad under 70mph

Paul

[kieran325]

I set off for a Euro road trip on the 29th June, took the M5 as I thought it would be too much for the E30 M3.

So far I’ve been - Manchester - Bruges - Baden Baden - Zermatt- Monaco - St Tropez and I’m in Annecy now.

Heading back up North will see us stopping at Colmar - Baden Baden - Nürburg and finally heading back to Bruges for 2 nights so we can come home on the 10th July. In all that mileage I’ve seen 1 E30 in Monaco of all places.

[paultv]

I'm sure the M3 would have loved it!!

Paul

[paultv]

So driving back tomorrow...I'll do another mpg check as I'm not convinced my math was correct...

Meanwhile I'm doing this:

Paul

[hennabm]

Did you have any breakdown/recovery cover? If so which company did you use?

[Speedtouch]

Well I made it just fine!

After 330 miles on the clock I refilled the tank to the very top and squeezed in 39 litres - 8.579 uk gallons.

So thats 38.466 miles to the gallon.

39 L = 8.571 gallons, giving exactly 38.5 mpg. Impressive for a heavy 325i convertible!

[RTTBMW]

What he lost going up hill he made up for going downhill!

[minesapint]

I’ve always kept a record of the fuel I’ve bought, mileage & hence fuel consumption since I bought the car 1986 (325i cab). I used to go touring through the Alps etc for my holidays. Just checked & the best I’ve ever had on one of those hols was 34.51 mpg.
Whatever you’re doing & however you’re driving......keep it up!
Well done.

[paultv]

I've got euro wide cover with ADAC. A couple of years ago I had a head gasket failure south of Paris on my way to Bordeaux for a weeks work.

The car was collected off the Peage with me and my camera gear ... and returned to me in germany...took 3 weeks to show up, they gave me a rental for 6 days which I drove to Bordeaux, then drove back to Dortmund and dropped it there when the job was finished. They paid for a hotel room as well as my schedule was a bit upset by the breakdown.

Can't fault them...I ended up having to pay 60 euros excess on my policy for the whole event...

The policy costs 80 euros per year for the family!

They even paid for a taxi to take me from the breakdown garage in a tiny village in france to the nearest Hertz office with all my gear.

Paul

[kieran325]

I’ve tried joining ADAC but they won’t take on new UK members.

I left Baden Baden this morning and got caught up in an accident on the A5 heading towards Karlsruhe, ADAC was there within minutes.

[paultv]

Jeez..that A5! Got stuck there yesterday...nearly an hour standing .... didnt see you !!!


Paul

[kieran325]

I think I wasted 45 mins. I should of gone via Luxembourg but I like the autobahn and decided to go via Koln and then slip into Bruges that way.

I was in a E61 M5 touring

[paultv]

Correction:

The distance travelled was 320,628 miles and the fuel was 39 litres -

so yes, a result of 37.37 mpg

Pretty bloody good!

Paul

[Satan]

I don't worry about the fuel as most cars are frugal compared to the Subaru BP5 Twinscroll lol

[paultv]

Here we go again...

Just rolled the old girl out of the garage after a gearbox oil change....and a general check over before leaving good and early tomorrow morning to drive to Lugano, a gentle 800km trip.

Weather report says 35c down south so its time to get my top off!!

[Brianmoooore]

Looks like a garage queen! Actually a trans continental mileage muncher.
Anyone who thinks an E30 is no longer suitable as a daily driver - refer them to this thread.

[martauto]

Looks like a garage queen! Actually a trans continental mileage muncher.
Anyone who thinks an E30 is no longer suitable as a daily driver - refer them to this thread.

Quite agree with you on this one, absolute credit to you Paul. Oh and by the way lets see some pics of the trip please

Mart.

[JungleGus]

She's a beauty! A bit better than mine on fuel - 1956 miles to 321L = 27.7 MPG or 10.2 L/100K....

[paultv]

Through the Gottard Tunnel and it's raining!!

Lovely...it was too hot!!

Paul

[paultv]

[paultv]

...it was so hot my mobile case melted and is now a write off!


Car performing as expected....63km to go!

Paul

[paultv]

So yesterday I got 39.717 mpg.

This of course is only on a run with almost no urban or town driving..just a lot of traffic jams on motorways.

So it's really the very best driving conditions to reach this figure...I'm pretty sure I get 20-25 around town.

Paul

[paultv]

Here's one from the Gotthard Pass, yesterday morning in the sun.

Made it back last night after a 1600km round trip in 4 days -


Paul