I am sure you are aware that in Deustchland they require more thread depth than in UK .

I get bored quickly with top speed steady autobahn driving, especially night time. I prefer mixture, keeps you awake for longer. I must be getting older...

Yep - 3mm. Only 5mm on the front Dunlops, so they won't last long now..

I agree - It's nice to be able to stretch the legs a bit, but as good as it sounds, I tend to happily potter down them at between 80 and 100 (mph) which seems to be the speed it likes to sit at. As you approach "the ton", concentration levels needed seem to rise exponentially. Having that amount of grunt on tap though, it doesn't take long to add another 20mph on top to overtake a few HGVs before being pushed out of the way by a Merc or Audi flying up the outside lane..

Sorry Jabozuma... Accidentally called you "Freedom"... It's a long while since I've had time to post anything on this site, and I don't remember seeing 'Freedom' members before... Thanks for pointing out the error of my ways - I understand what's going on now.

And by the way, I'm still very surprised that tyres could make 7% or more difference to my fuel consumption...

No worries mate . As you can see I was rather "jokingly" about it really .

And yes, you are right, 7% is quite a lot...

Yep - 3mm. Only 5mm on the front Dunlops, so they won't last long now..

I agree - It's nice to be able to stretch the legs a bit, but as good as it sounds, I tend to happily potter down them at between 80 and 100 (mph) which seems to be the speed it likes to sit at. As you approach "the ton", concentration levels needed seem to rise exponentially. Having that amount of grunt on tap though, it doesn't take long to add another 20mph on top to overtake a few HGVs before being pushed out of the way by a Merc or Audi flying up the outside lane..

I tend to look 10 times more into back mirrors while on Autobhans then in UK - look, nothing there, look split second later - mirrors full of bright headlamps belonging to something doing Warp9 . It gives you a perspective when you doing 140mph thinking you are about to take off (at least in vRS) and next thing you know soemthing flies past you like you were stationary .

T

It gives you a perspective when you doing 140mph thinking you are about to take off (at least in vRS) and next thing you know soemthing flies past you like you were stationary .

That's probably the taxi I take from Köln airport to the DE office in Limburg on occasion. Usually a Merc with a cracked windscreen and a slightly mad driver...

T

That's probably the taxi I take from Köln airport to the DE office in Limburg on occasion. Usually a Merc with a cracked windscreen and a slightly mad driver...

That will certainly keep you awake :peek:

Most noticeable is the fuel consumption, which has increased by at least 7% across all driving conditions. -........................................ I thought it would be 2-3% at worst...

Cheers

Stephen

Interested to what you were saying here. It is hard to imagine that different tyres would change fuel consumption by 1 or 2 percent.

What does change also though is the rolling radius and the height of the car by a percent or two also and maybe those factors as well contributed to the larger than expected fuel consumption figures.

The Green-lines are lower to reduce frontal area.

Generally I reckon avoiding braking and using neutral coasting down long hills makes the biggest differences. The coasting is another whole can of worms and best not to go there unless open minded and a various degrees in Mech Eng, Thermodynamics etc.

Averaging 43 mpg at the moment. Do mainly long journeys, occasional blast up to 120/125 (kph of course Officer) and very pleased with the Fabia especially now on variable servicing.

Filling the upper part of the tank when starting long journeys gives me 450 miles of range, happy days. Oh and Shell Nitro+ waste of money, sticking with Tescos Momentum and points thank-you.

Yep - 3mm. Only 5mm on the front Dunlops, so they won't last long now..

I agree - It's nice to be able to stretch the legs a bit, but as good as it sounds, I tend to happily potter down them at between 80 and 100 (mph) which seems to be the speed it likes to sit at. As you approach "the ton", concentration levels needed seem to rise exponentially. Having that amount of grunt on tap though, it doesn't take long to add another 20mph on top to overtake a few HGVs before being pushed out of the way by a Merc or Audi flying up the outside lane..

When I replace the tyres I'll go for 215/40/17,they will slightly raise the gearing an so may help economy.

Regarding high speed cruising this reminded me how cars have advanced over the years.

I recall in the 60's Dennis Jenkinson,the MotorSport mag writer used to say that he cruised the continental motorways at 100 mph and increased to 120 when it was appropriate to gain speed to assist traffic flow.

That was in an E type Jag 4.2 and there were few other cars then that had the performance to do this.

Now our little 1.4 Fabias can do this,as can most cars.

When I replace the tyres I'll go for 215/40/17,they will slightly raise the gearing an so may help economy.

Regarding high speed cruising this reminded me how cars have advanced over the years.

I recall in the 60's Dennis Jenkinson,the MotorSport mag writer used to say that he cruised the continental motorways at 100 mph and increased to 120 when it was appropriate to gain speed to assist traffic flow.

That was in an E type Jag 4.2 and there were few other cars then that had the performance to do this.

Now our little 1.4 Fabias can do this,as can most cars.

I really fancy changing to the 215/40-17s but do you have to tell your insurance as that is not the recommended fitment or is there a way round that??

The 215s are much more avialable than the 205s as few other cars old STs used 205s.

That was in an E type Jag 4.2 and there were few other cars then that had the performance to do this.

Now our little 1.4 Fabias can do this,as can most cars.

Most cars now are vaguely capable of stopping from those speeds, too. An E-type never was...

I really fancy changing to the 215/40-17s but do you have to tell your insurance as that is not the recommended fitment or is there a way round that??

The 215s are much more avialable than the 205s as few other cars old STs used 205s.

Personally I wouldn't bother.There are similar cars in the VAG range that have 215 tyres and some have said that it's just an economy measure on Skodas,so the slighty larger size I would see as a mod that has upsides and no downsides and is non- notifiable for insurance.....or if you do notify it ought not to make any difference to the premium.

Most cars now are vaguely capable of stopping from those speeds, too. An E-type never was...

Not really true.The E had good brakes for the day but they had to be maintained regularly as they were prone to seizure.

Many E types today have had their brakes uprated to modern standards,they can obviously be made better now,50 years is a long time.

Yes, I was making a comparison to modern cars. Things have indeed moved on a lot...

Concentration levels do need to be raised that extra notch over UK motorways...but I do find it much easier to drive something with the power in reserve so you can pull out safer and quicker and not impede the flow of traffic.

Left paddle, left paddle, pull out, right foot...

Works for me..