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Berlin - Erfurt - Bruges - Calais - Norwich - Worcester - London - Folkestone - Erfurt - Berlin
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tonyrome   
Mon Apr 19 2010, 09:32am
Joined: Nov 22 2009
Member No: #15
 My latest trek will be the route above, beginning on Thursday. It should be around 3500km in total and I will have two passengers and a fully laden car for the outbound journey and just myself for the return leg. Due to the lack of boot space, I will have to use the spare rear seat & floor for my own luggage, so it will be pretty much the same as three passengers and driver on the way to the UK.

I will make a short report here, particularly as the passengers have never travelled in a C6 before. With the weather a lot warmer now (20C yesterday!), I can also compare the fuel economy figures with recent trips.

It's MoT time as well, so I hope the car sails straight through. In addition, I'll be having another oil/filter change. If I have enough time, I'll also be trying to resolve a number of niggles I have discovered with the car and I'll then be following Dave's suggestion and giving the car a thorough Swissvax clean & polish
C6Dave   
Tue Apr 20 2010, 06:35pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 Let us know how you get on Tony, I just hope the ferry booking will be honoured given all the confusion that's going on at the moment.
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gmerry   
Tue Apr 20 2010, 07:53pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Tony, if you are short of luggage space, will you ditch the spare wheel and just take a can or two of puncture repair. I'm presuming you have some kind of breakdown cover that could get your wheel to a tyre shop in an emergency. Then again unless you have had the wheels off they are probably corroded in place!!

Those spare wheels are big and take up a lot of space.

Regards
G
tonyrome   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 06:48am
Joined: Nov 22 2009
Member No: #15
C6Dave wrote ...
I just hope the ferry booking will be honoured given all the confusion that's going on at the moment.

It's the tunnel, actually, but I don't see how they cannot honour it. The booking was made months ago and cannot be changed to accommodate someone who was supposed to use an airline! The only problem may be if I turn up late. Usually, there's a 2 hour window either side of departure time and they will book you on the next available crossing but these may be full.

gmerry wrote ...
if you are short of luggage space, will you ditch the spare wheel and just take a can or two of puncture repair. I'm presuming you have some kind of breakdown cover that could get your wheel to a tyre shop in an emergency. Then again unless you have had the wheels off they are probably corroded in place!! Those spare wheels are big and take up a lot of space.

Yes, I have breakdown recovery service throughout Europe. The wheels have been off several times already, as I changed between 18s and 17s with winter tyres, so no problems with corrosion. The spare wheel is a space-saver, so it's not that big, certainly not in comparison with a standard 18" alloy. Using the wheel well wouldn't allow me to fit much more in, although it would reduce the weight by a few kg, I suppose.
michaelb   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 07:14am
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
 The biggest worry about getting a puncture with a fully laden car on a trip like that isn't having to drive at a restricted speed with the stupid space-saving tyre but where do you put the wheel with the flat tyre? It won't fit in the wheel well.

Coming back from France on Sunday I had a FULL car, not just the boot but all the foot-wells and unused seats where packed with bags too. If I'd had a puncture I would have had no idea where an extra 18" wheel would have gone. Add to that the fact that most punctures occur in the rain and you have a very pretty picture.

Another reason I'm tempted to change to 17"s all round.
C6Dave   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 12:23pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
michaelb wrote ...


Another reason I'm tempted to change to 17"s all round.

The 17" wheels fitted with the correct tyres are the same diameter and rolling radius as 18" so where would the saving on space be?
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michaelb   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 03:24pm
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
C6Dave wrote ...

The 17" wheels fitted with the correct tyres are the same diameter and rolling radius as 18" so where would the saving on space be?


I haven't tried it yet, but because Citroën choose not to give us a fifth 18" wheel I am supposing the 18" rim doesn't fit in the spare wheel well. I know the diameter is the same but the width is obviously more. If you can't put the punctured 18" into the spare wheel well it will have to ride to the tyre shop on your passenger's lap
C6Dave   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 03:47pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 I had 225X 45 18" on the C4 (normal is 204X50 17" and it fitted the wheel well with no issues

It needs someone to try an 18" alloy into the hole, the only reason you get the steel 'spare' is to save on cost as it's normally a 55mph rated 'get you home' tyre.

None of the Citroen Peugeot range get a 5th Alloy as a spare that I know of.
Website
gmerry   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 04:00pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 I had the 18" 245/45 Michelin shod alloy in the spare wheel well over winter, as I had nicked the steel spare and shod that with an Ice Touring M&S tyre. The 18" wheel was predictably a little higher so the boot board sat on top of the tyre and a little proud of the boot edges. After a week it sagged down anyhow. So yes, you will lose a tiny bit of boot space if you have to stow a flat 18" tyre in the spare wheel well which is only really designed for a 17" 225/55 tyre. But it will fit!!!!

Regards
C6Dave   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 06:16pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 Thanks for the confirmation Gordon
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michaelb   
Wed Apr 21 2010, 07:16pm
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
gmerry wrote ...
But it will fit!!!!



Well that's good news. So my passenger doesn't have to worry about holding a wet dirty Roccastrada in her lap
C6Dave   
Thu Apr 22 2010, 07:07am

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 No one should sit in a car and hold a wheel, it can be exceedingly dangerous, have a read of - Click Here -
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michaelb   
Thu Apr 22 2010, 08:53am
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
C6Dave wrote ...
, have a read of - Click Here -


That is shocking. I think space-savers should be banned, this story alone is good enough reason.
tonyrome   
Sun May 02 2010, 06:20pm
Joined: Nov 22 2009
Member No: #15
 Just a quick update to say that the car ran well on the outbound journey, with my two passengers and a full quota of luggage. Since the pair I was transporting were elderly, I kept the speed down a bit, mainly 80-100mph on the Autobahns and 70-80mph through Belgium, Netherlands, France and the UK, although I did hit 120mph for a short spell in Germany. The Tunnel was clear of traffic by the time I crossed (last Monday) and I was even able to catch an earlier crossing, so no problems related to the flight cancellations.

Apart from the road/wind noise issue - the M20 from the tunnel was incredibly loud, so that surface must be completely shot - the trip was smooth. Out of interest, my passengers found the rear seats more comfortable than the front, so I ended up accommodating them both in the rear seats and putting my luggage in the front passenger seat!

Thanks to gentle use of the throttle and generally lower speeds, I managed to average 38.7mpg for approximately 900 miles, which is not at all bad, especially fully laden. Incidentally, I noticed that Belgian fuel is currently a lot cheaper than German, Dutch, French or English, so I'll be tanking up there on the way back .

The car sailed straight through the MoT and has also had another oil and filter change. As mentioned in another post, I have had the Michelins removed and the wheels are currently being powder coated. I'll pick those up on Tuesday and get them balanced and refitted. On Wednesday, I'm off to Norwich, to have the dealer perform the corrosion check, as it's due a stamp in the service book. Perhaps I can resolve one or two other niggles at the same time.

I hope I can fit in a wash and Swisswax before my return on Friday morning. For the return leg of the journey, I'll be on my own but still heavily laden, as there will be a 30kg keyboard in the boot and assorted other kit, too!
tonyrome   
Thu May 27 2010, 09:09am
Joined: Nov 22 2009
Member No: #15
 The return journey totalled 1400km, averaging 7.1 l/100km (39.8mpg), so things are looking up on the fuel consumption front! Although I took it gently and kept the speed around 80mph much of the time, backing off the throttle wherever possible etc., I drove for a while at 100mph, so almost 40mpg is a very commendable result.

Here are a couple of pictures of the powder coated wheels, when they were still nice and clean...
 

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