Taking the S3 on holiday...

jdas03

jdas03

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Hi,

I'm off on holiday next week, driving to the south of France, all in all around a 2k trip over 2 weeks!
Due to the age of the car i couldn't get euro breakdown cover :-( so i want to make sure my car is tip top before i go!

Any advice of things to check, fluids to top up, recommendations to bring with me?

Going to buy some oil to bring with me just in case! Done a few searches but wanted to check, is 0w30 fully synthetic oil ok for a remapped S3? Is there a better option if i was to change it before i go away?

I've done haldex oil and filter, fuel filter, gearbox oil as well, new suspension all round and got a new TIP arriving this week (Thanks Nattie!)

Any other suggestions to check or change to be on the safe side before i go?

Cheers
 
5W40 is what I use in mine. Was in France in June and oil was all I needed, then the usual checks fluid levels and tyre pressure... Also you must have a high visibility jacket and a warning triangle (whatever the name is) to travel through France
 
Id take a small tool box and some scruffy clothes just in case you have to get underneath the car, dont want to ruin your clothes faffing
around with the car if you had to.
 
And the Hi Vis must be in the cabin not in the boot apparently!

I drove down to Bordeaux last summer, and then Meribel in the Alps in Feb, albeit in the 8P. It is a joy to drive in France, the roads are so much better. Check your sat nav is up to date if you use it or the latest road map, I did get caught out with some major junctions that were not on my sat nav and it through a spanner in the works a bit.

Also, make sure your cooling system is working a best it can, the hot weather (38C in Bordeaux last year) combined with prolonged high speed could find you a cropper if things are not in their best shape, check Rad, thermostat, new coolant etc.

Tyres? general condition. Battery?
 
Id just say if your on the motorway at a cruising speed say 70 and someones flying up behind you either put your foot down or get out the way because they won't slow down,found that out on my trip to ausria!,otherwise you might find some road rage!
 
tyres being in a good condition and a spare coilpack or 2 sound like good shouts
 
Don't forget to flip your headlights - there is a lever inside the light (take plastic panel off the back to gain access to the bulbs and it is under the bulb from memory). There should be a how-to somewhere on here.

Good call on the coilpacks - useful to have one in the car even in the UK as I've had one go on a Sunday before and the AA man had run out.

Don't take a speed camera detector - they are illegal in France - even just to have one in the car even if it isn't switched on.

Take the spare keys and give them to a mate and tell him not to leave them in the car. Take photocopies and originals of V5, insurance, driving licence and again leave them in two places (I tend to leave the copies in the car - sod's law states it's when you've just popped to the shops that you don't take them and you might need them).

Other useful advice is here: http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/france-monaco.pdf

We did a Calais - Briancon trip back in July in a friend's Caravelle. It's always a pleasure to drive in France - roads are deserted, well maintained and the standard of French motorway driving is miles ahead of the uk. As mentioned, they tend to get out of the way once they've done overtaking unlike most of the idiots here in the UK.
 
Right, found you the instructions on switching headlights:
Go to this site Homepage - Ewan MacNee and download the A3 Electrical manual from the download section.
Pre-facelift instructions are on page 94-32; facelift instructions are on page 94-63.

Oh, and you can't plan for every eventuality. I had one of my window clips break at a toll booth near Orange, about 600 miles from Calais. Fortunately we managed to force close the window but it made the toll booths fun!
 
Thanks all for the information! didnt realise there was a need for a triangle and his vis lol good job i asked eh!
Cheers again guys! let you know how the S3 copes with the high temps down there ;-)
 
Check your tyre pressures, coolant, screenwash & oil level before you set off. I think fitting new suspension & TIP is a bit extreme for a trip over to France. You're not doing the Paris-Dakar!
 
Meh, don't be too worried about reliability... Anywhere you go there will often somebody who can fix any problems. Can't you just join the adac? Have a good trip
 
The Doctor said:
Check your tyre pressures, coolant, screenwash & oil level before you set off. I think fitting new suspension & TIP is a bit extreme for a trip over to France. You're not doing the Paris-Dakar!
Click to expand...

Suspension needed doing anyway, had the bits so this trip forced me to get my lazy *** up and fit it all! Cheers for the info Guys!
 
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