Long drive half completed.

[Vincenzo]

I have recently completed half of my drive from Perth to Darwin via Canberra in my new / second hand recent purchase and offer up the following observations from the drive for discussion ridicule or what ever else.

1) No one in WA appears to understand the concept of speed limits. It didn't matter if driving through the suburbs, freeways, highways where ever I was continually swamped by people overtaking me when I sat at the speed limits. This applied especially to the "B Doubles". The opposite applied in SA, Vic and NSW.

2) Cheapest fuel I found was $1.19/L for 91 in Perth.

3) Most expensive fuel was $1.98/L for 98 half way between Norseman and Eucla.

4) Saw two Police officers with hand held Radar guns south of Perth on the freeway and was followed by a highway Patrol for 50km into Mildura from Port Augusta. Did not see any others.

5) The highway from Norseman to Eucla had hundreds of dead Roos and five or six dead emus on and beside the road. Eucla to Ceduna not a single body.

6) Average price of 98 ron varied between $1.55/L to $1.65/L.

7) The only problem I found with the roads themselves were in small patches of bumpy road and areas where the road is so hot the Bitumen is beginning to melt.

8) the vehicle had very few bugs splattered on it and did not see any plague proportion insect infestations.

9) With the exception of 11 vehicles, every car / caravan I passed was towed / pulled by a SUV, 4x4, LandCruiser, Patrol, Prado, Audi Q7, Ford F series etc and there were mobs of them.

The 11 exceptions were 10 Falcon / Fairlane varients and one lone commodore. 1 EL, 1EF, 1 BA and 7 AU's of which 4 were Fairlane / Ghias.



I am resting for a week in Canberra for Mum's 75th birthday before heading off to Darwin for the second half of the trip, so any comments PM's etc you know how to find me.

Cheers to all Vincenzo

[mik]

Heh I did a short stint working in wa years ago , some of the drivers over there are in a special class on their own.

[Moby Vic]

That's quite a drive! What's the new/secondhand purchase?

[1TUFXR]

I am about to do Syd to Melbourne this weekend, worried about all the stone chips!!

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by 1TUFXR

I am about to do Syd to Melbourne this weekend, worried about all the stone chips!!

You'll be fine, the Hume is a pretty smooth and trouble free drive. That said, I don't have a new GT

[SXR6]

The Hume is also a very very boring drive lol, but I drove it twice every weekend for 12 months.

[Vincenzo]

Originally Posted by SXR6

The Hume is also a very very boring drive lol, but I drove it twice every weekend for 12 months.

After thousands of kilometres of flat boring lonely terrain, the section of the Hume from near Wagga Wagga to the Canberra turnoff was sheer bluddy luxury mate. Seeing other cars and driving up and down hills was just an extravagance.

[Dauphin]

Thanks for the write up, Vincenzo. An interesting realistic insight into cross-country driving. I hope to drive from Melbourne to Perth one day.

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by Dauphin

I hope to drive from Melbourne to Perth one day.

I initially thought you said in one day!!!

I thought, well, it's possible....

[Dauphin]

A quick calculation shows it would be possible if I drove at my car's limit of 180 km/h all the way across the 3,500 kms or so. It would take 19 and a half hours!

Edit: I'm sure the engine would blow up after the first ten minutes though, hehe.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Dauphin

A quick calculation shows it would be possible if I drove at my car's limit of 180 km/h all the way across the 3,500 kms or so. It would take 19 and a half hours!

You would need at least 2 probably 3 drivers and would have to sit on above 220km/h to cover all the time fuelling and travelling through built up areas.
You would be fuelling every 1.5 to 2 hours at around 300km intervals which may present a bit of a problem accross the bight especially with headwinds.
This is of course assuming that your car, especially your tyres, can actually handle running at that speed for that period of time which most can't due to the stinking hot day and things that go hop in the night.

So even if it were legal it would be a major team effort to achieve this.

[XR6_661]

98ron...1.65

I'm paying 1.75 for 95ron haha

[Dauphin]

Of course, there's the real world. It was just a bit of theoretical fun. I was surprised to see it would equate to just 19.5 hours if it was magically possible and allowable.

[mcnews]

I did Phillip Island to Perth in just over 40 hours a couple of years ago. Two days is a hard ask. Three days is a casual doddle.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Vincenzo

I have recently completed half of my drive from Perth to Darwin via Canberra in my new / second hand recent purchase and offer up the following observations from the drive for discussion ridicule or what ever else.

1) No one in WA appears to understand the concept of speed limits. It didn't matter if driving through the suburbs, freeways, highways where ever I was continually swamped by people overtaking me when I sat at the speed limits. This applied especially to the "B Doubles". The opposite applied in SA, Vic and NSW.

Oh, it's not just WA where the b-doubles appear to have no problem sneaking up and overtaking you...
Took this over my shoulder in a 110 zone when I was doing about 115 by my GPS the other day...

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by flappist

You would need at least 2 probably 3 drivers and would have to sit on above 220km/h to cover all the time fuelling and travelling through built up areas.
You would be fuelling every 1.5 to 2 hours at around 300km intervals which may present a bit of a problem accross the bight especially with headwinds.
This is of course assuming that your car, especially your tyres, can actually handle running at that speed for that period of time which most can't due to the stinking hot day and things that go hop in the night.

So even if it were legal it would be a major team effort to achieve this.

Cannonball anybody ?



Vincenzo. That's a helluva long scenic route to get to Darwin

[zilo]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Oh, it's not just WA where the b-doubles appear to have no problem sneaking up and overtaking you...
Took this over my shoulder in a 110 zone when I was doing about 115 by my GPS the other day...
image

your speedo must have been exagerrating...no other explanation possible...

[Vincenzo]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Cannonball anybody ?
Vincenzo. That's a helluva long scenic route to get to Darwin

Yeah I know. I found my dream car of 30 years for sale. I had been looking at a T3 but that in itself is another story. I bought the car in Perth and was going to drive it back to Darwin via the west coast. Then I realized that as soon as I got back to Darwin I would have to jump on a plane and fly to Canberra for Mum's 75th Birtthday. So, I thought why not and just drove to Canberra.

The new (2nd hand) vehicle is not a Ford. If you are interested in seeing it you will find it at http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19334

The second half will commence next week but at this stage I don't know whether I will go back to Port Augusta and travel up through the middle. Head north through central NSW / Qld to the Isa then across, or to Sydney and up the coast to Townsville then across to the Three ways and up.

Cheers to all Vincenzo

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by flappist

You would need at least 2 probably 3 drivers and would have to sit on above 220km/h to cover all the time fuelling and travelling through built up areas.
You would be fuelling every 1.5 to 2 hours at around 300km intervals which may present a bit of a problem accross the bight especially with headwinds.
This is of course assuming that your car, especially your tyres, can actually handle running at that speed for that period of time which most can't due to the stinking hot day and things that go hop in the night.

So even if it were legal it would be a major team effort to achieve this.

Ford I6T motors cope pretty well with extended high speed driving. Well into the triple digits, they will still average 16L/100km on injected LPG.

[xxx000]

nice car, they're an old favourite of mine

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Vincenzo

Yeah I know. I found my dream car of 30 years for sale. I had been looking at a T3 but that in itself is another story. I bought the car in Perth and was going to drive it back to Darwin via the west coast. Then I realized that as soon as I got back to Darwin I would have to jump on a plane and fly to Canberra for Mum's 75th Birtthday. So, I thought why not and just drove to Canberra.

The new (2nd hand) vehicle is not a Ford. If you are interested in seeing it you will find it at http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19334

The second half will commence next week but at this stage I don't know whether I will go back to Port Augusta and travel up through the middle. Head north through central NSW / Qld to the Isa then across, or to Sydney and up the coast to Townsville then across to the Three ways and up.

Cheers to all Vincenzo

Congratulations on the purchase , I like that model a great deal and recently purchased an '87 735I adding it to my two e36 ( 2 door and 4 door) and a couple of old jags
he who dies with the most toys etc.
do write more about the trip as you proced and good luck on the rest of the trip

[flappist]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Ford I6T motors cope pretty well with extended high speed driving. Well into the triple digits, they will still average 16L/100km on injected LPG.

And this is based on what experience?

The only place you could have done a long run at high speed in a I6T is NT and their was not a lot of LPG up there at the time.

[Vincenzo]

Originally Posted by aus880

nice car, they're an old favourite of mine

Mine as well, I am looking forward to home part of the trip.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Oh, it's not just WA where the b-doubles appear to have no problem sneaking up and overtaking you...
Took this over my shoulder in a 110 zone when I was doing about 115 by my GPS the other day...
image

so while you were speeding, you didn't like someone else speeding?? i think i'm missing something!

[4.0i OHC]

Congrats on the purchase. Quite possibly my favourite non-Ford!

[Vincenzo]

Originally Posted by atec77

Congratulations on the purchase , I like that model a great deal and recently purchased an '87 735I adding it to my two e36 ( 2 door and 4 door) and a couple of old jags he who dies with the most toys etc.
do write more about the trip as you proceed and good luck on the rest of the trip

Is the 735 an E23 or an E32? As for the E36 I find it depends on the colour as to whether or not they appeal to me. In regard to the old Jags, I like the Mk11 3.8s. I will do a full update on the BigCoupe Forum and a summary for those interested here.

Cheers and take care Vincenzo

[Vincenzo]

Originally Posted by 4.0i OHC

Congrats on the purchase. Quite possibly my favourite non-Ford!

I came for the I6, I'll stay for the I6 and I'll leave shortly after the I6 does.



Hence my desire to stay with an inline 6 and not go to an eight. I just love the sound of a BMW six on song - HEAVEN.

Cheers Vincenzo

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Oh, it's not just WA where the b-doubles appear to have no problem sneaking up and overtaking you...
Took this over my shoulder in a 110 zone when I was doing about 115 by my GPS the other day...
image

Originally Posted by Vincenzo

No one in WA appears to understand the concept of speed limits. It didn't matter if driving through the suburbs, freeways, highways where ever I was continually swamped by people overtaking me when I sat at the speed limits. This applied especially to the "B Doubles". The opposite applied in SA, Vic and NSW.

Tell me about it. I have just got back from spending a week in rural QLD visiting family, and I've never seen such insane, scary driving in my whole life. I'd take the slow coaches and speed cameras of the southern states any day. I sat on the speed limit in the hire car and that didn't stop people from overtaking me around corners or crossing solid white lines. The roads up there are appalling, poor signage, huge potholes, frighteningly narrow bridges with no barriers or guard rails...and that doesn't put off trucks and nuffers in 4X4s from sitting six feet from your bumper bar at 100km/hr. Some of them just seem to tailgate for no reason so they must be insane or really stupid. I was there for a week and a half, and there were two fatal accidents in that time, just in the area I was staying, one of which was injured so badly that the police couldn't work out the gender of the person. I can easily see how it happens. It was complete and utter madness.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Ford_The_Win

Tell me about it. I have just got back from spending a week in rural QLD visiting family, and I've never seen such insane, scary driving in my whole life. I'd take the slow coaches and speed cameras of the southern states any day. I sat on the speed limit in the hire car and that didn't stop people from overtaking me around corners or crossing solid white lines. The roads up there are appalling, poor signage, huge potholes, frighteningly narrow bridges with no barriers or guard rails...and that doesn't put off trucks and nuffers in 4X4s from sitting six feet from your bumper bar at 100km/hr. Some of them just seem to tailgate for no reason so they must be insane or really stupid. I was there for a week and a half, and there were two fatal accidents in that time, just in the area I was staying, one of which was injured so badly that the police couldn't work out the gender of the person. I can easily see how it happens. It was complete and utter madness.

Yeh it is summer, we have lots of southern tourists up here at the moment......