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07-21-2014, 11:07 AM | #67 |
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Amazing writeup. How is the german license plate mounted? Personally I prefer no front plate, do they screw it in to the bumper which obliges you to put a plate on when you arrive stateside?
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07-21-2014, 01:05 PM | #69 |
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07-21-2014, 01:16 PM | #70 |
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07-21-2014, 01:40 PM | #71 |
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Thanks for sharing all the info & pictures!
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07-21-2014, 02:24 PM | #72 |
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Thanks for sharing your journey. A detailed yet funny write up. Takes me back to last year when we did a similar trip to Venice & Florence in our 535 dx. We had no problems cruising along the Fiats & Scooters. I couldn't get enough duplio espressos at the Autogrills.
Cheers from Vancouver. |
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07-21-2014, 02:31 PM | #73 | |
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Mine is still on the front of my car 3 years later. It's been tested at autobahn speeds annually ! |
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07-21-2014, 02:39 PM | #74 | ||
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07-21-2014, 03:08 PM | #75 |
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Great writeup. I'm a fellow Canadian that just returned from their ED last night directly from Rome. I applaud you for taking the car to Italy. I didn't have the guts to do it and there is something to be said about making it out of there scratch free. I spent 2 weeks in Italy, and couldn't find any cars there that didn't have their bumpers and fenders scratched up from the daily carnage that takes place on the roads.
I dropped off my car to the Login Out GMBh in Munich prior to heading to Italy and relied on a rental from there. I'm glad I did, as driving your 100k new vehicle on those streets are not for the faint of heart. |
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07-21-2014, 10:28 PM | #76 | |
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Wow, so sorry to see this. You have a great attitude!
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07-21-2014, 11:00 PM | #77 |
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It would be awesome if you could pick one up at the Welt... And vignettes.
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07-21-2014, 11:23 PM | #78 | ||
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I'm cheering for Solstice to get these as I love to see someone on ED team M3/4 tame those toll booths.
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07-22-2014, 08:06 AM | #80 | |
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My point is they must have known the license plate numbers beforehand so maybe the Welt could provide that. Or, maybe you could guess at plate number when ordering and change it on-line later? |
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07-22-2014, 12:01 PM | #83 |
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Oustanding. Reminds me of my ED when I drove in Italy too. It sounds like I didn't plan as much as you did though. Lol! Man I miss it!
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07-23-2014, 02:20 AM | #84 |
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To this I will add the necessity of the Blue Parking hour disc which is required in Italy. It is called disco orario.
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07-23-2014, 09:12 AM | #85 |
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Thanks for the writing, always nice to read good things about my country
One comment (which probably I should not do...): the Italian system is such inefficient that you'll never get any traffic fine unless you are stopped by the police - in such a case they may require to pay cash! So, things like "resident radars" or tutor work only for cars with Italian plates On another matter, I would not park such a car as yours in public streets for too much time, or you may not find it in one piece (either stolen, scratched, or who knows what!) Finally, if you enjoyed the Adriatic see and the beaches in Alba, you should definitely visit the south or the islands (Sardinia, Sicily): beaches are wayyyyy better there! Maybe these are good places to visit for your next ED Last edited by lonewolf1870; 07-23-2014 at 09:19 AM.. |
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08-09-2014, 01:31 PM | #86 |
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Similar trip, additional tips
This is a great one, wish I read it prior to my ED. First time BMW owner, first time post. I experienced a very similar trip and I would highly recommend it. The experience at Welt is astounding for the entire family, we had a great time on the tour, at the museum, and taking delivery.
We left Welt in the late afternoon on our way to the Black Forest, where I was pulled over for going too slow on a country road between towns. One of the police spoke English and explained that they were comparing how new their 3 Series squad car compared to my F32. They liked it, and I explained it was only 2 hours old. After a few days in that area we headed through Switzerland on our way to Tuscany. The drive was stunning, both in scenery as well as the driving on the road. We went through what has to be the longest tunnel in the world, literally through the top of the Alps (instead of going over them) and ended up on the Italian side of Switzerland, where it already seems like you are in a different country. Soon we crossed the border into Italy. TIP #1: Driving in Italy is a totally different experience than Germany, Switzerland or Austria. In the other countries the roads are immaculate and the drivers are following all the rules while cruising at high rates of speed. In Italy, rules and laws are a mere suggestion. Immediately over the border your travel is now heavily influenced by honking, tailgating, and more than a few close calls along the way. You have to pay more attention to what is going on, and there seems to be construction on the highways every 30-60 minutes (at least when we were there). It is still a great experience, the scenery is stunning as well, but just pay attention. Our first stop in Italy was Lake Como, and it is as beautiful as everyone says. The food is great as well. However, the road from Como to Bellagio was absolutely crazy. While beautifully winding along the lake, it is barely wider than one car, blind curves for 40 minutes, and all the locals are driving 50+ miles an hour. On one side is a drop to the lake and on the other side is a rock wall uphill. There were even a few full size busses coming the other way that took the entire road (had to back up to get past). I was definitely sweating, and my wife was so shaken she wanted to get back via ferry to skip that road. TIP #2: On our way out we headed south and happened to go out on the southern side of the peninsula. We left in the morning to avoid traffic. The road this way was wider, less traveled, and much easier. If approaching from the North, I think it would be worth the extra time to pass Como and approach Bellagio from the Southern side of the peninsula. Next we headed south on our way to Tuscany. Unplanned, we were noticing the next town approaching was Modena. After thinking why that sounds familiar I realized it was the home of Ferrari and since it was lunchtime we decided to pull off and go to the museum. Great stop, although it was not as nicely done as the museum at Welt. Amazing cars to see as well. Ironically, while there were Ferraris all over the place worth well over 4x my new F32 M-Sport, numerous locals and tourists alike were checking out our new car. Funny, and it made me feel like a king. Even at a restaurant a few blocks away the locals came out to the parking lot and were asking lots of questions, all the while there were new Ferraris heading down the street. We made it into Tuscany where we stayed on a farmhouse outside of Siena, I would highly recommend this kind of approach. From there we took day trips to different locations around Tuscany. One great drive that should not be missed is heading from Siena to Florence on SR222, a stunning country road winding through Chianti vineyards. TIP #3: Parking in Italy is insane. The spots are so small that it is a tight fit for a Fiat 500, let alone anything larger. Cars are parked so close together that the doors are nearly touching. There simply are not any larger spots, and I did get a door ding even when I found a spot that was wider than others. Best thing I found is to go into the paid garages and head to the highest or lowest level from street level. The spots in these paid garages are bigger, and it is well worth the money to avoid what ended up happening to me. Another tip would be to parallel park on a street if you can find a spot, doing so early in the day or closer to dinner is far easier than prime time. After a number of days in Tuscany it was time to head home, up through Austria where we stayed in Innsbruck. Back over the Alps this was was just as fun as the Swiss pass and it was great to do this over two different passes. I wish we had more time to spend in all the areas we stayed. We made it back to Munich the afternoon before our departure. TIP #4: You do need to wash your car before drop-off (or they will wash and wax for 40 Euro), but you can't do it yourself. I was parked at our hotel right next to a hose, and asked if I could borrow it to quickly wash the car. They looked at me like I was from the moon. They explained that it is illegal to wash your car at your house or any establishment except for an official car wash. The fines are very serious, and has to do with pollution from the dirty water. I am not sure if this is only in Munich, only in Bavaria, or across all of Germany. It took me a while to find a car wash (Waschanlage in German), but they are sure setup nicely. They have large areas to vacuum and detail your car...the locals all had boxes full of detailing products where it looked like they spent hours finishing their cars. We had our last dinner in Munich, and headed to the airport in the morning. The drop-off is very well done and I was out of there in 15 minutes, right back to the airport in a short walk (easiest to drop off your bigger luggage with others and then walk back to meet them). My car is almost at the dealership, I should be picking it up next week. I can't wait. I would definitely recommend this experience, and exploring Italy through the Alps to anyone. We'll be back, and who knows...maybe we will take ED on another great BMW some day. Until then I look forward to sharing experiences with this BMW community! |
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08-19-2014, 04:34 PM | #87 | |
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I don't believe this is true. BMW M3/M4 F8x should be filled with standard SAF-XJ oil without the FM additives, in USA, per the service bulletin SI B00 02 14 from August 2014 (from bmwtis.com - North America).
It says, extract: "Change the engine oil and filter, as well as the rear axle differential fluid." "Active M Differential fluid Castrol SAF-XJ 1.0 liter 83 22 1 470 080" This part number is a 1 liter of SAF-XJ oil. Per RealOEM, there's also a 60-liter packaging of SAF-XJ available with part number 83 22 9 407 870, which dealerships also carry. I confirmed with two dealerships in Germany and Austria. These are not with FM additives. Maybe if customer complains about the differential noises, only then the dealership is required to use FM version, since they are very expensive. At least it was like that in E9x M3 case where dealerships were instructed this way (SI B33 01 02, July 2011). But there are no SIBs for it for F8x models. Also there's SI B33 02 11 labeled "Rear Axle Differential (Final Drive) – New Operating Fluid Requirement" mentioning the FM fluid, but it only applies to E90, E92 and E93 (M3) with the S65 engine and the E82 (M Coupe) with the N54T engine. Also note that M3/M, as far as I can remember, has the exactly same differential as F10 M5 and F12 M6 and there's no trace of using FM-based fluid in these differentials, no SIBs. Where did you get your info from please? Quote:
Last edited by kinimod; 08-19-2014 at 05:15 PM.. |
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