Road Trip To France Advice

[deanmr2]

Hi all I am planning a road trip to the south of France in June and in preparation I have done the following jobs on my Boxster S :- changed engine oil and filter (used Mobil 5W-50), new air and pollen filters,new spark plugs, had the starter motor and alternator reconditioned and fitted new serpentine belt, fitted new AOS, cleaned throttle body, maf sensor and intake pipes, fitted new calliper bleed nipples and changed brake fluid, fitted new a/c drier and had a gas refill, inflated space saver spare tyre to 60PSI. Took out breakdown and recovery insurance.

Is there anything else you can think of that I should do to make the car as reliable as possible ( I would quite like to get there and back in the Boxster 😂)

Cheers

[StuTye1983]

Afternoon, I would love to hear peoples input on this also as I'm driving to Nürburgring in August this year, also done the service, coil pack, spark plugs, filters, control arms front and back will be done also and the thermostat, water pump and belt to be changed before I go. maybe its just a look of the draw if the car makes it back or not 😂 

[Stu67]

Maybe a little overkill, but, how old are the coil packs and battery?? 

[½cwt]

I've made 4 European trips in my 2000 986S with no issues.

Space saver pressure is a good one you've notes that many miss.

Think you've got is about as covered as you can for a well engineered 20+ year old car.

[Simon]

Get that battery nice and conditioned, if you’re really fussed get it up on a ramp to have a poke about.

and buy a roll tag!

S

[edc]

Focus on the things that stop you dead in your tracks eg cooling system

[deanmr2]

1 hour ago, StuTye1983 said:

Afternoon, I would love to hear peoples input on this also as I'm driving to Nürburgring in August this year, also done the service, coil pack, spark plugs, filters, control arms front and back will be done also and the thermostat, water pump and belt to be changed before I go. maybe its just a look of the draw if the car makes it back or not 😂 

I feel that you can only do so much then it’s in the lap of the gods!! 

[deanmr2]

15 minutes ago, edc said:

Focus on the things that stop you dead in your tracks eg cooling system

I always put my Boxster off the road and tucked up in the garage in the winter. I always put it on axle stands so that I can inspect the underneath checking all the hose pipes etc last year I changed the thermostat and going by the cars service history it had a new water pump 10K miles ago. Thanks for your reply.

[deanmr2]

39 minutes ago, Simon said:

Get that battery nice and conditioned, if you’re really fussed get it up on a ramp to have a poke about.

and buy a roll tag!

S

👍

[deanmr2]

1 hour ago, ½cwt said:

I've made 4 European trips in my 2000 986S with no issues.

Space saver pressure is a good one you've notes that many miss.

Think you've got is about as covered as you can for a well engineered 20+ year old car.

Hi 1/2cwt thanks for your reply, as you say these are well engineered cars. I guess I am just looking for a little reassurance.

[½cwt]

One thought, as you can cruise legally at higher speed, tracking and tyre balance might be another refinement.

[AMacdonald]

I've been looking into this as well as I have a Spain / Portugal / France trip planned for may. if you are going near any big French cities you'll need an emissions sticker to avoid fines in clean air zones. It only costs a few euros and comes in the post. Check out https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/ It's based purely on year so it doesn't matter than my 986 is Euro6 compliant - it's a Euro4 sticker or nothing.

Edited February 15, 2023 by AMacdonald

[½cwt]

Other than Paris (everywhere inside the A86 outer ring motorway) the areas are pretty small and tend to be right in the cities: 

Grenoble;

Lyon;

Rouen;

Reims;

Nice;

Toulouse;

Etienne;

Marseille;

Montpellier;

Strasbourg;

[edc]

1 hour ago, deanmr2 said:

I always put my Boxster off the road and tucked up in the garage in the winter. I always put it on axle stands so that I can inspect the underneath checking all the hose pipes etc last year I changed the thermostat and going by the cars service history it had a new water pump 10K miles ago. Thanks for your reply.

Coolant tank goes with age. Bleed valve can also become leaky and coolant cap can fail. 

I've done quite a few trips and also changed the clutch but mine had 105k on it at purchase. I did t change the clutch on my previous one but it had less miles. Both had full suspension changes. 

[Bradders59]

Advice ? Dont go. Its full of French people. 😂

[Topbox]

If you are going to Europe or on a special trip of any king the golden rule Is NOT to check anything or replace anything unless it's broken. That way S*D and his law do not know where to strike 🤣

[Paul P]

Jump pack just in case, an electric tye pump ,you can often reinflate a tyre to get you "somewhere" rather than resorting to a spare. bulbs and fuses, valve cores and tool ( had a stuck valve core once on a motorbike - 60 secs to fix with 20p worth of parts) - cheap 15 quid obd code reader - if it throws a light you can at least figure if you can ignore it. 

[½cwt]

In France you also need to Cary hi Viz accessible on the cabin to all passengers, spare. Ulb kit and warning triangle. Also headlight beam adjustment. If you have Litronics you need to pop out the headlight pop off the main cover and.move a lever from the O to T position. See you Driver's Manual.

[pacificjuha]

If you have not yet planned as a part of your trip and dates will allow, make it a point to visit at the LeMans at the week of the 100 year celebration race at LeMans (5-11.6.2023). I'll go there from Finland with my 2001 Boxster as a son & father trip.

[½cwt]

1 hour ago, pacificjuha said:

If you have not yet planned as a part of your trip and dates will allow, make it a point to visit at the LeMans at the week of the 100 year celebration race at LeMans (5-11.6.2023). I'll go there from Finland with my 2001 Boxster as a son & father trip.

Great idea, but the race weekend is sold out...  The museum is still worth a visit at other times.

[Patt]

I think the small print will say the first release is sold out, well I'm fairly sure that's what it said on my tickets.

there is always the classic Le Mans in early July

[deanmr2]

19 hours ago, AMacdonald said:

I've been looking into this as well as I have a Spain / Portugal / France trip planned for may. if you are going near any big French cities you'll need an emissions sticker to avoid fines in clean air zones. It only costs a few euros and comes in the post. Check out https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/ It's based purely on year so it doesn't matter than my 986 is Euro6 compliant - it's a Euro4 sticker or nothing.

My Boxster S is a 2001 so to get this right when applying for the clean air sticker I should put Euro 4 into the form which gives a environmental category of 2 is this correct?

[ATM]

On 2/15/2023 at 12:06 PM, deanmr2 said:

Took out breakdown and recovery insurance.

European cover I presume?

 

Interested to hear who people are using for this and how much it costs for these older cars?

[Patt]

I looked into this a while back as my Porsche assist has now expired.

Unless I get a blinding deal on the add-on when I change insurance next month, it's cheaper just to pay (approx. £40) for the weeks cover for the trip.

[ATM]

18 minutes ago, Patt said:

I looked into this a while back as my Porsche assist has now expired.

Unless I get a blinding deal on the add-on when I change insurance next month, it's cheaper just to pay (approx. £40) for the weeks cover for the trip.

I had Porsche assist with full European Breakdown in 2005 on my 997.  It was not possible to buy better cover - I checked.  Then this happened near Milan.  Porsche Assist told me they dont cover glass - great thanks!!!  They also told me I should not drive the car if the glass has a hole in it - Helpful!!!  I had to drive the remaining 1100 miles with the window taped up like this and not using the wipers obviously.