Steve Q

Welcome to the forum Andrew :) I think it all depends on how you drive and where you drive. For example in areas with a lot of speedhumps then 25mm would be better. Normally though 35mm is the norm and would give you a really good ride. Have you asked h&r? They should be able to advise you as what's best for your type of driving. Hope iv helped :) cheers steve

Welcome to the forum Simonne, sorry to hear your having issues. I'm surprised your local garage can't open it. You could take it to Audi? Or another suggestion could be to pop the lock with a piece of metal between the door and window glass. Don't know if this will work but it's worth a shot. Cheers steve

Your welcome David :) iv always had turbos replaced at our local garage. You'll only need Audi for the more tricky computer stuff. If your local garage can't diagnose the fault

Glad it could help :) no it certainly won't be I'm afraid. You'll probs be looking around £900-£1000 at a guess! Let us know how you get on. Cheers steve

Day 5 - the journey home So, all good things must come to an end and today we made our way back to the U.K. However before we left Brussels we helped my sister move into her new accommodation just 10 minutes down the road. The car was packed to the rafters but the move went smoothly. We left Brussels at 12noon and headed for the euro shuttle (channel tunnel). We chose to come back via the tunnel for the experience and this inadvertently proved to be a great move. As we passed the junction for the Calais docks and ferry port the queue of cars were backed up on the skip road and in the slow lane of the a16 motorway! This compared to the tunnel significantly as we piled off at junction 42 for the tunnel and arrived at the check in gates in 5 minutes. As you pull up the gate automatically recognises the vehicle so you just have to select which train time you want. As we had made good time we were able to catch the 15:20 instead of the 16:16! Once your through you will arrive at French boarder control and security and then uk boarder control. After clearing border control you follow the road round to what looks like a motorway services and at which point the wait begins. Luckily we had only 8 minutes to wait till we were called to board our train. The boards are similar to what you would find in an airport, accept they are outside in the carpark! Once you get called for your train, you end up queuing in2 lines similar to if you were waiting to board a ferry. At this point our train was delayed due to an oil spill but I wasn't overally bothered as we were on an earlier train. Boarding the train is a straightforward affair and is similar to boarding a ferry. It is a tight squeeze to get into the carriage but it's nice and large once your inside. When on the train you have to leave your Windows down which is nice as the carriages are fully airconditioned. The journey is fairly smooth and only took half an hour to get through the tunnel. Oh and don't forget to put your clock back! Once you've cleared the tunnel it's a straightforward exit and onto the motorway for your journey home. Unfortunately for us we were using the dartford crossing which has chocker! But once we had cleared the tunnel it was plain sailing from there back to Leicester. Total miles covered: 1056.7 in 5 days car mileage: 322,573 And no issues presented during the trip! thanks for reading! :) cheers Steve

Welcome to the forum David :) sorry to hear your having issues. When dan means having codes read, have you had the car plugged into a diagnostic machine? The machine will bring up any error codes which then signify what issues your car has. I would have to agree with Dan and would say it's the turbo. My sister had a similar issue with her Vw golf and basically the turbo had lost some of the blades from inside it. The blades had broken off due to age which meant it wasn't spinning properly and as such was affecting the power and acceleration. Hope iv helped cheers steve

Exactly Trevor! This is why the better half and I take cruises!

Welcome to the forum Anthony :) now that certainly is an upgrade! You couldn't have bought an a3 cab at a better time! The weather is great! Have you tried eBay for one? iv just checked and there are loads on there :) In failing that I'm sure you'd be able to buy one from Audi. Service books are often a tenner so I imagine an owners handbook will be approx £30 but you'd have to wait for it to be ordered in. Cheers Steve

Hi James welcome to the forum :) I think Audi would charge around £450-£500 but I think your cambelt/waterpump doesn't need changing till the 80k mark. Has the car always been serviced at Audi? Cheers steve

I would say Audi because you'll deffo get the right colour clips. Bet they'd be around £30 hope iv helped :) cheers steve

Your welcome :) that sounds like a good plan! :) nice mileage :) my a6 which has the 2.5tdi engine has covered over 322,500 miles. It is original as well as the gearbox and they have never been rebuilt! Your computer is different to mine. My screen is larger. I know you can replace the screen for approx £300 and I would say you would need to do this at least. Alternatively you can replace the dials but I would imagine the ecu would need to be tweaked as well as adding sensors for the computer. By the way your not fat from me! I'm in Leicester. And we (the club) are attending vag Tuner Live at donington park. Your more than welcome to come along :) Hope iv help :) Cheers steve

Thanks Trevor! :) I did get loads more pics but I'm still limited for storage space. the museum is a 11 minute drive from the track at: Cour de l'Abbaye 4970 Stavelot Belgium cheers steve

I see united airlines are getting more negative publicity again! https://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk/united-airlines-president-says-if-youre-uncomfortable-in-coach-its-your-own-faul.html

Day 4 Today we visited Circuit De Spa Francorchamps, Belgiums f1 circuit which was an amazing experience! From Brussels it took us 1 hour 40 mins each way but that was partly due to roadworks. Due to the traffic issues we weren't able to drive into Germany as planned. However, we have decided that we will do a road trip of Germany on its own in the future. Luckily the circuit was being used for a track day and as such there were various race cars, super cars and road cars on track. Including multiple Audis such as an a1, x2 TT, rs4, r8 and even an a8! And the best bit was that we got in for free! The track day also allowed us to park in the paddock and walk around the pit garages and along the pit wall. Spa also has fantastic viewing spots for spectators despite its size and the obstruction of the forest. Just to add to the excitement the track day got red flagged as a vw golf mk2 had run into the back of a BMW 1 series coupe which spilled fluids and glass right near the pit entrance! On top of this we were able to drive around the outside of the track as there are roads running round the outside and inside of the circuit, these roads are also at varying gradients and are a mixture of tarmac, concrete and even dirt. After leaving the circuit we visited the local museum in the town to view their collection of race cars and motorbikes. There are a mixed bag of vehicles from Ferrari f40 and Daytona right through to f1 cars. The museum cost 9.50 euros each but the cars were great. The museum also has 3 other floors but unfortunately we were pressed for time. There is limited parking at the museum but luckily we just parked on the street outside. On arriving back to Brussels we caught a train into the centre to take in some of the local sites and grab a bite to eat for dinner. Now obviously Belgium chips and chocolate were on order. But not together mind you! After a bit of souvenir hunting we headed home so we can chill out for the drive home tomorrow. Stay tuned to see if we make it home! Fingers crossed we should!

Thanks Trevor :) We are planning to meet at donington services at 7ish for breakfast and have to be at Vag Tuner Live for 8am to set up the club display :) we will only know official numbers once members have bought tickets :)

Thanks Trevor! :) weather has been fantastic on the whole. its been a great road trip so far and my review on spa is coming shortly:)

Welcome to the forum :) youll find the members on here are a friendly bunch :) oh and your a6 looks lovely, sorry to hear your having issues :/ whats the mileage of your a6 and what engine does she have? tje mpg reading should be on the car computer and I think you could fit cruise control :) cheers steve

Updated list :) so who's bought there tickets yet?

Welcome to the forum John :) great audi you have there! What mods have you done to it? And yes, we'd be more than happy to have your car on the display! Il add you to the list. Cheers steve

Welcome to the forum and great looking a7 you have there! :)

Day 3 Today was more unusual as we spared the car and took the train to Disney Land Paris for the day. I appreciate this isn't everyone's cup of tea so stay tuned tomorrow as we're planning to go to Spa race circuit! This meant a very early start as It took us 3 hours travelling on 3 trains and a taxi each way but was so worth it! Just like the uk the train system in France and Belgium is very busy and on parts of France they use double decker trains to cater for the volume of people. Despite the train network being busy all the trains were on time. Disney Land Paris is a great theme park and isn't just geared towards children. Some of the rollercoasters and other rides would be unsuitable for little ones. But just like most theme parks the queues are long but luckily fast passes are available on the more popular rides. If you are limited for time in the park, then the rides I'd strongly recommend are: Main park hyperspace mountain rollercoaster, star tours (Star Wars), buzz lightyear lazer blast, phantom manor, big thunder mountain rollercoaster, pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana jones temple of peril rollercoaster, studio park Rock and roller rollercoaster, vehicle stunt show, the twilight zone tower of terror (massive drop tower), studio tram tour. After we had finished the rides we got dinner at planet Hollywood before heading back on the train system home.

Thanks Dan :D i know! But to be fair the roads a good and fairly direct. Where do you drive to do that mileage in one day?! Il deffo keep you all updated :) haha! It's hard to tell the ages of people on forums! Cheers :)

Welcome to the forum Tony! Glad your pleased with your a4 and the 3.0tdi is a good engine :) hope you didn't have too long a wait to collect her! :) when you get a chance, by all means show us some pics of your new pride and joy. When your not too busy enjoying driving her that is! :) cheers steve

Day 2 So until 2:30pm we were trapped at our accommodation due to a marathon taking place in Brussels! The marathon was the Belgium equivalent to the London marathon. And as such thousands of people took part! The morning wasn't wasted as we decided to have a BBQ for lunch as the weather is gorgeous here. It's reaching mid to high 30s (degrees) each day! We finally left at 2:30 and decided to travel the 1:40 minutes to Yepre. Yepre saw a lot of the fighting during WW1 and was completely rebuilt to its 14th century design after the war. This has allowed the town to keep a true Belgium feel with cobbled streets and Gothic architecture. As well as the traditional chocolate shops and bars. We also visited the Menin Gate, a war memorial built to show the names of the missing servicemen and women from WW1. We then also visited Yepres war cemetery which was a somber experience. Yepre is a town well worth visiting and not far from the French border. Parking was straightforward and thankfully we did not need to pay. Stay tuned for day 3. However, I must warn you as there won't be any driving involved as my siblings and I are going to Disney land Paris by Eurostar. We are big kids really. My sister and I are in our 20s and my brother is in his teens! There are still plenty of adult rides i.e. Rollercoasters there! Oh and by the way, the a6 has just clocked over 322,000 miles!!

Thanks Piotr :)