GT86 on Swiss Mountain Roads

[Killerbee]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

Gorgeous!

I do have to ask though; I've heard "rumors" and stories that Switzerland is a bad place to be a car nut; illegal to wash your own car on certain days, very harsh penalties for speeding, can get in trouble for performance modifications.... any truth to any of this? I'm actually looking at a job in Geneva and If I got the job I'd love to bring the BRZ over....

Well, yes and no :-)
-Carwash -> at your home, maybe (depends on the neighbor) On carwash facilitys you can do it 7days a week. Its generally depending on the "noise" you're doing, if you wash by hand noone will care and it is legal. However, washing the engine bay may only be done in specific places (cause of oil going into the groundwater)

-Penalties -> Yes, thats true. However, if youre not a ricer idiot, you can quiet well live with the limits here. You should not want to drive like an ass in the city or the suburbs, however if you go a bit to the countryside and know where the "good" roads are, you will hardly have issues.
The Fines however are indeed expensive, like doing 55 in a 50km/h zone costs you 40CHF, doing 60 will be 100CHF, doing 65 will be 250 CHF, and above you will have go to court (which will cost you anything from 1000-5000CHF depeding on speed and your income, and if you're done it for the first time or repeadetly) CHF->USD is about 1:1
On the positiv side, everything up to 65km/h in that example you just can pay the fine, ther are no "points" or "registration" involved, so you will not have to attend any court or training class or anything.

-Modifications -> Well, you can do alot (my car for instance is still street legal), but there are limits, and its expensive. You basically need for almost any change (like wheels, suspension, muffler ect) either a certificate from the seller, that they comply with he swiss law, and/or show them to the gouverment and get your car inspected. This results in the parts (like wheels) being more expensive over here than in the us. For example, I bought my XXR Wheels in Switzerland for about 1700 USD. I got a certificat from the Swiss importeur that they comply with swiss law, and I had to show them mounted on the car to the goverment, that did cost me another 150 USD. From there on, they where street legal and I'm good.
I could also have them shipped over from the US directly, payed about 500USD for the wheels, maybe another 2-300usd for shipping, and would have come way cheaper than buying them over here, however without the certificate from the swiss importer (which would not give it to me if not bougth truh them) I cannot register them street legal over here like that, and every time a cop pulls me over, he would first give me a fine of about 200-400 CHF (set by court) and also send me to an inspection (costs another 150 CHF), which would need me to mount street legal wheels to pass. (in this case, taking the xxr's off and put on the stock ones). Same goes to suspension changes, Aerodynamic changes, Mufflers, etc etc.

Hope this helps, otherwise just drop me an PM if you like to know more :-)

[Lauren]

Fantastic pics! Just looks amazing.

In September a friend and I (both in GT86's) are coming over from the UK and we travelling to stay with a friend in Lake Garda, Italy. We are stopping in Annecy on the way there and are looking to traverse a few passes on our way over to Italy.

On the way back we are going to do the Stelvio pass.

This is a rough route I worked out on the Annecy to Lake Garda stage. It's a fair few hours driving so we might have to default to the main roads for some of it:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr...mra=ls&t=m&z=8

If there is anything you recommend I'd be very interested to hear about it. Would be great to meet up if you are around. Think it will be around the 4th September.

[kbi]

Good god that car look's sexy and the pic's ( drool's ) . I need a smoke now lol .

[Killerbee]

Originally Posted by Lauren

Fantastic pics! Just looks amazing.

In September a friend and I (both in GT86's) are coming over from the UK and we travelling to stay with a friend in Lake Garda, Italy. We are stopping in Annecy on the way there and are looking to traverse a few passes on our way over to Italy.

On the way back we are going to do the Stelvio pass.

This is a rough route I worked out on the Annecy to Lake Garda stage. It's a fair few hours driving so we might have to default to the main roads for some of it:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr...mra=ls&t=m&z=8

If there is anything you recommend I'd be very interested to hear about it. Would be great to meet up if you are around. Think it will be around the 4th September.

I've changed the route a bit for you. If you have the time, you should maybe thinking about making it a 2 days drive from annecy to garda lake. Otherwise you're really missing out some of the best roads switzerland has to offer.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr...ra=ls&t=m&z=10

You will have most of the "Car Nut" Roads in that route. Points B-C will take you trough the classic swiss countryside with cows, little villages, and breathtaking mountains, ending in two of the most famos passes over here, the Grimsel and Susten



C -> E brings you along over the most famos pass of switzerland, the Gotthard (nr 1 connection between north and south), into the "italian" part of Switzerland, and over the San Bernadino, 2nd main Passes connecting north and south of Switzerland, untill you arrive in St.Moritz, one of the most famous places for the rich people. Betwenn C and E there are alot of hotels, hostels, and camping places where you can make an overnight stay.

E -> F is the famous Selvio Pass, rated as Driving Haven in Top Gear, and from F it goes straight down then to garda lake.

If you let me know the exact date you're around, I can try to get some holiday aswell and join you for the swiss part of your journey. Just shoot me a PM

[Clipdat]

Great pics. Love the spoiler!

What's that little bee sticker say on your side window?

[bugsie]

Just wow! Amazing scenery over there buddy.

[Lauren]

Huge thanks, Killerbee, brilliant. I shall try and persuade my friends!

And I will let you know when we get booked up!

[Killerbee]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Great pics. Love the spoiler!

What's that little bee sticker say on your side window?

Thanks
It says Bee'otch, as seen on transformers1 hanging fromt he rear view mirror of bumblebee

[Lauren]

Killerbee, that route you came up with says 947kms from Annecy to Lake Garda. I know it's over two days, but sounds like a fair old slog to me. It sounds like way too much to achieve in 2 days.

Our friends can't join in. We are wondering if you could recommend a route if say we come in from Basel? We can drive there from Calais in a day, that's fine. Then we have time for an overnight stop on the way to Lake Garda. I thought we can perhaps stop somewhere between D & E (Gotthard pass and St Moritz) before taking the next day to drive the Stelvio and down to Lake Garda.

Sorry for all the questions!

[Killerbee]

Originally Posted by Lauren

Killerbee, that route you came up with says 947kms from Annecy to Lake Garda. I know it's over two days, but sounds like a fair old slog to me. It sounds like way too much to achieve in 2 days.

Our friends can't join in. We are wondering if you could recommend a route if say we come in from Basel? We can drive there from Calais in a day, that's fine. Then we have time for an overnight stop on the way to Lake Garda. I thought we can perhaps stop somewhere between D & E (Gotthard pass and St Moritz) before taking the next day to drive the Stelvio and down to Lake Garda.

Sorry for all the questions!

Well... This is going to be hard :-)
Let me explain. The problem itself is not if you come from Annecy or Basel, the Issue is the Stelvio Pass, as it is quiet out in the nowhere, and no Motorways near it. This means you'll spend alot of time driving to and back to the stelvio. Dont get me wrong, the roads to and from stelvio are awesome, and absolutly worth the driving time, however if you want to get from a to b in a "faster" way, you will have to cut Stelvio Pass out of your route.

Just compare those two routes:

http://maps.google.ch/maps?saddr=Bas...=7&via=4,7&z=7


http://maps.google.ch/maps?saddr=bas...t=h&mra=ls&z=8


The first route is packed with about everything you need to see for a nice road trip trough the alps. However, it has only about 30% Motorway, another 20-30% Mainroads, and the rest are Super stunning Pass roads. This ofc will take you alot more time, but it will be worth it, and you will not "feel" like its a 11 hours drive, it will rather feel like a total blast, adding a bit of adventure/exploring to it.


The Secound route is mainly Motorways, the 3 Pass Tour, ending with a forth pass, the Gotthard, and then going back to Motorways. (So A-B is motorway, and F-G aswell) Its alot faster, but it is boring as hell. (except for the passes ofc ;-)


In the end, its up to you what you like. As a car nut, I'd strongly suggest you the "longer" route, as it is just so much more rewarding in view and aswell driving experience. If you have to make a compromise, because you take someone with you that does not enjoy driving that much, take the shorter route. You can also make an "Try before buy" thing, like driving the shorter route over the 3 passes, up to Point F, take a hotel around airolo/Bellinzona, and then decide from the experince you just had if you want to take the shorter route over the motorway, or if you want to take the longer more interessting route. You may even make the shorter route in one day if you prefer that.

Hope this helps. We can also use skype if you need some more real time answers on questions you may still have :-) Just make a PM if interessted

[FRSupra]

nice shots. Not a fan of the taillights though.

[Lauren]

Thank you for all the advice, very much appreciated. I'm really considering my options. I think on the longer route with a half way stop at a hotel it looks possible.

[sevi21]

wow its beautiful there! Car looks great too man

[ZakD]

Damn lucky. That place is gorgeous... And the car's good too

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