Anyone here drive on the Autobahn?

RUR

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
647
3
0
SoCal
Many times, though always in an underpowered rental Benz so never more than ~110 mph. Smoooooooth pavement, necessarily polite drivers. If you're in the left lane and you're flashed from behind, you better pull over 'cuz they're not going to slow down.
 

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
1,198
580
Boston, MA
Smoooooooth pavement, necessarily polite drivers. If you're in the left lane and you're flashed from behind, you better pull over 'cuz they're not going to slow down.

How true... 1987, I pick up a new car and am breaking it in at 180kph; then I get flashed from behind by an oncoming 911, going over 250!!! It was a police car. Perfect roads!
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
My boss and I were on a business trip and had a weekend free in Munchin (Munich). So we decided to rent a car. Rentals are super expensive in Europe so we asked for the smallest, cheapest car at the rental counter at our hotel. When the time came, the rental agent showed up and told us they were out of the car we had rented and substituted another. So we are thinking that we are getting even a crappier car than we had asked for. She said the car was waiting for us in the hotel parking lot in the basement.

As we walk down, my boss tells me that his wife always made him drive in Europe and he hated it so I had to drive. I try to push back but he doesn't have any of it. So begrudgingly I accept to drive.

We walk down to the stall and think something is wrong: there is a black 5 series BMW parked there!!! We double check and it is the right one! :D We get in and the car is brand new stick shift, with less than 100 Km on it! :D :D. I look at my boss and I sense he is starting to regret his decision some.

This was Friday afternoon and traffic was thick. It took us a while to get out of town and into Autobahn. Not ever having driven on it, I assumed you *had to* drive fast. So I floor this thing, revving each gear to near redline. I reach fifth gear and my foot is on the floor completely. I look down and the speedometer I think had a max of 260 Km/hour and I was 20 to 30 Km short of it! Looking at the tach, it was also all the way in the last quadrant. I had never seen two dials so far to the right in my life! We are talking nearly 140 miles/hour here!!!

A few surprising things happen at such speeds:

1. You get tunnel vision. I could barely see a few feet on either side of the road. It was as if your brain was focusing all of its attention on the road ahead and nothing else. I remember making a big effort to look at my boss sitting next to me and even then, I only did it for a millisecond or two.

2. Distance goes by really fast. Faster than any reality you are used to. We are talking small airplane speed here. I would ask my boss where we are and he would point to a spot on the map. 15 minutes later I would ask where we are he would point way past it!!!

3. No matter how fast you go, someone will go faster than you! In my case, damn black Porsche would show up behind me flashing his lights and passing me as if I was hardly moving.

4. You learn new driving technique real fast. The average speed in the right lane was about 70 to 80 miles/hour. Once in a while, someone would try to pass another car at that same speed and would cut me off. In US, the differential is just 20 miles per hour between fast and slow lane speeds. Not here. We are talking having to decelerate 60 to 70 miles/hour which is the same as going from that speed to dead stop! I would have to ride the brakes super hard to avoid crushing the car which was cutting me off one or two miles ahead!

5. You think through all of your life experiences wondering if this is your last moments in life :). I kept thinking what would happen if I had an accident at those speeds. I understand driving is actually safer at high speeds as everyone is focused on driving rather than talking and daydreaming. Still, the thought of an accident was front and center with me. My boss was not helpful in telling me that in an accident, you would become a hood ornament. After that weekend, we went to Italy and observed two multi-car/truck accidents on their Autobahn. You could not recognize the fragments of the semi truck let alone the cars involved! It was just bits and pieces of metal everywhere.

6. The whole experience is exceptionally enjoyable. I never could figure out why people would risk their lives racing. But get behind the wheels of a nice car going that fast and it is exhilarating.

7. Sadly, the opposite of #7 occurs when you come home. As soon as I got in a car back home, it seemed like I was stuck in first gear going no where. My mind was so used to those high speeds that 55 mph (speed limit at that time) felt like I was standing still. It literally took a week for me to get used to driving slow here.

BTW, that was the only time we could go fast. On the way back, there was so much traffic, rain and accidents that we couldn't go faster than 80 to 90 mph the whole way. My boss was dying, not having been able to experience the same thing! :)
 

KlausR.

Well-Known Member
Dec 13, 2010
291
29
333
I understand driving is actually safer at high speeds as everyone is focused on driving rather than talking and daydreaming. Still, the thought of an accident was front and center with me.

I'm German and have driven at high speeds on the Autobahn, both motorbike and car. It may be sorta fun as long as you are alone, but even then it's causing fatigue because of the very high level of attention necessary, 100% of the time. If there are no other cars, there might be game or just an object on the road or some road damage. At 100 km/h you do 28 meters/second, at 200 km/h you do 56 meters/second. The very moment you perceive the object or damage, you're at it, no chance to avoid whatsoever. I experience high speed driving when there's normal traffic as extremely stressful, there's always the possibility that someone changes lane without looking, so whenever I'm in Germany, it's 120-130 km/h (74-80 mi/h). After all, you wanna come home in one piece.

Klaus
 

Holli82

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2010
318
329
1,620
Turn off the radio.
Turn off the cell phone.
Look ahead....way ahead.
Stay our of the left lane except to pass.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
After reading the experiences of those that have driven it, track days are looking like a much better alternative. Personally I begin to chicken out at around 140mph. I'm most comfortable between 70 and 90mph only.
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
6,455
29
405
Hi

Finding myself very comfortable at speed less than 100 MPH.. I must however say that pushing a Porsche at 250 Km/h was a blast and an experience I am looking forward to repeat ...
 

Dimfer

Member Sponsor
May 8, 2010
621
181
1,605
Canada
one of the things I want to do before I hit the bucket.

In Canada, it is automatic driver's license suspension and your vehicle will be seized (up to $10k fine) if you get caught doing 50 over the posted limit, so you'll be scared of the cops before your speed can scare you.

How about Montanabahn? Somebody told me that there used to be some highways in Montana that there is no speed limit.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Second fastest driving I ever did was in Canada. The police/highway police were on strike and would not give tickets to anyone! So we were routinely doing 90 to 100 mph as we were driving there :).
 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
I drove the autobahn a couple of summers ago during a trip to Germany, in a rental Volvo. It was fun and a little scary, but my wife didn't appreciate it all that much. My kids wanted to drive but weren't on agreement, too bad for them. :) I agree about needing 100% focus all the time when you're in the fast lanes. We also had some interesting side trips when signage didn't quite match what we thought it meant...
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
1. The Germans, being German, obey the traffic rules extremely correctly. One thing i learned quickly...Do NOT dawdle in the Left lane...get out of the way if you are not fast enough for the guy coming up behind you. When accidents occur at this speed, your car crunches to the size of a cube and they just take the scrap metal to the morgue.
2. And if you need to move to the right...double check that you can really slow down in enough time without rear-ending the guy in the right lane 'ahead of you'...he could be traveling 50mph slower than you...you could kill him and yourself if you move over doing 135mph and dont have enough room to slow down.
3. The good thing is that German rental cars, etc are all properly equipped for this speed. Tire ratings, air pressure, etc are all very precisely mointoired/maintained here because at these speeds you really need it.
4. Once you get the hang of it, you'd be surprised how "slow" 100mph feels!
 

Mark J

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2011
4
0
906
I guess my 'driving the autobahn' started when I was a child. We coaxed my mom to push our family station wagon to 99 mph one day. Com'on Mom, Com'on Mom. I was probably in 3rd or 4th grade.

It was years before I would return to Europe to enjoy such civilized, controlled driving roads. In the US we are free to travel in any lane we want at any speed we want (to a point). But on the Autobahn, there is strict lane discipline. On the three-lane sections of country travel, the slow lane is just that, slower traffic, most trucks and cars entering and leaving the highway, maybe 50-70% of the traffic. The middle lane is for most of the rest of the cars and an occasional truck passing something slow with almost all the rest of the traffic. The fast lane is for the fast cars or a car from the middle lane pulling out to pass a car in front that is not going fast enough. Watch your mirrors when pulling out into the fast lane.

Although about half the autobahn has speed limits which are rigorously adhered to by the public, the remainder does not have limits. Amazing how quickly folks slow down for the lower limit, nearly a panic stop. I have had any car I have driven in Germany up to its top speed on the autobahn.

The Autobahn is an interesting way of removing freedom to plod along in any lane with the addition of unlimited speeds in some sections. I'd be happy to make that trade but then reeducation the public for this is impossible.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
My boss and I were on a business trip and had a weekend free in Munchin (Munich). So we decided to rent a car. Rentals are super expensive in Europe so we asked for the smallest, cheapest car at the rental counter at our hotel. When the time came, the rental agent showed up and told us they were out of the car we had rented and substituted another. So we are thinking that we are getting even a crappier car than we had asked for. She said the car was waiting for us in the hotel parking lot in the basement.

As we walk down, my boss tells me that his wife always made him drive in Europe and he hated it so I had to drive. I try to push back but he doesn't have any of it. So begrudgingly I accept to drive.

We walk down to the stall and think something is wrong: there is a black 5 series BMW parked there!!! We double check and it is the right one! :D We get in and the car is brand new stick shift, with less than 100 Km on it! :D :D. I look at my boss and I sense he is starting to regret his decision some.

This was Friday afternoon and traffic was thick. It took us a while to get out of town and into Autobahn. Not ever having driven on it, I assumed you *had to* drive fast. So I floor this thing, revving each gear to near redline. I reach fifth gear and my foot is on the floor completely. I look down and the speedometer I think had a max of 260 Km/hour and I was 20 to 30 Km short of it! Looking at the tach, it was also all the way in the last quadrant. I had never seen two dials so far to the right in my life! We are talking nearly 140 miles/hour here!!!

A few surprising things happen at such speeds:

1. You get tunnel vision. I could barely see a few feet on either side of the road. It was as if your brain was focusing all of its attention on the road ahead and nothing else. I remember making a big effort to look at my boss sitting next to me and even then, I only did it for a millisecond or two.

2. Distance goes by really fast. Faster than any reality you are used to. We are talking small airplane speed here. I would ask my boss where we are and he would point to a spot on the map. 15 minutes later I would ask where we are he would point way past it!!!

3. No matter how fast you go, someone will go faster than you! In my case, damn black Porsche would show up behind me flashing his lights and passing me as if I was hardly moving.

4. You learn new driving technique real fast. The average speed in the right lane was about 70 to 80 miles/hour. Once in a while, someone would try to pass another car at that same speed and would cut me off. In US, the differential is just 20 miles per hour between fast and slow lane speeds. Not here. We are talking having to decelerate 60 to 70 miles/hour which is the same as going from that speed to dead stop! I would have to ride the brakes super hard to avoid crushing the car which was cutting me off one or two miles ahead!

5. You think through all of your life experiences wondering if this is your last moments in life :). I kept thinking what would happen if I had an accident at those speeds. I understand driving is actually safer at high speeds as everyone is focused on driving rather than talking and daydreaming. Still, the thought of an accident was front and center with me. My boss was not helpful in telling me that in an accident, you would become a hood ornament. After that weekend, we went to Italy and observed two multi-car/truck accidents on their Autobahn. You could not recognize the fragments of the semi truck let alone the cars involved! It was just bits and pieces of metal everywhere.

6. The whole experience is exceptionally enjoyable. I never could figure out why people would risk their lives racing. But get behind the wheels of a nice car going that fast and it is exhilarating.

7. Sadly, the opposite of #7 occurs when you come home. As soon as I got in a car back home, it seemed like I was stuck in first gear going no where. My mind was so used to those high speeds that 55 mph (speed limit at that time) felt like I was standing still. It literally took a week for me to get used to driving slow here.

BTW, that was the only time we could go fast. On the way back, there was so much traffic, rain and accidents that we couldn't go faster than 80 to 90 mph the whole way. My boss was dying, not having been able to experience the same thing! :)

Wow, even better than reading a book; I was right there! :cool:
 

Joe Galbraith

Senior Member/Sponsor
Apr 22, 2010
214
0
0
www.arsetmusica.com
Just last summer (August 2012). We were staying south of Munchin. The Bahn in and around Munchin is a traffic issue just as roads are around US cities.

However, south, at night.... Keep right and 80-90 until you get your road legs under you. Be sure to understand the car you are driving, and if you decide to venture into the left lane, and see lights flashing you, move over - quickly. They will be bearing down on you fast. Everything happens quickly, so avoid distractions like phones, stereo even conversation. Watch out at night for geisterfarhv (sp?), ghostdrivers who appear going the wrong way on the road.

I was fortunate enough to be driving a relative's Audi S3, not a stupid fast car, but very nimble and well behaved at high speed. Liked it so much, I bought one. Good thing too. 2013 is the last year for the 3 series as they are now. Being redesigned as a small sedan rather than current hatchback.
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
I took my Saab (2 liter turbo) convertable for a spin on the autobahn when I lived in Holland. Trust me, doing 150 mph with open roof is nothing like zooming along in a BMW 7-series. You feel like one minor uncontrolled movement will roll the car over 5 times, which it probably will. Quite a thrill though.
 
Last edited:

astrotoy

VIP/Donor
May 24, 2010
1,547
1,017
1,715
SF Bay Area
Turn off the radio.
Turn off the cell phone.
Look ahead....way ahead.
Stay our of the left lane except to pass.

+1

If you are driving at 90 mph, and someone comes up going 180-200 mph, it happens very, very fast. So even if you are trying to pass someone, in the few seconds it takes to pass, there could easily be someone right on your tail that you didn't see.
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
412
1,210
Northern NY
Ruf, an aftermarket Porsche modder will test client's Ruf's on the Autobahn late at night at speeds in excess of 200 mph...They re-gear the stock Porsche's in order to obtain speeds of 215-220 mph in addition to engine mods.
http://www.ruf-automobile.de/

http://www.ruf-automobile.de/index.php?id=30

The CTR 3's twin-turbocharged 3.8 litre flat-six cylinder engine has an output of 750 HP at 7,100 rpm and has a maximum torque is 708 ft/lbs at 4,000 rpm.
 

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