Best driving rd in the world ??

[LivinLOS]

OK so its cars.. But ohhh that new F type is one hell of a car..

 

[steaminjungle]

Certainly a lurvely car, but soo wasted it would be over here. Servicing would be in BKK only and how long would it be before a driver of a 30yo pickup at Tesco Lotus opened his door just too far and left you with a rust covered dent. Not a car for these pot hole strewn roads either. I had some great fun in my Benz c200 kompressor in England but another car that would be wasted over here. But then if ..................... yeah a lush Jag.

 

[2wheels]

Would rather do it on this.

 

[LivinLOS]

Would rather do it on this.

Dunno.. I am itching to get some kind of rear wheel drive toy currently..

Weekend trips over to nan in something fun would be just as good. I loved my 4 wheeled toys back in the west also and its been years since I had one.

 

[2wheels]

I am itching to get some kind of rear wheel drive toy …

I believe the Ducati is rear wheel drive mate!

 

[LivinLOS]

I believe the Ducati is rear wheel drive mate!

Yeah ok.. But I can drift a car, I dont have the skill to drift a bike..

 

[LUFC]

Certainly a lurvely car, but soo wasted it would be over here. Servicing would be in BKK only and how long would it be before a driver of a 30yo pickup at Tesco Lotus opened his door just too far and left you with a rust covered dent. Not a car for these pot hole strewn roads either. I had some great fun in my Benz c200 kompressor in England but another car that would be wasted over here. But then if ..................... yeah a lush Jag.

Nonsense!

You cant even overtake in the Uk without somebody complaining about anti-social behaviour and there are bugger all traffic cops in N. Thailand to worry about.
Not sure where in the Uk you are from but certainly in N.Yorshire where therer are some great roads, the road quality is not impressive at all.

As for the roads around CM, sure they are not all perfect but CM to Crai via 120 is brilliant, CM via lampang to petchabhun and over to Khao Yai is a classic, although at present they are road widening!

IMO it's easier to get a sports car to closer to its limits more of the time here than it is in the UK, you'll have more fun doing it and bugger all twats complaining about it.

 

[LivinLOS]

Well I am in part agreement with Darren above.. Its not secret I have been debating the risk of trying a temp import toy car, and as its something I would be stuck with for a while, and have to work to keep on temp import status, the balance of performance v service needs v practicality etc is one I have been giving way too much thought to. My fears are less the road quality and more who is going to diagnose and turn off a warning light or deeply understand the car to correctly diagnose an issue.

I looked at a lot of 911s (996) from the UK and came within a hair of pulling the trigger on a gen 2 3.6l 996 that was very nice with a host of subtle but appealing upgrades and mods. But I am actually glad I didnt jump on it as despite it being a car my heart would love, with only one porsche service center down in bangkok, a fairly high set of service needs and probably HUGE bills should anything dramatic happen (early 996s the 3.4l are known to be a slightly weak engine from a reliability point of view) and it adds up to a highish risk when really, flash factor aside, I could have nearly as much fun in a BMW 330 coupe at 1/5th the cost.

As a Thai car is likely to get more trashed and lack experienced service techs I looked at a lot of BMW530ds to be really practical, but I want more hoon factor.. Keep coming back to z4s especially the z4m which seems great value and that straight 6 BMW engine is one that takes a lot of abuse and doesnt have a reliability rep. Plus barcelona motors can do basic work up here. Looked at M5s and M3s. Looked at 2nd Gen Audi TT RS's (still quite strong money in comparison) even manual SLKs but they might be a bit soft. Run myself around in circles getting confused and sort of gave up.

But as Darren points out, in the UK with its camera culture everywhere you simply cannot drive fast anymore on the rd and keep your license, here sure theres variable rd surfaces and a nice car will get stone chipped and if its really sport suspended the ride will be harsh in some places.. But the rds around nan are as we know amazing, the R12 through nam neo over towards udon and the rd to utaradit is another roller coaster. You can drive hard, you can push the car, you can overtake and get to the limits of traction. Basically you can still drive a performance car here hard in places and use it as it was intended.

If I could find an old RWD ricer project car, RX7, nissan 200sx or 300, old skyline, etc etc with a Thai registration.. I wouldnt mind spannering it as part of the fun and having it as a pure toy car, playtime only, stripped out and not suitable for day to day use. Go to some track days down south.. But theres so little on the Thai market at say sub 500k that fits that idea. In the UK cars like that are dime a dozen, couple of grand gets these things. Here its mega money. I dont really care what it looks like, I am a lot less driven by the image factor then I am a strong, solid RWD platform to use for playtime. My buddy restores old fords and has a stripped out mexico that he does gymkhana meets with in bangkok. Looks like such fun.

 

[LUFC]

Well I am in part agreement with Darren above.. Its not secret I have been debating the risk of trying a temp import toy car, and as its something I would be stuck with for a while, and have to work to keep on temp import status, the balance of performance v service needs v practicality etc is one I have been giving way too much thought to. My fears are less the road quality and more who is going to diagnose and turn off a warning light or deeply understand the car to correctly diagnose an issue.

I looked at a lot of 911s (996) from the UK and came within a hair of pulling the trigger on a gen 2 3.6l 996 that was very nice with a host of subtle but appealing upgrades and mods. But I am actually glad I didnt jump on it as despite it being a car my heart would love, with only one porsche service center down in bangkok, a fairly high set of service needs and probably HUGE bills should anything dramatic happen (early 996s the 3.4l are known to be a slightly weak engine from a reliability point of view) and it adds up to a highish risk when really, flash factor aside, I could have nearly as much fun in a BMW 330 coupe at 1/5th the cost.

As a Thai car is likely to get more trashed and lack experienced service techs I looked at a lot of BMW530ds to be really practical, but I want more hoon factor.. Keep coming back to z4s especially the z4m which seems great value and that straight 6 BMW engine is one that takes a lot of abuse and doesnt have a reliability rep. Plus barcelona motors can do basic work up here. Looked at M5s and M3s. Looked at 2nd Gen Audi TT RS's (still quite strong money in comparison) even manual SLKs but they might be a bit soft. Run myself around in circles getting confused and sort of gave up.

But as Darren points out, in the UK with its camera culture everywhere you simply cannot drive fast anymore on the rd and keep your license, here sure theres variable rd surfaces and a nice car will get stone chipped and if its really sport suspended the ride will be harsh in some places.. But the rds around nan are as we know amazing, the R12 through nam neo over towards udon and the rd to utaradit is another roller coaster. You can drive hard, you can push the car, you can overtake and get to the limits of traction. Basically you can still drive a performance car here hard in places and use it as it was intended.

If I could find an old RWD ricer project car, RX7, nissan 200sx or 300, old skyline, etc etc with a Thai registration.. I wouldnt mind spannering it as part of the fun and having it as a pure toy car, playtime only, stripped out and not suitable for day to day use. Go to some track days down south.. But theres so little on the Thai market at say sub 500k that fits that idea. In the UK cars like that are dime a dozen, couple of grand gets these things. Here its mega money. I dont really care what it looks like, I am a lot less driven by the image factor then I am a strong, solid RWD platform to use for playtime. My buddy restores old fords and has a stripped out mexico that he does gymkhana meets with in bangkok. Looks like such fun.

I know somebody that has a beautiful BMW 330i for sale...:RE

 

[LivinLOS]

I am sure you do .. Nice car but Thai price..

If I am looking at a toy I would drive risking binning it, a Thai price 330 is a lot to bin, uk priced one is easy.

 

[steaminjungle]

Living in Maechan between Chiang Rai and Maesai there is nowhere to go right now without risking buggering up the suspension. The road from M/C to Fang has potholes with scooters lying in the bottom. The road to Chiang khong is still a mess , where it was fixed 3 years ago is once again strewn with bits of plastic from broken vehicles. This leaves AH 2 from the border to CNX. I would have to start the good roads from there.
In England I lived in the West Country , with my son-in-law sitting alongside we did 132mph on the A303 through the middle of Wiltshire. Ok I was on one of my last visits to the land of smiles before a permanent move and was not too bothered about a ticket but the ton was achieved somewhere in Devon or Cornwall most weeks, c200 kompressor, a great toy.

 

[KTMphil]

I am sure you do .. Nice car but Thai price..

If I am looking at a toy I would drive risking binning it, a Thai price 330 is a lot to bin, uk priced one is easy.

I can't believe that 330i is still for sale...great buy for someone....

 

[Loop]

I can't believe that 330i is still for sale...great buy for someone....

How much?

I have a lot of fun in my pickup truck on some roads around the place...Mae Suai,Den Chai,Chat Trakan,Nakhon Thai,Phu Rua.Had a run with many a Thai behind the wheel of a Merc,BMW or even Honda Civics etc.

As soon as it gets windy mountainous stuff...they just cant keep up.
Long straights and they nearly suck the licence plate off the front as they pass! 555

I can average 100ks/hr on a long 10 hr trip through some really long sections of slow windy stuff even with a couple of stops for fuel and food etc.

 

[waspmike]

I can't believe that 330i is still for sale...great buy for someone....

Now if it was a 330d

 

[LUFC]

Now if it was a 330d

Then I would have given it to my gran to go to the hairdressers in.

 

[LivinLOS]