New member in Luxembourg, Europe

[Popeye1970]

Hi, guys,

I liven in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and I just bought a 2000 Camaro Z28 and that's how a dream came true for me!
Camaros (or any american cars!) are not a very common sight in Luxembourg these days and sinc I was a child I always wanted to own a V8 powered american car. My dad had several american cars in the sixties and seventies, one was a 68 Pontiac GP... No doubt that's the reason I've always been eager to drive a car with a V8 engine. Due to high gas prices and recent CO2 emissions taxes, driving a V8 is more like a real passion, something for true aficionados. Most people in Luxembourg drive Diesel-powered cars (the same is true for France, Belgium and Germany) and I myself drive a Diesel (Jeep Grand Cherokee 2005 3.0 V6) as a daily commuter.

But of course nothing can top the sound of a real V8....

As the Z28 I bought is stock, I problably get an aftermarket exhaust


By

Paul

[Spaz]

ich bin der teufel... ich heiße Spaz... welcome to the site...

[KING Z28 HAWK]

Welcome to the site Paul!

[rapter34]

Willkommen post up some pics.

[hamburger68]

welcome to ls1.com, paul!!

congratulations on the z28, i have mine for 3 and a half years now and simply love it. very reliable and a heap of fun!
if you need any help with resources, part dealers etc. let me know. some stuff is a little tricky to get over here.
i came to luxembourg for one day last year and liked it very much, a bit like copenhagen with a french twist.

cheers,
michael

edit: you definitely wanna change the exhaust. and get a lid too, while you're at it.

[Popeye1970]

Hi, Michael!

Today I already had to replace the windshield and I'm glad that it's covered by insurance as the part alone costs 1581,41 euros (about 2463 dollars!). Next week I'll have it checked at a garage in Germany (Bitburg) where the guys have a lot of experience with american built cars, and not only the new ones.
As the previous owner was not really meticulous (the least to say) i want to change all the liquids and get checked all systems and may be they can make a decent pricing for a paint job that has to be done on the right front of the car (some ugly scratches).


But the car is really a lot of fun...

see you, Paul

[hamburger68]

Hi, Michael!

Today I already had to replace the windshield and I'm glad that it's covered by insurance as the part alone costs 1581,41 euros (about 2463 dollars!). Next week I'll have it checked at a garage in Germany (Bitburg) where the guys have a lot of experience with american built cars, and not only the new ones.
As the previous owner was not really meticulous (the least to say) i want to change all the liquids and get checked all systems and may be they can make a decent pricing for a paint job that has to be done on the right front of the car (some ugly scratches).


But the car is really a lot of fun...

see you, Paul

holy crap, that's expensive! i'm actually always afraid of busting the rear window, that's gonna be just as much probably...
liquids are a good start, if you change the air filter, i recommend k&n, trust me it's worth it. and depending on how many kilometers are on the car, you should get the shocks checked, too. my front left was dead at 75.000 km and the rears weren't gold either. if you get them replaced, get bilstein or koni. the stock shocks are worthless if you plan on going fast (autobahn).
you should avoid buying from gm directly, they'll rip you off.

good shops in germany for parts are:
http://www.us-speed.de/ in hamburg
www.kts.de

u.s. dealers that ship international:
www.lmperformance.com (sponsor here)
www.rockauto.com

[hamburger68]

hmmm, i just thought, i still have a used Dynomax Super Turbo Muffler in my Garage, it was on the car for probably a year. 3" inlet, 3" + 3" out. not too loud, more the low boat like sound. i could give you that for cheap, if you're interested. but no rush.

[BULLET_WS6]

hmmm, i just thought, i still have a used Dynomax Super Turbo Muffler in my Garage, it was on the car for probably a year. 3" inlet, 3" + 3" out. not too loud, more the low boat like sound. i could give you that for cheap, if you're interested. but no rush.

hey you are from hamburg! sorry this is random but my friend that lives in hamburg and was raised there is visiting right now... we are going to a comedy club tonight... her names svenja... definite cutie... yall know how to raise your women

[hamburger68]

hey you are from hamburg! sorry this is random but my friend that lives in hamburg and was raised there is visiting right now... we are going to a comedy club tonight... her names svenja... definite cutie... yall know how to raise your women

i'm about to grill some seabass. see, i can be random too!
yall have fun at the club!

hallo svenja, viel spass in texas und lass dich nicht mitschnacken. die südstaatler haben's faustdick... na du weißt schon.

[Popeye1970]

Thank you guys for your warm welcome!


@hamburger68: I'm happy there's at least another owner of a Z28 in Europe...the GM- dealer in Bitburg told me that those cars are a rarity in Europe indeed, so it 'd be curious to know the number of Z28s in Europe. I know for sure that the V6 is not that rare, as I even spotted a girl with a red V6 in my street, just three houses away...

...funny, the low boat sound! I'll see...

Right now I'm concerned with new tires and I guess it'll be hard to find those as the size 245/50 R16 doesn't almost exist at all in Europe. After some research on www.tire-rack.com , I found out that the size is quite common in the US, so I wonder if it's not a good idea to order them there unless they wouldn't have the famous "E-Kennung", but the tires on the site look good, rliable brands and the same type as sold in Europe e.g. GoodYear F1 or Eagle and so on... (I like the proprtions of the stock rim combination...)

P.

[Spaz]

hey you are from hamburg! sorry this is random but my friend that lives in hamburg and was raised there is visiting right now... we are going to a comedy club tonight... her names svenja... definite cutie... yall know how to raise your women

[Spaz]

Thank you guys for your warm welcome!


@hamburger68: I'm happy there's at least another owner of a Z28 in Europe...the GM- dealer in Bitburg told me that those cars are a rarity in Europe indeed, so it 'd be curious to know the number of Z28s in Europe. I know for sure that the V6 is not that rare, as I even spotted a girl with a red V6 in my street, just three houses away...

...funny, the low boat sound! I'll see...

Right now I'm concerned with new tires and I guess it'll be hard to find those as the size 245/50 R16 doesn't almost exist at all in Europe. After some research on www.tire-rack.com , I found out that the size is quite common in the US, so I wonder if it's not a good idea to order them there unless they wouldn't have the famous "E-Kennung", but the tires on the site look good, rliable brands and the same type as sold in Europe e.g. GoodYear F1 or Eagle and so on... (I like the proprtions of the stock rim combination...)

P.

what is the normal/average tire size out there???

[hamburger68]

what is the normal/average tire size out there???

well, it's not 245/50/16...

the reason why i got my new rims was the tire issue. almost impossible to get good rubber in that size. when i bought the car, the dealer had put new nankang tires on. they are cheap, i use them for the winter months now, 'cos they are rather soft and have that snowflake symbol on them (german laws ).
i have asa ar4 rims for the summer, 18-8 front, 18-9 rear, 35mm offset. tires: hankook ventus sport, 245/40 front, 275/35 rear. they run really well (much better than the stockers, esp. at high speeds) and are reasonably priced. 300 km/h rating.
the rims have a 120mm hole spacing (bmw), you need special nuts for those. but basically any bmw rim in 16 to 18 inch should fit your car.

edit: i never had a good feeling about importing tires from the us. usually no e-kennung. and it's something where you might not wanna wait for replacement if you should have a flat...

[hamburger68]

[Spaz]

well, it's not 245/50/16...

the reason why i got my new rims was the tire issue. almost impossible to get good rubber in that size. when i bought the car, the dealer had put new nankang tires on. they are cheap, i use them for the winter months now, 'cos they are rather soft and have that snowflake symbol on them (german laws ).
i have asa ar4 rims for the summer, 18-8 front, 18-9 rear, 35mm offset. tires: hankook ventus sport, 245/40 front, 275/35 rear. they run really well (much better than the stockers, esp. at high speeds) and are reasonably priced. 300 km/h rating.
the rims have a 120mm hole spacing (bmw), you need special nuts for those. but basically any bmw rim in 16 to 18 inch should fit your car.

edit: i never had a good feeling about importing tires from the us. usually no e-kennung. and it's something where you might not wanna wait for replacement if you should have a flat...

sweet... i like the deep dish look bmw rims have...

[BULLET_WS6]

i have the close to same car as in the background

[Popeye1970]

Hi guys,

Normal/average tire-sizes are 195/60 R15 (my mum's Corolla for instance) or
225/45 R17 (my dad's BMW). The problem is, as soon as you want larger tires it's almost impossible to find a combo 16' rims and tires to fit larger than 225, and not with aspect ratio50. Anything above 225 usually requires 17' to 18' rims and then you have to change the aspect ratio...

@hamburger68: your rims look great, but mounting a tire/wheel combo of that kind on my car will be very tricky, and that for merely two reasons:

First-

I have only one tire size in my papers for the car, so the "Tüv" (What is this institution called in the US?) won't accept it.

Second-

Having different tire-sizes/wheel sizes on the front and the rear won't be accepted either.

You see the luxemburg equivalent to the german Tüv is even grimmer and meaner. There's a nasty example to illustrate this:
If you want to buy yourself a Hummer H3, they won't allow you to imatriculate it directly as a new car in Luxembourg, because it's not officially compatible with luxbg. regulations. As people insisted the german dealer (still keep in mind that the H3 is one of the few officially exported american vehicles by GM) did the following: He immatriculates the car in Germany (where this is possible), you get an (how is it called) "Allgemeine Betriebserlaubnis" and you take this official notification to the Luxembourg 'Tüv' and then they are compelled by law to immatriculate that car officially.
But of course all this is not very encouraging to potential customers or amateurs of american cars...it may drive you nuts
Paul

[rapter34]

how stricked are the regulations enforced? We have emisions regulations but most of the members here have gotten rid of there cats and or EGR/AIR systems. Saying that I would go with 275's.

[hamburger68]

i have the close to same car as in the background

my first car was a first gen golf. 60 roaring hp!