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Touring Ireland in my Williams





Just come back from a 1,000 mile epic around Ireland with the lady (who hates cars and only begrudgingly acknowledges anything good about my gold-wheeled toy!).

For those of you who arent familar with the south and west of Ireland, Id say its like the roads of the UK 40 years ago - much less traffic than even my part of Wales, beautiful scenery and roads made for serious action. We never got near a dual carriageway and spent most of the time on really remote little roads (the main roads are only single carriageway, even cutting cross-country).

Well, what a car is that Williams. Its the first time Ive run up any serious mileage in the beast and I dont think I could think do justice to it in a word. Let alone what it can do when you open it up, this handsome fellow is a real companion for those gentler miles too.

At 25% of its abilities, it covers minor roads with such ease - keep it at 2-3000 rpm (85+% torque) and youll make all the speed youd want to, while the suspension keeps you glued to the road despite the worst roads Ireland can throw at it. The old boy sipped fuel at a rate of about 35mpg and about half a litre of oil over the duration. The Irish kids loved it too!

The Willy blew a rear speaker and needs a good clean, but is otherwise 100%.

It would no doubt be a different matter if I had kids or any more luggage, but as it is, this really is a perfect car! :D
 


Glad you had a good time. Got to agree with you about low revs. You really dont have to keep the revs high to hake serious speed through corners in the Williams. It just pulls so well low down. Sounds like the roads are ideal. If i wasnt 500 to 700 miles away from Ireland Id give it a go.

Do you find its detrimental to keep the revs high on twisty sections? I find you make more time using lower revs but getting on the power earlier in the corner. Almost like a crude traction control. I think this helps balance the car through the corners. Ive found this works best on loose surfaces and mud covered roads.

Got to love the drivability of the Williams. And saying the Irish roads are better than your Welsh road must be a complement to Ireland.



:D
 


To be fair, the roads arent better - its just that theres less traffic and more of them! The surfacing can be really poor, but even the most major roots have twisty sections to them.

I didnt cane the car at all really as there was just no need and the lady dislikes it. However, in general Id say theres no problem revving the life out of the car as long as youve got enough time to change gears outside of the corner. Theres no point diving into a corner in 2nd to find that you hot the rev limiter on the apex of the corner (which I did a lot after the higher-revving Valver). Theres plenty of torque at lower revs anyhow, so even if you went into the corner in a high gear the car would still pull through at a good speed.

Just nice to find that the car is so good at less than full effort. Relaxing when you need it to be. Dare I say it, getting used to the benefits of low-down torque I can see how a good TDi would make a good crusier if you could find one that handles as well as a Willy.
 
  Leon TDI


Kerrys ring is really beautiful though. Four of us all done it few years back when we toured Ireland. We all throughly enjoyed ourselves.
 
  Clio 197


How about Healey pass in Cork and Sally Gap in Wicklow. There are lots of famous rally stages you can do and the best bit is that many of them have really good visibility due to the lack of trees. No traffic and you can ahve a ball. Watch out fo the hump backed bridges though. Some arent marked really well and they can launch you.
 


We did the ring of Beara and the Healey Pass too (both in Co. Cork) - dead quiet but beautiful and fun too.
 


im over in ireland at the mo - not good when youre -60mm on 17s! lol

oh, and ive picked up several new blemishes on the old paintwork, and all the extra bumps and stuff has rattled my exhaust mount to bits! love the countryside here though. :)
 
  Clio 197


Liam,

You really want to set your car at rally height for driving in Ireland. And not necessarily tarmac rally height...

And watch out for the potholes with those wheels!
 


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