Pack these 5 things for your roadtrip!

You may have already read our article where 9Werk's Lee Sibley explains why driving is better than flying away for his summer holiday... Now, allow him to unpack a little bit of road trip knowledge to save you some embarrassment or unforeseen costs whilst motoring across continents. Here are the top 5 things you really must pack in your car before you leave on a road trip. 

It’s an obvious one, but stranger things have happened than for you to get a puncture, blowout or nail in a tyre, and need a change – only to realise your locking wheel nut key is missing, rendering you stuck at the roadside and facing a messy battle to get your wheel removed. Pack it carefully (in your car’s toolkit is the ideal place to put it) and double-check this before you leave. Tyre issues will throw a spanner into the works on a road trip in any instance, but forgetting your locking wheel nut key opens up a whole new level of pain.

Rolling on centre-lock wheels? Say a prayer before you leave! 

Shop our range of locking wheel nuts and bolts here. 

This is a legal necessity when travelling through France, which is likely a country you’re going to need to travel through from the UK before reaching your intended destination. The Gendarmerie aren’t known for showing compassion should you not be able to present these documents on request, so like that locking wheel nut, double check you have them before leaving home.

Road trips (especially when undertaken in a group with fellow petrolheads) usually inspire a spirited driving style, which means your car will be working harder, and for longer periods. It’s highly likely, therefore that your car will use a little oil – particularly relevant for those with modern GT cars, or those running older, higher-mileage steeds. It can be difficult to find the correct-grade oil in your average service station, particularly if you’re running specialist or higher-performance oil, so carry a spare bottle so you can top-up at the roadside and be on your merry way. 

Find out more about oil, and what those mystical numbers on the label mean here. 

Shop our range of engine oil here. 

I’ve heard this a few times from owners attending one of our popular 9WERKS European road trips. While carrying a spare key around isn’t usual practice in the everyday world, on a road trip there is far more to think about: understanding different languages and road signs, dealing in the correct currency, ensuring you’re headed for the right hotel, etc. Plus, road trips usually entail late nights and early mornings, so your concentration and awareness may not always be at their optimum. Again, stranger things have happened than for someone to lose their car keys in the madness of it all, so having a spare on you allows you to continue your journey at least… before your original keys turn up three days later in your laundry bag!

Need a key blank to start the ball rolling? 

A relay is about a quarter of the size of a Rubik’s cube yet if yours fails in your classic car, it can call a halt to your road trip there and then, as they can be difficult to get a hold of. Pack a couple of spares and, should one fail, you can replace in seconds and be back on the road. This one’s particularly relevant for Porsche 964 and 993 owners!

Shop for Porsche DME relays here. 

Our thanks to Lee for sharing his wisdom in this light-hearted, but essential guide of what not to forget if you are hitting the road behind the wheel, especially overseas. 

Please do check out 9Werks for lots more Porsche content, including blogs, video and a fantastic podcast. 

Andy