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Date:         Thu, 2 May 2002 17:20:43 -0400
Reply-To:     "G. Matthew Bulley" <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "G. Matthew Bulley" <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Organization: Bulley-Hewlett
Subject:      Re: Advancing timing for more power, was: Boston Bob's web site
In-Reply-To:  <000a01c1f21d$70e65080$9501a8c0@informs.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Suit yourself; happy investment account, and tolerable Vanagon performance, or just-not-as-slow Vanagon... and more money for Shell or Amoco.

Theoretically, if you invested that $355 each year for 20 some years in a moderate-growth portfolio at a return of 12-13%, you'd have about $65,000 to show for it.

--gmb

-----Original Message----- From: Chris Stann [mailto:ChrisS@informs.com] Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 5:08 PM To: G. Matthew Bulley; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: RE: Advancing timing for more power, was: Boston Bob's web site

>But you are paying a shitload of money ($3++ per tankful) for a >teeny-tiny increase in performance. If you took that $$ for your weekly >tankful, and invested wisely for a couple years you could slap in a >really phat motor that blows the sliding door off the track, and picks >the front end of your van off the ground. Okay, maybe not THAT phat, but >you could buy something nice.

Just how wisely will I have to invest all this money I save?

Let's just say that I travel about 20,000 miles a year and get an average of 17MPG. Since we are supposedly IMPROVING the way an engine with advanced timing is running, we are likely to see a fuel consumption decrease. To keep arguments at bay let's leave the fuel consumption equal in both cases. I burn 1776.4 Gallons of fuel. There's roughly a 20 cent-per gallon penalty for the luxury of using 91 Octane versus 87 Octane. That's a $355.28 extra expenditure in fuel. A stage III "Boston Bob's Big-valve Boxer" will cost roughly $3050 plus cost of shipping him the core and the cost of getting the rebuilt engine back. Let's be optimistic and add $200 in shipping costs. Since we are feeling optimistic from all those regular-gas fumes, let's say we put the engine in ourselves. So we spent $3250.

Since we saved our hard-earned cash at a rate of $355.28 it would take us about NINE years to save that money assuming we are not putting into a savings account in the meantime. For the Stage I motor it would take us SEVEN years.

So you see, it just doesn't add up.

A few of list members, including myself for over 20,000 miles, have been running advanced timing at 5 degrees BTDC. To net the amount of engine destruction you I would have to advance the timing much farther.

Now, I will agree that advancing timing to 5 degrees BTDC WILL increase the stress on the engine, but that's a risk I am willing to take. And so should anyone else who is deviating from stock state of tune.

But please, let's have Boston Bob himself comment, shall we?

Chris.

Still cruising at 75+ MPH.


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