Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 11:10:54 -0400
Reply-To: "Forhan, Thomas" <Thomas.Forhan@MAIL.HOUSE.GOV>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Forhan, Thomas" <Thomas.Forhan@MAIL.HOUSE.GOV>
Subject: Re: [Syncro] Medium length travelogue, and misc.
Content-Type: text/plain
Ben,
I admit things are never fun in extreme crosswinds, but the behavior of
changing half a lane is unacceptable. With springs that look fresh, I'd
definitely look at new shocks. I have the OMEs and they are great, but even
with stock shocks @ 90K miles I never had a problem anywhere near like
yours.
Good luck
Tom F.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben McCafferty [mailto:ben@kbmc.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 10:24 AM
To: syncro; vanagon
Subject: [Syncro] Medium length travelogue, and misc.
Hi all,
Wow! Sounds like I missed quite the bit of excitement while I was gone!
Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Reading some of the
remnants of the list war over the weekend, I was thinking about how nice
it's been to meet several list members while on the road, and how hard it is
to flame someone I've met. Maybe we should have a big get together every
year for the whole list, so everyone knows everyone else personally...I've
thought on more than one occasion that the road-ragers you see out there
would probably really enjoy having a beer together if they weren't in
anonymous cars. Anyway, enough of that.
I traveled from Denver, CO to the Indianapolis 500 and back, with a nice
stop in Hillsboro, IL. Hard to believe, but I've put 20,000 miles on the
van since January! Since I'm a geek, here are my usual stats:
1990 Vanagon Westy Syncro, 220,000 total miles, with newer engine, tranny,
VC, driveshaft. BFG TA 27x8.5x14, 45 psi rear, 41 psi front. Castrol 20W50
non-synthetic, Mann oil filter.
Total miles: 2376
Total gallons: 141.1
Average MPG: 16.84
Average MPH from Denver to Hillsboro: 63.8 (no A/C used)
Average MPH from Hillsboro to Denver: 68.3 (A/C used 90%)
Average MPH overall: 66.0
Total oil consumption: 1/2 quart
I guess my overall impressions of the van's performance were that the work
I've done in the past year has paid off. Running 75 MPH on cruise, with A/C
on (outside temp 70-90 degrees), I never had even a hint of "above normal"
operating temps (water temp guage stayed centered on the LED or below).
Some of you may recall that last fall I did a thorough flush, Autobahn
coolant, new t-stat and new fan temp switch that comes on at a slightly
lower temerature. Also, my overall mileage was better than my long trip in
January, so it looks like the VW gods are smiling at the moment. :)
A continuing source of frustration for me is the van's terrible performance
in crosswinds. When I switched to reinforced sidewall tires, the difference
was night-to-day better. Steve S. thinks my springs are his, though we're
not positive. On the way east, we had 20-40 mph gusts, and the word that
came to mind over and over was "unsafe". This condition is the one thing
that makes me want to sell my van. I don't feel like there's body lean or
sway--it's more like "twist", like the front is moving left and the rear is
moving right when hit by a gust. The van was getting moved around a half a
lane width at a time, and it just isn't an acceptable situation. I wonder
how much other (non-vanagon) vans suffer this same problem.
Does anyone have suggestions on a way to really beef up the suspension to
eliminate or greatly reduce this problem???
We stopped in Hillsboro at my uncle's home--he's heavy into the mountain
man/rendezvous scene, so we spent some time shooting muzzle loading rifles,
and pounding iron on the hand-fired coal forge.
The race was magnificent, as it always is. There was a flyover by a B-2
(stealth) bomber, which I'd never seen before. The Seals also did a jump
into each corner of the 2 1/2 mile track. Sunday was a perfect day for
racing--75 degrees, sunny, light winds, and about 500,000 people on hand for
the start!! I was really amazed with how different the race is than it was
10 years ago (when I last went). Very nice. Also visited the hall of fame
museum, which has lots of past winners' cars, and many others on display
(Duesenbergs, Mercedes, Ferrari, etc.) from decades ago or more. You should
see the 800 cubic inch engines that develop a whopping 100 horsepower!!
Some of them even have rockers and valves that sit outside the crankcase,
i.e. no lubrication. Track tours were unavailable on Saturday, though I did
learn that the speedway is now offering rides in a 2-seater Indy car around
the track. Cost? A mere $1000 for 2 laps, $1900 for four.
Overall, Indy is a gearhead's dream. :)
Made the trip from Hillsboro back to Denver on Tuesday (925 miles), and had
a real decent drive with limited winds.
Anyway, hope everyone is well, and look forward to some tips on suspension.
Best,
bmc :)
"Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel...."
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