Date:         Fri, 13 Dec 2002 08:31:14 EST
Reply-To:     Willolyn99@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bill Marshall <Willolyn99@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: air cooled engine alternatives
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Jeff sez:
"When I do 75MPH in any of my Vanagons, the engine is turning over 4000RPMs.
Without a 5 speed, or a completely different tranny, wouldn't your top speed
be limited by the number of RPMs the engine can turn?"

Yep.  My old 1.9 WBX could get up to about 93-95 mph before the engine rev
limiter kicked in and shut down the engine.  There is no redlining -- when
you hit the red zone on the tach, the engine says no way.  The ECU either
cuts the gas or the spark, not sure which.  I'll bet it turns off the
injectors.

Some engine swaps allow more speed, because the donor engine will have a
higher redline.  The Tiico I4 redlines at 6300 rpm, which would give you
about 115 mph.  I've only had mine up to 102, and only for a moment.  100 mph
is about 5400 rpm with stock wheels and my 4-spd.

(all math is approximated.)

Bill Marshall
85 GL Tiico "Pandora's Box"
Bradenton FL