I didn't see the beginning of this thread but I'll comment on this end of it. Comparing my air-cooled 2.0L 81 Vanagon to my 1.9L water- cooled 84 Vanagon, I have these observations relative to the post: 1. Second gear on the 1.9L is much longer, as much as 10 mph. So, where my climbing sweet spot in second gear in my 2.0L was 28 mph, it is now 38 mph in the 1.9. This may translate roughly to the 76 bus. That mean I am going faster uphill than before and covering more miles more quickly. :-) 2. Yes, perhaps, you can do it faster in your GTI, but do you have the big windshield view? Can you see over the guard rails? Will you achieve a Zen-like state, carefully balancing forward motion with pressure on the pedal, listening to the motor (no tach), the downshift at just the right moment, all the while engaging in the rhythm of the bus? I think not. Forget the hours and enjoy the ride. >> First, I had a '76 bus named Peregrine. Greg mentioned my trials and >> tribulations with Peregrine. >> >> Second, and this is really the kicker, my number one destination is >> the Colorado Plateau -- Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Cedar Mesa. From San >> Diego thats' 500 to 600 miles and an 8000 foot gain in elevation. In >> my GTI I can do it in 7 hours. I'm guessing that in a watercooled >> Vanagon I'm looking at 10 to 12 hours for the same trip. >> >> Sound right? Are Vanagons slow pulling long grades? Melissa Mourkas '84 Westy Honey Bee Sacramento, CA |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.