Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:30:08 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Gas consumption higher in winter?
In-Reply-To: <50B8D2CF.3090200@gmail.com>
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You are correct !
oh ..you're getting 'real gas' ..is it premium ?
That's what the non-ethoanol gas is around here.
let us know if it makes and difference.
I had a van similar to yours..
85 Westy with auto trans. I put a 2.1 in it ...the 'full' 2.1 fuel
injection, cooling system, everything2.1
In the winter here in Medford OR in town and short trips..
it got a horrible 14mpg.
for you.....
I would expect 16 mpg in town, on short trips, during the winter in your
van Jack.
if you got anything like 17or 18 mpg ..I'd say that's doing very good.
I also like to run the hotter 87 C thermostat in the winter...
but it's a bother to change on your 1.9 wbxr engine.
You 'could' do the ole 'really cold clmate' trick of some cardboard in
front of your radiator ..
not saying you shouldreally ..
but some vehicles, in really cold temps, need or use that method.
it's *always* the hotter the better where fuel economy is concerned ..
emissions too.
Like for a smog check ...you want your engine as hot as you can get it .
Keep it running prior to the test.
Way back in the Popular Science magazine days (they still exist I think
) ...
there was a small car that someone made into a fuel milage demon. I
think they got 600 mpg , in the late 70's perhaps.
( current extreme fuel milage records #'s are in the thousands of mpg )
the car was a Fiat 600 ....it ran no cooling system. I think the engine
was insulated even .
The driving mode was accelerate to 38 mph, shut off, coast back down to
16mph, accerlate back to 38 etc. etc.
600 mpg that way.
Hotter is always better for fuel economy and emissions.
driving from here to Bend on a hot august day once..
very similar van again ..
85 Weekedner, 1.9 waterboxer, manual trans ....I had to climb Dead
Indian Memorial Rd near hear at 35 revved out in 2nd..which I hated
doing ( usually it's a 3rd gear 40-45 mph climb ) ...
and I passed trucks at high speed on Hwy 97 on the way to Bend ..
I calculated 21.1 mpg when I got there...not bad at all for a waterboxer
Westy.
And 20 mpg on the way back.
Certainly 'acceptible' for a water-cooled gasoline Westy.
scott
www.turbovans.com
On 11/30/2012 7:37 AM, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:
> I'm exploring this now. It seems that, without any change in driving
> habits, my van's mileage is poorer in winter than in summer. I'm talking
> northern hemisphere here, and by "winter" I mean "cold" and summer,
> well, not cold.
>
> I'll be checking this for the next couple months, comparing 10% ethanol
> gas v. straight gas.
>
> In the meantime, has anyone else noticed this? Is it common, with a
> simple explanation?
>
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> 1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
> Bend, Ore.
>
