Date:         Fri, 11 Sep 2015 07:30:11 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Highway driving
In-Reply-To:  <55F2D620.3080009@sbw.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I usually drive around 60-65mph  (about 3700 rpm = 65mph in my van) in my
84 tintop westie with an inline ABA/8-valve cross-flow VW gas motor and a
5sp manual transmission.   Stock tire sizes. My Fuelly statistics are
below:  24.9 miles per gallon over the past 18k miles.

   The Fuelly smartphone app is a good tool.   It lets me monitor the way
my van is running and gives me a real world record of my  fuel cost to
drive, per mile    For example, my Vanagon, besides being more fun to
drive, is almost $.o3 cents per mile cheaper than the "poor man's Syncro"
AWD GM Safari I have as my worker van.  Doesn't sound like a lot, but when
you figure it over the 18, 000 miles I've recorded......it's about $550
less to use the VW rather than the Safari...

http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/vanagon/1984/gnarly928/319334

   I've noted that running through the mountains on smaller steeper  windy
roads is when I get my best fuel mileage...Also of note for my particular
case of fuel consumption is the location where I drive many of my miles:
 The Columbia River Gorge in Wa/Or. ....It is often VERY windy here, either
headwind or tail wind....20mph wind is considered calm...... too light to
even try to windsurf, I begin to consider driving up or down the river for
wind when the velocity exceeds that and I often go home, heading west, in
solid 50+ mph headwinds...hence, I chose a non-pop top Vanagon and added
the Westie interior,  .

.

On Fri, Sep 11, 2015 at 6:24 AM, Steve Williams <sbw@sbw.org> wrote:

> On 9/10/2015 7:51 PM, Stan Shapiro wrote:
>
>> What highway speed / RPM  do most of you drive at?   What is your MPG?
>>
>
>