Date:         Fri, 16 Jun 95 21:25:24 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: List questions

On Fri, 16 Jun 95 11:49:44  <KERRY_REITERMAN@hp-paloalto-om4.om.hp.com> said:
>1) What creative ways have you discovered for the ashtray in the middle
>of your Vanagon dashboard? There should be something useful for us non
>smokers.

i use mine for spare change and as a mounting place for my trip computer. :P
on my 80 bus, i removed the ash tray and routed the wires up through the
hole to my oil temp and pressure gauges (in a little pod that sat where the
ash try used to be).

>2) On late 80's Vanagons, the two rear side windows have louvered vents. Do
>these seem to help the air circulation in the back? Do they add any wind
>noise??

i don't think they work. my 88 has them, and i can't tell ANY difference
between the ventilation of this bus and the ventilation of my 80 bus or my
86 bus (neither of which has those things).

>3) On the late 80's Vanagons with the lowered springs (You know who you are
>you van has approximately one fist height between the top of the front wheel
>and the body...My 85 has nearly two fist heights or 1 3/4" more height!) Is
>your mileage in the 19-20 mpg ??
>My Westie is getting 16mpg. I think the  math works out that 15 k miles yr /
>15 mpg * 1.5$ a gal = $1406 US. If I can improve the mileage to 20 mpg then
>I could save $281 a year. (Optimistically) I could almost pay for the
>lowered spring setup from Bus boys in the first year but really in the
>second year.

my 88 lowered bus gets 19.7 mpg average (yes, folks, it's STILL going up!!!
and i'm STILL worried!!) ... but my unlowered 80 bus got 18.6 mpg. so i
don't think the lowering really makes any difference in mileage on the buses.
what with all that open area and suspension members hanging under the
bottom just doesn't make for a very aerodynamic underside.

i think the extra weight of the camper does hurt the mpg, but if the bus is
in good tune, the driving habits of the nut behind the wheel seems to matter
most ... either that and/or the terrain. hilly local streets are the pits.
cause you tend to stay in a lower gear and at higher rpm, and that hurts the
mileage.

BUT! see, if i run a whole tank around town, going back and forth to work,
my mpg drops down to 16-17 range.

joel