Date:         Mon, 22 Sep 1997 08:59:14 -0700
Reply-To:     Chris & Aimee Uzzi <uzzi@AIMNET.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From:         Chris & Aimee Uzzi <uzzi@AIMNET.COM>
Subject:      Bad Fuel? (long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hey folks,

Just got back from our first trip in our '90 Westy. Traveled about 1,000
mile from Friday through late last night. Started out in San Jose, CA
headed for Medford, Ore (swung through Crater Lake... beautiful!). I had a
couple of questions and comments I would like to have any of you on the
list to concur with or offer further advice.

Traveled to Medford with my wife and another couple. The four of us plus
water and weight, and luggage/gear. We averaged about 17mpg at about 70mph
for the first 250 miles. As I began to run low on fuel I decided to run the
gauge into reserve to get an idea of how much reserve fuel there was (I
later found out that it plainly says in the manual!). Anyway, as I hit
reserve she (our Westy!) began to sputter intermittently upon heavy
acceleration. Especially as we headed through the Shasta region. This
continued after I filled the take with Chevron 89 octane.

After thoughtful contemplation, I decided it was probably gas sentiment at
the bottom of the tank that I ran through lines and filter when I ran the
tank low. I further agreed to this notion when the next morning I started
the motor and drove without any problems. So for the rest of the trip I
kept the tank above 1/4 and had no problems, averaging 17-19mpg at 70 mph.
Should I consider the problem rectified (i.e. the sentiment slowly
dissipated), or should I drain the tank and clean it?

Also, has anybody had any problems or benefits from running 92 octane fuel
when on long road trips? Is 70-75mph a healthy driving speed when on flats?

If you braved this long on-going message, I thank you!

Chris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris & Aimee Uzzi
uzzi@aimnet.com
'90 Westy
'72 Westy (deceased)