Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 07:37:15 -0800
Reply-To: Vanman <mckayaa@OIT.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Vanman <mckayaa@OIT.EDU>
Subject: Re: simple engine RPM question--need shifting advice
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
I was raised on driving Vanagons, I have put more miles on these vehicles than any other since I got my learner's permit. The first car that I ever drove was an 84 GL, so I have not been horsepower spoiled. 83 hp is enough, if you keep the revs up. When I am doing just ordanary driving around the city, or flat highway, I usually keep it in the 2000 - 4000 range, unless I am in a hurry. Now when I drive home for the holidays, and have to pass the campers doing the speed limit or just below it, I downshift to third, floor it, and I don't shift until the tach hits the orange zone. Same thing applies when going over mountain passes, except here I aslo pass SUVs w/ 2x the power, just to prove a point to myself, and them if they care. What was the point of 255 small block hp and less interior space anyway? My point is that, the green zone is a reccomended guideline, but as long as there is a hard load on the engine, don't be afraid to rev it to 5000 (which is 200 below the orange zone) and keep it there a few minutes. This will probably draw some flak, but oh well.
-Aaron Mckay
mckayaa@oit.edu
college student in mechanical
engineering at Oregon Institute of Technology
'85 vanagon GL
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Bouton <pbouton@NACCHO.ORG>
To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM <vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, November 20, 1998 6:54 AM
Subject: Re: simple engine RPM question--need shifting advice
I also have been perplexed by the same issue. The manual says to stay in the green. On my 87 Westy that is between 2 and 4k rpm. Europeans would rather sacrifice an engine to save gas in the long run because gas is so expensive. In my van it seems that in order for the next higher gear to start around 2k, you definitely need to be shifting around 3500 or higher. Otherwise the next higher gear will be between 1.5 and 2k. However, I can't say that I do this consistently because it is so hard to let myself rev the engine that high in the lower gears. Does anyone have any reassurances or other comments?
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>J
Phillip Bouton
-----Original Message-----
From: Jarod Bishop [mailto:jbishop01@FOXINTERNET.NET]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 1998 7:38 PM
To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Subject: simple engine RPM question
I recently bought an '87 Syncro. Having never owned a VW, I'm not used to
running the engine at a higher RPM rate like people have told me.
The speed seems to max out at around 3500 but I give some more gas and get
it past 4k before shifting, but I've heard you should go atleast 4.5k or
5k. I was hoping to get input on what others typically run their vans at
before shifting up.
Thanks
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