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?

><><><><><><><&= gt;<><><><><><><><><&= gt;<><><><>J
Phillip = Bouton     
-----Original = Message-----
From:   Jarod Bishop [mailto:jbishop01@FOXINTERNET.N= ET]
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