Reading on another thread about engine revs and cooling I wondered about change points... My usual behaviour is to run in the highest gear that does not lug the engine but I suspect I run higher gears than perhaps is good for cooling - although I don't suffer from a overheating engine (my 'save my bug' oil temp probe in the dipstick tube does not get anywhere near activation). Assume: Standard gearing (tyre circumference); Level road; variable load... At what speeds (and revs, although I don't have a tacho) is best to change gear at ie 1st to 2nd to 3rd to 4th? Thanks
I wonder why VW didn't Mark the speedo on buses with Max gear change points like they did on beetles..
It's not just speed and gear, it's throttle. Foot on the floor burns more gas and heats engine up. That's when you need more fan revs to cool the engine. If you're coasting down a hill, you don't need those fan revs to cool the engine as it's not getting very hot so you can stay in a high gear.
Just drive it, don't worry about all the tosh on engine cooling, as long as it is as VW designed it it won't be a problem they run quite happily in countries far hotter than here.
That applies to any piston engine, labouring an engine causes undue side thrust on the pistons an bores
Too true, had a 911 some time ago so joined the 911UK forum, caught Porsche Paranoia and hardly drove it for fear of bore scoring, intermediate main bearing explosion, or rear seal failure.
Problem is for many people the optimum revs for the engine 2000-4000ish are the loud speeds. So listen to your engine.. if you cant hear it, its too slow Its all nice and quiet when you arent giving it enough welly to cool off. If everybody's engines were still in the condition that VW made them then the advice to not worry makes sense, the carburettor and exhausts act as rev limiters. Unfortunately many people are driving buses whose engines are well out of tuneand these engines can be destroyed by just driving them like a modern car, or in some cases by just taking them out of storage and getting to France or deepest darkest Cornwall...or just trying to get to Techenders and home. Abother category for damage risk is buses which can rev higher down to aftermarket mods (once hit 5700 rpm downhill in 2nd /37mph on one now dead engine) because they have removed the restrictions on the engine. Now it can go fast enough to wear out rapidly..
The ’77 instruction manual states: 1600 engine 1st gear 0-20 kph 2nd gear 15-40 kph 3rd gear 25-70 kph 4th gear 40-110 kph 2.0l engine 1st gear 0-25 kph 2nd gear 15-50 kph 3rd gear 25-85 kph 4th gear 40-127 kph
