Just listen to the engine. You can hear when it's getting strained. Stock 1600s seem to like to cruise at about 3500 - 3750 RPM.
More fun facts. Climbing ability with full payload on good roads. 1st - 27% 2nd - 13% 3rd - 7% 4th - 4% Packed up camping with the family on board, any kind of slight gradient is going to be a struggle in 4th in a bus with a 1600 engine.
Oh it is , believe me , it is ..... The secret is to get the best run up you possibly can Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
On the M4 east from Bristol, theres a big hill which I just make at 50 in 4th with cylinder head temperatures climbing. Generally I sit around 4000 rpm I think its about 65mph with the gearing and tyre sizes. I have gone up to about 5500 rpm momentarily (downhill on a slip road in second ) on a previous engine. The cooling from the stock cooling system tails off around 4000 rpm which explains why temperatures rise fast nearer 70mph which is a bit over 4000 rpm.
Or 20 in 2nd if it's a REALLY big hill! Back in the good old days when we used to take the bus on a grand European road trip each and every summer, that strategy got us over many of the big passes in the Pyrenees and Alps and Picos de Europa including the St Gotthard, Grand St Bernard, San Bernardino, Simplon, Brenner, Pas de la Cassa... Sometimes you'd just be sitting in 2nd spinning over at 3500 rpm for what seemed like hours but we always got to where we were going. Just gotta take your time in a 1600 bus! 1st time over the Gotthard in 1998 2nd time a few of years later
I love the slow speeds of it, to be honest. Sort of nostalgic. That, and the smell of hot oil and cheap vinyl. But what do people use for sound proofing, under the seat, if any? Because, at high revs, it does get loud. I have a ‘decider’ ’, between the front seats and ‘cargo bay’, made from padded cloth with a large plastic window, which helps the rumble a bit.
Though the tlb web server has a word replacement thing going on (which I expect is meant to change swear words), I think the autocorrect mechanism is done by your operating system.
I found replacing the wool padding above the perforated sheets in the engine bay with part of 2 metres of 30mm adhesive backed thick sound absorbing foil coated foam made a huge difference. Then putting the remaining foam in the tailgate behind the card and some stuck to the inside of the engine lid.
The carp bus goes brrrrrrrrrrrrr2nd brrrrrrrrrrrr3rd brrrrrrrrrrrrr 4th then I don't change gear until I get to the lake which is about 8 miles away along winding country roads , then the same all the way home the next day I don't know the speed I do nor do I care
