Cruising speed?

[StuF]

That sounds a little low to me, do you have a thermostat on your engine? Running too cold can be as bad as too hot...

Working temperature should be somewhere between 80-120 deg C on a run.

Your quite right mate - and it normally does run at exactly that, however it was very very cold and wet this weekend and the low running temps didnt come as a shock. We were also diverting as much warm air as possible to the cab!

Going to avoid driving in the snow and ice in future :lol:

 

[toxicbug66]

Agreed Marvel. No dig was intended, my point didn't come across well. The thought of being battered by a big truck crawling past me on the motorway scares the crap out of me. I prefer the A roads. I can cruise all day at 55 and the engine doesn't get above 85c. Haven't fitted the rev counter yet so not sure what revs I'm pulling at that speed.

Rich.

 

[Toad]

There are no extra gages required in a van. I have had standard buses for many years and never needed them...they are just a distraction.
A standard engine sits most happily (and economically) at approx 56mph. If that kind of speed is not achievable then there is an issue with your engine. 56 mph is a perfectly ok speed to travel at on a Motorway, when you consider that the max speed is 70mph. i travel on whatever roads I need to to get to where I'm going.

 

[terrier man]

I don't bother with gauges only what VW gave me :lol: I just listen to the sounds & the performance of the engine it's a lot
more accurate than most of those gauges.
As for cruising speed Vw claimed a 1968 Microbus could do 60mph all day with a top speed of over 65mph but that was 45 years ago when Men were Men. :shock:

 

[StuF]

There are no extra gages required in a van. I have had standard buses for many years and never needed them...they are just a distraction.

Surely you need to add - In your opinion?

I think there is a need - especially as I am planning a 2000mile+ journey across europe to Spain in the height of summer. I feel it would be prudent to be able to monitor my oil temp and pressure should something go wrong before I cook or sieze the engine?

Guess you arnt a fan of alloy wheels/aftermarket disk brake kits/modern tunes/propex kits/custom interiors/slammed buses/narrowed beams?

:roll:

 

[Marvel]

Guess you aren't a fan of alloy wheels/aftermarket disk brake kits/modern tunes/propex kits/custom interiors/slammed buses/narrowed beams?

:roll:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Hadders]

Isn't it about having the information to hand? Sure maybe you don't need it, but i'd rather know how the engine is doing rather than just rely on what I'm hearing

As for speed, 50 is easy and comfortable, though I'm not sure I feel like I'm cruising :lol:

 

[faux]

With my stock engine an box I have always cruised at between 50 and 55 ( I'm running 185/65/15 which has a 5% smaller circumference than stock). This is where it seemed happiest.

I have recently fitted a very mild stock operating 1776cc and 5 rib gearbox with taller ratios. At a cost of about £2000 I can cruise at 60 and keep that up hills, my bus is a packed out Westy so pretty heavy.

This sounds like a small gain but I can now avoid those lorries overtaking. I don't care about going fast but I do like to avoid that mad back draft lorries cause on my slab sided bay.

I have no gauges and I recently lost all my oil due to a faulty cooler and the red oil light lit up and saved the engine. Fffffeeewww!

 

[Myvanway]

55 is good for me.

 

[Tofufi]

That sounds a little low to me, do you have a thermostat on your engine? Running too cold can be as bad as too hot...

Working temperature should be somewhere between 80-120 deg C on a run.

Your quite right mate - and it normally does run at exactly that, however it was very very cold and wet this weekend and the low running temps didnt come as a shock. We were also diverting as much warm air as possible to the cab!

Going to avoid driving in the snow and ice in future :lol:

Fair enough! I love driving mine through the snow

I've not got a temperature gauge, but I do have a pressure gauge. That shows if things are going too far wrong, but I just look for consistency rather than paying any heed to the actual numbers.

Oh, and to answer the original question, I sit at about 55 on the speedo, which tends to be about the same as the slower lorries. I slow down if other lorries want to pass though, to reduce the time they are in the second lane. My van has hit 80 on the speedometer before (approx 75mph), but it didn't sound happy about it... :lol:

 

[StuF]

Fair enough! I love driving mine through the snow

Cool pic 8)

 

[Pete B]

Lots of opinions here and taking all the previous posts into account;
My feeling is max cruising speed 3500rpm on a light throttle. In my bus with standard transmission and almost stock diameter rear tyres, that equates to roughly 55mph (according to prat nav), so I sit with the big trucks most of the time. Very occasionally one will pass me (usually east european....) and several times I will pass them.
Theory is the engine is rated as max rpm 4500 so 3500 seems plenty for prolonged running and a light throttle means less stress on the engine. Also, seeing as that is close to peak torque, the engine is less stressed, fuel consumption will be at its best and you are at the prime spot if a bit more speed is needed to overtake due to being bored reading 'Eddie Stobbard' and 'long vehicle' for the last hour!
With standard running gear and the cooling system in full working order, driven sympathetically there probably is no need for extra guages. Whilst Jaguar, MG, and lord knows how many others fitted extra dials, VW didn't feel the need, even for extreme climates. Maybe drivers expectations were not so high and they were driven much more gently then....? That said, I would be happy to monitor oil temp/pressure. A mate of mine refers to them as 'worry meters', he may have a point?
Oil temp, if it were only 80 degrees, which is quite probable in recent wintery temperatures, I would be glad I had used a 15W/40 rather than a straight 30 grade but would still be wary of working the engine too hard. If the oil ain't overly warm then neither are the engine components, they probably are not at optimum temperature, treat it as a cold engine.
Lorry speeds, I am informed that the legal limit for over 7.5 tonnes are 40mph on A roads, 50mph on dual carriageways and 60 mph on motorways. That is the UK limit on motorways, but this cowardly government kiss the arse of the EU and recommend the 90kph EU maximum (56mph) which most HGVs are mechanically/electronically limited to.
In the 50s and 60s, 50mph was considered a more than respectable cruising speed, indeed many vehicles were almost flat out at that rate. Trying to make a standard (and probably worn/tired) engine from that era accelerate and travel at modern day speeds has to be a recipe for disaster.
All the above is 'just my opinion and heresay', please dont shoot!!!!!

 

[Dave.P]

i tend to let my oil temp gauge dictate my cruising speed, running standard 1600 box and stock diameter back tyres its usually 55-60 (on sat nav) at 3500-3700 rpm & around 100 deg c on long runs which is a bit annoying as my engine wants to go off the clock 8) hence im saving for a better gearbox and brakes to suit.. it winds me up a bit driving 300 miles among the artic's. made my mind up when a splitty cruised past me at about 75-80 on the a14 after bug jam :mrgreen:

 

[Toad]

Guess you arnt a fan of alloy wheels/aftermarket disk brake kits/modern tunes/propex kits/custom interiors/slammed buses/narrowed beams?

Yes you are correct....but as you say....thats just my opinion....(But it is backed up by seeing a hole load of customers over the years who have thrown loads of money at all that stuff but neglected the essentials like a new set of points of a length of fuel hose. Also I've lost count of the number of vans I have seen with the latest wheels and expensive lowering...to then not be capable of an MOT pass due to chassis rot.) Each to their own of course. My priority is reliabilty. Having driven over 25k miles in my van in a year and it barely missing a beat it seems to pay off.


But just my opinion

HAPPY BUSING!

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

There are lots of great points on this thread, but driving to the conditions is the key.

I personally don't run stock engines so always have had a temperature gauge and this is what I drive by.

This time of year in the cold temps, I can sit at 85mph all day long, (Not that I do officer)

But last summer in the south of france i was lucky to be cruising faster than 45 to 55mph.

(I do run a modified 091 box with a longer than stock 4 gear and 205/70 profile tyres, this also makes a big difference).

Keeping the rear tyre ratio as large as possible makes a hugh difference.

Ambient temprature and humidity makes a hugh difference and you should drive to the conditions.

 

[Tofufi]

(I do run a modified 091 box with a longer than stock 4 gear and 205/70 profile tyres, this also makes a big difference).

Keeping the rear tyre ratio as large as possible makes a hugh difference.

Just out of interest, do you find the larger rear tyres or higher gearing increase or decrease engine temps when cruising at speed (50mph +)?

Thanks

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

(I do run a modified 091 box with a longer than stock 4 gear and 205/70 profile tyres, this also makes a big difference).

Keeping the rear tyre ratio as large as possible makes a hugh difference.

Just out of interest, do you find the larger rear tyres or higher gearing increase or decrease engine temps when cruising at speed (50mph +)?

Thanks

Larger tyres is a greater rolling radius and taller gears has the same effect. This will mean for the same RPM you travel at a higher speed. This in turn means you will run cooler, so higher the rear tyre profile and gear ratio the lower rpm needed to run @ 70mph so lower rpm is therefore cooler.

50mph wil probably mean you run too cool, as you will loose fan speed, ideal is 3400rpm to create a good cooling effect.

Its is a complicated subject but one i love to chat about, feel free to email alex@vwheritage if I can offer any further advice.

Cheers

Alex

 

[Tofufi]

Larger tyres is a greater rolling radius and taller gears has the same effect. This will mean for the same RPM you travel at a higher speed. This in turn means you will run cooler, so higher the rear tyre profile and gear ratio the lower rpm needed to run @ 70mph so lower rpm is therefore cooler.

50mph wil probably mean you run too cool, as you will loose fan speed, ideal is 3400rpm to create a good cooling effect.

Its is a complicated subject but one i love to chat about, feel free to email alex@vwheritage if I can offer any further advice.

Cheers

Alex

Thanks Alex, I appreciate the reply from someone who has been and tried it

I've heard people suggest previously that reducing RPM means the engine has to work harder and recieves less cooling air as the RPM is lower, but this could be perhaps more true when using stock-capacity/power output engines with higher gearing.

I'm wanting to up the gear ratios on my stock 1600 (except twin Dells) tintop microbus at some point in the next few years (got a few other bits to sort first!) so it's all good information. Thanks

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

Larger tyres is a greater rolling radius and taller gears has the same effect. This will mean for the same RPM you travel at a higher speed. This in turn means you will run cooler, so higher the rear tyre profile and gear ratio the lower rpm needed to run @ 70mph so lower rpm is therefore cooler.

50mph wil probably mean you run too cool, as you will loose fan speed, ideal is 3400rpm to create a good cooling effect.

Its is a complicated subject but one i love to chat about, feel free to email alex@vwheritage if I can offer any further advice.

Cheers

Alex

Thanks Alex, I appreciate the reply from someone who has been and tried it

I've heard people suggest previously that reducing RPM means the engine has to work harder and recieves less cooling air as the RPM is lower, but this could be perhaps more true when using stock-capacity/power output engines with higher gearing.

I'm wanting to up the gear ratios on my stock 1600 (except twin Dells) tintop microbus at some point in the next few years (got a few other bits to sort first!) so it's all good information. Thanks

People do have a point you do need the torque to pull a bigger box, but it is a six of one and half a dozen of the other situation.

If your van pulls well you should be A ok, if it struggles now it will struggle even more on a taller box and looking into a set of 1641cc barrels and psitons might be a good start.

 

[Tofufi]

Plan in the long run is to go longer stroke and larger bore than 1641 - just all takes time and money!

Current engine pulls fine, though it seems slow on hills compared to my other car (a RWD V8 saloon). :lol: