Revs vs speed vs temp

[Nugsy]

I know Sunday was perhaps the hottest day of the year so not generally the best conditions for it but any of those travelling to from Camperjam or any other show for that matter fully loaded, what kind of speeds are you doing at what revs and what temp are you running at. also what distances are you covering between stops if any?

I never know what is optimum for the engine, some say its higher revs as the fan is pushing out more air. Some say lower revs as less load on the engine

I think my engine is a 1641 (have a receipt for it from 2000) and not sure on the gear box.

Coming home from camperjam along the A5 im sitting at around 45-50 in 4th engine doing about 2-2500rpm but the temp gauge is just going up and up. Its out of an old Audi Coupe and connected to a sender but not really sure how accurate it is. When I did increase speed to get the engine revs up it went up quicker. It did level off in the end and not get any hotter but if the gauge is to be believed this was at around 150 degrees :shock: However with this guage normal is around the 130 mark (I have read that with VDO gauges 12 oclock is classed as normal but surely that's to hot)

So the question is fully loaded, what speeds are you doing for how long at what revs and temps

 

[StuF]

Nugsy -

When we were in France and the temps were pretty similar to this recent weekend - hitting nearly 32 degrees at times. :shock:

We were cruising at between 55/60mph (gps indicated) running at 3000/3300 rpm and at temp on a proven accurate VDO gauge would sit at 105 degrees rising to 110 when the ambient air temp maxed out. Bearing in mind though we were driving 6-8 hours a day.
:shock:
When we approached 110 degrees I slowed down to 50mph and the temp would drop back to just over 100 - I found 53mph to be the sweet spot for cruising and maintaining the temp at a constant level.

To check the accuracy of your gauge disconnect the sender and submerge it in boiling water - see if it reads 100 degrees. Mine is absolutely spot on. 8)

 

[67westy]

I just drive it :lol: Don't have a rev counter or temperature gauge and have never had an issue with overheating. Normally sit 55-60mph whatever the weather, stop every couple of hours for fuel and a break. Normally just a quick check of the oil if it's a long journey and all is good. Tyres on the other hand.......... :evil: :lol:

 

[sharky71]

I came back from the Gower Coast on sunday,pulled just over 55 mph all the way except for the hills where I was down to 30 mph in 3rd to keep fan spinning and when I got back I could only snatch the dipstick out but no way to hold it properly,the thing was like a hot potatoe!
:lol:
Oil level spot on,engine did not smell cooked so left the van running for 15mins while I unloaded the van,bloody thing was rammed even the rack on top was chocca and the trip was about 90 miles.
Timing checked,valve clearances checked,pluggs checked and gapped all leads and hoses present and correct all on a 1600 tp stock setup.

 

[toxicbug66]

I was sat at 55-60 on A41 at about 3500rpm for an hour or so, temp was 95-100. Dropped down to 85 when
On the B roads on back lanes for the final leg of my journey. Normally I would expect it to be @ 85-90c

Rich

 

[StuF]

I just drive it :lol: Don't have a rev counter or temperature gauge and have never had an issue with overheating. Normally sit 55-60mph whatever the weather, :evil: :lol:

Adam how do you know you havent come close to cooking your engine without a temp gauge? :?

If I had done the same and not fitted any gauges my engine would have cooked itself in the mountains around the French/Spanish border :shock:
I have found my :lol: unnecessary and distracting :lol: gauges very useful in the last 12 months of ownership.

Fair enough if you are only pottering around the UK in the low temps mostly found here - hoewever it was only because of the oil temp and pressure gauges that I could reduce my speed to keep within a safe temperature due to the constant high ambient air temp and steep mountain roads we found ourselves on.
If I had carried on driving over 55mph I would have cooked it - I could see the oil pressure dropping as the oil began to overheat. :msn4:

Never understood the "Just Drive It" way of doing it. How can having extra information regarding the health of your engine in your prized vehicle be unnecessary? £80 gauge vs an £1800/£6000 engine. :shock:

Although I do agree that driving in normal UK temps shouldnt cause it to overheat unless something unforseen happens or the engine is poorly maintained. But as we all know pattern parts are shit and things can and do break/fail with little or no notice.

I am sure there have been a couple of threads on here that ended with dead engines and stranded peeps all because they had absolutely no way of monitoring oil temps and pressure.
If the worst happens and oil pressure drops suddenly you stop and check what has happened before the engine runs dry and siezes. Difficult to do that without a gauge.

 

[67westy]

I don't mate but I've never stopped and not been able to hold the dipstick. The engines were designed to work in far more extreme climates than the UK so I'm not worried. Maybe if I had an expensive engine I would be more concerned but not for my stock 1600. I'm sure in spain it would run hotter but I still wouldn't think that you are pushing the extremes of what it was designed for.

I guess the question could be reversed, how do you know you would of cooked it? Granted the temperature would probably increase but it could well run fine like that.

I might consider gauges if I was going to a more extreme climate or upgrade the engine but I'm sure there are thousands of vans doing thousands of miles in hot climates with heavy loads without issue.

 

[Clem]

I had a rev counter in my old van for a bit, but nothing else. I usually rely on the dipstick touch test and bank on that the engine design is a well tested unit and with oil in the engine, and a fan belt fitted if everything is set up correctly then it should survive. That does sound cavalier, but its been ok so far. I do take it easy when loaded up in areas such as the South of France, but in reality, that means just not really caning it, these engines are very under tuned.

I do have a fuel guage, but its not much cop and I often run dry

 

[sparkywig]

I had a rev counter in my old van for a bit, but nothing else. I usually rely on the dipstick touch test and bank on that the engine design is a well tested unit and with oil in the engine, and a fan belt fitted if everything is set up correctly then it should survive. That does sound cavalier, but its been ok so far. I do take it easy when loaded up in areas such as the South of France, but in reality, that means just not really caning it, these engines are very under tuned.

I do have a fuel guage, but its not much cop and I often run dry

Just a rev counter for me, shouldn't need a temp gauge if the engine timing and clearances are OK and all the engine tinware and seals are in place.

Ditto on the fuel gauge though Clem.....

 

[K@rlos]

My theroy is lots of time and effort went into designing stock VW motors, so if everything is as VW intended then there is no need for temp & pressure gauges on stock motor.

However with big motors where a lot of elements are re-engineered I believe that extra are important.

 

[Scutch]

I just drive it :lol: Don't have a rev counter or temperature gauge and have never had an issue with overheating. Normally sit 55-60mph whatever the weather, stop every couple of hours for fuel and a break. Normally just a quick check of the oil if it's a long journey and all is good. Tyres on the other hand.......... :evil: :lol:

Im with you on this 67westy, no worry dials for me. I drive at about 60-65mph (1641cc).
I think you notice more without the dials, because as your driving it your feeling how its driving and your listening to change instead of your head looking and relying on dials all the time. when you pull over for a rest have a little look in the engine bay, do the old dip stick test, all good carry on!
Although, i want a original looking rev counter (the one that someones done on here) just to fill up the horrible hole i have there at the mo!

 

[Slammed]

Jeez, there's something wrong if a motor is running at 120+ at 50mph!

Check the worry gauge senders to start with!

 

[monkeyvanwestybike]

Ah Haha !
Now if ya got all the tin there and have a stock motor tuned right
and regular fresh oil changes you know the good mineral "30 grade" :mrgreen: I can drive it at 50+ all day
and able hold my dipstick at the end of the day
But I would rather hold a cold beer when I get there

 

[yachty]

I put my faith in having all original tinware, flaps and thermostat, the dipstick test and the factory warning light. Seems to work just fine. Can just about hold the dipstick and the light doesn't flicker at idle after a long fast run. That'll do me.

Out of interest though, what are the factory specs regarding optimum operating temps and oil pressure?

By the way, you all drive far to slow

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

Oil breaks down above 105-110,

I would do an oil change before any further journeys,

Also it does sound like your running VERY HOT, dangerously so, The head temps would have been so high your risking them cracking!

3200 - 3400 rpm is the ideal revs to cool the heads.

 

[Trikky2]

This is quite interesting http://forums.noria.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/616604995/m/3361034701" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Supertramp]

I was close to getting a temp gauge but figured if the previous owner did thousands of miles all over the US, and lived in Arizona, temperatures would be much higher than here and he managed.
It does have a rev counter that he put in and my fuel gauge seems to be broken as it goes down very quickly :lol:

 

[Trikky2]

fuel gauge seems to be broken as it goes down very quickly :lol:

A common fault :mrgreen:

 

[Nugsy]

Thanks for all the replies, and getting a little results table together. I put the bus away in its garage after unloading it Sunday. Just been and got it out now. Started it up and seemed ok. Checked the oil level and still at maximum so doesn't seem to have lost any, save it marking its spot. oil pressure was sitting around 1 bar, revved it up to around 3k and it got up to just over 2 bar which all seems ok. Oil also looked/ smelled good. Think I need to check my Guages/senders.

anyone else fitted Guages from an Audi 80 V6 and had issues? I may stick the Fahrenheit one back in as that seemed to read ok

 

[nobby81]

80 miles home from camperjam fully loaded doing between 50 & 55, vdo oil tempgauge was reading 120, stopped halfway to let her cool down. a bit too hot for my liking.