I would have to agree with Jeff, Matt. I drive only on longer trips and tend to
drive in the middle to the 3/4 of the green. I expect you could take the extreme
green if you wish but an opinion I have heard for awhile is "just don't be in a
hurry when driving a vanagon". If you want to go fast, get another vehicle. Just
my opinion!
Darryl

Jeff at Vanagonparts wrote:

> Matt,
>
> Any answer you get to this question from the list is going to be nothing
> more than opinion and speculation.  Regardless of how certain the responses
> may seem, I truly doubt that anyone has the "inside" information from the VW
> engineers.  Like other vehicles, our vans have green areas on the RPM gauges
> and red areas, they're there for a reason.  The RPM shading is probably the
> best info you'll get.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
> Of Matt Sutton
> Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2004 9:27 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Safe 2.1/1.9 Rpm: survey/query
>
> Ok Folks.
>     I've  been listening and posting for a couple of years now, and still
> consider myself a newbie. But recent posts have made me want to ask an over
> arching question about driving the vanagon.
>     What is the actual safety area in RPM's for engine longevity on the
> Vanagon engine? Or, what did the engineers really intend? Or maybe a
> hypothetical question is best- if you had designed the wasserboxer engine,
> how would you treat it if you had to drive it?
>     I drive an 88 G, 4-speed, usually pretty unloaded on short 15 mile runs.
> Two-three times a year I'll do long runs, a month at a a time. Last one was
> 10k miles. On these long runs I'm usually just over 4K  on the tach,
> (215/70/r14 tires).
>
>     Just trying to judge what I can ask of my vehicle, really. Would love to
> hear from all the rebuilding heavy hitters out there. Can't exclude Subies
> and I4's, but I only have the engine I have, and am trying to make the most
> of it.
>
>  thanks,
>
> Matt Sutton
> 88 GL
> Brooklyn NY