On 1/13/05 3:31 PM, "Jonathan Poole" <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> Howdy List,
> 
> The old '82 did well coming across the plains to Denver.  Now that I
> have gotten into the mountains though I have noticed a significant
> drop in power.  I am guessing that it is a combination of altitude and
> the 85 octane gas that I filled up with.  Do ya'll know if the 85
> octane should affect the power output of my van?  I didn't notice any
> pinging.  Also the van has displayed the tendency to flood which I
> attribute to the altitude, thank goodness it is easy to disconnect the
> fuel pump.  Do you guys know of any adjustments that can be made to
> reduce the flooding?  I did a tune up in Denver so the timing etc. is
> all set correctly...
> 
> Thanks for any insights,
> 
> Jonathan Poole
> '82 AC Westy
> 
> 

The flooding part may be the temps in combination with the altitude and
timing.

Depending on which passes your are going through

When my 82 was still air cooled stock

Eisenhaur tunnel (I70) route I would be slowed to as fast as third gear
would let me go and watch my oil hit very high.

Steeper long passes like woodland park in the south would have me in second
gear and oil nearly boiling.

Raton pass (I25) to New Mexico would have me in third gear and oil very hot.

Climbing the long slopes up to winter park vail etc. second or third gear
and extreme oil temps.

It is a combination of the 67HP engine trying to push a massive weight up a
long slope and the thinner air.  The air above 6000 is supposed to take 10
percent power loss.  When you only have 67 HP to start that puts you with
barely enough power to push the wind out of the way.

I tested various octane boosters over several of the passes as well as
higher octane fuels.  Only effect was a hotter engine.  Exactly as VW stated
in publications. 

After numerous times of trying to keep my poor engine from melting down I
finally went with a subie mod.

����������������������������������������
jimt
Planned insanity is best.
Remember that sanity is optional.
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