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Subject:Air cooled vanagon trip report
From:Jonathan Poole
Date:Thu, 6 Aug 2009 16:24:25 -0400

Trip:
From Western North Carolina to parts of Ontario and Quebec and then back to
Western North Carolina along the Mass., to D.C. coastal areas.
-total miles driven - 3,523
-duration of trip - 1 month
-cheapest gas (USD) - 2.39/gal (nj and VA) 7-26-09 appr.
-most expensive gas (USD) - 3.79/gal mont tremblant Quebec 7-12-09

Van:
83 air-cooled westy (moderately loaded)
-Stock tranny, tire size etc.
-Boston Bob 2.0 mostly stock, federal configuration plus:
--external oil cooler with fan (on whenever oil temp approached 200 degrees
F)
--timing - 4 degrees at idle in order to keep overall advance down a bit.
(makes BIG cht temp difference as compared to stock 7.5 @ idle, mech. adv.
limit may be a bit off from stock?)

Typical highway driving speeds:
-60-65 mph (faster in hills to keep rpms closer to 4k)

Driving speeds while following Frank Condelli:
-up to and over 70 mph (slow down man!!) ha ha ;)

MPG numbers:
-avg mpg - 18.74
-best mpg - 22.53 (south massachusets coast)
-worst mpg - 16.58 (boston area)

Engine and Oil numbers:
-avg cht 350 farenheit (very steady in all highway conditions)
-oil temp - 200 to 220 (with external cooler and fan running on warm days)
-oil pressure - 45 to 48 psi (60 to 65 mph)

Propane usage:
-just over one tank (fridge ran entire time, some propex and some cooking)

Jonathan Poole
'83 AC Westy

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