Then again; Ken is in the business of rebuilding burned-out transmissions. :
)

j/k

Cya,
Robert
On May 23, 2011 7:10 PM, "Rocket J Squirrel" <camping.elliott@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I wrote:
>
>
>> re
>> I have a question for those of you who drive a 1.9L manual: at what rpm
>> do you normally upshift when pulling into traffic, or when climbing up a
>> hill? I bet it's higher than 2600 rpm.
>
>
>
> On Mon, 2011-05-23 at 15:21 -0700, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>
>
>>
>> 'way' above 2,600.
>> Probably I'm shifting out of first at 4,200, and out of 2nd at 3,500 or
so.
>> And out of 3rd at fairly zippy rpm too.
>>
>> the 1.9 likes to rev nicely.
>> I've driven some 84 passenger manual trans vanagons that just rip through
>> the gears ..
>
> <snip>
>
> My point exactly. I disagree with the idea that the VW engineers had
> some overreaching wisdom when they picked these miserably low 2,600 rpm
> shift points. It probably made for a genteel ride, nice for the punters
> and laydees, but it does not give a fair representation of what the van
> could do if only the buyer had chosen a manual.
>
> Given that Ken at German Transaxle sees no risk to the transmission with
> a governor that lets the engine rev to 3,200 before upshifting, and that
> he normal driving habits of those who drive manuals of letting the
> engines rev much higher than that before shifting, I'm tempted to get
> Ken to make me a "super modified" governor.*
>
> I grew up driving manuals, many of my previous cars were Volkswagens,
> Fiats, etc., and I learned a lot about the limitations of small boxer
> engines driving heavy buses (my previous was a 1971 bay window with a
> 1600 dp engine and the revered Bob Hoover tutored me, lived about 5
> miles from my house in Vista, Calif.) so I know how to get a heavy bus
> or van up to speed without stressing the engine, and it does not involve
> upshifting at 2,600 rpm. In fact, that would have been stupid given how
> much weaker the bottom end is on those earlier engine designs.
>
> (In case anyone wonders, I do yearn for a manual. This Westy fell into
> our laps with fewer than 70,000 miles on the clock back in 2006 or so.
> So who was I to say no? To whine that it's not a manual?)
>
> ============
> Wile E. Coyote: Super genius. I like the sound of that.