Beetle gas mileage

Thanks, my Jeep gets a pretty consistent 20/21 MPG... actually so does my Studebaker truck as long as the overdrive is working.

I'm thinking about a VW because they are funky, cool, and I can fix them. DON'T want some little Asian blandmobile that practically takes a degree in computer science and million dollars worth of test equipment just to change the oil!

Jeff DeWitt

John wrote:

In my long experience the Beetle can deliver quite good fuel economy (up to 7 liters/100 km or about 32 miles per US gallon) in urban driving. That=92s reasonably competitive with many Asian econoboxes. The car is quite light by modern standards (thanks in part to the extremely light engine) which helps reduce fuel consumption in stop- and-go driving. The engine warms up very rapidly because it lacks the thermal mass of a liquid coolant system. Fuel economy falls off at highway speeds due to relatively poor aerodynamics. Also, the load imposed on the engine by the cooling fan is significant. Of course a carbureted Type1 engine will always be at a disadvantage compared to a modern fuel injected engine with mixture controlled by an oxygen sensor in the exhaust. It=92s interesting to speculate what fuel economy would result if a fuel injected Type 1 engine (used from=9275 on in North America) were retrofit with a feedback mixture control system using an oxygen sensor. I doubt this experiment has ever been tried. It=92s worth noting that in the early =9170's fuel injected Type 3 and Type 4 Volkswagens were amongst the most efficient vehicles available. I would guess the Type 3 squareback would have considerably less aerodynamic drag than a Type1 at highway speeds.

The real economy in driving a Beetle is the elimination of depreciation and the dramatic reduction in repair costs (assuming you do your own repairs). These are still higher costs than the cost of fuel. Parts are still readily available by mail order and are far less expensive than those for a typical Asian econobox.

Finally, I think most would agree the basic Beetle (torsion bar front suspension) gives fewer problems and has higher value than the Superbeetle (McPherson strut front suspension).

Garry =9174 DP1600 basic Beetle

My Jeep gets 17-18mpg on the highway..... a stock or near stock beetle should easily get over 25mpg :D

Jan

John wrote:

Don't justify the purchase because of high fuel costs like your original post was doing. If you want one and can afford it, buy it.

Les $300 '76 VW, functionally ugly daily driver

Yes, but when the time comes to replace ball joints, have fun... I ended up using this guy's method on the first 3, still need to finish up in the morning so I can swap in the cut and turned beam...

Les

I was pulling a pretty consistent 32mpg out of my '76 Standard Beetle on the highway, but I have a lead foot. I can NOT get my '88 XJ 4.0l over 20mpg even with a light foot, so I drive my '83 Audi 4000s (26mpg GTi engine) again with my lead foot. lol

One day I will start driving my '70 Beetle. It has not been "driven" since about 1993 or so, but it still starts and drives. Saving it for my daughter but with these gas prices..................hmmmm

If the Beetles get under 20mpg something just ain't right! I think my FI '76 Beetle got the best mileage of all my Beetles, '67 Conv, '66 Std and I forget the others since I did not restore them.

I've had a 73 Super for 13 years that I've never been able to get better than 16-17 mpg, in town or on freeway. Never have been able to figure out why, and it's been regularly maintained.

That's what I have... 87. Non-high output too. Factory MPG rating was somewhere around 18-19.

You do release the parking brake, right? ;)

Mines a 96 HO, 5 speed, 2 door and 2wd. Pretty consistant 20-21 MPG and my size 14 foot isn't light.

It's fun to drive and the best car I've ever had (about 375,000 on it now), and I'm NOT going to replace it as my daily driver with some boring little Asian POS!

Obviously I'm no expert on Beetles but something is very wrong, it seems like it should do a LOT better than that.

Mexibeetles have excellent fuel economy. Fuel injected, O2 and CHT sensors, hydraulic lifters and all the bells and whistles. Great AC system too and they sell an hydraulic clutch system that looks stock. I used to have a '98 that gave about 37 mpg in the city (and there are lots of stop lights here). Don't know if they can be imported to the US.

Karls

I have seen a couple of Mexibeetles here around the Chicago area.

Karls

Yeah how freely does it roll? Alignment, tire pressure, brakes dragging, etc.?

Air filter clean, properly tuned, good power, etc.? How is that dual vacuum advance on that distributor? Did you use the stock ignition timing or did you advance it some? Maybe a problem with the carb and too much gas flows through especially when the fuel pump is pumping faster. Just a theory. ;-) What do the spark plugs look like after a good run? Someone in the UK had a clever, and easy, way to see if your carb was jetted correctly by just driving it certain ways. I thought I had saved it but I can not find it on this computer. :-( Does anyone remember this? I think it involved driving the car and feeling for surging as you moved the gas pedal. Then you can determine if it was running either rich, lean or just about right. Also checking the plug electrodes after some hard runs.

That's remarkably good fuel economy. I wonder if any of the usual mail order VW parts houses are selling this complete system in the US or Canada (a quick search didn't reveal any). The cost would no doubt be high, but given the rapidly rising price of fuel it might be worth considering. Longblock engines from the Mexican factory are imported here, so I don't see why the fuel injection system couldn't be.

Garry

Less gas mileage usually! ;-)