Ignition

IMHO you are going in the wrong direction....the carb is more likely the cause of the poor mileage than the ignition....any centermount carb out there is not really "set up" for the vdub engine...and it takes alot of time and patients to tune one properly....

------------------- Chris Perdue

*All opinions are those of the author of this post* "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug" reply take your PANTS off

...................Yeah......That's right. I bet that rocketing squirrel got better mileage with his hippie bus after he switched to dual kadrons.

Hard to day. Prior to changing out the single IDF carb on the Wonderbus the performance was so poor that I wasn't even looking at mileage. Right now I'm getting 19 - 20 mpg average with my mixed (surface-streets + highway) daily driving routine. Not impressive by today's standards, but along the lines of what one can expect from this vehicle I reckon. I would like to get better mileage and reduce emissions, if possible, but I don't think that's in the cards.

..............19 to 20 sounds pretty good. I've heard of other buses doing a lot worse.

Obviously you can make certain deductions by common sense, whatever the last thing you changed that caused a drop or increase in mileage or power is the most likely culprit--BUT--99% of carb problems are something else. Ignition, tune, condition of engine.....that sort of thing.

That was then, nowadays everyone is quick to blame their computer. It's always the least understood thing that gets the finger pointed at it. Including me, but it seems to always be the middle finger LOL

-ANT

Agreed, That the carb is your main problem & not the ignition system. Get a set of dual kadrons If you really need a chike get CB's dual 34's

Dave.

8.5 kms per liter with 2xKadron and an 050 on a heavy Kombi with a stock dp 1600

- mostly city driving. (Good or bad ??? You do the math for your size of gallon).

If your goal is to improve fuel economy, I think you're probably starting in the wrong place. Here are 2 places to look first:

Make sure that all the parts of your current ignition system are in good condition and working right. Check the SP connector and the wires, Check the mechanical advance; is it free and smooth?

If any of the things above are working poorly, things will be just as bad, or worse, with the Jacobs.

Then play with the jetting on the carb. If it has a choke, make sure that it's opening up fully. Yes, this is a big job and can take a LONG time to get right, assuming that it even CAN be made right.

I get the impression that you were hoping for a "bolt-on" solution. Sorry, but you're not likely to find one.

-

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

-----------------------------------------------

I make that roughly 24mpg, I can't work mine out because I believe that my fuel gauge is completely out - it reads 3/4 full when i believe its fully full (i dont want to overfill!)... I think the low end of the scale is out too, so I need to get a jerrycan for when I run out, which will happen sooner or later...

Unless it is realistic for a novice to check and adjust this? I've not yet checked in the Book of Muir as I have bigger fish to fry.

TIA Anto.

That's not how you do it, you fill up every time you get gas, log the mileage, and the gallons. Don't take one or two samples a year, keep a running log. Then make an Excel spread sheet, with the mileage in one column, gas used in the next, and ... damn where's my spread sheet on Clayton...

Make these the columns: Date Odometer reading Gallons bought (on a fillup) price per gallon Miles traveled (calculated from odometer reading column 2) MPG (calculated from miles traveled divided by gallons bought) Cost (how much to fill up, plus any maintenance, mechanics labor, etc) Total Gas (a running total) Avg-MPG (use the formula wizard) Total Cost (running total of cost per mile) Cost/Mile per mile (add in maintenace stuff) money divided by miles

Mine looks like this: Odometer Gallons $/Gal Miles MPG Cost TotGas Avg-MPG

46939 10.000 2.059 0 19.730 $20.00 0.000 19.730 47148 10.578 2.059 209 19.730 $21.16 10.578 19.739 47210 3.722 2.059 62 16.577 $7.44 14.300 18.916 47396 7.971 2.039 187 23.422 $15.94 22.271 20.529 47530 6.000 2.039 134 22.250 $12.00 28.271 20.894 47626 4.625 1.999 96 20.778 $9.25 32.896 20.878 47793 7.666 1.999 167 21.824 $15.33 40.562 21.057 47952 6.142 1.999 158 25.790 $12.28 46.704 21.679 48125 8.014 1.919 173 21.625 $16.03 54.718 21.671 48281 6.483 1.939 156 24.078 $12.97 61.201 21.926 48420 5.582 1.919 139 24.884 $11.16 66.783 22.173 48563 6.423 1.859 143 22.248 $12.85 73.206 22.180 48714 6.699 1.839 152 22.645 $13.40 79.905 22.219 48844 5.103 1.819 129 25.299 $10.21 85.008 22.404 48948 5.156 1.799 104 20.248 $10.31 90.164 22.281 49077 5.189 1.799 129 24.880 $10.38 95.353 22.422

Look at any one per fillup MPG, all over the board from 16 to 25+ MPG. Now look at the average, solid and increasing.

. . .

Good one - add the date and you've got a historical on gas prices also - interesting.

My gas gauge also does not work. My "spreadsheet" is a hunk of cardboard stuck in the dash with the mileage at last fillup scribbled on it. I do the kms/lit in my head after each fillup, but you are right - it's all over the map.

Another top idea!

Cheers Anto

Is it common then that fuel gauges don't work, or am I just filling up to

3/4? The pump cuts itself out, and i d> Michael Kelly wrote:

I doubt yours, or anyone else's, has the same problem as mine.

A few months back I took my sons on a van camping trip from Singapore across the bridge to Malaysia, where the gas is half the price, and immediately pulled in to a Petronas goverment owned gas station, being somehwat of a patriot to the host country for my travels.

It was 11 pm and I had the boys in the back rolling around on the beds - it's much cooler to drive at night and the expressway is almost empty.

I filled up, drove out of the station and down the road a coupla hundred meters, and was passed by the smartass youths on motorbikes that had been hanging around the gas station, they were laughing and gesturing at me - whonoes?

The engine promptly died, and I pulled over, already running over a procedure in my mind as we rolled to a stop.

I checked for a spark - okay, so on a suspicious hunch about the mini-bikers II disconnected the gas line from the pump to the carbs, and had my older son hit the key. Water - it was spraying water out. The asshole kids at the station had filled the gas pump hose with water, stuffed a rag in to keep it there, and let the next sucker - me - fill'er up with gas and water - isn't that funny - hahaha. Maybe their uncle has a tow truck or repair shop nearby???

We rolled'er over till it was pumping straight fuel, hooked it back up, fired it up and went camping.

I've change plugged filters a coupla times, but pieces of the rag used by the punks are still fouling my gas gauge sending unit, and I'm scrapping the van next week so I don't care to pull it and fix it.

Look down the filler tube, (don't use a match :o). On my 70 bug, I can see gas after the second click-off of the pump. Always fill to the same level.

I have to put the nozzle in upside down at my local garage, this troubles me. Maybe next time i will go elsewhere, but its' just too easy to do the

2 minute drive to get fuel when its near empty. Who wants to go miles to get gas?

No matches? I might burn my fingers, I'll use a lighter instead :-P

Anto.

Are these places unmanned? How could the attendant let them do that?

I'm shocked, but it also goes to show the ultimate durability of the vw aircooled engines. Even dirty rags don't stop them.

Anto

Michael Kelly wrote in news:0JwDb.201529$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

Spread sheet! I suppose Excel will do the math for you, but I try to keep life as low-tech as possible, and use a spiral memo pad, at 3 x 5 about the same size as a Palm/pocket organizer and it doesn't need batteries. Good not only for keeping track of milage, oil changes, etc.--I have trip logs as far back as '94--but phone numbers, directions, the occasional Deep Thought...