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Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:40 am

A properly tuned, perfectly timed, precision stock engine/dizzy/carb setup on a VW bug, will pull mountainous terrain and have no problem at least maintaining interstate speed.

Answer: MYTH. I got passed by 5 semis up hills coming back across the Ozarks last night.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:48 am

Fact: You would have done alright if your bug had 18 gears too.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:48 am

FACT...just like a properly maintained modern vehicle will last an extremely long time...it is just that many people have forgotten how to maintain things in a throw-away society...they will run an ungodly amount of miles without an oil change, run their car when the scrapers are making horrific noise on their rotors, and run their cars with struts that are bad because people are A. ignorant to maintenance or B. ignorant to maintenance...

Just how I feel...sore subject with me :lol:

Just to edit this out...Up mountainous terrain, depending on grade, a stock 1600 might get passed up by most modern cars...but on highway you are ok :wink:

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:09 pm

Myth.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:16 pm

Last month you didn't know what distributor you had, but this month you know your car is 'properly' this and, 'perfectly' that, and 'precision' what?

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:27 pm

Chris Vellat wrote: Last month you didn't know what distributor you had, but this month you know your car is 'properly' this and, 'perfectly' that, and 'precision' what?

I never said anything of the sort.

My point is that, even if everything was perfect, it still wouldn't do it.

Myth.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:30 pm

you may have to gear down on steep inclines stock, but it will run with traffic for the most part.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:33 pm

I just remembered this...If anyone knows where route 70 runs into Breezewood PA, called town hill, it is a steep grade and I did take that at 70mph...not a good thing to do on a fresh stock 1600 sp with an external oil filter...my gene berg oil sensor made my oil lite flicker a little at the top :shock: but going down the other side it went back to normal...so FACT... :)

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:34 pm

sb001 wrote: A properly tuned, perfectly timed, precision stock engine/dizzy/carb setup on a VW bug, will pull mountainous terrain and have no problem at least maintaining interstate speed.

Answer: MYTH. I got passed by 5 semis up hills coming back across the Ozarks last night.

Heh, heh: my 1835DP engine will kick ass on the freeway inclines. I don't know about downshifting, because I haven't had to; maybe I will need to as the engine gets older, it's only 25 years old....

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:46 pm

jdarends wrote: you may have to gear down on steep inclines stock, but it will run with traffic for the most part.

I cant gear down, its an autostick. :x

Cusser wrote:
Heh, heh: my 1835DP engine will kick ass on the freeway inclines. I don't know about downshifting, because I haven't had to; maybe I will need to as the engine gets older, it's only 25 years old....

This makes me envious.

But thats why I said stock.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:49 pm

sb001 wrote: jdarends wrote: you may have to gear down on steep inclines stock, but it will run with traffic for the most part.

I cant gear down, its an autostick. :x
Then, the answer is myth. The autostick transmissions are heavy power suckers. almost as bad as the full autos.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:53 pm

sb001 wrote: Chris Vellat wrote: Last month you didn't know what distributor you had, but this month you know your car is 'properly' this and, 'perfectly' that, and 'precision' what?

I never said anything of the sort.

My point is that, even if everything was perfect, it still wouldn't do it.

Myth.

sb001 wrote: A properly tuned, perfectly timed, precision stock engine/dizzy/carb setup on a VW bug, will pull mountainous terrain and have no problem at least maintaining interstate speed.

Answer: MYTH. I got passed by 5 semis up hills coming back across the Ozarks last night.

sb001 wrote: Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:12 pm
Photo of my distributor setup- trying to find out which model it is http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=887963

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:54 pm

jdarends wrote: sb001 wrote: jdarends wrote: you may have to gear down on steep inclines stock, but it will run with traffic for the most part.

I cant gear down, its an autostick. :x
Then, the answer is myth. The autostick transmissions are heavy power suckers. almost as bad as the full autos.

But I love my precious autostick! But I hate it.

But I love it!

This is why the Germans made the Autobahn as flat as a pancake. Come to a hill? Dig a tunnel. Come to a valley? Build a bridge. None of that up down hills stuff like here in the US. Autostick? No problem!

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:05 pm

why the piss would anybody make a transmission that can't downshift on the fly? :shock:
i am VERY glad mine is full manual. i guess the only thing i would change would be 5th gear... that would be pretty slick.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:17 pm

thechief86 wrote: why the piss would anybody make a transmission that can't downshift on the fly?

I thought the only thing that's "auto" about an autostick is that there's no clutch. Otherwise you can downshift on the fly as much as you want, can't you?

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:23 pm

thechief86 wrote: why the piss would anybody make a transmission that can't downshift on the fly? :shock:
i am VERY glad mine is full manual. i guess the only thing i would change would be 5th gear... that would be pretty slick.

Oh it can downshift on the fly around town no problem. Just not at interstate speed. You've only got one gear to work with at that speed and you'll blow the tranny. Anything over 40-45 mph you might as well not even try.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:24 pm

You can downshift in an AutoStick, just as you can in a manual. And if you would normally downshift from 4th in a manual, you might want to downshift from Hi in an AutoStick.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:28 pm

Q-Dog wrote: You can downshift in an AutoStick, just as you can in a manual. And if you would normally downshift from 4th in a manual, you might want to downshift from Hi in an AutoStick.

There is no "Hi" in an autostick. Think of the last gear (drive 2) in an autostick as a combination of sorts, of the last two gears on the conventional 4 speed. If you're going 65 on the interstate, you'd be downgearing into second. Granted the autostick's lower gear (drive 1) covers a bit more range than second gear in the conventional 4 speed, but not enough to downshift into it at interstate speed.
Even trying it at 45-50 is VERY taxing on the tranny; there's so little powerband left in drive 1 at that point that it's not worth trying.

Now, there is one REALLY cool thing about an autostick that I have never seen anyone mention, that is just cool as all get out to do when you are a kid just learning to drive.
That is, take the car to an empty parking lot, put it in reverse and go backwards as fast as you can, and then as you're going backward put it in drive 1 and hit the gas. That is the coolest feeling ever!! :D

Plus theres the neat emblem:

8)

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:31 pm

Oooooooh, so it's an Autostick... well that explains everything...

Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:03 pm

Low - 1 - 2 ... whatever. I'm pretty sure most people understand what I meant when I said high gear. And I don't need a lesson in how an AutoStick works.

I converted my autostick to a standard sometime around 1986. I drove it for 5 years everyday before I finally killed the transmission and did the conversion. I drove mine pretty much like a 3 speed, except in stop and go traffic.