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Tue Sep 30, 2003 6:53 pm

my friend said his brother used to have one, he said it was a gas hog. is this a common problem? i am looking into buying one of these as my 1st car i buy, i have been driving my moms plymoth grand voyager. are they worth it to buy? i was also wandering if they are expensive in the upkeep department. i live in Indiana if that matters . thanks for anyhelp givin.

Tue Sep 30, 2003 7:01 pm

Depends on your mech. skills? Any old car requires more work than a new one. If you have to spend lots of $ to have someone else do it you will get discusted with it and give up. Seen that lots of times. Just a thought. Oh yeah, Welcome new guy :wink:

Tue Sep 30, 2003 7:46 pm

If you work on it yourself and get quality parts the cost overtime will be low but the initial investment in tools will be expensive although less so than relying on the mechanic.

I love working on my own bus but when something goes wrong I have to find the time to fix it rather than get it done in a day or two at the mechanic.

Another minus about mechanics is that the good ones that understand VWs are few are far even if they specialize in VWs. You'll be able to do a better job than most of them and simply rely on shops for machining.

They are not good on gas although the mileage is the same as a 2003 Eurovan albeit a lot slower. Still better than 95% of the SUVs and trucks on the road.

Tue Sep 30, 2003 9:57 pm

14-25mpg depending on condition and driving habits.

Tue Sep 30, 2003 9:59 pm

And how much weight in snow you have on top of your bus! :lol:

Tue Sep 30, 2003 11:39 pm

0. I live in CA.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 5:32 am

I made a Houston to Austin trip a couple weeks ago (my first real road trip) I averaged about 22 mpg that weekend.

As far as maintenance, If you purchase a good deal then that makes a big difference. My bus is not a daily driver so it sits in the garage and I gradually replace things in order of priority and importance. However it does run great and I use it on the weekends.

I believe that once you get it all whipped into shape that maintenance costs are affordable. I'm not a mechanic so I trying to teach myself to look, listen and feel for anything that may need replacing or fixing. As a teenager my parents bought me a Baja Bug that was wonderfully restored. Being young and dumb I drove it into the ground in just over a year. Man do I regret that. My bus is a sort of therapy for me I guess. A way for me to redeem myself 20 years later. :lol:

Wed Oct 01, 2003 7:38 am

I get about 18 mpg, but that is with a loaded up westfalia so it's heavy.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:06 am

I managed 23 mpg in my '65 Westy on a trip to Arizona a few weeks back!

Wed Oct 01, 2003 11:31 am

Splits almost always get better mileage because of their weight and slower top speed.

On my recent long trips I've managed 19-21 mpg. What's interesting is the average speed:

- 19 mpg going 55-65 mph with points
- 20-21 mpg going 65-75 mph with pertronix

I don't know what my in town mileage was before pertronix but it's now 17mpg. You have to run the tank dry in order to get an accurate figure but be careful not to run a FI pump dry more than once.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 11:58 am

Hmm. I thought FI models got better mileage. About the same as my type 1 engine.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 2:35 pm

Why would you have to run the tank dry? You can track your fuel consumption and mileage at fillups in a log, and work out your average mpg without ever running out of fuel. Jeremy

Wed Oct 01, 2003 2:38 pm

The variance you would get from the difference in a "full tank" from fuel pump to fuel pump (with auto shut off) would be insignificant, especially over time and lots of fills. Jeremy

Wed Oct 01, 2003 2:59 pm

Here is an easy MPG calculator http://www.mistupid.com/automotive/mpg.htm

Some simple instructions, it does suggest running the tank low, but avoid empty for obvious reasons.

I would suggest doing this over a couple of tanks and note whether the miles were in short distance travelilng or road tripping.

What do you guys think about FI cleaner every other tank. Does it really help? Or just a cleaner Once every month? Or what do you suggest?

Wed Oct 01, 2003 3:42 pm

The reason is that pumps at different stations fill up differently and I didn't want to risk spillover just to find out the true mpg. I carried a 2g can around, ran out, checked the mileage and poured the can in the tank.

FI cleaner is useful once every oil change and any more is waste. Techron concentrate is what I've used. You can feel the difference after you leave the gasstation but that feeling depends on how old the gas is in your tank in the first place. It has less effect on a VW bus that say a high revving Honda engine that is dirty and you can hear the slight pinging near the redline.

The FI cleaning services recommend against using the bottles for the obvious reasons. Their claim is that the varnished deposits are loosened by the formula and end up in the screens of the injectors.