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chicagovw Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2007 Posts: 1422 Location: Chicago IL/CHandler AZ
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 6:40 am Post subject: Re: 78 bus top speed |
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One of the buses in my plumbing service fleet happens to be a 1978, panel van with ladder rack and equipment inside. It has about 135,000 miles on the original engine, which I believe to be all original internally (I purchased it with about 47,000 original miles about 8 years ago), and the only time the engine has been out is for a clutch replacement about 5 years ago. It is bone stock, fuel injected 2.0 and will do 75 easily even with the ladder rack, but in the name of safety, when I drive it I typically do about 70 in it. The techs are pretty good about keeping it within a nickel of the speed limit-they know we are watching via gps. |
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buckswilde Samba Member
Joined: June 26, 2010 Posts: 131 Location: Lexington, KY
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:26 am Post subject: Re: 78 bus top speed |
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Floored my 79 bus with FI on the highway yesterday for the first time. Pulled strong until about 75 mph. I backed off at 80 and don't think it had much left. |
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yellowCOwesty Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2016 Posts: 97 Location: Rocky Mountains
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:33 pm Post subject: Re: 78 bus top speed |
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Up here at altitude mine is most comfortable at 65 mph. It will do faster but I have to really push it. _________________ _______________________
'78 Westy
Currently yellow and white "Sunny"
A few other air cooled VW and Porsches over the years |
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WhirledTraveller Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2008 Posts: 1399 Location: Cambridge, MA
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:38 am Post subject: Re: 78 bus top speed |
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Bus speedos are notoriously inaccurate.
Rough calculations, a bus with a CD of 0.42 and a frontal area of 38 sq ft. at 72mph needs 41hp to overcome aerodynamic drag and 11hp to overcome rolling drag.
I have seen results on this forum for a stock 2.0 engine on a chassis dyno making 52 hp at the wheels. Not sure the RPM but probably in the upper 4000's
Based on this, the top speed on level ground no wind should be around 72mph presuming that the gearing puts the HP peak right around that point, which should be pretty close. _________________ 1977 Westy, Automatic. Big Valve heads, CS Cam. |
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airschooled Air-Schooled
Joined: April 04, 2012 Posts: 12727 Location: on a bike ride somewhere
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:42 am Post subject: Re: 78 bus top speed |
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WhirledTraveller wrote: |
Based on this, the top speed on level ground no wind should be around 72mph |
StuartZickiefoose proves that to be false. _________________ Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com |
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rsbadura Samba Member
Joined: November 30, 2009 Posts: 656 Location: Berlin, Germany
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:21 pm Post subject: Re: 78 bus top speed |
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Amskeptic wrote: |
Rev-limiting rotors for all carbureted buses @ 5,400 rpm. |
Yes, for the type 4 engines 5400 rpm - for the smaller type 1 engines 4500 rpm
https://www.vw-t2-bulli.de/index.php?ignitionrotor-de
So the speed is limited by this rotors, the engine, the gearbox
(e.g. CE = 5,428 for 1.6 L and 1.7 L, CM = 4,857 for 1.8 L, late CP = 4,571 for 2.0 L)
and tires (circumference) _________________ Rolf-Stephan Badura
1970 VW Karmann-Ghia Coupe
1979 VW Bus L to camper conversion
1982 Eriba Pan travel trailer
2017 VW CrossPolo
HAZET classic tools |
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