Gas mileage

[aidssss]

just wondering what the expected gas mileage is with 1500cc and 1600cc engines..im talking stock. Does fuel injection fare better than carbs?

[NorCalLowLife209]

you get 30-35 miles per gallon
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1967 VW type 1 (sold)
1963 VW type 1 (sold)
2011 VW GTI

[keifernet]

[NorCalLowLife209]

well i got a 1500 soo i should be a little higher around ur estimate
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1967 VW type 1 (sold)
1963 VW type 1 (sold)
2011 VW GTI

[keifernet]

Yeah a 1500 Sp should get a bit better. I know the old 1200 40 hp's were capable of the 30 + figures. But 1600 dual ports and the way they are driven ( I.E. trying not to get run over by SUV's etc) have a hard time getting to the upper 20's.

[orangebug60guy]

my 1200 gets 33 mpg. its awesome i only have to fill the tank every 2-3 weeks.
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Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Coprastasophobia- Fear of constipation.

[gt1953]

In gereral about 24 to 28 maybe 30 depends on yoyur driving condiontions and tire inflation too.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[GustoBusto]

Found this on my wander tru the web, a little outdated but hope it is of some use....

How to get 46mpg from your air-cooled motor

Author: Tom Chambers
From: "Building a 46mpg air-cooled engine."
Dune Buggies & Hot VWs magazine,
November 1980.
Method: A body in motion tends to stay in motion, etc.

The most popular story we've done in recent years turned out to be the series we di on our "project mileage motor". In it we tried to improve the intake and exhaust effiency of our 1971 bug's 1600cc engine to increase both gasoline mileage and performance. While we've still a ways to go before realising our goal of 40mpg, we are still working on the project and hope to bring you our final report sometime next spring. In the meantime we've received a number of letters and telephone calls from readers with projects of their own, some similar and others completely different from ours, yet still keeping the same goal in mind: better performance and gas mileage.
The most impressive of these was that of Jon Karcey, Makawao, Maui, Hawaii. Jon, who at one time built engines for some of the "name" Top Gas and Top Fuel racers on the West Coast, took a '68 Karmann Ghia, reworked the engine, improved its mileage from 27mpg to an astounding 46mpg. And if that's not enough, Jon feels that even 50mpg is very feasible with a little more work and experimentation. But the best part is that the project is not a mega-buck affair, and besides showing you readers most of the things he did to his engine right here on our pages, Jon also offers a detailed booklet showing exactly how to perform the modifications.
In Jon's own words, "After spending many years as a Top Gas and Top Fuel engine builder, I gained a lot of knowledge about the internal combustion engine. In later years I realised that the real race was who could stay away from the gas pump the longest." Jon started his engine project about four months before DB&HVWs project appeared, so he had a bit of a head start. Yet when he saw our story, it got his adrenalin flowing because the similarities were many and it was great to see that someone else was on the same path.
To get his project off the ground, Jon chose a '68 Ghia as his test vehicle - simply because it was available. Jon feels that a bug would be the ideal car, as it is lighter than a Ghia and there are so many fibreglass body parts available to lighten the car. Jon's theory was that if he built a "square" engine (square means that the bore and stroke are the same or very close) he could find the mileage he was after. Also, square engines put their power out at lower rpm, which is another plus when gas mileage is your goal. Using a tired 1600cc engine, Jon first replaced the crankshaft with a low-cost 76mm counter weighted unit. Since he wasn't going to "buzz" the engine, quality in the area of the crankshaft wasn't of prime importance. What was essential was high reciprocating weight, a body in motion tends to stay in motion, etc. The bore was then changed to 77mm (stock 1300). The crank and pistons were then enclosed in a Rimco clearanced case along with a heavy-duty oil pump and a reground Web Cam. Stock 1300 heads with some mild port work were also bolted on with a 0.120" fly-cut for a 9.0:1 compression ratio. The engine was then topped off with a pair of Solex Kadron carbs with homemade, smaller (25mm) venturis, a 009 distributor and a Bosch red coil. Everything else at this tie was stock and was designed to put out its power at low rpm. At 55mph, the engine delivered 38.485mpg with junk tyres and shocks. At this point Jon pulled the engine from the car and added a 12V 180mm flywheel, which was about 4lb heavier than the stock 200mm unit and, best of all, the weight was out on the end where he wanted it. Next came the 1962 Jaguar front engine pulley. After some machining and mounting a stock VW pulley hub, he ended up with another 10lb on the front of the engine. Total weight of the front pulley, crankshaft and flywheel came out to a 50-plus pounds of rotating mass. The last addition to the engine included the full range of Amsoil products for less friction, and afull set of Koni gas adjustable shocks on the Ghia. Now the Ghia really started to run, it had a lot more power than the stock 1600 and, best of all, at 55mph it delivered 44.101mpg.
After 2500 miles of driving, the engine was pulled to check it out and also because Jon had a few more things that he wished to try. All looked well, so all rotating parts were sent out to be balanced, the heads were subjected to some major reshaping, the stock rings were switched for a set of Total Seal units, and finally a Spearco water injection system was installed. After a bit of running the carbs were rejetted and ended up with #100 main jets! Yes, we said #100 - that's not a misprint. The final test on the engine at 55mph showed an improvement to 46.897mpg. With good plug colour, Jon still has a goal of 50mpg to reach, and feels that with a bit more refinement and a higher geared transaxle, it can be done.

Disclaimer: This article has been transcribed from a scan of a page of unknown source. If it infringes any copyrights, it will be removed from this website on production of proof of copyright
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Like the teachings of Zen observe;
"you must become that nut and spanner"

[ratlook63]

My ghia gets about 35-40 mpg highway with a 1500 and a freeway flyer
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‘60 SWR walk-thru Kombi
‘60 Mango Standard
‘66 EZ Camper

[davidw99]

In my '67 I got as low as 15 for short trips around town and as high as 37.5 on the highway the engine was real old). Typical highway mileage was low 30's. In my DP 1600 ('73) I typically got high 20's - low 30's on the highway and 23 - 25 around town. Both were stock.

Dave
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Dave

'73 Saturn Yellow Sports Bug that has undergone a full pan off restoration. "Herbert IV."

'67 Sedan. "Bellamy." Currently being "refreshed" and recently repainted.

[ice baller]

I get around 20 with dual kads
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Vicious Wagons#1

[buglover60]

well in my ex's 70 bug 1600 we drove from sacramento to belflower Los Angeles and averaged 35 mpg but usually you can expext to get 25 plus depending on how well you keep up on your tune ups and stuff I consistantly got 28 to 32 mpg in my 1500

[zerotofifty]

my 61 Bug, 1200 cc used to get 33 mpg highway and city, but that was 20 years ago. The gas nowdays in California is different, a number of years back , they required oxygenated fuel, and experts expected about a 10% or so reduction in milage, and guess what? They were right, I have been only getting about 28-29 mpg on the new fuel. Saw the exact same on my 1.7 liter FI stock 914. was getting just over 30 mpg, went to 27 mpg with the new fuel.

What I found interesting was the nearly same or even better milage in the more powerful, and faster (sometimes much faster) driven 914 as the slower 1200 cc bug. Part of it must be better aerodynamics, but some of it might be better fuel control with FI.

Best run in my 914 was 36 mpg, all highway, two adults, front and rear trunks loaded to the max with climbing and camp equipment, 90 mph speed on most of trip, with several excursions to 100 mph. This was done with the old style gas. I got over 500 miles on that tank of gas. (about 15 gal tank) them was the good old days, That engine is long gone, but boy howdy, it was one sweet running engine, must have had everything just right on it. none of my friends 914's got that kind of milage, and my 1.7 was one of the quickest. Put nearly 60,000 miles on that motor and it was used when i got it.


dave

[asnowsquall]

Wouldn't it be cool to get 50 mpg in a beetle? Sign me up! It will be $3.00/gal before we know it.

[my59]

I just hit the 159k mile mark on my original engine. Its never been rebuilt, and since gas prices started to climb I've been tracking the milage.
I drive mostly on back roads where the speed limit is 45-50, around town, and occasionally on the highway. A couple of weeks ago I was getting 23 mpg, and the more I use the car the better the milage; last tankful was 27mpg.
One of these days when I have nothing better to do I'm gonna go through the date/milage/gallons log that I have that goes back to the first tankful and see what the milage has been over last 45 years....
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[Jeff H]

[HeidelbergJohn4.0]

[asnowsquall]

OK, so a VW BAJA bug with a brand new TDI motor hanging out the back running on Vegetable and diesel. The right gearbox and off you go. I'd like to try that, but I imagine A) Between water cooling, and wiring it wouldn't be so simple as a T-1 engine. B) Lots more weight so handling would be poor maybe? C) It would be ugly.

But you would have a Baja that smells like french fries or egg rolls!

FYI, my 78 Super is getting 29.5 mpg with mixed driving. Going to be interesting what it gets with just highway driving. The only thing, it doesn't smell like fries...

[VWNate]

Yet still relevant and informing .

I'd be upset if my near stock old Beetles ever got less than 25 MPG, usually I get30 + no matter what in my 36HP .

Anyway, I came here to ask if any one know where to get the magnetic mileage counters used on pre fuel gauge VW's to keep track of how many miles ..Any ideas or links will be greatly appreciated, I've been searching Amazon and E-Bay with zero results new or used .

TIA,
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-Nate

One last Beetle : 1959 #113 DeLuxe survivor ~ 36HP & full synchro tranny, 6 volts etc.

[gt1953]

Running my stock dual port, 034 carb, svda distributor stock air cleaner and muffler all tin and thermostat in place running at 6000 feet just checked it, was 30 mpg. The fuel type has a lot to do with mileage.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})