[MrMiesta]

I havent had a lot of time to check it out but my 1600cc beetle is getting like 20mpg, this is my first beetle so Im not sure if this is what I should be getting. Ive heard like 35mpg from some other people. If anyone has any suggestions that would be great... and for everyone who is just looking for pictures here you go.

and here is the new colors

paint turned out pretty good and it only took a few hours of rattle can work


Modified by MrMiesta at 9:01 PM 8-20-2006

 

[kimosullivan]

Re: low gas milage (MrMiesta)

You should be hitting closer to 30 MPG with stock carburettion. Duals can drop it to 20, but you'ld have more power. I'd say tune it up and see if it improves. Clean/gap/replace the plugs (0.026" plug gap), adjust ignition point gap (0.016") and timing, adjust carb idle volume and mixture, set the valves (0.006"). Did I miss anything for a tune up? Show us a picture of the motor.

 

[MrMiesta]

Re: low gas milage (kimosullivan)

Well I got a few pics of the engine, and there are a few things that look like they should be hooked up to something, but I dont know what they are.
this shot shows a little solenoid thing on the left in the engine compartment not plugged into anything

and a close up of that

now for the tube that goes no where, the end of it is right behind the passenger rear tire and I think the begining of it is to the right inside the engine compartment

and here are some of the whole engine

 

[50 BMG]

I dont know too much about the subject, but i can offer some personal expirence...it actually may be the gas you are using.
About 60% of gas stations here in ny are adding alcohol to the fuel about 10-12% of the fruel is corn alcohol. When i put this alcohol-gas in my 05 pontiac my mpg drops about 40% or more, and same with my mid 90's mitsubishi suv.
Im told it can muck up the emsission controls and dump more fuel in the motor...it sounds simple but took me a while to find out why my mpg was trash.
could it also be...runing to lean, or even a leaky gas tank or fuel lines, is the air filter dirty? fuel filter been changed? fouled spark plugs, spark plug gap can be off, can be alot of things though

 

[kimosullivan]

Re: low gas milage (MrMiesta)

Quote, originally posted by MrMiesta »

now for the tube that goes no where, the end of it is right behind the passenger rear tire and I think the begining of it is to the right inside the engine compartment and here are some of the whole engine

This thingy is supposed to be connected to the carburettor by a pair of vacuum lines. It's supposed to slow the closing of the throttle plate when you let off the gas to reduce emmissions of hydrocarbons. Don't worry too much about it. Mine is disconnected too.

I'm not sure what this hose is for. The box next to it is the carbon cannister to suck up fuel vapors from the tank and store them to burn when the engine is running.
It looks like a nice clean engine. I just pulled one of those out of my Ghia this afternoon. Mine was much oilier.

Let me just say, installing the new engine was much easier since it's just a long block without the cooling tins installed.

 

[oasis]

Re: (50 BMG)

I just drove my '71 Super from Maryland to Georgia. The engine and tranny were stock. (I say were because I drove it there to get a new drivetrain.) The suspension, brakes, wheels and tires are typical of a moderate German Look Super.
In the three tankfuls of gas, I averaged 29.5 MPG (29.8, 29.7, and 29.0). I averaged 62.0 MPH the first day and 66.0 MPH the second day. The second day was 181.5 of the 255.5 miles of the final tankful.
In the 26 months I have owned my Super, I got over 30 MPG four times. It was never anywhere near 35 MPG. I got 23-26 MPG usually with limited highway driving.

 

[buggyman]

Re: low gas milage (MrMiesta)

The valve is one part of the original decelerator control,designed to dampen the action of the throttle when you pull your foot off the gas pedal,the hoses and other valve that should be connected to the carb are all missing.The missing valve controlled an adjustable rod that was connected to the throttle arm about halfway up,the ball pin sticking out to the right.
The larger hose that seems to come from,and go nowhere,is one part of the fuel vapor recovery system.
If the throttle is allowed to snap closed when you remove your foot from the pedal to brake,the engine tends to get drowned for a moment while the fuel in the intake manifold continues to drop into the cylinders without the proper amount of air to accompany it,creating a short rich condition,slowly building up deposits on the plugs,lowering your gas mileage.It was intended to work in concert with the vacuum advance on the dizzy,which looks like the wrong one for your application.There's a vacuum port plugged off on the carb which should be connected to the backside of a dual diaphram unit.
The hose to and from nowhere,disconnected,allows fuel vapors to freely vent into the atmosphere.Put 10 gallons in the tank and park it for a week,you'll find only about 9.5 gallons left due to evaporation.In a very subtle way over time,evaporated gas that you bought and paid for just isn't there anymore to fuel the car,lowering your mpg calculations.
Both were components of early smog control efforts.
As stated in other recent threads,please find a way to remove the fuel filter on the high pressure side of the pump in order to avoid a fire.

Modified by buggyman at 12:29 AM 8-22-2006


Modified by buggyman at 12:35 AM 8-22-2006

 

[kimosullivan]

Re: (oasis)

Quote, originally posted by oasis »

I just drove my '71 Super from Maryland to Georgia. The engine and tranny were stock. In the 26 months I have owned my Super, I got over 30 MPG four times. It was never anywhere near 35 MPG. I got 23-26 MPG usually with limited highway driving.

I average 30 mpg in my '70 Ghia. The best I've gotten is 36 mpg. The '70 single port 1600 has a smaller carb than the stock '71 dual port, so milage will typically be better.

 

[oasis]

Re: (kimosullivan)

Quote, originally posted by kimosullivan »

I average 30 mpg in my '70 Ghia. The best I've gotten is 36 mpg. The '70 single port 1600 has a smaller carb than the stock '71 dual port, so milage will typically be better.

True. Don't forget the Karmann Ghia is aerodynamically the best Type I by far.
My return trip will have a Kamei spoiler on the front to prevent lift at higher speeds and around larger vehicles like an 18-wheeler. I won't be able to gauge if that helps gas mileage-wise because I will have a Type IV engine and a RAT "B" tranny, too.

 

[kimosullivan]

Re: (oasis)

Quote, originally posted by oasis »

True. Don't forget the Karmann Ghia is aerodynamically the best Type I by far.

I always though the type 147 Fridolin had the best aerodyanamics.

Your comment does remind me that Ghia's have longer legs in the final drive from the factory and a higher stock top speed. Maybe my father wasn't out of his mind when he bought the Ghia. A 10% savings in fuel cost adds up after 300k miles.
The Ghia is the sexiest by far though. Beetles have to settle for "cute".


Modified by kimosullivan at 5:53 PM 8-22-2006

 

[Tuggle]

Re: (kimosullivan)

Quote, originally posted by kimosullivan »

I always though the type 147 Fridolin had the best aerodyanamics. Your comment does remind me that Ghia's have longer legs in the final drive from the factory and a higher stock top speed. Maybe my father wasn't out of his mind when he bought the Ghia. A 10% savings in fuel cost adds up after 300k miles. The Ghia is the sexiest by far though. Beetles have to settle for "cute". Modified by kimosullivan at 5:53 PM 8-22-2006

too bad most ghias are wrinkly bondo buckets due to lack of panel availability (around here anyway)

chicks dig beetles
chicks don't know what a ghia is lol

 

[MrMiesta]

Re: (Tuggle)

If anyone is still following this, my gas problem went away im getting about 27mpg right now with a lot of high way driving

Thanks for all the posts

 

[VolBug]

Out of curiosity, did you do anything to fix it or was it a random increase?

 

[buggyman]

Re: (MrMiesta)

I noticed your other post about tires,but figured I'd click up here.
Stock should be 5.60-15 or 155SR-15.
Since you're concerned about gas mileage and tend to freeway fly,check with as many local tire dealers as possible to get a concensus on a taller tire with the correct aspect ratio so they don't give the look of balloons,165's or 175's maybe.
Thats what I did when I got my '01 Jetta,about 10% taller translated to about 10% better gas mileage.That should push you up into the 30+MPG range.
Just gotta remember that the speedo is gonna show you going 10% slower than you actually are,a good speedometer repair service can change out the drive gears to compensate.

 

[Tuggle]

Re: (buggyman)

Quote, originally posted by buggyman »

I noticed your other post about tires,but figured I'd click up here. Stock should be 5.60-15 or 155SR-15. Since you're concerned about gas mileage and tend to freeway fly,check with as many local tire dealers as possible to get a concensus on a taller tire with the correct aspect ratio so they don't give the look of balloons,165's or 175's maybe. Thats what I did when I got my '01 Jetta,about 10% taller translated to about 10% better gas mileage.That should push you up into the 30+MPG range. Just gotta remember that the speedo is gonna show you going 10% slower than you actually are,a good speedometer repair service can change out the drive gears to compensate.

isn't the stock tire 165SR15

and to the op car looks good

 

[MrMiesta]

Re: (VolBug)

nope didnt do a thing, and the car isnt running like crap or anything, so I just left stuff alone. once I feel it running a little rough ill do a tune up
As for the tires Ill check around and see what places want, I priced out some whitewall tires and they were going to be around 160 a piece pluse shipping thats like 30 a piece, so Im not sure if thats a good deal or not, but Im thinkin thats a ton of money for some tires that arent high performance.

Ill prolly go somewhere else http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
and also thanks again for everyones posts

 

[buggyman]

Re: (Tuggle)

Several old references I have stashed here only refer to 155's.
But I decided to run 225/75SR15's on the front because they tend to handle potholes and such much better.

Modified by buggyman at 11:35 PM 9-19-2006

 

[Tuggle]

Re: (buggyman)

nice pot hole lol

 

[karimg7]

Re: (MrMiesta)

Here's Johnny Come Lately!
I've had my engine rebuilt twice... once by a shop with a rebuilt block and rebuilt heads (used my old single carb and intake manifold), and the final time I used a brand new case. In both instances, and even before I rebuilt the engine, I was getting crappy mileage: less than 19 mpg. I've since installed dual Kadrons now, had them for over a year, and the mileage is somewhat increased, maybe 22-25 MPG, but not to a point to brag about the money I'm saving.
Does anyone know about how many MPGs I should be expecting out of dual Kadrons on a stock 1600? The only changes I've made in addition to the carbs is electronic ignition, Bosch coil and distributor, and 8 mm wires.

 

[Tuggle]

Re: (buggyman)

how come no one sells 155SR15 if they are stock and they all reffer to the stock tire being 165??? - does anyone know where to get the 155??