[Vwdiesel] Searching the archives (& hill climbing)

[Mark LaPlante]

I didn't think about the radiator fan override -- great idea that I will 
look into.

The whole hill climb reminds me of taking off in a Cessna 152 on a 90 
degree day with a stout CFI in the right seat and more than half full 
tanks. Patience is key.

I checked my speedometer against a GPS a few weeks ago and found that it 
is accurate up to somewhere close to 55mph and then the speedometer 
begins reading about 3mph slow. Near 70 - 80 mph the difference is more 
like 5+ mph) (If you look in the archives I asked some questions about 
top speed a year or more ago). Given the recent mileage test data 
posted, and the fact that I am usually driving 70-75 indicated on the 
highway (which has some gentle hills), my 40mpg (US)  fuel consumption 
may not be as bad as I thought. I haven't checked yet to see if the 
odometer/tripmeter is also measuring low at speed. That could mean I'm 
getting better mileage than I think too.

Since I now have a 40-45 minute commute one-way, anyone have suggestions 
on ham radio installation? I'm mostly concerned with being able to hear 
and be heard given the noisy environment (engine and at least one window 
down for cooling).

Mark ... both a Flyboy and a (new) Ham

Val Christian wrote:

>Intuitively you're close.  You want to look at the RPM/torque curves 
>for the engine.  They will be in the SAE paper.  Then look at the 
>ratios for your transmission.  If in doubt, measure them statically.
>Then for best rate of climb, optimize power (use the transmission to 
>get the torque).  50 mph for a downshift may be low.  
>
>The temp may climb because the total HP is ideally at max.  Good thing
>you're at low altitude.  Beat the heat by putting a radiator fan override
>to force the radiator fan on, like is done for AC.
>
>If you can calculate nominal HP at cruise (70 mph?) then you can calculate
>the power needed to climb the hill. Measure your performance against that
>theorical need.  You'll take more time, but that's because your transmission 
>is not ideally matched to the torque needs of the car, and the optimal power
>RPMs/torque of the engine.
>
>
>Hope this helps a little.
>
>Val
>
>ps: Without any data in front of me, I'd figure 25hp for 70 mph cruise, 
>5 hp for engine accessories, and about 20 hp excess.  Then to lift 
>2000 # in 1 minute, 600 feet...
>
>you'll probably find you can use about 70% of the theoretically available 
>power, if things work out ok.
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>>Steve asked:
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>>>If there is another way to do this, I don't know about it, (Hagar's
>>>suggestion of searching the archives sounds good, but I have yet to find a
>>>search tool to do that on this list, Is there a search utility?
>>>      
>>>
>>
>>Google is your friend. Add "vwdiesel site:www.audifans.com" (minus the 
>>quotes) to your search phrase.
>>
>>I'm just about to go search for any writing about climbing hills in a 
>>1.6 NA (82 Rabbit, 4 speed -- well, the knob says 1-2-3-E but I haven't 
>>identified the code). I have just moved to the top of a mountain and the 
>>last hill has an elevation increase of about 600' in just over a mile. 
>>Hitting the bottom of the hill in 4th at 70 mph and I'm just barely able 
>>to be doing 35 at the top with the temperature gauge about 3-4 lines 
>>higher.) I downshift to 3rd at around 50 mph. When that starts seeming 
>>really slow I go into 2nd for a while, but I'm not sure if I would be 
>>better off just leaving it in 3rd.
>>
>>Topo map of said hill  (from the 625 at the top to the 1207 near the 
>>middle):
>>
>>http://mapper.acme.com/?lat=34.540809&long=-86.257267&scale=12&theme=Topo&width=3&height=4&dot=Yes
>>
>>
>>Mark
>>
>>(P.S. Enjoying Hagar's stories and NASA commentary -- my work email 
>>address ends in nasa.gov).
>>
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>>_______________________________________________
>>Vwdiesel mailing list
>>Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>>http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>
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