Heat and efficiency ...

[HarryMann]

Sorry Mark, hijacked your Heat & Efficiency thread...

Deleted last as looking at keenos interesting figures again...

At least you're consistent, which is what we're looking for... and that 4000 is a hell of a single record

I think you will have plod through everything you listed above, to find what's happening with the running temperature...

However, the first thing I'd do, is make sure the fella at your service garage knows 'exactly' what 50/50 pink means - when it comes to antifreeze

I wouldn't have thought that's it though... whatever he did or didn't

[keeno]

Harry
The odometer miles have not been tyre size corrected, only the trip miles. The trip mileage is based on the odometer reading 11% slow, therfore 11% less mpg. I have added this figure to the trip readings. The rolling circumference of the 16 tyre was 11% greater than the 14 inch tyre. The sat nav corroborated this.
The readings are also minus the first mileage reading when the i-phone was reset. Using your calculations you would need to add an approximate 170 miles to the reading, which represents the initial mileage reading, which I did not take. Sorry for any confusion. I

[HarryMann]

i`ve found pretty big differances in fuel consumption in relation to speed trying to hold a constant 70 /75 i`m down to 20mpg but if i run at 65 and let her slow on the hills i`m up to 25 ish. ( 2.1 petrol mind )

Well of course, constant speed Vs constant energy driving, no contest, the latter...

i recon pushing the extra air makes a big differance.

Well, it's hill climbing at non-optimum speeds as well, when trying to cruise at a steady speed... but yes, here's what happens with drag and speed and the power required, very approximately I have to add

Drag:


Power:

[HarryMann]

The readings are also minus the first mileage reading when the i-phone was reset. Using your calculations you would need to add an approximate 170 miles to the reading, which represents the initial mileage reading, which I did not take. Sorry for any confusion.

Brill, many thanks...

That's exactly what I just realised and have recalced having added 168.7 miles

..which is why I deleted that post, will recalculate those figs

[..lee..]

very approximately I have to add


well i`m approximately baffled by those graphs, i think.

[ELVIS]

Just got back from Croatia last Sunday; 4220 trouble free Kms compared to last years excitement.

Sorry to hijack but did you do the Mali Alan pass or any other of the mentalist tracks out there ? Pics?

[Mudlark]

Sorry to hijack but did you do the Mali Alan pass or any other of the mentalist tracks out there ? Pics?

Apart from gravel roads on Hvar getting to some bays for a swim most of our driving was on paved roads. We tried to stay well away from Major roads and motorways and did a fair bit across country by what I would class as c roads. It was quite clear that Croatia is a warren of dirt roads and it was very hard not to stray exploring. Dont think I would have attempted anything too steep or high with the temp problems I was having anyway. It was 36C plus most days and 40 for three of the days on Hvar.

Best drives were from the Coast at Sibenik up to the Plitvicka Jezera (Theme ) National park and from there up to the Slovenian border at Vinica; through some quite stunning and unexpected landscapes.

It was quite clear from the burnt out houses and bullet holes around, particularly along the border villages with Bosnia Herzogovina that something quite terrible took place here not so long ago; there is a kind of eeriness when you get into the backwoods and drive through seemingly deserted settlements.

That Mali Alan pass looks like a good challenge; we climbed the nearby motorway up to the tunnel last year on our way home and that is a long hard climb for a t25 in the heat; so i can only guess at what the pass must be like!

[keeno]

Sounds like an amazing trip! You should forward some words and pics to Volsworld Camper and Bus and get your trip published. Would be nice to see a Syncro trip in a mag for a change!

[ELVIS]

If you go again , gimme a shout. Got a few lanes saved on memory map somewhere on my old PC.
Mali Alan is lined 60% of both sides with mines still (i think they lied though as me and a mate spent 30 mins lobbing rocks into the fields/woods )
Down near Gospic/Grazac (sorry for spelling) you will find the 'A Team' bus as a war memorial(old school bus turned into an APV) - you would known if you had found it
Was heading for garrison at Baja Luka when we went for a night in the NAAFI but got thrown out twice-once at Bihatch and once alot further down south near Said/Siad/whatever its called(that time was at gunpoint by over zealous border guards.

PICS PICS PICS

[HarryMann]

Hi keeno, here is corrected at 11%, I'll send you the spreadhseet if you want to keep adding figures, the chart will just keep extending automatically to suit



31.63 for your Tristar overall but figures not over a busting great mileage, using the yellow line you can probably guarantee 33 mpg max and 30 mpg min.
Does make Mark's 28 mpg sound about right for such a varied trip and such a big unit. With a 4,000 record I'd like to plot Mark's figures and see how the yellow line weaves about from here to Croatia and back

Plotting both trips to Croatia in this more illustrative fashion might well show why this year it improved 3 mpg this year? A few things spring to mind...

The hotter weather overall ?
A new air filter this year ??
No wheel bearing failure this year ???
You were siphoned last year

Just some thoughts

[Mudlark]

Heres what Road trip produces for the trip:



Thats after brimming last night. Data now includes the kms travelled from Luxembourg to Bristol; only done about 8kms round town this week so its still relevant. The trip from Luxembourg to Bristol via Brugge's was all pretty much motorway driving 100 ish kph which may explain the dip at the end.

White line is fill to fill; Yellow is fuel price and blue dotted is moving average.

Heres the csv records if you want to do a comparison plot Clive: (The trip began with a full tank on the 6th July)

FUEL RECORDS
Odometer (km),Trip Distance,Date,Fill Amount,Fill Units,Price per Unit,Total Price,Partial Fill,MPG (UK),Note,Octane,Location,Payment,Conditions,Reset,Categories,Flags,Currency Code,Currency Rate,Latitude,Longitude
214918,214918,"2010-5-29",67.83,L,1.189,80.65,,,,,,,,Reset,,9,,1,51.504055,-2.697852
215388,470,"2010-5-31",40.07,L,1.249,50.05,Partial,24.383,,,,,,,,0,,1,,
215622,234,"2010-6-12",41.49,L,1.199,49.75,,24.383,,,,,,,,0,,1,51.485447,-2.54697
216219,597,"2010-7-03",68.28,L,1.199,81.87,,24.698,,,,,,,,0,,1,51.504932,-2.577474
216615,396,"2010-7-06",38.65,L,1.179,45.57,,28.942,,,,,,,,0,,1,51.527599,-2.605439
217193,578,"2010-7-08",60,L,1.3,78,Partial,27.325,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,49.450352,3.924888
217621,428,"2010-7-09",44,L,1.092,48.05,,27.325,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,47.665844,7.442523
218284,663,"2010-7-11",40.36,L,1.239,50.01,Partial,28.847,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,45.588997,12.338659
218608,324,"2010-7-16",61,L,8.35,509.35,Partial,28.847,,,,,,,,0,HRK,8.72133,43.16394,16.679197
219078,470,"2010-7-19",48.33,L,7.91,382.29,Partial,28.847,,,,,,,,0,HRK,8.72133,44.752327,15.702094
219504,426,"2010-7-21",39.66,L,1.119,44.38,Partial,28.847,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,46.628624,13.474682
220192,688,"2010-7-23",32.29,L,1.239,40.01,Partial,28.847,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,47.813942,7.552154
220522,330,"2010-7-24",62.44,L,.989,61.75,,28.847,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,49.637005,5.971526
220907,385,"2010-7-25",40.4,L,1.099,44.4,Partial,26.972,,,,,,,,0,EUR,1.152716,51.07589,2.558671
221319,412,"2010-8-02",43.07,L,1.149,49.49,,26.972,,,,,,,,0,,1,51.527363,-2.604766

[Mudlark]

elvis: Mali Alan is lined 60% of both sides with mines still

Not the kind of information to worry the rest of the family with ! Sounds like you had fun. I drove round the Albanian border in 1981 in a 1962 splitty heading for Greece and had lots of fun with the border patrols then.

Heres a picture of the sky falling down the mountains somewhere up near Korenica on the way to Pitvica national park.



Cunning Kayak removal trap for the unsuspecting T25 driver up near the Slovenian border: (avoided)



Don't know if this will work. Link to 180 odd through the screen iphone pictures I have cobbled together into a short movie clip:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/ ... directlink

Best pictures are still in the camera.

[HarryMann]

Cheers Mark, white and blue lines look fairly meaningless to me TBH... so perhaps I'll find time to make a pretty plot. I', presuming you weren't brimming at each fillup?

PS. Jenny updated the Devon topic today, re the campsite

[syncropaddy]

Hi Mark .... just nipping back into the coolant thing for a moment. My young lad went off to Nordkapp last Christmas in his AFN engined Passat 4motion and we did some preparative work on it before we went. One of his mates is the parts guy in our local VW dealership and he dug up loads good info on Arctic spec VW's to assist us in this work. One of the things that we gleaned from this info was that up in the Arctic they run VW's coolant, G12++, neat! At that mix (100%) is good for real brass monkey conditions! He saw temperatures of - 24C on the Northern part of his trip and on his way home, via Malaga, he saw +27C. He reported no significant difference in the position of his temperature gauge over the whole trip and the coolant is still in the car.
If you are overheating I would start to look at the radiator and if you are down on performance, I would start with the turbo/charge cooler. I cant see how a coolant mix will affect your coolant temperature, unless of course its the same age as the van and full of gooey orange rusty stuff.

[Mudlark]

Clive; you will see 'partial' in the data for those that were not brimmed. I dont brim it that often cause it takes so bloody long !

Andrew, that makes sense to me; but the Bentley book i have for the jetta series and 1z engine which is nigh on identical to the AFN I have talks about overheat problems if the mix is high; im sure its a catch all generality which errs on the side of caution for many climates, but it follows in my thinking that if their is a recommendation to up the mix for arctic conditions the reverse might be true if you head south ?

I spoke diplomatically to the guy that fitted the water pump this pm who assured me he knows his onions with regard to coolant; I'm not convinced its simply that. Vans going in on thursday for the rocker cover to be sorted and they are going to recover their steps with regard to the sensor they fitted; see what comes of it.

EGR valve is quoted at £209 from VW so I think I will do a bit more to convince myself before i jump in with that!