Club 80-90 Forums

The van I bought has a brand new 1.6diesel engine, been doing up up over the winter so only drove it for the first time the other day. Crikey I knew it was going to amble but... Thought it would go a bit better than it does. Admitedly 50mph was comfortable, 55mph was getting loud & 60mph absolutely flat out & I was scared for my life. My ears are still ringing. Any cost effective measures to perk it up a bit without the obvious "Get a new engine" Would a different exhaust or anything help?
Cheers
Jiffies

no mate.your stuck with it being slow im afraid.it must be a good engine though.if you got it up to 60mph

Rubbish Rob, If its a brand new engine then it will be tight, a good 1.6 will happy do 60 and a bit more too, ok theyre hillhaters but reliable, and can be made to move............
mike

yeh your right.down a big hill you might get it to 65mph.

So Metal Micky how can they be made to move????

and should a brand new engine be run up to 60mph?

jiffies wrote:The van I bought has a brand new 1.6diesel engine, been doing up up over the winter so only drove it for the first time the other day. Crikey I knew it was going to amble but... Thought it would go a bit better than it does. Admitedly 50mph was comfortable, 55mph was getting loud & 60mph absolutely flat out & I was scared for my life. My ears are still ringing. Any cost effective measures to perk it up a bit without the obvious "Get a new engine" Would a different exhaust or anything help?
Cheers
Jiffies

Hi my 1984 1.6d will cruise on the level around 65 it will do according to the speedo 74 max but as soon as you hit a hill thats a different story but when you think of the weight of the van its amazing it does as well as it does on 1.6,the m.p.g. compensates for the lack of power and you enjoy the countryside more at lower speeds,if you run it in gently and remember oil is cheap compared to an engine so change regularly especialy whilst running in.

1.6 derv = slow in any condition!

I have had 86 out of mine downhill and thats recorded on my satnav, but then I do have a JX box.
Rob.

The slightest incline (imperceptible to the eye) will effectively reign you in at 60, even with a healthy engine.
55 should be your cruising speed anyway, much healthier in the long run.

For the next test make sure that you get a perfectly even or slight downhill road. If you still can't get it over 60, first port of call would be to check that the air intake is clear all the way from the snorkel in the ear all the way through and beyond the filter.
Some of these old hoses have the nasty habit of kinking/collapsing under suction, restricting airflow, suffocating the engine

Off a cliff
Based on wind resistance, for example, the terminal velocity of a skydiver in a free-fall position with a semi-closed parachute is about 195 km/h (120 mph or 55 m/s).[2] This velocity is the asymptotic limiting value of the acceleration process, because the effective forces on the body balance each other more and more closely as the terminal velocity is approached. In this example, a speed of 50% of terminal velocity is reached after only about 3 seconds, while it takes 8 seconds to reach 90%, 15 seconds to reach 99% and so on. Higher speeds can be attained if the skydiver pulls in his or her limbs (see also freeflying). In this case, the terminal velocity increases to about 320 km/h (200 mph or 90 m/s),[2] which is also the terminal velocity of the peregrine falcon diving down on its prey.[3] And the same terminal velocity is reached for a typical .30-06 bullet travelling in the downward vertical direction — when it is returning to earth having been fired upwards, or perhaps just dropped from a tower — according to a 1920 U.S. Army Ordnance study.[4]

Competition speed skydivers fly in the head down position reach even higher speeds. The current world record is 614 mph (988 km/h) by Joseph Kittinger, set at high altitude where the lesser density of the atmosphere decreased drag.[2]

An object falling toward the surface of the Earth will fall 9.81 meters (or 32.18 feet) per second faster every second (an acceleration of 9.81 m/s² or 32.18 ft/s²). The reason an object reaches a terminal velocity is that the drag force resisting motion is approximately proportional to the square of its speed. At low speeds, the drag is much less than the gravitational force and so the object accelerates. As it accelerates, the drag increases, until it equals the weight. Drag also depends on the projected area. This is why things with a large projected area, such as parachutes, have a lower terminal velocity than small objects such as bullets.

Mathematically, terminal velocity — without considering the buoyancy effects — is given by

The handbook states 55mph cruising speed top speed 65 and that is when it was brand new.

The fastest mine ever went was on the back of the RAC truck

Change the gearbox for a petrol one.I got 130 kmph out of my good condition 1.6n occasonally.Slow on hills it would cruise 70/80 kmph on the flat.

Thanks one & all. Happy to cruise at 55mph then!
Cheers
Jiffies