Carlisle road trip data

This might interest someone interested in potential gas milage...

The round trip milage came to 1348mi...Average gas milage was 30.6, with a best tank full run of 32.75mpg.. Oil temp 207 max. for entire trip. Cyl. head temp 318f. max.

Engine is CB Perf. 1915cc Dual Weber 44 IDF's......

It CAN happen....

Now...if you could only run "Bio Willie" fuel...

;>)

30-32mpg in a Speedster is pretty darn good in my book.

gn

Leon---very interesting--I would like to hear from other drivers too.

My numbers are; Vintage Speedster with around 2,000 miles on it when I left home. Total trip was 2,442 miles, total average speed from the gps trip computer was 69 mph with much running at 70-75. Average gas mileage was 27 mpg with the best tank getting 30 mph. Before the trip my average mpg was just 19 so this trip was good for the engine. The car was loaded with my and my son's stuff so it was heavy much of the trip.

The engine is 1915 --the standard 1915 from Vintage. Used 3/4 qt. oil the entire trip. The top was up all but show day, Saturday at Carlisle.

Oil temps were 210 max and that was with 80 degree temps. The C.B. Performance Thin Line Sump did it's job.

I was pretty happy with the car's performance.

Oh--wet? Some, but very acceptable.

Cost of the trip? Priceless!!---Jack

I only did 210 miles but gas was 30.2 mpg. Oil temp went up to 260 after an hour on the turnpike at 65 mph (apx 3200rpm). Normally runs 220. Any inexpensive suggestions on getting oil temp down when running longer highway miles? I have a stock 1600.

Bob, With oil temps that high at that speed I'd say your engine is out of tune. either lean or over advanced.

What are you using for cooling, exhaust system and what is the timing set at??

Bob--If after properly tuning your engine as Jake recommends,consider the C. B. Thin Line Sump. It will give you an extra 1 /1/2 qts ---or a total of 4 quarts. It dropped my oil temp from 230-235 down to 210
going 70 for 150 miles at a clip with a 1915 engine. Driving home when I reached Memphis and outside temps went to 80-85 I saw only 215-220 degrees max.

How about some other road reports?----Jack

Jack, thanks for the tip. I ordered the thin line sump tonight.

Hijack--I have the same 1915 engine and thin line sump as Jack. Looking at the average anticipated temperatures between SoCal and Denver in September is not pretty. "Average" high temps run in the 90's to 100's and only drops to the high 70's low 80's in New Mexico and Colorado. How would you handle this anticipated cooling problem?
Please respond in the General thread.
Thanks,
Roy

Bob - Curious as to what temp gauge you are using and where is sender mounted (and is the sender the correct one?). In many cases the only really accurate reading comes with those dip stick sensors. Can't go wrong adding more oil capacity though.

Also, Bob....do you have the metal heat shields installed around your engine? They are supposed to be there to insulate the hot exhaust area on the bottom from the cooler fan inlet area on the top. If they're not there and the engine is stock, then you'll often see temps as you wrote. If you open the engine cover and look down onto the engine, there shouldn't be any open space around the engine AND you shouldn't be able to see the ground from the engine bay.

Lastly, check and see if the air vanes are installed in your fan shroud (you should be able to see the actuator arm going across the back of the fan shroud at the bottom, and/or the vane shafts sticking out at the bottom of the shroud). If those vanes aren't there the engine will run a bit hotter, too, but the heat shields mentioned above are more important.

I ran the numbers today and found that my trip average MPG came out to 36.0 with the best recorded of 37.7 all on 87 octane fuel. The Tubaru ran great for the whole trip with nary a hitch all the way. The best mileage was obtained on the first leg. I was holding the speed down to help keep Jack's revs low, but this proved to be unnecessary as he and Russ blew past me ratcheting up to freeway speed.

My tub was running with a new ECU that was unproven and definitely not bedded in. The original had been damaged at some point and would not control the cooling fan properly. Using a replacement the car had developed a hiccup and was becomming unplesant to drive. Another replacement proved to be no better and was throwing codes that had not been seen before.

Two days prior to the trip, I received from builder Steve another unit that he was convinced would clear up the problems. He was right. The car now runs like it did when I first received it. It certainly made for a pleasant drive to Carlisle and back.

Wolfgang,
I haven't traced the wiring to locate the sending unit. It is also very possible the gauge is not reading accuratly. I ordered a dipstick gauge to get a more accurate reading.

Gordon
thanks for the tip. I'll check (if I can understand what you wrote) tonight. I'm not a mechanic and haven't worked on cars since Chevy stopped making 283's. This Speedster is giving me a crash course on repairs. some of it I enjoy and some of it sucks.

The sender is probably attached to a "T" fitting. One is the oil sender and the other is for the idiot light.

Usually, they will be mounted on the drivers side of the engine just above the crank pulley. The smaller of the 2 will be the idiot light and the larger the sender for your temp gauge.

John--those are some fabulous numbers!---Jack

Those are excellent numbers Jack,...Wish I could do that....As a point of interest, the odometer turned 24000 kilometers as Lane Anderson and I parted company in Charlotte SC.

If it makes you guys feel any better about your cars (if that's at all possible), "Son of Mighty Power Stroke" averaged 15.9 for the entire trip (including messing around in York and at boiling Springs). We also pulled a very respectable 16.8 on just the return leg, in the rain and pulling mostly uphill into New England ;>)

That compares favorably to the 12.2 - 13.6 that I used to get with my Gas version F150, but especially in terms of twice the power (torque) and significantly improved road handling while pulling a trailer.

Oh, and the automatic climate control, the ten speaker stereo, the three position moon roof and heated front seats don't hurt, either.

Just don't talk to me about the price of fuel (currently at $4.85 in Massachusetts) 8>(

gn

Oh....and Pearl usually gets somewhere around 28-ish on 89 octane.

My goof....40,000Klicks....24,000Mi....

It's been mentioned in earlier posts - if you're not sure if you're oil temp gauge is reading properly, buy a cooking thermometer with a long metal sensor that you can pop into the dip stick opening to check the temp. Not good to keep installed while driving but good for a quick check when you stop.

5 gallons of water for 90 miles on my floor!

The cooking thermometer also comes in handy for when you're roasting a turkey on the rear grille in the summertime on a long trip.

when it reads beef well done so is your motor.