cruising speed...

Hi all, have just got myself another mk1 but this time its a '79 L 1.1 and was wondering whata the recomended comfy crusing speed is on dual carriageways? it has 165/55R13 wheels and was just wondering what other people class as good for the engine when running on faster roads out of town.

i know that with these wheels on that the speedo will be out by a few mph but i was going for a drive today and it was at an idicated 50-55mph but seemed to be reving a bit to high to call comfy… :dontknow:

iv got most of the bits for a full service which i am going to do tomorrow and tweek the carb as i dont think the bloke that had it last had set it up proper as it runs high on tick over, and i hope this may free up a few revs higher up in the rev range.

Cheers Chris

i got a 1.1 and i have had 90 out of it… i mean 70… "ehem"

naa there good for 70 if there looked after.

wow! what size wheels and tyres are you running?

Depends on the gearbox tbf.  A lot of people cant stand sitting at 60 because the revs seem high, but vw put shift lines on the speedo that work out at about 6500rpm.  My formel e will happily cruise at about 75-80 all day without worries.  Will do about 45-50mpg doing it too lol.

A standard 1.1 will be happy at about 60-65 all day. tbf 70 all day should be fine.

Jon.

cool cheers for that. i think il wait till iv got it all serviced till i try pushing it.

From memory small block 4 speed cars had approx 17mph/1000rpm gearing with a top speed of @88mph at which the engine will be screaming 5,000+rpm. With the wheels you have the gear may be slight lower still. Formel Es had extra high 4th gear but not sure what it was exactly.

1.8 GTI with 5pd box was approx 20mph/1000rpm. MK2 1.6/1.8 CL/GLs with 4+E were approx 25mph/1000rpm and modern Diesels often have 27-30mph/1000rpm gearing. At 88mph the engine would only be spinnng @3,000rpm in one of these, @2,500 at legal motorway speeds.

So the early 1.1s were very lowly geared compared to modern cars with their economy minded high 5th (and 6th) gears.

i have a c model and although it does have the change lines i know it can rev ALOT higher than that.. although im not that bothered cos the engine was very well run in by an old dear and i will be running it in.

i have had the speedo to 100………. not checked on satnav but i know its not far off..

but even right up.. and i mean RIGHT up in the rev band the engines still REALLY smooth so it just goes to show, its all about the first few thousand miles that makes a big difference.

my cars only done 42,000 and like i said it wasa potter motor for an old lady for the first 20 years of its life..

i only have 14" wheels runnin 60 profiles but on 13s it was still just as quick.


i think the box makes ALL the difference cos i when mines doin 60 in 4th it seems very low in the revs.. or at least not screaming like yours lol..

is there a link anywhere to a gearbox code guide with the final drives on? so i could pos look in the future to getting a box woth a longer top gear.

Cheers guys, Chris

I never take mine over 60 ever. Any more and it would hurt my brain.

Too much screaming at 70. Stick to 60 and you'll be right.

just read the thread its quite scarey 4 gears i feel really old now years and years since i drove anything with 4 gears, i forgot all about 4+r boxes

but i do remember doin 120 on the m25 in a 4 speed nova i had for my 1st car although it is said a speedo is not nor needs to be arcurate over 70 mph

please dont break heart and tell me a nova can't do that speed my speedo said i was lol and that will always be more then good enough for me pmsl

i could sit at 60-65 fine in my C on 15" wheels with 45profile tyres. was revving at roughly 4000rpm. got to 80 a few times (liturally, didnt want to kill it haha) and it was revving at 5000rpm. but still felt ok. didnt want to, or need to make a habit of it. never really went on motorways much. the few times i did i just sat at 65-70 and it was fine. revved fairly high but didnt show any bad signs