5 speeders...

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coaxial

Re: 5 speeders...

Post by coaxial »

agree with pretty much everything others have stated here. I really like my 5 speed - I wish the top gear was higher but I've wished that about every car/motorcycle/bicycle I've ever owned. I avoid automatics in general, but if I was using a delica for 100% commuting and highway trips I'd consider an auto, but my delica is for camping/exploring/outdoor activities, so 5spd suits it just find.

I don't necessarily agree with the feelings others have about cruising speeds and limitations - I find that my van sounds and feels comfortable cruising at 110km/h, and as an experiment have had it briefly up to 140km/h, maybe even a bit higher. I'd never keep it at 120 or more for a long period of time - too much work/heat for the engine & turbo, too quick to be moving in a large heavy object with weak brakes and no modern safety features (airbags, ABS, beams, crumple zones) to speak of :shock:

But even at 140 the revs were acceptable and van totally stable and solid. I've driven a lot of cars that go much quicker but feel totally unstable at the same speeds. Could be that all the my shocks have been replaced with very rigid ones and I've got a good wheel alignment. Anything above 110km/h though and wind noise increases dramatically, and fuel economy drops off the charts. I've cruised for days and days on the US interstates at 110 though and with no ill effects and maintained the usual 25mpg.
STL
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Re: 5 speeders...

Post by STL »

coaxial wrote: I don't necessarily agree with the feelings others have about cruising speeds and limitations.
The feelings expressed here about cruising speed suprise me as well. We own two delicas (and we used to have another when we were in England). Both are 5-speed (the English/Japanese import one was a 5-speed as well) - our cruising speed is in between 110-120km/h for all of them. I found that 115 km/h is a nice cruising speed on the highway - no particular vibrations and the engine is not warming too much.

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Firesong
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Re: 5 speeders...

Post by Firesong »

Check your 115km hr against a gps to make sure you are actually going as fast as you
think you are. Notorious for the speedo showing fast.

FS
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Re: 5 speeders...

Post by STL »

I'll do ... when I'll have some spare time and a GPS (we're pretty old school on this one), although revs are pretty consistent on all delicas with that speed (i do not know on the last delica has it has no rpm tach). But looking at other cars, I definitely know that we're not doing 95-100!

STL
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