Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead
Off hand,I can't remember what the Herrod Helper did for the original Beetle back in the 1970s,but your wing is a massive improvement over that wing and it's been fun for years now,to know you've been out there getting these great numbers!
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I recognized that name, "Herrod Helper." I'm a sometime reader of Hot VWs and they had an on-again, off-again article series called Project Mileage Motor. They did a lot of the stuff we do, optimizing the chassis and whatnot. They started with a crusty 72 Super Beetle, which whistled up a merely fair 20mpg as bought. Chassis tuning, bearing greasing, etc brought that up to 28.
Adding their engine brought mileage into the middle 30s with some engine tuning and trying various options. It's all written down, anyone with an aircooled Beetle and a full set of wrenches can roll their own.
The Herrod Helper added 2mpg. This was after they'd already achieved a solid mid-30s score; nobody was expecting another 2mpg with this little wing. Last I saw, the Mileage Motor Beetle had managed about 38mpg at California freeway speeds, a really good result. It seems the magazine has lost interest, though - every new issue that comes out, I scan for an update. Nothing.