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How to make my VW Camper Faster

How to make my VW Camper Faster
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How to make my VW Camper Faster

Whether you have owned plenty of classic Volkswagen Campervans or you are new to the scene, there's no denying the change of pace when you slide behind the wheel of a rear-engined VW bus. 

Whilst the novelty of 'cruising' everywhere at 50mph has its charms, it can become tiresome and frustrating when travelling further afield, or carrying additional people or luggage. 

So, what can you do to make your VW Camper faster? Read on...

Not designed for speed....

We'll caveat this article with a simple statement: Campervans aren't designed for speed. Their primary function is to provide a dry place to sleep and eat whilst away for a few days, and to best fulfill these criteria they are boxy and big by design. Need help choosing one? Read our Campervan guide here

However, there are a few tricks up our sleeves we'd be happy to share which should help you shave a few seconds off your journey time; affording you valuable extra time on the beach, or well earnt minutes wandering around a show.

Simply plan your route using only downhill sections of the carriageway, and the job is done... If for some reason that's not possible, read on!

Put your Camper on a diet!

Has your bus been treated to any aesthetic accessories that may be playing havoc with the already appalling aerodynamics? If your roof rack is piled high with beer boxes and old bicycles or a dozen surfboards, then step one will be to get those removed. They might not weigh lots individually, but when you only have 40hp to start with, removing any excess mass will be great. 

Taking some weight from up-top will also reduce the centre of gravity of your vehicle, in turn making it more stable and able to handle corners with a little more speed not to mention less scary to drive in high winds. 

The same approach can be applied inside. If you are lugging an awning and full gas bottles and water tanks around when you only actually need them 20% of the time, you are slowing yourself down. If they can be stored at home, then you can go faster!

Wheels and Gears 

Technically, by fitting larger wheels and tyres you will travel further for each rotation of the axle, which would lead you to record a higher top speed. However, this would be at the cost of acceleration and not taking into account the additional weight the wheels may have, or the increased tyre friction generated by Swamper style rubber. 

The other option, before we get onto engine tweaks, would be to change the gearbox ratios to improve top speed in the final drive at maximum RPM. This is what the popular Rancho Freeway Flyer gearboxes are engineered to do. 

Camper Tuning Tips

The most obvious option to increase the speed is to give your VW Camper more power, and this can be done through a number of engine tuning processes and bolt ons. These range from simple sports exhausts, which just help the fumes exit a little quicker, through to fitting larger and multiple carburettors, and finally increasing the engine capacity or even swapping it for a new one. 

We'll look at each stage below, and highlight the approximate costs and mechanical skills required for each. 

Bolt on Power!

The following is general advice for petrol powered, rear engine VW Campervans including the T1 Split, T2 Bay and T3 Wedge versions. It may be the case that not all products are available for each specific model, but the principle remains the same. 

A well-engineered exhaust system might release another 5bhp from your antique motor if you are prepared to pay for it, but whilst you could fit it yourself in an afternoon, could your coins be spent in a better place? 

Well, yes and no. For half the price you could enlarge the displacement (not including labour) but then you would still need a decent exhaust system to take advantage of your efforts. In short, if you are working to a budget start with the basics, but with an eye on your vision for the end goal, and go from there. 

Fitting Twin Carburettors

Mixing more fuel and air in the engine of your Campervan will produce a bigger bang, and in turn generate more power, however, there are a few extra things to consider and budget for.

Let's presume you have taken the advice above and fitted a sports exhaust. Coupling this with a set of larger carburettors will be a great way to increase throttle response and power. Prices start at around £400 for a set of twin 34s, which is the ideal setup for a standard aircooled engine and increase as the size goes up and the quality improves. 

What we would stress is the importance of having twin carburetors correctly set up by a workshop who knows what they are doing. There is a risk otherwise of increasing engine temperature and running lean, or over-fueling which could also lead to running problems. 

Increasing Displacement

In your quest to go faster you are likely to at least consider making your flat 4 engine 'bigger'. This is done by increasing the capacity with a barrel and piston kit. For owners with aircooled type 1 engines, this is typically to 1641cc or a more capable 1776cc if they are prepared to machine the cylinder heads and case. Beyond this, these engines can be increased to well over 2 litres, but a stroker crankshaft and an upgraded or clearance crankcase will also be required. 

For Type 25 owners the same principle applies, and both the Type 4 engines and the Waterboxers can be tuned with larger barrels and piston kits to help them produce more power. 

Partnering this capacity increase with ported and polished cylinder heads will make the very most of your engineering efforts.

Forced Induction for your Camper

Turbocharging and supercharging are both possible options for your Campervan, in fact a bolt-on supercharger kit by Judson was produced as an accessory in the fifties to give a little more life to the early aircooled engines. 

The premise of both is the more air that is forced into the engine, the more fuel that can be mixed with it, and so a larger explosion can occur and more power generated. However, it's a little more complicated in real life, and reliability and additional heat in the engine bay will create issues for the budding DIY mechanic hoping to have a successful go at it. 

Forced induction tuning is only really tackled as the icing on the cake for a costly race or streetcar and as such is unlikely to be your preferred method of making your Campervan faster. 

Engine Transplants

Yes, you can fit a Porsche engine in your Campervan... No, it's not as easy as just undoing 4 bolts like the guy at the petrol station or supermarket tells you. 

The cost will be the biggest factor stopping you from choosing classic Porsche power. With the rising values of aircooled Porsche vehicles, a donor vehicle or a ready-to-run engine will probably cost you the value of your Campervan again to purchase, let alone install. 

A popular alternative to the Stuttgart flat-six, is a four-cylinder boxer engine from rally legends Subaru. With a strong supply of donor vehicles on sites like ebay and Facebook marketplace, you can drive home a suitable donor with change from £2000, and feasibly carry out the conversion yourself for a similar cost again. Should you prefer a professional to tackle the work you might be spending closer to £10,000 but you'll sleep safe in the knowledge all is as it should be, and producing many times the original power! 

We visited Kustom Revival and found out more about this. Check out the article here

Going Electric

Whilst Volkswagen produced a number of electric Campervan prototypes over the years, its only in the past 5-10 years that EV specialist companies have cropped up and will offer the conversion for you. 

Just like a regular EV vehicle, there is a price tag attached (expect to pay around £30,000) to go green, and there will be new pitfalls to consider, like the insufficient charging network, and question marks over the longevity of the batteries. 

On the plus side, the instantaneous power and torque, the lack of moving components that might fail, and the reduction of inner-city emissions are all hard to argue with. 

Check out our chat with Moggy from Electric Classic Cars here to find out more. 

We hope this article has raised some interesting points for you, and answered a few more questions than it has created. With some clever thinking and astute upgrades you can make your Campervan faster, and more comfortable to drive at a higher speed - if you want or need too. 

Happy Travels. 

Andy 

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