With my old ^% sieries IV, I had all three sets of available
carbs on that car. It started out witht e Solex Whistling carb, and the
CD strombers which lacked performance and throttle response, and finally
ended up witht e the Zeniths's (don't know which version though). These
provided the best performance and throtle response. The milage was best
with the vacuum actuated Solex two barrel, (as I remember) at around 27
average in city and back roads, but very little freeway use. I didn't
like winding it up that tight for sustained periods of time. It didn't
have the OD. With 3.89 rear end, small diameter tires (BR-60x13 Radial
T/A's) and 65-70 mph, it meant it was turning pretty high. It was a
city car, but fun on the country back roads where 45 -50 mph was
pleasent. The Zenith gave me 24 mpg regardless of how I drove it, Easy
or hard, it never seemed to change. The strombergs gave about 26 -27,
but the solex out performed them, so I traded them for the Zeniths,
which I stayed with till the end. I hit over 30 a few times with the
Solex when I tried to see how good it could be. I got 32 once driving
up to Bellingham. Made the whole trip at about 40-45 mph with the top
down of course. Might have been able to hit 35 with the hard top on.
Rich
> ----------
> From: Chris Stephenson[SMTP:cstephenson(at)dttus.com]
> Sent: Friday, June 13, 1997 1:25 PM
> To: alpines(at)autox.team.net
> Subject: WIP & WIA Mileage
>
> I have owned my Series III for 18 years now. It has the WIP
> carbs. I
> have always driven the car regularly and have always kept an eye
> on
> gas mileage. In my 18 years of driving it, I can only remember
> one
> time when I got more than about 20 mpg. Currently, I drive an
> average
> of 75 highway miles (round trip) a day. When I start the journey,
> I am
> in stop and go traffic for about 16 miles. Then I go about 70 mph
> for
> the rest of the trip. My gas mileage has averaged out to be
> around 18
> mpg. I currently do not have OD. The only time I remember getting
>
> better than 25 mpg is when I followed my grandfather on a trip.
> He
> does not drive more than 45-50 mph.
>
> I have seen mpg figures for the Alpine that are in the 25 to 27
> mpg
> range. How are people achieving these? Slower speeds? My carbs
> are in
> great shape. I went through them a few months ago. No leaks in
> the
> bushings, etc. The car runs and idles great. BTW, I have also had
> a
> Series IV with the Solex and a Series II. Even though I can't
> remember
> what the mpg figures were, I know they were not in the upper 20's
>
> range.
>
> How can I make the Alpine more fuel efficient? The carbs are
> adjusted
> based on smooth idle and acceleration. Should I use colortune to
> get
> the mixture as lean as possible?
>
> Chris
> Alpine III
> Alpine V V6
> Jag 420G
>
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