Ken,

True if I was building an air-cooled engine, But I am not.
They were talking about the air-cooled T1 engines that run hotter with higher
compression ratios than 7:1.  The water-cooled Wasserboxer stock has a 9:1
ratio, Europeans have 10:1 ratio.  The water-cooled can run higher
compression ratios with no long term effects, i.e., 100,000 to 150,000 miles
on a Wasserboxer is common.

 I know that Vanagons have a history of overheating (due more to lack of
maintenance, part failure or radiant heat damage, then due to too high of
compression) I have added the ceramic thermal barrier coatings to add in heat
removal.

Robert