What I have learned about PD TDI FE

[dieselpower04]

Originally Posted by whitedog

Hans, you should try a 6% grade for three miles. You will find that having it in gear helps.

I do 6% for 7 miles everyday

[Hansgruber]

Originally Posted by psd1

Thats good mileage, I had a 50.5 MPG avg over 3 tanks a while back, it's now 48.5. What makes you think your city is better than your highway mileage?

There are a few reasons why I think I am getting better MPG around town:

1- Less fuel use all around. I am idling for most of the around town driving. SC II is always showing 120 to 300 MPG.

2- Most of my speeds getting to the highway are under 45 MPH. I am not fighting drag or keeping a constant speed like that of the highway.

3- With cruise control on, SC II reports about 55 to 62 MPG depending on conditions on level ground going 70 MPH. Much of my highway travel is hilly.

The one area where I can control frictional forces and FE is around town. So I think I am getting better MPG around town. Now I just need to find some coroplast or ABS plastic to block the grille, It is harder to find than I thought.

[Hansgruber]

Originally Posted by MikeMars

Highway MPG is mostly determined by aerodynamics. So if you are getting particularly bad mpg from highway driving, there are two things to look at:
* Aerodynamics (roofrack, towing, etc).
* Speed (aero drag is proportional to the speed squared).

I am well aware of this. I really can't go slower than 70MPH for FE reasons and safety. If I go faster I will have to slow down for slower traffic, less FE all around.