How Fast to Drive on Highway

nickfancher1 · Nov 24, 2014

I'm a little bit new to driving a TDI. Have about 8-9,000 miles under my belt with driving it, but I have 2 questions:

1. How fast can I keep the car going on the highway? I ask because at 80-85 mph it is at about 3,000 RPMs and I kinda "feel bad" with it screaming so fast on the highway like that. Is this all in my head and I should tone it down or not worry about it at all?

2. What seems to be the optimal speed for mpg on the highway? If I'm looking to get my best mpg what's the best speed? 65?

Thanks

belome · Nov 24, 2014

I think you should have bought a Prius!

If you want to go 85, go 85 till your hearts content, I know I do.

IndigoBlueWagon · Nov 24, 2014

I've driven thousands of miles in my TDIs at 3000 RPM. They don't seem to mind at all. However, you will get better FE if you drive slower, especially in a NB, which doesn't have the world's best aerodynamics. I typically drive 75-80 in my wagon, and get mileage in the high 40s at that speed. It's fast enough to get where I'm going but not fast enough to attract attention (at least here in the Northeast).

Keep in mind that these engines are typically run a lot harder in Europe than here.

TDI smile · Nov 24, 2014

id is right on. In Germany I know only 1 position on the Pedal... all the way to the floor!!! for hundreds of Kilomters. I have a few WARNINGS from AZ in my Desk and I thought I was driving the Speed Limit!! Best FE is around 2100 / 2200 RPM's, but who drives that slow these Days?

GoFaster · Nov 24, 2014

The car will take it. Your driver's license might not.

Slower saves fuel (but puts me to sleep beyond a certain point), faster gets you there sooner (and keeps me awake and alert). Your choice.

"Go with the general flow of traffic, whatever that might be" is generally not a bad choice.

Lefty · Nov 24, 2014

I have put over 200k Miles on my 2000 Jetta now and it likes 3000 RPM's. The Car has 298K miles on it now.Heats up and keeps the intake cleaned out. Your Turbo will like that. 63 MPH is about 2100-2200 RPMS. Good mileage if you want 1 or 2 MPG better.

n1das · Nov 24, 2014

Drive your TDI like it's the Autobahn burner that it is.

If you were driving any of the gasoline versions of your car instead of a TDI, your engine would be turning at 4000+ RPM at 80-85 MPH.

Drive more, worry less.
Good luck and Welcome to TDIclub.

IndigoBlueWagon · Nov 24, 2014

In the older cars this rule applies, pretty much:

60 MPG at 60 MPH
50 MPG at 70 MPH
40 MPG at 80 MPH

The 60 MPH number may be a bit high, and the 80 may be a bit low (at least in my experience) but you get the idea.

red16vdub · Nov 24, 2014

Just wanna to say, please move to the right lane SiR!

Dodgevillediesel · Nov 24, 2014

Driving my 01 jetta at 75 for 65 miles 2 times a day, 50mpg. Driving my powerstroke at 72mph i get maybe 18mpg. Diesels are made to run at constant rpm all day, i wouldnt run it at 5k all day but 2200 -3000 isnt gonna hurt anything. We have a 4 cylinder diesel generator at work that ran for 3 months straight (shutting down only for oil changes) at 2500rpm

AndyBees · Nov 24, 2014

The gearing in my ALH Vanagon puts the RPMs at roughly 3050 at 70 mph ..... The engine seems just fine at that RPM and yields about 34 to 36 mpg!

no-blue-screen · Nov 25, 2014

I drive 60mph on the highway.

oilhammer · Nov 25, 2014

The ALH spins slow on the highway compared to many VAG gassers of the same era. The older VAG diesels didn't even get a tach... I think I figured out once that at 80 my '91 was spinning almost 4800 RPMs.... still managed to make it past 400k miles though.

I don't think you have to worry about "hurting" the engine at only 3000 RPMs. If it did, a lot of us would have had problems LONG ago.

Votblindub · Nov 25, 2014

I found that 55-60mph yields the best mpg for me. I've been driving my white tdi for almost 4 years and getting great mpg figures. My dad drives it closer to 75-80mph and gets about 10mpg less. You can look at all my fuel ups in my fuelly. The variations you will see are due to driving style of the driver.

curtludwig · Nov 25, 2014

Diesels seem to be quite engine speed dependent on mileage. I've had 2 Mercedes-Benz 190Ds, an '84 and an '85. The '85 had a 5spd manual, the '84 has a 4spd automatic. The '85 consistently beat the '84 for mileage. Over the 90,000 miles I drove it the '85 averaged 38mpg with a couple runs up to 43mpg. I've had the '84 about 40,000 miles now and its averaging 36mpg with a couple runs at 40mpg. That 5th gear really got the RPM down, at 80mph the '84 is doing nearly 4,000 rpm where the '85 was doing more like 3,500.

My '98 Jetta gets the best economy when I'm commuting and traffic is heavy but moving so averaging say 60mph. I've had a couple runs up to 55mpg. Last summer we took it to Michigan and averaged 47mpg over 1500 miles at 80-85mph.

maybe368 · Nov 25, 2014

Drive it like you stole it. There are a few interstates out west that have 85 MPH limits. I 80 and i15 for two...Mark

Curious Chris · Nov 26, 2014

I drive country roads at least once a week to get my EGT up to 1300 degrees to clean the turbo. Other than that I drive 65-90 mph most days.

44-46 mpg

apples12 · Nov 26, 2014

drive it like you stole it!

80 in my mk6 is 2100rpm-ish, 70 is just below 1800... i know where my car prefers to be!

on my private track road 100mph is about 2900rpm....and this yields 40mpg..

jokila · Nov 26, 2014

maybe368 said:
Drive it like you stole it. There are a few interstates out west that have 85 MPH limits. I 80 and i15 for two...Mark

I only know of one place with 85 mph posted speed limit. It's in Texas and I have been on it. I just checked wikipedia and this is their color map of limits in the US. Maybe it needs to be updated with your info?

maybe368 · Nov 26, 2014

jokila said:
I only know of one place with 85 mph posted speed limit. It's in Texas and I have been on it. I just checked wikipedia and this is their color map of limits in the US. Maybe it needs to be updated with your info?

It is outdated. Parts of I15 in Utah and I80 in Idaho and I84 in Northern Utah have 85 MPH limits. It goes down when you enter towns. It is 85 on I80 all the way across Idaho. I was just up there a few weeks ago and I averaged 49 MPGs in the Beetle. You then Hit Oregon which is 55 MPH on the secondary highways and 65 on the freeways. I have never updated a wikipedia entry, maybe I'll give it a shot...Mark

Franko6 · Nov 26, 2014

Best speed is one mph less than 'ticket'.

This is the only national map that I know the red looks bad and blue looks good!

nickfancher1 · Nov 26, 2014

Ok I've got a 200 mile trip tomorrow, about 80%of it I'll be driving 80 mph. The other 15% is at almost 75 mph and 5% at around 20 mph. I'll post back with my mpg. I don't expect it to be high, this car hasn't really seen super high mpg before, just decent. I expect 36-38 mpg. It also has the DSG.

no-blue-screen · Nov 26, 2014

I will mention that a couple of times I drove down 95 from MD to FL and did more like 75 and was still able to pull out an average of 48 mpg.

Ski in NC · Nov 26, 2014

3000rpm is nothing for a TDI. If you want to run at that speed, it will still be happy.

Riflesmith · Nov 26, 2014

maybe368 said:
It is outdated. Parts of I15 in Utah and I80 in Idaho and I84 in Northern Utah have 85 MPH limits. It goes down when you enter towns. It is 85 on I80 all the way across Idaho. I was just up there a few weeks ago and I averaged 49 MPGs in the Beetle. You then Hit Oregon which is 55 MPH on the secondary highways and 65 on the freeways. I have never updated a wikipedia entry, maybe I'll give it a shot...Mark

There are no 85 MPH limits in Utah or Idaho. 80 is tops. Additionally, I-80 does not enter Idaho at any point. Sorry.

saidIIdias · Nov 27, 2014

Beating a dead horse at this point but I commute 80-90 miles a day on German autobahns cruising at around 85mph/140kph/3000rpm with occasional runs up to and over 100mph/3750rpm. MPG is consistently around 45 and the car runs like a top.

Riflesmith · Nov 27, 2014

nickfancher1 said:
I'm a little bit new to driving a TDI. Have about 8-9,000 miles under my belt with driving it, but I have 2 questions:
1. How fast can I keep the car going on the highway? I ask because at 80-85 mph it is at about 3,000 RPMs and I kinda "feel bad" with it screaming so fast on the highway like that. Is this all in my head and I should tone it down or not worry about it at all?
2. What seems to be the optimal speed for mpg on the highway? If I'm looking to get my best mpg what's the best speed? 65?
Thanks

If your car is a 5-speed, consider a taller fifth gear. I cruise all day at 80+. 80 in my cars is just under 2300 RPM.

nickfancher1 · Nov 27, 2014

Ok, I did 85 mph most of the time and had some driving on dirt roads today. 34.8 mpg LOL

puntmeister · Nov 27, 2014

Despite what many will claim, 85 mph is gonna result in relatively lousy mpg.

Even if someone DOES get 100 mpg at 85 mph, they'll get even more incredulously good mpg at 75 mph, better still at 65 mph, better yet at 55, and the best around 40 mph.

The main reason sub 40 mph results in lower mpg is because a lower gear has to be used, and wind resistance at 40 mph and below isn't much of a factor.

Basically, the best mpg is the slowest you can go in the highest gear.

Riflesmith offered the best advice - if you are going to be doing a lot of driving at high (75+ mph) speeds, and plan to keep the car for a long time (5+ years), then it might make sense to install a new 5th gear. The parts aren't cheap though, and, although doable by a handy DIY'er, its not gonna be the easiest project ever.

nickfancher1 · Nov 27, 2014

I wish, unfortunately it's a DSG 6 speed. 85 mph was 3000-3100 RPMs

How Fast to Drive on Highway

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