32 MPG out of 2013 DSG?

mc4nam said:

I went into the google play store on android and searched for road trip and there are quite a few. Which one?

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I have the iPhone version
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/road-trip-mpg-mileage-fuel/id298398207?mt=8

Here is his website.
http://darrensoft.ca/roadtrip/

It doesn't look like he makes an Android version. Sorry.

mc4nam said:

I went into the google play store on android and searched for road trip and there are quite a few. Which one?

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Torque Pro is what you want.

Just an update. I really tried to drive like an egg was under the pedal today on the way to work. Here were the stats

Range - 635 miles
Miles on tank - 118.4
Avg. Consumption - 45.9
Avg. Speed - 29 mph
Route - 19 miles

That's a huge improvement from 32. Pretty good MPG for such a low average speed.

VeeDubTDI said:

That's a huge improvement from 32. Pretty good MPG for such a low average speed.

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Yes it is but Fuelly stats may be a little less than my MFI numbers in my car correct?

I felt like PaPa driving but I did not get to work much slower than normal but traffic is a little better because school is out.

Today:
Avg. Consumption - 45.9
Avg. Speed - 29 mph
Route - 19 miles
Time - 40 minutes

Last Week:
Avg. Consumption - 39.5
Avg. Speed - 28 mph
Route - 18 miles
Time - 38 minutes

mc4nam said:

Yes it is but Fuelly stats may be a little less than my MFI numbers in my car correct?
I felt like PaPa driving but I did not get to work much slower than normal but traffic is a little better because school is out.
Today:
Avg. Consumption - 45.9
Avg. Speed - 29 mph
Route - 19 miles
Time - 40 minutes
Last Week:
Avg. Consumption - 39.5
Avg. Speed - 28 mph
Route - 18 miles
Time - 38 minutes

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I have never seen my MFI off by more than ~2 MPG. So it isn't perfect, but it's close enough for the sake of discussion.

Those numbers are close to what mine are now.

Yes, fuelly will be a little less. At least it always is in my car. When I fill up this time, I'll try to remember to reset #2 on my MFI and then check it against fuelly when I fill up the next time.

mc4nam said:

I felt like PaPa driving but I did not get to work much slower than normal but traffic is a little better because school is out.

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That's the key in city traffic--surging and braking doesn't get you there any faster, but uses WAY more fuel. Lots of people don't get that. I actually had a woman flashing her brights at me this morning because I was coasting down the exit ramp instead of accelerating down, even though we could both see that there was a long backup of stopped cars waiting for the light at the end of the ramp. That sort of impatience is just silly, since it doesn't accomplish anything at all.

Lincoln said:

That's the key in city traffic--surging and braking doesn't get you there any faster, but uses WAY more fuel. Lots of people don't get that. I actually had a woman flashing her brights at me this morning because I was coasting down the exit ramp instead of accelerating down, even though we could both see that there was a long backup of stopped cars waiting for the light at the end of the ramp. That sort of impatience is just silly, since it doesn't accomplish anything at all.

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Yeah, i don't understand why people drive like this. It's like they feel a need to create an anxiety complex. Last week, had somebody pass me in the dirt on the shoulder as I wasn't gunning it fast enough to stay within inches of the back of the traffic jam. Traffic was backed up for as far as the eye could see, there were no turns that could be taken advantage of and there were a couple of traffic lights which kept bringing us to a stop. As soon as the light turned green, he wanted to more or less "peel out" to race back to the end of the line. I chuckled when an extra right lane opened which turned into my kids school which I took and was once again ahead of him.

I couldn't take the stress of driving like that.

It's a shame that people waste fuel and brakes like that. I guess they're too stupid to realize that they're just increasing their bills and cost of operation... not to mention it's dangerous.

I have noticed that speeding is the norm now. I get tailgated in the middle and right lanes going 5 over the speed limit. Everyone is just impatient and does not realize they are not getting there fast enough to make a difference.

Speeding is definitely normal around here. Fortunately, I don't seem to face much difficulty when I stay in the center and right lanes. I don't get much tailgating and never get bright light flashing. For me, it's just the side streets when it's 1 lane and traffic is piled up that people seem to think they are going to magically teleport from point A to B if they just up close enough.

The whole "looking ahead" thing may play a role too--lots of people seem to only be aware of the car in front of them... Maybe they think if they can just pass that one car, everything will be better?

I am as guilty as any of staying up with traffic and right behind, without tailgating, the car in front of me.

I guess the biggest reason is people cutting me off. Not that cutting me off upset me as much as people cut it too close.

I haven't had any tailgating problems thus far driving this way. That is my biggest worry in traffic now is tailgaters with this new found driving style.

I can tell from personal experience that drving style is HUGE! I have 18" on my Golf (stock 15") and drive about 3.5miles across town. There are numerous hills, two of which rival the steepest San Francisco has to offer.

From the -3F mornings to the 97F afternoons the MFI will report 32 mpg to 59mpg depending on how I drive and if I hit the stop lights/traffic right. Until I hit my groove I was getting 38mpg to and from work. Now I average about 52mpg. If I get lucky on hitting all the lights green and no backed up traffic I hit 56-59mpg. And if some idiot wants to putz along and I hit all the lights I still manage 45mpg.

I never have any trouble going slower on the interstate. There always seems to be at least one other car, of varing descriptions, doing 50-60mph. Just follow the basic rules "stay right except to pass/slower traffic stay right" and pick up the speed a bit if you have to pass someone. Biggest thing in stop in go traffic is not getting worked up when traffic cuts in front of you.

I suggest a weekend drive out of the city complex. Try driving at 65mph and keeping an eye on what the avg MPG does. After that make a decision on whether MPG or MPH are more important to you.

Jason

PS: my fuely includes over 10k miles of towing my camper and Uhauls. I don't count the boat because it's usually just a mile or two to the ramp.

mc4nam said:

I am as guilty as any of staying up with traffic and right behind, without tailgating, the car in front of me.

I guess the biggest reason is people cutting me off. Not that cutting me off upset me as much as people cut it too close.

I haven't had any tailgating problems thus far driving this way. That is my biggest worry in traffic now is tailgaters with this new found driving style.

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I think it's interesting that you mention "new found driving style" because the Passat did the same thing to me; it really rewards a laid back driving style.

VeeDubTDI said:

I think it's interesting that you mention "new found driving style" because the Passat did the same thing to me; it really rewards a laid back driving style.

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Of Course I get my 1st tailgater today. lady in a corolla following really close.

I just stick to the right lane going about 4 MPH over the speed limit (which is slower than everyone else) and they move left to pass. When there's traffic, the right lane is usually moving faster because all of the idiots cram into the left lane and I usually end up passing them.

I'm a strict "keep right" driver.

It's relaxed me a lot too. I used to zip around quite a bit, but now spend most of my time in the right lane (a few exceptions in my commute where I know the right lanes back up due to mergers) and at steady speed. It makes driving a lot more enjoyable, makes a huge impact on mileage, and gets me there nearly as quickly.

...what a bunch of old farts...ME TOO!^^^

+1... doing 55-65 MPH in I-45 in Houston is doable, just stick to the right. The little extra time in the commute helps a lot in MPG.

I never drove fast anyway, so the TDI was a perfect fit. I've had people at work ask if "I'm going to tune it for more performance" and I usually say "no, in fact if I could get better mileage I'd tune some performance out of it".

Great thread.

For what it's worth, I too have a DFW commute from D'vill in the south, up 67/35 through downtown and up the tollway to Addison. Most of the time, I travel at the tail end of traffic, so I don't have to slow down too much. But, I keep it "reasonable" usually 60-65 (I know it sounds slow) on the tollway and I try to drive as soothly as possible in the construction/traffic zones.

Now, my car differs from the OP in that I have a Manual Transmission, 17" wheels, and I don't use any fuel additives (yet). One of the reasons I got the 17" wheels was for better MPG.

Once you get used to going slower and accelerating more slowly your MPG will smile upon you, but there's not much you can do in stop and go.

BUT, When I do want to have fun, the car can move--And 5000 RPM is lots of fun at any speed. But I prefer the whole 800-1000 miles per tank approach.

On trips down to Austin my MPG tends to drop because of the higher speeds. AC on combined with 75-85 MPH adds up to 40MPG. But all things considered that's pretty awesome.

My best tank was 55mpg all hyper-mileing and no faster than 55mph. I did than once, almost got 1000 miles on the tank, and I probably won't do it again.

5000 RPMs is about 1000 over the horsepower peak.

Operadad said:

One of the reasons I got the 17" wheels was for better MPG.

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I've seen this type of comment before, and have searched through the historical threads on the forum. I know that the theory is that the wheels weigh less, the tires are less wide, therefore the tires have less contact surface area on the road, thus less resistance and henceforth better mileage.

I put 16" winter tires on my car this past winter. Because I went from 235/45/18's to 215/60/16's, i calculated that the original tire circumference was 82.7in and the snow tires were 82.2. So, that means my speedo was about 0.6% fast. Therefore, at 60mph, I would really be doing 59.6mph. And this also means that my odometer would read 0.6% fast too meaning that my car will say that it went 100 miles, when it really only went 99.x. My speed calcs also seemed to jive with this calculator (http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/tire-wheel-gearing-calculator.htm), which said I would have a -0.65% speed difference with my snow tires and wheels.

I've seen the posts where people claim a 3-4MPG swing from 18" wheels and tires to 17" wheels and tires. I've also read where VeeDubTDI says you can expect nearly 10% difference...which is probably right around 4MPG. This just seems like too much to me. I'm having a hard time buying it.

For those who have seen this much change
1. Are you running the same tires or tires with practically the same rolling resistance when you measured this difference?
2. How many tanks overall did you measure the change with? I could see 1-2 tanks being skewed just from subconsciously driving differently knowing that you want to see your mileage go up.
3. Any temperature changes that might result in this mileage change. For example, if I changed tires in the spring, it would appear as if my miles were going way up from the tires, when really it's just ambient weather helping out.

I don't completely have my head in the sand, I could see being able to prove some amount of difference. But 10% or 3-4mpg seems too hard to believe simply going from 18" tires to 17" tires. I do realize that smaller wheels and smaller tires weight less...but we are talking about a 3400lb car, how much difference does 10lbs at each corner make. Certainly not 10%, right?

Anyway, just curious to see what people think.

VeeDubTDI said:

5000 RPMs is about 1000 over the horsepower peak.

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whoops, my bad. 5k is redline, I meant more in the 3-3.5k I'm still not used to the lower RPMs on the tach. In my previous car, the needle would be in a similar location.

Our area just added computerized light timing to the stop lights as our local leaders actually listened to us> http://library.oregonmetro.gov/files//public_input_catalog_040312.pdf, meaning if you travel at or just above the 35 speed, every light will be green. and it works- sometimes you will catch a red at the first light, then the entire pack of cars will happily cruse threw town with all green lights, and we laugh at the turtle and hair games kids play by flooring it to the next light only to wait there at a red while the rest of us catch right up and never had to hit our brakes. It has decreased my commute time by 15 minutes and bumped the average MPG from the low 40's to the mid 40's

As promised, Here are my results on a tank after my new found driving style:

574 miles (filled up with 1/4 tank left)
Average speed 28 mph
Travel time 20 h 18 m
average consumption 42.3 (manual fuelly stats show 41.4)

I really did do a lot of coasting and really put an egg under the pedal. I pretty much drove 70 mph or less. The hardest part was taking off so slow.

I will probably start taking off a little quicker and go a little faster on interstates. I should be able to get high 30's anyways which is what I expected when I bought the car.

As you guys explained, the biggest enemy is brakes and red light idling.

Sounds like what I usually do. I cruse at 75 on the interstate. I use either sport or tip when I'm in traffic so that I can use the accelerate 90% of the time to keep pace with traffic. MFI will give me high 30's to low 40's spring to fall and mid to high 30's in the winter. This is also dependent on how much idling I do waiting for my sister in the morning.