1400 miles (2254 km.) on 1 tank!!

Note to both preceeding posters:
The needle indicators can be repositioned on the gauge drive posts.

I drained my B4V by siphoning the last bit of fuel out through the tank-to-engine fuel port. I poured in 5 gallons of fuel from a jerry jug. I removed the needle from the fuel gauge and reinstalled it on the 4 gallon red indicator. That was my reserve. I then knew for certain that there was more fuel remaining, but not much more.

The speedometer and odometer get their pulses from the same sender, but are two independent meters. The odometer is a pulse count only, the speedo is a pulse over time indicator.
The discrepancy noted (one marked mile on the road equals one mile on the odometer, but doesn't equal one minute elapsed while the speedo indicates 60 mph) can be easily reduced or eliminated by moving the needle on the speedometer. My odometer is low by 8% with the snow tires presently in use. My speedo was low by closer to 12% with those tires. By moving the speedo needle to offset the difference between the two I have correlation. It looks a bit unusual to see the speedo at -4 mph when parked, but as soon as the car moves it jumps up to 0. Both are off by the same 8% when compared to the mile markers, but are equal to each other. A steady indicated 60 mph makes the odometer increase by one mile in 60 seconds. A steady 48 mph makes the odo increase by one in 75 seconds, 40 mph in 90 seconds. Since those three reference speeds are accurate, I've extrapolated that all the speeds I normally drive are accurate. I spend little time less than 40 (where a percentage error is but a few mph), or at greater than 75 (where a few mph difference would still mean a ticket), so I'm comfortable with a less than zero speed when parked.
Now a simple change of back to the shorter height summer tires will restore the odo and speedo accuracy relative to mile markers.

lol

Original post = desperate cry for attention

wah wah waaahhhhhhhh......

carry on....

Previous post= "Sour Grapes" syndrome?

carrion

92 mpg

Honda has created a diesel that gets 92mpg using vapor technology,and also has stellar performance.Think of the distance you'll be able to go!

Chris--reading your posting way back when was the main reason I bouth my '04 Jetta wagon, boy was I disappointed to get ony 850 km per tank. Took me a while
to realize your tank is about twice the size of mine! I feel better now. You get about 4.2 liters per 100 km, to my 1.9
to 5.3 something to shoot for. Nick

OK, OK..!

I have read most of the postings in this thread BUT never ALL of them at the same sitting.
And not posted yet .

I have a B4V, a little modified(RC3, taller tires{at the time were 195/60/15's @ 44PSI} and a "home made" rear spoiler, lowered by .7" and NO use of A/C).

My trip went from Phoenix to Houston via I-10.
I did go 1.300 miles but at the end I was in Houston and traffic and all did not let me make the 1.400 .

So let's analize:
1.300 miles/ 24.3G = 53.5 ish not bad including the last 140 miles in town.

That was last year, this is a new year and I have been in training...(egg under accelerator ).

I WILL try to better the 1.300 miles soon after new rear calipers and extras .
(Secret here...1.500 may be attainable). Shhhhh!

Pooh to who ?
NOT the B4's ! No matter what, the fact is: I like my "girl" .

Average speed over 1300 miles?

bikeprof said:

I have a B4V, a little modified(RC3, taller tires{at the time were 195/60/15's @ 44PSI} and a "home made" rear spoiler, lowered by .7" and NO use of A/C).
...
1.300 miles/ 24.3G = 53.5 ish not bad including the last 140 miles in town.

Click to expand...

The previous owner of my car upped the tires to from 195/60 to 195/65 (R14 still) which gives maybe an extra cm of diameter. Doesn't seem like much, but amounts to nearly an extra 4% adjustment that must be made when calculating mpg. (I calibrated it by recording 288.8 odometer miles against 300 mileposts on I-81 in VA)

I'm curious to know how big a tire has been put on a TDI? Bikeprof added a full inch from stock (did you do odometer or actual miles in your mpg calc?). While I'm happy with the nice 14" alloys that came with my car it seems like there's room to go even bigger if one wants to mess with 16" or larger wheels.

My bigger question to Bikeprof is "How fast (slow!) were you driving?" to get 53+ mpg.

I squeaked out 47.5mpg on a 2000 mile trip last fall on about 40psi tires. But just did another long trip and got a "dismal" 43 or so mpg . This was on winter fuel (and first known use of ULSD), but I was still hoping to see 45 or so. I had put in a healthy dose of PowerService too. Mostly interstate and I pinned the cruise stright up at 69-70mpg. The alignment guy said it was OK to bump the tires to 45psi so we did (and you sure notice the bumps a lot more!).

The fall trip averaged closer to 65mph, had more off-interstate driving, but mostly semi rural where you do 45-55 between towns and then some stop and go through towns. No real city driving though. No A/C either trip.

So I'm still looking for the elusive 50+mpg trip. But I suspect I won't get that until I can do a route that averages about 55mph.

That rear spoiler probably helped a little too. Can you post a picture of it? Does the RC3 give more economy or just extra power when you ask for it? Stock nozzles?

Mark

Mark:

My set up: Discount brand "Arizonian's" @ 38PSI(recomended 36PSI)., 24.8 ish diameter, same width of the original 196/60/14's but a little heavier.

1. The speed error on the ODO. is about +4.4MPH
(70=74.5ish)
2. The largest tire that we can put in tire well is 195/65/15 WITHOUT doing anything to the fender or lip, any taller/wider WILL rub.
(the fronts WILL rub, the rears have about 2" in space)
3. Rear spoiler WILL help throw the rear turbulence AWAY from the vehicle and not pull it back(vacuum) so much.
4. Speed was close to <62MPH but did have a slight tailwind most of the trip.
5. Aftermarket chip WILL help because the "elasticity" of the motor, will expand the torque range and can be driven at lower RPM's ,therefore NOT having to shift to any lower gears.
6. "Sling-shotting" to the empty space where the BIG rig was helps(make sure to check mirrors before this attempted)!

WHEN I "behave"... , I can see about 1MPG per 1MPH if below 55MPH.
55MPH = 55MPG ish(with some technical driving, of course... )

Borrow someones 195/65/15's, you will like them!

John

PS. I hope to post pictures...soon.

deezulmark said:

The previous owner of my car upped the tires to from 195/60 to 195/65 (R14 still) which gives maybe an extra cm of diameter. Doesn't seem like much, but amounts to nearly an extra 4% adjustment that must be made when calculating mpg. (I calibrated it by recording 288.8 odometer miles against 300 mileposts on I-81 in VA)

I'm curious to know how big a tire has been put on a TDI? Bikeprof added a full inch from stock (did you do odometer or actual miles in your mpg calc?). While I'm happy with the nice 14" alloys that came with my car it seems like there's room to go even bigger if one wants to mess with 16" or larger wheels.

My bigger question to Bikeprof is "How fast (slow!) were you driving?" to get 53+ mpg.

I squeaked out 47.5mpg on a 2000 mile trip last fall on about 40psi tires. But just did another long trip and got a "dismal" 43 or so mpg . This was on winter fuel (and first known use of ULSD), but I was still hoping to see 45 or so. I had put in a healthy dose of PowerService too. Mostly interstate and I pinned the cruise stright up at 69-70mpg. The alignment guy said it was OK to bump the tires to 45psi so we did (and you sure notice the bumps a lot more!).

The fall trip averaged closer to 65mph, had more off-interstate driving, but mostly semi rural where you do 45-55 between towns and then some stop and go through towns. No real city driving though. No A/C either trip.

So I'm still looking for the elusive 50+mpg trip. But I suspect I won't get that until I can do a route that averages about 55mph.

That rear spoiler probably helped a little too. Can you post a picture of it? Does the RC3 give more economy or just extra power when you ask for it? Stock nozzles?

Mark

Click to expand...

On my current 97 Passat TDI I've changed the factory steel wheels & tires to alloy wheels with 215/75R14s on the front 205/75R14s on the rear , added spring expanders to allow for more clearance in the wheel wells . The odo is off by -.15 of a mile , so I travel 1 mile for every .85 on the clock . The speedo is around 7 to 10 mph low .

I made & added an air dam to the front of the car to keep the air from under it @ higher freeway speeds in windy conditions on the plains . Without it the car was squirrelly @ 75 to 80 mph in windy conditions .

I've run the mechanical timing to a very early setting BTDC . With this setting I have to watch the EGTs & Boost . The boost spikes that can now happen under a quick switch from low load to high load can blow the head gasket if the cruise is left engaged on hilly terrain .

I normally average 52 to just under 60 mpg US running around town or on the coast of NC with every tank . I've hit just under 65 mpg US on 2 occasions during low speed city or low speed beach loops .

I made the fuel temp mod a few weeks ago after I learned of it after I replaced the pump temp resistor in a A4 . Since then I've averaged just under 60 mpg US , 59.7 mpg US on the last tank on LSD . I'm hoping for even higher mpgs in the future .

On the highway @ 65 to 85 mph I achieve around 50 mpg US consistently .

I keep close records of every tank from the first fill up 8 years ago to the last fill up a week ago .

Before I made the tire & timing mods 44 to 46 mpg US was what the car .

I plan on making the 5th gear mod sometime this summer so I'm hoping that will also help me increase my mpgs in all types of driving .


I also speed shift , only using the clutch to start the car moving . I have documented that using the clutch on every shift can cost a couple of mpgs , especially in city driving .

This is some pretty amazing stuff here. I'm pretty broke and can't afford a 96-97 TDI wagon at the moment but it's been on my shopping list since I started keeping track of this thread years ago. And yes, this thread is over 4 years old now!!!

I'm thinking next summer might be a good time to look. I've got financial aid checks coming for school in the spring and fall semesters and if I calculated everything right and take out the books and tuition, I should have $4500-$5000 left to buy a car. I would think I could find a well kept Passat TDI wagon for that.

Am I missing something here? I have had my '04 Jetta w/Tip for about 50 days and put 5,500 mi on it. I can't get it above 44 mpg and gut as bad as 37. I drive 99.5% interstate highway. It almost seems as though the MPG is better when I run it harder. Any ideas? Any mods that may help out? My commute only requires dropping to 4th to take an interchange cloverleaf type ramp and to slow for an Easy-Pass toll booth. I have asked around and most people tell me 50+ mpg, but I do think most were 5 spds.

04SlvrJetta said:

Am I missing something here? I have had my '04 Jetta w/Tip for about 50 days and put 5,500 mi on it. I can't get it above 44 mpg and gut as bad as 37. I drive 99.5% interstate highway. It almost seems as though the MPG is better when I run it harder. Any ideas? Any mods that may help out? My commute only requires dropping to 4th to take an interchange cloverleaf type ramp and to slow for an Easy-Pass toll booth. I have asked around and most people tell me 50+ mpg, but I do think most were 5 spds.

Click to expand...

Having a slush box & a PD engine you are doing quite well with the mpgs you are seeing .

With a 5 spd manual gear box a few more mpgs can be coaxed out of your TDI-PD but it is never going to see the mpgs of a non-PD TDI under any conditions .

I'm picking up on some things but I am cuious about some lingo I hear on the site. What do you mean by PD? Pumpe Duese? Is this different from prior versions or something? How about slush-box. What does that mean? Also, is there any mods that I can do to help economy only....I'm not worried about performance....I think it is quite good. I really notice the torque when I am commuting and get behind a truck and have to drop to 50 or so. I leave the TIP up in 5th and a little pedal effort gets me right back up to 70. And to my surprise, without really working the engine. I actually think I could use a 6th gear if they'd make them that way. Any thoughts on my comment about the harder I push it it seems I get better economy? Thanks!

No need to force the trans into a lower gear at lower speeds .

If a lower gear is needed the ECU will shift down . Low rpms range from 1,200-1,300 to 2,500-3,000 rpms are what this engine is designed to run .

So under most driving conditions the ECU will try to settle the rpms in the 1,300-1,500 rpm range most of the time once the engine is warmed up . Let it run there if it trys to as there is no need to manually shift down on these cars . If you need more power push down harder on the accelerator and the thing will shift down automatically when it's required .

PD TDI is the engine used from model year 04 & later due to stricter emissions . This design of engine just uses more fuel than the one it replaces .

Slushbox - an automatic trans with a torque converter , rpms are lost between shifts & until it locks up wasting fuel compared to a manual trans or a DSG trans .

If anything I am the opposite. I want it in the highest gear as quickly as it'll get there w/o lugging it. On the PD thing...it seems as though stricter emissions would result in better economy, not worse. I understand now what you mean by the slushbox thing, but on my commute in 1/4 of a mile I'm in 5th and I stay there until I take the exit for work, so my torq s/b locked the whole time. Maybe I'm not being reasonable in my expectations, but with such an easy drive I would anticipate taking it easy should get me closer to 50 while my best mileage has been when I've averaged in excess of 70mph. I have another post out there about my situation with an EGR cooler failure...any thoughts as to whether this may cause efficiency probs?

04SlvrJetta said:

it seems as though stricter emissions would result in better economy, not worse.

Click to expand...

A more powerful combustion process may be a 'dirtier' process than spreading that same fuel out over a longer injection period and allowing a more thorough combustion.
Same fuel use, but different emissions and different power production levels.
Simplistic reply, I realize, but fairly accurate and brief.

I have an early 1996 B4. I did the cluster conversion and it's great. The only problem is I can't find the port where the blue bodied oil sending unit needs to be moved so I can install my oil temperature sending unit. Can anyone tell me EXACTLY where the port is? Thanks.

Ah, the old "engine-orientation-description-with-a-transverse-layout" issue. Is that "back of engine" relative to engine or engine compartment? In this case, engine.

The port is on the back end of the cylinder head (i.e. the driver's side) between the half moon portion of the valve cover gasket and the coolant outlet housing for the heater hose.

Thanks for your feedback. I clarified it in the article. If that's the only thing that wasn't clear, I guess that's not too bad.

Thanks

Thanks Chris. This is a great addition to the car. Appreciate all the work you did so that the rest of us could benefit.

The 1996 1Z has the oil supply for the turbo tapped into the cam shaft oil gallery, right where the instructions above say to install the MFA's oil temp sender. On the 1996 1Z the 'spare' plugged port for the MFA temp sender is on the oil filter mount with the two pressure switches.

The 1997 1Z (and Jetta with its AHU) have the turbo oil supply tapped into the oil filter mount and the blue pressure switch located up on the cam oil gallery. The plug in the 'spare' port for the MFA oil temperature sender is still on the oil filter mount.

Actually, Jon, we're both wrong. The later '96 has the '97 layout as you describe it.

Now I need some confimation on the early '96 filter mount ports since I haven't seen one and have relied on other's apparently incorrect observations. Are both "front ports" occupied by the two pressure senders wwith the 3rd "rear port" (on the adaptor) plugged, or is the blue-bodied sender installed in the 3rd "rear" port with the passenger's side port plugged?

I've had three 1996 Passats, build dates from Dec. 95 to Jun. 96. June is about as late as the 96 went since my present Jul. 96 build date Passat is a 1997 model. All of those 1996 engines have had the two pressure switches in the forward oil filter mount ports and the center rear plugged with a M10 straight thread hex drive screw and copper crush washer.

OK, thanks for the port info. My one and only '96 wagon has a build date of 08/96 and has the later sender/feed pipe configuration. And, yes, its definitely a '96 according to VIN, CARB sticker and emissions equipment. I can't explain your '97 with a 07/96 build date unless GLXs were somehow different. I always thought the changeover month for VW MYs was typically 09/XX.

The article has been corrected.

Modifying the IQ value

Hey Chris,

How exactly do you calibrate the fuel injection pump Injection Quantity (IQ)? I have VAG-COM and an interface but without logging in which requires a code that I don't have, I don't see any way to change the value. Right now my MFA MPG readings are about 10 miles above actual.

Appreciate any info you can give me.

Jeff

Login code is 12233. There is a very limited range of electronic IQ adjustment on the early pumps. You will probably have to make a physical IQ adjustment. Search on "hammer mod".

Yeah, my 08/96 date B4V is also a 1996 model. Would there maybe be a an earlier changeover month for the sedans? Lugnut is your 07/96 1997 model a sedan?

Chris Bell said:

OK, thanks for the port info. My one and only '96 wagon has a build date of 08/96 and has the later sender/feed pipe configuration. And, yes, its definitely a '96 according to VIN, CARB sticker and emissions equipment. I can't explain your '97 with a 07/96 build date unless GLXs were somehow different. I always thought the changeover month for VW MYs was typically 09/XX.

The article has been corrected.

Click to expand...

It's a wagon with the build date / bumper and theft compliance sticker on the B pillar also indicating the 1997 model year "V" code, same as the dash v.i.n.
The VR6's rad and fan cover with federal or CARB certification was swapped out for the one from the TDI donor. I don't think I still have it to check.

I found the rad cover this weekend. It does have the 'meets carb standard for 1997 model year new light duty vehicles' or something to that effect. It didn't memorize it to quote.

The manual to my '05 passat gls sedan w/17's says the tank capacity is 16.4 gal (US). How much can I really put in there? I haven't performed a ventectomy yet, but it must take forever to fill up with all of the foaming, etc.

I have yet to break a 42.6mpg average for a full tank (699 mile total). 90% of my driving is on highway at 65-70miles per hour (hills though) - and am using hypermpg techniques. And I average ~750miles per week.

I know I'm late to this party, but I've only owned by B4V for five months now.

Anywho, I just achieved 1,442.5 miles (using 24.333 gallons) on my latest tank, my first time cracking 1,400 miles. That's 59.28 mpg.

No rocket science here; I simply used the KISS concept:

Fill her to the brim
Shift point of 2,250 rpm
Cruise control at 1,900 rpm/55 mph indicated (52 actual)
Coast in gear to stops starting about 1/3 mile out
No A/C

I have the ideal commute for this sort of thing: 62 miles each way on almost all flat ground (sea level to sea level) on rural roads where no one bugs me and I don't bug anyone. No scangauge, no pulse-n-glide, nothing exotic. Car is still bone stock. Tires are OEM size. GPS indicates 99.2 miles for 100 indicated on odometer, so GPS-corrected (x0.992) mileage is 1,431.0.

All hail the B4V!