Poor, poor Evil Beetle....

My abyssmal fuel economy is getting WORSE!

My last tankful before I fixed my vacuum leak problem was just over THIRTY mpg!

Now I'm up in the high 30s, but with warmer weather and #2 diesel I should be getting better than my winter mileage, not worse.

I'm scared to analyze my oil! All that fuel has to be going somewhere.

The weird part is that the car is running great, and other than a bit of a puff right off the line in 1st gear I'm not making any smoke. With the .205s in there, it was smoking like mad. Now the smoke is gone...but the mileage is WORSE, if anything!

It's very perplexing.

-mickey

I dunno if this will help or not, but saturday I thought your beetle smelled . . . well, it's not right to say "rich" is it? But the exhaust, even just at idle, smelled a lot different than mine. It smelled unburned to me. But that can't happen in a diesel can it?

Hehehe - it's probably your O2 sensor

Something is strange here, I am getting way better than that with 205 micron injectors. We normally get 42-45 mpg depending on in town or out of town, sometimes up to 50 though. The last couple of tanks on Amoco Premier 50 cetane were 50 mpg. I guess the fact that there are little to no uphill grades and always st sea level altitude has something to do with it....maybe the high salt in the air too?

BTW, cruising by the gas station this morning, unleaded regular is $1.42 and hi-test if $1.65, while the 50 Cetane is still only $1.27

The one thing I haven't done yet is to check the factory cam timing. I suppose it's possible that's out of spec.

I'm coming up on 30K on this motor, at which point I'll have 100K on the odo. I may just go ahead and drop in one of those newfangled Super Belts at that point, just to be on the safe side. At that point, I'll KNOW the cam is timed properly.

I've returned all of the adaptions that I fooled with via VAG-COM to stock, except the MAF. I've cranked the MAF reading up to the top of the "acceptable" scale, which is, no doubt, resulting in a little more overfuelling during takeoff. But certainly not during cruising. Interestingly, I never get a CEL due to disconnected EGR any more. Never. I did when I had the MAF adjusted back the other way, thought.

-mickey

No leaks, no fuel smell, and the oil level in the sump is staying constant.

I'll put the MAF back to the middle as you suggest, but it was still getting miserable mileage even before I started fooling with stuff. Something is definitely rotten in Denmark. In fact, the fuel milage has been bad ever since I got the new engine going back in August.

I'm really, REALLY hoping that my hybrid turbo isn't to blame. The compressor is a couple % less efficient than a GT-series, but I really don't think that could make such a huge difference.

I have, however, got my VNT cranked quite a bit. I think I'll back off a few turns. I may simply be introducing too much backpressure. But even THAT doesn't make sense...if there were more backpressure, there would be more BOOST...right?

I don't know. It's bugging me, though.

-mickey

isnt there someone else who is running a hybrid turbo who can confirm or rule out a correlation with the turbo?

Are you certain of your odometer and the pump where you buy your diesel?

When did you last change your fuel and air filters?

Honestly, how much faster are you driving? Any tickets recently?

Good luck - see it wasn't the 205s!

put the maf back to the middle for a while . . .

i doubt your timing is off even if it was it wouldn't account for that extreme . . . IF you got the cam puller just go through the Tbelt alignment 100%. It might not be enough just to check the CAM in relation to the crank. Check the pump as well.

you sure it is all going into the cylinders? and not out a fuel line somewhere?