Real World MPG with DSG

[VeeDubTDI]

The sweet spot is around 60 - 65 mph. Anything lower than that and your revs are too low for the engine to be in its peak efficiency in 6th gear.

Welcome to the MPG challenge!

 

[TomB]

TomB, go to your Fuelly account Dashboard. Click on this small icon:

Copy the text in the BBCode box and paste in a post or your signature.

Thanks! Got it!

 

[TomB]

You bet it is. 10 MPH increase in average speed over a 1000 mile drive saves about 3 hours. That can make the difference between getting somewhere in a day or stopping overnight.

Yeah, but this does not apply to most of my driving, like my commute to work.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

It does, in a way. If you have a 65 mile round trip commute, for example (what mine used to be) going 65 will save you a little less than an hour a week over going 55, if I did the math right (always a good question with me doing math). That's not nothing.

When I traveled by air all the time I almost never checked luggage for a similar reason. If you're waiting 15-20 minutes on average for a bag at the claim 3 or 4 times a week, that time adds up. If it's once or twice a year, no big deal.

 

[kjclow]

So that begs the question of the TDI experts: What's the "sweet spot" of speed vs MPG? I'm assuming that somewhere under 55-60mph there's a point of diminishing return.

The sweet spot is typically at the top of the torque curve. Not sure where that's at for the CR engines, but for my 2000 beetle, that was between 1900 and 2000 rpm in fifth gear. That translated to around 58 mph. In ten years of ownership, the only tank I ran like that returned just over 56 mpg on mostly two lanes roads. Don't remember how many miles I pushed it but that was before I knew about venting and not a lot of miles on the car, probably around 30K.

 

[Paulsfin]

45mpg passat tdi se. On my 6th tank 2800 miles. DSG. My mpgs are getting better and I'm getting better at burping my tank.

 

[AstroEng]

Filled up yesterday: 33.8 MPG (calculated) in 100% city driving. 2-6 cold starts a day, temps mostly in the 60s and 70s.

The weather has warmed up a bit in the last month (yes, filling up once a month or so is awesome) and the MPGs have been steadily climbing. I can't wait to see how the summer blend does. When I stopped to fill up, we were averaging 40 MPG for the commute home (city streets) according to the dash.

 

[Team TDI]

Sweet spot & peak torque curve

The sweet spot is typically at the top of the torque curve. Not sure where that's at for the CR engines

I think I read somewhere that the Passat TDI torque curve (with DSG) peaks around 2000-2100rpm which should be 65-70mph, at least on my TDI SE. I assume that other models with a different wheel size may be slightly different.

 

[craigpaul2000]

niiice

2012 Passat TDI SEL Premium with DSG.....First tank of fuel was about 80% highway. I keep it at 70mph. Scored 40.8 mpg fillup to fillup. The MFD said 42mpg so maybe VW is getting more realistic with their MFD readings? Either way, 40.8mpg on the very first tank. Very excited. peace.

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

I filled up yesterday on my way back from the golf course. I had 392.3 miles and it took 8.8 gallons for 44.57 mpg.

We will be leaving tomorrow for Mississippi and taking the Passat on its first road trip. It will be interesting to see what the MPG is. It will be my wife and I, our 2 small dogs, clothes, golf clubs, dog crate, etc.

 

[HeliTec]

Creeping up on 16K miles the rings are taking a seat and the MPG are increasing to over 45MPG cruising at 74MPH.

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

On our trip to Mississippi yesterday we racked up 546 miles. The car took 12.4 gallons for a MPG of 44.03. That's not to bad considering almost half of the trip I was doing the speed limit of 75 MPH, the car was loaded with vacation stuff including one set of golf clubs and we were into a head wind most of the way.

 

[APT]

Tending downward despite warmer weather as I use more boost.

Miles: 623.0
Gallons: 17.40
MPG: 35.8
Price: $3.959

 

[Niner]

Tending downward despite warmer weather as I use more boost.

Miles: 623.0
Gallons: 17.40
MPG: 35.8
Price: $3.959

Wish diesel was priced like that around here... 4.299 a gallon at almost all locations.

Are you happy with those numbers?

 

[APT]

Yes. It's a joy to drive.

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

I filled up last Sunday before our return trip home from Mississippi. We spent the week just driving around the area. I was very surprised with the numbers. 369.4 miles and it took 8.73 gallons for 42.31 MPG.

We left Mississippi yesterday morning at 0700 and got home at 1500. I have a meeting today in Dallas and I have plenty of fuel to get there and back so I won't fill up until this afternoon.

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

I just filled up after the return drive from Mississippi and my 145 mile round trip to Dallas for a meeting. In total I logged 672 miles. The car took 14.4 gallons for a average of 46.66 MPG. I'm very happy with those numbers because yesterday we were running 72 to 77 MPH for the bulk of the 535 mile long trip.

 

[darrelld]

I just filled up after the return drive from Mississippi and my 145 mile round trip to Dallas for a meeting. In total I logged 672 miles. The car took 14.4 gallons for a average of 46.66 MPG. I'm very happy with those numbers because yesterday we were running 72 to 77 MPH for the bulk of the 535 mile long trip.

Where do you usually buy your diesel?

 

[RoadRunnerTR21]

I live on the SW corner of Cedar Creek lake so I buy my fuel from either Shell or Brookshires in Seven Points, TX. The Brookshires has a high turn over on their diesel so the quality is good.

 

[VTGlockster]

I have a 100 mile round trip commute of which 54 miles is Interstate. When I first started commuting I was driving a Taurus which was rated 20 City/26 Highway.

I decided to do a test. For two weeks I drove at 75 MPH and recorded the MPG and time spent on the Interstate portion of the drive. I followed the same procedure for 70, 65, 60 and 55 MPH.

I got the best fuel mileage driving 55 at 31 MPG. However, I decided the best speed to travel was 60 because the speed difference between me and the prevailing traffic flow felt the safest.

The time difference between traveling 60 vs. 75 was only 7 minutes but I gained 6 MPG and felt a lot less stress since I didn't have to deal with people blocking the passing lane anymore. I just set the cruise at 60 and stayed in the right hand lane and relaxed.

I've been doing this for 10 years now and I don't have any regrets.

This morning I convinced myself that I would not exceed 70mph and would not use the cruise control.
Usually I drive 75-85 with a mix of cruise and "hand-flying" depending on traffic.
My average commute is approx 20 miles of 2 & 4-lane secondary roads and about 50 miles of limited access toll (PA Turnpike) road.
At the end of my turnpike stretch my trip MPG was 52.1. Usually I see numbers in the 43-45 mpg range. Trip time was no more than an additional 5 minutes. Average speed was 2-3 mph less than normal.

My conclusion is that the extra 10-15mph gains you very little in time saved. Maybe it would make a big difference on a longer cross-country trip. The end result was a nearly identical commute time & avg. speed and approx 7-8 mpg more.

I'll be filling up and trying to run a whole tank at near-speed limit speeds to see if I can average close to 50mpg.
BTW, my 2012 Passat TDI SE DSG is just over a month old with slightly over 5000 miles on the clock. I'm hoping to do better in the coming months after an oil change and break-in is complete.
Thanks,
Adam

 

[KS_Jetta]

So I waded through all 14 pages of this post. I have a casual observation. Most (not all) the lower economy posts indicate an SEL vs an SE. As an old tire builder I wonder how much difference is caused by 18" wheels compared to any difference caused by the DSG.

 

[tdiatlast]

The 45 aspect ratio tires probably do add rolling resistance...

 

[Ace Deprave]

I just filled up for the first time, and got 37 (according to fuelly) with about a 50/50 split between city and highway. MFD read 38, much more accurate than my old Mazdaspeed3, which was usually off (optimistic) by 3-5 mpg.

 

[big_ole_truck]

Bought the car (2012 Passat TDI SE DSG) last Saturday, had 70 miles on the odometer on Sunday as I headed to Atlanta (300 mile journey). Incredible mileage so early...heavy rains for some of the trip, and some wind for the 1st half of the trip...MFI showed 45.3 mpg.

This DSG ride is incredible. My previous ride (2010 VW Jetta TDI 6MT) never broke above 42 mpg until after 2k miles. This new ride is better for fuel economy, bigger and more comfortable than the old ride. Incredible!

Say what you will about the manual transmission but I'm not missing it one bit. I'm hoping the fuel economy continues to improve with the DSG. For the last 20k miles with the Jetta, I was getting consistent range of 45-48 mpg at 75 mph. I'm hoping the new ride will better it.

 

[Blown284]

According to fuelly I'm averaging approx 41mpg. On the trip that I just took (from Pasadena, Md to Winston, NC it showed approx 49mpg) that's going anywhere from 65-75mph with the a/c on. Can't beat that. Car has approx 3k miles on it right now.

 

[Ace Deprave]

Filled up my second tank on Thursday, and got 39.7, according to fuelly. That was about 30% city, and 70% highway.

 

[big_ole_truck]

On my trip home from Atlanta, 300 miles, the computer was telling me the fuel economy was 48.3 mpg. And only 750 miles on the odometer.

I'm sure the fuel economy will take a hit when those loud Hankook tires are taken off and Michelins are put on.

 

[Niner]

On my trip home from Atlanta, 300 miles, the computer was telling me the fuel economy was 48.3 mpg. And only 750 miles on the odometer.

I'm sure the fuel economy will take a hit when those loud Hankook tires are taken off and Michelins are put on.

Fill up the tank, and let us know what your MPG was with the pencil and paper method.

 

[ncutt]

Just picked up my new passat tdi automatic yesterday...the salesman explained one reason it gets good mileage is when stopped like at a stop light, the transmission goes into neutral and then kicks back into gear when the foot is taken off the brake and that also explains the slight hesitation?

 

[Niner]

Just picked up my new passat tdi automatic yesterday...the salesman explained one reason it gets good mileage is when stopped like at a stop light, the transmission goes into neutral and then kicks back into gear when the foot is taken off the brake and that also explains the slight hesitation?

It's just the nature of the beast. It has two real clutches in it, not a torque converter, so it's not really an automatic transmission, it's two 3 speed manual gear boxes paired up with 2 manual clutches controlled by oil pressure via rpms and a brain to engage the clutches and do the shifting. One gear box has gears reverse, 1, 3, and 5 to it, and the other gear box has gears 2, 4, and 6 to it. They are paired together, the gearboxes hence the term Dual S Gearbox. Also explains why if it dies out of warranty, you get to replace 2 gearboxes instead of 1, at about $7000 I believe.