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

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
That's very impressive. I could never drive that slowly. However, it's still amazing when I go 400+ miles before the gauge moves, even driving at 75-80 on the highway. My son did around town trips in the car for six weeks before needing fuel.
 

deezulmark

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2006
Location
Elizabethton, TN
TDI
96 Passat Wagon
Welcome to the party!

Maybe a little late to the party, but we're always glad to have more help keeping it going!

Yup, gotta love 'em. Have had mine 2 years this month and driven it 30K. Have done several 1000+ mile tanks.

Just drove it (with all 4 of us and all our luggage) from north-east TN to central PA (500 mi). Stuffed it full in Bristol (right on the TN/VA state line) on the way out. Drove all the way there and around the area all week. Probably could have made it at least halfway back, but there was a good fuel price in Carlisle, PA, so filled there. Didn't vent for for the extra 6 gal, as fuel prices have been coming down. Drove all the way back and the wife's has done a full week of the normal running around and it STILL has 5 gal left!

The old girl's about due for an oil change here at 240K (I do every 5000 mi). She needed half a quart before the trip and that was the first add since the last change. Can't complain about that either!

Now if only I could get the tall 5th gear so I can do 1900 rpm at 65 or so!
 

tasdrouille

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Location
Quebec
TDI
2000 A4
I have 2 trip to do totaling 900 miles over the next 2 weekends. I'm gonna try to do it with a single A3 unvented tank. Back roads only, planned speed is 47 mph. I just want to break the 3L/100km mark so bad.
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
tasdrouille, 3L/100km? Best of luck. THAT is a 'holy grail' that I made just once (2.8l/100km in the 2003 Tour de Sol), but that was a long time ago in a car I no longer have. I believe the A3 will have less difficulty reaching that than the B4, mainly due to less frontal area, less weight to move, and lower rolling resistance drum brakes in the rear.
deezulmark, tell someone you change your oil after 5 fill-ups and watch their expression. I used to change by B4's timing belt each year, too.
 

tasdrouille

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Location
Quebec
TDI
2000 A4
I did it, I just broke 3L/100 km. I did 2.94L/100 km, that's 79.9 MPG.

I filled after a 615 miles trip on which I purposely avoided highways. Average speed for the tank was 40 mph as per scangauge. 16 hours of country road driving.
 

09tdiman

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2008
Location
pittsburgh pa
TDI
none but getting a 09 soon (i relly want a 06 though!)
Chris Bell said:
Impossible? Not with a Passat wagon.

If you look at the trip odometer reading, it doesn't look very impressive...but the MFA trip computer reading on the left tells the whole story.



1407 miles (2265 km.)
24.19 gal. (91.57 l.)
58.2 MPG

I took a 1000 mile business trip and thought I would try to better my previous records for mileage and cruise distance (49.5 MPG, 1206 miles). I upped tire pressure to 44 PSI, chose a route that I thought would be the flattest (turns out it wasn't the best choice), and slowed down a bit. The results, according to my MFA, were so encouraging that it made a perfect excuse to take another 300 mile trip (thinking that would be as far as the car could go...wrong!).

Since I had a useable 1/2 gallon left at the end, I think that once I install my Upsolute chip and larger diameter tires, and choose a flatter route, I should be able to go 1500 miles (though I'm in no hurry to do this any time soon).

The Passat wagons can't compete with the 5-speed A4s (nor some of the Passat sedans on the Forum) in terms of real world MPG, but their big tanks have certain advantages. I think I have really earned my "Fahrfrumpumpen" sticker!

[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: Chris Bell ]
whys it say unledaded fuel only if it a tdi?
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
For the same reason as why it has a glow plug light if its a VR6. Its a hybrid cluster...a VR6 cluster modified for use in a TDI. That's an old photo...it now looks like this.
 
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Diesel Fumes

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Location
Creston, bc
TDI
2003 alh tdi 5 speed
I read the whole thread, but how come Chris you haven't said how fast you were going? I can break 52MPG(US) in my 98 Jetta if I drive 90-95ish km/h, but this is on winter diesel. Im going to try this again in summer for a 1 tank range.
 

Tarbe

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2002
Location
USA
TDI
Touareg and Sportwagon Sold to VW
Chris Bell said:
For the same reason as why it has a glow plug light if its a VR6. Its a hybrid cluster...a VR6 cluster modified for use in a TDI. That's an old photo...it now looks like this.

Chris

Your driving range is only exceeded by your patience!

I wonder how many times you have had to explain the cluster? :D

Man-o-man, I'd love to have a 25 gallon tank on my JSW!
 

mackconsult

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2009
Location
Vancouver, WA, USA
TDI
95 TDI Passat Wagon
I don't know ......

My 2005 2500 sprinter van with 2.7 liter mercedes diesel and 26 gallon tank, along with a 36 gallon veggie oil tank. Hoping that with with a 25 MPG average that I should be able to get 1550 miles before "refueling". Of course this is a two tank system, and I am planning on carrying extra 15 gallon veggie tanks in the back of the van. On my roadtrips I have the goal of never having to stop at a gas station, except to Pee of course :D

dieseldorf said:
Chris, that's cool! Certainly worthy of a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.

I don't think too many other cars can do that let alone half that range!!

Tom
 
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T_D_I_POWER

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Location
Savannah. GA. USA - Toronto. ON. CANADA
TDI
'04 VW PASSAT GLS TDI '06 Audi A4 q Avant 6-Spd Sport Pkg
Chris,

I don't mean to offend you, but this is far from the truth. The 1400 miles distance trip shown on your MFA reading is the MFA2, which is the total distance traveled. What that means, is that the MFA2 reading adds up all combined city and hwy trips up to 10,000 miles then it zeroes again after 10,000 miles have been reached. This also adds up all the times the vehicle is in motion in hours, minutes etc. So, what you need to do is to switch the MFA selector to MFA1 then you will see a BIG difference in the total distance travelled per tank. Trust me it won't be 1400 miles. The MFA1 resets itself to zero after the vehicle is not in motion for 1 hour.
Where the MFA2 doesn't.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
No offense taken, TDI Power, but you forgot that both MFA 1 & MFA 2 are manually resettable to zero at any time. Oh, and auto reset interval for MFA 1 is 2 hours, not 1 hour. But you get points for not accepting everything on faith. ;)
 
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Blue_Hen_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Location
Slower, DE
TDI
owned: 96 B4V, 06 Golf, 12 NMS, 15 GSW
It's amazing that this thread is almost eight years old and people that have no clue about B4Vs continue to post misinformed comments. I admire your restraint over and over Chris.

Trust us, these cars really do have a 25+ gallon tank and you really can get the 56+ mpg necessary to go 1,400+ miles. Don't be hatin'! :p
 

T_D_I_POWER

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Location
Savannah. GA. USA - Toronto. ON. CANADA
TDI
'04 VW PASSAT GLS TDI '06 Audi A4 q Avant 6-Spd Sport Pkg
If you just simply installed the MFA and got 1400 miles per tank, why didn't VW install this as factory equipment to all B4 TDIs. Why did VW/Audi even bother making the 3L Lupo & A2 TDI.
And at what speed did you say again? I know this is the question other TDIers have been asking and you have avoided to answer.
 

Blue_Hen_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Location
Slower, DE
TDI
owned: 96 B4V, 06 Golf, 12 NMS, 15 GSW
T_D_I_POWER said:
If you just simply installed the MFA and got 1400 miles per tank, why didn't VW install this as factory equipment to all B4 TDIs. Why did VW/Audi even bother making the 3L Lupo & A2 TDI.
And at what speed did you say again? I know this is the question other TDIers have been asking and you have avoided to answer.
He states his speed in post #2. I guess you didn't get too far into the thread!:p

Many others have stated their speed as well. If you go back a couple pages and read about my 1440+ mile tank, you'll see where I stated I did 55mph indicated (ie. the speed limit).

I'm confident that if someone had the time and patience, a 1,600 mile tank would be possible in a B4V. Hell, I did 1,440 just going back and forth to work. Imagine what could be done on a road trip!
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
T_D_I_POWER said:
If you just simply installed the MFA and got 1400 miles per tank, why didn't VW install this as factory equipment to all B4 TDIs. Why did VW/Audi even bother making the 3L Lupo & A2 TDI.
Say what? I think you forgot to add a smiley face...or is that really your argument?

And at what speed did you say again? I know this is the question other TDIers have been asking and you have avoided to answer.
This was years ago, but IIRC, I set the CC at 58 mph (on a calibrated speedo).

1400 miles is so yesterday's news. Several people have surpassed that mark since.

The only question remaining is how is it that you, as a mechanical designer who drives a B4 GLX with standard MFA, didn't know that MFA trip modes are manually resettable? Have you never used the MFA or is the reset broken or what?
 
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Blue_Hen_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Location
Slower, DE
TDI
owned: 96 B4V, 06 Golf, 12 NMS, 15 GSW
jamespickett said:
03 jetta TDI wagon 5sp... 43MPG... its time for my intake cleaning :(
How fast do you drive and have you had the car long enough to have discerned that mileage has decreased over time due to the intake? The right foot mod usually makes the greatest mpg gain of all.;)
 

VentoDriver

New member
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
Location
Quebec, Canada
TDI
99 Jetta Mk3
Hi

Hey! Just to say that I read all this thread from the beginning and say congrats to all of you!
I've got a long way to go to get all that mileage, best I've done is 880km hehe The gas pedal is still a on/off switch for me:eek: haha someday I'll calm down and get some real diesel figures! But I'm not ready to slow down yet, still love the torque and economy I get from my TDI!
Cheers
 

Rune J

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Location
Norway
TDI
Touran 2,0 TDI 140 (BMM)/170(BMN)
Hello from Norway!

You all write your fuel usage,but you don't write weight on your car or engine size.
Was it empty with driver only or filled up to maximum weight?
I have a 2005 Touran 2,0TDI (140hp) w/DSG and my record is 810miles/15,85gallons/48,46MPH.The weight on that car was 2150kg with me and my tools inside.
Average is 777miles/15,85gallons/48,46MPH.(If increase my gallons to 25,then I got 1225miles compared to your Passat).
I am not that impressed about it.
My company car is a 2009 Touran 2,0TDI (170hp) w/DSG and my average is 703miles/15,85gallons/48,46MPH.(The cars weight is 2150kg.).
I know it is the same values,but it is because the 2005 Touran is my former company car and I am driving the same distances with the 2009 Touran.
In both cases I did not do anything to save fuel.Mainly cruise control driving and overtaking slower vehicles (pedal to the metal,since we have twisty and rollercoaster roads in Norway).
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
Rune J said:
I have a 2005 Touran 2,0TDI (140hp) w/DSG and
my record is 810miles/15,85gallons/48,46MPH.
Average is 777miles/15,85gallons/48,46MPH.
My company car is a 2009 Touran 2,0TDI (170hp) w/DSG and
my average is 703miles/15,85gallons/48,46MPH.
:confused:
OK, so the 60 liter fuel tank capacity in those Touran work out to..... Surprise! 15.85 gallons (us).
Did you use the published fuel tank specifications as a basis for your consumption estimates, instead of how much fuel was added to re-fill the tank?
If so, then the 1400 miles on the B4 platform Passat should be considered the same way: on published fuel tank capacity of 18.5 gallons (70 liters).
1400 miles/18.5 gallons.

I haven't a clue what your "48.46MPH" represents.
 

jim martin

New member
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Location
castle valley, utah
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
1400 mi.

I got 71.1 mpg for 38380mi. with my 2000 Jetti TDI driving like a bat out of hell over mountain passes on the interstate highway system mostly in Colorado and Utah. Advancing the timing was the only alteration to a fully stock 125 hp. TDI. Most of my driving was in excess of 90 mph. I had the timing belt replaced and my car was re-set to factory specs dropping the mpg to 56...have not had the time to re-advance the timing..some trial and error involved.
 

Super T

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Location
Alberta, Canada
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
So your stock ALH came with 35 more HP then mine? And it gets 71 MPG? And your doing trial and error to advance timing? Really.......?
 
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