901.4 Miles With 1 Tank

2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
18.186 Gallons
49.57 MPG
No AC
Windows up
Fresh air vent open
2-Cycle oil @ 1:128
Front grill with opened air holes in front of air intake
Removed snow screen
Modified airbox
New air filter
Fresh oil change
Vented
RC2
Lowered 1.2"
Rear lip spoiler
No drafting (sorry Jackie Stewart)
44 PSIG all around. New stock size Conti Pros on 15" wheels
Boost Gauge
48 - 65 F
Rained from DesPlaines IL to Asheville NC
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
That's very impressive and may be a new NAmerican B5.5 record! Congrats.

Did you run out of fuel? Or did you trust the gage's accuracy?
 

BRUSSELS BELGIAN

Old Whig
Joined
May 26, 1999
Location
Aston,Pa. USA
TDI
1997 Passat TDI
Challenge Accepted!

In the spirit of good natured competition, I think that mid-June, when the school year ends, will require an attempt on my part to break this record!:eek:
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
And the gauntlet has been dropped, Ladies and Germs!!
 

2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
I was so psyched to do a max tank run and finally got the chance to do so. Too bad most of the run was in the rain. I got on I90 and sure enough, it was reduced to one lane. Right out of the gates it was 25 minutes in bumper to bumper. That was the only traffic I ran into. After 574.8 miles, the fuel gauge read exactly ½ tank, but the computer indicted 470 miles remaining. The first 812.5 miles took me 15 hours to get to my destination with 1 biology stop. I drove back and forth to work for 2 days, but on the third day I was losing it, so I drove around until I hit the 900-mile mark, and then looked for a fuel station. I calculate 0.306 of a gallon in the tank, assuming the tank is 70 liters.

The following picture is what it looked like as I was entering the 800-mile mark, which was originally my goal. I had to slow down so I could take the picture without running off the road. I heard too many rumble strips that day.









BB - Here are some gates you can use on your June attempt. Your comment in another thread about using taller tires should allow you to break this with no problems. I wish you luck.

Ernst
 
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leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
Wow that is EXCELLENT! Best I have ever done on a tank is 46.12mpg on my 2005 Passat (stone cold stock). On my trip I did it with much of my speed being 62-65mph (or so on my trip to Niagra Falls)!
 

2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
505.01
I have no way to access the influence of RC2, since I did not study that variable while controlling all the other variables. I only mention the RC2, since it is something that was altered from stock.
 

2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
Average speed was 812.5 miles /15 hours = 54.2 MPH. I took a hit with the bumper to bumper. If the rain was not dropping in sheets, the cruise control was set to 60+- MPH. From time to time, the rate at which the trucks grew in my rear view made me step up the pace on the downward slope of hills.
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
2004PassatTDI said:
505.01
I have no way to access the influence of RC2, since I did not study that variable while controlling all the other variables. I only mention the RC2, since it is something that was altered from stock.
Well, if you are looking for one more thing to try to eke out a few more miles, I suggest 507.00
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2008
Location
NW Pa
TDI
2004 Passat GLS TDI, 2005 Golf TDI
Ok....couple of newbie questions here....

What is RC2?

2 cycle oil?

And...by fresh air vent open....? I wondered why there ALWAYS seems to be air coming outta my vents....even with the fan on 0...

Thanks!!
 

BRUSSELS BELGIAN

Old Whig
Joined
May 26, 1999
Location
Aston,Pa. USA
TDI
1997 Passat TDI
Info

The RC2 is the second stage of a Rocketchip tune. Both my Passats are RC2. I have NEVER lost any fuel economy at this level of chip tuning. Yes, if you aim the vents at you, and are moving, you can turn the fan off. That was my strategy when I drove my B4 Passat ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT MILES without refueling:eek: Also, no casettes or CD's allowed, only listen to the radio: you don't want the additional "load" of the casette or CD's motor to hurt fuel economy!:eek: :eek:
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
sleepystevenson said:
And...by fresh air vent open....? I wondered why there ALWAYS seems to be air coming outta my vents....even with the fan on 0...

Thanks!!
You can kill the air coming out of the vents when the fan is off by turning on the recirc button.
 

05PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2004
Location
Calgary, Alberta
TDI
05 Passat GLS Wagon Stonehenge Gray
WOW! Truely amazing. I vote for the 1.2" lowering of the car as the major contributor. 2nd may be the good driving technique (ie. hypermiling-like)
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
I'd bet that keeping the cruise set to 60 mph for hours on end is the most significant factor here.
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
tditom said:
I'd bet that keeping the cruise set to 60 mph for hours on end is the most significant factor here.
I second this. This car will get great mpgs when driven relgiously at 60mph on non-hilly roads really can get high MPGs.
 
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2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
"
WOW! Truely amazing. I vote for the 1.2" lowering of the car as the major contributor. 2nd may be the good driving technique (ie. hypermiling-like)"

I agree....that and a large bladder. I have no data, but I think the rear lip spoiler also helps. I looked at the shape of the hybrids rear profile and noticed they all had a bit of lip to them, so I added one to the car. It also sexed it up a bit.



 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
Well, I've done the cruise control at 60 thing (well, 62 to be precise = 100 km/h) and best I got was 44 mpg and 756 miles (vented). Must be the lowering and the removing of all parasite loads. Did you also disable DRLs?

One other factor would be the direction of the trip. For example a trip from, say, Calgary to Toronto would be net downhill with prevailing winds on the arse. Makes a HUGE difference. Even around here, there's a drive I do regularly (every Sunday). It is a 50 mile round-trip. There is a 400 ft elevation differential and I always get notably better fuel efficiency on the downhill trip.
 

2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
"Did you also disable DRLs?"

They were not disabled. I had to have the head lights on for a long time because of the rain and night time driving. Wipers were on for about 12 hours.
O'Hara airport is about 587 feet above sea level. Rock Hill airport is about 667 feet above sea level, so a net up hill of 80 feet. Although, I would think going up and down the Appalacian Mountains had a bigger negative impact than the net 80 feet.

My ground crew told me that the storms were moving in a north east direction.
 
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PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I think another factor might be your 15" wheels vs. my 16", and I have not run 44 psi pressure in my Passat yet (though I did run 51 psi in my late Jetta wagon once! Rock hard ride, but man, could I make a tank last...)
 

Smokerr

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Location
Alaska
TDI
Passat Wagon GL,2005,Silver
dieseldorf said:
And the gauntlet has been dropped, Ladies and Germs!!
I raise the white flag, take my hat off to the record holder, genuflect.

All hail to the Mileage champ. Who was that masked man?

There is no way I can match that up here (though I may think and scheme on it.).

Maybe a trip to Skagway would do it. Hmmmmm. Lets see, that’s 750 miles one way, use my friends car while we are there, have them tow us to the top of that pesky pass just out of town to avoid that mileage hit and…………..
 

TheGrove

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
S Central PA (Breezewood)
TDI
2012 Passat SEL Premium Opera Red - Dieselgate Fix, KermaTDI Tune, 2004 Passat GLS Northern Green-RIP
Smokerr said:
Maybe a trip to Skagway would do it. Hmmmmm. Lets see, that’s 750 miles one way, use my friends car while we are there, have them tow us to the top of that pesky pass just out of town to avoid that mileage hit and…………..
Yeah that "hill", ok mountain, outside of Skagway would be a milage killer! We were there last May and took the White Pass train up and that is a long grade. Gorgeous gorgeous country!
 

sleze

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Location
Philadelphia, PA
TDI
Passat Wagon, 2005, Shadow Blue - DECEASED
Alas, I will probably never get this kind of mileage. The airflow is better on sedans and I have 17" wheels.

I take my hat off to you, sir.
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
I don't think I could have the patience to drive under all those restrictions for a mileage test. I myself am extremely happy when I get a 44mpg tank. Most of the time I get 40.
 

2004PassatTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2004
Location
NW Burb of Chicago
TDI
2004 Passat Sedan, 2016 E250 Sport
Thank you everyone. It was really a struggle to maintain patience, but when I saw the average MPGs start to climb and how the fuel cost was going to be so low, I just hung on.

I ordered the “Zender” rear lip spoiler from a place on the west coast, but threw out the order information…sorry. I did see some on ebay at a lower cost than what I paid. The glue that was supplied with the spoiler had past its shelf life by 3 years and was rock hard. A chemist at work told me to use Silicone RTV, which worked very well. Just make sure you use some tape to hold it in place for 12 hours. The RTV gets stiffer and stiffer for about a week.

I would like my next mod to be a larger CAT with a 2.5” straight SS pipe to the rear. I was impressed with the nice sound that I heard from the TDIs at the recent Janesville GTG, which had the muffler and resonator removed.

Has anyone cut slits in the driver’s side fender liner to increase airflow thru the intercooler? Comments…..

Ernst
 
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