Got my first 700 mile tank!

[StaceyS]

Got my first 700 mile tank! (Maybe not...)

99% long distance driving. 760 miles, with 10 miles remaining in the MFI. Didn't really plan to hit this, wouldn't say I hypermiled it, and didn't plan to run the tank that empty.
Filled up in Reno, NV. Drove to Bend, OR on Monday. Today drove from Bend to The Dalles and back. Bit of city driving in Reno, Bend and The Dalles, but the rest on the highways. Not really flat, 60-65 mph, with some burst to, well faster speeds to pass...
Tank economy calculated (by hand) at 52.5 mpg. Pumped 14.465 in, attendant topped off to $59 even, so I probably could have gotten a bit more in if I had pumped it myself (which I haven't tried yet in "Full service Oregon").
Woo hoo! THATs why I bought this car!

 

[Polak]

I haven't seen 500 miles yet. I do lots of city driving and have less than 2000 miles on the ODO

 

[Philpug]

99% long distance driving. 760 miles, with 10 miles remaining in the MFI. Didn't really plan to hit this, wouldn't say I hypermiled it, and didn't plan to run the tank that empty.
Filled up in Reno, NV. Drove to Bend, OR on Monday. Today drove from Bend to The Dalles and back. Bit of city driving in Reno, Bend and The Dalles, but the rest on the highways. Not really flat, 60-65 mph, with some burst to, well faster speeds to pass...
Tank economy calculated (by hand) at 52.5 mpg. Pumped 14.465 in, attendant topped off to $59 even, so I probably could have gotten a bit more in if I had pumped it myself (which I haven't tried yet in "Full service Oregon").
Woo hoo! THATs why I bought this car!

And you didn't even stop and say Hi.

 

[Biffster]

I'm ecstatic when I hit 38 MPG (calculated), but that only happens when I'm really trying. Normal driving (60/40 HWY/CITY) nets me around 35 MPG. With cruise control on, doing ~75 MPH all-highway, I average about 36 MPG -- even on long highway-only cruises.

My car couldn't get 50 MPG coasting downhill at 30 MPH for eternity.

 

[RomanL]

congrats, my best so far is 639.9 , looks like i have work to do

 

[PureDope]

I'm ecstatic when I hit 38 MPG (calculated), but that only happens when I'm really trying. Normal driving (60/40 HWY/CITY) nets me around 35 MPG. With cruise control on, doing ~75 MPH all-highway, I average about 36 MPG -- even on long highway-only cruises.

My car couldn't get 50 MPG coasting downhill at 30 MPH for eternity.

Go 55-65 and you'll easily hit 600 miles.

 

[StaceyS]

Biggest thing that helped on this tank was that it was no interstate driving. NV and CA have 65 mph speed limits on the highways, OR is a 55 mph speed limit. I notice that my car will hover in the upper 30s, lower 40s when I'm going 75 or so, but around 55-65, the mileage definitely improves.

I had to calc this one by hand twice because I really didn't expect to hit this. Now I'm wondering if my odometer is off. I'm going to verify it to make sure. The car has factory Porto wheels with the factory tires on it, so the speedo/odo should be accurate.

 

[Biffster]

Go 55-65 and you'll easily hit 600 miles.

I'd be shot... or I would shoot myself. Either way, your advice eventuates in my untimely death.

 

[dvandentop]

I'd be shot... or I would shoot myself. Either way, your advice eventuates in my untimely death.

LOL yeah i had to drive about 250 miles of boring iowa 55mph 2 lanes today and averaged about 44mpg i was stressed out cause of it!

 

[StaceyS]

I'm starting to doubt this.

I set up route we drove in Google Maps (more or less), and I'm coming up with about 690 miles. My odometer between fills gives me 760 miles. I've got 70 miles that I can't account for.

Which means my odo/speedo could be off. I'm going to verify with a GPS unit and see.

If the true mileage was 690, I'm still impressed. That gives me 47.7 mpg for the tank. Lower economy numbers, I don't really like, but I would prefer the car to read accurate. Plus, if my odo is off by over 10%, that means the car's actual mileage is also 10% too high. Instead of the 6988 miles its reading, it should actually read 6289. Guess its better to be reading over than under. Makes the service intervals safer!

I think if I hypermiled the whole tank, I could probably break 700 easily. I don't think I can actually hypermile a whole tank though.

 

[GraniteRooster]

Id be really surprised if your odo/mfd was off by more than 1-2%. It seems most all members report very good similarity between MFD and actual. My car has been so good historically, I've stopped doing the numbers by hand. 10% off seems really unlikely unless you changed to smaller tires???

Maybe you missed 70mi somewhere reviewing? Maybe you DID get 52+mpg/tank!!

 

[Brianjed_TDi]

I average 36-37mpg around town. When I drove from Savannah to Milwaukee back in June, we average 42mpg cruising at 75mph with one tank making just over 600 miles. I am satisfy with that.

 

[Brian's96TDIPASSAT]

I"m at about 80% highway, normal cruise at about 75 and I'm always anywhere from 610 to 660 or so. We're taking a road trip to South Carolina in 2 weeks and we're traveling with another family and my wife dosen't like speed so it'll be interesting on how much I can stretch a tank then.

 

[nhdoc]

...Plus, if my odo is off by over 10%, that means the car's actual mileage is also 10% too high. Instead of the 6988 miles its reading, it should actually read 6289. Guess its better to be reading over than under. Makes the service intervals safer!

If your ODO is off by 10% your factory warranty is also over 10% sooner, and that, to me would be reason enough to get it fixed and have them honor it for an extra 10% of whatever it read when it was fixed. Checking it should be easy enough, just drive 10 miles per the GPS and see what your trip odometer reads...I am betting it is perfectly accurate unless you did something silly like put much smaller tires on the car than the stock size.

 

[StaceyS]

Stock tires and wheels. 17" Portos for summer. 16" Biolines for winter. Same tire circumference.

I'll check it with the GPS this coming week.

 

[1analguy]

My car is an '11 Golf 2-door 6-speed with 11,000 miles on it. The car is completely stock except for the wheels/tires. It has 205/65-15 Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 LRR summer touring tires on MSW Type 15s (15x6). I keep the fronts at 38psi and the rears at 28psi. I just returned from a 630-mile round trip at 95 degrees with the AC blasting nearly full the whole time. The cruise was set at 65mph. Load was about 450lbs. Brim-to-brim fill ups (BP) with corrected odometer values yielded 56.3mpg! A brimming tank probably has close to 15 gallons in it, so that means that it should theoretically have been capable of well over 800 miles, though I've never actually gone more than 670 miles without filling it up...

 

[amycyclenut]

Dang, my best mileage is around 38mpg on the HW. Can't deny that's not pretty great, but I want better than this d*mnit.

 

[StaceyS]

Ok. Just did a roundtrip between Bend, OR and Portland, OR. Turned the GPS on, got a signal and a location, then reset the trip odometer. Going up, the gps lost its signal going over Santiam Pass (lots of trees, mountains), and recorded a total distance of 182.95 miles, with the car's Odometer recording 180.9. (The GPS also recorded a max speed of 153 mph!) Obvious error there.

Coming back, the GPS never lost its signal. The Odometer read 155.1, the GPS read 154.46. (started recording at a different place, came back a different route) This suggests the odometer is off by .4%, which is not something I'd complain about. You'd get this amount of variation between old tires and new...

So, it looks like my 760 mile tank is correct. 52.4 mpg.

Just filled up from this trip, got 35 mpg. Can't win it all!

 

[geektoad]

Nice! I just got my best tank to date on my last fill-up: 676 miles, 46.9 MPG. This was entirely over my regular commute, which is 45 miles each way, about 65% highway, 35% stop lights on a state road. I run about 65-70MPH on the highway. I could totally see getting well into the 700s with a mostly highway tank.

Good job!

 

[Biffster]

Nice! I just got my best tank to date on my last fill-up: 676 miles, 46.9 MPG. This was entirely over my regular commute, which is 45 miles each way, about 65% highway, 35% stop lights on a state road. I run about 65-70MPH on the highway. I could totally see getting well into the 700s with a mostly highway tank.

Good job!

How is that possible?!

I have *exactly* the same car, drive 60-70% flat highway at ~70 MPH. Whether I use cruise control or not, I can't get more than 35-38 MPG. I'm a big stickler for steady speeds (I hate being in a car with someone who fluctuates wildly).

My car sucks.

 

[StaceyS]

~70 MPH.

When I drive steady at 70 mph, I get about 38-40 mpg.

Going to Portland yesterday, I averaged 50 mpg, mostly because I was stuck behind aggravating drivers who friggin insist on driving 5-10 mph UNDER the speed limit! (which on Oregon highways is only 55 mph) When presented with a situation like this, I sit there and fume and groan and drive as if my brake are broken. Lots of coasting, lots of looking ahead, not tailgating. If you have to use your brakes in traffic like this, you spent fuel to go too fast.

I swear, that has been the most frustrating thing I have experienced since living in Oregon. People drive under the speed limit when you can't pass, and then when there's a passing lane, its like friggin nascar, and you gotta go 80+ just to pass these morons who suddenly remembered where their accelerator pedals are! GRRR!
(But I get great mileage when trapped behind them... )

 

[KITEWAGON]

How is that possible?!
I have *exactly* the same car, drive 60-70% flat highway at ~70 MPH. Whether I use cruise control or not, I can't get more than 35-38 MPG. I'm a big stickler for steady speeds (I hate being in a car with someone who fluctuates wildly).
My car sucks.

DSG or manual? That could result in the difference because the DSG's don't perform as well on the highway because of the gearing based on what I've read on this forum.

 

[Seacoaster]

I have had my jaw for two months, 6500+ miles. My car is rock steady at 40 mpg. 70 highway, 30percent in town. Initially I had to drive 60-65, as she breaks in I find I am traveling close to 70 and still getting 40mpg. I notice ac is a big hit on my mileage and the best mfi results come from long drives at 50 mph on state routes. I am still holding out for a 600 mile tank. I am guessing it will happen in September when the temps moderate. Congrats on your 700!

 

[geektoad]

How is that possible?!
I have *exactly* the same car, drive 60-70% flat highway at ~70 MPH. Whether I use cruise control or not, I can't get more than 35-38 MPG. I'm a big stickler for steady speeds (I hate being in a car with someone who fluctuates wildly).
My car sucks.

One thing that might have something to do with it is that my highway commute miles are in the Boston metro area. There's always a LOT of traffic on the road, so i end up in long lines of vehicles doing that speed. Some unintentional drafting effect? (just from the line of traffic, I don't follow close enough to be drafting the car in front of me)

The other thing I will say is that I try to stay closer to 65 than 70. If you look at my fuelly, you'll see a jump from about 42MPG to about 46MPG in late June. That was me consciously slowing down from 75-80 on the highway during my commute to 65-70. Above 60, speed kills MPG, there's no doubt about it.

Slowing down isn't for everyone, but i've found my commute much less stressful running at 65ish in the middle lane, over when i used to be keeping up with the mad rush in the left lane.

Also, I'm at 28k miles right now. not sure where you're at mileage-wise.

 

[geektoad]

I have had my jaw for two months, 6500+ miles. My car is rock steady at 40 mpg. 70 highway, 30percent in town. Initially I had to drive 60-65, as she breaks in I find I am traveling close to 70 and still getting 40mpg. I notice ac is a big hit on my mileage and the best mfi results come from long drives at 50 mph on state routes. I am still holding out for a 600 mile tank. I am guessing it will happen in September when the temps moderate. Congrats on your 700!

Actually, diesels tend to be more efficient in warmer weather. That along with winter blend diesel will be a hit on mileage going into fall and winter. I bet you'll see higher mileage next spring/summer though, with more miles on the clock.

 

[StaceyS]

Another hypermiling tip I try to use is riding the white line. Studded tires are legal here and they really chew up the road. With the 17" portos and original Conti's, the road noise transmitted through the car is pretty loud when you're driving in the ruts made by studded tires. If you drive with the passenger side wheels on the white line, the drivers wheels are in the center of the lane. The road noise is much less, and it even feels smoother, like less effort is needed.

For accel, I enjoy good throttle and find that I skip a gear here or there on my way to 6th (usually 5th). I'm also throwing gears all the time, dropping down to use compression and the fuel cut-off, keeping the revs as low as possible when just maintaining speed, but then downshifting to get the revs up and use that turbo when accelerating, and not being afraid to skip gears.

I GOTTA get that short shift kit!

Trapped behind someone going 50 mph I'll be churning along in 6th gear, feather touch on the accelerator. Any slight increase in slope or speed and I'll drop to 5th. If an opportunity to pass comes up, I'll go from 6th down to 3rd, stomp it and chase the tach around, up to 4th and then back to 6th as I merge back into my lane, hitting 75-80, then letting it coast itself back to 60ish. I really like using that fuel cut-off feature!

Currently rebuilding a 1973 Volvo 1800ES. I'm going to put on a Megasquirt fuel injection system on it, and fuel cut-off is part of that system. Can't wait, as the car got about 26 mpg on its original Bosch fuel injection on a good day.

 

[Biffster]

I just tried some gentle "hypermiling" in mostly-highway driving and got 38 MPG (calculated) on my last tank.

I keep trying, thinking things are somehow, miraculously going to get better, but they never do. I think that if I can get 45 MPG then the excruciating task of driving it like a Prius will be worthwhile, but to do it and get only 38 MPG is even more infuriating.

Nope, I'm going back to Stig-Mode. Screw fuel economy. If I can get 30+ MPG and drive it normally, then I'll be happy -- especially since I won't have to eyeball the damn MFD all the time!

That alone is worth 10 MPG

 

[mntbighker]

DSG or manual? That could result in the difference because the DSG's don't perform as well on the highway because of the gearing based on what I've read on this forum.

Yeah, my DSG gets crap mileage and it DOES appear to be the final drive ratio. If I drive 60 the mileage changes massively. I decided last weekend that I will sell this car at the first sensible opportunity and go back to manual unless VW does something with DSG. This TDI gets the worst mileage BY FAR of any I have owned. Not exactly progress if you ask me. The dealer says there is nothing they can do and it seems they are correct. I like the car for the most part but a TDI is supposed to be a high mileage vehicle.

 

[okashira]

Yeah, my DSG gets crap mileage and it DOES appear to be the final drive ratio. If I drive 60 the mileage changes massively. I decided last weekend that I will sell this car at the first sensible opportunity and go back to manual unless VW does something with DSG. This TDI gets the worst mileage BY FAR of any I have owned. Not exactly progress if you ask me. The dealer says there is nothing they can do and it seems they are correct. I like the car for the most part but a TDI is supposed to be a high mileage vehicle.

I also find find VW's selection of gear ratios for the DSG to be frustrating. I haven't purchased a car yet, but I wanted the DSG. If anything, the DSG should have even taller ratios as it can downshift / shift so quickly & easily if in need of extra power for passing. As a mechanical engineer, I don't buy the torque argument. I think VW chose the ratios to make it "sportier" so it would match/beat the 6MT in top gear freeway acceleration tests, etc. But that is silly given how easy a downshift is with the DSG.

 

[jacksonvilleTDI]

38.5

Im at 1500 miles and driving it harder.
i drive between 80-90mph and get 38.5 mpg calculated...
Half of the tank i had 3 people in the car with avg weight of 170lb.
Stock everything.
Just passed 500miles on 13gal... I see it going up so i must be doing something wrong...
I do use the cruise control but every once in a while i take it of and "stretch its legs" going to 100mph and back to 70.
First tank was 36mpg then 38 and now 38.5 with 4 people...
I had a scion tc come up to me and i was racing him to about 110mph with 4 people in the car and was keeping up...
The other morning i was drafting at 65mph keeping a 3 car distance from a semi and averaged 55mpg over 22miles commute to work
LOVE MY TDI