Real World MPG - 6 speed Manual

[APT]

The break-in strategy that Niner mentioned is for the differential gears to mesh. Not sure what the Passats OM says, but my Suburban does say 500 no towing, then easy towing (not hard acceleration) for first 500 towing miles. Given the length of your trip and 500 miles on odometer, should be okay.

700 miles towing might be tough towing And, you'll not want to push it in the UP with your family. Sometimes long distances between fuel stations. I recommend topping off near Flint which seems to have generally lower fuel prices. You'll be able to judge by the time you OH how your running FE is and how far you can make it.

When are you traveling? I'm heading up I75 tomorrow, but I'll be happy with 9MPG towing an RV with the Burb. At least it's only about 170 miles.

 

[Knarrly Viking]

The boat is fairly streamline, sailboat, and the top of the boat is below the roofline of the car. I figured last night that I'm not even going to be loaded to half the gross vehicle capacity and half the rated towing capacities.

I did read about the first 600 miles and 1000 mile break in periods. I've been taking it easy the first 500, I'll be driving slower for the next 100, then gradually pick up the pace over the next 500. In general, freeway miles are easier on a car than city, and I'm not going to be loaded near capacity, therefore, I think the break in period will be completed without any engine problems in the future.

I will have my wife's camera with me, but knowing us, we won't likely take that many pictures, or they will mostly be of my son. I will get a picture of the towing rig, though, for sure.

 

[tdiatlast]

I agree with you...freeway miles are easier, in general...unless you're towing a big cube.
Sounds to me like you've got it all worked out. Have a nice trip, "event-free" trip, and...well...hope we don't hear from you for a while.
I'm with you and your wife on the photo bit. Sadly, all our memories are in our heads and hearts, and they're not very easy to share that way!

 

[Niner]

The boat is fairly streamline, sailboat, and the top of the boat is below the roofline of the car. I figured last night that I'm not even going to be loaded to half the gross vehicle capacity and half the rated towing capacities.

I did read about the first 600 miles and 1000 mile break in periods. I've been taking it easy the first 500, I'll be driving slower for the next 100, then gradually pick up the pace over the next 500. In general, freeway miles are easier on a car than city, and I'm not going to be loaded near capacity, therefore, I think the break in period will be completed without any engine problems in the future.

I will have my wife's camera with me, but knowing us, we won't likely take that many pictures, or they will mostly be of my son. I will get a picture of the towing rig, though, for sure.

Tis when the top of your trailer is below the rear deck lid of the trunk that the towing resistance drops a bit. Roof line is not representative of good aerodynamics in trailering with a car. Not only is it weight, it's wind resistance also.

Have a great, safe trip, and post up what you got for MPG when you get back. My mtn bike hitch rack weighs maybe 15 lbs, the bike weighs 32, and I get pinched 3 to 5 MPG with it, all the time. Without a trailer, the Passat is very very clean aerodynamically, mess it up, and it will eat fuel.

 

[gergg]

Since the warmer weather down here(March) I've been getting tank averages around 49-51 mpg's consistently....that has been hand calculated, which in my case is always very close to the MFD. I've noticed that the AC(which I run on my afternoon commute) does lower my mpg's by a fair amount.... 2-4 mpg's.

 

[Niner]

Since the warmer weather down here(March) I've been getting tank averages around 49-51 mpg's consistently....that has been hand calculated, which in my case is always very close to the MFD. I've noticed that the AC(which I run on my afternoon commute) does lower my mpg's by a fair amount.... 2-4 mpg's.

What temp do you run on the clingontronic and how many lights lit up on the fan?

 

[gergg]

What temp do you run on the clingontronic and how many lights lit up on the fan?

Clingontronic...about right..lol

I start off on full blast, never turn the temp from low(coldest), and gradually drop the fan speed down to 1 or 2 lights depending on the outside temp. Worth the loss of mpg's not to sweat.

 

[Knarrly Viking]

Tis when the top of your trailer is below the rear deck lid of the trunk that the towing resistance drops a bit. Roof line is not representative of good aerodynamics in trailering with a car. Not only is it weight, it's wind resistance also.

Actually, the deck is a bit lower than I said. And I designed the boat to be streamlined, so there's not much air drag. The small tires is what gives me the rolling resistance.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Nice setup. Happy towing!

 

[Niner]

Damn that looks nice! Happy sailing, too! You'll be doing good if you get 42 mpg, 40 is my best guess if you keep it at 65 MPH on the flats. You have Mobile Fuelly bookmarked yet on your smart phone with an account opened? It's free.

 

[Knarrly Viking]

43.33mpg by pen-n-paper from bowie, md to toledo, oh. We were showing 50mpg on the MFI at Frederick, MD. The hills didn't kill it much, but the traffic on non-toll roads sure did. Stopped near Flint, MI. MFI is telling me I should be able to get 780miles on this tank. I'm stoked!

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Pen and paper was 43.33 and the MFI was 50? That's a pretty big discrepancy and I would question whether or not you got the tank full on the fill-up before your trip.

 

[Knarrly Viking]

Pen and paper was 43.33 and the MFI was 50? That's a pretty big discrepancy and I would question whether or not you got the tank full on the fill-up before your trip.

No, MFI for the tank was around 46.9. The next tank, which was almost 700 miles, was 43.1 by PNP, MFI 46.3. So, my MFI is high by about 3mpg.

But then my indicated speed is 2mph slower than gps. So, that may be messing with the actual miles traveled per gallon.

Can't wait to see what I get without pulling the boat. Although, I'll be able to do more than 55-60mph, so I'm not expecting a huge jump in fuel efficiency, because I'll be doing closer to 70-75mph.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Speaking of indicated speed vs. GPS speed, ours has been almost dead-on for the past few days.

Still need to get GPS distance vs. indicated distance.

 

[domano 68]

3rd tank on the manual-53mpg. Mostly highway with pretty easy driving.

I haven't really tried yet to see how high I can get that number. I am sure I can beat it since many of the trips during this tank were in the mid 60s.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Killer mileage, domano!

 

[Niner]

3rd tank on the manual-53mpg. Mostly highway with pretty easy driving.

I haven't really tried yet to see how high I can get that number. I am sure I can beat it since many of the trips during this tank were in the mid 60s.

Yup, not surprised at all with the speeds you've been traveling. You're quite the fuel sipper, aren't ya? Good job on making the 6 man Se look respectable in the MPG dept.

 

[gergg]

3rd tank on the manual-53mpg. Mostly highway with pretty easy driving.

I haven't really tried yet to see how high I can get that number. I am sure I can beat it since many of the trips during this tank were in the mid 60s

Hey Domano, looks like you have 2 Passat's... 6M & DSG....what are you seeing as the mpg differences between the two?

Yeah, you can get better than 53mpg's on the highway with the 6M, at least I have in mine on the roads I travel.

 

[r11]

+1, north of 50 mpg is easy as long as you stay under 75 mph. And as we all know, she likes it hot, 80F+ really helps mileage.

 

[gergg]

+1, north of 50 mpg is easy as long as you stay under 75 mph. And as we all know, she likes it hot, 80F+ really helps mileage

Yeah, really noticed the mpg's crazy high with the summer heat, mid to upper 50 mpg's is easy on the highway if I keep it 65-70mph. Was hoping it might be party due to breaking in the engine, but I'm sure it has to be due to high air temps.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Interesting about the hot weather. Jason and I are taking a road trip up to Michigan tomorrow and it's supposed to be good and hot. I'll report back - in the DSG thread.

 

[Niner]

Interesting about the hot weather. Jason and I are taking a road trip up to Michigan tomorrow and it's supposed to be good and hot. I'll report back - in the DSG thread.

If you make 50 MPG pencil and paper for the whole tank, over 600 miles on a fillup, in your 2012 DSG passat, I'll buy ya a good microbrew at TDIFest at that watering hole Matt was talking about, as a reward. No sweat, right?

 

[gergg]

If you make 50 MPG pencil and paper for the whole tank, over 600 miles on a fillup, in your 2012 DSG passat, I'll buy ya a good microbrew at TDIFest at that watering hole Matt was talking about, as a reward. No sweat, right?

Hey Niner, I'll take your bet....minus the DSG part

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Don't tempt me... I'm gonna end up like BRUSSELS BELGIAN going 55 down the interstate with the 4-ways on!

Might have to sweeten the deal, though.

 

[sanjaun2]

First tank, 45.9 mpg. Thats 25 % city. mostly hwy 65-70mph and some breakin driving. Pretty happy so far. Raised the tire pressure to 40psi tonight. Bought Michelin Primacy tires on day two.

 

[Knarrly Viking]

road trip mileage

Okay, so I just got back from our trip out to the midwest and back.

Starting Odometer: 465 miles
Ending Odometer: 3771 miles
Tire Pressure: 44psi all around on Hankooks

Trip Tanks
Miles Gallons MPG MFI Speeds Notes
Tank 1: 516.4 11.918 43.3 46.9 55-60 pulling 500lb trailer
Tank 2: 670.2 15.523 43.2 46.6 55-60 pulling 500lb trailer B5
Tank 3: 799.3 16.207 49.3 49.8 60-65 55 miles to zero
Tank 4: 853.7 16.987 50.3 53.8 70-75 35 miles to zero

I think the MFI was actually fairly accurate the last tank, I'm just not that accurate at getting the same amount of fuel in the tank every time. I'm still not getting more than 17 gallons in the tank, but I'm not willing to go down to zero, 800+ miles on a tank is plenty.

 

[TDI-BZ]

I am almost 100 miles a day. 6 miles on surface streets, 94 miles on the freeways. I am averaging 46+ and that is in some stop and go and before the motor has been broken in.

Trying to get a trip from Seattle to Wherever 1 tank of Diesel will tank me into Montana set up in August. I want to see if I can go 900 miles on a single tank.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

How about you incorporate said trip into this year's TDIFest in Michigan?

http://www.tdifest.com

 

[TDI-BZ]

How about you incorporate said trip into this year's TDIFest in Michigan?

http://www.tdifest.com

That might be a stretch...... taking 2 days off in a row is tough in my business.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Call it a work-related trip and bring us some goodies!