tips for fuel economy

[94cobra2615]

You always go with DEPENDS and not bother with a personal urinal!

Too funny! Just change the diaper LOL

I fly small planes and use the urinals all the time. Not much u can do in the air with no restroom.

 

[CourierGuy]

Catheters are the way to go.

 

[scottydog]

Has anyone thought of partial fill-ups? Full tank of fuel weighs 140 lb. A half tank still gives you 400 mile range with 70# less av weight to carry down the road.

 

[2013 Golf TDI]

Has anyone thought of partial fill-ups? Full tank of fuel weighs 140 lb. A half tank still gives you 400 mile range with 70# less av weight to carry down the road.

Only 108 lbs for a Golf/Jetta/JSW sized tank. IMO, I think the options of having a more near full tank gives outweighs the mileage advantage of a 54 lbs weight decrease. Personal preference, but I buy gas every weekend regardless of how little I might have driven. I want my fleet to have recently been topped off when TSHs the F.

 

[codyayrton]

I guess I'll live on the edge and await my ambulance ride on the side of the interstate.

I may as well stop driving all together because I MIGHT have a wreck.

You may not survive to the ambulance ride if the clot travels to the lung. Pulmonary emboli are fairly frequent.

 

[94cobra2615]

Has anyone considered or installed total seal rings

Seems like they would be a nice upgrade and actually improve efficiency. I don't know if total seal even offers rings for the TDI.

 

[oilhammer]

Has anyone considered or installed total seal rings

Seems like they would be a nice upgrade and actually improve efficiency. I don't know if total seal even offers rings for the TDI.

I would bet the factory rings in the TDIs are already as good, if not better.

 

[brnsgrbr]

I should not reply to this without having any ducks in a row to back up this statement.

There are a couple of members that experimented with rings like these if I remember correctly. There were problems. At least one of them took them out. It was a sizing issue because they were custom requested. Where the buyer furnished the specs and either got it wrong or they just did not work in our motors right.

Some members take risks like this. Others wait and see.

 

[3turboz]

...
Timing: Both the VE TDI and the PD TDI are sensitive to timing. Just a few degrees can make a substantial difference. ......

Which setting favors MPG? My timing is "dead on" and when I log timing it tracks requested pretty well.

It seems to me that changing static timing will only impact dynamic timing if you get it out of the ECU's range of control.

 

[jpuracchio]

New TDI owner.....First fill-up

Hello, This is my first ever post on the TDIclub Forum. My wife and I just bought a 2009 Jetta TDI with 125.000 miles about 2 weeks ago. Of course the dealer was gracious enough to fill the tank for us upon delivery. Now with 220 miles on the speedometer, since our ownership, and just over half a tank remaining, I am thinking about a choice of diesel fuel. We have locally here in Mentor, Ohio. BP,Shell, Sunoco, and Speedway filling stations. My question is really what brands of diesel fuel would be best to use on a regular basis. We would be filling up just about every other month with regular round town driving. Any feedback would be most appreciated. I am really enjoying reading the wealth of information all of the members provide, Thanks!

 

[ezshift5]

......at 2000 miles west of you, I'd go with top tier (I think Shell qualifies here) from a high turnover station.

For example, I've been using a top tier Chevron station (which is high turnover as UP fuels their diesel vehicles - inclusinf Hi-Rail, et al) near the Roseville (CA) yard.

I share your view on this useful site. After 24,000 miles, the information herein is real bonus.

We all are concerned - at differing levels - about the HPFP issue. But VW - to their credit - seems to continue stepping up to the plate when this happens.

ez

 

[Tom Servo]

Hello, This is my first ever post on the TDIclub Forum. My wife and I just bought a 2009 Jetta TDI with 125.000 miles about 2 weeks ago. Of course the dealer was gracious enough to fill the tank for us upon delivery. Now with 220 miles on the speedometer, since our ownership, and just over half a tank remaining, I am thinking about a choice of diesel fuel. We have locally here in Mentor, Ohio. BP,Shell, Sunoco, and Speedway filling stations. My question is really what brands of diesel fuel would be best to use on a regular basis. We would be filling up just about every other month with regular round town driving. Any feedback would be most appreciated. I am really enjoying reading the wealth of information all of the members provide, Thanks!

Congrats on the new TDI! As crazy as it sounds, I actually remember my very first diesel fillup in my first Golf TDI. The dealer delivered the car to me on stone cold fumes. They apologized and said I could go fill it up at any nearby station and they'd immediately reimburse me for the hassle. So I drove around on E looking for diesel and didn't find any until I came across a Chevron hidden away on a back road. Turns out that's the station the dealer used to fill all their TDIs with, so I figured I did good.

The best tip is to actually try out your local stations and see which runs best for you. The quality can vary, in my experience, from area to area so sticking to one brand no matter what is not always a great idea. Just try to use stations that seem to do a decent turnover in diesel. The worst thing for any of these cars is old, moldy watery fuel.

In over 470,000 miles of TDI motoring, I've only encountered fuel so bad that I thought I'd done something horribly wrong, and that was within my first six months or year of ownership. I learned quick to stay away from ALL Texaco and Shell stations in the Birmingham area because their fuel was just the worst.

Having said that, I live on the Gulf Coast now and Shell is a really good fuel to pick down here if the price is right. The stations do good turnover and it doesn't smoke as much as Murphy USA or other discounted brands.

If you have a regional refiner that sells diesel it might be worth investigating, too. I always had the best luck running Scott Petroleum diesel (and later, B20 bio) in the Mississippi Delta. And Parade diesel in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama area always did good by me, too. Both locally refined products.

 

[meerschm]

https://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

just get what is cheap, within reason. if you would not use the bathroom, don't fill the car.

if you never had a diesel, get a box of disposable gloves, or what I do is reuse the plastic bags my newspaper comes in. Diesel does not evaporate as fast as gas does, so any spill on the nozzle will end up on your hand and other places. watch where you stand, and try not to track it into the car.

have fun

 

[meerschm]

Also learn what it smells like. kind of like a latex paint.

if you want to obsess, you can get some additives, but not really required.

 

[Diesel252]

Drive about 10 car lengths behind a tractor trailer anywhere from 68 to 63 mph highway. My highest achieved mpg over a 60 mile trip was 68.4mpg going 65mph I recently got 65.2mpg going 64mph in the slow lane of course! This was done on a Malone eco tuned Jetta tdi 2013

 

[X'dsabers]

I bought a '96 B4S with only 127K miles on it. I regularly upshift at 3000+rpm and drive near or above 2000rpm. I filled it for only the third time a couple of weeks ago. Put in 17.1 gallons and had driven just shy of 800 miles, for a combined mpg of 43.5mpg. I have to plan a lengthy freeway trip to get an idea of maximum mileage.

 

[joseph siambi mugeni]

hi i have skoda octavia 1.9 tdi ahf engine now in the morning engine power is ok for a few miles then the vehicle looses power. what could be the problem faulty thermostat

 

[Dieselmad]

Could be faulty maf sensor over boost problem or dirty diesel filter.

 

[scooperhsd]

For the CR engined DSG people -
This is after ONE tank of trying this, so YMMV -

My wife usually drives the '15 Golf (with DSG) to work. Only problem is - her commute is not exactly prime for these cars (8-10 miles max each way). Last tank (typical for her) MPG was about 34.88 MPG. The tank we just filled - I had her try to remember to use "S" mode instead of D for her daily driving - INCREASE of 1.5 MPG. I asked her to do this on the theory that getting on the turbo more would help her MPG - and it appears to have worked (at least for this tank).

As stated - YMMV with this - I'd be interested in other people's results, either way.

 

[2015vwgolfdiesel]

My personal best MPG so far

Using only what the info on the dash is telling me........
Not a real fill-up.
57.2 MPG on one drive over to Mom's house. And that was 80% highway and 20% city
I drive slow, and mostly do not use the CRUZ.
Getting really ridiculous readings on city deriving in the area of 35-43 MPG
Ask me if I want the "FIX."
Very few miles on my 2015 Golf S

 

[2015vwgolfdiesel]

Good thinking

Has anyone thought of partial fill-ups? Full tank of fuel weighs 140 lb. A half tank still gives you 400 mile range with 70# less av weight to carry down the road.

Respectfully,
I read somewhere where this idea was analyzed inside and out. THEY concluded it was only a very small improvement.
IMHO driving a little slower (highway), and in the city, not following the car in front of you too closely. In city driving I love it when the other guy "trips" the stop light, and I just float throgh at 10-15 MPH. te-he
I too am very interested in getting my MAX MPG on my 2015 Golf w/ auto trans

 

[John_Nutt]

I have just started really trying to get the best mpg out of my tdi as I can. I am 150km into my most recent fill up and the digital gauge (I hate digital gauges) hasn't changed yet. Normally it would have dropped about 40 km ago.
I really like hard fast acceleration, worst mpg I ever got was 24 us mpg, I average 32 us mpg, and the best I ever got was 45 us mpg. The best was all highway and the worst was all city short trips. This tank is looking like it will be in the high 30's and that's mostly city.
P.S. I gave it a real good Italian tune.

 

[saganian1]

When all of you talk about MPG, do you rely on the onboard computer reading or manual calculations?

 

[TonyJetta]

When all of you talk about MPG, do you rely on the onboard computer reading or manual calculations?

Manual is the only accurate way to measure fuel economy.

In several vehicles I've owned or rented, they have all been off by 2-8mpg. On my 2015 TDI, it ranges. Last weekend, I took a 200 mile round trip. The morning leg was almost all gentle downhill. The 2015 TDI indicated 58mpg. The return trip was slightly uphill, it indicated 48mpg. When I filled up, hand calc was 42.6mpg. When I say slight uphill/downhill, it was <1% grade.

Tony

 

[bubbagumpshrimp]

When all of you talk about MPG, do you rely on the onboard computer reading or manual calculations?

With my commute (the same 110+ miles/day) it's pretty much right on, as it analyzes the same exact trip for weeks straight. During varied driving though (highway one tank, mixed the next, highway the next, etc.), it is barely in the ballpark.

That being said, if you want a consistent reading, you need to hand calculate it. Even though my computer is pretty much right on, given the consistency of my driving these days, I don't rely on it for MPG tracking purposes.

 

[John_Nutt]

Hand calculated is the only way to get accurate answers. Also there is a different in uk mpg and us mpg. For example my personal best was 5.2 l/100km or 45.2 us mpg or 54.3 uk mpg. A gallon in The U.K. Or Canada is 4.55 litres and a gallon in the USA is 3.8 litres.

 

[2015vwgolfdiesel]

Using only what the info on the dash is telling me........
Not a real fill-up.
57.2 MPG on one drive over to Mom's house. And that was 80% highway and 20% city
I drive slow, and mostly do not use the CRUZ.
Getting really ridiculous readings on city deriving in the area of 35-43 MPG
Very few miles on my 2015 Golf S

Last trip to Mom's house did better this time.

60.1 MPG ~`~` 200 miles ~`~` 90% highway

Drove 10-20 MPH higher than the MINIMUM ~`~` mostly on cruz.

Cost of driving one (1) mile = 2.76 cents on this short trip.

All figures are from dash computer

 

[2015vwgolfdiesel]

does "driving the car too easy' mean driving in 5th gear in city driving? I just got 407 miles per tank this last time, and noticed thats the most ive gotten lately (I did just change the timing belt)....

One diesel mechanic told me its good to drive the TDI's above 2000 rpm always.....driving it under, wont give you good mpg.......

is that true?

My car is a 2015 Golf S with 6 speed auto.
Different cars different situations.

IMHO better MPG will be in a lower RPM (CITY-ROAD) situation(s).
At least that is the way it is for me.

Generally, I am hammering my car for the best MPG I can get.

But I do take it out once in a while to goose it a little.
25-35 miles with up and down city-highway speeds. 50 MPH to 75 MPH

Best to date 90% road = 60.1 MPG ~`~` 200 miles

Good luck to you

 

[TDIFan1989]

I've gradually gotten better fuel economy with my Mk4 2000 Jetta and found out a lot of great info as to why it was not getting what I expected from it. Prior to owning this one, my other ride was a Mk3 Jetta TDI which got close to 55 USMPG During the first few weeks of owning my Mk4, I noticed a fuel economy of 37 USMPG with lots of smoke coming out the back.

After an air intake cleaning, removal of a faulty waste gate actuator and a leaky hose, my MPG went up to 42mpg.

With the addition of a K&N filter, I noticed an increase to 45mpg.

I also decided to go with Royal Purple motor oil during the summer months that improved economy to 48mpg.

Be cautious on how much oil is in your engine though. Less is more within reason. If you go and put even 1/2 a quart more over what you need, you lose mpgs like crazy. I recommend that you place 4 liters or less for a Mk4.

Also, take some time to clean your MAF sensor with aerosol cleaner every once in a while.

I've been on manual the whole time owning TDIs and I would highly recommend them as you have full control of the gears and what not. There is all schools of thinking about when to shift and not. I do recommend that you keep the revs up if you are under load such as going up a hill. The turbo only really kicks in at 1500 rpms to provide decent power. I can also take the car into neutral if I'm going down a long hill and there are a few of those I run into once in a while.

 

[BCtdiPassat]

Having been a sales rep for over 30 years and driven mostly diesel cars. I can see that some of the numbers being put out are impossible to achieve.

I have driven in the UK and North America and have tested over many thousands of miles and kept very accurate records.

My first tip is, that if you have cruise control it will always drive your car more economically than you can. No matter how carefully I have driven, I have not been able to beat cruise control. According to my records, cruise control will beat you by approximately 10% on a long run.

Also, the only way to accurately record your actual mpg, is to completely brim your tank, record your miles covered, then completely brim your tank again and then do the numbers.

Those who live in NA, will know it is hard to do because of the cut-off nozzles. But it can be done if you take your time. If you do your numbers based on when the pump cuts off you will not get accurate numbers, as the cut off varies from pump to pump.

I would suggest it is impossible to get 60 mpg out of any diesel car on a 3.8 liter US gallon and not many would make it on a 4.54 liter imperial gallon.