320touring gets an eco-car at last! VW GOLF 1.9 TD- The Golf 4L??

[HypermilerAX]

Cool. Here, when they realized people bought oil for fueling their car, the prices rose up from 0,80€/l a few years ago to 1,60€ today. Diesel cost 1,35€ right now.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by HypermilerAX

Cool. Here, when they realized people bought oil for fueling their car, the prices rose up from 0,80€/l a few years ago to 1,60€ today. Diesel cost 1,35€ right now.

Yeah similar happened here, but there's usually "bulk buy" options that can be reasonable value

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Sunflower oil is at the same price of Diesel fuel in Argentina, altough in Brazil even soybean oil is at least 50% more expensive than Diesel fuel for the final customer, altough can be bought way cheaper for commercial and industrial usage. I've seen farmers using pure soybean oil in their machinery, using their own fuel dispensers and getting the veg oil for BR$0.50 each liter instead of paying almost BR$2.00 for Diesel.

[320touring]

2nd tank in today...

621.3 miles, 49.06L of fuel= 57.57imp mpg

Also, managed to make a grillblock for the car today- certainly helps with keeping the temp more constant! Also easy to remove if the temp rises

Here's some pics to show how I did it for under £3.00:

£0.79 worth of Pipe lagging and some scissors:




The bare grill (badge was already missing!)


Detail of the slats- where I'm going to slot in the pipe lagging


First piece cut and trial fitted



2nd/3rd/4th/5th pieces fitted






£1.00 can of primer


£1.00 can of Black Paint


The finished article

[AndrzejM]

Nice job! Painted it looks OEM.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by AndrzejM

Nice job! Painted it looks OEM.

we'll see how it holds up!

On another note, the 10L of veg in this tank seem to have made it smoother to drive

[AndrzejM]

I'm using 2-takt motor oil as a fuel additive in Berta because my injection pump's gaskets doesn't like veg oil.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by AndrzejM

I'm using 2-takt motor oil as a fuel additive in Berta because my injection pump's gaskets doesn't like veg oil.

There's a lot to be said for simplicity when it comes to diesels, I think.. rather than the new hi tech ones.

I'm happy to report that the Golf now appears smoother on the 2 main grades i glide on

additionally, the larger % of veg oil seems to be making her smoother and more capable at 60mph+ (i was late for work!)

[320touring]

Bad news...

The grill block is having the paint flake off

Good news..

I've decided on the "Ultimate goal" of this car..

The golf 4L

Aiming for 70 imp MPG (58 US MPG)

its more than 25% larger than a Lupo, so that should be fun. Last tank was 4.91L, so still a way to go..

so what do we reckon? achievable?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by 320touring

I've decided on the "Ultimate goal" of this car..

The golf 4L

Aiming for 70 imp MPG (58 US MPG)

its more than 25% larger than a Lupo, so that should be fun. Last tank was 4.91L, so still a way to go..

so what do we reckon? achievable?

It's time to plan the weight-saving and eventually aero mods

I'd consider to get some custom-made fiberglass body panels such as rear hatch (possibly already incorporating a built-in spoiler), engine hood and front fenders (taking that retractible antenna away, so if you'd still want a radio you could get an internal windscreen-mounted one like I'm considering to do with my dad's Subaru), smaller and more streamlined rearview mirrors out of some sports motorcycle, single-blade windscreen wiper (preferably standing up while not in use, for both weight-saving and aerodynamic reasons) and stripping the interior trim as much as you feel comfortable with