Rob's DIESEL VW Polo Build thread

[robchalmers]

Hi everyone!

After last years sad demise of the my blue 1.4 petrol polo after it visited a field on its roof. I finally got round to buying a replacement after nearly 6 months of commuting on my bike through Snow, wind, rain and sun. the title gives away what i've bought.....

a 1.9 D CL Polo ('96). Another 3door Hatch this time with the umwelt 1.9D engine. No turbo to blow, just simple low down grunt. When it left the factory 14 years ago it pumped out 63 of Bavaria's finest oil powered ponies (13 more than my last polo) but its the extra torque that i love. Even though a few of the previously mentioned ponies have now died with old age the stump-pulling torque is just addictive!!!!

Fuel economy wise it should manage (MPGuk)
(urban) 35 mpg
(extra urban) 60 mpg
(combined) 48 mpg

So getting it to 'hypermiler' status going to be difficult but for me it just about the ease of breaking into the fifties!

The car came with 12 months MOT, 5 months tax and Half a tank of diesel, which doesn't appear to be going down very quickly at all! As soon as I can I'll fill it up and start counting the miles!

I'll post pics ASAP.

[Piwoslaw]

Good luck with hypermiling it into the fifties, sixties, seventies...
Any plans for aeromods?
I wonder if a ScanGauge will work with the '96 motor? The EOBD norm was from 2003 for diesels.

[robchalmers]

Pics!!!




No spoiler like the blue one....


But I do get a bigger airdam!

[robchalmers]

Plans:

datum running - just going to spend a bit of time to find a base line mpg.

Grill block - As per the last polo

Wheel trims - with steel wheels its going to be easier to a-b-a test some different covers

sump pan - these came with an undertray...... mine's missing it so thats something to replace.

weight loss - ditch the spare tyre and tools saves 6-7kg

[sallen]

Hey dude,

Welcome to the AAZ engine fraternity. I have the same 1.9L Turbo unit in my Golf III.

I can say that (for the Golf) it is the most thirsty and least powerful Turbo Diesel Engine VW ever fitted to the car. I get low to mid 40's (UK MPG) if driven "normally" and slightly higher with granny driving and excessive coasting.

The AAZ has an upside in that it's mechanical injection, so easier to fix. Having no ECU the fancy OBDII port VW probably fitted to your car won't be connected to anything (just like mine).

Another upside is that it LOVES bio-diesel and will run happily on B100 until it gets real cold (-4 or so).

I guess in the Polo you should be seeing high 40's (UK MPG) or maybe 50's from the beginning as you have less weight and frontal area to slow you down. There is also a better choice of narrow tyres for the Polo as standard.

Just think aero mods and driving like your grandma and you should see results. I've got a few more MPG's out of my Golf that way.

If you don't want to go too eco, it's pretty easy to up the change the fuel pin and up the boost to see extra power on these engines. Don't know what the MPG's will be like but it will smoke like hell and go a bit more like a TDI.

I'l definitely keep an eye on this thread in case you think of anything I've missed on the Golf.

Good luck with the build...

[robchalmers]

Hi!

I'm running an AEF. so I get the amazing mechanical fuel injection thats about as sophisticated as bread and butter.

first £20 top off got me 212 miles (@119p/litre) = 58MPGuk/51.4MPGus

and thats with a B*ggered rear wheel bearing and while I'm still getting used to driving a diesel again!

found a cracking sweet spot between 1500/2200rpm that does every thing I only go above on the Mway and then I increase up to 2800 'roughly' the legal limit...... officer

[sallen]

Ah... sorry didn't read your original post properly, the AEF is much more efficient than the AAZ.

I think you lose 15hp by not having a turbo, but saying that the turbo car is sloooooooooow anyway so there's probably little or no difference in the real world and it is a thirsty bugger for a diesel.

Be careful about biodiesel if you don't have an AAZ as the other engines may have Lucas pumps (the AAZ has Bosch). Apparently the Lucas variety doesn't like the bio stuff...

Just in case you are interested, here are the figures for the Golf III (taken from the owners handbook). It would be interesting to see if the Polo has different numbers quoted in the handbook.

Non-Turbo Engine
56MPH > 66 MPG(UK) - 55 MPG(US)
75MPH > 46 MPG(UK) - 39 MPG(US)

Turbo (non TDI engine)
56MPH > 60 MPG(UK) - 50 MPG(US)
75MPH > 43 MPG(UK) - 36 MPG(US)

TDI Engine
56MPH > 74 MPG(UK) - 61 MPG(US)
75MPH > 52 MPG(UK) - 43 MPG(US)

I've found these figures pretty accurate for my car. Regardless of driving style/speed doing a mix of motorway and town stuff I seem to get around 40/50 MPG.

[robchalmers]

Well i think i've broke it...... just done my 70+mile daily commute and the fuel gauge hasn't budged. false ground??

[robchalmers]

105.4miles - needle still not moved. in the petrol polo it'd have been between 7/8 and 3/4 on the gauge..

I'm not nursing it either, been cruising at 70+ and being pretty brisk away from the lights too!

[eco nut]

It is simply not fair the availability of diesels in the UK compared to USA. What does your polo weigh? I would like to get a 1.9L non turbo and transplant into a sub 2000 lbs civic. Did I mention I am jealous?