VW TDI - 60+ mpg and 900 miles on one tank!

[NachtRitter]

Took a 'long' trip over the holidays with Helga, the 2000 VW Jetta TDI I own. Nearly 850 miles from point to point (Sacramento, CA area to Spokane, WA area, then back some days later). I thought I might be able to make it on one tank but on the way up I decided to fill up when we stopped for lunch. On the way back I decided to go for it all the way and made it with a quarter tank (indicated) left... Woo!

Car was loaded with family and luggage and I didn't do any special hypermiling techniques... just kept it at or below the PSL. I've done a few mild mods to the Jetta, including larger injector nozzles, a 'Stage 1' tune by Rocketchip, a taller 5th gear (0.681, which is not the tallest available), and a grill block. Also have LRR tires inflated to ~50psi.

Fillup at 900 miles on the trip odo showed I still had another ~2 gallons (and then some) left, so in theory I could've made it to 1000 miles on the tank!

Definitely impressed with the MKIV TDI's... they definitely seem to make it easy to wring out some amazing FE numbers without much effort!

[BHarvey]

Sweet!

[JasonG]

Which nozzles ? .205s ?

[Ladogaboy]

Nice! Going South on Interstate 5, you get a pretty good downhill sweep for a few hundred miles too, which helped I'm sure.

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by JasonG

Which nozzles ? .205s ?

They are nozzles which originally came stock in the diesel Transporter 4 (aka EuroVan); size is .216um on those.

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

Nice! Going South on Interstate 5, you get a pretty good downhill sweep for a few hundred miles too, which helped I'm sure.

True, I did notice that once I got on I5... took 97 and joined 5 at Weed. On the way north, I did notice I 'only' got ~59mpg, so it might have made a little difference.

Given that Jack McCornack's MAX (which I really enjoyed reading about) gets 75mpg at 65mph (according to his blog entry at MAX Update No. 84: Speed Kills (Gas Mileage)), I'm pretty damn pleased that I was getting 60mpg at 65mph in a full-sized, comfortable sedan with very minor aero work...

[NachtRitter]

FYI... front grill block(s)... even with all this, I still have a hard time getting the water temp up to 190F! (according to the Scangauge).


Can see the foam between the slats of the upper grill and the complete block of the middle grill (below license plate). Only thing open is the very bottom grill (hard to see, but below the white part of the bumper).

As well, the 'oh-so-fancy' coroplast block on the driver side (hole needed so I can tighten / loosen the bolt holding on the bumper cover on that side) and the pink foam squished between the slats on the passenger's side

[JethroBodine]

Nice trip! Thanks for posting. This gives me more incentive to swap in my diesel (non-TDI) sooner. I just did a 700 mile round trip in my slightly modified Mk2 gasser and got 40mpg for the first 350 @ 63mph and just under 48 for the second @ 55 mph.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by NachtRitter

Definitely impressed with the MKIV TDI's... they definitely seem to make it easy to wring out some amazing FE numbers without much effort!

For high MPG with minimal effort, it doesn't get much better than these cars.


In the past I've seen 50+ mpg (highway) tanks while driving an unfamiliar (to me) 1.9L TDI over the Alps without paying much attention to fuel economy and despite some speed dashes above 85mph. Or 50+ mpg on mixed tanks on more sedate trips in the UK (70mph speed limit), also without trying.

With the introduction of common rail on the TDIs, it became more challenging to get high mpgs out of them.

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by JethroBodine

Nice trip! Thanks for posting. This gives me more incentive to swap in my diesel (non-TDI) sooner. I just did a 700 mile round trip in my slightly modified Mk2 gasser and got 40mpg for the first 350 @ 63mph and just under 48 for the second @ 55 mph.

Thanks Jethro... was impressed with your boat-tail project on your MKII... Gave me some ideas though I'm thinking of going a different direction... Very good FE for your gasser!

[JethroBodine]

Boat tail in holding, not finished. Other projects are taking my free time for now. I'm going to try to have the tail ready for paint and the diesel in or ready-to-be-put-in by the beginning of March(my birthday).

Looking forward to your thread/pics.