Yet another TDI!

[jamest]

Actually two, my wife and I both drive 2002 Golf TDIs. Hers in black with a slushbox, mine is white with a manual. We bought them to run bio and for the fuel economy. I'm always looking for ways to get more MPGs though, so joining up and reading all your tips. My cruise control broke on my car recently so need to fix that ASAP.

Here's my car from a couple years ago on a dyno:
None of the voices you hear are me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwp8sUQ5tEM

[SVOboy]

Hello there! Welcome to the site!

[DifferentPointofView]

Fix cruise control? I never use mine. You must use it alot. But if you can do it, you can definitely pull better MPG's without using it. The throttle is constantly moving on cruise to keep a constant speed, and it's really bad when going up hill. Put it on cruise and drive barefoot and feel how much the pedal actually moves, even on small bumps. it's pretty bad.

Well, enough rambling. Welcome to EM! are you running bio right now?

[jamest]

I'll have to play around with cruise vs non-cruise control and see what the difference is. I'm usually fighting my foot to slow down without it. I live in about the flattest place in the world, but I don't tend to use cruise on hills when there are ones. I've always heard it's best to use cruise control when cruising, but I'm open to other ideas. Can't try the barefoot thing because the car is all drive by wire, but I can see the throttle position with the scan gauge.
I do usually run WVO bio, but currently my source has been shut down by a local government here. The only other local source is agri biodiesel and the location is too far from me with very limited hours.
Thanks for the advice!

[DifferentPointofView]

the cruise control thing falls into the "it depends" category. If your fighting your foot, cruise is probably best for you. for the extreme hypermiler, using a hand-throttle and no cruise is the way to go.

What mileage are you pulling on that thing anyway? to bad the local gov. shut down your source.

[Arminius]

Welcome. Wish I had a TDI!

[Nerys]

Grrr I hate you. I want a VW TDI soooo badly. Anyone got one they want to trade for a VW THING? a TDI is about the only thing that would convince me to get rid of my Thing. Love that car :-) 52+mpg makes me drool :-)

[dremd]

White 02 Golf TDI 5 Speed FTW!

Sweet! Welcome!

My cruise switch is flaky on accel, I need to fix it soon . . . .

Have a scan Gauge? Is your accurate?

[jamest]

I usually pull anywhere form the upper 40's to mid 50's depending on how I drive. I haven't ever really tried to get super high mileage because I can get 700 miles or more on a tank without trying. I'm definitely interested in learning how changing some habits could increase my mileage though. When I hear about regular gasers getting in the 50's MPG or even more it's really impressive.
I do have a scan gauge and it's not super accurate, but it seems to be pretty close.

[DifferentPointofView]

Do you have it adjusted to everything? They can be tight accurate if you have everything dialed in correctly.