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Just an update on the Rabbit diesel. I haven't done anything beyond keep tire air pressure up, change oil and all filters. The air filter is tough to get to and got put off quite a while. A fresh paper air filter made a big difference! Almost eliminated smoke at startup. Not bad before, even less now.
Also, on a recent all-highway trip from north Arkansas back home (some hills, few towns) I noticed my speed was higher on the GPS than on the speedometer. Tests over 100 miles showed a 5.7% error. That means my fuel economy is better than I first thought.
When I bought the Rabbit, it got around 40. A clean air filter and cetane boost brought the economy up to the mid-40's. This last trip, adjusted for odometer error, I got 51.3mpg!!! No AC, just taking it easy at 55 to 65mph.
One difference is the refineries may have switched to summer diesel. Winter diesel costs me about a mile to the gallon on my 7.3 Powerstroke but I can more than make that up by using a cetane booster from the automotive dept at WalMart.
As I recall, this car was only rated for 51mpg new. And here it is 33 years later, my little $1200 car is just sipping the fuel! And the AC works! I'll give up a few mpg to stay cool.
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