Broke 50 mpg, twice, in the winter, with snow tires, and towing...

[solarguy]

I don't get the chance to check my F/E very much since I burn biodiesel 10 months out of the year.

But, biodiesel doesn't like really cold weather, so for december and january, I'm back on the stinky petroleum stuff.

On the bright side, I get to monitor my FE just like everybody else now.

My car is an '04 jetta TDI PD wagon. For fuel economy, I would have preferred an '03 pre-PD, with less horsepower but better setup for economy. Oh well. I did order it with the manual transmission. I do use mild hypermiling techniques that you guys have taught me. I don't coast with the engine off because I like the turbo to have continuous oil pressure. It does get parked in a heated superinsulated garage/shop at night, so I never start with the engine and fuel dead cold.

This is the first time I broke 50 mpg, getting exactly 50 on my last tank, and 54 on the tank before. On bio, in the rest of the year, I average 44-46, since bio has less BTU's per liter. I also tow a trailer once a week to pick up my fryer oil, so that's about as aerodynamic as towing a brick with a parachute. I did build it small and narrow, and with a lid/top to improve the aero somewhat.

And, I run snow tires in the winter because of the piles and piles of white stuff that falls out of the sky. I do keep them inflated to 45psi or a bit higher.

So, given that it's cold, and winter diesel often produces lower FE than summer diesel, and it's the PD, and it's got winter tires, and it's the wagon with a roof rack, I was pretty happy to break the 50 mark twice in a row.

Maybe it's just getting broken in at 120K miles.

I commute 50 miles a day, and a fourth of it is in the city.

Thanks for giving me a place to celebrate.

troy

[Nevyn]

That's excellent! Do you have pictures of the trailer? I'd love to see how you made it more aerodynamic.

[solarguy]

Originally Posted by Nevyn

That's excellent! Do you have pictures of the trailer? I'd love to see how you made it more aerodynamic.

Well....it's more aerodynamic because I made the tongue shorter than normal, and it has a lid. Other than that, it looks like a brick. Oh yeah, and it is narrower than "normal".

I was in a hurry and that was the best that I could come up with in a weekend.

troy