Intro
 

Hi All

Just a quick intro here. I'm Mouse, from the UK. I currently drive a standard VW Bora 1.9TDi (PD 130).

I cover a good 60 miles/day, so driving economically has become a bit of an obsession (especially with fuel prices as they are!) It is unfortunate that my commute is over the Pennines (internation readers: big hills, I go over the highest motorway point in England), but I manage approx. 57+ mpg (imperial calculated, the ecometer in the dash shows about 61).

The main improvements I have made are keeping to around a 60mph cruise on the motorway, and coasting downhill (before these I was getting about 55mpg indicated on the dash). All the mods so far have been to the nut behind the wheel.

After research (and deciding I love this car so much I will be keeping it till it dies), I am looking into possibly fitting an upper grille block, and possibly getting a remap in the medium-term. I don't know what else I can do simply to improve economy...

Oh, one more thing I am considering for next winter is finding a simple way to improve how quickly the engine warms up. I was considering a metal container I could fill with boiling water, placed in the inlet path, as a simple method, or possibly a good old-fashioned exhaust-heated inlet path... I don't know how effective this would be.

Anyway, thats me

Mouse

Welcome aboard!
As for a quicker warm-up, consider an electric engine block heater.

As you have some fair climbing to do, remove excess weight.

Have you increased the tyre pressure ?
If not, gradually increase tyre pressure - 44 psi should still be OK.
I run sidewall max : 51 psi.

Don't use CC uphill - if you do so now.
Use a steady accelerator position and let speed decay as low as practical uphill.
If the climb is preceded by a downhill, get some additional speed downhill and let the momentum help carry you uphill.

If the hills and grades are not terrible, I find they can actually help improve mileage, especially if the coasts are at the desired speed for considerable distances.

Welcome aboard Mate.

regards
Mech

Unfortunately, I have a couple of problems with that. Firstly, many seem to be mains powered, and I can't get a mins cable to where my vehicle is parked overnight. Second, they are expensive for what they are.

Problem #1 is why I was considering a container I could fill with boiling water, maybe to somehow fit over the oil filter. On the other hand, waste heat is readily available soon after the engine is started from the exhaust, so a solution using that seems the most efficient way to go.

Weight has been reduced as far as I am comfortable withalready, without replacing pannels/components. I have heard that going without a spare can save a bit, but I am definately not comfortable with that.

Tyre pressure increase is something I tried, but even with an increase from 2.1 to 2.3 bar I destroyed a set of tyres rather quickly (the tread in the middle dissapeared much quicker than my last set of the same tyres).

I don't have CC, so that's not an issue, and I tend to go faster downhill than up, and only start "cruising" again when my speed drops to 60 (I am very uncomfortable driving slower than that unless I can stick behind a wagon doing a slower speed).

Yeah, I have found that too. On my way to work I have a 7ish mile stretch downhill which I can do in neutral (the car actually accellerates to about 70 or so down it, albeit slowly) unless a damn wagon pulls out in front of me.

I have actually gone from being quite a quick and aggressive driver to a calm, economical driver in about a year. The only thing which still get's me really angry in the car is people forcing me to waste fuel (e.g. pulling out in front of me when I have just timed my coast perfectly to bring me to a stop at the lights, or similar). That's the last adjustment I need to make to the nut behind the wheel, I think...

Anyway cheers for your help guys :)

Welcome to the site!

I'd definitely go for the grill block first. It'll speed up warm up times plus help with aerodynamics. As for exhaust heat recovery, we have a fairly extensive thread here with many ideas on it.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...very-7107.html