Not all Germans are speeding idiots :-) - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

tinduck · 10-14-2011, 10:09 AM

Hi there,

I made three or four postings to this (incredible!) forum, so it is about time to indroduce myself properly.

I found this place while looking for scangauge tweaks via google. The search did not yield the desired results, but found me a quite resourceful place for my wee little obsession of driving around with less fuel usage.

Since I have a family with a wife and 2 (and a half, app.) kids, I need means of transportation for all of them plus luggage plus extra luggage plus toys plus... you get the picture. In June, we decided that we had to get rid of my Passat, and since I always fancied a VW bus, we began reading mobile.de (online vehicle marketplace in Germany) and found ourselves a real nice VW T5 Multivan SL with a 2,0L TDI engine (this car is not sold in the US, I think. A pity..).

Apart from the engine, which is an economical blessing, this is not the right place to start a fuel economy career... EPA is around 27 mpg or 7,5L / 100 km.

So much the bigger was my surprise that I was able to drive this bucket at under 6 L/100 km from the beginning... well, my commute route favours efficient driving.

I do not intend to do radical aero mods (we still have warranty on that van) but a bit of tinkering around may be permissible, like WAI or...

These things said, I am looking forward to many nice projects and chats about those.

so long,

tinduck

320touring · 10-14-2011, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinduck

Hi there,

I made three or four postings to this (incredible!) forum, so it is about time to indroduce myself properly.

I found this place while looking for scangauge tweaks via google. The search did not yield the desired results, but found me a quite resourceful place for my wee little obsession of driving around with less fuel usage.

Since I have a family with a wife and 2 (and a half, app.) kids, I need means of transportation for all of them plus luggage plus extra luggage plus toys plus... you get the picture. In June, we decided that we had to get rid of my Passat, and since I always fancied a VW bus, we began reading mobile.de (online vehicle marketplace in Germany) and found ourselves a real nice VW T5 Multivan SL with a 2,0L TDI engine (this car is not sold in the US, I think. A pity..).

Apart from the engine, which is an economical blessing, this is not the right place to start a fuel economy career... EPA is around 27 mpg or 7,5L / 100 km.

So much the bigger was my surprise that I was able to drive this bucket at under 6 L/100 km from the beginning... well, my commute route favours efficient driving.

I do not intend to do radical aero mods (we still have warranty on that van) but a bit of tinkering around may be permissible, like WAI or...

These things said, I am looking forward to many nice projects and chats about those.

so long,

tinduck

Welcome!

Nice choice on the T5 van, and the 2.0tdi is a good engine to start with..

As for WAI, diesels apparently oprefer to have warm engines and COLD air intakes, so they can get enough air to burn the fuel completely (cold air is more dense)

As for your engine, I'm sure there must be some "chipping" companies that can increase performace, and boost MPG a bit too.

Enjoy the site

cfg83 · 10-14-2011, 03:32 PM

tinduck -

Welcome to EM! I always like when someone brings a new drivetrain to Ecomodder. It increases the "engine biodoversity". I also believe in "reversible" mods. You have to spend more time thinking about it, but if it doesn't work, you aren't left with a mess to clean up.

CarloSW2

Geo4k · 10-18-2011, 09:18 PM

Welcome! I lived in Germany for 3 1/2 years, loved my time there. Never viewed Germans as speed nuts, but mainly as tech savy. You sure have a great selection of cars in Europe!

BHarvey · 10-19-2011, 05:34 PM

No, it is the one DRIVING German cars that are speed demons....

Geo4k · 10-19-2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BHarvey

No, it is the one DRIVING German cars that are speed demons....

Pretty funny - and true. Sad to say that I see many of the sterotypes about BMW drivers to be true....

tinduck · 10-31-2011, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geo4k

Pretty funny - and true. Sad to say that I see many of the sterotypes about BMW drivers to be true....

Mhhh... actually, the BMW drivers seem to be replaced by Audi drivers in the last few years, at least here in Europe :-) mostly the TDI company-pays-for-car-and-fuel type...

So long,

tinduck

Piwoslaw · 10-31-2011, 03:46 AM

Wow! 6 l/100km in that barn is amazing!

Tinduck, try blocking your grille to get faster warm-up. Block it partially with cardboard at first to make sure you don't overheat, then make something more permanent. In my case, I made an openable block for the lower grille and a removable upper block for the winter. It does wonders

Just make sure that you don't block the intercooler!

You can also install an engine block heater if your parking spot has a place to plug in. They're not dirt cheap (my DEFA heater cost ~100€), but well worth the lower consumption and emissions, plus you get warm air in the cabin sooner. With the block heater my glow plugs don't turn on, even during the coldest days (at -20°C my engine's coolant temperature is 5°-10°C after 2-2.5h).

Arrow · 10-31-2011, 04:59 AM

If Germans were stupid. It's that simple