Saturn TDI nose job...

[bikeprof]

Getting the proper torque to MPH is essential for higher MPG, that chipped TDI should be able to handle 1.700 @ 60(~1.630 @ 55), so seems that there is plenty of HP/TQ in there to pull the weight of the Saturn.
Of course, this translates to more MPG on the highway!

Some really MOD'd VW TDI's have tall gears ~ .68 or .73 final drive, translating to really low RPM's @ 75. Check this out in the TDI club forum...

Taller tires are the easiest and cheapest manner to play with the RPM's
Keep it going/rolling..., hoping less fuel usage for you!

[ChazInMT]

Craig, Excellent Job!!!! Ya Nut!! I read through your whole build thread on the TDI forum and I have to say, you have pretty much cured me from ever wanting to try something like that. I consider myself a pretty handy guy, but dam, I don't hold a candle to your mad skills. And thanks for sharing! That is itself a ton of work.

You da Man!!

[Craig]

Thanks! A friend of mine once told me that the only reason I do these things is because I don't know any better to begin with :-)

I recently picked up a '93 Saturn SL2 with steel wheels...thinking about swapping the wheels to the TDI and adding a set of Moon discs or something along that line that I could make myself. The OEM alloy wheels probably create a good amount of turbulence with that sawtooth pattern, so there are some potential gains to be had.

[Arragonis]

If you chip it don't forget the clutch. A lot of generic remaps can make the torque peak quite suddenly which can cause the clutch some issues especially if it has quite a few miles on it.

[Craig]

Yep, I already did that - I put a new VR6 clutch upgrade in it last summer...more than enough to hold 200 lbs of torque!

[Arragonis]

200 ? Ffft. I have 250.

Do you have plans for a 6 sp ?

[Craig]

Just a quick update: after that figure of 63.36 mpg awhile back, the weather got really cold again, so I was down into the low-mid 50's. Last week things started to warm up again, and my mileage increased with it. I managed 61.13 out of it on the last tank, so I was pretty happy about that. As I've said before, the real trick is to repeat it! The weather wasn't too bad this week, so I'm anxious to see how it did when I fill up again tomorrow.

[Craig]

Well, I came close...57.55 mpg on this tank, so I'm "gradually" getting more consistent.

[Craig]

Filled it up again today; this time I got 61.19 mpg. Hoping to maintain/improve this figure as the mild weather patterns become more consistent...spring can't come soon enough!

[euromodder]

So much for the impossible 60 mpg car