Operation 40 + mpg is a go

[Dominic]

So diesel is expensive even when you are getting 30+ mpg. Currently I am averaging between 30 - 35 mpg (about 420 miles a tank). There is a forum with a bunch of nut jobs on there who strip there VW's down, take off door panels, remove spare tires. take out the back seat etc. who claim to get 600+ miles a tank. I don't care enough to sacrifice comforts while driving just to save a few bucks, however I am curious what I could get if I tried. I figure the biggest things killing my fuel milage are plus sized wheels and tires 17's with a wider tire, and yakima roof racks and of course I drive to fast (this is key). I took my roof racks off last night and cleaned my car up real pretty like. checked fluids and added a cetane booster to the tank. I tried to drive to work today keeping the engine under 2500 rpm max which means 55-60 mph on the freeway and more shifting in the city.
Updates coming
D

 

[SAMI]

nice... I've been trying to keep my RPM's to 2500 and lower, and i've been noticing some fuel efficiency increase

good luck..

 

[Cody]

that roof rack by itself will probably give you about 10%. I remember when I took my thule rack off of my old s10 I went from about 14 to 16.

I miss my drifter. that little bastard got 35 mpg all day long. The mitsugini only gets about 27. I guess thats what I get for driving a car with such a distinct italian race pedigree.

 

[Slangy]

Yeah I have been trying to stay off the pedal and drive like my grandpa used to. Accelerating real slow and just cruising along at a nice pace. So what if it takes me an extra ten minutes to get to work it is not like I am on time anyway.

 

[Slangy]

Here try this, it may be a good option for you.

 

[BroncoMama]

Intriguing! It will be interesting to see if you can get a few more miles to the gallon with your mods. While I abhor the price of diesel, unfortunately for the sugar daddy who buys my diesel, I'm way too shallow to give up the coolness of my truck for better fuel economy. It has also been mentioned that if I gave up driving in my habitual race car fashion, I could probably get a bit better than 15 mpg. But what's the fun of having a big diesel truck if you can't drive it like you stole it??

 

[Stephen]

Has anyone else used Ferox? They use it in farm equipment and I've been using it in the Sami for a couple months and I've seen about a 2mpg increase in combined city/highway driving.

 

[Dominic]

Intriguing! It will be interesting to see if you can get a few more miles to the gallon with your mods. While I abhor the price of diesel, unfortunately for the sugar daddy who buys my diesel, I'm way too shallow to give up the coolness of my truck for better fuel economy. It has also been mentioned that if I gave up driving in my habitual race car fashion, I could probably get a bit better than 15 mpg. But what's the fun of having a big diesel truck if you can't drive it like you stole it??

Multi vehicle system little mama it's where it's at.

 

[Dominic]

that roof rack by itself will probably give you about 10%. I remember when I took my thule rack off of my old s10 I went from about 14 to 16.

I miss my drifter. that little bastard got 35 mpg all day long. The mitsugini only gets about 27. I guess thats what I get for driving a car with such a distinct italian race pedigree.

Well you have to figure when you become wealthy enough to aquire such a high performance machine you can't worry to much about the price to drive it, that's for middle class society.

 

[Cody]

point taken.

 

[Brett]

Good luck on the test. I need to get my roof rack off as well, but first I need to find a place to put at the apartment.

I've been averaging around 16 with all my freeway driving, so I suppose that's not too bad for a 20 year old rig.

 

[Cody]

I was surprised to get 15.5 towing that M416 back from Price in my ZJ last week. thats not too bad considering.

 

[Spork]

Maybe I missed it but what are you driving?

I've got a 2003 VW beetle and go about 550 miles on a tank at close to 80mph on the freeway. about the only thing I've removed is the gay bud vase.

 

[Meat_]

I could probably do better than 15mpg in my Dodge if I didn't drive with the chip on #3 and both feet flat on the floor at all times.

 

[Milner]

I could probably do better than 15mpg in my Dodge if I didn't drive with the chip on #3 and both feet flat on the floor at all times.

In the PSD I get better mileage on 3 then I do on 1. 3 is "mild tow" and 1 is "economy." From What I have gathered, flatlanders do better in the econ programs, but here, where I go up hill either coming or going, I get substantial better mileage in the tow programs....

Curious to see what I can tweak the libby to get once the warranty is up....We got 26-27 at 87mph, and we can get 30+ if we stay under 80. Last tank of all in town was 22mpg. Drafting can really boost the mpg in it too. After all it is far from sleek!

 

[Meat_]

Yeah, I've been told that you can actually get your best mileage on #5 IF (and that's a big if) you stay out of the pedal. I also have the bad habit of slowing down as far as I can while keeping the tc locked, then accelerating whenever I'm next to a fence. (repeatedly if the fence is long enough )

 

[Dominic]

Maybe I missed it but what are you driving?

I've got a 2003 VW beetle and go about 550 miles on a tank at close to 80mph on the freeway. about the only thing I've removed is the gay bud vase.

02 VW beetle TDI. I have never gotten the best milage I have been meaning to get the timing checked out. I ditched my bud vase and stuffed a cigar in there lol. I have done some mods but nothing that should effect gas milage for the worse.

 

[mbryson]

In the PSD I get better mileage on 3 then I do on 1. 3 is "mild tow" and 1 is "economy." From What I have gathered, flatlanders do better in the econ programs, but here, where I go up hill either coming or going, I get substantial better mileage in the tow programs....

Curious to see what I can tweak the libby to get once the warranty is up....We got 26-27 at 87mph, and we can get 30+ if we stay under 80. Last tank of all in town was 22mpg. Drafting can really boost the mpg in it too. After all it is far from sleek!

Mine gets worse as I turn the chip up. 0-3 are barely noticeable mileagewise, but 4 and 5 are quite noticeable.

 

[coche]

Dominic, check out these links tons of helpful info and mods:
http://www.tdiclub.com
http://www.greasecar.com

my wife has an 01 tdi beetle that averages 38 mpg but we both have heavy feet. it has and EGR cooler delete kit and no muffler. I have talked to guys on tdiclub that are averaging 45 mpg in there jetta's with a 2.5" and 3" straight pipe exhaust. I have also heard that the Bullydog chip helps mpg a ton.

 

[Greg]

So diesel is expensive even when you are getting 30+ mpg. Currently I am averaging between 30 - 35 mpg (about 420 miles a tank). There is a forum with a bunch of nut jobs on there who strip there VW's down, take off door panels, remove spare tires. take out the back seat etc. who claim to get 600+ miles a tank. I don't care enough to sacrifice comforts while driving just to save a few bucks, however I am curious what I could get if I tried. I figure the biggest things killing my fuel milage are plus sized wheels and tires 17's with a wider tire, and yakima roof racks and of course I drive to fast (this is key). I took my roof racks off last night and cleaned my car up real pretty like. checked fluids and added a cetane booster to the tank. I tried to drive to work today keeping the engine under 2500 rpm max which means 55-60 mph on the freeway and more shifting in the city.
Updates coming
D

I average 44-45 MPG with my TDI Jetta, stock tires running 40 psi and keep the speed under 78 MPH max. I've gotten 670 & 660 miles out of a tank before, I average 600 miles before the light comes on.