TDi Jetta REsets the mpg world record

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by 427sharpe

But why buy a diesel? Fuel is ridiculous (priced same as or higher than gas for far less refining), comparative parts are generally higher and the 'home mechanic' is unfamiliar with their operation. Add in that diesel can be hard to find in some places, and you have a problem. I like diesels for the very reasons you list, but it will take a tidal wave to get people to switch.

Diesel has been cheaper than gas for the past year. The only time the market flipped was when gas was at 4-5$ a gallon last summer, and before that it was always cheaper than gas.

Diesel motors will last a lot longer than a gas motor.

Diesel is not hard to find at all. I have driven my diesel trucks all over the U.S. and I have never had a hard time finding fuel.

The torgue of a diesel makes them very easy to drive.

I owned an automotive repair facility, and my mechanics had no problem working on diesel vehicles. I have done all the typical home maintenance on my diesels, and they are no harder to work on than gas motors.

The new TDI that VW and Audi uses does not even sound like a diesel (which is another complaint I hear). You can stand next to the car when it is running and you can't tell the difference between it and a gas motor. Same goes for driving it, very quiet.

No smog requirments here in Califoirnia.

Will beat a gas motor vehicle in fuel mielage of the same size, and will get about the same as a small hybrid without the expensive battery technology.

On top of all this you can get a lot more performance out of a turbo diesel motor with a programer if wanted. I will leave the TDI alone, but I have a programer on my 2500 HD Duramax, and I am putting out 375 hp and about 660 ft lbs of torque.

I am a huge fan of the new diesel technology.

[bomelia]

I wish I could find one, but nobody has any.

Mike

[fsstnotch]

Sp, you forgot to mention one thing.... adding said tuners to boost performance doesn't hurt the economy. It boosts it!!!! With my 05 F250, I would lose 2mpg hauling a 3-4 ton car trailer. In my expedition, my mpg would be cut in half! Unloaded in a lifted F250, I average 19-21mpg and anywhere from 15-18 loaded depending on weight and terrain and such.

Me... I'd have a difficult time buying a Prius with 100k, but wouldn't even blink at a diesel with 100k.

As far as your wife and the new TDi, just make sure she follows the precaustions of any turbo vehicle. 1 minute for warmup and 1 for cooldown. Do that and change the oil at regular intervals and you won't have to worry about turbo failure. Diesel will last well beyond the typical lifespan of a gasoline car. I would even look into putting a turbo timer on it for simplicity reasons. Both my wife and I are diesel drivers, we've never had a problem finding diesel. I'm even tossing the idea of making my own!

[427sharpe]

I agree on the benefits; which is why I drive a diesel truck. But for some reason diesel is rather hard to find along the route to our cabin an Ark.; and had some difficulty finding same on way to Florida (non-highway route). And expense is questionable; diesel should be far less than it is because it does not go thru the refining process that gas does. As for mechanics, I have no trouble working on mine, but at least here in Dallas not 'every shop' has a diesel rated tech or one that knows his ass from his elbow on anything other than light and/or routine maintenance. get into a diesel specific difficulty on the backroads, and you may have problems. Until the buying public sees diesel as something other than 18 wheelers, I think that will continue. But primarily, my point was why change the structure at all when 20 years ago internal combustion was delivering 41 mpg average?

[fsstnotch]

ya, I usually do all my own work. Unless it is crazy hard. I did the turbo on my SD, it wasn't too hard. but when my buddy asked about fixing a leak on his truck he had taken to my diesel mechanic to find the problem. My mechanic, whom I trust and take my hard stuff to, said the engine would have to be pulled. I asked my buddy if he was nuts asking me if I would do it!!! lol The truck is under warranty! He asked me becuase he wanted to have a set of ARP head studs installed and the service manager at the dealership my mechanic works at wouldn't do it without charging him full price. I thought that was kind of rediculous considering the engine was already out of the truck and would be very easy to do. But he said the ARP studs would void his warranty, which is complete BS since alot of the early 6.0's that had headgasket issues were replaced with ARP studs as the factory bolts would stretch.

The reason diesel costs what it does is due to supply. While the refinement process is shorter, the # of refineries is equally smaller.

I DO think people are catching on. I believe the TDi jetta was one of the most sought cars of 2009, and these news articles boasting it's record numbers are sure to attract some interested parties. Especially with the soon release of the TDi golf as well. The big 3 and toyota were supposed to release 1/2 ton diesels this year. I think that would be a great idea! I would certainly downgrade to an F150 if they did that. I don't NEED a 3/4 ton, but I do need a diesel for the amount of towing I do. I'm actually looking at a 1 ton right now, but only because the price is right.

If you do your research, most cities have biodiesel stations also. It's cleaner and actually better for the engine than petro diesel.

[jams]

Originally Posted by Wayne Maybury

My daughter has had a TDI for several years and it now has almost 300,000 km (175,000 miles) on it. The only problem has been the rear brakes that just do not seem to last very long. The timing belt has been changed twice and she just had to have the head gasket replaced. Other than that, it has been a great car that continues to give very good mileage.

Wayne

My wife eats up rear brakes like they are going out of style....about every 12,000 miles. We finally got the midus lifetime pad gaurantee.

[bomelia]

Originally Posted by jams

My wife eats up rear brakes like they are going out of style....about every 12,000 miles. We finally got the midus lifetime pad gaurantee.

Now all you will to buy every 12,000 miles is rotors. You should have stuck wih the pads.

[windy]

My 09 TDI Sportwagen routinely sees +600 miles to a tank. I have the 6 speed and the torque makes passing at 70-85 a breeze. I don't see any reason to go back to gas for a daily driver.

[Aussie Mike]

We bought one of these for my wife about 3 years back. It gets great economy but not at the expense of performance.

It runs a 2.0L turbo diesel motor that makes 138HP and 236ft pound of torque. The trick is that it makes it all by about 2500RPM. Combine that with the 6 speed DSG sequential box and it gets up and goes. I test drove it back to back with the regular 2.0 petrol Jetta and it spanked the petrol engine version. Turbo lag off the mark is noticeable but once it gets on boost it really hauls. The traction control regularly kicks in off the mark. A re-flash of the ECU will add 25HP and 30 ft pound of torque with no real negative impact on economy.

It's very civilized to drive and the only time you can even guess it's a diesel is at idle. Once it's going you hear very little diesel engine noise.

It gets about 600 miles to the tank on a long trip but even driving to work and round the city it still get 500 miles from a tank. It's not even a particularly big tank at 55Litres (14.5Gal).

We are very happy with it.



Cheers

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by fsstnotch

Sp, you forgot to mention one thing.... adding said tuners to boost performance doesn't hurt the economy. It boosts it!!!! With my 05 F250, I would lose 2mpg hauling a 3-4 ton car trailer. In my expedition, my mpg would be cut in half! Unloaded in a lifted F250, I average 19-21mpg and anywhere from 15-18 loaded depending on weight and terrain and such.

Me... I'd have a difficult time buying a Prius with 100k, but wouldn't even blink at a diesel with 100k.

As far as your wife and the new TDi, just make sure she follows the precaustions of any turbo vehicle. 1 minute for warmup and 1 for cooldown. Do that and change the oil at regular intervals and you won't have to worry about turbo failure. Diesel will last well beyond the typical lifespan of a gasoline car. I would even look into putting a turbo timer on it for simplicity reasons. Both my wife and I are diesel drivers, we've never had a problem finding diesel. I'm even tossing the idea of making my own!

Yep the tuner on my duramax gives me better fuel mileage as well. I also have an alarm with a cool down mode that I use after it is parked so the turbo gets to cool down a bit. I will be installing the same system on the Jetta. Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

[SP01715]

we got the new 2010 TDI last weekend in Los Angeles. We drove home to San Diego, and my wife has been driving it all week and we still have over half a tank of fuel (a little over 300 miles). I have to get used to not having to put fuel in a vehicle every few days.