TDi Jetta REsets the mpg world record

[fsstnotch]

Ron, I think my best has been 55mpg in traffic so I couldn't speed. I regularly get 49-50 highway. I usually drive 10mph over the limit. I average 40mpg regularly everyday driving.

Both of my figures are well over the EPA.

Also, i don't know if you have seen the test online of these new clean diesels. They took a coffee filter and covered the tailpipe of one of these jettasThey ran the car for a few minutes and revved it up and stuff... filter was completely clean. Pretty neat. Not what you would expect from a diesel.

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/05/04...e-filter-test/

[Ron61]

That was an interesting article and so were many of the comments made at the end of it. At this point in time, the hybrids are not going to work well up here in the mountains and that 40 miles per charge on a battery which is under ideal conditions is not gong to do well, especially when people start charging them every 30 minutes. We have had rolling brown outs the past 3 years due to lack of electric power, so what happens when they get a lot of those things on the road? I would love to see a replacement for the gasoline engines, but I don't like what I see about the hybrids. If the only driving was in city traffic, then maybe they would work with those expensive batteries but they would still require being recharged every day at least once.

Ron

[fsstnotch]

Ron, that was exactly my problem. Where I live, it's 10 miles to anything. Add to that the fact that any of the roads that lead to anything are continuous 55-65mph. There is no stopping. So no hybrid would work well for me. Alot of those guys that responded to the article blasting the diesel, base their opinions much like Ernie did, on the past. It's no fault of their own, for most, you get an impression on somehting and that's how you feel until you experience otherwise. They are also basing their facts based on EPA ratings. I can assure you, the EPA ratings on the TDi are extremely low.

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.