As Wayne passed from Florida into Mississippi in a new Passat TDI they hit a torrential downpour and afterwards he did some calculations. It turns out that the extra resistance of driving in the rain dropped fuel mileage by 25%.
Remember that fuel economy is affected by three main factors, temperature, terrain and technique. You can't do anything about the first two, but Wayne and his followers can teach you all kinds of tips and tricks in the forums at cleanmpg.com.
CleanMPG Forums – View Single Post – 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI Ready to Hit the Road
This discussion forum is dedicated to increasing fuel economy, mileage ( MPG ), and lowering emissions of whatever automobile you own and drive.
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Thanks Sam!
Wayne
np, drive carefully
Makes me wonder why they can't get GTDI's this efficient. I'm not even getting anywhere close to my rated MPG.
I'm just glad I've yet to run across him going 37 MPH on a local freeway…
Actully between the PSL in the right hand lane and in a ridge ride. If you cannot pass a legal driver on a 2, 3, 4 or more lane Interstate, you probably should not be out there.
We also employ a TW, on-ramp merge and even park in the Maintenance lanes for our hourly media call ins. Follow on twitter with #VWTDI 🙂
+Jason Honingford In the hands of the great +Wayne Gerdes almost any GTDI can easily surpass the label values. It may not hit diesel numbers, but it can do better with the right technique. Of course hitting those kinds of numbers on a regular basis takes a level of concentration that few typical drivers can master.
No, +Wayne Gerdes, if you're an obstacle to traffic, you should not be out there.
I'm not saying you are, but I've seen 'hypermilers' employ rather questionable driving 'techniques'.
As it is, if people would just pay attention while they're driving, and know where they're actually going, while looking past the end of the hood, MPG would likely improve about 10-15%, US fleet-wide.
I regularly beat EPA stats on every vehicle I've owned (if they had EPA numbers), though, with the V8 '05 Cadillac STS, I barely beat EPA MPG… However, I do have fun with it Every. Single. Tank.
Kelly, the definition of hypermiling is "Beating the EPA in whatever you own or drive" so welcome to the club. We just need to get you into something more fuel efficient next time around. 🙂
As for following the PSLs, I always say in my presentations, "It is the law, not a suggestion." You cannot help holding somebody up while driving the PSL but we employ techniques that reduce the impediment for the more aggressive drivers out there. Just a minute ago we hit a quick hit alternate allowing a Charger to go by…
Wayne
GAH!!! I'm in another club!
🙂
Actually, I was drooling over the idea of a diesel Honda Fit, but that fell apart.
I even manage double-digits, and have gotten as high as 15.3 MPG for about 110 miles, in my wife and I's 40' Fleetwood motorcoach. Cummins ISB and a light foot FTW!
Plus, it's amazing how smooth one can be when you're in the middle-of-nowhere, at 1A, and find no diesel pay-at-the-pump or open stations.
Put 87 gallons in the 90 gallon tank. Yeah, I was pushing it. This was before the engine computer interface was calibrated properly, however. I've since comfortably run it down to 2 gallons left.
Then again, a crosswind with that beast, along with a cracked exhaust manifold, has had me in the mid-7's.
/facepalm