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I just finished my first hypermiling tank on my 1985 Diesel Jetta and was able to achieve a ~20% increase from 50MPG to 61MPG by just following the basics. Now I am starting to look into more advanced techniques. Are there any advanced techniques that are different from gas to diesel engines?

Hi Jack, welcome to the site! Those are some good numbers your getting already, and I'm sure they'll improve with practice. I'm driving a 2000 Jetta TDI manual, and had the same question as you when I started out. I'll try and point out some of the differences I've noticed, but most of the techniques are the same as gassers.
Diesels idle at much lower fuel consumption than petrol cars, so NICE-On coasting is more effective than with a gasser.
Diesels benefit more from a block heater in the colder months, especially for starting.
When you see people talking about RPMs, just know that the equivalent in a diesel is slightly lower. ie: If staying under 2500 is good in a gasser, then under 2000 is good in a diesel. (Maybe not this extreme, but diesels have much better low-end torque)
Diesels don't have pumping losses that you see people talking about, since they're not throttled and can burn lean.


Edit: Make sure you read Wayne's article "Beating the EPA" (follow the link in my signature).

Hope that helps,
Kirk

Awesome numbers !

I had a 1987 Golf - great platform - sorry I sold it at 140,000 miles.

welcome !

to build on the 1st response,

1) look up the torque curve for your engine (it'll be posted somewhere on the web ), that will provide you with some reference points to judge RPM vs. gearing vs. acceleration vs. speed.

2) tire pressure - max sidewall

3) try and figure out how you can add a iFCD. The feedback is important for DWL and more advanced techniques.

Are you already posting in the logs ?

Hi Jack, how long have you had the Jetta? I would like to know more about the maintenance requirements from a real live owner. Thanks.

DAS

What about maint' on the TDI ?

welcome. thats awesome that your jetta was able to pull that off. every nice.

Old school!

Show us some pics please.

pics please....

Sad to see this thread die. I JUST bought a 1985 Jetta Diesel today! I'll see if i can mpg test it on the drive to get it back home (Ohio to southern Maryland) and I'll try and post picts too.

Welcome to www.cleanmpg.com Steve. Good luck on your "new" car. Thanks for reviving this thread. :D - Dale

I'm going to get my car this weekend! 928 Miles! I'll get to do mpg tests on highway speed. And on one big stretch ridiculous mountain hills.

It has recently had most everything replaced and rebuilt in the last 20,000 miles.

The following was replaced
Injector pump, clutch, pressure plate, turbo, struts, brakes, wheel bearings, tires, rack and pinion, windshield, belts, air filters

Odometer reads 289000

Original motor was bored out, turned the crank?, rebuilt the heads, all new piston rings bearings valves, new clutch and clutch cable

I'm hoping to do hyper-mileage testing, Aerodynamic mods (I do 3d drafting at a fabrication company, this could get interesting), and hopefully try my hand at converting it to Waste Vegetable oil.

Any good Ideas and/or suggestions??

:Banane27:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=14144
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=14146
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=14148
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=14144
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=14146
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=14148

Sad to see this thread die. I JUST bought a 1985 Jetta Diesel today! I'll see if i can mpg test it on the drive to get it back home (Ohio to southern Maryland) and I'll try and post picts too.Thank you for joining!

We want more dieselheads to share their experiences!

So im managing about 47 mpg doing normal driving, and 50mpg hypermileing... I can't seem to do any better than this no matter how hard i try. I built a nice fuelcell i may have to hook up to it for kicks... but getting over 400 miles per tank is still pretty damn sweet... that compared to my truck is laughable!