Fuel consumption/DPF issues 1.6 TDI "Blue motion technology"

[UPTONJE]

I have used Shell V power or BP Ultimate for many years now. My last car was Audi A4 Avant 2.0 l ( no DPF) multitronic and I found that the increase in Mpg compensated for additional cost. Smoother running and 100,000 trouble free miles from that engine all led me to carry on using it. Changed car recently to Golf estate 2.0l DSG with DPF. 2012 model Mk6 purchased with 4000 miles now done 6500 mainly urban with few long trips. Using Shell V power averaging 48mpg and 57 to 60 mpg on long journey. Staggered by the economy of this unit, very pleased and not noticed any evidence of DPF regen. No overrun of fan /higher tickover or any other reported DPF regen scenarios. The clean fuel may just be a factor .

[turpal]

I don`t usually use supermarket fuel (3times in 4 years) but know for a fact that the mpg and how a car pulls differ.As for shell normal vs V-power well you do get a few mpg more and car feels more responsive.I bought a golf gt tdi 110bhp a few years ago and was taking a while on a cold start so I put £20 of BP Ultimate and every morning it was starting better and in less than a week was starting on the button,the same thing on my A4 I had as well.It is an easy experiment for anyone and I can assure you as an ex taxi and courier driver there is a difference.I noticed a good mpg from Esso diesel too.

[mcmaddy]

It's mainly down to the placebo effect. You think your going to get more because your told it will by bp and shell so you do and think it's amazing!!

[dcdick]

It's mainly down to the placebo effect. You think your going to get more because your told it will by bp and shell so you do and think it's amazing!!

Interesting statement here....

I would expect to get "more" with the premium fuel & if it turns out that I did fine, that's why I paid the premium rate over "standard".

If I don't get the improvement I am expecting/hoping for in the time scale I have set, it's not the end of the world & I'm only a few £'s out of pocket but at least I have tried it for myself.

My "gut" feeling is that there will be advantages in the premium fuels mainly in a reduction of generated soot in my case, also some benefits in in overall engine performance that I am hoping will be obvious enough to dispel any thoughts of "placebo" effects.

D

[pango1in]

It's not a placebo when you notice faster starts and less smoke out the back end. It's also not a placebo when you clearly notice that the engine clatters less.

There is definitely a huge gulf in opinion re: the benefits of Ultimate fuels, which to be fair no one customer can really scientifically check one way or the other. But, I would be interested if Ultimate fuels mean that DPF recycles are reduced, as this would go some way to proving that there is some measurable effect on the engine.

[maisbitt]

I definitely notice a performance increase with Shell vs Esso, and general mpg around the doors is better with Shell too. When i'm driving on a long motorway journey, sitting at constant speed, Esso seems to give slightly better mpg. I have had no issues with Sainsburys Diesel or Morrisons, but Tesco is always poor. I say this as if there is a massive difference, but there isn't - mpg-wise, the difference between the best and the worst is probably about 5%.

Shell V-power Nitro + (Turbo Mach 3 excel etc) diesel makes no difference to me. It is a diesel synthesised from natural gas rather than refined from crude, so it is cleaner than normal diesel, but normal diesel is very clean these days. Unless you're filling up with the odd sly tank of red diesel, you shouldn't be needing to clean up the internals of a newish engine which has never experienced the mucky/low purity diesels of old. Not worth the extra 10p per litre and it is certainly no more potent, unlike using 99RON petrol in a car optimally set up for higher RON usage in preference to 95RON petrol.

I personally wouldn't add 2 stroke oil to diesel fuel, there's a chance you will poison the catalytic surfaces of the exhaust system. That car is set up to combust diesel as cleanly as it can and then burn off the sooty particulates. If you alter the combustion profile of the fuel beyond normal retailer variation (cetane additions) then you risk multiplying the particulate output to make the DPF work even harder.

This is the first time that I realised dcdick's Golf was a DSG. Maybe the action of the DSG box is contributing to the need to regen more often? DSGs usually shift up at the earliest opportunity unless they're being driven hard. Driving the car sedately (or in the highest possible gear at all times due to the DSG's keen-ness to shift up) will extend the time taken to warm up the engine, and if you're doing less than 8 miles on a trip and less than 1/2 of it is at national speed limit speeds, the oil will barely be at 95C by the time you finish your journey.

From your experiences there seems to be no benefit in the 1.6TDI over the 2.0TDI. I drove quite sedately today due to traffic conditions and achieved 54mpg for the trip on my 12 mile commute (combined published figures are 53.3mpg), it would usually be 51/52mpg in these temperatures.

My Dad's DSG GTD will be built and here in 2 to 3 weeks (it is due to be built this week) - it will be interesting to see what mpg that is capable of (published combined = 60.1mpg).

I also see that urban mpg for the 1.6TDI Golf is 61.4mpg - you really shouldn't be getting less than urban figures in all but the most extreme of driving conditions (very cold ambient temp or gridlocked traffic).

If you drive your car very sedately then a TSI is probably a better match for you. TDIs are all about being able to drive them quite hard with almost no fuel penalty or being able to get great mpg across great distances. If your car barely gets warmed up before you reach the end of your typical journey then you won't see much in the way of benefit over the ACT 1.4TSI.

[dcdick]

I also see that urban mpg for the 1.6TDI Golf is 61.4mpg - you really shouldn't be getting less than urban figures in all but the most extreme of driving conditions (very cold ambient temp or gridlocked traffic).

If you drive your car very sedately then a TSI is probably a better match for you. TDIs are all about being able to drive them quite hard with almost no fuel penalty or being able to get great mpg across great distances. If your car barely gets warmed up before you reach the end of your typical journey then you won't see much in the way of benefit over the ACT 1.4TSI.

Thanks for your answer.......... I don't subscribe to the theory that diesels somehow perform better when driven "hard" but do agree that they should show good (or even great) mpg on longer runs.
The VW published fuel figures clearly show the 1.6 TDI to be way better than the 1.4TSI (even ignoring the mpg figures the % gap is still large).
I don't drive sedately but I don't race around the way I did when I was young............still use the acceleration & switch to sport for overtaking etc.. sometimes

Well "the plot thickens" as they say....................

I put in £40 of Vpower "nitro" yesterday as an experiment ........................ tank is now around 85% Vpower & 15% standard Shell/BP diesel mix........................................ previous "since a refuel" mpg reading was 47.8 mpg
This evening the "since a refuel" reading is now 56.5 mpg......... this is approaching 20% improvement

Mileage done since refuel is 95 miles, made up of 2 very short journeys (2 miles) 2 journeys of around 6 miles, 2 journeys of 15 miles (medium traffic) & 2 journeys of 25 miles (light traffic)

Since it was at the dealers last week (in workshop for 1.5 hrs for "testing") the mileage did seem to be improving prior to fueling Sunday am.

Just don't know what to make of this engine

Very, very early days to be looking for repeatable results, but something is going on for sure...............did the dealer "do something" when they had it in last week ?

VPower nitro is 7p extra per litre where we are & the station I use is a very high volume operation.........26 liters fuel, extra cost £1.82 (& 100 extra "Shell points" added that are worth something as well)

The problem has to be this regen system, since being at the dealers there have been no "forced" regens at journeys end (so far)

D

[pango1in]

Good to hear that the mpg has increased, although we'll never know if it was the garage or the fuel.

Perhaps the garage emptied the dpf? If so, you might find out in about 300 miles ...

I collect my golf on Wednesday, so will be starting an mpg test of my own

[dcdick]

Good to hear that the mpg has increased, although we'll never know if it was the garage or the fuel.

Perhaps the garage emptied the dpf? If so, you might find out in about 300 miles ...

I collect my golf on Wednesday, so will be starting an mpg test of my own

Who knows what the garage did .................. 10 mins to wash the car down..........how long for a diagnostic check 20/30 mins ????

The consumption at the moment is certainly better than when the car was new. I would presume that the normal regen process would "empty" the DPF, surely as that is the whole point, to keep the filter working as close to 100% as possible.
Looks like this is going to rumble on & on as I will not be dictated to by a car as to how many miles I should drive & when.
Have to wait until I hit 2,000 miles before the lease company will do something about this, which could well be replacement with a petrol car

D

[dcdick]

Well, the plot thickens as they say

100 mile round trip this weekend almost exactly 50 miles each way, all m/way/dual/A roads dry & warm traffic constant but light. (2 adults + weekend luggage) Both from overnight "cold" start

Out on Sat morn 62.1 mpg, was showing 65.5 until the last 1/2 mile through the destination town that was slow moving 5 mins at low speed 15/20 mph cost me 3+ mpg on a 50 m journey ??

Return journey on Mon morning returned 59.4 mpg, no hold ups of any kind, same weather conditions as out journey max speed for both journeys was never more than 70 mph for odd occasions while overtaking.

Bit surprised at the return mpg as the gradients seemed to be in favour of the return leg.
Av consumption 60.75 mpg, cars mileage passed 1k on the journey so engine should be working to it's best (or as good as it is going to get)

I had to drive far, far to carefully to get this mpg, using the "freewheel" option on the eco setting as much as possible/anticipation/driving with an egg between my foot & the accel pedal etc..... in these circumstances I should have been getting at least the combined figures of 72.4 mpg driving like this.

Next move is to stick some more fuel in & drive in normal mode without care for economy & see what happens to the mileage

Think I'll try & see if Top Gear will do an economy run in one of these "standard" Mk 7's ................. now that would be interesting !

Not much point in this thread now as no-one with a 1.6TDI has come forward to compare their fuel consumption so I'll just let it go & post any other stuff here

MPG issues ON NEW GOLF MK7 2.0TDI - Page 17

D