Ideal gear changes in GT TDI for MPG + 6th gear?

[tomjj]

Hi there,

Just wondering on this. My daily drive is around 50mph A road for a while, some country lanes and a lot of sitting in traffic - about 15 miles each journey taking 35 minutes. I do this each morning and each night daily.

I seem to be getting about 46MPG or 49 when i put my foot down more - why is this!?

Also i rarely seem to be able to use 6th unless doing about 60mph (on other roads). When is the correct speed to use 6th?

So anyway...
What MPG should i be getting on an 04 GT TDI (140)???

When should i be changing gear. I'm finding the transition from Petrol to Diesel a bit strange still. What revs should i be taking each gear to before changing up? At what speed is ideal for each gear?

Thanks.

[dod1e]

I have the same car and find that above 30 for 4th, above 40 for 5th, and above 50 for 6th seems to be the best for ecconomy. i normally avergae around 52 mpg

[lupogini]

Much the same as the dod1e. i tend to change up at no more than 2000rpm. My daily route is 23miles mostly back roads and quite hilly. Usually average between 50 and 58 dependant on traffic.

[knt]

To get good fuel economy, it's recommended to change to higher gear as soon as possible and let the speed build up that way instead of revving it up and then changing gears.

I have a petrol and use 6th gear @ 30mph, sure it's slow but gets the jobs done (I usually do 1st, 2nd, 3rd and straight into 6th @ 30-40 mph). And besides you can always downgear for quicker speed boosts.

On diesel between 1500-2500 rpm before changing gears.

[tomjj]

My 46-48 seems quite low then?

[dod1e]

Depends how and where you drive. Sharp acceleration and braking, and sitting in traffic with the engine ticking over kills the economy.

[GarJE]

My experience is with the 140 is the longer you take to get up to about 55mph the worse the overall fuel economy is. obviously I don't mean caning it through the gears, but just being brisk, rather than labouring in any gear for too long.

[tomjj]

My experience is with the 140 is the longer you take to get up to about 55mph the worse the overall fuel economy is. obviously I don't mean caning it through the gears, but just being brisk, rather than labouring in any gear for too long.

Oh right. That might be part of my reason then hanging on to gears too long?

So just change change change quickly? What about skipping some gears - how does it like that?

[knt]

As long as the speed matches the gears its no problem.

Changing from 3rd to 6th @ ~30 mph gives you a slow build up to higher speed rather than revving through the range thus saving fuel (think of it the higher the revs the more fuel you'll burn).

Like wise if doing ~30 mph is too slow in 6th gear then just change back down to 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th for speedier overtaking or building up speed (probably about 3000-4000rpm to get the best speed).

Never been passed 4000 rpm in any gears as I don't see the point as by the time you get up to that speed you'll be breaking the speed limit already.

Hanging on too long in a specific lower gear might make a good sounding exhaust noise but you'll just end up burning fuel you don't need to.

Alway use the appropriate gears to the speed you're going, this also puts less stress on the engine.

[knt]

If you're still running in the car then that's to be expected, after running in period you can expect +10 mpg more under normal driving conditions.

My 46-48 seems quite low then?