Improve diesel economy, Mk 4 GT TDi 150bhp.

[Jonny88]

Hi all,

Been driving my 150bhp Mk 4 Golf for about 6 months now and I don't think my fuel economy if what it should be. Ok granted, in general my driving style isn't exactly the most conservative in the world, but it's certainly not the least either!

Been trawling the web and established that the 150bhp average is roughly 52.3mpg (39.2 in town and 64.2 out of town). Now I understand that you've got to take 10 - 15% off that as real life driving is different to the official EU tests.

When I drive really carefully, I'm getting an in town average of 30mpg if I'm lucky and low to mid 50's out of town if I'm lucky. For instance I did a 200 mile journey this weekend (Plymouth to Chichester via the A303) and averaged 51.5mpg. I had to try REALLY hard to achieve this and was constantly concentrating on low rev gear changes and keeping the speed down to 75mph, occasionally creeping up to 80mph/85mph. This was myself and my girlfriend with no luggage so not exactly fully laden.

Can anyone else tell me what sort of numbers they are getting and whether I've got cause for concern or if I'm just being tight with my money!

Also has anyone got any tips for increasing fuel economy??? Driving to the Alpes at Christmas and could do with saving as much as possible!!

Cheers guy and girls!

Jonny.

[FLENG2008]

hve you checked the obvious, brakes binding or tyre pressure?

[Jonny88]

Yeah have checked tyre pressures but not brakes binding. That's a good thought.

Cheers.

[herby0001]

You can easily check for binding brakes by touching the alloys after a reasonable length run. They'll be very warm. Other than that, jacking up a wheel at a time and spinning it would give you a good idea.

I would also do a fault code scan to see if there is a sensor that's throwing up an error. A coolant temperature sender or a small leak in the turbo air pipes can result in over-fuelling.

Re:fuel economy. How hard you accelerate and brake can affect your economy significantly, not just how fast you drive. The manufacturer's/EU fuel consumption figures are based on speeds of 62mph (100kph) and the faster you go, wind resistance and fuel used rises exponentially. If you're flooring it and then 20 seconds later braking hard is clearly a waste of fuel (put's a big grin on your face though! ) and your brakes, but that can be minimised by leaving a reasonable gap and reading the situation ahead to judge what's happening. Those are my tips on how to drive a bit more like an old fart (but save money without any effort) - with diesel at £1.10 a litre not many can afford to throw money away unnecessarily.

[pon]

Your figures are very similar to my 150 tdi's.
So I think your just being tight

[Jonny88]

Thanks a lot guys. Yeah the alloys are sometimes very warm after a decent run so will jack up each wheel and check.

Cheers.

J.