Diesel Fuel Milage Discussion
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So on the newest episode of top gear from last night, Clarkson, Hammond, and May had a fuel efficency race of about 750-800 miles from Switzerland to England with only 1 tank of gas in any production car, that is completely stock. Hammond drove a VW Polo 3 cylinder Diesel, May driving an AWD diesel outback, and Clarkson drove a Jaguar 2.7L V6 Twin Turbo Jaguar because he didn't think it was possible and wanted to ride comfortably since he didn't think any of them would make it. He also drove most of the trip with A/C and heated seats on at 80 mph because he was trying to waste fuel, the other 2 drove very conservatively to save fuel.
Anyways, the VW polo got 80 mpg on the trip (10 gallon tank so 800 mile range), the subaru got 62 mpg ( i think around a 13 gallon tank, so around 800 mile range also), and the Jaguar got an average of 53 mpg(18-19 gallon tank so a range of 1000 miles, and this was driving 1/2 the trip without being conservative at all with his driving, he still had a couple of gallons in the tank after the race).
So now why in the hell do we not have any vehicles anywhere close to this in the US?? Discuss
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Plain and simple...CONSPIRACY!!!!!
-Eric
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On a different episode they drove an Audi A8 4.0 TDI 800 miles on a single tank of gas.
That is Audi's flagship vehicle, full time AWD, leather everything, heated back seats, etc etc. the 4.0 TDI has more torque than half of the trucks Detroit is making and i had one blow past me on the Autobahn @ 150mph+ like i was standing still (I was going 130mph or so and it just dusted me).
German diesel technology is shit-hot. The 2 liter NON turbo E46 BMW wagon I rented was able to sustain 130mph cruising no problem.
On most BMWs now the diesel version is within 1-sec of the 0-60 time of the gas version.. i.e. the 535d is just a hair off the 535i's performance.
BMW and Audi are bringing diesel engines to the USA in 2009.
The main issue now is that US gas prices have plummeted again and diesel prices haven't... so the impetus is really gone for a lot of the diesel advantage.
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thrash;247617 wrote:
On a different episode they drove an Audi A8 4.0 TDI 800 miles on a single tank of gas.Yeah, i saw that episode also. And audi is doing the diesel R8 also....
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yeah but none of the vehicles is a 20mph->50mpg improvement in the same vehicle just by swapping engines.
http://www.vw.com/jetta/completespecs/en/us/#/show_all
The factory sticker on 2009 jettas shows the gas engines at 20/29 and the TDI at 30/41. So it's about 50% better in town and about 35% better on the highway.
The initial acquisition cost is higher, but assuming a 1.80 vs. 2.80 price split, the jetta TDI is basically a "break even" vehicle. IOW, the higher cost of diesel makes it a wash.
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I believe that all 3 vehicles that they tested there got higher than they were rated for. The Jag was rated at 35 mpg, and got 53 without trying. The Polo was rated at 70 mpg and got 80 being conservative, and i think the subaru was rated at 50 and got 62. I would guess that a gas AWD outback wouldn't get more than 30 so that is quite an improvement even at 50.
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yeah, as an owner of 2 80s BMWs with the "USA 5mph Impact Bumpers" i am bitterly aware of the differences between Euro and US spec german cars
that said, if the discussion is about how well they'll do here, it's worth looking at the US-spec versions, don't you agree?
I think the jetta actually does better than 41mpg in real-world highway usage, so that's a point in its favor.
Unfortuneately, while Audi is bringing a TDI into the USA A4 in the near future, their transmission strategy has gone completely stupid. You cannot get a manual transmission in the A4 wagon, and the S4 won't be offered in wagon form any more. The TDI they are bringing over is the 3.0 TDI which is only going to get around 37 highway for about a $5k price bump over the normal A4. TDIs will also be automatic only, most likely.
BMW may do a better job of bringing over a kick-ass turbo diesel car in the near future.
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3_Series;247628 wrote:
Diesel may have the mileage advantage, but gas = more fun to drive, at least if you like revs.When comparing the two you either get torque or revs, but not both.
I dunno, with my programmer on the 85hp tune my truck is around 300 rwhp and 640 rwtq. It's pretty fun to drive.
:icon_rr:
DaveH
'94 Supra- 7.77 @ 176mph -
DaveH;247636 wrote:
I dunno, with my programmer on the 85hp tune my truck is around 300 rwhp and 640 rwtq. It's pretty fun to drive.:icon_rr:
agreed....
I like living in the realm where 100hp+ injectors and oversize tires help my MPG
I pull 20-22mpg in a 3/4 ton, 4wd on I-state @ 80mph.......and still give it to the gassers in the anus
with DDP injectors, fuel plate, and other goodies
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