kcfoxie
November 20th, 2011, 10:07 PM
So Apex finished the manual swap in my ALH 03 TDI (Beetle).
Let me state, for the newbies, my background. I've owned 3 TDIs, 1 MB Diesel, and I had an ex with a Liberty CRD Jeep...
I like my diesels. I like fuel economy. I drive upwards of 40k a year, so gas engines don't even register on my radar.
In the previous TDIs: 06 PD Jetta MKV and 98 Beetle TDI AGR (ALH but different factory turbo, this was the only year for this engine in the USA)... I could drive from NC to MS on a tank. It's a 750 mile drive, and I ALWAYS managed to do this running 60mph with the cruise set. If you're wondering about the slow speed; I made my best times running this constant speed than speeding up and down (and dropping 7mpg) with the zones.
In 2008 I drove from Raleigh to Austin TX for work. In the Jetta, carrying Biodiesel on board (65 gallons, that's an additional 520lb of weight) and on the return a spare 1.6L NA Diesel motor from a 90 Jetta in my trunk... I averaged 49.8mpg. In a "big body" MkV.
My Beetle was the 800-miler, going 805 and 813 miles on two different trips to texas -- 52 and 54.5mpg. This was a car with notorious camber issues from a collision earlier in its life. Basically I replaced my passenger front tire every 15k miles because it wore out on the inside tread.
The point? A TDI should get 40 in city and at or over 50 highway if driven correctly.
Enter the 03 Automatic 01M. "How bad can it be?" Try 33mpg in the city and a whopping 45.4mpg on the highway.
Yeah, you saw that right. A 9 to 12mpg DROP for the joy of slow acceleration and not shifting. Um... something is amiss here.
I bought this car and drove from Raleigh to Roswell NM two weeks after getting it. On the way there I got 42mpg to Mississippi, 42 from there to Texas, then 36 to 38mpg in the caravans because we ran 80mph a LOT of the way. On the return I vented the tank and I ran my strict 60. 45.4, I did this for three tanks back to back.
45.4.... I'm used to a full 10mpg more than that with the stick. This is not a small drop.
So I had the 98 TDI's trans swapped into the 03. The last tank I measured from it as an auto was a measly 33.8mpg. The first tank as a stick? 40.6mpg - that's a 20% increase. I should also note that I was running excess of three digits speeds to break the clutch in on that tank. I never, ever, went above 70 in the automatic because of how it ATE the fuel economy (I had a few sub-30mpg tanks with the automatic).
So, kudos to Apex Tuning for making my car worth driving again. And for those thinking about a Mk4 Auto TDI...DON'T DO IT. Seriously, the drop in FE and added upkeep of the auto makes it pointless. Go manual, or go home.
I've sinced swapped the dirty intake out with a clean one, and deleted the EGR system. I can't get a full fill till friday, but it's looking like I'm around 41mpg -- a modest increase, but I've also not toned down my driving any. I've driven this car stupid hard, chirping the tires for the first time in this car's life... brings a huge smile to my face.
I'll have my bi-annual trip to Texas for work in Jan, and intend to drive. I won't be taking fuel with me, and am aiming for a 60mpg tank (that's a range of 900 minimum miles). Given some of the extra mods I intend to make between now and then in the intake and exhaust departments, and based on the 98's (with had over 250k on it at the time of these trips) mileage and mentioned camber issues, I think I can achieve this.
If I could get a 1000 mile tank -- that's basically driving across the entire state of texas -- I'd be ecstatic.
In 2011 I'm buying and installing the BoraParts 6-speed 02J conversion kit, with the towing option. 5th gear for towing, 6th gear for 75mph @ 2000rpm. 60mph is currently around 2000rpm. Speed + 50mpg... hell yes.
Let me state, for the newbies, my background. I've owned 3 TDIs, 1 MB Diesel, and I had an ex with a Liberty CRD Jeep...
I like my diesels. I like fuel economy. I drive upwards of 40k a year, so gas engines don't even register on my radar.
In the previous TDIs: 06 PD Jetta MKV and 98 Beetle TDI AGR (ALH but different factory turbo, this was the only year for this engine in the USA)... I could drive from NC to MS on a tank. It's a 750 mile drive, and I ALWAYS managed to do this running 60mph with the cruise set. If you're wondering about the slow speed; I made my best times running this constant speed than speeding up and down (and dropping 7mpg) with the zones.
In 2008 I drove from Raleigh to Austin TX for work. In the Jetta, carrying Biodiesel on board (65 gallons, that's an additional 520lb of weight) and on the return a spare 1.6L NA Diesel motor from a 90 Jetta in my trunk... I averaged 49.8mpg. In a "big body" MkV.
My Beetle was the 800-miler, going 805 and 813 miles on two different trips to texas -- 52 and 54.5mpg. This was a car with notorious camber issues from a collision earlier in its life. Basically I replaced my passenger front tire every 15k miles because it wore out on the inside tread.
The point? A TDI should get 40 in city and at or over 50 highway if driven correctly.
Enter the 03 Automatic 01M. "How bad can it be?" Try 33mpg in the city and a whopping 45.4mpg on the highway.
Yeah, you saw that right. A 9 to 12mpg DROP for the joy of slow acceleration and not shifting. Um... something is amiss here.
I bought this car and drove from Raleigh to Roswell NM two weeks after getting it. On the way there I got 42mpg to Mississippi, 42 from there to Texas, then 36 to 38mpg in the caravans because we ran 80mph a LOT of the way. On the return I vented the tank and I ran my strict 60. 45.4, I did this for three tanks back to back.
45.4.... I'm used to a full 10mpg more than that with the stick. This is not a small drop.
So I had the 98 TDI's trans swapped into the 03. The last tank I measured from it as an auto was a measly 33.8mpg. The first tank as a stick? 40.6mpg - that's a 20% increase. I should also note that I was running excess of three digits speeds to break the clutch in on that tank. I never, ever, went above 70 in the automatic because of how it ATE the fuel economy (I had a few sub-30mpg tanks with the automatic).
So, kudos to Apex Tuning for making my car worth driving again. And for those thinking about a Mk4 Auto TDI...DON'T DO IT. Seriously, the drop in FE and added upkeep of the auto makes it pointless. Go manual, or go home.
I've sinced swapped the dirty intake out with a clean one, and deleted the EGR system. I can't get a full fill till friday, but it's looking like I'm around 41mpg -- a modest increase, but I've also not toned down my driving any. I've driven this car stupid hard, chirping the tires for the first time in this car's life... brings a huge smile to my face.
I'll have my bi-annual trip to Texas for work in Jan, and intend to drive. I won't be taking fuel with me, and am aiming for a 60mpg tank (that's a range of 900 minimum miles). Given some of the extra mods I intend to make between now and then in the intake and exhaust departments, and based on the 98's (with had over 250k on it at the time of these trips) mileage and mentioned camber issues, I think I can achieve this.
If I could get a 1000 mile tank -- that's basically driving across the entire state of texas -- I'd be ecstatic.
In 2011 I'm buying and installing the BoraParts 6-speed 02J conversion kit, with the towing option. 5th gear for towing, 6th gear for 75mph @ 2000rpm. 60mph is currently around 2000rpm. Speed + 50mpg... hell yes.