Why don't TDI's like winter
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Get an air intake to let that baby breathe. That could help a little...
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Make it run warmer somehow
No additive will take the place of warmer weather.
Ours simply does not get good F E when it is colder either.
As the temperatures drops, so does my F E bigtime.
Last week, we saw 80 degrees F. here, and on my 125 mile R/T,
it got almost the same F E as it does during the summer.
During the more or less normal 50s to 60s here in the winter in the daytime, ours simply
will not do nearly as well! Couple that with the winterized fuel for which we must
shell out $3.70 or more, we simply can not win, can we?
Anything you could do to get the motor to warm up more quickly and run warmer should help.
How about doing away with the cold air intake? Make it gulp in warmer underhood air instead. my two cents
I think I'll try that. What do you think?
D
No additive will take the place of warmer weather.
Ours simply does not get good F E when it is colder either.
As the temperatures drops, so does my F E bigtime.
Last week, we saw 80 degrees F. here, and on my 125 mile R/T,
it got almost the same F E as it does during the summer.
During the more or less normal 50s to 60s here in the winter in the daytime, ours simply
will not do nearly as well! Couple that with the winterized fuel for which we must
shell out $3.70 or more, we simply can not win, can we?
Anything you could do to get the motor to warm up more quickly and run warmer should help.
How about doing away with the cold air intake? Make it gulp in warmer underhood air instead. my two cents
I think I'll try that. What do you think?
D
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87 Posts
Forget the air intake. Your "baby" breathes fine. There's really not much you can do but get the car to warm up faster. This must be your first diesel: speak in terms of fuel ecomony, fuel mileage not "gas" mileage.
Like Derrel says, a TDI takes a long time to reach operating temperature in cold weather. Even in the Valley of the Sun, it takes my TDI about 7 miles at 45 mph before the temp gauge registers normal when the ambient temperature is in the 40s. At 7 miles my MFD average MPG is in the low 30s. My guess is the oil is still not up to operating temperature after 7 miles. It takes me about 15 miles before the average MPG climbs into the lower 40s. So, short trips in frigid weather will have a significant impact on MPG. My guess is that if your trips are short in duration you could easily see a 10 to 15% drop in fuel economy during Ohio winters.
Also, the winterized fuel in OH will probably cost you about 2-3% or so in MPG due to reduced energy content in winter vs summer fuel assuming the winter fuel is cut with kerosene.
To help you get up to operating temp faster you can install a "frost heater". This is a system that heats and circulates your coolant while you car is off. By setting it up with a timer so it comes on an hour before you have drive really helps. You will get up to temp (and have warm air for our hands) much faster than without.
Another trick is to cover up your radiator with some cardboard or corrugated plastic board. This will help reduce the amount of cold air that flows across your radiator thus keeping your temp at the perfect running level.
Lastly, run for a while with the vent on recirculate to prevent frozen air from coming into your cabin and across your hvac system. This will help your car warm up as well as keeping you a bit toastier as well.
I live in Minneapolis so every winter we see a few weeks below 0, this year we had 37 days below zero, 20 of them in a row. I know what its like to run a TDI in the winter months, poor fuel and frozen temps kill your mpg.
Another trick is to cover up your radiator with some cardboard or corrugated plastic board. This will help reduce the amount of cold air that flows across your radiator thus keeping your temp at the perfect running level.
Lastly, run for a while with the vent on recirculate to prevent frozen air from coming into your cabin and across your hvac system. This will help your car warm up as well as keeping you a bit toastier as well.
I live in Minneapolis so every winter we see a few weeks below 0, this year we had 37 days below zero, 20 of them in a row. I know what its like to run a TDI in the winter months, poor fuel and frozen temps kill your mpg.
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Okay, I'm sure I'm missing something. Living in Texas, we don't see a whole lot of sustained cold temperatures, so I've not notice this phenomenon. But colder air is denser which aids combustion. That's the whole point of a cold air-intake. Shouldn't colder ambient air temps result in improved fuel efficiency? What's happening here?
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cold engine = thick oil, longer warm up (more emissions, looser engine), and winterized fuel.
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I see. The cold affects more than just the intake air temp. Duh.
I'd have to assume that the main culprit is the winterized fuel. Unless your commute is very short and all your driving is on a cold engine, I wouldn't think the 10-15 minutes it takes to get up to normal operating temp would have a great impact on overall mpg. Wish I had a commute that short...
I'd have to assume that the main culprit is the winterized fuel. Unless your commute is very short and all your driving is on a cold engine, I wouldn't think the 10-15 minutes it takes to get up to normal operating temp would have a great impact on overall mpg. Wish I had a commute that short...
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439 Posts
Above is what I have done this past winter. It does help with warm-up time.
Also a good suggestion. On a really cold day with a stone cold engine start I'll drive in either Sport mode or Tiptronic I think it's called and shift up and down myself to keep the rpms up. I just don't do any Italian tune-ups until she's nice and toasty.
anic:
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439 Posts
Oh, I forgot. It will get better mpg if you use diesel instead of gas. Yes I'm a smart ass.
anic:
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86 Posts
Heating up the car during park in the garage for 5/10 mins wouldn't help? ;(
Will first off how fast do you drive MPH? When you drive the car do you drive in city traffic of stop and go only or do you drive mainly on the highway a lot?
My wife drives a 2011 TDI Jetta in the Chicago land area and last winter she average 34 MPG with country driving. Mainly 45 to 50MPH driving in a little stop and go traffic, if she does a lot of driving in the city the MPG's will drop to around to 32 MPG with winter fuel.
I hand calculate all of her mileage and maintain this on a excel spread sheet. The spread sheet is done in one year increments so I can track trends on the health of the car.
Hey by the way be thankful for ever you are getting in MPG’s with your Jetta this is way better than what my Ram Cummins get’s in the winter 14 MPG’s.
Jim W.
my Driving is 90% 10% Highway/City I do 100 miles a day my 2006 1.9 5 speed man was getting an honest 52 MPG. I took me 100k to get there from 0 - 40K I got around 40 from 40K - 100K I crept up on 46 and then on to 50 +. I always ran Stayadine. In my 2010 2.0 6 speed man I'm hoping to get 55+ I've only had one tank through it with no additives. I have Michelin low rolling resistance tires on the 06 and factory continentals on my 10 with 36K miles right now.
As far as your Cummings ... I feel ya. my F350 7.3L 5 speed crew cab. 17 MPG on her best day.
As far as your Cummings ... I feel ya. my F350 7.3L 5 speed crew cab. 17 MPG on her best day.
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120 Posts
Check tire pressure. Remember that winter diesel has less energy content as they mix in #1 fuel to lower the gel point. In your region I think generally speaking you should expect a 10% reduction in the winter. Depending on where you get fuel too....those on highways or near them may tend to winterize further to keep it from gelling as the truckers and other diesels head north....which of course would further reduce fuel economy.
I use power service white bottle in the winter every other tank. Grey bottle in the warmer months every other tank for lubricity.
I created a fuel economy video based on my passat if you are interested:
http://youtu.be/zgyjVvEuDLo
This is all very interesting. I was thinking that there was something wrong with my 2006 that I just bought. My first weeks fuel mileage after driving like a granny ended up at 39.9 MPG. Needless to say I was really bummed. So on this run i have been driving more normal to see how much worse its gonna get. i've been watching my avg on the trip computer and I noticed that during my cold early morning 17 mile commute i am hitting around 37 mpg by the end of the trip. Then later in the day when I drive home I'm hitting 51 MPG. I was thinking that I had some type of cold weather problem but it sounds like the car is not getting warm enough.
Tranny coolant hose w Tstat to improve cold weather performance
I am looking to improve the cold weather TDI engine performance and to get more heat into the cab of my Jetta in really cold weather. I have been told that replacing the OEM transmission coolant hose for a VW upgraded hose (+/-$95) that comes with a thermostat in the hose will help with these issues. The replacement hose part number is 1J0 122 058K. Does anyone have experience with upgrading to this newer hose and how it affects cold weather performance and cab heating? Terry 04Jetta in Ontario
I am looking to improve the cold weather TDI engine performance and to get more heat into the cab of my Jetta in really cold weather. I have been told that replacing the OEM transmission coolant hose for a VW upgraded hose (+/-$95) that comes with a thermostat in the hose will help with these issues. The replacement hose part number is 1J0 122 058K. Does anyone have experience with upgrading to this newer hose and how it affects cold weather performance and cab heating? Terry 04Jetta in Ontario
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