Is there anything you can do to improve fuel economy?

[Spetznaaz]

Hello,

After getting 23mpg (19 U.S mpg) today and with the petrol prices here in the U.K ($6.60 a US gallon if my calcs are correct) i was wondering if there were any mods that could increase fuel economy. Obviously driving it like a granny will help and i do plan to try this, it's just very hard to stay out of boost.

Can't really find much online so i'm guessing there's not much you can do but thought i'd ask just in case. Some people have said after a tune they have had better economy but others have said a tune couldn't possibly have an effect on economy that wasn't down to driving style. I don't know enough to know if this is true or not.

Cheers

[mcpcartier]

Had this list of things to check from somewhere..

fuel filter
PCV
MAF
tire pressure
carbon buildup
injectors dirty
plugs
vaccuum lines
diverter valve
N80
N75
Dirty Air Filter

I'm sure each of these can help if they're a problem....but I don't think the list is in any particular order.

Not mods....just a list.

I added a tune and had a slight mpg improvement.....went from averaging 25.8 mpg to 26.5 mpg (when I'm not stomping on it).

[Audibot]

^^All these, plus I'd add potentially clogged catalytic converter too. Unsure of how many km you have on the car, but it has been known to happen. If you can get away with a high-flow cat, it would help there to reduce backpressure on the turbo. But I would start with the list provided above.

Like stated, on my B7, I saw a slight increase in mpg on a Stage 1 tune over the stock software, though I don't have numbers to give you. After some more mods, and mpg went down due to lead foot.

[aluthman]

Super grippy tires will adversely affect fuel economy also due to the increased rolling resistance. A tune will absolutely help fuel economy due to increased timing.

[EvolutionArmory]

Running proper tire pressure, having a dialed in alignment and a tune up can go a long way.

And yes, getting something as small as a stage 1 tune will usually bump up the MPG’s. I still get 28 MPG’s with mixed highway and back road driving on a K04. I used to get 30 when I was stage 2.

[80sGuy]

Stay away from carbs - bread, pasta, pizza. Ok, seriously stay away from them, but do you have your tires properly inflated? Also, fresh motor Oil and new Air Filter helps. Not just the filter but there is a 'snow filter' lodged inside at the end of the snorkel which many people overlooked when changing out their air filters. You'd be surprised how clogged it can get. I recommend Mobil 1 0W-40. My car loves it!

Snow Filter inside snorkel




This is the good shyte...

[Jeevan]

may be selling the Audi and buying a Toyota Prius or Geo Tracker!

[Charles.waite]

I average 19MPGs on my daily commute. Is it really hilly and trafficky where you live? If so theres not a ton you can do. I can touch 30mpg on an all-highway road trip, but around the city, in traffic I barely eek out 20mpg.

[Willënskraft]

Spark plugs and ignition coils changed?

[Audibot]

may be selling the Audi and buying a Toyota Prius or Geo Tracker!

Buddy of mine used to have a Geo Metro and would get 50 mpg out of that little 1L, 3-cylinder engine. Thing was falling apart around him until he traded it in to get his Golf TDI.

[Jeevan]

Buddy of mine used to have a Geo Metro and would get 50 mpg out of that little 1L, 3-cylinder engine. Thing was falling apart around him until he traded it in to get his Golf TDI.

Geo is a collector car now. People are pouncing over it.

[Spetznaaz]

Thanks Guys, i appreciate the replies.

I forgot to mention i have the 2.0T S-Line Special Edition Quattro 6MT. Being a quattro i lose about 4 mpg i think compared with the fwd, which sucks but i love having the 4wd.

mcpcartier - Looks like a good list, lot's for me to check and change. I'm guessing that's U.S mpg which is 31mpg here, i'd be pretty happy if i managed to get that! What kind of driving is that with and is it a quattro or fwd? A tune is definitely on my list of things to do when i've got a bit of spare cash.

Audibot - There's 71k miles on the clock (assuming it hasn't been clocked back). I'm planning on getting a high flow cat one day but last time i looked a good one was about £800.

aluthman - When i purchased it a few months ago it came with Continentals, pretty damn grippy! 18" wheels as standard but that may be the same with all S-line i can't remember.

EvolutionArmory - I think all the tyres are at correct pressure, i'll check that tomorrow. As for the alignment.. Well i'm noticing slight uneven tyre wear. I've reason to believe the car was involved in an accident (found filler, whole car has been resprayed, badly) so i hope it's not due to a twisted frame. I've got two lower front control arms sitting on my desk ready to be fitted and then i'm going to get a 4 wheel alignment so hopefully the uneven wear is down to this and will help with economy.

80sGuy - Lol me and my partner are both currently losing a lot of weight so hopefully that will help with economy! Thinking about that, 90 percent of the time i'm carrying her, two car seats, two babies and a pram so i'm sure that doesn't help with the fuel economy. That's interesting about the snow filter bit, i'll have a look tomorrow. Is it one that you just clean or do you replace it like the air filter? If the latter, do you happen to have a part number as i've not seen them anywhere before. I'm planning on changing the oil soon as well, was going to use 0w40 Mobil 1 "new life", not really sure which Mobil 1 0w40 is best though.

Jeevan - Lol or perhaps a dirty diesel... It's certainly not the most economical car in the world but it's a joy to drive and i love the power. Couldn't go back. My old car was a 110bhp peugeot 206 and at the time that was the most powerful car i'd owned lol. Double the BHP is nice :)

Charles.waite - Yeah i live in South Wales (the U.K one) and the hills are horrible. There's a mountain right near us we need to go over to get certain places and the mpg going over that is atrocious. Traffic isn't too bad mind. This time though when i got 19 us mpg i'd say about 40 percent of the tank was going 60mph on dual carriageways. Did have AC on though which i guess is going to bring it down again. When you say about getting 20mpg, is that all city / traffic? Just when i got 19mpg, as i mentioned, there was a fair bit of no traffic 60mph driving. It worries me about you only getting 30mpg on all motorway... i'd always thought at least on the motorway cruising at 60mph i'd be getting about 34. According to the trip computer i was getting 37 (us) on the way home from buying the car which was all 60mph no traffic. Do you have the quattro / manual btw? IIRC the auto get's less mpg than the manual.

Willënskraft - I'll try this when i get some cash and see if it helps. The car did have a FSH and they were changed a couple years ago but for all i know they never actually were.

[80sGuy]

^^You just clean the 'snow filter' and reuse. Makes a difference, at least it'll help with gaining back some healthy throttle response.