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27K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  sgnimj96 
#1 ·
I curious to hear how many miles per gallon you get out of your Rabbits. When I bought my Rabbit I was hoping for 45-50, but I'm only getting 40. Are there any tips on getting more MPG? Are gas Rabbits better or worse then diesel when it comes to fuel economy?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Well if you slowly accelerate you can squeeze 45 miles per gallon. If you want any higher I would suggest getting a turbo diesel engine. They are known to consistantly acheive 45 mpg and higher. There is a guy out there with a 1986 turbodiesel jetta with 500,000 miles on the odometer and still consitantly acheives over 45mpg. I wish I could find that article at the moment.


edit FOUND IT http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/23/vw-finds-highest-mileage-diesel-in-ohio/http://http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/23/vw-finds-highest-mileage-diesel-in-ohio/
 
#4 ·
Well I have an 1984 2 dr Rabbit Diesel L. "NO rear seat or spare tire"" getting over 50 mpg still and has 609,000 kms none smoker unless I spin the tires 1st and 2nd :) and if this makes any sence, friends have a newer one 1999 jetta tdi,, and there only gettn like 34 mpg,, strange,, we both ran them out of Diesel to find out,, whos was better,,
 
#5 ·
Well on my little Cabriolet with Automatic I just found that I got 28 on the highway... I was tickled pink. As it is I get 22-24 in town.
Yep, for the 45-50mpg, I can remember those days on my Diesel. Now back in the day of my well tuned car, I got 55mpg on the highway @ 55 MPH.
and that was in my 67 MG. Mileage and Cars depends on your type of driving. Look on the interweb for HyperMilers.
 
#7 ·
Im getting anywhere from 52-45 in my 81 rabbit diesel depending on driving habbits highway or city, I haven't figured it out for my new 84 Quantum Wagon 1.6 turbo diesel but its gotta be in the low to mid 40's both run on veggie oil....... MM
 
#8 ·
I'm getting 51 mpg pretty steadily with my 81 4-door diesel rabbit. All original, with all equipment included in the car (rear seat, spare, etc), traveling 50 miles a day round trip to work, mostly hwy at 60-65 mph. I'm hoping to do some suspension work and look into some low rolling resistace tires. Hoping to get to the 55 range soon, but time will tell...maybe I'll just slow to 55 mph for a while and see how it goes...
 
#9 ·
Over the last month I've been purposely driving etremely cautious in hopes to raise my MPGs. No luck. I'm still getting 35 city, 40 highway with my 84 4-door diesel rabbit. I know I need some front-end work done as the tire shop couldn't do an alignment due to too much play. Could that cause a 5 to 10 MPG loss? If not, is there anything else I can tweak? The tires are new and properly inflated.
 
#10 ·
I would check the fuel pump with a dial gauge. You may have to tweak it a bit.
 
#11 ·
i have an 84 rabbit-1.6 non turbo. 150k on the clock. mileage is very consistant. bought it from a tree hugger. i did timing belt, f inj,glow plugs. syn oil in trans(4 spd). running rotella 15/40 in motor. filled it in my drivway, over filled it(translate-spilled). set trip o.d.-went 171 miles-filled it at local diesel station, took exactly 3.10 gallons. drove it 109 miles, same scenario-filled it at same place-took 2.02 gallons. these are 4 lane driving miles,driving usually 62 to 65 mph. in town, i am getting a consistant 43 to 45 mpg. incredable mileage. replaced oil pump, oil psi running at temp at 60 mph is 80+. no oil leaks-no oil consumption. great car. i'd like to find another like it. good luck
 
#13 · (Edited)
Re: Got 63 mpg driving to nevada...

I consistently get 50 mpg around town with occasional trips on the freeway. I just learned to drive like i`m old, keep the RPM's low, and did a lot of work to make sure the engine is healthy.

Some of the best and cheapest things you can do are:


Make sure your fuel pump is in excellent condition, both clean and also no wear. I tore mine down and it was really in great shape so I just resealed it.


Do a valve job, that means lapping in the valves and making sure you keep the valves adjusted all the time.


Make sure your compression is top notch, if not a ring job is very easy on an engine that is known good condition.

Make sure the fuel system in general is in good shape - the pump can take a lot of work, but making sure the tank is venting very well, the screen is not clogged, return lines, etc are in good shape it makes the whole system work better.


Pop test your injectors, take them apart and lap them, mix and match shims and springs until you get a whole set performing at spec.


Get a better air filter - probably a minor thing but it won`t hurt.


Keep your tires in good shape and inflated to a decent number - not to where they wear incorrectly.


Make sure your brakes are not dragging, grease that stuff up really well with caliper grease in the front, good adjustment in the rear.


Drive 55 on the highway if you have a 4 speed, 65 max with a 5 speed.

On long trips I run 5w30 oil - but only for those trips, and then when i`m done with it I dump it in the tank and burn it. I think the fuel savings wouldn`t justify spending $15 for an oil change otherwise.


Definitely don`t carry around anything you don`t need, including a big roof rack (like I am).


And mostly, the engine only has 50 HP or so at top condition, so if you have to "push" it at any time it's quickly going to lose any economy you might have hoped for. I think there is a delicate balance here in the power to weight ratio, and forget about aerodynamics.


This is a good link for some quick and easy tweaks - I didnt really use it on the rabbit since it is so simple, but it helped me squeeze 27 mpg out of my v8 grand cherokee - which will possibly be getting lowered a bit next.


http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php
 
#16 ·
Re: Got 63 mpg driving to nevada...

1982 1.6 N/A diesel 5spd. I just calculated 39 in town (I try to obey the shift light as much as possible) and 48 on a highway trip running 65 on the freeway and pulling a lot of long slow hills. It isn't even running perfect yet, I'm planning on the injectors and confirming the Injector pump.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Re: Got 63 mpg driving to nevada...

Isn't it funny that you are getting about the same or better mileage than the new Prius Hybrids, then again Only one Battery is needed:):):):):)

If I took a Bulldozer to the nissan dealer and moved all the leafs in to a pile and set the on fire would they arrest me for burning leaves without a permit?
 
#18 ·
Re: Got 63 mpg driving to nevada...

Isn't it funny that you are getting about the same or better mileage than the new Prius Hybrids, then again Only one Batter is needed:):):):):)

If I took a Bulldozer to the nissan dealer and moved all the leafs in to a pile and set the on fire would they arrest me for burning leaves without a permit?
Right, And better than that, the environmental foot print of my Rabbit was stomped on the planet back about 1981..... It's paid it's dues and is pretty much an environmental free ride... But, nobody ever thinks about the environmental footprint of a new Prius...... How many years of fuel savings until it finally "Breaks even" with damage it's production causes!?! :)
 
#19 ·
#21 ·
Re: It's own story to tell...

Old thread I know but seemed noteworthy to bump it while adding mine...especially given a few details about it.

84 NA 1.6D
Bought in Nov '15 with a non-working odo that read JUST short of 300k miles. Was giving consistent but fairly wide ranging 40-45 mpgs and compression 100lbs BELOW Bentley's acceptable minimum (found out during the later re-ring). A month after getting it found out also had no T-stat (AZ desert car). Had to install a block heater to just to help it start in 40deg mornings. Had to abuse the glow plugs to get it to start...3-4 cycles even in the warm of the afternoon.
Then 6 months later finally opened it up. The poor thing was running with rings with gaps measured not in thousandths...but hundredths...while #3 could be measured in TENTHS! This led me to believe I had an engine far closer to 500k or more given the wear and tapered cylinders (no T-stat didn't help either). Also if even half of what the PO told me about the car's life before HE got it...it saw some abuse as an initial push-assist for small diesel truck speed records. Circumstance with my other ride prevented me from doing anything other than a re-ring (which alone was a HUGE improvement).

Immediately averaged consistent 45-46 and oil consumption PLUMMETED from 1qt/wk (400ish miles) to 1qt/mo (1600ish). Since this was in May triple digits...heat soak alone it would fire right off after a few seconds cranking WITHOUT glow plugs. Cold weather required only 1 glow plug cycle (after replacing since previous use literally blew holes in 1 of them and burned up the rest). A bit later went over to full synth oil and it jumped to almost 50...but not quite...saw it once or twice. Then when outside temps started to rise....ESPECIALLY NOW...have seen 53+ but the norm is 51-52.

Another note to state how forgiving this little engine has been is that a couple months back when temps were still relatively cool I somehow left the coolant reservoir cap off. Since at this point with so little oil loss...didn't realize for almost a month. Engine got warm a few times but never HOT...when found out still took over a half gallon to fill...so I'd still lost about 1/3 my coolant. Yet it was after even THIS that I've been sitting at the 50+ range.

One of these days will give it the proper care it needs. Have another block I picked up that will get checked out and line bored if needed. May even get one of those Gideon or whatsitsname injector pumps.
 
#22 ·
Re: It's own story to tell...

One of these days will give it the proper care it needs. Have another block I picked up that will get checked out and line bored if needed. May even get one of those Gideon or whatsitsname injector pumps.
Giles.
 
#24 ·
I'm surprised how few people ever mention fuel pressure when tuning up their injection pumps. There is a long faq thread about it on dieselparts.com. The pressure regulator in the bosch injection pump is a ridiculously simple pin that is tapped in to increase the internal fuel pressure of the pump. This controls the dynamic advance.

Kind of a pain to mess with though; if you tap it in too far you have to unscrew it, remove a keeper and spring, then tap it back up, put it back together and do it again. To see the internal pressure of the pump a gauge must be rigged into a modified out-bolt, or whatever can be thought up.... and read while the engine is running.
Anyway, fuel pressure should be around 50psi@1000rpm, 100psi@2000. I wouldn't recommend it if your injection pump has old seals, but it is a factor in getting good mileage.


Another measurement is fuel overflow- how much fuel passes through the pump in a given time. Pretty easy, just let a jar fill up and time it.



Here's a cool archive. The LD20 is basically the same as the vw 4-cyl injection pumps

http://www.waghornswood.net.nz/Manu.../LD20_LD28_Manual_pdf/ld20_ld28_manual_ef.pdf
 
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