[Vwdiesel] Mileage test 84 Rabbit. --- ( hagars Pickle Jar day ?)

[Lee Hillsgrove]

> > Distance ?   13.5 Km  exactly each way. Total fuel used ?   1.3 Litre.
by
> > Pyrex beaker.
> >
>
>    48.68mpg.  Not bad.  My Rabbit will do that but the stinkin' Jetta sure
> won't.


  To put that in perspective, I've been getting that or a little better with
my 171K mile, chipped '98 Jetta TDI. I don't drive slow or go for economy,
usually 73-75 on the highway with the windows down or the A/C on if it's
really hot. The A3 must weigh a bunch more than a Rabbit, but I have
absolutely no lack of power. I'm running the stock-sized 60-series tires,
wide in comparison to rabbit's feet, and have a decent-sized ham antenna lip
mounted on the trunk. I think it's about 56" tall.


 OT, but I had a rental PT Cruiser last week when I took a trip to TN. Wow.
I am really spoiled by the torque in my Jetta. This thing had absolutely
nothing for power below 4K RPM, but between 4 and 6K it moved out OK though
it sounded like someone started a blender under the hood. The worst part of
it was the lack of power on the big hills on the interstate. It would begin
to lose speed on the cruise control, so first it would unlock the torque
converter. Still slowing down, so downshift once. Nope, no power yet -
downshift again. Now, with the blender going full tilt, it would leap ahead
and overshoot the target speed. The CC brain would see that and dump the
throttle. The transmission would see it's opportunity and upshift twice then
lock up the converter immediately. The speed would begin to drop, and the
cycle would repeat itself. Not real fun on the highway with other cars
around you. My Jetta locks in to the speed I set and I haven't found a hill
yet that will cause it to lose speed. Being a standard, it doesn't have the
option to downshift, either.
 The impression I got with the PT Cruiser was that the brains controlling
the engine and transmission were just not happy working together. Couple
that with the anemic torque and I can see why it couldn't maintain a steady
speed. I was glad to get back in my own car after the trip was over!

  Lee
  Oo-v-oO
  PP-ASEL
  KB1GNI