50 mpg. FINALLY CRACKED IT!!

[.50]

***PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT AN MPG BRAGGING POST***

I have been a long term sceptic of claims of the T6,s ability to return decent mpg given my inability to get my factory 150 DSG kombi much above mid 30,s mpg during, NORMAL DRIVING.

It was claimed and consequently demonstrated by Oli @BognorMotors that over 50mpg was attainable from the T6 in one of the many mpg threads on this forum that I was a participant in. (a grumpy participant at that!!).

HOWEVER I have now taken my attempts to achieve better fuel economy to a new level, mainly by reducing my cruising speed.

Over the past few tank fulls I have been seeing around 37mpg, (actual, brim to brim calculations), with a 50/50 mix of town and highway driving.

Today I had to travel an hour and a half over to Professional Retrofits. This was 60% dual carriageway and 40% town/B roads, and the way home I was dumbstruck when I checked the mpg.

I did not exceed 56mph and drove with a VERY light right foot through the built up areas.

The day was not particularly windy with no rain and around 16 degrees temp.

Fuel is from a supermarket.

As the top of this post says, it's not an mpg bragg, it's more to show that the 150 dsg T6 can achieve over 50mpg, but also to apologise to Oli @BognorMotors as I was a little blunt with him in the aforementioned mpg thread when he showed that this kind of mpg was possible.

 

[dubber36]

Aerodynamics have a massive factor on mpg. 50ish mpg and a gentle right foot seems to be the sweet spot.

My rule of thumb is, if you are squashing bugs on the windscreen, you are pushing too much air (density) out of the way.

 

[.50]

Aerodynamics have a massive factor on mpg. 50ish mpg and a gentle right foot seems to be the sweet spot.

My rule of thumb is, if you are squashing bugs on the windscreen, you are pushing too much air (density) out of the way.

You're right dubber36.

I normally cruise at 62mph and it seems, certainly in my case, that the 6/7mph reduction is where the big difference lies.

I'm not going to start driving like this all the time, but it is quite relaxing.

 

[Ozi]

It’s definitely possible. Had a 100 mile run yesterday on motorway, A road and the last 5 miles on B roads. Was very happy to see 51.9mpg. Very steady at around 60mph.

Return trip via a different route and lots of B roads (and a few miles making up some time) not so good at 44mpg, but overall on the tank I got 45.9mpg when refilled on actual mileage/consumption which is still very close to on board software calc over 300 miles yesterday.

Granted I haven’t been hammering it at 70 plus speeds, but on steady 60mph driving I’m constantly getting mid 40’s. (I’ve got a new 150 manual)

 

[.50]

It’s definitely possible. Had a 100 mile run yesterday on motorway, A road and the last 5 miles on B roads. Was very happy to see 51.9mpg. Very steady at around 60mph.

Return trip via a different route and lots of B roads (and a few miles making up some time) not so good at 44mpg, but overall on the tank I got 45.9mpg when refilled on actual mileage/consumption which is still very close to on board software calc over 300 miles yesterday.

Granted I haven’t been hammering it at 70 plus speeds, but on steady 60mph driving I’m constantly getting mid 40’s. (I’ve got a new 150 manual)

Ah, now the average over the last 1000 miles, (still cruising at 56mph and driving like Miss Daisy everywhere else), is still shy of 40mpg.
If I returned to cruising at 60mph my mpg would go back to early 30,s mpg.

 

[DaveD]

You're right dubber36.

I normally cruise at 62mph and it seems, certainly in my case, that the 6/7mph reduction is where the big difference lies.

I'm not going to start driving like this all the time, but it is quite relaxing.

I remember your previous posts on the subject - you were really fed up with the MPG you were getting!
It's always important to remember what shape and size these vans are, they're never going to be very slippery through the air. My long term average is about 35MPG, I know many people are getting much more but I'm happy enough and I can't be arsed to try to squeeze any more out of it, life's too short!
I'm glad you've proved to yourself that it's possible to get reasonable economy from your van!

 

[MrSkip]

Had my 150 Caravelle re mapped by Ollie at Bognor Motors and regularly see 50+ MPG, best before was 47 MPG

 

[BognorMotors]

***PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT AN MPG BRAGGING POST***

I have been a long term sceptic of claims of the T6,s ability to return decent mpg given my inability to get my factory 150 DSG kombi much above mid 30,s mpg during, NORMAL DRIVING.

It was claimed and consequently demonstrated by Oli @BognorMotors that over 50mpg was attainable from the T6 in one of the many mpg threads on this forum that I was a participant in. (a grumpy participant at that!!).

HOWEVER I have now taken my attempts to achieve better fuel economy to a new level, mainly by reducing my cruising speed.

Over the past few tank fulls I have been seeing around 37mpg, (actual, brim to brim calculations), with a 50/50 mix of town and highway driving.

Today I had to travel an hour and a half over to Professional Retrofits. This was 60% dual carriageway and 40% town/B roads, and the way home I was dumbstruck when I checked the mpg.

I did not exceed 56mph and drove with a VERY light right foot through the built up areas.

The day was not particularly windy with no rain and around 16 degrees temp.

Fuel is from a supermarket.

As the top of this post says, it's not an mpg bragg, it's more to show that the 150 dsg T6 can achieve over 50mpg, but also to apologise to Oli @BognorMotors as I was a little blunt with him in the aforementioned mpg thread when he showed that this kind of mpg was possible.

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Apology accepted - Its painful driving like this this, but quite rewarding all the same

 

[Sharpe]

I’m pleased to get over 25 average on a TSI, think my best ever was 33 on a long slow run!

 

[Jason Kew]

Had my 150 Caravelle re mapped by Ollie at Bognor Motors and regularly see 50+ MPG, best before was 47 MPG

Hi!! Bit late to the mpg party and keen to visit Bognor motors with a shopping list.. which remap did you have and how much was it?.. are you still getting 50+mpg average?

 

[MrSkip]

Hi!! Bit late to the mpg party and keen to visit Bognor motors with a shopping list.. which remap did you have and how much was it?.. are you still getting 50+mpg average?

Hi Jason, I had the Revo ECU (Engine) Re map along with the DSG Re map using TVS software all done by Oli and the team @BognorMotors and I can highly recommend both, particularly the DSG Re map which totally transforms the gearbox and really enhances drive-ability, as for prices you would have to speak to Bognor

 

[Mugwump]

2016 T6 T30 LWB 180bhp remap 5 speed manual on long runs with trailer and 250 kg of motorbike. Can hit 45-50 mpg Obviously can't go over 50 etc. Just checked van computer Ave daily trundle 37 mpg to work B roads but often hit 50 mpg when traffic flows Mileage is 21k have covid to thank fir low mileage lol

 

[Johnboy57]

Wind speed makes a massive difference for these vans.

I drove from Swansea to Bristol (cruise control at 75mph) and achieved 45mpg. I then returned a short while later - again with cruise control at 75mph and was dismayed to only get 32 mpg. This represents a 38% difference.
I assumed it was the wind blowing west to east as it usually does in South wales. But being a nurdy type, I decided to do some basic investigative calculations for comparison.....

I assumed fuel consumption was proportional to required power, I then used basic data for drag and rolling coefficients for the T5/T6 and added the wind speed for headwind and tailwind to complete the calculations.

My calculations also assume
1. steady speed (which is not easily achieved even with cruise control),
2. a level road (which overall from Swansea to Bristol is reasonable),
3. that the wind is directly in front or behind which is obviously not the case... !!

However with the above criteria, the 38% difference could be explained by only a 6.5mph head/tail wind. In real circumstances this could be doubled to 13mph approx.

Either way ..... it doesn't take much tail wind to push your mpg up to impressive figures or vice versa!!

After this little excersise I now only look at average figures over a really long run, or the range of a tankful.

 

[dubber36]

Aero makes a massive difference. We know that anything over 60mph in these vans really hurts fuel consumption.

James May explained it when telling us why it took another 300 horsepower to get another 10mph out of a Veyron SS (I'm guessing at those numbers) The faster you go, the thicker the air effectively gets. You pass through more volume of air per unit of time. Add in a headwind and you're effectively thickening the air even more. With a tailwind, you are not so much being pushed, you are passing through effectively thinner air.

 

[rubuild]

You're right dubber36.

I normally cruise at 62mph and it seems, certainly in my case, that the 6/7mph reduction is where the big difference lies.

I'm not going to start driving like this all the time, but it is quite relaxing.

Hi there, just looked up your post re roof rail installation (no silicone route) that I'm about to do - bloody genius! Will do the same - is there a rubber washer under the original VW blanking bolts?

I then noticed your thread on economy also - VW data reckons we should be getting a combined (I think) mpg of 37mpg. We bought a brand new T30 LWB 150 DSG and its absolutely shit on fuel! We live in a hilly area, on school runs and commute locally to my workshop over 6 weeks since we're now averaging under 26mpg. After 3 weeks we all had Covid and the van was parked up for 10 days and then a neighbour notified a massive diesel dump (it was a fuel breather popped off) so we though should improve .....straight out of isolation I then swapped out the wheels with a set of 17" OZ Racing Rally Raids on Yokohama 235/65/r17 knowing we'd see a slight drop but with the leak fixed should be getting over 30mpg'ish ....but now clocking in an impressive 23-4mpg max on local runs - be better off on a tractor!

I drove real light on the accelerator for the first 500 miles from new - then let it rip a tiny bit. Do you think I ought to send it back into to VW for a engine warranty check? In the early mornings where we live we cannot avoid a decent hill climb but from cold the van feels like a vehicle in 'limp mode' nearly nudging only 40mpg up a hill (I'm not tempted to push through to the second stage on the accelerator as I'm concerned of damage). Our Audi 143bhp absolute pisses up the same hill well over 60mph with ease from cold. When warm the van's better.

All that said we've yet to take the van on a long run.

Apologies for lots of questions on a Sunday.

All best

Ru

 

[Pete C]

What sort of distances have your journeys been so far ?

Pete

 

[rubuild]

Hi Pete,

Only 10-25 miles max - what do you reckon?

Ru

 

[Pete C]

The engine has probably just about warmed up when you stop at your destination, which would explain your consumption, particularly if it's slower roads.
It's just the way bigger diesels are. You also might have a DPF clogging issue in the future if you don't do longer runs at some point.

Pete

 

[Grainfoot]

Should be getting more. We get 37 real life brim to brim in our 150 manual heavy camper. All 20 mile journeys. How often is regeneration happening.

 

[Pete C]

Also don't forget this is a brand new vehicle. Every new vehicle I have owned has taken 4 to 5 thousand miles to bed in before performance and mpg get somewhere near what I expected.

Pete