Oil for max fuel economy? ALH VW TDI

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Posting this here because I am sure that this will end up with conversations outside of HDEO.

What can I get away with as far as thin oil to pick up Fuel Economy? If I risk sacrificing engine life a little so be it. This car has the crappy 01M transmission. When that goes the vehicle is trash. Paying someone to do a 5 speed conversion plus the price of a transmission is too much.

Someone else discussed this quite a bit in the past but maybe he blew his car up......


I just want to have fun with this.

In the words of Ivan Drago....."If he dies, he dies" Lol.

 
Not sure you'll find any oil that gives you noticeable mpg savings. I'd suggest upping tire pressure and see what can be removed from the cargo area to lessen the weight.
 
Posting this here because I am sure that this will end up with conversations outside of HDEO.

What can I get away with as far as thin oil to pick up Fuel Economy? If I risk sacrificing engine life a little so be it. This car has the crappy 01M transmission. When that goes the vehicle is trash. Paying someone to do a 5 speed conversion plus the price of a transmission is too much.

Someone else discussed this quite a bit in the past but maybe he blew his car up......


I just want to have fun with this.

In the words of Ivan Drago....."If he dies, he dies" Lol.


get the 0w30, it is diesel (CK) approved

 
Not sure you'll find any oil that gives you noticeable mpg savings. I'd suggest upping tire pressure and see what can be removed from the cargo area to lessen the weight.
Already done. The poster in the link that I linked to advises completely to the contrary citing massive gains on this engine attributable to oil weight. Now he is either dead or his car is. Maybe he was full of it but from the level of articulation entailed I doubt it.
 
If you are trying to save money on gas, then save money on oil as well. Don't buy any boutique stuff, Supertech 0W20 (maybe even HM) will be absolutely as "thin" as I'd go. I ran 0w20 in a 20 year old and 220K mile B20z2 Honda, no issues yet, but idk if the TDI would be as forgiving.
 
I am glad that you are getting this everyone. I am really trying to cut off my finger to save my hand (hopefully just a fingertip) to save fuel because I am bored...as bored as I was doing doughnuts in a parking lot when I was 20 and I want to say it got 50 mpg. It's already getting 47 mpg on 90% rural roads with about 10 stops on a trip.

I don't see too many people getting 47mpg on this Auto which apparently has a 5-8 mpg penalty as compared to the 5 spd.
 
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I read on Fred's that somebody did successfully run Redline 5w20 in an ALH. If you don't want to kill your engine, a diesel 10w30 or 5w30 would be as thin as you can go.

I don't see why you'd intentionally kill the car. A solid ALH engine is worth at least $500.

ALHs nozzle efficiency goes down as they accumulate mileage. You may be able to get to the 50 MPGs by doing a nozzle replacement.
 
super long drain could also be an effective option at reducing costs. M1 0W40 seems like the obvious choice considering its price
 
You never joined the 800 mile club on the ALH TDI? I did it on 5w40 HDEO.

But I had the 5-speed manual back then.

Seriously, thinner oil won't get you to the fuel economy of the 5-speed manual.
 
I read on Fred's that somebody did successfully run Redline 5w20 in an ALH. If you don't want to kill your engine, a diesel 10w30 or 5w30 would be as thin as you can go.

I don't see why you'd intentionally kill the car. A solid ALH engine is worth at least $500.

ALHs nozzle efficiency goes down as they accumulate mileage. You may be able to get to the 50 MPGs by doing a nozzle replacement.
...because the Auto trans is like $3500 and It's not worth my time cherry picking the motor and selling it to some covid ridden maskless stranger who will need to take a dump in my bathroom because he traveled 1000 miles without stopping for $500. Thanks for the tips, but kill is a relative term. I want the rusted rockers, crappy trans, and engine to die at one time ideally, lol.
 
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super long drain could also be an effective option at reducing costs. M1 0W40 seems like the obvious choice considering its price
I don't care about costs. I care about MPG in the end. A pointless hobby....yes...just like the burnouts I did when I was 20. Heck this is much cheaper. No speeding tickets!
 
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