Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

Josh wrote:Your mileage numbers are extremely low for a quantum td wagon in my experience. If you haven't got lots of black smoke billowing out (over-fueling), I'd say you should check out compression/leakdown. That is, when not towing.

My wagon always gets over 45 mpg, even when driving like a madman.

How heavy is your trailer?

45 mpg! That would be heaven! I have it adjusted for no smoke and she's getting good power to tow the 2000lb camper. As far as leakdown/compression, I do not know. The engine was rebuilt completely in late 2000. I have a stack of receipts from the previous owner where he bought new pistons and had the top rings converted to "zero gap" by Total Seal. That was probably about 100,000 miles ago judging by the dates/mileage records I have. BTW, if you visit www.ihavecrabs.com you can see interior shots on the camper. I just wrapped up the shower and water system today and it all works! The BMW springs in the rear add much needed towing capacity.

Well, what mileage DO you normally see with your intercooled QTD wagon? The addition of (just about) any trailer to a towing vehicle totally screws with the aerodynamics, especially when trying to maintain >60mph.

A few years ago, with my Dasher wagon (old 1.5NA power!), I hauled a 2300lb trailer from SoCal to Bellingham, WA, a bit around the PNW & then back home, with an average of 33.7mpg over the 3,700-mile trip. I'd bet your QTD wagon, even though c. 400lbs heavier than the Dasher wagon, will easily beat that when hauling your trailer, and it's got to be faster!

Even when NOT towing a trailer, the Dasher wagons just don't return quite the mpg as the sedans; I'm guessing the same is probably true for the similar, but slightly larger Quantum bodies. My 1.5NA Dasher experiences (sane driving conditions, and w/o trailer) have been approximately as follows:
Wagon = 39-43mpg/City & 52-55mpg/Highway.
Sedan = 41-45mpg/City & 54-58mpg/Highway.

OTOH the better front-to-rear chassis balance of the wagon, and its loading/carrying versatility, IMO make the loss of a couple of mpg quite bearable, not to mention completely eliminating any desire to own a freakin' SUV.

Don't underestimate the value of opening up your post-turbo exhaust a bit. The oem QTD downpipe I bought (in prep for an eventual 1.6TD re-power of my Dasher wagon) has a stupid ring welded inside its inlet, effectively reducing the i.d. to c. 1.75", or maybe even less, given the turbulence it must cause! According to some sources 'in the know', that's the very point at which a downpipe should actually begin to form a gently expanding 'megaphone' of sorts, from the same diameter of the turbo outlet (c. 2.25") to about 3". After about 3-4 feet of the 3" pipe, it can smoothly transition back to 2.5" i.d., which continues on to the rear outlet. Needless to say, I'll be investing in some 3" and 2.5" mandrel bends, when the new engine is finally ready to install.

Your trailer project is neat. Amazing how much you've encapsulated into a relatively small space, and yet it appears all is easily accessible. Nice work. Keep it rolling.

J.R.
SoCal

It's been BUSY for me lately, I'll get some updated pics on my website @ http://www.ihavecrabs.com . I acquired a one-owner as-new Syncro wagon! It is my new trailer puller and it does fantastic. The TD has been relegated to commuting duties and she's about to roll over to 333,000 miles! I may be selling the camper so I can build another one. If any of you guys are interested in it I'd let it go for 10k. It will outlast all of us, kinda like Airstreams.[/url]

FineFrank wrote:Hey- let's see some pics of the inside of the camper!

I'll second that!