I have been doing a little experiment the past couple of weeks. I decided that during my daily commute I would be 1) light on the gas peddle, 2) not going over 65 MPH, 3) coast to stops.

This experiment has yielded better fuel mileage, average is 21.8 with a tip. I had been averaging low 19's before. Last night at fill up I had traveled exactly 400 miles on a tank of gas.

Another interesting fact is my commute time has not changed. Itâ€^TMs nice to know you can get decent fuel mileage with the allroad, and still have right foot power available when needed/wanted.

Always remember RPM's = Fuel consumption :-).

And noticed similar results.
Started driving in "D" instead of "S" around town. Lighter and smoother on the gas. Now getting just over 21 mpg (according to the computer), up from 18 to 19.
Still use "S" mode for a little fun on the twisties, but definitely notice that fewer revs means better MPG.

The RPM does seem high on tip when you get above 65mph. I usually do about 75 mph on hwy driving and rpm is around 3K. Is this the norm on tip AR?

One of the key differences in th ar vrs a regular a6 is the gearing in the tranny or perhaps the final drive.. The ar is geared a bit lower than the a6 this is why you find moving out of first (6 speed) to happen quickly and the higher than the normal RPM at highway speed. AoA said in some of its spec sheets that this was done for the occasional foray off road.

The S mode.. while fun.. will use more gas as it holds you in every gear longer than D and it effects the downshift/kickdown to the lower gear with less..resistance than doing so in D would.

In my '01 w/ tip, I have performed a similiar test at 55, 60, and 65 mph. At 55 and 60 mph, my fuel economy goes up to 19-20 mpg (measured using good ol' math, and not using the overly optimistic computer). It's amazing to watch the moment to moment fuel economy numbers go through the roof at 55 mph. At 65 mph and above, it drops to the 16-17 mpg range.

FYI, I have never been able to crack 20 mpg because the first few miles of my mostly highway commute are in city traffic. This of course KILLS my fuel economy, because by my calculations, my AR gets...are you sitting down...something like 12-13 mpg in the city. For the record, my one-way commute is about 1-2 miles of city roads and stoplights, followed by about 23 miles of highway.

Side note: Audi, are you reading this thread? If so, you should 1. be appalled at the fuel economy of our admittedly powerful and fun to drive ARs, and 2. start sending TDI ARs to the US ASAP! I will fight to get to the front of the line to buy one. So get moving, please, and send me a 6 speed TDI, now! ;)

Anyway, thanks for posting your results.

Cheers,

=-Rob

PS: I know one can't have tons of power and good gas mileage, but I would give back some power to get my economy numbers up into the low to mid 20s for a gas engine. Maybe that's a dream, but it would be nice to see it happen. 7 speed anyone? 8 speed? ;)

Obviously weight matters but unfortunately the ar illustrates it too graphically :-).

In the city I had it as low as 11.3 but that was during a snow storm in lots of snow for a few days.

Wind makes a big difference. My wife did a 250Km trip one way and I asked her to fill up before going on the hwy and one way she got 22.4MPG coming back 19.7. She was alone with my daughter.

I didn't go to the dealer until I compiled some numbers. Can the 12MPGs be improved upon mechanically? I mean the ar is listed at what, 17MPG for city. Or did they just arrive at that number going down hill with the wind with the engine out??

They are not a result of real life driving..

Lead foot all the time. Redline in numerous gears. Slow down, just to feel the acceleration again. Stopping early at yellow lights just for the oportunity to practice my launch.

I am probably an idiot as I have little regard for fuel economy (not that I am wealthy and feel no difference.)

Just curious do you track your millage if so what is it ?

6 speed 03

My normal day to day is 20 and I'm no Sunday School teacher. My high has been a steady cruise with a data screen average of 72 mph on a level highway.. gas station to gas station for 150+ miles getting by math 27.5

But the worst cas was a day of hellish gophering at work.. city/highway driving slamming the throttle every chance I had so as not to deliver a sample late.. to the office 52 miles, back and forth to vendors then home again for a daily total of 200+miles... and by math 11.5 mpg.. the data screen said 9.something.

Thankfully, I don't have many of these days.. my Limerock day was better than this.

On a trip from DC to Connecticut our 2001 tip with Thule bars but no attachments got 22.x mpg at 65-80 mph, but only with me drafting Suburbans.

When I gave up on the drafting the average fell to 19.5 with speeds 60-85.

Our computer calculated number in around town (wifee) driving is 16.5 - 18.0 mpg.

If you haven't done the millage computer adjustments drop that value 10% = 16.2. Suburban/Tahoe range..

Luckily I don't have a commute per se. My mileage from home to client appointments is paid at standard IRS rate. Most of my mileage is 'for me' though.

Computer says 21.3. Its a manual 01 with 55 K.

Actual mileage lower, but still not bad for blasting through the two lane twisty's and up a couple of passes. I find that pulling the rack bars and esp. the box help the mileage considerably. That and tall tires..

but it's getting too warm to have the ac off all the time now :(

Before APR Chip 13 litre/100 klms H'way, 13.8/100 normal. Now getting 10.4/100 h'way and 13/100 normal. I don't mid as my Saab 9.5 used 9.4 Highway and 11 normal it was manual and much lighter car.

The high was on a run from St. Paul to Duluth 75 to 80 mph for about 75% of the time. Low cold winter stop and go traffic which actually isn't that bad considering it's Minnesota.

but I hear ya. Needlessly high RPMs just generate extra heat, and up to 1/3 of your gas goes to heating your brakes in stop & go.

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