Fuel Mileage

sailquik

Well-known member
Inspector;
Care to share your experience as to why you no longer "top off" your fuel tank when filling it?

I've always filled mine until it almost runs out the top flange of the filler. Occasionally, a tiny bit spills, but it runs
down the overflow pipe most often. I have more of a problem with drips when I extract the nozzle, or a few times,
the previous customer has left the nozzle half full and I get a mess trying to insert the nozzle in the fill pipe.

On your mileage issue?.....are you using a ScanGauge II or similar so you can tell what's actually going on with
your engine management systems?

Take a look at your %LOaD; MAP, and fuel flow (GPH or MPG, and you will begin to see many ways to save fuel.
Mostly by running @> 2500 RPMs when there is any sort of load on/in your Sprinter...I.E> headwinds/ slight uphill
grades/ fairly deep dips and rises/load in the RV/ pulling anything.
Your Sprinter makes very little power @ <2400....but makes great power in the 2700-3200 RPMs range. If you see an increase in
%LOD > 15%, you can most likely achieve better MPG or less GPH by manually downshifting vs slogging along in OVERDRVE!
Remember, your RV is already pretty heavy for the 2500 series.
@ close to $4.00/gal for ULSD and only getting 17-18 mpg, the ScanGauge II will very quickly repay your wallet
for the purchase price. Also, running up in the BEST POWER range seems prevent to most of the
common emissions systems issues....I fact, I > 200,000 miles on 4 different Sprinter 3500's I've never experienced
any EGR/DPF/DEF issues or failures at all.
I have yet to experience what Limp Home Mode really feels like.
Use "THE BEST" (BEVO recommended) maintenance fluids, drive at a few more RPMs, and your Sprinter will thrive/survive issue free
and give you more MPG!
Roger
 
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mowog

Member
Sorry- Forgot you had an agile 2500. Still a good idea to weigh your van so you can see total and front/back weight.

Bob
 

Inspector

2012 Roadtrek Agile
Roger, no I don't have the Scan Gauge II yet and to be honest I had forgotten about it until you just mentioned it. I WILL order one! Thanks for the good information regarding RPM vs. fuel//power.

Bob, no problem on the tires and as you said, the inflation is critical. With our Agile unloaded 80 psi makes the ride harsh as well as over-inflated. At 65 psi rear, unloaded it is still a tad more pressure than needed but "good enough." Thanks,

Steve
 

8string

Pacific NW Guy
2008 Adventuress- 30k miles- routinely get 20+ and often 22. Mine too performs as good or better than 2005 Ody.
 

Blue4

Roadtrek Sprinter Owner
Still driving my 06 RS, but w/o fancy instruments to tell me optimum load/rpm ranges and how to drive it. Have nearly 6,000 hours of flying time, including 3,500 hours of executive jet. Drive like you fly....feel the machine talk to you. You can feel when the machine is "slogging", when it is behind the power curve,when you are "on the step", when you need a little more RPM, when you are approaching stall, etc.,etc. Become one with the machine...it is a sophisicated piece of work. It talks to you...listen.
 

Inspector

2012 Roadtrek Agile
Sailquik, I forgot to answer your question about our experience with fueling. One of the very first fuel fill ups, the nozzle clicked off when full as usual. Our Dodge truck diesel I could always squeeze another gallon or so because the fuel foams so easily. M-B recommends not topping off...what could it hurt, right. I had just started to ease more fuel into the neck when it started to run out the neck, all over the side, the valve access covers and the ground. It oozed for a few hours out from behind the plastic body trim below it as well. NOW when it clicks off, we stop right there!

Which model Scan Gauge II do you have?
 

icarus

Well-known member
I I top mine off, it is running out on the ground. Even if I pump too fast, it will click and spill. I listen and slow down the pump speed when I hear it near full.

Icarus
 

sailquik

Well-known member
Hi Inspector,
Ahhh....yes, when fueling a diesel (particularly with high flow nozzles in truck stops) you have to be super careful after the nozzle clicks off.
I have learned to listen for the fuel level gettting up to the bottom of the fill pipe and I usually shut off the flow at that point and then just
ever so lightly watch the other 1/2 gallon or so trickle in and all the foam go back into fuel.
My friend just almost ruined her clothes and sprayed diesel all over the side of her Jetta TDI wagon when the whole nozzle jumped out of the
filler recently.
I also track about how much fuel I think it's likely to take and keep and eye on the gallon meter on the pump.
I'm on my 4th diesel vehicle and after > 1/2 million miles I've become much better attuned to the diesel pump idiosyncracies.
I have the original Scan Gauge II (which I bought in 2008).
I sent it into Linear Logic last year to have the software upgraded, so now it's fully X-Gauge capable.
I have not done much with the X-Gauge features (beyond programming in Horsepower, which it did before the upgrade).
It's a great little package to monitor performance, but it's not particularly useful as a scan tool on Sprinters.
If you have a DTC episode, the Scan Gauge II will let you read a generic code or 2, but that info is very superficial and may or may not
point you in the direction of the real issue.
I did once have the engine shut off (not LHM) on my '06 T1N and the code suggested it was an injector issue (went away when restarted), and when the
Dodge dealer ran their scan tool it agreed and they changed the bad injector under warranty. Just a bad injector from the factory I guess.
That fixed it and it was still going strong @ 102k miles when it was totalled in a deer crash.
The true value of the ScanGauge II is in giving you the full information about all the little changes that the engine
management system is making for you as you are driving down the road.
It allows you to make decisions on downshifts, temperatures, %load, fuel flow so you can drive your Sprinter more efficiently.
Anyone who thinks that a Sprinter just sets itself and cruises along without making constant small changes in fuel flow/boost level
in response to tiny changes in demand due to geographic and atmospheric conditions simply does not understand how the Sprinters
systems work.
Get a Scan Gauge II (or similar) and you will soon be in touch with the bigger picture.
Thanks!
Roger
 
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Inspector

2012 Roadtrek Agile
I usually fill the tank with the nozzle on the lowest setting at a regular gas station, so it shuts off safely. Just cracking the handle and running the fuel down the side of the fuel neck (like pouring beer in a glass) it prevents foam but it also allows the fuel to sneak up on me. So now it just clicks off and we call it good.

Thanks for the Scan Gauge II information!

Steve
 

416cdi

04 LWB 416cdi T1N OM612 rust-bucket
I drive 2004 416cdi in Sydney Australia which weighs just over 3 tonnes (2.2tonnes empty) the tank takes 80 litres of diesel and i usually get around 700-800kms out of the tank. I go from full tank to empty every time for the last 8years. Every couple of months I add a bottle of injector cleaner into the fuel tank to keep things running nice and smooth
 

jtriver

New member
i'm curious, after watching the video linked below, as to the engine modifications european engines have vs. the north american engines? if Ford and VW make these engines for export only, things must be pretty tight lipped at those plants... i just did a check online from MB in the UK, stating 34.9mpg, MB USA states 24.9mpg :idunno:
Cut fuel consumption in half and then double the tax on fuel to protect road revenues. The result would still be a net win for the consumer and a fifty percent win for the environment. Why does this not happen then? (Because big oil companies will lose fifty percent of that market.)

http://video.staged.com/localshops/vw_passat_785_mpg_in_the_uk

your thoughts???
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
UK mpg based on imperial gallon? Other than that, european emissions standards have historically been less stringent than the US and much better fuel as well, so better mpg.
 

George Carter

New member
Best miles per gallon, I ever received in my 2005 Leisure Travel, 210 Free Spirit, (3/4 ton, 5 cylinder) I checked it twice and rounded down to the next lowest 10th, 30.6 mpg from Van Horn, Texas to El Paso, Texas, about 120 miles. Must be down hill and must have had a tail wind. I wish I got that every day. I will get 25 to 26 mpg consistently if I drive 55 mph and below, low 20's @ 65 to 70 mph, assuming winds not an issue. In 60,000 miles the worst I ever received was 18.9 mpg. Why don't we have more diesels in the US? Because we have a country of people can tell you everything you ever wanted to know and then some about an American Idol contestant, but don't have a clue who Margaret Thatcher was!
 

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