Bone-stock 1997 VW Passat TDI. I run Rotella T6 5w40 oil at 10,000mi change intervals (hopefully modifying this to engine hours soon).
Driving style: I drive with ~90% throttle while accelerating, maintaining shift points that leave me around 1550RPM after the shift. I downshift around 1300rpm or if I need to accelerate/deal with an incline. My primary goal is to stay in 5th as much as possible. I generally run cruise control as soon as I'm at my desired speed (exceptions for busy city driving, though I still use cruise in the city). I very seldom pulse and glide.
Due to my rural location, most of my driving is 45-60mph on state highways. I try to notate when I have significant interstate driving on a tank. I very seldom drive in stop/go traffic. Trips to and from home start and end with several minutes driving at 1750rpm in 3rd due to dirt roads.
I generally try to stay off the brakes as much as possible. I neutral coast wherever possible, but on lower speed roads (where stops are closer together) and in cases where I will be a significant burden on traffic I will come closer to my intended stopping point and coast in 5th gear. I do not downshift to non-overdrive gears when coasting to a stop to save wear on the clutch.
Near-term modifications
- Evolution Imports "Odin" skid plate
- Ball joints
- Engine mounts
- Intake cleaning
- Accessory belt harmonic dampener
Long-term modifications
- "Dietzl" mod
- Gauges
- Oil pressure
- Exhaust manifold pressure
- Intake manifold pressure
- Pre-/post-intercooler air temperature
- Pyrometer
- Hobbs (hour) meter
- Injector + clutch + tune for ~130hp output
- 2.5" turbo-back exhaust
Past modifications
- Returned IQ setting to default (32768) from 32710 (presumarly PO set?)