BETTER MPG? on 1.8 T ?

[fellowsuk]

ok fuels on the up, and I don’t mind the car drinking the petrol when my right foots on the floor, however when im just driving round town, got the parents in the car etc etc and not able to have fun with my right foot, is there a better way to drive with the leon being a turbo??

1 of my mates recons you get better mpg when the turbo is in use (as Sarb invented it to save fuel???? Told him he’s talking out of his arse)

so do any of you know the best time to change gear etc to save fuel?

cheers

 

[paullec]

well all i can say is as soon as i hit traffic everything goes to pot i can manage 31mpg if there no traffic tho.

 

[justsean]

i got 36-38average in my LCR in traffic a while ago, just keeping it in high gears and changing gear sooner when accelerating

 

[D.K]

Fit a boost guage you will then beable to see when the turbo is comeing in.
Carbon fiber trainers help

 

[DPJ]

Fit a boost guage you will then beable to see when the turbo is comeing in.
............

I was about to say the same. Fit a boost gauge, then drive smoothly so that the needle keeps at a decent level of vacuum.

 

[D.K]

Great minds think alike

 

[fellowsuk]

so my mate was right about the turbo???

at the moment im trying to change before it kicks in, about 2k revs?

 

[DPJ]

so my mate was right about the turbo???
........................

 

[MarkE]

Ecotek valve. And some of those fuel saver magnets. And maybe another Ecotek valve.

Or just live with it and be happy you don't have a Prius.

 

[RikH]

i just changed job, which means my commute in the leon has gone from 30 miles a day to 50
my mpg has gone from about 30 to 35 minimum without any fuss, i used to get 315 to a full tank, now i get 360ish.

mainly motorway, i drive at 60, tiny amount of pressure on accelerator to keep it constant.

the key to decent fuel return is..........you'll like this......not being in a rush to get anywhere. then you just "pootle"

 

[fellowsuk]

haha, i thought this would be an intresting post!

ok so conclusion is there aint nothing else i can do? apart from buying a boost guage, which i know what it does but not sure of the benefits to better MPG?

oh well off to work now lets see how i get on!

 

[Mrski1]

This website here has a handy calculator to provide mpg figures as well as costs for a year of motoring. It also has a useful section about how to driving economically.

http://www.torquecars.com/tools/uk-mpg-calculator.php

 

[LEE69]

It's your manner of driving too in town that affects the mpg, planning ahead, getting the right gear, just being more smoother than you already are.

 

[traumapat]

so my mate was right about the turbo???

at the moment im trying to change before it kicks in, about 2k revs?

on a petrol thats too early imo. your forcing the engine to work bloody hard.

id change around 3k. you cant really avoid the turbo but as long as your smooth and gentle with your right foot you wont be burning too much fuel.

a boost gauge as said will help.

you could try a remap. although your power will increase in my leons case economy improved slightly.

 

[Mrski1]

I have only had my Cupra for a week now but i seem to be able to manage roughly 35-36 mpg taking it easy on the way into work. My journey is 20 miles with around 13-14 miles on a mix of 60 and 70mph roads, then the rest in traffic heading through the city. A big part of it seems to be trying to anticipate the road ahead, give yourself some room to the car infront and rather than using the brakes try to slow down through the gears.

 

[andycupra]

drive smoothly with very little throttle. aroudn town you have no need to go above 2,600 or so. (assuming no nasty hills).

the most important thing is to ANTICIPATE. - imagine everytime you have to press the brake it costs you money. In fact dont imagine, as thats exactly true. You have used fuel building speed only to wear down your brakes to remove it. An old rule was that you should only use your brake if you are stopping.

When slowing you use more fuel in neutral then if you are in gear slowing. So if you traffic has stopped ahead, slow early and leave it in gear, try to minimise the time you will be sat stil in traffic.

oh and regarding the turbo, its not really there to save fuel, more to give more power, but if you look at it differently it does allow you to run a smaller engine. Therefore when running off the turbo you could argue that you are running a 1.8 to get 225 bhp rather than a 2.9 V6 or something to get imiliar power.

 

[OFI]

With fuel prices on the rise, how long before remapping companies start doing a fuel saving map
As my drive to work is 8 miles I don't think I see over 30mpg very often :-(

 

[justsean]

With fuel prices on the rise, how long before remapping companies start doing a fuel saving map
As my drive to work is 8 miles I don't think I see over 30mpg very often :-(

I was about to ask if anywhere did this already kinda defeats the point of buying an LCR though!

 

[LEE69]

Have an "economy" map switchable

 

[lordgibbness]

I've found that you get better mpg when using minimal boost compared to being completely off boost. This is to do with the fact that the turbo adds back pressure to the exhaust system and in effect makes a 1.8T less efficient than a standard 1.8L. However, when using minimal boost the engine does not suffer from this and can use the increase in air pressure to give more torque. The main thing is to use a light throttle and anticipate the road as said above. I find driving at about 2500-2800 rpm is most economical.